DOSE: T+ 0:00	50 mg	IM	S-Ketamine	(liquid)
T+ 0:10	75 mg	IM	S-Ketamine	(liquid)

BODY WEIGHT:

198 lb

Esketamine vs Racemic Ketamine

I tried Esketamine yesterday for the first time, and I would like to share my experience.

I normally take 130 mg IM racemic ketamine (Mylan) every 14 days for the treatment of severe and recurrent depression with prominent suicidal ideation. On 7/30/17, I took 125 mg IM Esketamine (Pfizer/Germany), under the supervision of a physician and a psychologist. There was some question in our minds about whether Esketamine is more potent than racemic ketamine, and whether a dose adjustment (decrease) would be needed, so we decided to administer the medication in a split dose of 50 + 50 + 25 (3 injections).

I was administered 50 mg IM Esketamine, then we waited 10 min. It felt very much like 50 mg of racemic ketamine, except that I could feel my heart beating loudly in my chest. It was not frightening, just different. I felt mentally soft and relaxed, slightly disinhibited, I had my eyes closed but I was aware of the other people in the room. It was hard to talk, but I stated that I felt like I was 'cotton candy.'

I was administered 75 mg additional IM Esketamine. I had a long, beautiful, intense, psychedelic journey. The experience was substantially the same, or in the same ballpark, as what I have experienced using racemic ketamine. If there was any difference, I would say that Esketamine felt more fluid, shiny, slippery, and sleek than racemic ketamine. Also, I was moving a lot on my mat as the medication wore off (more than usual). My body wanted to stretch out. It had a slightly erotic or sensual feel, which I do not normally associate with racemic ketamine. I had no side effects following this experience (no headache, no nausea), but normally I tolerate ketamine treatment well.

Approximately 3 hours post-injection, I noted that I was feeling agitated and hypomanic. My heart was pounding, my thoughts were rapid, I felt agitated. I know from experience how to calm myself and sit through this experience, and the feeling passed in about 2 hours. Then I had a great deal of difficulty falling asleep (11 hours post injection). I felt wired, wide awake, agitated. I eventually fell asleep with the use of prescription sleeping medication. I woke up this morning feeling well, energized, maybe slightly edgy. The suicidal ideation had receded, as it always does following ketamine treatment.

In summary, I would say that 125 IM Esketamine feels to me like 140 mg IM racemic ketamine. My experience (n=1) was that Esketamine was slightly more energizing and agitating than the equivalent dose of racemic ketamine, and that the treatment session and clinical effect were virtually the same as racemic ketamine. If Esketamine is advantageous in some way over racemic ketamine for the treatment of depression and/or suicidal ideation, that difference was not evident to me.

Exp Year: 2017	ExpID: 110849
Gender: Female
Age at time of experience: 46
Published: Aug 15, 2017	Views: 6,338
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S-Ketamine (797) : Small Group (2-9) (17), Guides / Sitters (39), Medical Use (47), Retrospective / Summary (11)