DOSE:

40 mg

IM

Ketamine

(liquid)

BODY WEIGHT:

160 lb

I occasionally explore the effects of various mind-altering substances available to me. Perhaps if various space agencies started exploring heavenly bodies again and not just sending folks to circle the earth, my curiosity would be satiated.

Anyway, twice in the past, I have taken ~75mg of ketamine orally, usually mixed with grape juice. Taken in this manner, the descent into the K-Zone is fairly slow and easy.

In all cases, I don't take this chemical if I will be required to interact socially. Generally it is not a drug that will facilitate socializing. I recommend doing this in a home where you will not be disturbed, having a movie playing in the background will help. Austin Powers:The Spy Who Shagged Me, worked well for me, as you will see shortly. Personally I adjust the lighting in the room to a low level, enough to see objects easily, but not glaringly bright. I avoid Loud intense music altogether.

As a dosing guideline, I referenced that required for human anesthesia: the recommended dosage is 1-2mg/Kg I.V. I am ~73Kg, so if I was prepping myself for surgery, I'd require between 73mg and 146mg given I.V. However, reaching a surgical plane of anesthesia was not my intent. I drew up 40mg of Ketaset using a sterile 3cc syringe and a sterile 25-gauge needle. I double-checked the lighting conditions and the noise in my immediate environment, and then hit PLAY on my DVD player. Everything was set.

3:30pm-After wiping my right shoulder with alcohol, I slowly and ~painlessly inserted the needle into my deltoid muscle. Drawing-back slightly on the plunger did not suck any blood into the syringe, indicating that the needle was NOT in a blood vessel. Good. I slowly pushed the plunger home, and enjoyed the mild burning sensation in the muscle. The syringe was withdrawn and the needle recapped. I layed down and began to watch the movie.

3:37pm-The first effects were noticed, a sense that the environment around me was different somehow. This form of administration comes on quickly and I felt my body being pulled down into the K-Zone. The feeling would best be described as having tunnel vision--with the periphery not black, but blurry. The central field of vision, about the size of a CD held at arm's length, was clear, outside of that, objects shimmied and seemed to vibrate, maybe even pulsate. My arms and legs felt oddly distant, detached from the brain, yet I had full control over their movement.

3:40pm-Standing, or major movement of any sort, was very upsetting to my equilibrium. It wasn't exactly nausea, but something very close to it. If an object was not in arm's reach, it took considerable effort to coordinate the movements necessary to get the desired object. I had to motivate myself to accomplish this simple task by reassuring that in less than two seconds, I will be right back in the same comfortable position. I closed my eyes, rolled to my right, grabbed the remote control, and rolled back again. It sounds simple enough now, but during the eternity it took to accomplish that magnificent feat, it felt like I was on an amusement park ride, the kind that spins and spins and spins. Disorientating, but without any nausea.

3:50pm-Trying to talk at this point was futile, the mind, the thinking part of the brain works, its the muscular coordination involved that is problematic. Even when a sentence is started, keeping my mind on what I intended to say is difficult. There are a lot of 'Uhs' in between syllables and a lot of repetition. One's body--especially the arms & legs--feel numb and cold. Tactile sensation is almost completely gone. I tended to drop objects, not realising that I was not gripping them strongly enough. This lack of sensation/feedback is why this drug is used as an anesthetic.

3:50pm-I find that Paranoia and anxiety accompany the use of this drug. It is almost always given with other meds when used clinically. Tranquilizers like diazepam, or midazolam would help minimize the negative feelings. I began to worry that I was not breathing enough (ketamine is well known NOT to depress breathing). Even with this knowledge, I still began breathing more often and with deeper inspirations. I also began to worry that I might have cut myself and not realised it. At this point, my mind felt as though it was surrounded, packed in the cold, insensitive meat that was my body. Such feelings surely lead to the Near-Death-Experiences that many ketamine users relate.

3:55pm-It was about this time, in the midst of unpleasant thoughts and feelings, that I began to laugh whole-heartedly. The Mustafa character in the Austin Powers' movie had fallen off the cliff, and was asking for help--he was pretty sure that he had broken his leg, but he would try to stand on it.... Yes, I was quite glad to have had the forethought of playing this movie shortly before dosing.

The rest of the experience was generally pleasant. I spent that time watching the rest of the movie. As the drug was metabolised, I gradually returned to a normal state. It was roughly an hour later, 4:30pm, before I felt capable of walking again. By 6:00pm, I felt completely normal again.

In retrospect: This is not a party drug. You should consider having a sober sitter with you for reassurance purposes and to keep you from getting hurt. This IS an anesthetic and you will NOT feel much pain if you hurt yourself.

Ketamine works by reversibly binding & blocking the sensory input channeled through the thalamus and projected to the prefrontal cortex. Most body sensations like temperature, pain and pressure don't reach the prefrontal cortex and so one does not become aware of them. In the absence of sensory input, my body feels cold & numb, yet you I still move--so it is not like being totally paralyzed--only halfway so. Our brain is accustomed to receiving this sensory input, and without it, thoughts are amplified. The brain may also invent, or exagerate other stimuli that does make it through to ones conscience. This is why I would recommend a low light environment with minimal noise.

This is a drug that I have used about once every four years. I forget that it is a very heady drug and self-evaluation/criticism is a major component of the trip. If you're not in a good place in your life, wait until you are before trying it. Lastly, take my advice and put a stupid/funny movie in and play it before you start the trip. If your mind starts going to a negative place, you can easily divert your attention and bring yourself to a happy place mentally.

Exp Year: 2007	ExpID: 66321
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Aug 28, 2009	Views: 7,976
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