A woman was left using the toilet 50 times a day after spending £1,000 a month on ketamine.
Paige Collins took the drug daily, addicted for a number of years before becoming alarmed by the side effects.
Commonly an anaesthetic for animals, ket is not only widely used by the NHS as an anaesthetic, sedative and pain reliever but often used as a recreational drug, popular with young adults.
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But while it is used quite widely on the club scene with many people addicted to taking it, it has a number of concerning impacts on health, particularly including the bladder.
For Paige, that included excruciating pain and a jelly-like substance when she urinated.
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“I was nipping to the loo 50 plus times a day. It was ruining my life. I couldn't go out for four or five months of 2023, I didn't leave the house,” the 25-year-old said.
Doctors found in a scan that Paige’s use of the drug had shrunk her bladder, meaning to could only hold 30ml – about the same amount as a shot glass-worth of liquid.
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That’s a shocking comparison in that the NHS states a healthy bladder should hold around 400-600ml of urine.
Experts have branded it ‘ketamine bladder’ as a rise in young people experiencing it is seen across the UK.
Dr Mohammed Belal from the British Association of Urological Surgeons, told the BBC: “Ketamine destroys the lining of the bladder, and that can have very serious consequences.
"We've noticed lots of young patients with severe bladder problems that we would not expect to see until patients are much older."
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One report says that up to 30 percent of ketamine users will experience at least one bladder problem with use.
The report said: "What’s more, using ketamine at least three times a week over a period of two years has been shown to result in altered bladder function, with some individuals experiencing severe urological problems and pain. Some users even experience the onset of symptoms quickly within a few weeks or months of taking the drug."
There are a number of reasons why it can potentially cause bladder damage including inducing inflammation in the urinary tract and bladder, which can result in swelling and irritation.
Prolonged use of the drug can also disrupt the regular function of the bladder, again causing that pain and discomfort.
Paige has said her damage is ‘irreversible’, but she is having bladder instillation treatment to help with the pain and to attempt to stretch her bladder.
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"There's nothing I can do to make my bladder the way it once was," she said. "Ket was an escape mechanism for me, which I know it also is for lots of other people. I was a party girl. Even now I still like going out dancing, but I don't take ket when I go out.
"I just want to raise awareness as I know the physical and emotional pain this has caused me and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy."
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or contact through their website 24/7, or livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week.
Jess Battison