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How do bladder problems from ketamine use start?

smash016

smash016

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Joined
Sep 10, 2015
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I'm a recreational ketamine user, taking small bumps at parties. On average, twice per month. I'd say 125-150 mg over the course of a night.

Recently, I might have to pee more often, and it takes more effort to fully empty my bladder. Like I need to really push it to feel empty, with urine flow pausing. And sometimes after standing up, there's a mild sting to the left of my pelvis (which is not where the bladder is btw). Sometimes after my first pee in the morning, there's a watery "residue" behind my foreskin that feels odd, smells bad, and which I have to wash off (maybe just pee from not emptying fully).

Does this sound like the first signs of ketamine-induced bladder problems?

Could be nothing, all I drink nowadays is tons of water, green tea and decaf coffee which has a tendency to "go straight through you" so to speak. And I turn 35 this year, so it could be just my aging manhood or whatever.

Any advice would be much appreciated, starting to get a little worried here.
 
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Yeah, will hand in urine sample tomorrow.

But like, does this sound like the first stage of ketamine bladder complications? I can read all about K cramps and such, but not about the initial stage.

And wouldn't my doses be too low to cause serious issues?
 
I have a search on Google for this topic as a friend of mine has issues too. There are so many recent posts about ketamine use (even light use) and bladder issues there should probably be a big and dandy on the topic. Just even go a few pages back and there are about 5 posts. It is smart to be concerned. 35 is not old enough to have issues and certainly not these issues. But I think you realize you are past that denial stage. People using ketamine and having the same bladder issues is not a coincidence.
 
smash016 said:
I'm a recreational ketamine user, taking small bumps at parties. On average, twice per month. I'd say 125-150 mg over the course of a night.

Recently, I might have to pee more often, and it takes more effort to fully empty my bladder. Like I need to really push it to feel empty, with urine flow pausing. And sometimes after standing up, there's a mild sting to the left of my pelvis (which is not where the bladder is btw). Sometimes after my first pee in the morning, there's a watery "residue" behind my foreskin that feels odd, smells bad, and which I have to wash off (maybe just pee from not emptying fully).

Does this sound like the first signs of ketamine-induced bladder problems?

Could be nothing, all I drink nowadays is tons of water, green tea and decaf coffee which has a tendency to "go straight through you" so to speak. And I turn 35 this year, so it could be just my aging manhood or whatever.

Any advice would be much appreciated, starting to get a little worried here.
Click to expand...

I seriously doubt taking 100-150mg of k twice a month will give you bladder problems. That's far from heavy use. For some people that's not even a single dose. Still, if you have concerns go see a doctor... Maybe you have and std?
 
Mind you, I wouldn't put it past myself to read about ketamine bladder issues, then develop it psychosomatically. Sting in my pelvis is in the groin area and more likely the result of exercise, although I can't be sure. Finally, I cannot directly relate my bladder symptoms to ketamine use as far as time is concerned (symptoms do not worsen after use, or improve after abstinence).

Meaning I was just checking if this all sounds like specifically ketamine issues, or something entirely different. My doses should indeed not produce bladder problems, unless the recent rise in ketamine popularity gave way to new production methods that have drastically altered the bladder-wrecking properties, but that's pure speculation on my part.

I cannot find anecdotal info, here or elsewhere, that's exactly like my symptoms.

I had an STD 2 years ago which caused bladder and groin pain btw, but got treated.

FWIW. Thing is, I like ketamine too much to quit its use if I'm not sure it's the actual cause of my bladder symptoms. But I guess I can't be sure... Damn.
 
Not sure the exact science behind it as there doesn't seem to be a ton of information besides anecdotal evidence of serious bladder problems being a very real and somewhat common side effect. Regardless with how much water I drink I seem to have to piss every 10 minutes on Ketamine in large volume so I make sure I drink a lot of water to dilute what is passing through my bladder. Moderation would be the prevention as semi frequent use is almost guaranteed to cause some bladder issues. Btw K is probably my favorite drug as well for introspection purposes but no problems yet after about a dozen uses over 2 years.
 
