IM Ketamine vs IV vs Spravato: The Real Differences

Most side effects show up during the visit and ease as the drug wears off. The serious risks are the reason screening comes first.

Table of Contents

1. Is IM Ketamine Safe? The Short Answer
2. Side Effects During a Session
3. The Blood Pressure Question
4. What Dissociation Feels Like
5. Who Should Avoid Ketamine
6. Risks That Come With Repeated Use
7. Medications and Interactions
8. Why the Setting Matters
9. FAQs About IM Ketamine Side Effects

People considering ketamine usually arrive with two worries. One is what it will feel like. The other is whether it is dangerous.

Both deserve straight answers. Ketamine has real side effects and a few serious risks, and it is not suitable for everyone. In a monitored medical setting, with proper screening beforehand, most of what happens during a session is short-lived and manageable.

Is IM Ketamine Safe? The Short Answer

For carefully selected patients treated in a supervised setting, the published safety record for intramuscular (IM) ketamine is reassuring.

One large real-world report followed patients at US outpatient clinics over 2,532 IM treatments (Ahuja et al., BMC Psychiatry, 2022). An adverse event occurred in 2.3% of treatments. Nausea was the most common at 1.9%, and no severe adverse events were observed. Abnormal vital signs appeared in 0.16% of treatments, and all stabilized within 30 minutes.

That study had no control group, and its patients had already been screened. Its numbers describe what happens when the right people are treated the right way. They are not a promise for everyone.

Side Effects During a Session

The FDA label for Spravato, the esketamine nasal spray, gives the most detailed list from controlled trials. Its most common adverse reactions in treatment-resistant depression included:

• Dissociation
• Dizziness and vertigo
• Nausea and vomiting
• Sedation and lethargy
• Reduced sensation, or numbness
• Anxiety
• Increased blood pressure
• Headache
• Feeling drunk

Esketamine and standard ketamine are closely related, so the same effects are expected with IM ketamine, though the rates may differ.

Most of these show up during the session and ease as the drug wears off. That timing is why monitoring happens on site rather than at home.

The Blood Pressure Question

Ketamine raises blood pressure for a while. This is the side effect with the most bearing on who can be treated.

The American Psychiatric Association consensus statement describes one study of 84 patients receiving IV ketamine for depression. Blood pressure rose on average by about 20 points systolic and 13 points diastolic during treatment. Around 30% of patients briefly passed 180/100 or a heart rate of 110 at some point. There were no lasting medical complications.

For esketamine, the label says blood pressure rises peak about 40 minutes after dosing and last about 4 hours.

That is manageable in a healthy person. It is a different matter for someone whose blood vessels cannot safely take the strain. The ketamine prescribing information lists it as contraindicated in patients for whom a significant rise in blood pressure would be a serious hazard. This is why blood pressure is checked before every session and watched during it.

What Dissociation Feels Like

Dissociation is the effect people ask about most.

The FDA describes it as a disconnection between a person’s thoughts, feelings, and sense of space, time, and self. People often describe feeling detached, dreamlike, or as if watching from a distance. Some find it pleasant. Some find it unsettling, especially the first time.

The APA consensus statement calls these effects transient, and advises that the treating clinician be prepared to manage marked changes in mental state if they occur.

Clinics often keep the room quiet and dim, and the Ahuja clinics also used eye shades and calm music. The ketamine label advises keeping verbal, touch and visual stimulation low to ease reactions during recovery. It also helps to know in advance that the feeling is expected and that it ends.

Who Should Avoid Ketamine

Screening exists because a small number of conditions change the balance of risk entirely.

Conditions where a blood pressure spike is dangerous. The ketamine label names this as a contraindication. The Spravato label lists specific examples: aneurysmal vascular disease, arteriovenous malformation and a history of bleeding in the brain.

Allergy to ketamine. Known hypersensitivity to ketamine is a contraindication on both labels.

A history of psychosis. The APA consensus statement recommends that the evaluation check for psychotic disorders, and notes that the strongest evidence is in depression without psychotic features.

Current or past substance misuse. Ketamine has known abuse potential, so the evaluation asks about substance use in detail. The consensus statement encourages confirming that history with family members where possible.

Pregnancy. The Spravato label warns esketamine may cause fetal harm and advises pregnancy planning and prevention for women who could become pregnant.

Uncontrolled high blood pressure also needs attention before treatment. The Spravato label advises weighing the risk carefully when baseline blood pressure is elevated, for example above 140/90.

