The reason I ask is because I'm autistic, but I wasn't diagnosed until I was 18 so I never received any kind of assistance growing up. And every time I've used an NMDA antagonist drug, I've experienced amazing relief from all of my sensory issues.

I've never tried Ketamine, but I have used DXM and Nitrous Oxide, both of which are also NMDA antagonists. It's like they partially sever the connection between the mind and the body. Nitrous Oxide isn't very useful for this because it only lasts a couple minutes before you need to redose, but even on lowish doses of DXM I feel totally unencumbered.

My sensory issues tend to take up a lot of cognitive load when I'm out in public and interacting with strangers, resulting in social anxiety. My whole life I've been too focused on the feeling of wanting to crawl out of my own skin too much to put any effort into being social, making friends, or having fun.

But on NMDA antagonists that all just goes away and I finally feel free and clear headed in a way I had never imagined possible. They literally just make me feel free to be me. Has anyone else here experienced something similar? Is there any existing research on this?

  • AdmiralDoohickey@lemmygrad.ml
    ·
    3 months ago

    I don't really have intense sensory issues but ketamine analogs help me introspect and think without the anxiety caused by OCD or my emotional baggage so I really like them.

    I have to warn you, if you overdo it with ketamine you will destroy your bladder. Also, take EGCG supplements when you trip because it might reduce the bladder damage (according to a study on rats it worked, no study has been done on humans AFAIK but it might work).

    • cosecantphi [he/him]
      ·
      3 months ago

      Definitely something to watch out for, I get annoying urinary retention side effects on DXM too. I'm not sure how it compares to Ketamine, but it's concerning nonetheless. I try to keep doses low to avoid this for the most part.

      And yeah, the type of introspection that NMDA antagonists produce tends to be very consistently useful and easy to accept. It's totally unlike the potentially chaotic/paranoid introspection some people get with classical psychedelic drugs. At higher doses, it's like they strip away all the emotional baggage connected to my insecurities, and they allow me to think about things as if I were an outside observer with a fresh perspective.