Commonly experienced adverse effects include blurred and uncomfortable vision, slurred speech, mental confusion, excitability, diminished ability to see things that are actually present, decreased ability to hear or to feel objects accurately including one’s own body, anxiety, nausea, and vomiting. Visual, tactile, and auditory processing are affected by the drug. Music that may be familiar may seem out of the ordinary. Synesthesia, a mingling of the senses, may occur, and your sense of time may be altered.
Ketamine’s abuse potential is equivalent to that of phencyclidine and other hallucinogenic substances, which is low. However, cravings have been reported by some individuals and there are documented cases of overuse of illicitly obtained and diverted ketamine. In addition, ketamine can have effects on mood, cognition, and perception, which may make some people want to use it repeatedly. Therefore, ketamine should never be used except under the direct supervision of a licensed physician.