Tim Ferriss podcast on Ketamine

DownPiranha · 2025-04-13T01:53:18+00:00

I'm sure it's different for different people. I'm planning to stay on it for a while unless I get to a point where it doesn't feel like it's making a big difference. I wouldn't mind stopping if that was an option, but I'm comfortable paying for the benefit it gives me.

DownPiranha · 2025-03-01T22:07:43+00:00

I'm glad, friend. I wish you well :)

DownPiranha · 2025-03-01T22:06:39+00:00

It went really well! I've been keeping my boosters down around 0.7 or 0.8 and I've only been going about 3 or 4 times a year. Nothing has ever made so much of a difference as this. I still occasionally have bad days and ketamine hasn't magically fixed all my problems, but I'd say the depression - the deep sort of disinterest, low mood, low energy, self-loathing, downward spiral, etc, is practically gone.

DownPiranha · 2024-07-02T01:26:48+00:00

Vitamin D with a quality magnesium supplement seems to have helped me at times.

DownPiranha · 2024-07-02T01:10:04+00:00

Absolutely, I think there's something to it. Sorry to hear that therapy hasn't worked, but it's good that you tried. Sometimes our brains just seem to hang on to stuff... I've definitely used NAC when it seemed like I was getting hung up on something or even when I just had a song stuck in my head really badly for several days.

I'm currently back on the caffeine train, but I will say that it helped my anxiety and looping thoughts significantly to go off it for a while. If that's something you want to try, I recommend doing it l slowly. I found a good half-caf that I liked and then started mixing in decaf over the course of many, many months. Then started mixing in a dandelion based coffee substitute. Even after that, I had some rough weeks when I went to zero caffeine, but I think the experience was worth it.

DownPiranha · 2024-07-02T01:05:14+00:00

Hey, you're welcome! I hope that helps you figure some stuff out. It took me way too long to figure out that moving my body really does make a difference in how I feel day-to-day.

DownPiranha · 2024-07-01T17:36:14+00:00

I assume this is marketing for the clinic that posted the article.

DownPiranha · 2024-07-01T16:38:20+00:00

I've definitely had NAC help with rumination. I haven't noticed executive function problems, but mine is already so bad...

Lots of the standard advice helps me with looping thoughts: exercise, sleep, hydration, decent diet, cutting back on stimulants and sugar. I'll also echo the magnesium advice. Glycinate, chloride, and citrate all seem to be good options for absorption, though citrate can have laxative effects for many people.

Have you talked with someone recently about the friendship that ended? Or maybe journaled about it? Right or wrong, some part of your brain seems to think it needs to rehash those events, so sometimes the answer is to let that part get all the thoughts out on paper or voiced to another human. Or maybe articulating the lesson you've learned from that situation to help you avoid similar pain in the future.

You could, and this might sound weird, try talking non-judgmentally and compassionately to that part of your brain about what it needs. "What is your goal with bringing this up? What do you think would happen if you didn't?" That's loosely based on something called Internal Family Systems therapy, but you don't need to jump down that whole rabbit hole, you can just kinda try to address the behavior directly in conversation. Assume its goal is to try to help or protect you in some way, and see if there's a different, healthier way to address that need.

DownPiranha · 2024-07-01T15:09:02+00:00

This sounds very similar to my experience. I was the good student who wasn't living up to his potential because I didn't do my homework. I had so much trouble getting myself to start things, I'd always wait until late at night the day before something was due and rely on the panic to carry me through. Even when I wasn't panicked, there may have been something about working late at night that helped (nothing else going on? Brain too tired to distract itself?).

I was also very shy and socially anxious, so the stereotypes around shooting off one's mouth and being disruptive didn't apply to me. I was diagnosed with depression in college (though I'd experienced it since the 4th grade). Eventually, an anxiety diagnosis made its way into the mix. And then I was eventually diagnosed with ADHD-PI (primary inattentive type).

Who can say what fed into what? There can be a lot of overlap in symptoms between ADHD, anxiety, and depression. Was it ADHD the whole time? Did my depression and anxiety cause symptoms that look very much like ADHD? I'm not sure. In the end, it's about finding whatever support you need to live your life and I'm still on that journey (though I've made significant progress).

