Ketamine destroys hundreds of young lives each day. A party drug popular with under 25s, it is becoming an increasing issue that we see young people facing. Drug addiction spares no one, and it can consume anyone from any walk of life. Help Me Stop exists to support those suffering with drug addiction to find another path.
We will help you stop.
Some people can use drugs like ketamine recreationally, but those addicted to drugs can not. It is important to know that there is help and support available to you, and it is never too late to seek help for ketamine addiction.
Ketamine addiction is affecting an increasing number of people across the country. If you, a relative, a colleague or friend is taking ketamine, Help Me Stop’s intensive rehab for ketamine addiction can help. Get in touch to book an assessment for ketamine addiction treatment.
Ketamine is an illegal drug and its use is on the up. There are risks for both physical health and mental health in taking ketamine, including if you are mixing it with other substances, such as alcohol, or you are taking ketamine regularly or in high doses.
Ketamine is a psychologically addictive drug, and it is associated with a number of health problems including bladder and stomach problems, liver damage, cardiovascular issues, drug-related accidents and injuries, depression, anxiety, hallucinations, and more. As a ketamine addiction treatment service, we provide intensive rehab to an increasing number of ketamine users, typically whose use has spiralled out of control. There is hope and recovery is possible, with specialist ketamine addiction treatment.
If your physical health or mental health are suffering because of ketamine use, or you have a relative or close friend who needs ketamine addiction treatment, contact Help Me Stop in confidence. We have pioneered accessible face-to-face rehab and Online Rehab, to help you recover from harmful ketamine use. Our rehab programmes fit with everyday commitments, including work, study and parenting responsibilities. We offer the most affordable, intensive rehab in the country, so now many more people can access specialist rehab for ketamine.
For ketamine addiction treatment, please contact Help Me Stop, call 0208 191 9191, email enquiries@helpmestop.org.uk or message us on Live Chat.
About
Help Me Stop pioneered intensive, non-residential treatment for addiction in the UK. Known as Dayhab, our drug and alcohol rehab programme is similar in intensity and specialism to treatment in residential services, but delivered in the community. This means our addiction treatment programmes are a fraction of the cost or traditional residential care, delivered as daytime or evening programmes.
You stay at home, or a location of your choice, throughout your time in treatment with us. On weekdays, you come into one of our rehabs, or you join us online. You can work rehab around current life commitments and long-standing agreements.
Life beyond addiction is full of possibilities, and we aim to get you to see that before you are in too deep.
Ketamine Addiction and Ketamine Addiction Treatment
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ketamine addiction like?
Ketamine is an anaesthetic drug, which has licensed clinical uses in the field of medicine, and in veterinary medicine. However, ketamine is increasingly being used illegally for its mind-altering, sedative, pain-reducing, and hallucinogenic effects. Ketamine is a psychologically addictive drug, which people use to change their physical and mental state. Mainly, people use ketamine to induce a feeling of relaxation or detachment from reality, including to reduce or numb pain. There are many risks to health and wellbeing, however, include developing an addiction to ketamine.
Ketamine addiction develops when users find they crave the drug, and those cravings become harder to resist. Psychologically, they anticipate using ketamine, and then when they are using the drug, they find they are using more of it, or more often. It can become harder to get the desired effects, so users start to take more risks. Though ketamine use doesn’t lead to physical dependence or physical withdrawal symptoms, people who try to stop taking ketamine without help often find the psychological cravings to use are extremely strong or almost unbearable, causing mental distress and leading to further ketamine use. Additionally, when ketamine is used in combination with other drugs, including alcohol, the risks of addiction are magnified further.
At Help Me Stop, we are increasingly taking enquiries about ketamine addiction treatment from ketamine users and their loved ones. We know that it can be tough to seek out help with addiction. However, if you’re using ketamine and you can’t stop, or you know someone who is, then please contact us for support. Call 0208 191 9191, email enquiries@helpmestop.org.uk about affordable addiction treatment in our face-to-face rehabs or Online Rehab. We help adults, aged 18+, with ketamine problems to stop using, and stay stopped.
What is taking ketamine like?
