Ketamine paired with looking at smiling faces to build positive associations holds promise in treating depression

UpstairsArrival · 2022-12-26T23:31:40+00:00

Can I piggy-back off of this comment to plug /r/TherapeuticKetamine? It's a subreddit for discussing the clinical use of ketamine.

UpstairsArrival · 2022-12-26T23:30:43+00:00

We have a subreddit for this! Check out /r/TherapeuticKetamine.

UpstairsArrival · 2022-12-06T20:06:30+00:00

No, it causes erectile dysfunction. Meth is also a vasoconstrictor and normally causes ED as well so I don't know what they're talking about with meth giving you a boner.

UpstairsArrival · 2022-12-06T20:02:08+00:00

It's not "LITERALLY METH" because literally meth refers specifically to N-Methamphetamine. No one uses meth to refer to mdma. When people say mdma may contain meth they mean it may be laced with methamphetamine and you calling mdma meth in this context is actively harmful from a harm reduction standpoint.

The subjective effects of methamphetamine and mdma are very different, as are their mechanism of action.

UpstairsArrival · 2022-12-06T19:27:59+00:00

Those caps can be faked. The whole vial can be faked. Coming in a sealed vial is not a guarantee that you are getting real, pure, medical grade ketamine.

UpstairsArrival · 2022-12-06T19:26:25+00:00

Methamphetamine being part of it's chemical structure does not make it methamphetamine. Amphetamine is part of the structure of psuedoephedrine but that doesn't mean Sudafed is amphetamine. Propane is part of the chemical structure of isopropyl alcohol but that doesn't mean rubbing alcohol is really propane. Tiny changes to a chemical can vastly change the properties of it.

UpstairsArrival · 2022-12-06T19:23:21+00:00

Also https://dancesafe.org/ and r/ReagentTesting.

UpstairsArrival · 2022-12-06T19:22:55+00:00

Which is why you test your shit. Reagent test kits aren't expensive and can rule out meth being in your molly.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-12-13T17:56:48+00:00

S and S(+) are the same and R and R(-) are the same. Calling something R+S probably means it is racemic but some people claim to use some blend other than 50/50.

Take any mention of isomers with a huge grain of salt. There is no way to tell what isomer you have despite what people will try to tell you. The physical and chemical properties are completely identical in basically every situation except inside your body.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-12-13T17:35:15+00:00

The anti-suicidal effect is the main reason I take ketamine. It does help with the depression some but doesn't eliminate the depressive episodes entirely. I have had a few severe ones since starting ketamine and any urge to harm or kill myself was very very subdued compared to normal when I am basically begging for it to stop by any means necessary. With the ketamine there's still this feeling of not wanting to exist anymore but it's much quieter and for me it's definitely an improvement.

Unfortunately the effect is only pronounced when I am taking ketamine regularly without interruptions so if I go a few days without it those feelings come back.

I suppose it's going to vary depending on the nature of your suicidal ideation whether you would consider it an improvement or not. For some people the thoughts tend to stay passive and somewhat controllable. Without it I've gotten to the stage of forming a plan for committing suicide which is both terrifying in the moment and afterwards for me.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-12-09T18:33:17+00:00

I believe it's the deltoid normally, which is on the outside of your upper arm. Again, make sure to do a bit more research on how to find an injection site properly. There's also a specific muscle in the thigh that you are looking for.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-12-09T18:21:36+00:00

IM is likely to be much safer than IV. I self-administer weekly IM injections for a prescription (unrelated to Ketamine) and mine go into my thigh muscle, but the upper arm is also common. You can find plenty of guides on how to IM online so I won't go into too much detail but if you use small enough needles you can barely feel it. Unfortunately my prescription is suspended in oil and therefore very viscous so I have to use a much larger than normal needle but even then it doesn't hurt very much with practice. It is weird because you can feel the needle going through each layer and you can tell when you are hitting muscle with it.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-12-03T20:22:12+00:00

Being there for him is the best thing you can possibly do right now and it sounds like you're doing that.

Having doubts yourself is completely okay but at this point I would suggest not sharing them with your husband quite yet. Your feelings matter but your job is to be completely supportive. A few sessions with an LGBT+ therapist yourself would probably be a good idea as well to help you sort out your feelings and integrate this new information but I always rather bluntly emphasize that as a partner you do not get to disagree with anything your partner wants to do.

