Man so addicted to ketamine he'd snort lines for breakfast started peeing chunks of own bladder
He would wake up screaming in agony with 'electric shock' bladder pains
A self-employed dryliner has opened up about his past struggles with drug use, which resulted in him urinating chunks of his own bladder.
The long-term effects of ketamine-use have been outlined in recent times by those who have struggled with the substance, with its impact on the bladder being one of the main warning signs from ex-addicts to current users.
Alex Logan, from Pontypridd, Wales, said that he would snort lines of the drug 'for breakfast', even being under the influence while using machinery at work.
The Brit would even climb scaffolding and drive scissor lifts after sniffing ketamine on his way to work, consuming up to seven grams a day at one point.
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But it got to the point where Alex would have to curl up 'like a foetus' on the shower floor just to urinate, as the habit had shredded his bladder.
Alex, 31, recalls beginning to use the drug regularly on nights out in 2020 to help him 'forget his problems', soon falling dependent on the drug.
He said that his 'ridiculous' behaviour would result in the substance being used 'first thing' in the morning, though pains in the bladder comparable to electric shocks would cause him to wake up screaming in agony.
He remembered squeezing as if he was giving birth when he needed to use the toilet, with the five-year addiction resulting in his bladder only being able to hold 70ml, under a fifth of a regular adult bladder's capacity.
On his 31st birthday, he was admitted to Abbeycare rehab facility in Gloucester, the city where he currently lives, describing it as the best birthday present he could've received.
Recalling how it all began, Alex said: "I went to work in Northern Ireland for six months and the guy I was working with was taking ketamine every night.
"We were staying in a room together and I ended up having a bit every night with him. By the time we came home six months later, I was fully addicted."
He admitted that things 'kept progressing' and he began taking the drug by himself, becoming the first thing he did in the morning, as Alex admitted: "My mates would see me doing lines at half past ten in the morning and they would say - 'you're insane, what are you doing mate, you've got a problem'."
Pains in his back and bladder then highlighted the toll his addiction was having on his health, as he developed ulcerative cystitis, which is the shedding of the bladder lining until it is shrunken or destroyed, which can result in damaged tissue being urinated out in pieces or lumps of blood.
He said that 'you think you're going to die' when you experience the stomach cramps, explaining: "I was going to the toilet every 15 or 20 minutes. I would often have bits of blood in my wee - scar tissue from my bladder."
Alex even stopped working as he could barely leave his bedroom, saying that he lived with the struggles for arounf 18 months before checking into rehab on 30 June.
Following a 12-week detox, he plans to start a counselling course to help others with addiction, as he claimed: "Ketamine is going to be the death of many young women and many young men."
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
Joshua Nair