Ketamine and Nausea: What Users Say

• Lin...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 5, 2022

For Depression "I tried a ketamine infusion with a nurse practitioner supervising and a very kind therapist who did a pre-session with me, focusing on three words: courage, confidence (I think), and another word. It felt like I was sinking downwards in a pool, seeing blurry figures up top. Then I kept moving backward into my own mind until I was forced into a corner with less than three dimensions. I felt fuzzy and was no longer even a person. I'm not sure what I was. It was the MOST TERRIFYING and terrible experience of my life. I went in for treatment to help PTSD and now have PTSD from this treatment. I feel nauseated, especially when I think of the images I saw in treatment. It was hell. It was disassociative and destructive. Never again. I am a redhead, and most meds don't work on me. This one unhinged me. I am still freaking out about it. We recorded our session, and I somehow was able to talk, and I could hear my own voice saying 'scared' in a distorted way. Did not work for me."

• Not...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 19, 2019

Ketamine for Anesthesia "I was given Ketamine in the ER. I was extremely nervous, but the doctor assured me it was a low dose and that I would be fine, so I agreed to try it. It did relieve my pain for about an hour. It made me feel strange, but the worst started later that night. I got extremely vivid, frightening dreams of my family being assaulted, my house burning down, and several other of my worst fears. For about 48 hours after taking this med, I felt very nauseous and deathly exhausted, as if I had been drugged. The next day, I napped on and off all day, I could not stay awake, and every time I fell back asleep, the horrifying dreams came again, and then again the next night, although to a somewhat lesser extent. By the third night after, the distressing nightmares were gone for the most part and the sick feeling subsided, I assume the drug had cleared out of my system by then. It was not worth it for me, and I highly doubt that I would take Ketamine again."

• Cam...
• May 17, 2020

For Pain "Ketamine has been a game changer for me. I take the pill powder form, and it has helped with my nerve pain greatly. It was a long process getting to the right dose. You have to go slow to see how you tolerate it, but when you get there, it's amazing. It has also made my whole life better; it's made me happier and helped my depression as well. A very happy surprise. It has worked better than any medicine that I have tried so far from my psychiatrist. All this being said, I really don't think it is for everyone; it is trial and error, and it's if your body and if your mind can take it. But if it can, it is an amazing drug. There is no withdrawal. You can skip days without jonesing for it like all the different opioids out there. I had some major surgeries and was on opioids and needed them for the pain but hated being on them, and then one of the surgeons messed up, and now I have severe nerve pain, likely for the rest of my life, and opioids worked, but I did not want to take them."

• Cou...
• August 31, 2019

For Anesthesia "I was given this for an EGD. I was hallucinating, felt weighed down like I was in cement, couldn't move my limbs, couldn't talk, very nauseous. Horrible experience, it lasted for almost an hour. It was the next day before I really felt over it. Never again!!!!!"

• Obs...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 10, 2022

For Depression "I have been using ketamine sublingual troches, at-home treatments for a few months now, and have seen really positive results with minimal side effects once the treatment time is over. I am on 200 mg and currently am prescribed to take it every 3 days due to anxiety, but know it’s weekly for depression. My depressed mood was immediately noticeably better with treatment, and my anxiety has been improving over time. I take mine with Zofran because I’m prone to nausea, and this form of ketamine can often cause nausea, and I’ve thus not had issues getting sick to my stomach. During treatment, I feel very sedated, and afterwards cannot go back to normal functioning until several hours later. Ketamine has reduced my appetite, and I subsequently have been slowly losing weight. It’s easy to take in sublingual form."

• Joa...
• October 27, 2019

"After spending thousands on therapy and meds in attempts to function with my debilitating Complex PTSD, the doctor recommended the standard 6 treatments but said some of her patients only need 4, and we would know by 4 if I was responding. I did mine very close together, within a week, and it changed my life. I stopped having nightmares, fatigue, disassociation. I was able to retain new information again and be more productive at work and school. I got a booster at 3 months (which we expected since I didn’t need all 6 initially), and she feels I may not need another for 6 months because I’ve responded so well. I don’t love the trip during the infusion as I tend to get a little motion sick, but she administers zofran before starting the ketamine. I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but literally nothing else worked for me, so I’m glad I found what did. If I had stopped after 1 or 2, I would not think it had worked. For me, stopping after 1 or 2 would have been a waste of money."

