A decade later, rehab is helping her rebuild her life after bladder issues caused by the drug have left her needing to wear incontinence pads. The drugs charity Kaleidoscope says it has seen a huge rise in referrals to its detox and rehabilitation facility over the last five years, with two people referred in 2021 compared to 112 so far this year. The majority of clients are aged 18 to 24.
Research is now underway by the University of South Wales into the specific needs of this group, as the harm caused by "chronic, escalating use" of ketamine is far more rapid, over a shorter space of time, than from alcohol or Class A drugs. Services traditionally designed for older adults are having to adapt to support much younger people, it said, with very different needs, with habits often formed while they were in school. For 24-year-old Megan, from Flint in north Wales, drug use became more common among her peers during lockdown.
As an aeronautical engineering apprentice, she was suddenly working from home, on full pay, with access to a drug whose price had plummeted. She said at its worst, she was on it "all day, every day", as according to Megan it helped to suppress symptoms or feelings associated with ADHD and borderline personality disorder. "I'm very hyperactive now that I'm sober.
I haven't been like that since I was 14, it suppressed pretty much everything," she said. Eventually her ketamine use meant she lost her apprenticeship, causing her to "spiral". Megan later found work elsewhere, but four years of night shifts further entrenched her use, as she would use ketamine to stay awake through the night even on days off.
For the last two years she has been in agony, unable to stand straight and needing to wear incontinence pads. "For a 22-year-old wearing pads or nappies, it takes away all dignity," she said. "Back then I really didn't care whether I lived or died - now I don't want to die.
"I've been in rehab just over four weeks and I'm getting back to my old self." Megan said she wouldn't know the extent of the damage to her bladder for some time, but she has put on weight and is physically feeling better than when she arrived. Jo Moore runs the Birchwood rehabilitation facility for Kaleidoscope and said five years ago they had just one referral for inpatient detox from ketamine. "Since January this year we've seen 112 people come through the door," she said, adding that half their clients are currently being supported for ketamine use.
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