Ketamine is an analgesic and anaesthetic drug. This means the major effect of ketamine is to alter or numb physical sensations in the body, including pain. Ketamine is commonly snorted and the effects can be felt within minutes. It also comes in liquid form and can be injected. Ketamine can be taken in tablet form too, or by wrapping ketamine powder up and swallowing it (known as bombing). If snorting the drug, the full effects of the dose are typically felt within 5 to 15 minutes. If consuming the drug orally, it can take up to 30 minutes to feel the effects.
Ketamine users report a wide variety of effects, including:
- Temporary relaxation or detachment
- A dreamlike state
- Less sensitivity to pain
- Changes to motor function, from less ability to move, to being unable to move at all
- Sensory impairment
- Slurred speech
- Changes to the way they perceive time
- Seeing or hearing things that aren’t there – mild to vivid hallucinations
- Memory impairment or loss
- Increased heart rate and/or blood pressure
- Anxiety or panic
Many regular users know what it’s like to go into what is known as a k-hole. Everyone’s experience is different, but for many, a k-hole is a very frightening dissociative state, where people can lose their motor function, or even be completely physically unresponsive, whilst having alarming hallucinations, mental distress, or even out of body experiences. This can cause serious and long-term damage to both physical health and mental health.
Coming down from ketamine can be difficult to handle, with users reporting mild to severe withdrawal symptoms. Psychologically, people can feel anxious or depressed, and physically many report headaches, sleep disruption, aches and pains. As the body returns to its normal state, it can feel like everyday life is colourless or boring. This can perpetuate a vicious cycle of using ketamine again, to feel better.
Our rehab in London and our Online Rehab are staffed by specialist addiction therapists with multi-disciplinary skills in the field of addiction treatment. We know that accessing ketamine addiction treatment has traditionally been hard, with many people priced out of residential rehab, or unable to attend due to work or family commitments. This is why we founded Help Me Stop. Our rehabs are the most affordable, intensive treatment for drugs and alcohol in the UK. We have created our programmes to fit around you and your life, not the other way round.
How does ketamine addiction develop and what are the signs of dependence?
Ketamine addiction can develop quickly, or it can progress over many years of use. Typically, people first experiment with ketamine seeking the altered mental and physical states it brings about. For some, they try ketamine and don’t like it, including having bad experiences that put them off. For others, their use of ketamine is occasional, and does not progress. However, an increasing and large number of people are taking ketamine more regularly, with many seeking urgent advice about the negative impacts of ketamine. They are experiencing unpleasant side effects and consequences, including with their health, relationships, work, finances, and more.
Whilst not everyone will develop an addiction to ketamine, for those who find their usage becoming harmful and unmanageable, it is an overwhelming experience. Initially, people with ketamine addiction can be in denial about the problems it is causing in their life. They may try to convince themselves that they are still in control of how much ketamine they use and when, but there are telling signs that occasional usage is progressing into ketamine addiction.
Ketamine is often used as a social or recreational drug, but more users are reporting that they are taking the drug on their own. Using ketamine more frequently alone, hiding or hoarding the drug amongst friends to ensure your supply, thinking about or using ketamine more often, or taking more risks to get and use ketamine, are all signs that dependence is setting in. Further indications that your ketamine use is progressing to an addiction include: taking time off work to recover from ketamine binges; lying to friends and family; struggling more with a ketamine comedown; experiencing health problems including stomach cramps, bladder issues or liver problems; and feeling increasingly depressed and anxious when not taking ketamine. Put simply, if you’re obsessing about using ketamine, and then when you get it, you can’t or don’t want to stop, then it’s time to get help.
At Help Me Stop, we provide affordable drug rehab and alcohol rehab. Most of the team here are in long-term recovery from addiction. We offer a non-judgmental, supportive environment, to recover from ketamine addiction. Drugs like ketamine can take over people’s lives, doing great harm and even causing injury, illness or death. Addiction treatment at Help Me Stop can help stop ketamine in its tracks. We offer really flexible rehab programmes, which fit with your work, study, or family commitments. Our programme centres around integrative psychotherapy, blending all of the evidence-based therapies for addiction, including the 12-step approach to addiction treatment, person-centred counselling, CBT, psychodynamic counselling, trauma-informed therapy, family therapy, recovery workshops, and more.
How does ketamine use affect people’s lives?
As ketamine use becomes more frequent, and people take higher doses of the drug, ketamine can have major effects on people’s lives, and on their family, friends and colleagues around them.
