My nose felt blocked then a giant chunk of rotting flesh fell out – even that didn’t stop my rampant ket & coke habit

NICOLE Chanelle was just 14 when she first started taking hard drugs. Now 30, the TikToker spent more than a decade using cocaine to fuel her nights out, before turning to ketamine three years ago – a habit that eventually rotted away part of her nose, leaving a giant gaping hole. Kennedy NewsNicole was taking up to four grams of ketamine a day[/caption] Kennedy NewsThe 30-year-old underwent surgery to repair the hole that ketamine had eroded in her nose[/caption] Once she moved onto the club drug, now at the centre of an addiction crisis among youngsters across the UK, things quickly spiralled out of control for the 27-year-old from West Yorkshire. Clinics in England treated 3,609 people of all ages for addiction to ketamine, also referred to as “K” or “Ket”, last year, eight times more than 426 in 2014, figures reveal. Nicole says: “I just started using it every single day. I used it as a coping m

General Sep 25, 2025 0 2 Add to Reading List

My nose felt blocked then a giant chunk of rotting flesh fell out – even that didn’t stop my rampant ket & coke habit

NICOLE Chanelle was just 14 when she first started taking hard drugs.

Now 30, the TikToker spent more than a decade using cocaine to fuel her nights out, before turning to ketamine three years ago – a habit that eventually rotted away part of her nose, leaving a giant gaping hole.

Nicole Chanelle, a 30-year-old woman, sober after rehab.

Nicole was taking up to four grams of ketamine a day[/caption]

Nicole Chanelle in a hospital bed with her nose bandaged after surgery for drug-related damage.

The 30-year-old underwent surgery to repair the hole that ketamine had eroded in her nose[/caption]

Once she moved onto the club drug, now at the centre of an addiction crisis among youngsters across the UK, things quickly spiralled out of control for the 27-year-old from West Yorkshire.

Clinics in England treated 3,609 people of all ages for addiction to ketamine, also referred to as “K” or “Ket”, last year, eight times more than 426 in 2014, figures reveal.

Nicole says: “I just started using it every single day. I used it as a coping mechanism. It’s highly addictive. I used it for any excuse, any emotion.”

At the peak of her addiction, Nicole would buy the powerful tranquilliser in bulk for £140 per month, taking up to 4grams of the stuff each day.

Doctors warned that heavy use can cause liver disease and permanent damage to the bladder and kidneys.

It is also linked to constipation, depression and loss of mental sharpness.

Taking the drug can also prove fatal, with deaths soaring by 650 per cent since 2015 — now claiming almost one life a week across the UK.

Young Brits, including Sophie Russell, 20, and Rian Rodgers, 26, are among many who have lost their lives to the drug.

In May, it emerged that drag star The Vivienne, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019, died after taking ketamine.

It was also linked to the death of Friends star Matthew Perry last year.

During the first year of abuse, Nichole noticed her nose appeared blocked. Then, suddenly, a chunk of flesh fell out, leaving a hole inside – but the incident did not stop her from taking more.

She explained: “I ignored it, carried on using it as it didn’t change the outside of my nose.

After two years of using ketamine, she knew she was addicted but said she “was too far gone to get a grip on it”.

Nicole realised she needed help, so she decided to go to a rehab centre in India in May after a friend recommended it.

She says: “I had a funny turn and literally thought I was going to die.

“I thought I couldn’t be trusted alone in my home anymore. I need to get away.”

Nicole is now three months sober and has had surgery on her nose in Turkey to fix the exterior and the hole in her septum.

She now wears a nose shaper to protect the shape while it heals.

The content creator admitted she was lucky to escape serious bladder problems that often occur with ketamine use, but would suffer from ‘ket cramps‘ in her stomach.

She said the drug also caused her to be depressed and to isolate herself from friends and family.

Nicole Chanelle holding a pink cocktail at a bar.

The TikToker spent £140 per month on the dangerous habit[/caption]

Nicole Chanelle with a nostril shaper after nose surgery.

She now wears a nose shaper to protect her nose shape while it heals[/caption]

The ex-addict aims to raise awareness and encourage others who are struggling to reach out for help.

She says: “I’m lucky that I escaped serious bladder problems, but when I was using heavily, I would go to the toilet a lot and suffer from ket cramps in my stomach.

“It made me deeply depressed. I was isolating, didn’t care about doing anything else other than using.

GETTING HELP:

If you think that you have a drug addiction then please contact your GP.

You can also visit FRANK for honest information about drugs and to find local treatment services.

If you are having trouble finding the right help, call the FRANK drugs helpline on 03001236600

Or click here to visit the NHS website for more advice and support

“Sober life is a lot easier now since I had the nose surgery, so I know if I go back to using now, I’d just destroy everything I’ve done.

“I don’t want to go back there. I do have thoughts of using, but don’t actually do it.

“Reach out for help, try not to keep it to yourself and suffer in silence. Be held accountable.

“I was lucky, my family knew without me telling them because I was isolating and I was really skinny.

“There’s nothing you can do until you’re ready for the help.”

Woman with long brown hair, resting her chin on her hand, looking downwards with a sad expression.

The ex-addict said the drug caused her to be depressed and to isolate herself[/caption]

THE TOLL 'K' TAKES ON YOUR BODY

KETAMINE can lead to death by putting pressure on the heart and respiratory system.

But its other effects on the body, which are often irreversible, are horrifying, too.

“Ketamine bladder syndrome is one of the worst symptoms,” Dr Catherine Carney, an addiction specialist at Delamere, told Sun Health.

This is where the breakdown of ketamine in the body causes inflammation in the bladder wall.

It leaves people unable to hold urine and passing chunks of their bladder tissue.

Some users face the prospect of having their bladders removed entirely.

Dr Carney explains: “The lining of the bladder can shrink over time and be extremely painful for those experiencing it.

“This can often lead to lower abdominal pain and pain when passing urine, as well as bleeding.

“It’s usually what has forced people to get help because they can’t tolerate it any more.

“We’ve had young men in agony, wetting the bed.

“Their whole life is focused on where there’s a toilet because they can only hold urine for ten minutes.

“For a teenager or someone in their early 20s, that’s absolutely life-changing.

“In some cases, the bladder damage progresses to the kidneys and people get kidney failure, too.

“This is developing in people who have been using for two years, so it is relatively quick.”

Dr Carney adds that the urine samples of new guests checking into the clinic are often just a “pot of blood”.

This is followed by weeks of agony coming off the drug. An irony of ketamine use is people tend to take more and more to numb the pain of the side-effects it causes.

Dr Carney says: “There’s nothing that we can give which is as strong as a medical anaesthetic (the ketamine). We can use codeine-based products or anti-inflammatories.

“Some antidepressants help at night, but the pain is hard to manage in the early days.

“Most people that come to us, the bladder will improve to the point that they don’t need to have it removed.

“But once you’ve got a bladder that has shrunk to the size of 70ml, that’s never getting better.”

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