• Lau...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 20, 2022

For Depression "I started with 6 sessions of intramuscular ketamine. The first two sessions I felt absolutely awful but thankfully decided to persevere. 3rd and 4th sessions were okay. 5th and 6th sessions I experienced a lift and could finally get out of bed and had the will to do things again. I found myself taking a walk to the beach with my camera, easily doing chores around the house. I started substitute teaching as I had quit my job because my depression was so debilitating. I am on maintenance therapy now, so will go for my 9th infusion two weeks apart. I do feel it starts to wear off after ten days, but it’s put me on an upward trajectory and taken me out of a very dark space. It definitely works. How my maintenance plan is going to continue, I am unsure of, but for now, it gave me the relief I so desperately needed."

• Ste...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 25, 2021

For Anesthesia "I dislocated my elbow playing football. They needed to put me to sleep in order to relocate it. I was familiar with general anesthesia, having had my wisdom tooth removal not too long before, so I wasn't scared or nervous too much. But this drug, ketamine, holy moly, it was possibly worse than the pain I experienced from the dislocation itself. After being administered the drug, I remember thinking to myself I had actually died, and what I saw is pretty hard to explain, but I was floating away from my consciousness, with both my mom and dad looking over my body. After that, I kept coming in and out of consciousness. It looked as if I was flying through neurons in my brain, zooming closer, further, and all around them. That wasn't even the worst part about that drug, when I finally woke up, I had the worst vertigo ever. Anytime I would move my head a little bit to the left or right, I would feel nauseous and throw up. Worst nightmare of my life, would not recommend."

• Man...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 14, 2022

For Depression "After years of antidepressants and an anxiety/PTSD diagnosis, I read about ketamine treatment and was excited about the reviews. I did my first session at home, through an online agency that had sent it in the mail, and did some coaching beforehand. For me, the experience was not pleasant. I was crying for the first half and feeling anxious the whole time. I remember looking at the clock, hoping the hour would be over soon. Afterwards, I journaled my experiences as I was told to do. But it was a lot of negativity and sadness. Afterwards, I felt very out of it and crappy all day, including nausea at night. Since then, I’ve been really agitated and lashing out at others. I hope that I feel better soon."

• IV...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 24, 2024

For Pain "Today I had my 3rd IV session of ketamine for my chronic pain. I’ve been in severe pain for over 12 years and have CRPS, fibromyalgia, CFS, occipital neuralgia, etc. I’ve been on a pretty heavy dose of opioids for 9 years, and though I hate the side effects, they’re the only reliable, consistent relief for my pain. I would love to go off them if I found something else that truly helps my pain. So, I’m trying ketamine IV therapy. After the 2nd session, I had a more positive outlook on my life. After the 3rd one today, which was a higher dosage of 0.4, I actually feel pain relief! But I was so high, I couldn’t think. The nurse asked questions, and I didn’t understand what she was saying. Also, when they disconnected me, I was very dizzy and a bit nauseous. I’m worried about increasing the dose next session. I’ll ask to do another 0.4 dose before going up to 0.5. I want to go slow. Overall, it’s been a positive experience. I finally have hope."

• syd...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 27, 2022

For Anesthesia "I was given ketamine in conjunction with a spinal block for knee replacement surgery. I did have the experience of 'waking.' I could hear the muffled sounds of the doctors and equipment and experienced very vivid colors and images. I did not, however, feel panicked or feel any physical sensation or pain and simply decided to remove the finger monitor to let them know! I think because I had discussed this possibility with the anesthetist beforehand, I felt very comfortable with the event and therefore did not have an adverse reaction. I was back to unawareness soon enough and woke in a much better state than I had with any of my previous surgeries, of which there are a few: no confusion, no nausea, and no shivering. My experience was good, and I would definitely use this option in the future if it were available."

• Gal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 29, 2022

For Anesthesia "I had a gallbladder attack that had me stuck in hot showers for most of 15 hours in an attempt to manage the nausea that started and would intensify from multiple abdominal cramps and would go from 4-9 of pain consistently without stopping over a week without help. At the ER, 2 doses of morphine, 2 doses of ketamine, many different nausea meds. Surgery 15 hours after admitting for GB removal. No problem staying under. Woke from surgery and tried to fight the medical staff as I tried to get up, 75% blind. They were trying to settle me when I asked why do I feel like I’m tripping. Anesthesiologist across the room calmly tells me he gave me ketamine. That calmed me for some reason. After the initial 5-6 hours of post-op pain, I rode a 14-day wave of euphoria and mostly neutral accounting of my issues dampening my self-esteem. Now writing a book I started during it, also had 2-72 hour creative insomnia episodes, 3rd: 49-hour CIE concluding it all. I miss that positivity high but not the tweaky amping up."