Possibly with a low enough dosage this would be manageable, but speaking from experience from watching people that have been on the wrong end of the stick with this one. it can do some really serious long term damage in that department.
I watched two documentaries in short succession: Drugs Inc's episode on Ketamine, and a few episodes of Combat Medic. Drug Incs' played up the bladder damage, the persistant dissociative feeling with abusers, and how it's just horse and cat tranquilizer that's no longer used on humans.
Combat Medic non-challantly showed medics giving ketamine to US soldiers in Afghanistan, because it's an effective and immediate anesthetic. They were subtle about it, but it was there. Our the dissonance in the media about drugs like this is indicative of fear mongering and propaganda.
The reason my initial gut felt this way is not due to any documentary or scare tactic it's purely personal experience.
I have two close friends that have taken the recreation too far. One now has permanent bladder issues and the other was lucky to get their habit in check in time. So my gut reaction was not very scientific, apologies.
I am a huge fan of legalization and science. Let people make their own mistakes and if there is a medical path that helps people I'm all for it!
Just hope that this is also part of the discussion ( harm prevention ) because there is some real risks with abuse, that personally I have witnessed first hand.
Having said that science over fear for sure, I am a fan of science over fear. I still feel more positive light than negative and am hopeful people use his for good!
Here's someone who was using 15 g per day: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/29811499/k-bladder-the...
A therapeutic dose is 5 mg per kg. An average adult would be 80 kg, which gives a dose of 400 mg once every maybe 30 or 60 days.
At recreational doses, doctors aren't going to be prescribing anywhere near that.
FWIW - doctors are definitely using "recreational" doses in these experiments.
It would be like saying having a couple of recreational beers on a Friday causes liver failure. It doesn't. Drinking a bottle of whiskey every day for an extended period of time, perhaps.
Same with Ketamine
Ketamine and Bladder Health
In some cases, chronic ketamine use has been associated with urinary tract symptoms that can include increased frequency of urination, urinary incontinence, pain during urination, passing blood in the urine, and reduced bladder size. In several reported severe cases, surgical intervention to remove the bladder was deemed necessary by clinicians. The wide dose-response range leading to documented cases suggests that individual responses to ketamine may be idiosyncratic and unpredictable, making it unclear what level and frequency of use may lead to urinary problems.
https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/ketamine/ketamine_health.sh...
>In some cases, chronic ketamine use has been associated >In several reported severe cases
Chronic / addiction levels yes. Not recreational levels. As I put
As to ketamine and bladder problems. I used to be involved with the UK free party scene which had serious problems with ketamine in the early 2000s ( up until the supply shortage caused by the Indian clampdown a few years ago), before it was well known about the addiction / health problems it could cause (although issues were known, but it wasn't generally well known beyond a few knowledgeable people).
You would often hear that ketamine had no comedown, had no side effects. Users would start out being weekend users, then progress to daily, sniffing between 3-7 grams a day, all day - everyday. Then gradually you started hearing about stomach cramps, difficulty going to the toilet, thinking you had to go to the toilet every 10 minutes, having to urinate a jelly/jello like bloody substance. Drs had no idea what was going on and were no help. But by this stage the addiction had them completely and the only way to stop the pain was to sniff more ketamine. Eventually it led to a girl having kidneys and / or bladder removed and slowly the public conscience about the dangers of ketamine was known.
However, of all the users I knew who kept it to only weekends, used ketamine for years with none of the above mentioned health problems. Anecdotally of course and I am sure there may be edge cases I am unaware of. But recreational use of ketamine does not cause bladder problems IME
People drinking far less than that, maybe a glass or two of wine most days, are getting cirrhosis.