20 year old son using ketamine

[Anonymous]

I used ketamine to treat PTSD and it had wonderful results- but it was administered intravenously over 8 sessions by my dr. Is he getting street ketamine?

[Anonymous]

Not from a doctor so assume so

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get him to a psychiatrist who specializes in addiction. They will drug test and if fentanyl in system they will try to get him in rehab. It needs to happen for his own safety.

Agree. Any recommendations? This is going to be rough

[Anonymous]

Make sure they know about fentanyl and have Narcan with them. There are resources for testing substances for fentanyl too.

In terms of risk—safety means not using alone, not leaving a friend, not mixing with alcohol.

Long term risks—ketamine users develop tolerance quickly and ingest larger and larger quantities. In the UK there are a lot of case studies of intravenous use causing permanent organ damage, particularly to the bladder.

[Anonymous]

https://dancesafe.org/shop/ buy test strips here.

[Anonymous]

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I just recently found out my (now ex) boyfriend has been using ketamine too. It is super scary to watch them disassociate. If I was a parent, I'd be taking away all access to any $ right away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He does not want claims he’s “careful” but that only goes so far

Yeah right. Pull him from college and stop paying for everything. Everything. He needs to go to rehab or he’s going to end up a junkie.

[Anonymous]

We lost a 23 year old female employee to a drug overdose. It was exceptionally sad. She was beautiful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used ketamine to treat PTSD and it had wonderful results- but it was administered intravenously over 8 sessions by my dr. Is he getting street ketamine?

Not on point.

[Anonymous]

OP this is dangerous for all of the reasons PPs have mentioned. I think the scariest thing is that as a PP points out, no one on the street is getting pure ketamine; he's likely getting fentanyl with it, which can result in death. Make sure he has narcan; it has no effect on ketamine, but as discussed, K can be laced with fentanyl.

It absolutely is possible that this is a phase he will grow up and out of. But it is a lot more likely that this is already a full-blown addiction problem that needs treatment. I'll add here that I wouldn't discount the problem of heavy marijuana use even without the ketamine issue. At any rate, do what you can to get him help, but understand that you really can't force recovery. People have to be ready and want it and work at it themselves. But you said you have had substance abuse problems in your family, so you likely already know this.

I'm so sorry. This could be a hard road. But I'm so glad you know about it, and are prepared to do everything you can to help your son.

[Anonymous]

If he is using ketamine then he is probably using everything. x, cocaine, opiates, everything. He might even drink cough syrup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop paying his bills, ask him to take a semester off, come home and receive professional help. Staying alive and healthy is more important than staying in college.

OP here. Yeah this is where my head is

Professional help for what? Having fun and ignoring risk?

He'll hate you for ruining his life, even if you are preventing an OD. And you'll never know if you actually prevented an OD.

[Anonymous]

Oh OP, I am so sorry. Music scene + heavy weed use is enough of a reason to pull him out and to get him in to rehab. Weed is a real problem; I have a friend who is finally divorcing her husband who lost a job 10 years ago and hasn’t stopped smoking/vaping since. It has sapped him of any interest besides sourcing weed and getting high. he has become a degenerate drag on their family and this is all playing out in front of their 2 teens.

Your child knows addiction runs in Your family, right? I bet he also knows how worried you would be upon hearing he is using K. I wonder whether he told because he is worried, wants out, he isn’t sure how to initiate it and hopes you will. He is lucky to have you and to be comfortable enough in your relationship to send up this flare/cry for help.

Wishing you so much luck. Parenting is hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop paying his bills, ask him to take a semester off, come home and receive professional help. Staying alive and healthy is more important than staying in college.

OP here. Yeah this is where my head is

Professional help for what? Having fun and ignoring risk?

He'll hate you for ruining his life, even if you are preventing an OD. And you'll never know if you actually prevented an OD.

[Anonymous]

That is terrible advice, OP. Kids want boundaries and parents who care enough to help stop destructive behavior. They neither want nor respect parents who enable it by condoning it and financing it. No kid would want that. My goodness that advice is warped.