4 ms·

> Patients receive a low dose of the drug: about one-tenth of what recreational abusers of ketamine take or about one-fifth of what might be used as a general a

> Patients receive a low dose of the drug: about one-tenth of what recreational abusers of ketamine take or about one-fifth of what might be used as a general anesthetic. This strikes me as odd - shouldn't the recreational dose be well below the anesthetic dose? Even in the K-hole you'd like to retain some conciseness. The effects the patients describe are pretty much the recreational effects.

DanBC 11y ago
Recreational users build up tolerance.
baxter001 11y ago
Dosages don't always have a linear response, effects at standard doses aren't simply intensified by larger doses: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradoxical_reaction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradoxical_reaction And with ketamine as with other 'fun' sedatives such as ambien or quaaludes back in the day, one has to resist the urge to nod off for long enough for the fun to start.
- pantalaimon 11y ago
  I never had the urge to nod off with small doses of ketamine where I already felt some effects - it'd be a pretty bad anesthetic anyway if you could resist it by willpower alone.
o_____________o 11y ago
Intramuscular/V vs insufflation is another factor. The dive into the rabbit hole is more acute in the former, and most recreational users will be snorting it. I believe studies have only shown injections to give antidepressive effects.
- SnacksOnAPlane 11y ago
  Nope, taking it nasally also works for depression.
pierrec 11y ago
Because your citation does not refer to anesthetic use but to experimental treatment of depression/post-traumatic stress. While the other replies to your comment right now refer to real phenomenons, I don't think any of the effects suggested would be extreme enough to explain a higher average recreational dose than anesthetic dose.
drzaiusapelord 11y ago
>The effects the patients describe are pretty much the recreational effects. Except theyre not. Saying, "My ahedonia feels better today. I smiled at a baby on the street but am still otherwise a little melancholy," is a whole lot different than "Dude, I'm trippin' balls here!" This is like the difference between taking an opiate to stop pain and taking an opiate to get fucked up. They are not the same effects. How a drug interacts with a sick person is going to be different than a healthy person especially when the doses vary. As a depressive, I never understood how much fun my friends were having on drugs. The effect on drugs on me was always very watered down. I have an unhealthy brain and that means typical means to get high aren't available to me. /guy who has been on more anti-depressive treatments that he cares to admit
- SnacksOnAPlane 11y ago
  The immediate effects are actually the same as the recreational effects. But there's a "halo period" after the psychedelic effects wear off during which the world seems friendlier, safer, brighter. This can last weeks or even months.

DanBC 11y ago

Recreational users build up tolerance.

baxter001 11y ago

Dosages don't always have a linear response, effects at standard doses aren't simply intensified by larger doses: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradoxical_reaction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradoxical_reaction And with ketamine as with other 'fun' sedatives such as ambien or quaaludes back in the day, one has to resist the urge to nod off for long enough for the fun to start.

pantalaimon 11y ago
I never had the urge to nod off with small doses of ketamine where I already felt some effects - it'd be a pretty bad anesthetic anyway if you could resist it by willpower alone.

o_____________o 11y ago

Intramuscular/V vs insufflation is another factor. The dive into the rabbit hole is more acute in the former, and most recreational users will be snorting it. I believe studies have only shown injections to give antidepressive effects.

SnacksOnAPlane 11y ago
Nope, taking it nasally also works for depression.

pierrec 11y ago

Because your citation does not refer to anesthetic use but to experimental treatment of depression/post-traumatic stress. While the other replies to your comment right now refer to real phenomenons, I don't think any of the effects suggested would be extreme enough to explain a higher average recreational dose than anesthetic dose.

drzaiusapelord 11y ago

>The effects the patients describe are pretty much the recreational effects. Except theyre not. Saying, "My ahedonia feels better today. I smiled at a baby on the street but am still otherwise a little melancholy," is a whole lot different than "Dude, I'm trippin' balls here!" This is like the difference between taking an opiate to stop pain and taking an opiate to get fucked up. They are not the same effects. How a drug interacts with a sick person is going to be different than a healthy person especially when the doses vary. As a depressive, I never understood how much fun my friends were having on drugs. The effect on drugs on me was always very watered down. I have an unhealthy brain and that means typical means to get high aren't available to me. /guy who has been on more anti-depressive treatments that he cares to admit

SnacksOnAPlane 11y ago
The immediate effects are actually the same as the recreational effects. But there's a "halo period" after the psychedelic effects wear off during which the world seems friendlier, safer, brighter. This can last weeks or even months.