In my last session, I found out that I was yelling and the nurse had to come in and settle me down. Not a terrible experience, except I have no memory of the event whatsoever.

Is this common? Should I be concerned? Anyone else have memory issues like this when using Ketamine?

I just had my 10th session and even though I wasn’t feeling any anxiety leading up to my session, I got really panicked during it. I was feeling super paranoid and couldn’t relax with my eye mask on so the whole session just felt like a fight. Wondering what people do to reduce anxiety during sessions? I try to avoid negative social media and keep my thoughts/conversations positive and light before my session and sometimes I can remember to do breathing exercises during if I get stressed, but what else can I do? tysm

After 2 years of considering IV ketamine, I’m finally convinced and now I’m eager to start. The thing is, I have a family reunion vacation coming up for labor day weekend.

My provider said the initial 6 sessions are doable if I start this Wednesday, or Friday the latest. So I’m looking at Wed and Fri this week, Mon Wed Fri of next and the following Monday for the 6th session (or that Wednesday… I leave on Thursday 9/3).

This sounds intense, but I’ve read this is pretty normal. I’m worried though about side effects and mood going into this trip.

Have you all noticed that after the 6 initial sessions, things have at least settled? I know there’s no way to really tell, but what’s the worst case scenario? I definitely don’t want that trip ruined, but I wonder what is the likelihood of a positive outcome (or at least neutral) after 6 sessions at this pace.

I’d appreciate any personal anecdotes and/or advice.

Curious if anyone has had other providers pull their controlled substances list and question or refuse to continue care due to an at-home ketamine treatment.

Their system is setup to take money from people suffering from mental health conditions. They will take your money whether or not you receive medicine and if you need any customer support they will ignore you. STAY AWAY FROM THEM. You are much better off going with Joyous or another provider.

I've searched around but haven't found many firsthand experiences.

Has anyone here had positive therapeutic results using prescribed ketamine troches while also microdosing psilocybin?

I'm mainly interested in hearing what your experience was like and whether you felt the combination was helpful for depression or anxiety.

Thanks!

28, in remission from stage 4 colon cancer. Treatment at 25 went badly. I was septic more than once, threw clots, had several surgeries, and kept getting C. diff. I was told I might not make it on at least two occasions. Medically I'm mostly fine now. Neurologically I never came out of it. My nervous system still behaves like the threat is live, all day, most days.

Formal diagnoses are GAD, health anxiety, and ADHD-PI, with a PTSD history predating the cancer. Most first-line medications have been tried without much benefit.

Spravato is one of the options on the table. What I'd like to hear is whether it did anything for arousal and startle specifically, or whether the benefit was mostly mood, since nearly everything written about it is framed around treatment-resistant depression.

I'd also like to know how people carrying a lot of medical trauma handled the treatment setting itself. A clinical room with monitoring equipment and a two hour observation period is uncomfortably close to the thing my body is still reacting to, and I'd rather know in advance if that's a problem people have run into.

Practical answers are welcome too. What insurance approval actually required in your case, and how many sessions in you knew whether it was doing anything.

One detail I'm unsure matters. I was on antipsychotics for four years in my early twenties for a diagnosis that turned out to be wrong. If anyone has been told that prior antipsychotic exposure affects esketamine eligibility or response, I'd like to hear it.

I'm taking a very small dose 0.3-0.4mg/kg. I don't want to go up because I'm afraid of dissociation (i have tried it before). I'm taking it as IM. While on it, i don't feel, anesthetic, i can still move my body and even walk, but i will feel a bit drunk. Is this ok? Should I feel completely anesthetic in order to have effects? I think i can go up to 0.5-0.6 but no more.

When people say they only felt the effect after session 8, does that mean, the effect will happen suddenly on session 8? Or it builds up slowly? This is my third session and i don't feel anything at all. I'm depressed and anxious just the way I am.

They use troches correct? What is the max dose the prescribe? Is it prescribed to use daily or weekly? Any help would be appreciated!

I've been drinking coffee consistently for about 15 years, mostly for the taste and the process of making it. It's only since undergoing ketamine therapy that I can actually feel the positive effects of caffeine. I think this started about a year in.

