Ketamine addiction left me peeing glass, wearing nappies and with a MARSHMALLOW face – I took it all day from age 19
'NO HOPE' Ketamine addiction left me peeing glass, wearing nappies and with a MARSHMALLOW face – I took it all day from age 19
JACK Curran was just 19 when he began using ketamine to cope with the pain from a broken leg.
Within just six months, the lad from Essex was hooked taking the drug, dubbed 'this generation's heroin', all day, every day.
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Jack Curran when he was addicted to ketamine and had a 'marshmallow' face
Credit: Kennedy News
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He started taking the drug after breaking his leg
Credit: Kennedy News
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The 29-year-old now, two years sober
Credit: Kennedy News
And just a few years later, it had ravaged his body – leaving him wetting the bed in nappies, peeing 'blood and jelly' every five minutes, and screaming in agony as it felt 'like peeing glass'.
Jack, who is now 29, first tried the class B drug at 16 when his friends started experimenting with substances.
"I tried ketamine then but didn't like it, it was too strong," he said.
"I would try it intermittently only at the end of the night when there were no other drugs left.'
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That changed after a boating accident left him with a broken leg and a diagnosis of aggressive arthritis at a young age.
'I started taking it in small amounts sort of as a painkiller," he explained.
But as his tolerance grew, so did his use.
'I started to like the feeling it would give me, so I went from using small amounts to using a lot more and pretty quickly I started feeling the consequences," Jack said.
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Ketamine, also referred to as 'K' or 'Ket', is a poweful anaesthetic sometimes used in medical settings as pain relief.
But it's also known for causing a trippy, dissociative high that can be addictive.
The ketamine kids ravaging UK town as dealers hit PRIMARY schools & teen girls draw business plans to become drug lords
Long-term abuse can cause severe inflammation, pain, and irreversible damage to to bladder and urinary system, as Jack painfully discovered.
Within six months, the first warning sign hit: the dreaded 'ket cramps' - stabbing, excruciating stomach pains.
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'The first time I had that I was in agony, sweating and screaming, swearing to never do ketamine again," Jack explained.
"The belly pains were ongoing, I was crying in bed with a hot water bottle, and I couldn't get up because I was so weak.
"But after the pain stopped, I was using ketamine again within a few hours.'
By the age of 21, Jack started experiencing bladder problems.
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The therapist in training now hopes to warn others about ketamine's dangers
Credit: Kennedy News
'I was getting pain when I went to the toilet like I had some sort of UTI, like peeing glass.
"The pain was getting worse, I started urinating blood, jelly. When it was bad I was going to the toilet every five minutes.'
Doctors warned Jack they might have to remove his bladder due to severe inflammation.
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'I was against getting any procedure done because I was scared so I tried to get through it on my own.'
He endured life wearing nappies and losing control.
'I was in excruciating pain, I was wearing nappies and was incontinent. I was urinating my bed because the nappy was leaking.'
THE TOLL 'K' TAKES ON YOUR BODY
KETAMINE can lead to death by putting pressure on the heart and respiratory system.
and respiratory system.
But its other effects on the body, which are often irreversible, are horrifying, too.
'Ketamine bladder syndrome is one of the worst symptoms,' Dr Catherine Carney, an addiction specialist at Delamere, told Sun Health.
This is where the breakdown of ketamine in the body causes inflammation in the bladder wall.
It leaves people unable to hold urine and passing chunks of their bladder tissue.
Some users face the prospect of having their bladders removed entirely.
Dr Carney explains: 'The lining of the bladder can shrink over time and be extremely painful for those experiencing it.
'This can often lead to lower abdominal pain and pain when passing urine, as well as bleeding.
'It's usually what has forced people to get help because they can't tolerate it any more.
'We've had young men in agony, wetting the bed.
'Their whole life is focused on where there's a toilet because they can only hold urine for ten minutes.
'For a teenager or someone in their early 20s, that's absolutely life-changing.
'In some cases, the bladder damage progresses to the kidneys and people get kidney failure, too.
'This is developing in people who have been using for two years, so it is relatively quick.'
Dr Carney adds that the urine samples of new guests checking into the clinic are often just a 'pot of blood'.
This is followed by weeks of agony coming off the drug. An irony of ketamine use is people tend to take more and more to numb the pain of the side-effects it causes.