As the psychological dependence sets in, the cravings to take ketamine can increase, and people can find themselves dropping or messing up important commitments. Even occasional use can have consequences, such as missed work days or appointments, or not being available to a partner or dependent child.
Frequent ketamine users will experience increasing problems. This might be lost jobs or missed opportunities, as well as financial difficulties from ketamine use and the associated lifestyle. Relationships can suffer greatly, or break down entirely, as loved ones feel fear or frustration at the damage being caused.
With any addiction, it’s important not to wait to get help. As ketamine addiction progresses, ketamine affects more, it impacts on your mental health, physical health, finances, family and friends will mount up. If you recognise this situation in yourself or a loved one, then contact us about affordable rehab in London or online. We provide highly effective and evidence-based treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. Whatever you are using, whether it’s only been months or many decades, we can help you to break the cycle of addiction. Our rehab programmes offer you the chance to understand the nature of your addiction, and to develop strategies that prevent relapse and build your recovery.
What are the major health issues associated with ketamine addiction and use?
Though licensed for use in clinical settings, ketamine is not supposed to be used recreationally, and is illegal to supply or possess. It is a dangerous drug, both mentally and physically.
In terms of health risks, in the short term ketamine can increase heart rate and blood pressure. It can impair physical sensations, motor control, and numb pain, which affects your ability to sense pain whilst high. This puts you more at risk of injuries and accidents, as well as unacceptable or illegal behaviour from other people towards you. Ketamine also can bring about mental confusion, dissociative states, hallucinations, agitation, impaired reasoning, memory problems, and more.
Used over a period of time, ketamine is associated with urinary tract issues, including health problems with the bladder and kidneys. Ketamine abuse can lead to problems with urination, including an inability to control when you pass urine, pain, and even passing blood when urinating. In extreme cases, people will need surgery for bladder damage. Many ketamine users also report stomach pains or cramps. As with most drugs that are abused, the liver can be damaged over time, as it tries to remove toxic chemicals from the body. Mentally, people can feel agitated or anxious when taking it, but also low or anxious when coming down. As dependence sets in, people feel increasingly unable to cope with everyday life, and as such, the cravings increase to use more ketamine to relieve pain and distress.
At the most serious end, ketamine use can be fatal. Taking doses of ketamine that are too much for your system is very dangerous. Ketamine overdose can render people unable to move, extremely psychologically distressed, or even unconscious. As a result, people can experience breathing problems and even die as a result of vital systems being damaged or shutting down.
If you’re mixing ketamine with other drugs including alcohol or cocaine, all of these risks increase. For people with pre-existing health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, depression or anxiety, there are additional risks and potential complications too. Don’t try to hide ketamine addiction. Speak to us in confidence, or at the very least, tell your GP what is really going on. It’s vital to get specialist help as soon as you can.
As ketamine is often used socially or at parties, it is often used with alcohol and other drugs such as cannabis or cocaine. Mixing substances in this way adds to the health risks. Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance in the country, and mixing alcohol with ketamine leads to even more intoxicating effects. Both ketamine and alcohol impair judgement, memory formation, physical coordination, and sensory perception, so using them together will exacerbate those effects. It also places much more strain on bodily systems and organs.
If you snort ketamine, you risk damaging your nose over time. Nasal septum perforation is a risk, and if you don’t stop, nasal collapse. There can also be unpleasant side effects after snorting ketamine, including a runny nose, constant sniffing, and sinus problems. Regular users often report that their sense of smell has diminished significantly too.
Ketamine is also extremely harmful if used in pregnancy. Please seek out help urgently if you are pregnant and taking ketamine. There is serious risk of harm to you and to your baby, including birth defects, miscarriage or stillbirth.
If you have developed health problems associated with ketamine use, don’t delay getting ketamine addiction treatment. Help Me Stop provides a confidential and non-judgmental rehab programme for ketamine addiction, including if you take other drugs or drink alcohol. Our Dayhab in London, and our Online Rehab provide an intensive, accessible package of care, which you can fit with your work and personal commitments. Following your assessment for us, typically our clients start treatment within 24-72 hours, so it’s fast access for all those who want that. We are ready to help you stop taking ketamine, and stay stopped. It’s understandable to feel some fear about getting started, but if your mental health or physical health is suffering, that’s a clear sign you need to get help with ketamine.
