Are Ketamine Troches Addictive?

In the medical world, ketamine can treat pain and some types of mental illness. For recreational users, though, ketamine offers an easy escape. It produces feelings of euphoria and helps you escape from reality as you melt into the world around you.

With strong effects like this, it’s no surprise that people struggling with pain or mental health might turn to ketamine for help. When dosing ketamine becomes a habit, however, it may leave you wondering, “Are ketamine troches addictive?”

Even though ketamine is not considered as addictive as stimulants like cocaine or opioids, it still has addictive potential. It can be easy to get addicted to how you feel while under the influence, especially if you are trying to escape.

Keep reading to learn more about ketamine addiction, its medical benefits, and alternatives to ketamine use offered at South Shores Detox.

Ketamine troches are a lozenge dissolved under the tongue. They are commonly used for treating depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems. They may also be used to treat chronic pain with ketamine, as an alternative to medically prescribed opioids or morphine. Even though they can be effective, in this form, troches have high addictive potential.

While ketamine treatment can be effective, more research needs to be done to determine the effective dose and risks of long-term ketamine use. Ketamine troches should only be used by adults and are not approved for all age groups.

People who have done ketamine describe effects ranging from “warm and fuzzy” and a “dream-like” state to an “out-of-body experience” or “melting into the world around you”. Low-dose ketamine produces different effects than high doses of the drug. Ketamine does have benefits for mental health conditions and chronic pain in some cases, often with a lower risk of side effects.

However, the medicine should be administered under close medical supervision and ketamine is not typically recommended for those with prior substance use disorder histories. Ketamine has addictive potential even when prescribed by a doctor, especially with long-term use. Troches are especially addictive because they leave you in charge of dosing yourself. Without monitoring, even the most responsible adults have the potential to become addicted as they use more over time to feel the same effects.

What are the Documented Uses for Ketamine Troches?

Ketamine troches serve a broad spectrum of medical purposes. They are particularly effective in treating chronic pain conditions, including neuropathic pain, complex regional pain syndrome, and peripheral neuropathic pain.

Beyond pain management, ketamine troches are also utilized for mental health conditions such as treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For patients grappling with chronic non-malignant pain who have not found relief through other treatments, ketamine troches can be a game-changer, offering a new avenue for pain management and mental health support.

Most people know what it feels like to use substances to escape. It’s pretty common to smoke a cigarette when you’re stressed or have a few drinks after a long day at work. Sometimes, though, this need to escape can lead to much bigger problems.

You can become addicted to ketamine. Even though a large body of research supports ketamine treatment for mental health conditions and for chronic pain instead of opioids, it must be administered with close monitoring. Ketamine troches are typically for at-home use. Chronic pain patients have found ketamine to be effective in managing their pain, with studies highlighting its potential benefits and applications in long-term pain management.

When medical professionals do not closely monitor patients, it’s possible to become dependent on the medication to feel normal. Ultimately, this dependency will lead to addiction.

Many recreational users also find themselves at risk of ketamine addiction. Ketamine is a popular street drug used at clubs and raves. In these situations, high doses are used to induce a dream-like state. Some users also go into a “k-hole”, an experience akin to ‘near-death’ brought on by the way ketamine depresses the central nervous system. When combined with other drugs or alcohol, it also creates a potentially deadly cocktail.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ketamine for use by medical professionals in the 1970s. It is well known for its use in the Vietnam War and is commonly used as an anesthetic during medical procedures on animals and humans. While it is effective at relieving pain, it is a less addictive way to produce the effects of anesthesia than some other alternatives.

Your doctor may prescribe ketamine to treat the medication-resistant form of depression, chronic pain, anxiety, PTSD, or bipolar disorder. Ketamine is also being explored as a neuropathic pain treatment, particularly for managing chronic pain conditions like complex regional pain syndrome and peripheral neuropathic pain.

