'Ketamine was not for me': Matthew Perry wrote about anesthetic use in his memoir long before his death

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Matthew Perry wrote about his dislike for Ketamine in his memoir ‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing’ long before he died from 'the acute effects of ketamine'.

Per TMZ, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office recently released a report stating Perry's cause of death. They further revealed that the ‘FRIENDS’ star underwent a ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety just a week and a half before his death. 

However, they also stated that the ketamine found in his system at the time of his death 'could not be from that infusion therapy, since ketamine's half-life is 3 to 4 hours, or less'.

The news outlet further shared from the medical examiner’s report that the drug in Perry’s system caused both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression.

Other contributing factors to his death were drowning, coronary artery disease, and buprenorphine effects.

While ketamine is used for treating depression, buprenorphine is used to treat opioid addiction. 

The report further stated that Perry was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy on alternate days for a while before a doctor decided six months ago it wasn’t needed that often. 

The Medical Examiner also noted that Perry had been sober for the last 19 months before his death.

‘Ketamine felt like a giant exhale’

While Ketamine was a prescription drug for Perry, he was not very akin to the therapy. He also made his abhorrence towards the drug known in his memoir which was published in November 2022. 

Recalling the time when he was doing daily infusions while in rehab in Switzerland during Covid, Perry shared about his experience with the drug.

He wrote, "Ketamine was a very popular street drug in the 1980s. There is a synthetic form of it now, and it’s used for two reasons: to ease pain and help with depression.”

He continued, “Has my name written all over it -- they might as well have called it 'Matty,'" before adding, "Ketamine felt like a giant exhale.”

He then went on to describe the ordeal that he had to go through whenever taking the therapy and shared, “They'd bring me into a room, sit me down, put headphones on me so I could listen to music, blindfold me, and put an IV in."

While music helped him 'disassociate' from his surroundings, during the infusions, he wrote that he 'often thought' that 'he was dying during that hour'.

Even though, his antipathy towards the treatment was clearly known, Perry accepted it saying “anything different is good,” per Toofab.

Perry, who was resolute to come out of his opioid addiction, wrote, "Oh, I thought, this is what happens when you die. Yet I would continually sign up for this s--t because it was something different, and anything different is good.”

He continued, "Taking K is like being hit in the head with a giant happy shovel. But the hangover was rough and outweighed the shovel. Ketamine was not for me."

Matthew Perry was shy of ordering a diet coke before his death

Matthew Perry, who had to undergo grueling treatments to gain sobriety, was commmitted to the cause of sobriety until his death on October 28. 

Model and entrepreneur Athenna Crosby, who went on a lunch date with the star just a day before his passing commented on his desire to stay sober.

During an interview with Daily Mail, Crosby said, "I don't think he had any desire to get back into drugs and alcohol," before adding, “I think he was so proud to finally be over that hump because he openly struggled with addiction for decades, and he was in and out of rehab as recently as the last couple of years.”

She continued, “He was relieved that he finally felt it was behind him, and he was trying to do everything to fight that.”

She also shared that because of his commitment to staying clean, the '17 Again' star was also thinking of refusing a diet Coke. She shared, “While we were having lunch, he refused to touch the drink menu. He was saying that he's gotten really into fitness and pickleball and he wants to get all his friends into it.”

“I think he was really serious about revamping himself into a whole new man," Crosby added before continuing, “He was a little shy to order a Diet Coke because that's caffeine, and it's one more thing that some people might struggle with.”