How old are you? Many men develop prostate issues as they age. Myself, I'm 35 and it's definitely harder to pee than it used to be. I find that stimulants greatly exacerbate this, especially serotonergic ones, so if you use any of those that could be contributing too.

Your use of ketamine is very moderate. Generally I would say it wouldn't be enough to cause problems but I have read of cases on here where people quickly developed problems from very light use... I've also read of, for example, people using kratom and developing serious liver complications quickly, whereas I used kratom very heavily for 7 years with no health issues except addiction. My point is that everyone is different, so it could be from the ketamine. But I think it's more likely due to something else.
 
I'm 35 like you.

Handed in urine sample this morning, looked good. Then again, ketamine damage has to be diagnosed by a scan. Doctor told me I'm way too young indeed, to be experiencing bladder problems. Told me to stop taking ketamine, and come back if symptoms do not subside.

So yeah... guess I'll have to find another pet drug if I want to take no risks. Yet I still find it hard to believe my doses would be causing these symptoms... and my symptoms are not that bad. Like I said, heavy fluid intake, exercise strain and hypochondria can account for my ills.
 
It is ketamine damage....your doses don't matter. There are medical journal papers detailing ppl getting bladder damage from ketamine that were have only used back few grams over the course of a few months. (I remember one study by a Japanese group of doctors in particular, you may be able to find it via Google scholar) Others can use a lifetime and avoid it problems.

Nothing is normal about what you are experiencing...it's isn't from water or tea.
Your synotoms are exactly how mine began. And no, a scan (CT or MRI) cannot diagnose it.

I was diagnosed with interstitial cycstitis about a month ago and have been in pain for four months straight. I ignored the initial synotoms like you have for about a year....even though I only used about 5 to ten more times after these minor symptoms started, one day they went from minor to horrible within a week or two.

I have spent about 5 K in medical bills related to this out of pocket thus far ..while my insurance has been billed for around 40 k so far

I also require physical therapy were they put thier finger up my ass and stretch the insides of my ass out. It's not worth a few more ketamine highs trust me

Drinking is also adding to the damage.

Cystitis can get so severe that ppl kill themselves from the pain. So unless you like ketamine more than living I would quit altogether. Alcohol also.

As I type this I am stretching in my office (supposed to help) with a head full of opiates just to cope with the pain.

I can almost guarantee your life will be fucked if you keep using by what you are saying now.

I injected heroin for years and have no lasting health problems. A little ketamine and look what's happened.

Also if your doctor isn't a urologist his opinion is worthless.
 
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^^^Kinda wondered where you went man. Dealing with this shit I take it?

My circle used to dabble fairly hard in ketamine and more than a few have dealt with problems. Pretty sure it's messed with my brother too but he'd never openly talk about much beyond a hint now and then.

I've used ketamine infrequently at low doses for the past 8yrs or so and I think I agree with xorkoth that empathogens have been worse for me. Although take that with a grain of salt, my average dose of ketamine is 5-10mg to relax and go to sleep after a long night on mdma.

-GC
 
Oh g chem...I've been active in other drugs and drug culture...as my opiates use has increased alot due to this condition and I will never touch stims psychedelics again due to this issue.

So I don't really like being reminded of the drugs I can't do anymore so I don't venture into MDMA or psych forums much anymore...as those classes of drugs greatly exacerbate nthis type of injury once you have it.

But if you wanna talk pain pills and h you know where to find me ;)


You know I was always scared shitless by the MDMA forum from abusing empathogens despite thinking they are possible the best high out there....I wish the dangers of ketamine were more prominently discussed like MDMA.

Like we actually have rules for MDMA about frequency and redosing and hundreds of threads on LTC.

I always figured my dissociative use was so low compared to friends that didn't have oroblems that I wasn't in danger. Wow was I wrong.