None of this is a do-it-yourself checklist. It is what your psychiatrist works through at the evaluation.

Risks That Come With Repeated Use

Some risks relate less to a single session and more to how often ketamine is used over time.

Bladder and urinary problems. Serious urinary complications, including cystitis, have been reported with long-term ketamine use or abuse, according to the ketamine label. In Spravato clinical studies lasting up to a year, no cases of esketamine-related interstitial cystitis were seen, though urinary symptoms were more frequent than with placebo.

Liver effects. In March 2026 the ketamine label added a warning about liver and bile duct problems with recurrent use, including medically supervised use for unapproved indications. It recommends baseline liver function tests for patients on a plan that involves repeated dosing.

Memory and thinking. The APA consensus statement links chronic, high-frequency ketamine use with possible cognitive impairment.

Misuse. The consensus statement asks clinicians to stay alert to the potential for ketamine use disorder.

The consensus statement recommends checking cognition, urinary symptoms and substance use during a course of repeated treatments. Ask your clinician how they monitor each one.

Medications and Interactions

Tell your psychiatrist about everything you take, including supplements and alcohol.

The ketamine label warns that combining it with benzodiazepines, opioid pain medication, alcohol or other sedating drugs may cause profound sedation and slowed breathing. The Spravato label adds psychostimulants, such as amphetamine and methylphenidate ADHD medications, and MAO inhibitors, both of which may push blood pressure higher.

That does not always rule treatment out. It can change the timing or the plan. Do not stop or adjust any prescription on your own to qualify for ketamine. Your psychiatrist will tell you what, if anything, needs to change.

Why the Setting Matters

The same drug carries different risks depending on where it is taken.

In October 2023 the FDA issued a compounding risk alert about compounded ketamine products sold for at-home use. It warned that using them without a health care provider monitoring for sedation, dissociation and changes in vital signs may put patients at risk of serious adverse events.

A supervised IM session addresses exactly that. Vital signs are measured before the dose, a clinician is present while the effects peak, and you leave only when you are steady. At our practice, treatment starts with a physical exam and a review of your medical history.

FAQs About IM Ketamine Side Effects

Is IM ketamine addictive? Ketamine has recognized abuse potential. In a supervised medical course, doses are measured, given only in the clinic, and paired with screening for substance use history. The APA consensus statement recommends ongoing vigilance for signs of misuse during treatment.

Will I hallucinate? Perception often changes during a session, and some people experience vivid imagery. These effects are usually temporary and pass as the drug wears off. Your clinician is there throughout.

Can I drive myself home? No. For esketamine, the FDA label says not to drive or operate machinery until the next day after a restful sleep. The same caution is sensible after IM ketamine, so arrange a ride in advance.

I have high blood pressure. Can I still have ketamine? Possibly. Well-controlled blood pressure does not automatically rule you out, but it needs assessing first. Talk to your psychiatrist, who will weigh your readings and heart health before recommending treatment.

How do side effects of IM compare with IV or Spravato? The types of effects are broadly similar across all three. Our comparison of IM ketamine, IV infusion and Spravato covers how the routes differ in dosing, monitoring and cost.

Start With an Evaluation

Whether ketamine is safe for you depends on a full picture of your health. That is what the first appointment is for. If you want to know what treatment itself looks like, read what an IM ketamine session involves.

Dr. Sambunaris & Associates provides ketamine therapy in Alpharetta, Georgia, including for PTSD.

Book My Evaluation or call (770) 817-9200.

Reviewed by Angelo Sambunaris, M.D., with more than 20 years of clinical experience and over 30 years in clinical research.

If you are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day.

Medical Disclaimer: This article is for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Ketamine is not FDA approved for the treatment of depression or any other psychiatric disorder, and its use for these conditions is off-label. Reading this article does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always talk to your doctor or another qualified health provider about your own situation, and never start, stop, or change medication without speaking to your prescriber. If you think you may be having a medical emergency, call 911.

Trauma that happened once and trauma that happened for years do not leave the same marks.

Table of Contents

1. What Is Complex PTSD?
2. How Complex PTSD Differs From PTSD
3. The Three Additional Symptom Clusters
4. What Gets Misdiagnosed
5. Why the Distinction Changes Treatment
6. Diagnostic Status in the US
7. FAQs About Complex PTSD

You have read about PTSD and some of it fits. Flashbacks, avoidance, feeling constantly on alert. Other parts do not. There is no single event you can point to, your sense of who you are feels unstable, and relationships have always been difficult in ways that seem connected. Complex PTSD describes what develops after prolonged, repeated trauma rather than a single incident. This guide covers how it differs from PTSD, what gets misdiagnosed as something else, and why the distinction changes what treatment should look like.

