A mother who became incontinent and in need of a bladder replacement at just 27 years old has told of how the popular party drug ketamine ‘ruined’ her life.
Amber Currah first tried the class B drug at 17 while on a night out with friends.
Within four years Amber said she was sniffing 25 grams of ketamine a week and spending nearly £1,000 a month on her supply.
The mother-of-one soon began to notice her drug use was having an impact on her bladder, forcing Amber to wear an incontinence pad every day to stop her wetting herself.
The amount she consumed was enough to put someone in more than 20 dissociative states or ‘k-holes’ every single day – as drug harm reduction websites warn just 150mg is considered a ‘heavy’ dose.
Chronic ketamine usage can affect the lining of the bladder, leading to an increase in the frequency of needing to urinate, infections, bleeding, blockages and incontinence.
Many people who take the drug report passing organ lining when they urinate, which is referred to as ‘jelly pee’.
Recently it was reported Drag Race UK star The Vivienne died from a cardiac arrest caused by the effects of taking ketamine, aged 32.
Amber Currah first tried the class B drug at 17 while on a night out with friends
The mother soon began to notice her drug use was having an impact on her bladder, forcing Amber to wear an incontinence pad every day to stop her wetting herself
Amber is photographed before undergoing a bladder stretch operation
One Director member Liam Payne who died last year reportedly had ‘pink cocaine’ in his system, a mix of several drugs including methamphetamine, ketamine and MDMA.
Despite now being 17 months clean of ketamine Amber still suffers with multiple health complications, needing to urinate every 15 minutes and lying in the bath for up to eight hours a day to relieve herself of bladder pain.
Doctors told the mother that her bladder was so damaged by long-term drug use that it had shrunk to a fifth of its normal size and would need to be replaced.
Unable to work or live normally, the 27-year-old admits that the party drug has ‘ruined’ her life and is warning others to steer clear.
Amber, from Morecambe, Lancashire, said: ‘I first tried it when I was 17 on a night out with friends. I tried it and actually didn’t like it, I felt like a zombie.
‘I just kept taking it now and then over a couple of years then ended up liking it. It was a gradual thing.
‘When I was about 19 I started taking it more and more. I found that every time I took ketamine, it seemed to calm my mind. At around 21, I just started taking it every single day.
‘I would wake up in the mornings and sniff a line of ket. I’d wake up sometimes in the middle of the night and just sniff another line – that’s how addicted I was.
‘It took me around two years to actually admit that I was fully addicted. I was spending around £30 a day on ket, sniffing 25 grams a week.’
Doctors told the mother that her bladder was so damaged by long-term drug use that it had shrunk to a fifth of its normal size and would need to be replaced
Unable to work or live normally, the 27-year-old admits that the party drug has ‘ruined’ her life and is warning others to steer clear
At the height of her addiction, Amber was often consuming more than 20 times this volume a day and soon began to notice the effect this was having on her body
Drug harm reduction websites warn that just 150mg to be a ‘heavy’ dose.
At the height of her addiction, Amber was often consuming more than 20 times this volume a day and soon began to notice the effect this was having on her body.
Amber admits she now spends up to four hours a day on the toilet and eight hours in the bath to relieve herself of persistent bladder pains.
At the height of her addiction, Amber was often consuming more than 20 times this volume a day and soon began to notice the effect this was having on her body.
Amber said: ‘I started feeling like I had a pretty severe UTI and didn’t think it was anything to do with ket.
‘A few years later, my bladder started getting really bad. On nights out I was going to the toilet so much that people were noticing.
‘That was the first sign that I noticed issues with my bladder. Then I had to start wearing incontinence pads.
‘For five years now, I’ve been fully incontinent. I wet the bed every single night.
‘One time I was stuck on the toilet for 26 hours because I was in so much pain. My mum brought a duvet and pillow and I slept on the toilet.
‘I’ve not been able to work for years now or go on holiday, I’m at home all the time.’
In summer 2023, Amber made the decision to wean herself off ketamine entirely after eight years.
Amber admits she now spends up to four hours a day on the toilet and eight hours in the bath to relieve herself of persistent bladder pains
‘Straight away the doctors said your bladder needs to come out. That’s how I knew it was an absolute mess’ she said
Despite being clean of the party drug for nearly two years, tests revealed Amber’s bladder has shrunk to a fifth of the size of a normal bladder.
Amber is currently on the waiting list to receive a neobladder – an operation in which a new bladder is created surgically from a section of the bowel.
Amber said: ‘They put a camera up my bladder and said it’s an absolute mess. I was told it was a fifth of the size of a normal bladder.
‘They said it’s covered in scar tissue, which makes me prone to getting UTIs.
‘Straight away the doctors said your bladder needs to come out. That’s how I knew it was an absolute mess.
‘After the surgery, my bladder should be able to function as normal again. I would do it tomorrow if I could live a normal life.
‘I still feel like I’m paying for what I did to myself even though I’d had all this time off ketamine.
‘If I could prevent anyone from touching ketamine again, I would. I regret ever taking that first line at 17.
‘If I hadn’t stopped taking it, it would’ve eventually killed me. This drug has affected me in every way. I’ve not been able to work for five years because of it. Ketamine ruined my life.’
Ketamine – referred to jokingly as ‘regretamine’ – can lead to incontinence, kidney failure and bladder shrinkage
Deaths related to ketamine are up a shocking 650 per cent on 2015 and now average around one per week, according to new data released by the Office for National Statistics
This comes as experts warned rocketing ketamine use among Gen Z-ers is being fuelled by TikTokers making light of the drug by posting videos of their friends experiencing its effects.
The horse tranquiliser is now the drug of choice among Brits aged 16 to 24, with the latest government figures showing that consumption among the age group – dubbed ‘Generation K’ – has tripled since 2016.
Deaths related to the drug are up a shocking 650 per cent on 2015 and now average around one per week, according to new data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that shows 53 people lost their lives in 2023.
In the year ending March 2023, an official study showed 299,000 people aged 16 to 59 admitted they had used the substance during the previous 12 months. It was up from 117,000 a decade earlier and the highest level yet seen.
Scott Ardley, a senior treatment advisor at Rehabs UK, argued that the low price of the drug was also a factor behind its increasing popularity.
‘The drug is around £10 a gram or £25 for 3.5 grams, but we’ve heard that someone accessed an ounce for £90 (28 grams) working out to £3.21 a gram. It can work out cheaper than cannabis and in some cases alcohol.
‘Cocaine is around £80-£100 a gram so therefore Ketamine is much more accessible as it can also be produced in the UK.’
