KidDoc said:
fightintxaggie10 said:
Dangerous to take recreationally?
Hell yes. Here are the listed adverse reactions via Epocrates:
Serious Reactions
- respiratory depression - no
- laryngospasm
- ICP incr. - yes
- IOP incr. - yes
- hypotension, severe - no
- bradycardia, severe - no
- arrhythmia
- emergence delirium
- tonic clonic movements
- anaphylaxis
- abuse
- dependency (prolonged high-dose use)
- withdrawal sx (long-term use)
- liver injury (repeat use)
- hydronephrosis (long-term use)
- hematuria (long-term use)
- hemorrhagic cystitis (long-term use)
- behavioral changes or cognitive deficits (>3h use in pts <3 yo)
- behavioral changes or cognitive deficits (repeat admin. in pts <3 yo)
Common Reactions
- sialorrhea - yes
- anorexia
- nausea
- vomiting - no
- BP elevated - yes
- HR elevated - yes
- diplopia
- nystagmus - yes
- lacrimation - yes
- fasciculations
- depressed reflexes
- emergence delirium
- bradycardia - no
- hypotension - no
- cystitis
There are much worse drugs of course but it isn't ibuprofen.
Not to go full nerd on you, but not all of those reactions are accurate. Ketamine doesn't cause respiratory depression unless you're giving an induction dose, which is virtually impossible with pills. Hypertension instead of hypotension. No mention of disturbing hallucinations which is the most common side effect.
Ketamine is a powerful analgesic that would be a preferred over opioids as an anesthetic drug if it weren't for the elevated BP, HR, hallucinations, and increased ICP. It's been used for in-situ accident site amputations for victims trapped by earthquake rubble (see Haiti) and is often used for brief painful procedures like burn debridements where a general anesthetic is undesirable. Just have to be careful to give an amnestic med like midazolam so that they don't remember the hallucinations.
Ketamine is to humans as PCP is to horses with a very similar potential for abuse. It's a dangerous drug.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full
Medical Disclaimer.