‘Cheap party drug left me £15k in debt and needing my bladder removed’
Luis says he doen’t want others to make the same mistake he did
A self-confessed party boy says ketamine ‘ruined his life’ – leaving him £15,000 in debt and needing to get up for the toilet 20 times a night until his ‘shot glass-size’ bladder was reconstructed. Luis Corselli says he first started taking the party drug – a class B dissociative that was originally used as a general anaesthetic – during nights out when he was 18 years old.
He preferred ketamine to other drugs because it was ‘cheaper’ and he ‘felt more in control’. But Luis’s addiction spiralled during lockdown, when he began snorting between three-and-half grams and seven grams of the drug daily. The 28-year-old says his ketamine addiction left him needing to wee every 15 minutes and he would have to go to the toilet up to 20 times per night.
Luis says he became trapped in a vicious cycle of needing to take more of the drug as it was the only thing that would ease the ‘ket cramps’ and ‘stabbing’ bladder pain he was experiencing. Doctors told Luis the £60 per day addiction shredded his bladder so badly that it was only able to hold 30ml of urine – barely more than a shot glass-worth or two tablespoons.
Luis when he was living in Ibiza (Kennedy News and Media)(Image: )
On August 31st 2023, Luis took the drug for the final time and moved to his family lodge in Wales, as his own form of rehab. After a year sober, Luis had bladder reconstruction surgery in November 2024 – an operation which he says ‘changed his life’.
The HR analyst now wants to raise awareness about the potential dangers of ketamine, after the party drug left him fearing he would ‘end up dead’. Luis Corselli, from Manchester, said: “I was probably 18 when I first tried ket.
“It was just something I did on a weekend or whenever I’d go to a rave or festival. I am a bit of a party boy, my ideal place to go out is to a rave, that’s just always been what I enjoy doing. I went to Ibiza for a season in 2017 and that’s when I started taking ket most days.
“I was partying a lot and I didn’t really do any other drugs, that was my drug of choice. I just preferred that one because I knew what it was doing to me – I didn’t like doing cocaine or anything like that because I didn’t like feeling out of control. I came home from summer and it would become recreational again, it wasn’t an issue at all.”
Luis when he was living in Ibiza (Kennedy News and Media)(Image: )
While initially he was able to stick to only taking the drug socially, Luis says things spiralled in 2020. The habit was costing him up to £120 per day, and landed him in thousands of pounds worth of debt. Luis said: “In Covid I bought a house and that’s when it turned from a recreational habit into an everyday thing.
“I was taking three and a half grams per day. It was costing me £60 per day and I was in about £15,000 debt. I ruined everything, I didn’t have a penny. All of my money was going on ket, sometimes I would even buy two [bags] and it would be £120 a day.”
But it wasn’t until he started experiencing bladder pain and he needed to urinate every 15 minutes that Luis realised how damaging his addiction had become.
Luis said: “Every time I went for a wee it was like being stabbed with a knife, it [the pain] was awful. [Doctors said] the capacity of my bladder was at 30ml. Every time I had a drink, I would go to the toilet. At this point I was going to the toilet every 15 minutes of my life, morning, noon and night.
“I couldn’t leave the house. Doctors said if I wanted to have the bladder reconstruction then I needed to be off ket for a year. Ket was the only thing that got rid of the pain and took my mind off going to the toilet a lot.
Luis in hospital after years of drug abuse (Kennedy News and Media)(Image: )
“It just turned from a habit into I needed it [ketamine] to get through the day.”
Luis took ketamine for the final time on August 31 2023, and after a year clean from the drug, underwent bladder reconstruction surgery in November 2024. Bladder reconstruction is when a neobladder (new bladder) is made from a piece of your bowel.
Luis said: “I had a wee for the first time [after the surgery] and it was the best moment of my life. I was crying my eyes out because I’d been in pain for four or five years at this point. I didn’t see a life for myself because of how bad it got and how much I got into a rut.
“I didn’t ever see myself coming out of the other side but having that operation is the best thing I’ve ever done. This past year I’ve been trying my hardest, I’ve bought a house, I’ve been going to the gym and eating healthy. The operation really helped me.”
Luis had to have a new bladder (Kennedy News and Media)(Image: )
Luis now wants to warn other people of the dangers of using ketamine. Luis said: “It [ketamine] really did ruin my life, I thought I was going to end up dead and I’m glad that I’m where I am now.
“I just want to spread awareness and get people off ket. It damages everything. It’s not just your bladder, it damages your whole life. If you notice yourself going to the toilet more or getting ket cramps then that is the start of it all.
“You start going to the toilet more, then the pain starts and it’s a downward hill from there because you need the ket to stop the pain. Once you get into that cycle, you can’t get out of it.
Luis after giving up ketamine (Kennedy News and Media)(Image: )
“If you notice any sort of issues stop while you’re ahead. It is not worth it and your life will be ten times better without ketamine because you’ll get your personality back.