Contact Help Me Stop, call 0208 191 9191, email enquiries@helpmestop.org.uk or message us on Live Chat, to book your no-obligation treatment assessment.
What are the risks of injecting ketamine?
Injecting ketamine is not as common as snorting ketamine, but for those who do inject, there are further risks to consider.
Injecting any drug, including ketamine, shares most of the health risks associated with injecting heroin or cocaine. There is an increased risk of overdose, infection, and death. Ketamine, when dissolved in water, can be injected into the muscle or a vein. If the injection is done with an unclean or shared needle, there are added health risks of blood-borne diseases, including the transmission of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.
Ketamine addiction treatment is the most effective way to prevent further health risks from ketamine use. At Help Me Stop, we treat clients in our London rehab, and in our Online Rehab. Our programmes are a fraction of the price of residential rehab. Contact us today to discuss our treatment options.
Are there mental health risks from ketamine use and addiction?
With any regular drug use, there are impacts and risks for mental health. Heavy or prolonged use of ketamine can make existing mental health illnesses like depression and anxiety worse, or it can be a factor in developing those conditions. Many ketamine users experience highs and lows around using ketamine, experiencing strong cravings to use, and then mood swings when coming down and in between using. Put simply, the more people turn to ketamine to alter their mood, the more risks there are for their mental health.
As dependence on ketamine develops, there are usually a number of impacts of mental health and wellbeing. Increasingly, it can seem that ordinary life is dull or painful, and that the answer to that is to use ketamine, to relieve that discomfort or pain. This only compounds an associated issue is isolation. As ketamine use progresses, people can become less connected to family and friends, spending more time disengaged from authentic social contact, or even completely alone. This withdrawal from socialetamine addiction, with users seeking out more ketamine, and larger quantities, to achieve the desired effect.
Ketamine is also known to have short-term and longer-term impacts on memory. Whilst using ketamine, memory formation is impaired, and long term use can affect many cognitive functions in the brain including memory. This damage to the brain can also impact on a person’s wellbeing and overall quality of life, as vital brain processes are affected.
At Help Me Stop, we provide intensive ketamine addiction treatment to adults, aged 18 and above. Our non-residential rehab programmes, face-to-face in London and in our Online Rehab, are the most affordable, intensive treatment in the UK. Get in touch with us today for a confidential chat about treatment for ketamine.
Can you overdose on ketamine?
Yes. Ketamine overdose is possible, as it’s an anaesthetic that affects the mind and body.
Falling into a k-hole is caused by taking a dose of ketamine that is too high. This can have a number of effects, including losing control over your body or even being rendered immobile. You may also experience hallucinations, including feeling like your mind and body have completely separated. You may be unaware that you have taken ketamine, trapped in an altered state that you cannot comprehend.
Too high a dose of ketamine can induce a coma. If you become unconscious, then there are many associated risks for your health and safety. If you vomit whilst unconscious, for example, this can be a risk to your life. Combining alcohol and ketamine increases the toxicity in the body, including risks for your cardiovascular and respiratory function. You are also at greater risk of accidents, injuries or opportunistic crime, if you take ketamine. At the most severe end of the scale, ketamine overdose can be fatal.
There is no set amount of ketamine that will cause an overdose: many factors contribute to how toxic ketamine is in your body, including how much you are using, whether you are mixing ketamine with alcohol and other drugs, your body weight, and general state of health.
You can also find out here about the effects and risks of taking ketamine and cocaine together. Sometimes called Calvin Klein, CK1 or CK Blend, the combination of ketamine (a tranquiliser) and cocaine (a stimulant) is a potent and highly toxic mix. The cocaine stimulates dopamine production and speeds up brain and central nervous system functions, whereas ketamine stimulates glutamate and dopamine secretions, producing anaesthetic effects that slow down the brain and body.
Ketamine overdose symptoms include:
- Going in and out of consciousness
- Being completely unresponsive
- Changes to breathing, including stopping breathing for periods of time
- A drop in heart rate and blood pressure, or high heart rate and blood pressure
- Chest pain
- Seizures
- Feeling very sick or being sick
In most cases, if you’re in this situation, your ability to help yourself will be impaired. If you witness someone else in this situation, it’s vital to get emergency medical help straight away, by calling 999.
