Effects are additive. The combination is unlikely to cause any adverse or undesirable reaction beyond those that might ordinarily be expected from these drugs.
Note: Lithium may enhance and prolong the antidepressant effects of ketamine.
Substances in these categories
Ketamine
Lithium
Sources
- Lithium continuation therapy following ketamine in patients with treatment resistant unipolar depression: a randomized controlled trial. Neuropsychopharmacology, 44(10), 1812–1819. — Costi, S., Soleimani, L., Glasgow, A., Brallier, J., Spivack, J., Schwartz, J., Levitch, C. F., Richards, S., Hoch, M., Stade, E. C., Welch, A., Collins, K. A., Feder, A., Iosifescu, D. V., Charney, D. S., & Murrough, J. W. (2019)
- A Randomized Add-on Trial of an N-methyl-D-aspartate Antagonist in Treatment-Resistant Bipolar Depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 67(8), 793. — Diazgranados, N., Ibrahim, L., Brutsche, N. E., Newberg, A., Kronstein, P., Khalife, S., Kammerer, W. A., Quezado, Z., Luckenbaugh, D. A., Salvadore, G., Machado-Vieira, R., Manji, H. K., & Zarate, C. A. (2010)
- Lithium augmentation of ketamine increases insulin signaling and antidepressant-like active stress coping in a rodent model of treatment-resistant depression. Translational Psychiatry, 11(1), 1–12. — Price, J. B., Yates, C. G., Morath, B. A., Van De Wakker, S. K., Yates, N. J., Butters, K., Frye, M. A., McGee, S. L., & Tye, S. J. (2021)
- Antidepressant mechanism of ketamine: perspective from preclinical studies. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 9. — Scheuing, L., Chiu, C.-T., Liao, H.-M., & Chuang, D.-M. (2015)
- Overlap and Divergence in Ketamine and Lithium Response in Bipolar Disorder: A Scoping Review. Pharmaceuticals, 18(11), 1662. — Toulany, J., Cunningham, J. E. A., & Nunes, A. (2025)
- Ketamine in Bipolar Disorder: A Review. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 16, 2707–2717. — Wilkowska, A., Szałach, Ł., & Cubała, W. J. (2020)
Interaction Matrix
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These drugs work together to cause an effect greater than the sum of its parts. They aren't likely to cause an adverse or undesirable reaction when used carefully.
Effects are additive. The combination is unlikely to cause any adverse or undesirable reaction beyond those that might ordinarily be expected from these drugs.
One substance may reduce or counteract some of the effects of the other.
These combinations are not usually physically harmful, but may produce undesirable effects. Use caution.
There is considerable risk of physical harm when combining these substances. Use extreme caution.
These combinations are considered dangerous and should be avoided.
The interactions between these substances are not well documented.