Even though there are medical benefits, ketamine use has drastically changed in the last two decades. High doses of the drug produce disassociation effects and hallucinations. Ketamine troches, IV ketamine, and powdered ketamine are all available on the street. The club drug is common at raves, but it also may be used by people with untreated mental health conditions.

Unfortunately, if you are using ketamine as an escape, it has a potentially addictive high. It becomes hard to function without the drug and you’ll develop a tolerance over time.

Mail-order prescriptions are a contributing factor to ketamine being misused. Clients talk to a doctor over Telehealth or another virtual network. These doctors might never meet clients in person. A pain physician, as part of a multidisciplinary approach to managing chronic pain, can collaborate with mental health practitioners to ensure comprehensive management strategies that address both pain relief and psychological support. This makes it impossible to monitor how ketamine is being used and its effectiveness.

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy can be effective in improving mental health in limited cases. That being said, ketamine troches are not always the most effective course of treatment. They produce a potentially addictive high and negatively impact blood pressure.

Using troches long-term can also cause changes in the brain, negatively affecting memory and leaving you at higher risk of mood disorders, disassociative brain fog, and psychotic episodes.

Your body can only use around 25% of the dose of troches, compared to the 100% bioavailability from ketamine infusions. With infusions, low doses are more likely to be effective. Ketamine infusions also do not need to be administered as frequently to have positive effects.

Infusions of intravenous ketamine are administered intravenously, under close monitoring. Often, you’ll have several sessions where the medicine is slowly introduced into your system. These initial ketamine infusions can relieve depression and maintenance sessions may be scheduled monthly. This is a much safer, less habit-forming way of administering the drug to patients.

Intravenous outpatient ketamine infusions have shown potential effectiveness and opioid-sparing effects in patients with high opioid requirements.

Yes, even when you use prescribed ketamine, you can become addicted. This is true of many prescriptions, including benzodiazepines, opioids, ADHD medication, and morphine. While ketamine is not considered as addictive as opioids or stimulants, it does still have addictive properties. This is especially true when a patient is responsible for administering ketamine themselves, like in the case of ketamine troches. Oral ketamine, used for chronic pain management and depression, also carries potential benefits and risks, including the risk of addiction.

Ketamine troches usually have lower doses of the medication. However, most people develop a tolerance from using any drugs long term. Over time, you may take troches closer together to get the same effect, or increase your dose significantly to get the same effect. These are the signs of potential addiction. It may be time to discuss a medication change with your doctor, regardless of the drug’s effectiveness.

Rehab facilities like South Shores offer medical detox services during inpatient rehab. You’ll be supervised by medical professionals during detox and medications can be prescribed to make you more comfortable during the withdrawal process. This can be useful for people addicted to ketamine after treating depression, anxiety, or pain.

Inpatient subcutaneous ketamine infusions are also used as part of a treatment strategy for chronic non-malignant pain, particularly for patients undergoing opioid detoxification or central sensitization management.

South Shores Recovery also offers dual diagnosis treatment programs. Our dual diagnosis programs address addiction and underlying mental health issues like depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder that may lead to ketamine abuse.

Is ketamine addictive? Like other substances including alcohol, ketamine has addictive potential in certain circumstances. Ketamine does offer medical benefits in some cases, however, you can become dependent on the substance.

Those who are prescribed ketamine through the mail and those who take ketamine for recreational use are at the greatest risk of addiction.

If you believe that ketamine dependency is negatively impacting your life, reach out to South Shores Detox today. There are many options for treatment including medical detox, inpatient and outpatient rehab, and dual diagnosis treatment options. Specialized outpatient pain clinics, such as a metropolitan tertiary pain service, play a crucial role in managing chronic non-malignant pain and offer innovative treatments like sublingual ketamine after comprehensive pain management assessments. Stop living life in a fog.

Call South Shores for more information today. Our admissions specialists are waiting by the phone to answer your questions and help you get support for a full and lasting recovery!