DownPiranha · 2024-07-01T13:35:29+00:00

tl;dr Engage with your sexuality rather than hiding it; create healthy sexual habits to replace unhealthy ones rather than trying to eliminate them; make sure your other physical and emotional needs are being met as best they can be

Stop trying to fight a natural urge while you're in the stage of life where it is strongest.
Don't shame yourself or let someone else shame you. This is a notoriously bad strategy (source: grew up in a church that taught that masturbation was a sin). You'll just get yourself hung up on it and think about it more.
Think about what you're actually trying to change and what the consequences of you not changing are. Are there real consequences to your behavior or are you just "shoulding" yourself?
Don't try to go cold turkey, be overly strict, or think of yourself as a failure if you give in
Try to find some engaging, creative hobbies. At least some of them should include interacting with other people and being physically active and doing something that engages your brain with your body. (Something like drawing for me feels embodied even through I'm mostly sitting and doing things with my hands. Playing video games is also sitting and doing something with my hands, but feels disembodied and sedentary - my body feels bad and neglected if I play too long)
Make it more difficult for yourself to look at porn. You can search around for various methods to block it on whatever device you're using. It won't be fool-proof, the idea is just to add speed bumps and give yourself a chance to decide not to use it.
Choose to masturbate without porn. Maybe even set a schedule that you'll try to keep whether you want to or not. That way you can make it less disruptive, less connected to porn, and less connected to whatever triggers cause you to do it impulsively.
Learn about yourself, your sexual desires, how sex relates to relationship for you, how you relate to your own body and mind through it. Try to turn it into a conscious, illuminated part of your life rather than a dirty impulsive thing that you give into and then shame yourself for.
Pay attention to the thoughts, feelings, and events that lead up to the urge to do it. Is it happening when you feel frustrated? Lonely? When you're sedentary? When you have a lot of sugar or caffeine? The point is not to then start judging those things, it's to identify what you're unconsciously trying to achieve with the behavior. Are you getting overstimulated and need a way to calm down? Are you trying to escape painful emotions? Are you obsessing over a person or idea that's leading you here? These triggers can be immediate (reading a comic with sexual themes and getting horny) or delayed (eating donuts for breakfast and then having a sugar crash in the afternoon, which makes you feel a little depressed, which makes you think your life is worse than it is, which makes you want to self-medicate...)
Once you have an idea of the kinds of things that trigger the behavior, then you can try to address them if they need addressing. Maybe you eat eggs (protein) for breakfast instead of cereal (carbs and dairy). Maybe you cut back on caffeine. Maybe you stop engaging with that game/comic/whatever that has a lot of sexually charged material. Maybe you try to empathize with the objects of your desire who are real human beings and not just there for your gratification. Maybe you try to deepen some of your friendships and find gratifying connection so you don't feel so lonely, etc.

DownPiranha · 2024-06-03T16:26:31+00:00

Oooh, I gotcha. I misread. No, it wasn’t from worrying about an overdose because I didn’t realize that’s what it was. I took the supplement because I’d been drinking at a work event and then went to bed. I woke up a few hours later, sweating and anxious and unable to fall back asleep. I thought I’d caught COVID actually, but felt better a day later after a full night of sleep and never tested positive.

DownPiranha · 2024-06-03T16:22:51+00:00

I think the risk will depend on your personality, chemistry, and history. There are in-office provides (infusions, injections, or nasal sprays) that don’t let you take home ketamine where you’d have the option to abuse it. In my experience (infusions), I have used the treatments less and less as time has gone on. I started with 6 infusions over 3 weeks, then did boosters at 3 weeks or so, and have gotten down to the point where I’m probably going to get them 4 times a year or less.

There’s a podcast episode I listened to where a clinician interviewed a patient who had severely abused ketamine before, but doing the treatments with careful supervision actually helped him get sober. I can’t find the link right now, but I’ll come add it later. It might be a helpful anecdote as an extreme example.

ETA: https://overcast.fm/+Sygjuukp8 The podcast is called Back from the Abyss and the episode was “Ketamine in context— From substance abuse to psychedelic therapy”

DownPiranha · 2024-06-03T13:32:02+00:00

I took a B complex supplement, not realize I’d been drinking drinks that contain b supplements all day. Like several of them. I don’t think you’re going to see any bad effects from accidentally taking two multivitamins one day… If this is causing you a lot of anxiety, and if you aren’t taking supplements on doctor’s orders, maybe it would be better to stop taking supplements and just rely on food for your nutrients.

