I tried Ketamine while being schizoaffective, here's my experience [READ MY POST BEFORE FLAGGING]:

DX'd - Sz/SzA
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Okay, first of all, don’t be silly as me, don’t try ketamine without telling your doctor, it could be really dangerous for you, especially if your medication doesn’t work well and is unable to stablize your symptoms like paranoia, delusions or hallucinations, since ketamine is well known to cause those symptoms as secondaries effects.
Also, sorry if I posted this topic in the wrong place, and don’t worry I’m not here to promote drugs, I’m just talking about my experience with ketamine.

So, let’s start. I’ve been diagnosed as schizoaffective back in 2017. I started with valporate, didn’t work and quickly abandoned it. I was under Abilify Maintena, and had terrible mood swings, tiredness and was feeling like ■■■■ under this medication.

So, one year later, I tried to come off Abilify, terrible mistake, brought me back to hospital, and here, they’ve decided to include Lithium to my treatment. I don’t know if it was a good thing or not, but I have less severe mood swings but the combination of those two meds made my tiredness worse and I’m experiencing slurred speech, which is REALLY annoying.

Anyway, Lithium has been successful for dealing with my hypomania, but didn’t work that much for my depressive periods who can last 2/3 weeks, which is also really painful and annoying.

A friend of mine asked me if I wanted to try ketamine since he told me it was effective against depressive symptoms, I said no at first. Then my depression worsened. So I said yes, but only a little dosage, to start of.
Since I’m still under Abilify and pretty comfortable with it, nothing like psychosis , paranoia or hallucinations happened to me, probably due to low dosage.
Also, something really important before I go further, do NOT TAKE TOO MUCH KETAMINE WHILE BEING ON LITHIUM, IT CAN SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR KIDNEYS

20/30mins after sniffing ketamine, I was feeling at ease and pretty calm, no euphoria, I was only doing bad puns, and my depression was behind me during this time. The worse part was sleeping, I almost didn’t sleep after taking it and I had to woke up early so I recommand to use it during the day and not evening.

5 days after taking it, my speech is still slurred, I’m still feeling really tired sometimes,but dang it, my mood really improved and it seems like it has totally erased my mood swings right now, I’m not feeling hypomaniac nor depressive, just, normal
I’m feeling a little bit more confident, but nothing too important, but I feel I can do more things and improve myself in everyday life.

So, do you think that someday ketamine while be used to treat some symptoms of schizoaffectivity ?

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I appreciate all of those warnings.

Ketamine has proven to help depression:
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/strategic-planning-reports/highlights/highlight-ketamine-a-new-and-faster-path-to-treating-depression.shtml

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I’m schizo affective too. I just had a ketamine binge. I do feel like the meds definitely block it a little bit. If you’re on the right meds and have a healthy mind it is the most beneficial drug to me. It caused me mania edging on psychosis. But it helped a lot of things. It is the only psychedelic drug that works on my meds and I feel it agrees with me a lot. I have never been so clear. Indeed everyone acts differently. I’m not on lithium but an antipsychotic antidepressant anti anxiety and anti drinking drug. It seems to interact fine with these. I need a long break but it didn’t interfere with my functioning. Good luck bud. It also zapped my trauma issues. I’m sorry but I’m impressed for once with a drug. I used to not crush it up enough it’d make me sick but since crushing it up I no longer got sick. Umm I think it’s nothing like any drug you’ve tried if you haven’t experienced dissassociatives. I think it is less harmful for me because of how sedating it is. Don’t drive on it or walk on the street either.

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Like any drug, Ketamine should only be used under your pdoc’s supervision.

I think it’s dangerous to use it otherwise.

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Those warnings were of course essential since this topic is kinda controversial, especially in psychiatric communities. I’m pretty convinced that someday medecine will be able to find a way to use ketamine in a safe way to treat some of schizoaffective symptoms.

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It is, especially if you don’t respect dosage that can be mortal at a high dose and you have to assure that the quality of the ketamine you’re taking isn’t aweful, otherwise it can be REALLY dangerous.

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I’m sza. I’ll never take it. I don’t need it.

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