In the interest of harm reduction maybe this forum needs a "6 simple rules for ketamine" type of sticky like we have for mdma
 
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Haha so that's where you been hiding!.. I do chill mainly in mdma forum.. I know H far too well, I have the opposite problem where I can't hang around the opi's forum for the same reasons. Havent touched heroin in 9-10yrs but still enjoy my 1mg day suboxone. Maybe I'll stop through one day to reminisce ;) Some of the best and worst times of my life, was fun until the needle came into the equation.

I agree though, ketamine has far too little "rules" and knowledge for how often people use it. It would be beneficial to get the word out more.

My only thought is that with mdma we can kind of "feel" what's a good amount of frequency combined with mountains of research. With ketamine it may be harder to come to an agreement on what is an ok frequency since the damage is sneakier and harder to track.

-GC
 
I haven't done h or shot anything for about 3 years. Plenty of pills though since then.

A friend died of endocarditis and it kinda scared me off the needle for good.

I'm about to start up again though if the doctors don't get this shit under control.
 
@Lucid

I cannot find studies relating bladder damage to nonchronic recreational ketamine use. I have to make do with anecdotal evidence, on both ends ("you're fine with these doses" vs. "quit before it's too late").

Would you say my assumed bladder damage is advanced? Would it be reversible if I lay off the K from now on?

Btw, I have never even heard of stimulants damaging the bladder. They just suppress bladder functionality acutely. Have to admit though, that recently I seem to be able to "piss through" stimulants... Not sure if that's indicative of a weak bladder, or my lower dosing of stimulants of late.

(edit) I should add I've been noticing changes in my bladder since //at least// half a year now, and I only started taking K exactly 1 year ago, with initially lower and much more infrequent dosing. In addition, I recently took substantially more K because of festival season having started here, and my symptoms have in no way gotten worse. Not trying to deny the very real chance of me having damaged my bladder via K, but just putting it out there, detailing my case lest people make important life decisions based on incomplete data. :) It would make me like the most sensitive person to ketamine bladder damage reported up until now.
 
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I don't think stimulants cause bladder damage, it's just that I notice that on them, it's harder to pee. So I was just wondering if you use stimulants frequently, as for me, when I don't use any stimulants for a while, I notice it's a lot easier to pee again.

In any case I'd say it would be best to quit ketamine, better safe than sorry. Some people get really fucked up from it and the damage seems poorly understood by the medical industry, and possibly permanent.
 
I use stimulants as often as K, like once or twice per month. Actually, I combine K with stimulants. Once or twice per month. Might not be the best choice, bladder-wise. :) Yeah, never thought about it that way. Makes sense.

As much as I hate the idea, with lots of parties coming up this summer, I will stop taking K to see if it affects my bladder performance. No risks indeed. Would expect to see improvement in... a few months, half a year?
 
Ive done some heavy binges before that def gave me symptoms for awhile.
However i noticed that good diet and proper supplements helps alot.
Exersize is also crucial for healing most ailments.

Eat alot of anti inflammation herbs like curcumin and ginger.
I also drink dandelion tea and take alot of magnesium.
I do a bunch of other things aswell, but i feel that those are the biggest contributors.
 
Rest assured, I drink no alcohol, don't smoke except on parties. My diet is top-notch, I'm all about working out and eating unprocessed foods, supplementing daily with multivitamin and fish oil, intermittent fasting and shit. I drink turmeric / ginger tea and use these spices all the time when cooking. I like to think this Monday-Friday lifestyle makes up for my weekend antics... :)
 
Stims are much different.. they make it harder to pee because you can't easily relax the muscles involved in peeing. Just like with pooping it has much more to do with relaxing all the right muscles, not flexing particular muscles. The key to peeing on stims is to go into some deep relaxation, meditating a bit etc, but past some point it becomes more pointless to try.

Drugs like ketamine cause damage to the bladder lining, producing thick scar tissue and sometimes cysts. Causes the bladder to lose flexibility so you get urgency more quickly (= feeling like you need to pee). And then there's substances in food or certain drugs which can be diuretic or anti-diuretic. Cause you to actually pee more frequently, or less..
 
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