My £35,000 ketamine addiction left me incontinent at just 23 - now I need Botox injections in my bladder just to live a normal life
Ellie Wight was just 18 when she first tried ketamine at a friend's house.What began as a way to unwind at weekends quickly spiralled into a devastating addiction that cost her £35,000 - and left her incontinent by the age of 23.Now, she is warning others about the reality of using the so-called 'party drug' after being forced to undergo Botox injections in her bladder just to manage the damage caused by abusing the Class B substance.Ms Wight, a sales assistant from Aberdeenshire, says her use escalated rapidly after she stopped smoking cannabis, which she had used daily since the age of 16.'All of a sudden, people were doing it and it was cool. You get a thrill from doing something you shouldn't,' she said.'We would go to friends' houses and that's just what everyone was doing.'The more you bought, the better deal you got. Dealers would give you discounts if you were part of certain groups.'Before long, Ms Wight found herself spending all her wages on the drug. She estimates she spent around £35,000 over the course of her addiction, with a gram typically costing between £10 and £20. Ellie Wight, 23, a sales assistant from Aberdeenshire, is warning others about the reality of using the so-called 'party drug' Her experience comes amid a sharp rise in ketamine use among young people. The proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds who report having taken the drug has climbed from 2.3 per cent in 2006-07 to 6.5 per cent in 2023-24.Ms Wight's turning point came when she was admitted to hospital with a kidney infection after months of what she believed were recurring urinary tract infections.Within months, she began suffering from ketamine urinary tract syndrome - commonly known as 'ketamine bladder'.'I was peeing blood quite a lot and passing mucus from my bladder,' she said.'You could feel it happening, and the pain was horrendous.'The condition causes scarring to the bladder, leaving it stiff and unable to stretch. In severe cases, it affects the entire urinary system, including the kidneys.Symptoms include extreme pain, frequent and urgent need to urinate, blood in the urine - and, in some cases, incontinence.'Sometimes I couldn't make it to the toilet in time because the pain was so bad and I physically couldn't hold it,' Ms Wight said.'Walking felt like shooting, stabbing pains. It's hard to explain just how intense it is.'In a cruel cycle, she says ketamine itself became the only thing that eased the pain. Ms Wight's turning point came when she was admitted to hospital with a kidney infection after months of what she believed were recurring urinary tract infections
'It's a painkiller, so it felt like the only thing that helped. Nothing else worked.'Ms Wight has now been clean for 10 months but continues to live with the lasting effects of her addiction.Last month, she underwent Botox injections into her bladder to try to relieve the pain and improve function.A healthy bladder can hold between 300ml and 600ml of fluid. Ms Wight says hers can now hold just 50ml to 100ml - less than a small cup of coffee.'You just have to get through it, drink water and hope it settles,' she said.Recovery, she says, is unpredictable and exhausting.'One day you might be okay, then the next the pain is unbearable. It's really difficult.'She has also had to cut ties with friends linked to her former drug use.'It's not because I didn't like them, but you have to protect yourself.'You're not just losing the drug - you're losing your whole social circle. That can be incredibly lonely.'Despite concerns from experts and coroners, the drug is set to remain classified as a Class B substance after the government's advisers declined to recommend tougher controls. Ms Wight has now been clean for 10 months but continues to live with the lasting effects of her addiction
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) was asked to consider upgrading ketamine to Class A - alongside heroin and cocaine - following a surge in use.But it rejected the move, meaning penalties are unlikely to change.The review followed the death of James Boland, 38, from Manchester, who died from sepsis caused by a kidney infection linked to long-term ketamine use.Read More We were just teens when we tried cocaine... all it took was one time to get hooked and derail our 'perfect' lives In a report on the prevention of future deaths, senior coroner Alison Mutch warned that keeping ketamine as a Class B drug could give users the false impression it is less dangerous.Those caught dealing ketamine currently face up to 14 years in prison, while possession carries a maximum sentence of five years.For Ms Wight, however, the consequences go far beyond any legal penalty.As part of her recovery, she is fundraising for addiction support groups, including a 96‑mile walk of the West Highland Way this summer. 'I think everyone has to be cautious when they've had an addiction because, in some ways, that will always still be with you,' she says. 'It's just making sure you have the right things in place to not go back and to stay on the straight and narrow.'
