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Worried about a mate hammering Ketamine

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Ok, bit of an essay but...

One of my best mates has recently been hammering K to the point where I'm getting worried about him. He's been snorting it non-stop since friday.. although he was going through a gram or 2 every weekend previous.

A lot of my other mates, and some of my family, are saying he's losing the plot and that he's been weird.

I went out for a drink down town with my girlfriend & 2 of her friends and invited him along. I better just quickly say that I have no issues about taking drugs, I regularly smoke weed, take pills on the odd occasion and am partial to a bit of sniff every now and again.. tried K but it just wasn't for me! My girlfriend and her mates however are fairly anti-drugs.

Anyway back to the drink, it was supposed to be a quiet couple down town on Monday but my mate came down and started sniffing K.. He turned into a bit of a prick to be honest, shouting swear words at the top of his voice when we were walking around town, banging on all the office windows and generally being a loud tosser, swearing at the top of his voice and being a bit insulting to my girlfriend and her mates. I did have a go at him and said he was the nicest kiddy when he wasn't on it, but he carried on snorting through the night.

It got the point where my girlfriends mates got embarrassed after a while and left. So I was back home quite early.

He hasn't got a job at the moment and I don't think he's even bothered to look for one. I wouldn't be worried, but he seems to be sniffing it every night and his memory is terrible. Even worse than before!

Plus, it seems every conversation we have now seems to link back to K in some way.. Is there anything I can do or say to hopefully make him curb his habit a little? If not, completely?

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If he wants to use then there really isnt a great deal you can do to stop him. However warning him that ketamine can be physically addictive might make him think a bit.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    like all addictions the addict has to be ready to stop themselves but it would do no harm to highlight the effects its having on him....ie turning into a prick!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Reminds me of a sad story recently.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7083310.stm
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yerascrote wrote: »

    yea thats a bit fucked up

    just down the road from me too ...

    not too sure about them being 'ketamine tablets', i reckon they're just blue bombrs (10mg diazepam)

    can leave you feeling very depressed after a binge of them ..
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    its being reported that they were 'Loyalist Blues' - which apparently means that they were a mixture of Ecstasy and Ket...and that they sell for 50p...apparently.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    its being reported that they were 'Loyalist Blues' - which apparently means that they were a mixture of Ecstasy and Ket...and that they sell for 50p...apparently.

    i know whats being reported but 'loyalist' just stands for the loyalist paramilitaries (who generally import/supply drugs into the country) and blue are a short name for blue bombers

    so.. theyre blue bombers from a loyalist source

    mixture of ecstasy and ket fuck all, its just your usual dealer talking shite business to get the things sold

    and 50p is generally what you'd pay for them if you got a few

    im from around that direction, so i think i can pretty confidently say its just the media talking the usual shite

    sure what about the snowballs the other year! (DOB) .. apparently a 'lethal concoction of speed, coke, lsd and ecstasy' in a pill eh
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yep, pretty sure now they're blue bombers. Poor lad probably didn't know what was going on.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    did he overdose (suicide) or overdose (over-doing it)?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Addict wrote: »
    did he overdose (suicide) or overdose (over-doing it)?

    Overdosed initially, couldn't handle the "comedown" or after effects, was very detached from reality accdording to his ma and hung himself next week. Poor fella.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yerascrote wrote: »
    Overdosed initially, couldn't handle the "comedown" or after effects, was very detached from reality accdording to his ma and hung himself next week. Poor fella.

    yup just to reinforce how shit these things can make you feel, i went on a serious binge of these things for a while .. when you run out the cravings are horrible and you feel like jumping infront of a bus

    not a drug to be abused too much, for sure :no:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hi Aspire,

    Just to get back to the original post.

    As others have mentioned it's always going to be difficult to highlight a problem someone is having with their drug use, especially when they don't seem very open to the idea of discussing the problem. There is a factsheet on dealing with the problems of a friend when they relate to drugs on TheSite.org. Take a look at this and see if the tips inside can help you.

    A friends reluctance to address something doesn't mean that you have to go through a situation yourself without any support though. It can be bloody hard to see a friend with a problem, whatever that problem is, and feel that you don't really have anyway to deal with it.

    For a start there are a few numbers you can call and speak to about the situation, if only to take some of the load of yourself. Bear in mind that any of these numbers could always be given to your friend as well, should the time arise when he'd be interested in hearing about them.

    There's Release who provide advice, counselling and information on drug health and welfare. You can contact them on 0845 4500 215.

    Lifeline are based up in Manchester and have always been a sound, grounded and very practical source of advice on drugs problems - certainly for me and my friends growing up and I hear lots of good things about them these days. You can contact them on 0161 834 7160.