What Is Complex PTSD?

Complex PTSD develops after prolonged or repeated trauma from which escape was difficult or impossible, such as childhood abuse or neglect, domestic violence, trafficking, or captivity. It includes the core symptoms of PTSD alongside three additional areas of difficulty involving emotional regulation, sense of self, and relationships. It is recognized as a distinct diagnosis in the World Health Organization’s ICD-11 classification. The key element is not just what happened but the circumstances. Prolonged, repeated, and inescapable. Childhood is particularly significant, since trauma occurring when identity and attachment are still forming affects development rather than interrupting an already-established sense of self.

How Complex PTSD Differs From PTSD

Both share the core PTSD features. Complex PTSD adds to them.

	PTSD	Complex PTSD
Typical cause	Single or time-limited event	Prolonged, repeated, inescapable
Re-experiencing	Yes	Yes
Avoidance	Yes	Yes
Sense of threat	Yes	Yes
Emotional regulation	Usually intact between episodes	Persistently difficult
Sense of self	Usually stable	Persistently negative, shame-based
Relationships	May be affected	Persistently difficult to sustain

Someone with PTSD after a car crash typically has a life that functioned before the event and symptoms attached to that event. Someone with complex PTSD from childhood often has no “before” to return to. The difficulties feel like personality rather than symptoms, which is precisely why they get labeled that way.

The Three Additional Symptom Clusters

These are what distinguish the diagnosis. Emotional regulation difficulties. Intense emotional reactions that take a long time to settle, difficulty calming down, emotional numbness alternating with overwhelming feeling, and in some cases self-destructive behavior. Negative self-concept. Persistent beliefs of being worthless, damaged, or fundamentally different from other people, accompanied by deep shame and guilt. This is not low self-esteem in the ordinary sense. It is a settled conviction. Interpersonal difficulties. Trouble trusting, difficulty sustaining closeness, either avoiding relationships or repeatedly entering harmful ones, and feeling permanently disconnected from others. Those three, together with the core PTSD features, form the picture. The shame element is the one most commonly missed clinically, since people rarely volunteer it. It is frequently the most disabling part.

What Gets Misdiagnosed

Complex PTSD is commonly identified as something else, and the alternative labels carry different implications. Borderline personality disorder. Considerable symptom overlap exists, particularly around emotional regulation and relationships. The distinction is clinically debated, and a trauma-informed formulation changes both treatment and how someone is treated. Treatment-resistant depression. Persistent low mood and negative self-concept read as depression, and antidepressant treatment produces partial results when the trauma is unaddressed. Generalized anxiety disorder. Chronic hypervigilance is mistaken for generalized worry. Bipolar disorder. Rapid emotional shifts are misread as mood episodes. Personality difficulties usually, which is the most damaging misattribution, since it frames a trauma response as who someone is. That pattern of partial response is diagnostic in itself. Someone whose depression or anxiety improves somewhat with treatment but never resolves is worth reassessing for trauma history.

Why the Distinction Changes Treatment

Standard PTSD treatments were developed largely for single-incident trauma, and applying them unmodified to complex presentations can go badly. Pacing differs. Trauma-focused work that begins too quickly can overwhelm someone whose emotional regulation is already limited. Phase-based approaches usually begin with stabilization and skills before processing. Safety and stabilization come first. Establishing emotional regulation skills, safety, and a working relationship precedes trauma processing. The relationship carries more weight. For trauma involving people who should have been safe, the therapeutic relationship itself is part of the treatment rather than a delivery mechanism. Timelines are longer. Complex PTSD usually requires longer treatment than single-incident PTSD, and expectations should reflect that. Medication supports rather than resolves. It can help sleep, hyperarousal, and coexisting depression. It does not treat the trauma itself. The National Center for PTSD publishes information on trauma and its treatment.

Diagnostic Status in the US

This causes genuine confusion and is worth stating plainly. Complex PTSD is a recognized diagnosis in the World Health Organization’s ICD-11. It is not a separate diagnosis in the DSM-5, the manual most commonly used in the United States. In practice that means a US clinician may recognize the presentation, describe it as complex trauma, and record a different formal diagnosis for administrative purposes. That does not mean your experience is not real or that clinicians will not understand it. It means the paperwork may say PTSD, or PTSD with other diagnoses alongside, when the treatment approach reflects the complexity. It is reasonable to ask a clinician directly how they think about complex trauma and how it shapes their approach. The answer tells you a great deal about whether they are the right fit.

