A Liverpool nurse who treats the health impacts of ketamine addiction says some young patients have told her they have considered taking their own lives because the pain is so unbearable.
Heavy ketamine use inflames and breaks down the protective bladder lining, leaving users in often unbearable agony which most pain medication cannot mask.
Last November a specialist clinic was set up at the Royal Liverpool and Aintree hospitals to try to deal with the complex medical problems users face – one of the first in the country.
The mother of one patient said she had even wondered whether to start planning her daughter’s funeral after her major organs started to fail.
“It was just horrendous,” she said.
Megan is aged in her early 20s but looks much younger.
She has been off ketamine a year but is still dealing with the health effects of her previous daily use, which destroyed her bladder lining.
“It was just like big chunks of jelly coming out of my bladder and they were all full of blood,” she said.
Megan was terrified and in severe pain, but she could not stop.
Her mother Angela, initially unaware of her daughter’s addiction, said she was constantly taking her to the doctor to try to find out what was wrong.
“She just couldn’t get off the bed, she was weeing in bottles and it was just blood. It was horrendous,” she said.
Megan is still dealing with the health effects of her previous daily ketamine use [BBC]
Angela said eventually Megan’s body started to shut down.
She continued: “Her liver was failing, her kidneys were failing, her bladder was already completely gone, her nose was damaged with all the ketamine. So it was just thinking to yourself, I’m going to be planning her funeral here.”
Megan is a patient at the specialist ketamine clinic at Aintree Hospital, set up to deal with the complex needs of patients who are often struggling with the physical and psychological affects of the drug while also trying to beat their addiction.
Consultant Urologist Emma Fishleigh said having a dedicated service meant patients can be seen by various specialists on the same day.
“There are some quite difficult patients to get to come to clinic and engage with medical services so if we can do as much as we can on that one day when they’re there, that’s going to benefit them as well,” she said.
“The use of ketamine has been skyrocketing over the years. It particularly seems to be quite bad in the North West and Liverpool”
One of the main issues patients face is the unbearable bladder pain.
Dr Graeme Fitzpatrick said patients can end up in a “vicious cycle” of pain and pain relief [BBC]
Ambre Au-Delves, a nurse who specialises in urology treatment, said it was distressing to see.
“I’m seeing patients that are the same age as my sons and my son’s friends and they’re crying, they’re in pain and they don’t know how to deal with it,” she said.
Dr Graeme Fitzpatrick is a consultant in pain medicine. He said many people he saw were in crisis.
“They end up in a very vicious cycle. They’re obviously using ketamine all the time, their pain’s getting worse and worse, and then one of the big issues is that other pain killers aren’t really helping.”
Ironically, one of the few effective pain killers is ketamine, which in other circumstances, is used under controlled conditions in the NHS as an anaesthetic.
Ketamine addicts would not be prescribed ketamine, but often end up sourcing it themselves to relieve their symptoms.
“This is the only thing that for a short time gives them a little bit of relief, even though we know over time it’s just making it worse,” said Fitzpatrick.
‘Painful treatment’
He said they try to persuade patients to manage with psychological support and other, less destructive, medication.
People are also introduced to addiction support services to try to help them off the drug.
James Mawhinney is a senior social worker with the Change Grow Live charity and leads on ketamine addiction across the Liverpool city region.
He said the physical damage happened far more quickly than with other drugs, leading to wider problems.
“It’s heartbreaking because of the way that they’re living, because of the impact on them as a person, because of the pain that they’re experiencing, there’s a lot of impact on mental health,” he said.
“There’s a lot of suicidal ideation. They find it really difficult to leave the house sometimes because of the bladder problems they’re experiencing.
“They can’t take public transport so it becomes a massive barrier to get out and go to appointments in different settings.”
Some of the damage can be helped by a process called bladder installation, which involves inserting a liquid through a catheter to coat the bladder and help repair the lining.
The treatment itself can be painful – particularly for men – but nurse Ambre Au-Delves said the treatment could make a significant difference.
“It can improve, definitely. Especially when you’ve stopped using ketamine,” she said.
Megan stopped after getting support from the Lifeboat Recovery Community Hub in Liverpool, where she now works as a volunteer.
She said the key was wanting to change.
“I was consistent with it. I sat in the meetings and I listened to what people had to say.”
Along with her volunteering, she’s now gone back to her previous love of playing competitive football. Life, she says, is “Bright. Good, happy, peaceful. I’m just living”
Her mother Angela beamed: “I’m extremely proud of her.”
Like many who have struggled with drug addiction, Megan now wants to help others still in its grip.
“Reach out to people who have been through it. Listen to the advice, get yourself to support groups, connect with other addicts,” she said
Just think about the rest of your life because ket’s not going to be with you for the rest of your life. Ket’s going to take your life”
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