    You might also want to give Frank a try, website may not be all it could be the helpline is the old National Drugs Information Line which has always had a reputation for quality. Give them a call on 0800 776600 where at least the call will be free...

    In addition Supportline is a confidential service where you can talk to people about any situation troubling you. You can get them on 020 8554 9004.

    You might also just want to read up on K a bit. May be helpful or not, but no knowledge is ever a waste ;)

    Our factsheet goes into a nice overview that you may or may not find useful. You might also want to check out the content on Drugscope or Erowid for other overviews.

    There's also out services - askTheSite and Local Advice Finder. askTheSite allows you to ask a confidential questions to an expert on any issue, including drugs (AddAction answer drugs questions) and local advice finder allows you a chance to search for local services that might be able to help out of many 10,000s around the country.

    But again, sorry if this information doesn't seem that direct or provide real practical advice, that's something that's very difficult to provide and just sorry to hear you're in this situation.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Jim V wrote: »
    You might also want to give Frank a try, website may not be all it could be the helpline is the old National Drugs Information Line which has always had a reputation for quality. Give them a call on 0800 776600 where at least the call will be free...
    .

    Its a reputation they quickly lost after moving over to Frank, they wont tell you anything more than whats on the website, and thats a mine field of lies and half truths.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    At the end of the day if he doesn't want to quit then he won't, he has to want to stop but let him know when he's sober how you feel about his hammering of the stuff.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Cheers Jim/Budda/Shogun.

    I've spoke to him about it and let him know but he feels he doesn't have a problem even though he's still be snorting it regularly. Although he is sorry for what happened on the night out, even though that wasn't the thing I was really bothered about.

    If things carry on the way they are or get worse I'll give lineline or release a call, got the numbers saved on my mobile so cheers for that. For now, I'm just going to respect what he says and take his word for it but will obviously be keeping an eye out.

    Thanks for the advice.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    No bother.

    I think that's the best thing to do for now, there's nothing else you really can do.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    budda wrote: »
    If he wants to use then there really isnt a great deal you can do to stop him. However warning him that ketamine can be physically addictive might make him think a bit.

    :yes:
    I've got a mate that's lucky to be alive. He spent 8 weeks in hospital and his heart stopped twice. His kidneys failed completely and he caught phuemonia and mrsa. He's lucky to be alive though I suspect he's going back down that route again.....you need to warn him of the dangers big time.
    My said friend uses the drug to block out a lot of hurtful past, could this be why your pal does it?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    VinylVicky wrote: »
    :yes:
    I've got a mate that's lucky to be alive. He spent 8 weeks in hospital and his heart stopped twice. His kidneys failed completely and he caught phuemonia and mrsa. He's lucky to be alive though I suspect he's going back down that route again.....you need to warn him of the dangers big time.
    My said friend uses the drug to block out a lot of hurtful past, could this be why your pal does it?

    How much ket was your mate doing ?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    crossfader wrote: »
    How much ket was your mate doing ?

    line after line towards the end every day. His kidneys have been failling for the last couple of years, his depression just speeded things up as in he took more but before that he was on say 3 grams a day.
    It doesn't help that he sells it though and it's the only living he knows.
    It's sad really but I think he wants to die :(
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Three, four or five grams a day isnt that uncommon for people addicted, strangely enough their grasp on reality gets a little loose. Repeated and frequent use can have serious effects on your mental health.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    budda wrote: »
    Three, four or five grams a day isnt that uncommon for people addicted, strangely enough their grasp on reality gets a little loose. Repeated and frequent use can have serious effects on your mental health.
    very much, though I do find personally, that small amounts that aren't taken regularly have certainly given me great insight to life and it's helped me solve many problems......I hear you laugh!

    Incidently my friend is back in hospital with liver failure
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Shit, I could never imagine snorting 4 or 5 grams of Ketamine a day! I suppose you would build up a tolerance to it like most drugs.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    VinylVicky wrote: »
    very much, though I do find personally, that small amounts that aren't taken regularly have certainly given me great insight to life and it's helped me solve many problems......I hear you laugh!

    Incidently my friend is back in hospital with liver failure

    There does actually seem to be some evidence that one off very occasional doses does seem to help those with depression. Though I should point out that this is experimental research and they are talking about very occasional controlled doses.

    Grim about your friend, I hope he pulls through.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    budda wrote: »
    There does actually seem to be some evidence that one off very occasional doses does seem to help those with depression. Though I should point out that this is experimental research and they are talking about very occasional controlled doses.

    Grim about your friend, I hope he pulls through.
    I've heard of it being used for depression and in some senses I can see it.
    Have you got any info regarding it's addictiveness please?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Not to hand I'm afraid, though erowid is bound to have a few bits.
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