FAQs About Complex PTSD

Is complex PTSD a real diagnosis? Yes, in the World Health Organization’s ICD-11 classification. It is not a separate diagnosis in the DSM-5 used most commonly in the United States, so a US clinician may recognize the presentation when recording a different formal diagnosis. The clinical concept is well established regardless. Can you have complex PTSD without a single traumatic event? Yes. Complex PTSD typically develops from prolonged repeated experiences rather than one incident, including childhood neglect or emotional abuse where nothing dramatic happened on any particular day. The absence of a single identifiable event does not rule it out. How is complex PTSD different from borderline personality disorder? There is considerable overlap in emotional regulation and relationship difficulties, and the distinction is clinically debated. A complex PTSD framing centers prolonged trauma as the cause. That difference in formulation affects treatment approach and how someone is regarded, which matters more than it sounds. Does medication help complex PTSD? It can help specific symptoms including sleep disturbance, hyperarousal, and coexisting depression or anxiety. It does not treat the trauma itself. Psychological treatment is central, and medication usually supports it rather than substituting for it. How long does treatment take? Longer than for single-incident PTSD. Phase-based approaches usually begin with stabilization and emotional regulation skills before any trauma processing, and that first phase alone can take considerable time. Anyone offering a fixed short timeline for complex trauma is not describing it accurately.

Get a Trauma-Informed Assessment

If depression or anxiety treatment has produced partial results for years, a trauma history is worth exploring properly rather than trying another medication. Dr. Sambunaris & Associates treats PTSD in Alpharetta, Georgia. Book My Assessment or call (770) 817-9200. Reviewed by Angelo Sambunaris, M.D., with more than 20 years of clinical experience. If you are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day. This article is general information, not medical advice.  

One injection into a muscle. Most of the appointment is the careful part around it.

Table of Contents

1. What Intramuscular Ketamine Means
2. Why the Route Matters
3. Before Your First Session
4. What Happens During a Session
5. The Rest of the Day
6. How Many Sessions It Takes
7. FAQs About Intramuscular Ketamine

Most people who ask about ketamine have already tried several antidepressants. What they want to know is simple. What actually happens in the room?

The answer is less dramatic than the word ketamine suggests. You sit in a reclining chair, receive a single injection, and rest while the effects rise and fade under observation. The whole visit is built around monitoring.

This guide walks through intramuscular (IM) ketamine from the first evaluation to the drive home you will not be making yourself.

What Intramuscular Ketamine Means

Intramuscular simply describes the route. The medication is injected into a large muscle rather than dripped into a vein through an IV line.

Ketamine has been an FDA-approved anesthetic since 1970, and the injectable form is labeled for both intravenous and intramuscular use, according to the FDA prescribing information for Ketalar. For depression it is used off-label. In an October 2023 compounding risk alert, the FDA stated that ketamine is not approved for the treatment of any psychiatric disorder, which means the dose, the schedule and the monitoring are set by the treating physician rather than by a label.

At Dr. Sambunaris & Associates, IM is the route Dr. Sambunaris uses for ketamine therapy in Alpharetta.

Why the Route Matters

How ketamine enters the body decides how much of it reaches the bloodstream.

A review in Pharmacological Reviews puts the bioavailability of an intramuscular dose at 93%, with peak blood levels reached within 5 to 30 minutes. Swallowed ketamine is a different story. Only 16% to 29% of an oral dose survives first-pass metabolism in the liver, and nasal ketamine sits around 45% to 50%.

In practical terms, IM delivers nearly the full dose without needing an IV line, and the effect arrives within minutes. That combination is the main practical argument for the route.

Before Your First Session

A proper evaluation comes before any treatment.

The American Psychiatric Association task force that published a consensus statement on ketamine for mood disorders recommends a pretreatment assessment that covers:

• A full diagnostic assessment, including any history of substance use or psychotic disorders
• A baseline measure of symptom severity, so later change can be tracked
• A documented history of every antidepressant tried, to confirm the earlier trials were adequate
• A review of physical health for risk factors, blood pressure among them

At our practice, candidacy is decided after a physical exam, a review of your medical history and a discussion of your symptoms. From there Dr. Sambunaris tailors the plan to you.

Bring a written list of every medication and supplement you take, with doses. Bring the antidepressants you have stopped as well. That list shapes the decision more than anything else you can prepare.

