Ketamine withdrawal symptoms | what to expect

Ketamine withdrawal symptoms can appear once your brain has got used to regular use. Stopping can then bring on days or weeks of feeling flat and restless, with a strong urge to use again. The physical side tends to ease first. The psychological side, and the urge to go back to ketamine, usually takes longest.

Ketamine works by blocking signals in your brain that affect how you feel, think and perceive the world around you. If you use it regularly, your brain adjusts to that interference and starts to treat it as normal. When you stop, your brain needs time to readjust, and withdrawal symptoms are what you feel while it does. There is also a psychological side. Ketamine may have been your way of getting away from stress, difficult feelings or racing thoughts. Once the drug is gone, those tend to come back, often all at once.

If you are not sure whether what you are going through is withdrawal, call us on +27 21 541 0643 and we can talk it through.

Withdrawal symptoms from ketamine vary from one person to the next, depending on how much you used, how often and for how long. They usually start within the first few days after your last dose. Most ketamine withdrawal symptoms are psychological, but there are physical ones too. Bladder problems are a separate issue, because they can carry on after the other symptoms have eased.

Ketamine withdrawal symptoms

Withdrawal symptoms from ketamine vary from one person to the next, depending on how much you used, how often and for how long. They usually start within the first few days after your last dose. Most ketamine withdrawal symptoms are psychological, but there are physical ones too. Bladder problems are a separate issue, because they can carry on after the other symptoms have eased.

Physical symptoms of ketamine withdrawal

The physical symptoms of ketamine withdrawal can make the first few days hard going, especially when you are also sleeping badly. They can include:

• tiredness and low energy
• headaches and dizziness
• sweating, chills or hot flushes
• shaking or trembling
• nausea and a reduced appetite
• a racing heart

Most of these ease as your body gets used to being without ketamine. Tiredness can take longer to settle than the rest.

Psychological symptoms of ketamine withdrawal

The psychological withdrawal symptoms of ketamine tend to be the hardest to deal with and to last the longest. They can include:

• strong cravings and a constant urge to use again
• anxiety, restlessness or panic attacks
• irritability and mood swings
• low mood or a sense of hopelessness
• emotional flatness, where nothing seems to matter much
• feeling detached from yourself or your surroundings

That last symptom can be unsettling, because it resembles the effect of ketamine itself. It tends to fade as your brain recovers. If it lasts for weeks, it is worth having it properly assessed.

Bladder pain after stopping ketamine

Regular use can damage the lining of your bladder, one of the best-known harms of long-term ketamine use. This can cause pain, a frequent and urgent need to urinate and sometimes blood in your urine. Ketamine also dulls pain, so you may notice these problems more clearly in the first few days after you stop. Stopping gives your bladder the chance to recover, although this takes time and severe damage can be permanent. Physical problems alongside an addiction are known as comorbidity. Our team is experienced in dealing with these problems during your stay, so they need not stand in the way of your treatment.

The effects of ketamine withdrawal often show most clearly in your daily routine. Sleep can be hard to come by in the first few days, and when it does come, vivid or disturbing dreams are common. Your memory and concentration may feel foggy, which can make work, study or even a simple conversation harder than usual. Your mood can also change quickly over the course of a day, and the people around you may notice this before you do.  Because they affect so much of your day, they can lead you back to ketamine.

How long ketamine withdrawal lasts depends on how much and how often you used, and on whether you combined ketamine with other substances. Your own withdrawal may be shorter or longer than the timeline below. Even so, it usually follows a similar pattern.

The first few days

In the first few days after your last dose, cravings and a dip in mood are often the first ketamine withdrawal symptoms to appear. You may feel tired and restless at the same time, and sleep may not come easily. Physical complaints such as headaches, sweating or nausea tend to be strongest in this period. If you have bladder problems, they may feel worse at this stage too.

The weeks that follow

Over the following weeks, the physical symptoms gradually ease and your sleep starts to recover. Cravings often come in waves rather than staying constant, with calmer days in between. Your concentration and memory usually return more slowly than your energy. This is also when the risk of using again is often highest, because you are starting to feel better but the cravings have not yet gone.

Ketamine withdrawal symptoms that last longer

Low mood, anxiety and occasional cravings can last for weeks or even months after long-term heavy use. Situations, places and people you associate with ketamine can bring the urge back long after the physical symptoms have gone. This longer phase is less about your body and more about what ketamine was doing for you. That is the part treatment focuses on.

Several things can make ketamine withdrawal harder or longer. Daily use, high doses and years of use usually lead to stronger symptoms than occasional use at weekends. If you also used cocaine or other drugs, withdrawal from those can overlap and make the first few weeks more complicated. If you also drink heavily, alcohol withdrawal can add risks of its own. Existing mental health problems, such as anxiety or depression, can return more strongly once ketamine is no longer masking them.

The main risks of ketamine withdrawal relate to your mental health and to what happens if you start using again. Low mood can become severe, and you may have dark thoughts, including thoughts of suicide, especially if you struggled with low mood before. If your bladder is damaged, you may be tempted to dull the pain with ketamine, which only adds to the damage.

Lower tolerance after a break

Using ketamine again after a break carries a risk of its own. Your tolerance drops once you stop, so the amount you used before can now have a much stronger effect. You can lose your coordination quickly, which raises the risk of falls and other accidents. Soon after, you may slip into a K-hole, where you temporarily lose touch with your surroundings and your body.

If you or someone close to you is struggling after stopping ketamine, you can call us on +27 21 541 0643.

Our detox programme gives you a safe, structured setting while you come off ketamine. Before you start, our team carries out an addiction assessment, covering any alcohol or other drugs you use and any bladder problems. During detox you receive round-the-clock professional care, and our addiction doctors monitor your physical and mental health. Being away from your usual supply and the people you used with can make the first difficult days easier to get through. Detox prepares you for the treatment that follows.

You may find that you keep going back to ketamine after a few days without it, even though you wanted to stop. If that keeps happening, your use may have become a ketamine addiction. The ketamine symptoms that point to addiction include needing more for the same effect and using on your own to escape stress. Recognising them can help you see where you stand.

What ketamine addiction treatment looks at

Ketamine often becomes a way to escape into a dreamlike state when everyday life, difficult feelings or too much stimulation become overwhelming. In ketamine addiction treatment, we look at those reasons as well as at your use itself. When addiction occurs alongside anxiety, depression, trauma or ADHD, this is known as a dual diagnosis. Ketamine rehab gives you time to work on both.

Distance from your daily routine

Our rehabilitation centre in South Africa takes you far away from your daily routine, and that distance can help you break old patterns. Your aftercare is arranged while you are still with us, so it is in place when you go home. If you have questions about ketamine withdrawal symptoms, call us on +27 21 541 0643 or fill in the form below.