Many mental health medications can cause changes in appetite and resultant changes in weight. Is ketamine one of these meds? Does ketamine cause weight gain?
How Does Ketamine Affect the Body?
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that has been used for decades by both medical doctors and veterinarians. When used by a qualified professional for a medical purpose – such as to prepare patients for surgical procedures – ketamine’s effects include:
- Short-term sedation
- Loss of consciousness
- Pain relief
Over the past two decades, ketamine has also received considerable attention for its potential value in mental health treatment. Research indicates that this medication’s mental health benefits may include easing symptoms associated with:
- Anxiety disorders
- Depressive disorders
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Bipolar disorder
- Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
In addition to these legitimate uses, ketamine is also illicitly used for recreational purposes. It is often included in the informal category of “club drugs,” along with GHB, Rohypnol, and MDMA (ecstasy). People who engage in recreational ketamine use report effects such as:
- Deep relaxation
- Elevated mood, to the point of euphoria
- A dream-like sense of dissociation
- Altered perceptions of space and time
- Hallucinations
- Retrograde amnesia
How does this all happen? How can one drug have such a range of effects, from sedation and anesthesia to improved mental health symptoms and altered perceptions?
The truth is that experts aren’t entirely sure how ketamine produces the effects that it does, but they have made some educated guesses based on continued research.
In 2022, a team from the Penn Medicine found that ketamine alters the activity of neurons in a part of the brain called the cerebral cortex. This area is involved in functions such as learning, memory, emotions, speech, and decision-making.
The Penn Medicine team described this effect as the flipping of a switch. Ketamine suppresses the functioning of neurons that are typically active, while activating neurons that are usually dormant.
In 2023, researchers with Columbia University found that ketamine can alter levels of dopamine in the brains of rodents. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is linked with memory, movement, emotions, and the body’s reward system.
The Columbia researchers reported that repeated exposure to ketamine caused a dopamine decrease in regions of the brain that are linked to mood, and increases in areas that control functions such as the body’s metabolism
Does Ketamine Cause Weight Gain?
If ketamine can impact metabolism, and metabolism can affect weight, does ketamine cause weight gain?
The answer to this question isn’t clear yet. Though some people have experienced weight changes after using the drug, researchers haven’t found a direct, conclusive link between ketamine and weight gain or weight loss.
While the drug itself doesn’t seem to trigger weight gain, its ability to treat symptoms of various mental health disorders may have an indirect effect on a person’s weight.
For example, loss of appetite and unintentional weight loss can be symptoms of depression. If ketamine therapy helps to alleviate a person’s depressive symptoms, this may result in a return to a “normal” appetite and subsequent weight gain.
Also, a March 2022 study in the journal Brain Sciences found that ketamine therapy may have value when included in comprehensive treatment for eating disorders.
Again, this does not mean that taking ketamine will trigger weight gain. Instead, ketamine therapy may help people overcome the urge to starve themselves (which is characteristic of anorexia nervosa) or engage in binge-and-purge behaviors (which are characteristic of bulimia nervosa).
So, does ketamine cause weight gain? There’s no irrefutable evidence that ketamine can directly cause an increase in weight, but research, case studies, and anecdotal reports indicate that ketamine’s ability to ease the symptoms of certain mental health disorders may lead to healthier eating habits and potential weight gain.
Mental Health Conditions That May Cause Weight Gain
Several mental health conditions can lead to significant unintentional changes in weight, including both losses and gains. Sometimes, weight gain is a direct result of the symptoms a person develops. In other cases, it may be due to the medication they take to treat their condition.
Three disorders that are frequently associated with weight gain are depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
Depression
Changes in appetite, lack of energy, and diminished motivation are common symptoms among people who have depressive disorders. If a person seeks comfort in food as a way to deal with their emotional pain, their increased eating combined with decreased activity can easily cause weight gain.
A recent Harvard study found that people who took four commonly prescribed antidepressants – sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), escitalopram (Lexapro), and duloxetine (Cymbalta) – experienced moderate weight gain when assessed at six and 24 months after starting to take the medication.
Bipolar Disorder
A 2019 Frontiers in Nutrition article reported that uncontrolled weight gain is a frequent outcome for people who have bipolar disorder. The authors of this article hypothesized that this weight gain may be due in part to metabolic dysfunctions that are frequently associated with bipolar disorder.
They also noted that many medications that are often prescribed to treat bipolar disorder – including some antidepressants, atypical antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers – can boost appetite while also having a sedating effect, which can contribute to weight gain.
A separate study found that more than 46% of people with bipolar I disorder also had alcohol use disorder (alcoholism). Experts have long understood that heavy drinking and related unhealthy lifestyle habits can contribute to overweight and obesity.
Schizophrenia
Obesity is closely linked with schizophrenia, with some sources reporting that the rate of obesity is twice as high among people with this disorder than among the general public.
The article linked to in the previous sentence also identified obesity and cardiovascular disease as among the reasons why the average life expectancy for someone with schizophrenia is 10-20 years shorter than those who don’t have this condition.
As with depression and bipolar disorder, weight maintenance problems for those with schizophrenia may be due to both the impact of the condition itself and the medications that are often used to treat it.
High-fat diets and low levels of physical activity are common among individuals who have schizophrenia, and many people with this disorder are treated with antipsychotics that have been linked with weight gain.
Contact Conscious Health About Our Ketamine Treatments Today
Conscious Health Center offers a dynamic array of innovative services, including ketamine therapy, for adults whose lives have been disrupted by anxiety, depression, PTSD, and certain other mental health disorders.
To determine if ketamine therapy or another form of treatment is right for you, please visit our Contact page or call us today.
Published: 1/24/2025