What Happens During a Session

Clinics differ in the details, but the structure is consistent.

Vital signs first. Blood pressure and pulse are checked before anything is given. Ketamine raises blood pressure for a while, so the starting number matters.

The injection. A single shot into a muscle, similar to a routine vaccine.

The effect. Within minutes, perception usually starts to shift. This is dissociation, which the FDA describes as a disconnection between a person’s thoughts, feelings, and sense of space, time, and self. It is expected, and it fades.

Observation. You stay seated while staff monitor you. In one published study of IM ketamine at US outpatient clinics (Ahuja et al., BMC Psychiatry, 2022), patients rested in a reclining chair in a quiet, dim room, wore eye shades, listened to calm instrumental music, and had blood pressure and pulse checked with direct observation for at least 60 minutes. A VA program kept patients for 120 minutes.

The quiet, dim room is deliberate. The ketamine label itself advises keeping verbal, touch and visual stimulation low to ease reactions during recovery.

You leave once the clinician is satisfied that you are steady and alert. Your care team will tell you what their own protocol looks like before your first session.

The Rest of the Day

Plan on someone else driving.

For esketamine nasal spray, the FDA label instructs patients not to drive or operate machinery until the next day after a restful sleep. The same caution is sensible after IM ketamine unless your clinician tells you otherwise. Arrange a ride before you arrive, not after.

Keep the rest of the day light. Avoid alcohol, big decisions and anything that needs full coordination. Some people feel tired or mildly nauseated afterward. Tell your care team if either lingers.

Note how you feel over the next few days, in writing. Mood, sleep and energy are all worth tracking. That record is useful at your next appointment, since depression tends to blur memory of how recent days actually went.

How Many Sessions It Takes

One session is rarely the whole plan.

The APA consensus statement describes the antidepressant effect of ketamine as rapid and robust, but often transient. It also notes that repeated dosing can extend the benefit for at least several weeks. Most published studies have looked at less than a month of treatment, and one randomized trial of IV ketamine found twice-weekly dosing about as effective as three times a week.

Real-world schedules look similar. In the VA study of 179 veterans, the induction course was eight IM treatments over four weeks. In the Ahuja outpatient study, the median was four treatments, and patients who continued with maintenance sessions kept an average improvement for more than seven months. That study was open-label with no control group, so its numbers are encouraging rather than conclusive.

What matters more than any average is the plan built for you. Frequency usually tapers as symptoms improve, and continuing depends on whether the benefit is clear.

FAQs About Intramuscular Ketamine

Will I be unconscious during IM ketamine? No. The doses used for depression are far lower than anesthetic doses, and the APA consensus statement notes that the standard depression dose does not produce general anesthetic effects. You remain awake, though perception changes for a while. The experience is often described as dreamlike or detached rather than asleep.

Does the injection hurt? It is a standard intramuscular injection, much like a vaccine. Most people feel a brief sting at the site. The part people tend to remember is the altered perception afterward, not the shot.

How quickly might I notice a difference? Ketamine is studied for depression partly because its effect can arrive quickly, while standard antidepressants commonly take weeks. Response varies from person to person, and it does not help everyone. Your clinician will track your symptoms across sessions rather than judging from one.

Can I keep taking my antidepressant? Often, yes, but that decision belongs to your psychiatrist. Some medications interact with ketamine or affect blood pressure. Never start, stop, or change a medication on your own around ketamine treatment.

Is IM ketamine the same as Spravato? No. Spravato is esketamine, a nasal spray containing one of the two mirror-image forms that make up ketamine, and it is FDA approved for treatment-resistant depression. IM ketamine uses the standard mixture of both forms and is off-label. The two are not interchangeable, and the right choice depends on your history.

Ask Whether IM Ketamine Fits Your Situation

If two or more antidepressants have not worked, it is worth a conversation. Start with our guide to treatment-resistant depression, then talk to us about whether ketamine belongs in your plan.

Dr. Sambunaris & Associates provides ketamine therapy in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Book My Consultation or call (770) 817-9200.

Reviewed by Angelo Sambunaris, M.D., with more than 20 years of clinical experience and over 30 years in clinical research.

If you are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day.

Medical Disclaimer: This article is for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Ketamine is not FDA approved for the treatment of depression or any other psychiatric disorder, and its use for these conditions is off-label. Reading this article does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always talk to your doctor or another qualified health provider about your own situation, and never start, stop, or change medication without speaking to your prescriber. If you think you may be having a medical emergency, call 911.