BBCEvery day, 25-year-old Ethan Humphs lives with physical pain that reminds her what Ketamine has spent her-her health.
“The first side effect was cramps, where I have abdominal pain, where I could not lie down properly [or] Sit down properly, “Ethan said, who started taking ketamine at the age of 15.
But this was just the beginning, Ethan’s kidney struggled to work with endless hospital trips and mounted mental challenges as he dealt with drug-induced results.
He is now on a mission to help others, as experts warning the powerful class B warns of an emerging epidemic of drug addiction.
“I am trying to show that there is a light at the end of the tunnel,” Ethan said, he has held his hometown in his hometown Holihead, Anglesi, before a meeting of the Ketamine Recovery Group. “
“I want this place to be a group, where people can come in and simply say how they want. No matter how they are struggling through the week and they want to hide it.
“The ego is left at the door at this place.”
Ethan is celebrating six months, as he kicked his ketamine habit after each other – and he expects a successful term in rehabilitation.
“My mother was at a braking point,” he said.
“The rest of my family stopped talking to me. It was just made or broken for me.”
Ethan HumphriesAddiction experts say that the story of Ethan is familiar, with a huge increase in referrals for help related to ketamine.
According to a paper published in the British Medical Journal in June, In 2023 and 2024, more than 3,600 people were being treated across the UK for addiction to ketamine.
It is eight times since a decade ago, with 426 treatment cases in 2013-14.
What is ketamine?
- Sometimes Kate is referred to as special or just as, ketamine is a powerful horse tranquilizer and anesthetic. It is a licensed drug and can be prescribed medically
- When misuse is done, it can cause your bladder and liver severe and sometimes cause permanent loss, as well as memory loss.
- It is currently a class B drug under the misuse of the Drugs Act 1971
- The fine for possession is up to five years in jail, an unlimited fine, or both
Ethan was first rushed to the hospital in 2022, when the actual effects of her ketamine addiction began to reveal themselves.
“You cannot cross the urine and then it moves to the blood in your urine, and in later stages, my kidneys and my liver function stopped functioning properly,” he said.
“I had to separate myself because I was going to the toilet every two minutes, was in pain.
“I lost a lot of weight.
“So it just strips you really, in some sense, as you get down to your bone.
“I had to plan my day if I could go to the toilet or not. Even walking at the shop was a task in itself. It was really difficult.”
‘I can’t recognize the person I was’
Physical challenges were only half of the battle for Athan.
He said, “Its depression side, it ended at the end. I did not want to live. If I died the next day I could not care,” he said.
“I think I was a waste of space. I could not recognize the person I was finally.
“I couldn’t eat. I could not catch food. It was really difficult at the end.”
After spending six months on the waiting list, he was accepted for residential rehabilitation in a center of Greater Manchester.
“When I was in Manchester, a ketamine group, an education support group started there, where I attended the group and really helped,” he explained.
“I have taken myself this idea. So I mean to do so and try and target people who are struggling around Wales.”
Cheryl Williams, who works at the North Wales Rehabilitation Center, is raising awareness of Ketamine issues with the sister of drag artist James Lee Williams, known as Vivian.
The artist, who raised in Colwyn Bay, was the first winner of Ru Paul’s drag race in 2019, and was discovered dead in January after a cardiac arrest brought by drugs in January.
“I would say that we are on the verge of an emerging ketamine epidemic,” Ms. Williams said, who is a strategic lead for recovery charity adferred at her Parkland Place Rehabilitation Unit.
He said that many referrals were coming from young people – often under -18.
“I think it has become very cheap and available for children. This is an issue,” he said.
Ms. Williams said that Ethan’s decision to start a recovery group on Anglesi was praised.
Ms. Williams said, “The more people talk about that they have a problem of ketamine, how they have overcome it and how they have overcome it – I am a great lawyer for colleague support and experience,” said Mushree Williams.
“Who is better to tell his story than someone who has been through it.”
Ethan still struggles with kidney pain on a daily basis, but seems to be on the mend.
He has gained weight since rehabilitation and visited the gym every day.
He said that his bladder problems had also improved, as well as his mental health, and he was able to rebuild relationships with the family.
He said, “My mother is always standing by me, but you can see how much I was in pain. So now we are the best friends again,” he said.
He said that his focus was now on helping others.
“This is on a large scale for me, honestly, and it’s now my passion.”
If you are impressed by this story BBC Action Line There is a list of organizations that are ready to provide support and advice.
