When receiving the normal dose of ketamine, it provides sedative and analgesic effects. However, emerging research suggests ketamine can also help treatment for several mental health issues.
This research could be potentially life-changing for people who have hard-to-treat mental health issues.
Although physicians should administer ketamine in a controlled health setting, you may still be curious as to what the normal dose of ketamine is. The short answer is that it depends on a few factors.
What Is The Desired Effect?
We now know what ketamine is used for, as well as how the medical community incorporates it into several applications.
Some of these include the following.
- Anesthesia (for example, during surgery) - Pain management after surgery - Ketamine for depression - Ketamine therapy for PTSD
How To Calculate The Normal Dose Of Ketamine
The dosage is calculated by milligrams of a drug per kilogram (or pound) of a person’s body mass and expressed as mg/kg.
When using ketamine to induce anesthesia, an average dose of 2mg/kg IV leads to approximately five to ten minutes of dissociation.
The normal dose of ketamine given for depressive symptoms is between 0.25mg/kg and 0.5mg/kg.
A patient’s age, whether they’ve taken ketamine before, and weight are also factors. Age plays a role because children metabolize ketamine faster than adults.
Other Factors That May Determine Dosage
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