What is involved in ketamine addiction treatment at Help Me Stop?
The first step of the process is to get in touch with us. You’ll be put through to one of our experienced addiction treatment assessors, who will listen to what’s going on for you, and guide you through the process. We offer a free, no-obligation assessment, which takes about an hour and is completely confidential.
Once we understand your situation, we can recommend a tailored ketamine addiction treatment plan for you. If you’re drinking alcohol as well as taking ketamine, we’ll need to assess your drinking too, including if you require a physical alcohol detox before starting rehab. If you’re taking drugs including opioids or opiates, we’ll also assess for drug detox. If you’re using ketamine and other drugs like cannabis, powder cocaine or MDMA, which aren’t physically addictive, then you probably won’t need a detox before your rehab programme starts. Either way, we can plan the whole process on your behalf, including advising you of the costs.
At Help Me Stop, we offer a four week face-to-face rehab programme in London. We also have a six week Online Rehab, which works very well for people with full-time jobs and family commitments. We also offer detox and rehab packages. Once you’ve completed your intensive rehab programme with us, you also qualify for a further 12 weeks of aftercare (a weekly group therapy session).
All our intensive ketamine addiction treatment programmes require part-time commitment, Monday to Friday. The treatment hours in our face-to-face rehab are higher (5 hours per day), compared to our Online Rehab (2.25 hours per day). Both programmes are equally effective. We assess carefully your suitability for face-to-face or online treatment, and always recommend the programme that gives you the best chance of success in your circumstances.
In terms of the programme, it’s based around integrative psychotherapy, which means we use a mixture of evidence-based therapies to treat ketamine addiction. These include the 12-step approach to addiction treatment, person-centred therapy, CBT, psychodynamic therapy, family therapy, art therapy, mindfulness, recovery workshops, and more. We also recommend that our clients attend peer support meetings, such as Narcotics Anonymous.
What is Dayhab treatment for addiction?
Help Me Stop pioneered the Dayhab model of treatment in the UK, but it isn’t new. Almost half of all addiction treatment in the United States is delivered in this way, as an Intensive Outpatient Programme (IOP). This means you get the same intensity of specialist treatment that you find in good quality residential rehabs, but at a much more affordable rate. Dayhab is non-residential, so you live at home or a safe location of your choice throughout your treatment period. As there are no costs for overnight accommodation, night staff, or in-house catering, treatment is available for a fraction of the cost of residential care.
The Help Me Stop Dayhab model matches or exceeds the success rate of in-patient programmes. It also opens up the doors of rehab to many people who cannot access traditional rehab, due to parenting or work responsibilities. We have an online drug and alcohol treatment programme which is ideal for people who cannot travel to one of our centres. We also have face-to-face rehab in London for people who prefer treatment in person.
We mainly work with people who need help with addiction to alcohol, and drugs including ketamine, cocaine, cannabis, MDMA, and prescription drugs. We are the most accesible intensive rehab in the UK, open and transparent about our pricing and our results. You can read recovery stories here and here. You can also find out more about our treatment success data here.
How much does ketamine addiction treatment cost?
We’ve innovated at Help Me Stop to offer evidence-based and specialist addiction treatment at the most affordable price. Click for our prices for face-to-face rehab, Online Rehab, or our detox and rehab costs.
As a comparison, the most affordable 28-day programmes in the UK that offer the quality of care you need are between £8-10K for 4 weeks. Our 4 and 6-week rehab programmes start at a quarter of this cost. It’s the same price that you’d expect to pay for a family holiday, and the investment in your future health and wellbeing is immeasurable.
To talk in detail about our programme, the process of starting treatment, and our costs, please contact us.
To speak in confidence about ketamine addiction treatment for yourself or a loved one, call 0208 191 9191, email enquiries@helpmestop.org.uk or message us on Live Chat.
Suggested reads:
How Do I Assess My Alcohol or Drug Use?
Toulou’s Treatment for Ketamine Addiction
Ketamine: How to Help a Loved One Quit This Dangerous Drug
Free Drug Use Severity Questionnaire to Self-Assess Your Ketamine Use
The Dangers of Calvin Klein, CK1 or CK Blend: a Ketamine and Cocaine Time Bomb
