Study: Club Drug 'Special K' Linked to Irreversible Kidney Damage

Monday, December 15, 2008
Reuters

Ketamine, widely abused as a party drug and sometimes called as "Special K," can cause inflammation and contraction of the bladder leading to possibly irreversible kidney damage, according to a report from Hong Kong.

Ketamine is mostly used as a veterinary anesthetic. In humans, it causes hallucinations and high blood pressure. It became widely abused in some parts of the world by the 1990s, and has since been banned or classified as a controlled substance in several countries.

"Street-ketamine abuse is not only a drug problem but might be associated with a serious urological condition causing a significant burden to healthcare resources," Dr. Peggy Sau-Kwan Chu and colleagues write in the medical journal BJU International.

In their study, Chu, from Tuen Mun Hospital, Hong Kong, China, and others describe problems that developed in 59 ketamine abusers who were seen at Hong Kong hospitals from March 2000 to December 2007.

All of the subjects had moderate to severe lower urinary tract symptoms, such as urgency, frequency, and difficulty urinating.

Visual examination with a cystoscope revealed an inflamed bladder in 42 of these individuals, and biopsies showed that 12 of them had a more serious condition called interstitial cystitis.

On further testing, 47 patients were found to have overactive bladder or decreased bladder elasticity, the team reports.

Damage to one or both kidneys was seen on ultrasound in 30 patients, and four of them had areas of dead kidney tissue.

"Abstinence from ketamine abuse is strongly advocated before any irreversible damage to the urinary tract occurs," Chu and her colleagues emphasize.

People who've used ketamine recreationally should seek early urological assessment, they advise. This may "help to reduce not only the detrimental effects to the abusers, but also the health costs to society."

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I suspect an adulterant (one of those chloral hydrate analogues are contained in vet preps)

^ Agreed. We would be seeing similar cases in the US and UK if pure ketamine were actually responsible. More lazy and/or agenda-ed "research."

First though that came to mind after reading Title = "Whoops"

I have read a fair few comments from heavy k users suffering from severe abdominal cramps and urinating blood and shit so I don't find this too surprising really. Could be from common adulterants just as easily but you could say that about effects from alot of illicit drugs.

I can say, I've used K probably 250 times over the past 2 years. My piss is not very pressurized, and sometimes it stings a bit, and I do urinate more often these days. I always found that when on K, I had to piss often, and it came out slow, no pressure, ya know...More research is needed, but Kidney, bladder, pissing problems are common among K users. Good buddy of mine did WAY too much K for about 2 months and was even hospitalized with Kidney failure so definitely be weary, I wouldn't say this has an agenda it is just common enough now to be in the literature, adulterants or not.

i have friends suffering from kidney problems who also happen to be heavy k users, definately more research needed..

Ive herd of some real horror storys with K.. dont shurg this off.. this aint the only report going around saying it causes your urinal track to harden up n stop working...

ya a few years ago this kid used to do A LOT of K and was hospitalized for kidney,, I remember hearing it wqas because of K, even bak then....

I have a theory that taking diuretics during use may possibly relieve this

I got 2 buddies who were very very heavy ketamine abusers.(addicts) ANd the one of them has some mental problems now from it while the other has kidney problems.

The one guy used to sniff 1750mgs of pure ketamine(half a ball) in one massive line on the weekends when he would want to hit the hole.(this is 100%pure ketamine to). Now his kidneys are fucked.. He didnt sniff that much everyday, he usualy did at least 1/2grams of it a day.

I dunno how he could sniff that much..like i cant even fit that much powder in my nose lol. ANd he did it all in one try..Like no breaks. Just one big snifff.

surely it is a question of frequency and dosage as well as of constitution.

having said that, i knnow from experience that k is bad for the kidneys. i had temporary urinary tract shutdown from it once. there had been many many drugs involved, but k also, and it was after the k that it happened. pretty unpleasant. i could just feel it was the k and that my kidneys were suffering. i also have a friend who got kidney pain after k use.

the most recent evidence of K haveing a strong presence in the urine i found recently when enjoing oral sex a few hours after K with my partner. It all TASTED very K-like, to both of us, and it wasn't the nasal drip. it was in liquid secretions "down there" --- I think medical litarture can confirm that K is metabolised predominantly in the kidneys and excreted through the bladder. And it really is a very acid-tasting molecule.

I did K last night (ive done it atleast 75 times a year for the past 7 years) and fuck it makes you piss and while i pee it feels like someone is squeezing me below the ribs and crushing my kidneys

The first few people to reply were al lOMFG FAAAAKE, looks like enough people have the same problems that study must be true

edit: AND NO THERE WERE NO ADULTERANTS, this is gm Ketamine straight from the pharmacy, simply powder no cut

I've been using ketamine for about 6 months everyday, 1-4g depending on how busy my life is....

About two months ago I got some really horrible k pains....went to the hospital because they hurt so bad. Those went away, then I developed a bladder infection, or something of the sort. It was hard to piss and hurt for a week, figured I'd see if it went away, then let it go another week, it almost brought me to my knees everytime, and I pissed at least 15 times a day......then at the end of the stream would be blood. That is what really scared me, so I didn't go to the doctor, but got some anti biotics from a friend....I took those and it went away within two days. Now...about 2-3 weeks after that I have those same symptoms, hard to piss, frequent going, and blood at the end. This time I went to a doctor and he told me a few different things it could be.

I know K is bad for the kidneys, and my heavy heavy heavy usage every day probably making it SO much worse than anyone could probably foresee.

I should probably go to a urologist yeah?

I actually haven't had K in a week. I had to prove to myself that I'm not addicted, and I just like ketamine a shit ton. I have a choice in this matter, but my choice isn't too healthy to keep up with sniffing multiple grams a day for months on end.

There are NO adulterants in this....it's pharmaceutical grade.

^^^ Sounds like addiction to me bro. Thats alot of ketamine, and if your choice is to keep doing K despite a possible serious complication. I can't knock it too much, cause i've had my own unhealthy habits but this seems like it could keep progressing...you should at the very least take a break for your health.

Edit: I misread the bottom....but even still, taking a quick break to prove to yourself before resuming use full force doesn't sound that healthy either.

Best of luck bro.

I already have my plan set out....instead of 10g+ a week....I'll limit myself to 2g. Sounds fair? That's a pretty drastic change.

I've got friends to keep me in check I let them hold onto the supply....and weigh out 2g a week. Today is the first day I've used it in a week.....so now I have 2g until next Friday.

If I did 10+ grams of ketamine a week I would be a fucking vegetable. You must have built up quite a tolerance using that much.

I seem to manage myself. I can still have perfectly coherent conversations on it, and while I'm off. My brain isn't fried just yet.....8)

To a degree damage from K is reversable. stop taking it man. if you pissing blood fucking stop.. drink water and get to the urologist.. they will give you medication..

give it a fuking year or so man.. let your body clear up.. think of it this way..

...you can have kidney failure n die prematurely.. or take a break from k and then start again when your much healthier + no tolerance = less potential for harm etc...


..its recreation... make the most of it?

i find it unbelieveable how much K some of you guys who post here are taking. I know it is an addictive substance... but I can also feel that it doesn't do a body all that much good. And so I limit my use. I went through a short period of using daily, but I used only low doses. When I use high doses, I space my uses. Sometimes I go weeks without it even though it is within reach. And I don't think I have ever used more than half a gram in a day.