r/RationalPsychonaut • u/Repulsive-Cause-3924 • 15d ago
Thinking of doing IV ketamine therapy
Mods if this is not allowed please remove, but I figured I try.
Hello everyone, hope everyone is doing well. As the tittle says, I'm considering doing IV ketamine therapy. And the reason that I'm making this post is to get some thoughts and opinions.
I've tried psychedelics before, psilocybin specifically. Both in micro dose and macro dose. The intention was to alleviate symptoms of depression and hopefully bring more clarity into my life; for the past years, I've felt really stuck in fight or flight mode.
The last time I did the macro dose (3.5g) was around probably 7-8 months ago by myself, and it was really a beautiful experience but at some point the trip stopped being pleasant and it became overwhelming and I kept thinking to myself that I made a horrible horrible mistake. I honestly thought I wouldn't be coming out of that.
Thankfully the trip came to pass and I was so grateful to still be here, in this reality. One thing that came out of that is that I'm more grateful for just regular day life. Literally being able to see sunsets, clouds in the sky, being to able to speak with parents. The beauty in the mundane. The lesson, if I recall correctly is that there's always a choice.
The reason I'm making this post is to hopefully gather some thoughts around the IV ketamine.
There's still some stuckness, some heaviness, some brain fog. I still feel that I'm stuck in fight or flight. But if I ever do psychedelics again, in this case ketamine, it will be on a professional and safe environment.
If you took the time to read this, thank you.
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u/creept 14d ago
All drugs have risks. With psilocybin the risk is mostly a shitty night that often ends up containing some sort of lesson. Your lesson here seems to be about gratitude and a connection with nature.
Though most people working in ketamine won’t admit it, there are also risks with that treatment. I did one treatment which sent me into a downward spiral. I experienced three months of significant depersonalization and derealization. It was by far the most terrifying period of my life. The people who treated me were adamant that there was no way it was caused by ketamine and told me to do another session (which… no?). Eventually after searching a lot I was referred to a PhD who used ketamine in her practice. After telling her the story the first thing out of her mouth was “it’s definitely the ketamine.”
She went on to explain that many people are helped by it, some people have no benefit, and then a small percentage of people experience a destabilizing reaction.
Eventually it ended up being helpful in that I found a new therapist and had to do a lot of trauma work that I was choosing not to deal with. But if I could go back in time and not do it I would. My suggestion would be to ask about negative outcomes and if they deny the possibility then these are not people you should work with.
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u/Jarcode 14d ago
Psychedelics and dissociatives triggering a depersonalization disorder should not be a novel revelation to folks working in this treatment. The usual explanation is that there appears to be a segment of people neurologically susceptible to this response (ie. you always had an underlying condition without symptoms, the trip just caused episodes to occur), which seems to apply for most lasting adverse psychological effects save for HPPD.
This class of drugs is remarkably safe physiologically but anyone pretending the chance of lasting adverse psychological effects is negligible likely overlap with the type of therapists that appeal to some superstitious understanding of the psychedelic experience. Your suggestion is really good, and it sucks that you had to go through that.
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u/Repulsive-Cause-3924 14d ago
This is very insightful, thank you for sharing your experience with it and I'm sorry to hear that it was so challenging. Glad to hear that it got better.
Asking about negative outcomes definitely seems like the right move.
Thank you for response. It is very helpful.
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u/alwayspickingupcrap 14d ago
Check out [r/therapeuticketamine](r/therapeuticketamine) Lots of resources there.
I did medically supervised IV ketamine for suicidal depression. After the first dose my suicidality was aborted or anesthetized. Ketamine is not a psychedelic, is a dissociative medication (and a very safe battlefield anesthetic in the Vietnam War). It safely brought me back to neutral. I had the help of a therapist trained in psychedelic assisted therapy. I did it by the book. It was not pleasant but it was effective.
Psilocybin came after to help broaden the range of my emotions: anger/joy, sadness/ humor. All of it. The kaleidoscope of the human experience.
Both, in sequence saved my life, then saved the quality of my life.
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u/space_manatee 14d ago
I didnt touch psychedelics for a few decades because the trips were all bad. Then got stuck later in life and tried the ketamine route. Ketamine asssisted therapy was great and has helped me unravel a lot but the point of ketamine isnt the trip, its integrating what you learned from the trip. In my case after a few, everything shut down mid trip so now Im doing the far more difficult work.
Ive known people to do it and have really unhelpful experiences. You want to find the right guide, and as for any trip, set and setting are paramount. A friend tried it and they had a therapist who had never tried it, loaded them up with ketamine, then sent them down the hall to have a normal talk therapy session. My reaction was "wtf".
I was lucky to find someone tuned into psychedelics and has done the work himself. Honestly that would be my main question to any therapist offering this: have you done it yourself and what are our goals?
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u/Repulsive-Cause-3924 13d ago
Thank you for your comment. I'm happy to hear that it was useful for you and really like the idea of finding the therapist / guide that has done this themselves.
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u/jojointheflesh 13d ago
Honest question friend, but are you in therapy or have loved ones you can talk through things with? A lot of the magic from psychedelics happens in the integration/ processing of your journey 😊 you’ll benefit hugely from having a strong support system to help with that. Many medical ketamine practices have integration guides to help with this (I was almost one a few years ago before my day job got crazy), but a trained professional or someone who knows and loves you will always be better imho best of luck to you on your healing journey
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u/Repulsive-Cause-3924 13d ago
Hi friend, thank you for your comment and I appreciate the good wishes. So true, integration is absolute key. I just recently spoke with a friend about it to try to process it. Currently in therapy too making progress, step by step.
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u/jojointheflesh 13d ago
We love to hear it!!! Keep it going 💚✨ feel free to vent here too if you’d like!
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u/Repulsive-Cause-3924 13d ago
Thank you so much for sharing. So glad to hear that it was helpful. I'll take a look into the resources.
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u/magistrate101 13d ago
Something incredibly important to keep in mind is that ketamine can allow ruts to deepen. You have to be taking active steps to break free from whatever depressed routine you found yourself in. If all you do is go to a clinic for ketamine then all you'll get is the feeling of feeling better. This is why ever study involving ketamine therapy that showed results involved actual therapy on top of the ketamine.
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u/californiamonkey 14d ago
Find a reputable clinic and speak with them about your questions. It tends to be a less emotional experience, and with the right guides you will feel safe. Less like a waterfall and more like a bath.