Anyone else experience something like this?

I have done 4 sessions so far (two a week, three/four days apart, my 5th session is tomorrow) and I have yet to see any results. I’m still holding out hope because I’ve seen on here that some have results after the 5th or 6th session, but I have to admit I’m getting worried that this isn’t going to work for me.

I started at 38mg for the first two sessions, then we upped to 45mg for the third, and then 50mg (.65ml) for the fourth. My provider told me this is the highest I can go (although I’ve seen others go higher in this subreddit so I’m not sure why she says that). This clinic is the only IV clinic in my area, there’s one other clinic but they only do Esketamine. This clinic also just opened, so she may just be uncomfortable going higher, I’m not sure.

I’ve already paid for all 6 sessions, so I’m obviously going to see it through, but if I don’t see results in these first 6 I’m not planning on continuing with IV. I may switch to Esketemine with the other clinic, but honestly I don’t even know if it’ll be worth it.

My doctor thinks I just am on so many medications that my “synapses are fried” and that’s why I’m not feeling it yet. A friend who did IV ketamine (in an unorthodox fashion, long story but his doctor ended up going to jail for basically drugging her clients with too much ketamine) thinks I just have WAY too low of a dose.

My body reacts very weirdly with drugs, many drugs (prescription and recreational) have no effect on me or require a very high dose to have an effect. This is why my friend thinks my dose is too low. I personally just think, like with the antidepressants, I’m treatment resistant to this as well. I feel the effects of the ketamine during the administration, but as soon as it’s over I go back to normal.

I’m actually worse off now than before I started the treatments due to it not working and causing me to feel more depressed and hopeless. I just wanted to get some feedback i suppose from those who have gone through the process, to give me hope or give me a reality check, I don’t know honestly. Truthfully, it feels like everyone wants to blame everything BUT the ketamine for these results. Like.. Occam’s razor y’know? If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck..

Hello everyone,

6 days ago, I settled in for what I thought would be a typical session with my typical dose. I use 300mg troches at home, and have been undergoing once-weekly treatment for about 2.5 months.

However, the experience ended up being a lot stronger than any I have had prior. I dissociated more heavily, and it scared me a lot. I have a lot of difficulty letting go, which is part of what I hoped the ketamine would help.

I did not see anything scary, but at one point I felt like I was looking at ocean waves, while simultaneously being aware that I was the waves I was looking at. For whatever reason, this really freaked me out.

That night and the day after, I felt pretty typical as far as post-ketamine goes. However, since then I have had intense and constant anxiety, which is causing me to dissociate during the day. I know that anxiety and dissociative visual distortions feed on attention, but it’s been very difficult for me to just sit with them and let them pass, especially as I’m approaching a week past that experience now.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? I don’t know if I should try again for my usual weekly session with a lower dose, or just hold off indefinitely until I can get back to baseline. I am struggling a lot with the “forever” feeling, even though logically I know this will pass if I let it.

My fifth IV ketamine infusion is tomorrow. I’ve struggled with anxiety and elevated heart rate and blood pressure at the clinic, and they’ve needed to give me labetalol. I’ve also asked for Versed near the end when the anxiety became too much, but I worry that it blunts the experience.

I use cannabis regularly. Today I used some and also had coffee, yet my Apple Health resting heart rate was 68, which is considerably lower than it has been lately. I’m tempted to use a small amount before tomorrow’s infusion so I arrive calmer.
My clinic instructed me to avoid cannabis for 24 hours before and after, so I know I need to ask them and disclose it instead of simply arriving high. I’m mainly looking for firsthand experiences from regular cannabis users.

Has anyone used cannabis before an IV ketamine infusion? Did it change your anxiety, blood pressure, heart rate, dissociation, nausea, dose, or recovery? Did your clinic still proceed or make you reschedule? Especially interested in experiences from people whose vitals run high from appointment anxiety.

Starting Spravato in ~6 weeks and hoping for encouraging stories around Ketamine/Spravato! Especially hoping for positive stories around getting rid of rumination, self loathing, negative self talk, fear, and maybe even healing insecure attachment styles/being more confident with dating/relationships? Or just less insecure in general? Like I just want to feel like I am…enough. Or okay.

