The Association of Urology is concerned about the increasing use of the party drug ketamine among young people. The use of the drug often leads to damage to the bladder. The possible consequence is the removal of the bladder and the placement of a stoma.
25-year-old Robert Mooij used ketamine for about a year. “I came into contact with it through friends. First a gram with the four of us, later for myself four and a half grams a day. It makes you hallucinate, and can even leave your body. It is a trip in which you end up, super intense “.
After six months, Robert started having problems with his bladder. “I started to pee blood at one point, and blood clots also formed. It was very painful. And you have to pee more and more, eventually every ten minutes.”
blow it out
Urologist Bart van Bezooijen sees more and more ketamine users at his office hours at the Meander Medical Center in Amersfoort. “About ten users this year with bladder problems”. As chairman of the Association for Urology, Van Bezooijen notices that this is happening all over the country. “Not just in the big cities like Amsterdam and Rotterdam, but colleagues across the country are reporting more bladder patients as a result of ketamine use.”
According to the urologist, this often leads to serious complications. “Even if you stop taking the drug, there is a chance that the damage will be permanent. Antibiotics or other drugs often don’t work, and the ultimate consequence may be that the bladder has to be removed. And then we have to create a stoma, something that is very intense.”
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doubling
The Trimbos Institute, which studies drug use, is also keeping a close eye on developments. “It concerns a relatively small part of all adults, but in certain groups the use is higher,” says researcher Margriet van Laar. “For example, use among young people has almost doubled: from 12 percent in 2016 to 22 percent in 2020, approximately at the level of amphetamine and cocaine. And given the serious health risks of ketamine, we are closely monitoring the increase.”
The recently published National Drug Monitor of the Trimbos Institute calculates that the number of ketamine users has increased from eighty thousand in 2018 to 130,000 users in 2020.
The story of ex-addict ‘Sjors’ shows that ketamine can do strange things to you. His ketamine addiction nearly killed him:
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Alex van Dongen is a drug expert at the addiction clinic Novadic Kentron in Vught. He also sees an increasing use of ketamine, and the associated problems with the bladder. “I know a 25-year-old woman who pees her pants four to five times a day after using ketamine. But she is so addicted that she continues to use the drug.”
Robert’s bladder has since been treated with botox, which has led to a relief of the complaints. But for how long is unclear. Robert wants to warn users of ketamine: “It will kill you, both physically and mentally. You can see what can happen to me, I know all about it. So for me never again.”
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