6<\/p>\n Isabella first took the drug in October 2021 as a one-off, aged 15Credit: SWNS 6<\/p>\n Isabella’s ketamine addiction cost her \u00a330,000 and she used her Universal Credit to pay for itCredit: SWNS<\/p>\n Aged just 18 and weighing just under 4st, she screamed for her mum, convinced she was dying.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was October last year and Isabella was in the midst of a cardiac arrest, brought on after using the drug ketamine every day for the previous three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now fighting for her life, Isabella\u2019s addiction had finally taken its toll.<\/p>\n She says: \u201cI had no idea what was happening but I thought to myself, \u2018my life can’t end like this\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI managed to call out ‘mum’ and the look of terror in her eyes only worsened my fears.<\/p>\n \u201cShe watched me effectively die in front of her eyes and no parent should see that.\u201d<\/p>\n It was only when paramedics rushed her to hospital that the truth began to unravel.<\/p>\n Isabella\u2019s drug use had left her body in tatters and after scarcely surviving the cardiac arrest, doctors said she\u2019d need to wear incontinence pads for the rest of her life because of permanent damage the drug had done to her bladder.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What is ketamine bladder syndrome?<\/p>\n Large, repeated doses of ketamine may eventually cause \u2018ketamine bladder syndrome\u2019 \u2013 a painful condition needing ongoing treatment.<\/p>\n Symptoms include difficulty holding in urine, incontinence, which can cause ulceration in the bladder.<\/p>\n She recalls: \u201cA doctor told me at the hospital that he had never seen anyone like me in his 25 years working in medicine.<\/p>\n \u201cHe told me it was a miracle that I was alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d worn incontinence pads for about six months – every day and in bed at night.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I spent about \u00a350 a week on them as I was going through so many.<\/p>\n “It made me feel really low – and using the pads only increased my use of ket as I thought ‘I’ve got no life, I’ve ruined it, I’m a young girl and I’m in incontinence pads.<\/p>\n “I was 18 and basically wearing a nappy and I realised I couldn\u2019t go on like this.\u201d<\/p>\n Haunted by the memories<\/p>\n Isabella was 15 when she was first offered ketamine – commonly used as a horse tranquilizer – in October 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n She recalls enjoying the feeling it gave her, an escape route from life\u2019s struggles including her ADHD diagnosis.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I took it, I felt like I was walking on clouds,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt allowed me to escape the reality of overthinking and overwhelming stress with my family, which made my ADHD worse.<\/p>\n \u201cBut my weekend habit shared with friends quickly grew into a crippling daily addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n Back then, she had no clue that three years later her young life would be hanging in the balance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Medics managed to bring her back from the brink of death and stabilise her failing heart but she is still haunted by the memories.<\/p>\n Isabella is far from alone when it comes to ketamine addiction.<\/p>\n Deaths in the UK have surged by 650% over the last decade and one person dies from it every week.<\/p>\n There were seven deaths in 2015 compared with 53 in 2023 and experts warn of the \u2018next drug pandemic\u2019.<\/p>\n Ru Paul’s drag race winner, James Lee Williams – known as drag star The Vivienne – died from a cardiac arrest at 32<\/a> earlier this year, caused by the effects of using ketamine, according to the family.<\/p>\n Isabella started out \u201csniffing keys\u201d of the drug at house parties, taking it with friends.<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n Isabella started out \u201csniffing keys\u201d of the drug at house parties with friendsCredit: SWNS 6<\/p>\n Isabella dropped out of college and fell into the “wrong crowd” whilst her weight plunged to 3stCredit: SWNS<\/p>\n She recalls: \u201cWe were able to split the cost \u2013 paying for it with pocket money at first.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut within nine months I was spending \u00a330 on a bag of it every weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLater, I\u2019d use my universal credit and money from being a part-time beautician, doing girls\u2019 eyelashes.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was readily available and easy to get my hands on – all I had to do was turn up to social events and take it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAnd because my mates and I would take it as a group, we felt safe from harm.\u201d<\/p>\n Whilst Isabella says she knew the drug was life threatening she was in denial.<\/p>\n After leaving school in June 2022, she started studying sciences at college but dropped out soon afterwards, which she says was due to her ADHD<\/a>.<\/p>\n Isabella, who is unable to work because of her health issues, recalls having a lack of purpose and falling into the \u201cwrong crowd\u201d.<\/p>\n She says: \u201cI started hanging around with people who took ketamine far more often than I did – which only led to me taking it more to feel like I belonged in the group.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen my grandmother passed away in June 2022, the drug gave me a way to escape my grief.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI didn’t feel sad when I took it – so I kept taking more.