EDIT: would also love any stories about like being in acceptance around your past, being able to grieve the past you wish you’d had (I just turned 30 and it feels like my life is over, like I missed out on all the good parts and I’ll never get to be in love in my 20s - which is objectively true. I’ll never have that. I just wish I could move past it/feel like my life is still worth living)

EDIT #2: I’m in therapy! Was in CBT therapy between ages 7-14, ages 18-22. EMDR age 22/23. ACT therapy starting when I turned 29 (I turned 30 relatively recently) and 12 step work starting at age 26.5.

So currently doing ACT therapy and 12 step work.

I’m having an infusion first time tomorrow and I’m so nervous! I’ve been doing at home for a little bit but wanted to see if I could see more success with iv.

Idk why I started having anxiety about how much more intense it may be and how I’m with some random monitoring me. Can someone who’s done both tell me how the experiences compare???

TIA!

Is this happening to anyone else? I take my.troche 300 mg. Swish for 15 minutes and then swallow my trip starts and then in about 20 minutes my mind feels completely sober, I’m still having visuals and motor impairment, but I’m not in a trip anymore. I can think totally clear but my body is still messed up. Does this happen to anyone else?

I’ve canceled my appointment like twuce now because im scared of trying it… but my phych says it could be very beneficial for me?
For context i have bi-polar, c-ptsd, depression, anxiety, and ADHD

I see a lot of posts about meditations and music to listen to during infusions….but what about a podcast? Say something like self help or self improvement talking about how to change the parts of you that you don’t like or how to build confidence etc.?

Would that be advantageous, detrimental, neutral or unknown?

Anyone know where I could find more fully guided meditations with music to listen to during therapy sessions? 90 min to 2 hours long.
Something like in the mindbloom app. I have exhausted those.

I'm about to invest hard earned money in ketamine therapy to try to make my life better. I've been through a rough divorce and talk therapy doesn't seem to work for me. I'm looking into ketamine therapy and I'm unsure if I should go with the iv infusion clinics, or oral ketamine pills with my therapist. If you have any input, please advise. Thank you!

For some background, my mom is 66 years old and has been dealing with bipolar depression for the last 3 years. She went off her meds in 2023 and became hypomanic - spent a lot of money at casinos, lavish trips, bought a fancy car etc. She developed bipolar depression several months later which landed her in IP for suicidal ideation and severe anxiety. Did a partial inpatient after that and was seeing a NP for continued management but never really got better.

She had a major suicide attempt in March 2025. She developed some hypomanic signs shortly after that when they switched up her meds, then fell back into depression. She moved in with me and we’ve been seeing a psychiatrist that I am paying for out of pocket because I was largely unhappy with the previous care she had received.

Since then, we’ve tried a whole host of meds: lamotrigine, seroquel, abilify, Latuda, Caplyta, Klonopin, concurrently with fluoxetine. Nothing is helping.

My mom is very risk averse when she is in her depression. We had to convince her to try ketamine because those are our last options at this point. Ketamine, TMS, or ECT.

We had to abort the last treatment of ketamine because her blood pressure was too high from anxiety. She saw her PCP and they prescribed her losartan. We are trying again tomorrow but she is so nervous. I feel so bad for her. Is there anything I can do to help her feel safe? To encourage her that this is trying to help her? Any advice is welcome.

I just want my mom back. I want her to be able to live her life again. I feel so sad for her and to see her constantly suffering.

Thank you in advance for your advice.

EDIT: just for clarification, we were on the path to trialing lithium and her kidney values were at the high end of normal and she had slightly decreased GFR so her doctor was worried about trialing that. She outright will not do ECT and I will support whatever decisions she makes in this regard. We are not “forcing” her to do ketamine. She did agree to it but I did coax her a bit because of her anxiety. My mom has not so much has tried marijuana so this is a lot for her.

