The first thing that comes to mind is the late actor Matthew Perry. We are all aware that he was abusing the drug, and the unethical collaboration of medical providers led to his demise. He was receiving ketamine via infusion, and the levels of the drug found in his system were that used for general anesthesia.
Per the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ketamine is a controlled substance used for induction and maintenance of general anesthesia. It has NOT been approved for the treatment of depression or chronic pain. However, there is much community interest in the use of ketamine for such conditions, including Matthew Perry. That being said, the FDA has approved a nasal spray, esketamine, for treatment resistant depression. Matthew Perry was not being administered a nasal spray. And it is important to point out that when ketamine is used in a method not under the recommendations of the FDA it is considered to be administered “off-label.”
Despite these logically sound reasons for medical use, ketamine continues to be marketed to the community in “off-label” uses including subanesthetic doses for mood disorders or depression. Some use it for hallucinogenic properties. And there have been some indications of using ketamine for severe pain from trauma, fractures, abdominal pain, arm/leg pain, or low back pain. Even epilepsy! But, most importantly, ketamine continues to be utilized recreationally to get high.
Ketamine carries the following risks:
- Instability of heart and blood vessel function: This means your heart rate and blood pressure can suddenly and temporarily increase or decrease. Abnormal heart beats may also occur.
- Respiratory depression: This can happen in an overdose or if the rate of administration is rapid. This could ultimately lead to respiratory or breathing failure.
- Agitation or confusion during a traditional postoperative recovery period.
- Increase in pressure within your head. Medical professionals and anesthesiologists are trained to look out for this with anyone who has a history of increased intracranial pressure.
- Liver injury.
- Cognitive, or thinking, changes, especially in children.
Therefore, anyone with blood pressure issues, cardiac history, psychiatric history including schizophrenia, and anyone pregnant or breastfeeding should all out avoid the use of this drug. And the risk of injuries from impaired alertness are abound. It is also addictive.
So what am I getting at???
No one in their right mind should be using ketamine in an off-label use to treat any conditions not listed by the FDA. Period. Ketamine requires further clinical trails and research to validate the potential positive effects mentioned previously. If you are interested in the use of ketamine to treat a condition, and would like to join a research study or clinical trial, talk to your doctor! Otherwise, we are leading ourselves down a very slippery slope of non-evidence based logic in medicine. And any medical practitioner ready to do to you what happened to Matthew Perry deserves to have their medical license revoked. There has to return a day in our lives when medical degrees, sound medical practice, and, most importantly, high quality research are taken as the gold standard. TikTok, Instagram, and simple Google searches should never be revered as the truth.
Thanks for reading!!!!
Heal today, transform tomorrow. Unlock your potential to heal, learn and grow. – Dr. Barb Wally, LLC
References:
- Office of the Commissioner. (2019, March 5). FDA approves new nasal spray medication for treatment-resistant depression; available only at a certified doctor’s office or clinic. U.S. Food And Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-new-nasal-spray-medication-treatment-resistant-depression-available-only-certified#:~:text=Esketamine%20is%20the%20s%2Denantiomer,ketamine%20%28KetalaK%29%20in%201970.
- Understanding current use of ketamine. (2024, May 7). U.S. Food And Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/understanding-current-use-ketamine-emerging-areas-therapeutic-interest-06272024
- What to know about ketamine. (2025, March 24). Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/what-to-know-about-ketamine
- Fnp, K. D. (2025, May 14). What are the uses of ketamine? https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/302663#coming-down
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*This content is original and copyright Dr Barb Wally, LLC*
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