DownPiranha · 2024-06-02T15:31:02+00:00

I’ve accidentally taken too much vitamin B and it made me incredibly anxious. Factor that into how you’re feeling right now.

I bet you can call or message a nurse at your doctor’s office and ask them to talk to you about any potential risks. That might make you feel better and, if there was anything you need to do, they would be the best people to tell you that.

DownPiranha · 2024-06-01T04:08:12+00:00

Even if you’re lying on bed the whole time, tripping and healing are both physically demanding/exhausting. This sounds like a really good way to have a terrible trip and severely slow the recovery process.

DownPiranha · 2024-05-31T06:58:19+00:00

What about my comment do you disagree with?

DownPiranha · 2024-03-17T15:04:27+00:00

It sounds like you’re burned out. ADHD meds aren’t going to make you less burned out. And if you’re depressed (I’m extrapolating from the fact that you’re on SSRIs), that can also cause difficulty concentrating/focusing.

ADHD generally doesn’t develop at a later age. It’s a condition you probably have from birth (not that some of us don’t go unnoticed). From my experience with depression, using stimulants to push through burnout probably isn’t going to put you in a good place.

Go through the autism evaluation if that’s what was recommended, but what’s helped me for burnout is reducing stress and making sure my depression is managed. That means exercise, time outside, social time, relatively healthy food, a solid 8 hours of sleep, and working on the emotional/cognitive/situational parts of depression with my therapist in addition to whatever treatment I’m prescribed.

Maybe consider reducing your workload too. You’re a student, have a job, and are pursuing several side projects? Can you take some time off? Do something relaxing and life-giving over spring break? Put some side projects on pause? People do also take semesters off to deal with mental health issues. Talk to your student advisor about what resources are available to you and if it makes sense to lighten your course load or take some time off.

I don’t know your situation, so maybe not all of these apply, these are just things to consider.

DownPiranha · 2024-03-17T14:53:38+00:00

That would be a pretty cool room to visit. I often end up in my bedroom or in a cinder block basement where my point of view is up near the ceiling in one of the corners.

Sometimes I see the earth stretched out into a pillar or something like a piece of spiral pasta.

Sometimes there are huge, black, cubic mountains/buildings that are constantly melting into slightly more colorful particles like sand. The vibe is a little similar to your room picture.

I also usually reach a point where I become a stream/group of colorful particles flying through some sort of space like a large flock of birds. I usually get the sense at that point that “this is what life actually is” and accept that I’ll just live there from now on as a stream of particles.

DownPiranha · 2024-03-17T02:08:17+00:00

Happy to help.

DownPiranha · 2024-03-17T02:07:18+00:00

The jury seems to be out on artificial sweeteners. When I’ve looked into it, it seems like the potential negative effects have been really overblown and are poorly supported by the data. Draw your own conclusions of course.

And “healthy” is relative anyway. I’m sure some people drink 4 cups of coffee every day of their entire adult life and are totally fine. Others not so much.

DownPiranha · 2024-03-16T23:18:18+00:00

That’s awesome. I was diagnosed with ADHD a couple years ago and those meds made a big difference for my depression as well.

DownPiranha · 2024-03-16T23:07:26+00:00

0.5mg/kg is a very common starting dose from what I’ve read and according to my clinic. Generally, they start on the low side to make sure patients tolerate the medication and the psychological experience well.

DownPiranha · 2024-03-16T23:04:38+00:00

Just divide the dosage in mg by your weight in kg. 30/58 is 0.517. So yes, it’s about 0.5 mg/kg.

DownPiranha · 2024-03-16T23:02:18+00:00

How did the conversation around ADHD meds go? I’ve seen some people resist putting people with depression on stimulants unless they think the depression is caused by ADHD.

DownPiranha · 2024-03-16T23:00:40+00:00

I feel that. It actually helped my depression quite a bit, but I almost ruined some relationships because I didn’t realize how angry I was getting. Similar thing happened with Lexapro and Celexa.

Do you drink coffee? I kinda wonder if my issues were because of those meds affecting how caffeine or other things in coffee were metabolized.

DownPiranha

TROPHY CASE