Journeys into the bright world

A significant proportion (18 percent) of patients receiving ketamine have vivid and colorful dreams, frequently of "outer space" or "floating."

Perhaps the most remarkable property of these dreams was that the majority were pleasant, even though the patients had been heavily premedicated, were given knock-out doses of ketamine, and were being subjected to painful and frightening operations.

In this article the following three cases were mentioned:

Case 1. This 42-year-old, 120-lb. woman was hospitalized for a dilation and curettage in August 1971… Following the surgical procedure, she dreamed in the recovery room of riding in a space ship or floating down in it.

A week later, while walking down a flight of steps, she perceived the same sensation as described in her recovery-room dreams; the sensation lasted until she was off the steps. This episode would recur each time she descended steps, over a three-week time span.

Case 2. This was a 63-year old, 210-lb. man who had undergone ten anesthetic procedures during the preceding six years for operations on a recurrent bladder tumor… His dreams in the recovery room consisted of "floating" or "flying" in space with his extremities "open like wings." A week after discharge, while walking down a flight of steps, he experienced the same sensation for a few seconds.

Case 3. This 60-year-old, 128-lb. woman was admitted in January 1972 for an operation on the flexor tendon on an index finger… In the recovery room she dreamed of numerous faceless people surrounding her bed. She was discharged two days later. Thereafter, and for about a week, each time she lay down, she saw faceless people around her bed, each such episode lasting for five or six seconds. Interviewed four months later, she had not had any recurrence of these episodes."

It also stated that of 1400 patients undergoing ketamine anesthesia, 80 percent reported dreaming while in the recovery room.

The incidence and quality of dreams following ketamine anesthesia-floating in space, splitting of the body image, and depersonalization-are far different from dreams previously described following conventional anesthetic agents. Also emergence delirium and/or hallucinatory effects following ketamine are much more common than with any other general anesthetic.

For my own part, I deliberately accelerated my intake during February with the thought in mind that I should check out the upper limits of safety before publishing this manuscript. After a week of daily tripping I began to suffer seriously from insomnia. By the first part of March I was sleeping only about three hours a night-and my body has always required an average amount of rest.