Dr Carney says: 'There's nothing that we can give which is as strong as a medical anaesthetic (the ketamine). We can use codeine-based products or anti-inflammatories.
'Some antidepressants help at night, but the pain is hard to manage in the early days.
'Most people that come to us, the bladder will improve to the point that they don't need to have it removed.
'But once you've got a bladder that has shrunk to the size of 70ml, that's never getting better.'
His liver was also failing, turning his skin yellow and body swollen
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"I was like a skeleton, my liver wasn't processing fluid and you hold a lot of water weight," he said.
"My fingers, my ankles and my face were like a marshmallow.'
Despite warnings he had just six months to live, Jack battled on through years of addiction.
'I was fighting for my life, but still couldn't stop using it. I never had a life, I never had a personality, I was just a shell with no hope." he added.
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'Life has changed dramatically'
Now two years sober and training to be a therapist, Jack hopes to warn others about ketamine's dangers.
'The consequences will last forever, it does leave you with lifelong symptoms.
"I'm not in pain anymore and my life has changed dramatically.'
"The frequency I go to the toilet is different to normal people, I still get up every two to three hours during the night."
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He added: 'You don't have to go down the road I went to if you're struggling, please get out of the addiction when you can."
"The end of a drug addiction battle is either death or absolute demoralisation.'
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But you should ask for an urgent GP appointment or call 111 if you've been out in the sun and: Your skin is blistered or swollen Your temperature is very high, or you feel hot and shivery You feel very tired, dizzy and sick You have a headache and muscle cramps Your baby or young child has sunburn Severe sunburn can lead to heat exhaustion and heatstroke, which can be very serious and in some cases fatal. Source: NHS "It looks like really bad eczema, she has to be out of the sun for two years, always protected. "I said the sun will never see her skin ever again," Lauren said. "She is just happy she can move and that she is not blistered." Lauren vowed to keep Paisley indoors this summer to protect her skin. "It's been hot and she's not allowed to go in the sun, she has to be covered up. We just stay in and play games," she said. 12 Lauren warned other parents to take extra care with protecting their kids from the sun Credit: Kennedy News
Scottish Sun
5 days ago
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They had to rub her skin down, to scraped her skin off. They had to get rid of all the skin. 8 Paisley was hospitalised following the ordeal Credit: Kennedy News 8 The brave girl was nothing but courageous throughout her treatment Credit: Kennedy News 8 The schoolgirl is doing much better now, but it could take two years for her skin to return to normal Credit: Kennedy News "She was hysterical, screaming. It was the worst experience of my life, I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy. She was begging for them to stop and go home. "Even touching the sunburn was hurting her so scraping down her skin was the worst experience. "They had to put plasters on her wounds because the air hitting them was making them worse." The next morning, Paisley had to return to hospital and her skin started 'bleeding' as doctors reportedly continued to remove and wash her skin. Lauren was then referred to the Broomfield Hospital burns unit where she consulted a plastic surgeon who was able to remove her blisters using scissors. The mum said Paisley is now doing better but it could take up to two years for her skin to return to normal. Lauren now aims to raise awareness about the dangers of being out in the sun and urges parents to cover their children. She claims she chose factor 50 suncream and one that was water resistant however says the pool water turned cloudy - suggesting it could have come off. Lauren said: "I took her back the next morning and they took the plasters off and started ripping her skin off again, she started bleeding. "They had to wash it and clean it, put different bandages on her and referred her to the Broomfield burns hospital in Essex. "They then started to rip her skin off and she was screaming, she was begging for a break. At one point I had to say, I can't watch this anymore, you're really traumatising her. "A plastic surgeon came and he got some scissors, made a little hole and just let the liquid pour out and then cut the blister with the scissors and she was much calmer that way. "I couldn't imagine it for anyone, for Paisley to go through that. "We went back on Monday and they took her bandages off and they said her skin can take up to two years to heal and for her pigmentation to go back to normal. "It looks like really bad eczema, she has to be out of the sun for two years, always protected. I said the sun will never see her skin ever again. "Put clothes on them, do your research. She is just happy she can move and that she is not blistered. "It's been hot and she's not allowed to go in the sun, she has to be covered up. We just stay in and play games." 8 Paisley's skin after the blisters had been removed Credit: Kennedy News