\u201d<\/p>\n Throughout her three-year addiction, Isabella spent a staggering \u00a330k on the drug.<\/p>\n ‘Drug-induced slumber’ <\/p>\n Those who take a high dose of ketamine can go into a ‘k-hole’ – a state of extreme dissociation from reality where they can\u2019t move or talk properly, a state which Isabella found herself most of the time.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasted three years in hundreds of k-holes that totally wiped me out, but I couldn’t see a way out,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore long I went from a fit and healthy teen to a shadow of my former self.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI started experiencing debilitating kidney and chronic bladder pains – and struggled not to go to the toilet every five minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cMy friends and family knew to some extent what was going on and they pleaded with me to get me to stop, but I was fully gripped by my addiction<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the first thing I thought about when I woke up and the last thing on my mind as I slipped into a drug-induced slumber at night.\u201d<\/p>\n Ketamine FAQs<\/p>\n What is ketamine?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Ketamine is legally used by medical practitioners and veterinarians as an anaesthetic.<\/p>\n Used illegally, Ketamine is a dissociative drug, which causes people to feel separated or detached from their body or physical environment. <\/p>\n Dissociatives are similar to psychedelics, they can cause hallucinations and other changes in thoughts, emotions and consciousness.<\/p>\n What does ketamine look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n When it\u2019s sold illegally, ketamine usually comes as a white or off-white powder. <\/p>\n It can also be made into pills, or dissolved in a liquid.<\/p>\n How is ketamine used to get high?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Ketamine can be swallowed, snorted or injected. It\u2019s also sometimes smoked with cannabis or tobacco.\u00a0<\/p>\n The effects of ketamine may be experienced within one minute if injected, five\u201315 minutes if snorted, and up to 30 minutes if swallowed. Its effects can last for around an hour, however, an individual\u2019s coordination or senses may be affected for up to 24 hours after initial use.<\/p>\n Other names for ketamine<\/strong><\/p>\n Special K, K, ket, kitkat, ketters, super k or horse trank.<\/p>\n Effects of ketamine\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Within 12 months Isabella\u2019s weight plunged and she went from a healthy 9st 7lb to 3st 7lb at the lowest point of her addiction.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI went from sporty to skeletal – there wasn’t an inch of fat or muscle on me, I was a bag of bones,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n \u201cI used to love doing sports like gymnastics but my drug addiction stole that from me – instead I’d wake up and take ketamine straight away.<\/p>\n “My mum is a fully qualified nurse – she has three degrees in nursing – she gave her life and soul to make me stop.<\/p>\n “She did every possible thing a mum could do for her child and never lost hope or abandoned me.<\/p>\n “She would say to me: ‘I don’t want to watch you do this, I can’t watch my little girl do this to herself’ but it spiralled out of control.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI knew what I was doing was wrong at that point, but I was in denial – I didn’t quite realise the extent of it.”<\/p>\n Still living at home, Isabella struggled to hide the toll the drug was having on her body.\u00a0<\/p>\n Relationships with friends and family began to sour as they lost hope that she would be able to change.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAfter a bender, I’d sit on my bedroom floor buckled over in pain – as the ketamine wore off,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n \u201cI’d even put heaters behind my back because it helped to take away the pains in my kidneys and bladder.\u00a0<\/p>\n GETTING HELP:<\/p>\n If you think that you have a drug addiction then please contact your GP.<\/p>\n You can also visit FRANK<\/a> for honest information about drugs and to find local treatment services.<\/p>\n If you are having trouble finding the right help, call the FRANK drugs helpline on 03001236600<\/p>\n Or click here to visit the NHS website<\/a> for more advice and support<\/p>\n \u201cOne time, I resorted to using my hairdryer – and as I drifted off it into ketamine-infused sleep, it melted into my bed.\u201d<\/p>\n It was the cardiac arrest<\/a> that almost took Isabella\u2019s life which made her see she needed to get a handle on her addiction.<\/p>\n After a month in hospital, she made it her aim to \u201cget clean\u201d.<\/p>\n She says: \u201cI got myself back into the gym, into a better routine and generally keeping myself busy.<\/p>\n “It wasn’t easy, the temptation was always there – but I didn’t ever relapse.<\/p>\n “I knew as soon as I got rid of the pain, I would never touch ket again.<\/p>\n \u201cSocialising with friends and family has been key, but in a normal, refreshing way \u2013 rather than the ketamine fueled frenzies of before.\u201d<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n Isabella’s been left with permanent damage to her kidneys and has to take medicationCredit: SWNS<\/p>\n Isabella is speaking out to warn others of the dangers of ketamine use, especially the youngest generation.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2021-one-off-aged-16-990827606.jpg\")
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