'I got 10 GCSEs then dived into a £60-a-day ketamine addiction'

A girl who was only 16 years old when she struggled with a ketamine addiction that was so out of control, she only got out of bed to meet her dealer, has spoken out about how she found help and the road to recovery.

Emily Trueman from Hoylake in Merseyside became addicted to the drug more commonly used as a horse tranquiliser after a change in friends when she was just a teenager.

At the height of her addiction, when she was only 19, she would be splashing £60 a day,nearly £1,900 a month, in a downwards spiral that saw her sniffing up to 14 grams a day.

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Once promising at school, her addiction consumed so much of her life that she had to drop out of sixth form and college to keep up her dangerous habit.

After checking herself into a rehab programme, the teenager has managed to curb the addiction and has now begun her journey to transform her life, which she describes as "amazing". Now five months clean, she has spoken out about the problem flooding across the country and wants to offer help to young people who have also become consumed by what she describes as "the norm".

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Emily talked of how quickly ketamine turned her life upside down: "I went to school and got my 10 GCSEs. When I left, I became friends with a new group, and that's just what they were into.

"It got to a point where I was taking it every day. I've got ADHD and I was undiagnosed at the time. My mind runs so quickly. When I took ket everything slowed down.

"I felt like a failure with every step I went through in life. I was clever in school, but I could never sustain it when I got to exams. I couldn't keep up with education, I couldn't keep up with work, and I was having run-ins with the police. I was so depressed, I honestly thought I'd never escape it and I'd never be happy without it.

"The last few months before rehab were getting out of bed to see a dealer and then coming back home and sniffing in my room. That was it."

The addiction caused her to move away from sixth form so she couldhave access to the drug, eventually dropping out of college so she could work full-time to fund the addiction that cost more than double the price of the average rent in Liverpool.

Emily added: "I dropped out a few months in because I couldn't afford to feed my addiction. I started working full-time, swapping jobs, and then I went on sick leave for a couple of months. Eventually, I went back to work because sick pay wasn't cutting it and I couldn't afford my drugs anymore."

Through her considerable consumption, the teenager was having some drastic effects on her health; shrinking her bladder, damaging her liver and risking kidney failure - but not thinking she had a problem, she would continue the habit.

"I thought it's what everyone does. When you're an addict, your brain does anything to tell you you're not an addict," she added: "If you're sitting in a room full of people who are also addicts, and you keep behaving like you don't have a problem by using together, you'll never realise that you actually do have a problem. And people also don't realise they have a problem because literally everyone does it. It's normal."

"I only started realising I had a problem the last time I went on sick pay, a month before I went to rehab. I realised I wasn't able to maintain any kind of normal life while being addicted to ket.

"Nothing was conducive to a normal lifestyle. I didn't sleep in the night; I slept in the day. I was living in my bed; I wouldn't shower, wouldn't get dressed. I wouldn't want to speak to anyone unless they were other users.

"My life was just a big mess. I just knew I couldn't live like that anymore. But it was difficult because I couldn't go to one of my friends and tell them I had a problem. They were all addicts too."

Now being clean, she is looking to help other young addicts by trying to help people understand when they are an addict.

She said: "You can't just put down a drug and stay clean; it doesn't work like that. You have to change every aspect of your life. It's about looking at your spirituality and learning to do these small things, which will boost your mood. That's what helps you stay in recovery. I'd really recommend fellowship groups and engagement services.

"Try to distance yourself from people who use. I've cut contact with people I know who used. There is some kind of hope out there. I'm sitting here, and I'm nearly five months clean. I never thought I would see that day. I thought I'd be using it until I die, or until I end my life. That's where I was at; I was just miserable. It sucked all the life out of me."

According to the Office for National Statistics, 2.9% of 16 to 24-year-olds reported using ketamine between April 2023 and March 2024. The age group had the highest drug use in the UK, with 16.5% of people reporting they have used some form of drug, with ketamine now just behind cocaine as one of the most used options for the generation.

If you or someone else needs urgent help after taking drugs or drinking, call 999 for an ambulance. To find drug support advice near you, visit talktofrank.com/get-help/find-support-near-you.