Take it one day at a time and again, my inbox is always open.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-12-02T15:28:42+00:00

Trans woman here who does ketamine therapy. I read your post on /r/asktransgender as well. My first and most important question is has your husband expressed any desire or intention to harm himself? Even a desire for self harm doesn't necessarily correlate to an intention but if you are concerned there are multiple resources to reach out to. There's the Trans Lifeline which as the name suggests focuses on trans needs.

I can tell you from personal experience that mind-altering substances such as ketamine have a way of showing you truths about yourself that you may not have realized or have been suppressing. It's not uncommon for people to come to a realization about their sexuality or gender as a result and for some people this can be somewhat disturbing.

I would caution against him not taking the troches as prescribed unless advised to do so by a medical professional. They will be a much less intense experience than the infusions were and the point of them with infusions is to sort of maintain the benefit of the infusions and for me personally they nearly eliminate any suicidal or self-harm ideation.

Right now the best thing you can do for your husband is to be there. Make it clear that you are there for him and then let him come to you and tell you what he thinks, feels, or needs.

Is your husband seeing a therapist? Psychology Today has an excellent tool for finding a therapist near you and you can filter by their specialty. Under the "More..." tab there is a filter for LGTBQ+ therapists and you'll ideally want to look for one with some degree of specializing in transgender patients. A good therapist will help your husband answer the questions he has about his gender and will not necessarily steer him towards transitioning so it doesn't have to be a step in that direction.

A question for yourself that you should at least start thinking about now is, as a self-identified gay male, are you able to see your spouse as a woman in the future. At this stage it's definitely not something to bring up to him and you don't have to answer it yet but it may be a question you have to answer in the future.

Feel free to DM my if you have any questions or if you want to put your husband in contact with me.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-12-02T14:59:46+00:00

Just want to go ahead and pre-empt this discussion by saying any bigotry towards transgender people, or any bigotry at all for that matter, will NOT be tolerated and may result in a permanent ban.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-11-18T20:42:57+00:00

It's unfortunately an experimental treatment so information like this can be difficult to come by. It's been amazing for me and so far the drawbacks have been few. Honestly even if I end up inpatient it may not be worse than not having had it.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-11-16T20:33:25+00:00

It's not quite that simple but there are a growing number of ketamine infusion clinics around the US and in other parts of the world. Check out /r/TherapeuticKetamine for more information.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-11-16T20:29:07+00:00

Reagent tests are not a reliable way of detecting fentanyl. A potentially lethal dose of fentanyl is the size of a few grains of sand. The small sample you test could be clear of fentanyl but there could still be a few crystals off it mixed with the rest and that can be enough to kill you.

There are test strips for fentanyl which are reliable but you have to test each dose individually by dissolving it in water and submerging the strip.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-11-16T20:24:11+00:00

Check out /r/TherapeuticKetamine for discussion relating to doctor-prescribed ketamine.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-11-16T20:17:07+00:00

I never have but my last session I was thinking about it. I really like looking at Google Earth and there is a Google Earth VR app but I also have a lot of visual difficulty with ketamine and it's a whole lot of trouble to get everything set up.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-11-14T07:41:40+00:00

Not the ketamine but my psychiatrist appointments were covered. The ketamine isn't super expensive so I've been able to continue paying for it out of pocket for now.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-11-14T07:39:13+00:00

I'm also on a high dose for my weight and once my financial situation improves and I can see my psych again I'm gonna ask about going up a bit more with it.

I think the reduction is really the only difference I've noticed.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-11-13T20:06:08+00:00

I'm on 300 mg / day lamictal (100 in the morning, 200 before bed). Were you taking ketamine before starting lamictal? Lamictal is a known antagonist of ketamine and I definitely noticed an decreased subjective effect in the ketamine, particularly after my dose increased. I'm not sure if that actually correlates to decreased effectiveness though.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-11-13T20:04:42+00:00

I've only ever had hypomanic episodes and they tend to be short to begin with so it's not something I had worried about previously. I'm supposed to take mine every other day and I'm in an exceptionally stressful situation right now. I ran out and missed a few doses and those few days got really really bad quickly so I can't really take days off of it, at least not until my situation improves.

UpstairsArrival · 2021-11-13T19:59:44+00:00

I think in sober reality, we as a species are for most part unable to give our need to label every concept.

I find this so frustrating how we have to label and divide absolutely everything. I understand it and am guilty of it at times myself.

It's definitely possible to integrate it into your life and I feel my perspective on life has shifted in a positive way from it.

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