// BBC HEALTH NEWS — SALUTE
'I started ketamine at 14 and needed nappies at 22' - the rise of young people going to rehab
Megan said four weeks in rehab for ketamine use is already helping her feel physically better, though it's unclear yet if her bladder damage can be reversed
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".