Quote Originally Posted by Gregory234 View Post
Interesting discussion. I read about Ketamine a lot since my father started suffering from neuropathic pain.

Ketamine really works but the positive effect of its potential pain reduction should be weighed in conjunction with the variety of side effects it may cause. The two most common ones are psychomimetic effects and dissociation. Other side effects of clinical doses include nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, confusion, somnolence, and headache. More severe side effects can occur if ketamine is misused, which has been a common occurrence since the emergence of ketamine as a street drug in the 1960s. So, its safety must also be considered.

Speaking about depression, Ketamine has been found to play a role in relieving depressive symptoms. Unlike other antidepressants that require weeks to months of continuous therapy, the effects of Ketamine can be observed hours to days after treatment.
Is the above a cut and paste? Regardless, it should be noted that drug is very old and the general safety profile under clinical conditions very well known and extensive. All drugs have a risk/benefit associated with them, physical risks of that drug under clinical use is very low. People read a long list of possible side effects about X drug and don't understand risk/benefit and just how rare those possible side effects actually are. On that front, I would not worry about physical side effects for the possible benefits, but then I was one of just a few people doc said he'd seen such a negative experience in decades of use! However, it was not physical in nature.