[samatman]

I can answer this actually.

I bulged a disk in my back, new job, no health insurance. My boss was a friend and knew I was a weirdo. I would bike (!) to work, take a keytip of ketamine, program for about an hour, lay down, do a gravity inversion (had one shipped to the house we were using as an office), do another minimal key, I could get three, maybe four of those out of a day.

I hate the effect of opiates except for the part where they make physical pain go away, and even if I had a doctor at the time, to get a scrip, it was a non starter for getting work done.

Worked out ok, still use a standing desk, lift weights, my back has been at least nominal every since, no surgery. I don't recommend it, the bulging disk part, and I'm not here advocate for off-label use of controlled substances, ketamine is habit-forming and can be quite destructive. It was effective however.

[thebigjewbowski]

That’s great to hear!

It does seem to be gaining in popularity for anxiety and depression.

I really can’t imagine it being as destructive as opiates having known plenty of people who have done both to the extent of having a habit with only opiates ruining people’s lives and killing some them. As far as I understand it ketamine is more of a psychological dependence than a physical one.

Time will tell I suppose.

[samatman]

I said "habit-forming" rather than "addictive" for a reason, yes. That habit can be quite physically destructive, you can find papers on the effects of a heavy habit out of China which are somewhat toe-curling. It's not capable of stopping breathing or causing cardiac arrest, dying of an overdose isn't practical.

However, ketamine can make the brain go... weird. Like cocaine and amphetamine, habitual/binge use gets psychotogenic, and while bizarre delusions won't usually kill you (or anyone else), they can absolutely fuck up relationships, or earn someone a brand-new one with the authorities. Opiates, for all their terrible flaws, don't do this.