What is ketamine? Addiction to this drug has been on the rise in Idaho in recent years. Ketamine is a highly addictive and dangerous drug, and most people don’t know it is a dissociative hallucinogenic.
A ketamine addiction treatment program is essential for people struggling with this substance use disorder. Ashwood Recovery offers a ketamine addiction treatment program in Boise, Idaho. Our staff is dedicated to helping people through ketamine rehab, from detox to aftercare. Call 208.274.8609 to learn more about this program and other programs for substance abuse treatment in Boise, Idaho.
Ketamine in the Medical Field
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic mainly used in the medical field to start and maintain anesthesia. Ketamine was first synthesized in 1962 by Calvin Stevens as an anesthetic alternative to phenylcyclohexyl piperidine (PCP). Illicit use of ketamine grew in the ’70s and ’80s alongside the rise of other party drugs like ecstasy and cocaine. It’s now mainly used legally in the veterinary field.
Ketamine comes in the form of a powder or a liquid. Its typical methods of abuse are snorting, injecting, and smoking. It can also be mixed into drinks.
What Are the Prescription Medications That Contain Ketamine?
Ketamine is part of various legal prescription medications, such as:
- Ketalar
- Ketajet
- Ketaset
- Ketavet
- Vetalar
- Vetaket
The last four of the list above are typically prescribed to animals.
Can Ketamine Treat Depression?
While many medications on the market are formulated to treat depression, a new one has emerged. In 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new medication for treating severe depression and suicidal ideation. It is a nasal spray that contains a form of ketamine called esketamine.
What Are the Dangers of Self-Medicating with Ketamine?
Self-medicating with ketamine is extremely dangerous because there is no way to know the appropriate dosage. There is also the risk of obtaining ketamine that has been tainted. Ketamine may be the treatment for depression that people have been waiting for, but using it to self-medicate is not the answer.
Ketamine on the Streets
Just like other illicit substances, ketamine has a variety of street names that help make its illegal purchasing more accessible and less conspicuous.
What Are Common Ketamine Street Names?
Apart from simply calling the drug “ketamine,” other terms include:
- “Cat tranquilizer”
- “Cat valium”
- “Jet”
- “Jet K”
- “K”
- “Kit Kat”
- “Purple”
- “Special K”
- “Special LA coke”
- “Super acid”
- “Super K”
- “Vitamin K”
Identifying these street names can help you spot the signs of ketamine abuse and addiction in others.
Ketamine and the Club Scene
Club drugs are a set of substances that are most commonly used in a party atmosphere.
What’s Considered Part of the Club Scene?
These environments might include:
- Bars
- Nightclubs
- Concerts
- Parties
- Dance Clubs
- Raves
Ketamine is considered one of the most common club drugs. One particular danger with using ketamine in this environment is that other intoxicating substances are involved more often than not. In addition to other illicit drugs—like cocaine, meth, and ecstasy—many club scenes involve consuming alcohol.
What Are the Dangers of Abusing Ketamine while Drinking Alcohol?
You can experience highly discomforting physical symptoms when you combine ketamine with alcohol, such as:
- Especially decreased motor skills
- Nausea and vomiting
- Extreme drowsiness
- Dangerously low respiration
However, the primary danger is becoming comatose and eventual death.
What Is the Connection Between Ketamine and Sexual Assault?
In addition to Rohypnol and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), ketamine is one of the most common “date rape drugs” today.
Unlike GHB and Rohypnol, which can take up to 15 and 30 minutes to take effect, ketamine is incredibly fast-acting. Ketamine can also cause memory loss, making it difficult to know whether a sexual assault was real or imagined.
Ketamine Addiction
A few factors are at play in developing ketamine addiction: positive association and tolerance.
Positive association is the body’s natural way of continually rewarding certain behaviors. Drugs hijack the body by tricking it into producing these rewards. As the body becomes more used to these chemicals, it changes its natural processes to compensate for them. This is called tolerance.
Do You Have a Ketamine Addiction?
The best way to determine if you have a substance use disorder is by talking to a qualified specialist at a ketamine rehab center. Seeking professional help is recommended because you may not be objective enough to recognize signs of ketamine abuse in your daily life. In addition, talking with a professional can lead to an official diagnosis and then the creation of a customized ketamine addiction treatment plan for you.
What Is a K-Hole?
As mentioned above, ketamine is famous for its ability to separate people from reality when taken in exceptionally high doses. This typically occurs at 60 mg to 125 mg of ketamine taken by injections or 100 mg to 250 mg taken by snorting.
Some have described it as a complete disconnect from your sensations. Others say the experience is like being trapped inside your mind where everything seems incredibly far away.
What Are the Short-Term Side Effects of Ketamine Use?
At low to moderate doses, ketamine use can lead to:
- Numbness
- Confusion, loss of coordination, dizziness, and disorientation
- Nausea and vomiting
- Altered sensory perceptions
- Hallucinations
- Feelings of detachment from your body and environment
- Heightened blood pressure, respiration, heart rate, and body temperature
At higher doses, you may also experience the following:
- Memory loss
- Changes in automatic functions like respiration and heart rate
- Sedation
Extreme psychological distress - Drug-induced psychosis
- Immobility
When people combine ketamine with alcohol or other habit-forming substances, they can also experience fatal respiratory distress or arrest.
What Are the Long-Term Side Effects of Ketamine Use?
Cognitive functioning is likely to be negatively impacted and may manifest as an inability to:
- Recognize patterns
- Focus for long periods
- Make decisions effectively
- Maintain spatial orientation
Another long-term side effect of ketamine use is experiencing flashbacks. Ketamine has also been linked to bladder toxicity in a condition known as ketamine-induced cystitis.
Ketamine Withdrawal
Although ketamine detox is not as demanding as opioid or meth detox, it can still be challenging. In general, ketamine withdrawal symptoms include the following:
- Intense cravings
- Anxiety
- Agitation
- Depression
- Insomnia
- Reduced concentration
While the majority of ketamine withdrawal has to do with psychological effects, the worst symptoms can be physical effects, such as:
- Irregular heartbeat and increased heart rate
- Increased respiration
- Loss of coordination and motor skills
- Double vision and hearing loss
Although the detox process can be uncomfortable, it is undoubtedly part of the essential steps of recovery.
Find a Ketamine Addiction Treatment Program in Boise, Idaho, at Ashwood Recovery
At Ashwood Recovery, we offer one of the best outpatient drug rehab programs in Idaho. We also work with many health insurance companies, including Blue Cross of Idaho. While we do not provide detox services, we recommend local detoxification clinics that we trust. After detox, it is vital to move on to rehab. However, mental health professionals must also treat co-occurring disorders simultaneously with the addiction. Our treatment center offers three levels of care: intensive outpatient treatment, traditional outpatient rehab, and partial hospitalization.
Contact Ashwood Recovery today at 208.274.8609 to learn more about ketamine addiction treatment and our other services.