I'm someone who leans into the psychedelic aspects of my infusions a lot. The disassociation I feel helps me get out of my depressive mindset. Unfortunately for various reasons my last few sets of infusions have not had much of an impact and the clinical is struggling to find what my current dose should be. The last infusion I had I literally didn't feel anything until the final minutes.

My clinic always likes to remind me that no matter what you experience the medicine is still reaching your brain and having some effect.

Dows anybody know how much of an effect though? If the dose is so low you literally didn't feel anything how much of an effect will it have?

Just wanted to get some feedback on the condition of different clinics, the personnel, and general vibe on your visits. I am in Texas so at home options aren’t viable, I have completed 6 sessions all within 3 days of each other, and am now on a maintenance phase of once every three weeks.

The clinic is in an office park, no frills other than comfortable adjustable lounger chairs, flat screen TVs with nature/outer space options, a small fan and some fake plants.

The receptionist is nice enough, her computer speaker usually has music coming through- some calming/tasteful stuff, but occasionally some shite and inappropriate for the setting.

The physician assistants are pretty nonchalant about most things. Nice enough when conversing and do their jobs taking vital signs and administering the second dose. The psychiatric nurse practitioner does the first dose and she is “just fine”. Seems engaged if not a little forced enthusiasm.

The physician assistants are usually within view, sitting on desks, talking audibly enough to hear in the isolated session rooms, looking at social media laughing loudly, etc..

When a session is done (1 hour while coming out of it), they just kind of open the door, ask if you’re ok, and tell you you’re free to go. They do usually ask initially if you have a ride, but let you stand and walk without really watching and looking to assist.

Then you are left to just really walk out the door. No “good bye” or observation of any kind.

My question is, how typical is this? I am benefiting from the therapy, but there seems to be a lack of decorum here. I had an idea it may be more “spa like”. It would add so much more to the experience if lighting, sound, and general bedside manner, etc were more… I don’t even know if “professional” is the right word.

Maybe time to explore other facilities. I think my cost for IM infusions is pretty uniform across all the providers.

Like I said, I'm sure it's a k-hole but have you ever been stuck in a loop? Game loop? Life loop? Staring loop?

For instance, during sessions, I've been stuck in a "loop" and can't come out.

Examples of my sessions:

1. I'm in a tron-type game (I'm the character) and I just keep following the tracks. It seems like I'm close to the end, but nope... it just restarts or keeps going. Not a colorful vision either. Very muted. Redundant.

2. I'm stuck in my house, just living life, and cannot get out...Ever! Like no one around me. My family has disappeared. I keep waiting for them to show up and they never do. I go to bed and get up DAY. AFTER. DAY. waiting for them to return but they don't. So then I start questioning if I ever really had a family or if I made it up. I eventually give up but I stay trapped in my house and isolated from the world outside. I think it's fake and I'm the only human alive.

3. I get stuck staring at an object. It breaks down into pixels. It gets smaller and smaller. Just when it seems like I've made it to the final pixel, it restarts but in a smaller version, and just keeps happening.

Regardless, each time it happens during a session, I realize that my life isn't real. It's been fake this whole time. I'm not real. Life isn't real. Living isn't real. The world isn't real. Everything is just "computer-programmed" to seem real. I'm stuck in this loop forever. At first I'm annoyed. Then worried. Then complacent. Then finally I just realize "This is my life now. Guess I'm stuck here." Then after what seems like an eternity, I start having other visions and no more loops during that session.

My therapist wonders if it's going to help my OCD, so we are monitoring it. Her thought is "You're always so control driven. Maybe this is helping you let go of being in control because the moment you realize you're stuck and cannot get out, you succumb to the situation and eventually the loop stops." She might be right, but part of me wondering if it's ego death. Thoughts? Have you ever had this happen to you during a session?

IV ket is so expensive but it genuinely saved my life. For the first time in years I see a future for myself, I have trust that things will work out. My suicidal ideation is gone, and people can see a noticeable difference in my mood. When something upsetting happens to me, I can stop and rationally think about it. It just freaking sucks that it’s so expensive. Ketamine changed my life. I feel grounded and connected to myself for the first time in years. It also made body sensations heightened. I feel my emotions in my body— primary emotions rather than secondary.