Effects

At low doses, K is a mild if weird stimulant. At medium to high doses, it becomes a very powerful paralyzing psychedelic. Its effects are like a combination of cocaine, cannabis, opium, nitrous oxide, and alcohol.

When Ketamine separates or dissociates the mind from the body, the brain is freed from the usual business of reacting to sensations from the body. Perception increases to fill the gap vacated by the senses and gives rise to Ketamine's more mind-expanding effects.

onset

The K effect is very rapid. In 10-20 minutes you may find yourself hardly able to move and, at higher doses, even approaching out-of-body and near-death experiences.

peak

At the height of the experience, you may experience dazzling insights, hallucinate and even feel yourself communicating with forces, entities and elements you were never conscious of before.

Users often fall into a deep trance state. Their eyes may move sightlessly from side and side, and their bodies may assume bizarre postures.

Try to tell someone about it and you're likely to mumble monosyllabic and nonsensical inanities.

Some people find it a life-changing and even spiritual experience. Others find it a lonely and unemotional experience. Whatever you make of it - it's intense.

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comedown

Usually, a Ketamine trip only lasts between 45 and 90 minutes, regardless of dosage. The experience can be much shorter if you have high tolerance.

The effects wear off very rapidly

after effects

If you've ever had an operation under anesthetic, you'll recognize that lousy post-operative feeling after a strong Ketamine trip. There are few other after-effects other than this general drowsiness.

You might feel wiped out, a bit achy, and not ready for anything too loud or too complicated. Sometimes you may feel rather disorientated or even a bit shell-shocked, as Ketamine is a very extreme experience at higher doses. Many people feel energized after a Ketamine experience and have a strong urge to move around, dance or stretch.

Long term, some users can be so overcome by what they regard as the superior reality of Ketamine-land that they can retreat from the real world into the K-world. See Tales From The K-Hole.

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setting

At high doses, external stimuli like loud music or TV are not particularly satisfying, nor conducive to a good trip , because Ketamine's effect is essentially an internal and introspective experience.

This is not the case at low level doses, when it acts more like a stimulant.

in the brain

Ketamine's effects on the brain are well documented. It mainly binds to and blocks glutamate receptors (also as N-P receptors) all over the brain. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter. It turns on cell activity and is part of the computer-like on / off mechanism that underlies brain activity.

Ketamine blocks glutamate activity, giving rise to either entire cell bank shutdown in some brain areas or changes in the way cell clusters integrate or interpret incoming data in others. Overall, the result is the much famed K-Hole effect: certain brain parts go into temporary hibernation, mainly the senses and physical sensations, while others - imagination, and other unnamed perceptions from the depths of the mind - are amplified.(1)