‘I didn’t want to stop – but it was like pouring boiling water into my bladder’
“It’s a devil’s drug”
Megan Taylor has opened up about her addiction in hopes of helping others(Image: Liverpool Echo)
When Megan Taylor took ketamine for the first time aged 18, she had no idea it would soon take over her life.
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By 20, Megan had fallen in with the ‘wrong people’. It wasn’t long before she was using ketamine every day.
When she was on her own in the family home, Megan would abuse the class B drug.
But her prolific use of the drug would soon cause her excruciating pains which left her stuck at home.
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“I knew it was a problem, but I didn’t want to stop,” Megan, now 22, told the Liverpool Echo.
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Megan, from Walton, Liverpool, says she initially used the drug ‘once every few months’.
Megan Taylor (right) with her mum Angela(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Having been diagnosed with ADHD aged five and with autism around five years ago, she believes this played a part in her addiction.
Megan said: “I needed a routine and once I got into taking the ket every day, I had to stick to that routine. My routines can’t just change.”
Her drug use continued and Megan started experiencing ‘ket cramps’ on Boxing Day in 2022.
The side effect left her feeling like someone was ‘stabbing her in the ribs’ – only subsiding when she used the drug again.
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She didn’t realise at the time that this was a severe side effect caused by the drug that would continue for months.
Megan said: “It [ket cramps] was making me burn myself with a hot water bottle just to try and get rid of the pain. My back was all scarred, my belly was scarred.
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“The pains were that bad I couldn’t go out with my mates without having to bring that hot water bottle with me and sit in places looking like a scruff.”
Ketamine use caused Megan’s weight to decline and she dropped to 4st 11lbs. She was also left ‘blowing out blood and scabs’ after damaging the inside of her nose and was hospitalised several times as a result of her drug use.
She said: “Eventually, it [side effects] got into my bladder. I was going in and out of the hospital with water infections and yet again I didn’t have a clue that it [ketamine] did that to the bladder back when I started taking it.
“So I just kept taking it. I was in that cycle then of just taking it.”
She added: “The symptoms you get with ket bladder is like someone pouring boiling water into your bladder. It’s just burning and burning and burning. Then it’s swollen.
“I had so many bits of like, jelly, coming out of me. I didn’t realise until a few months ago that this is the lining of your bladder. There’s no saving your bladder, you’re going to end up with a bag. I know people don’t want that.
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Megan Taylor(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“I just want people to stop before it gets to that stage. Even now, I don’t know if I am going to need to get my bladder removed or not.”
She added: “People aren’t speaking up about their bladder symptoms because they’re embarrassed. They’re embarrassed that they’re weeing themselves. They’re embarrassed that they’re going to wear a nappy.”
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Research has shown that a third of long-term users suffer from intense abdominal pain, sometimes called ‘K cramps’.
Regular and high dose ketamine misuse can also cause severe bladder, urinary tract and kidney damage and in severe cases can lead to the bladder being removed.
Ketamine is an anaesthetic for humans and animals, but is illegal for use recreationally. It is a class B drug, making it illegal to have for yourself, give away or sell.
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The latest government figures show that the drug’s usage among 16 to 24 year olds in England has tripled since 2016. Around 269,000 people aged 16-59 reported using ketamine in the year ending March 2024.
Fortunately, Megan was put into detox in the Hope Centre on July 30, 2025 and she has now reached more than four weeks without taking the drug.
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She said she owes a lot of her recovery to the Life Boat Recovery Hub and her family, who had faced the loss of Megan’s dad during her addiction.
The hub is a safe place where people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction can attend, holding fellowship meetings, community lunches and holistic workshops.
She has also been visiting The Pelvic Floor Clinic in Liverpool city centre to help with her side effects.
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The Echo previously spoke to the owner of the business, Paige Loraine, after she claimed over 100 people contact her through social media about pelvic floor and bladder issues as a result of drug misuse.
She said: “I just imagine it being my kids. I just think it’s awful. A bit more awareness needs to be raised about it because I don’t think people realise how serious it is and I don’t think kids realise how bad the drug is.”
Megan added: “I want to try and raise as much awareness as I can around ket. I personally think it’s a devil’s drug. It’s not made to be put in humans, it’s a horse tranquiliser. You’re getting it when it’s mixed with all sorts. It’s not just ket.
“Heroin is in ket, fentanyl is in ket. It’s all mixed with anything. I feel better in myself than I ever thought I would be. I thought I was going to die off this drug.”
In a message to those considering using the drug, Megan said: “Just stop while you can. When you get the ket cramps and bladder pain, you’re going to wish you never, ever took it.”