7 days agoNew York StateComments Off on My party drug habit left me with an irreversible shot glass-sized bladder and needing to pee 50 times a day
A PARTY girl has revealed how her daily drug habit left her with a bladder the size of a shot glass and needing to pee more than 50 times a day.
Paige Collins first tried class B drugketamine at the age of 19 while on a night out with pals.
Kennedy NewsPaige Collins first tried ketamine when she was out with friends, aged 19[/caption]
Kennedy NewsShe quickly became addicted, snorting between 5g and 10g a day[/caption]
Kennedy NewsPaige started needing the loo more often and became housebound, struggling to eat, drink or sleep and only leaving her bed to go to the loo[/caption]
But the “once-in-a-blue-moon” dabble quickly spiralled into a daily habit that saw her snort between 5g and 10g a day and fork out £1,000 a month.
Drug harm reduction websites warn that just 150mg is a “heavy” dose.
Over the course of three years Paige, 25, started needing the loo more often and was horrified when she started experiencing excruciating pain and peeing a jelly-like substance.
At the height of her addiction Paige was housebound, struggling to eat, drink or sleep and only leaving her bed to go to the loo.
During an ultrasound doctors revealed her chronic ketamine usage had drastically shrunk her bladder, leaving it only able to hold 30ml – just over a shot glass-worth of liquid.
Despite now being nine months clean of ketamine, Paige is still unable to work due to bladder problems and is now sharing her experience so others know the dangers.
Paige, from Havant, Hampshire, said: “I was 19 when I first tried ketamine. My friend asked me to sort some for a rave we were going to and it started from there.
“It started as a once-in-a-blue-moon thing then it was a weekend thing then [it] started picking up during covid to week days and then every day.
“Initially I really enjoyed it. It took me three years to realise I was addicted.
“I would start off getting one or two grams a night and then at the start of 2024 I was doing between five and 10 grams a day.
“It was costing me anywhere between £150 to £250 a week.
“I noticed symptoms over time. It started with more frequent toilet trips but it took a little while to start peeing jelly – start peeing the lining of my bladder.
“I had absolutely no clue this could happen. Even when I knew [and] it was at its worst I still continued to do it.
“It was awful, I was in pain. I was stuck in a cycle of waking up, doing it, crying, saying ‘I’m never going to touch it again’ then picking it up again’.
“I was nipping to the loo 50 plus times a day.
“It was ruining my life. I couldn’t go out for four or five months of 2023, I didn’t leave the house.”
Irreversible damage
Paige first went to hospital in 2021 with abdominal pain known as ‘K cramps’ followed by repeated visits to her GP.
In January 2023 Paige had her first ultrasound and a cystoscopy where doctors discovered her bladder had drastically shrunk.
The NHS states that a healthy bladder should hold around 400-600mls of urine, while Paige’s can only hold 30ml – just 5 per cent.
Paige said: “When I woke up from having it [the cystoscopy] done the doctor said my bladder was only 30ml. It was really shocking to hear.
“I refer to it as just over a shot – a shot is 25ml.”
“When they said that to me I felt awful but also felt a bit of relief, because I was really scared of them saying ‘you’re going to have to have a bag’.
There’s nothing I can do to make my bladder the way it once was
Paige Collins
“They’ve already said the damage is irreversible. There’s nothing I can do to make my bladder the way it once was.”
Paige undergoes bladder instillation treatment, where a liquid medicine is inserted to help with pain and inflammation and stretch her bladder.
She’s sharing her story to warn people about the dangers and encourage them to stop taking it.
Paige said: “Ket was an escape mechanism for me, which I know it also is for lots of other people.
“I was a party girl. Even now I still like going out dancing, but I don’t take ket when I go out.
“I just want to raise awareness as I know the physical and emotional pain this has caused me and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”
Kennedy NewsPaige first went to hospital in 2021 with abdominal pain known as ‘K cramps’ where it was discovered her bladder had drastically shrunk[/caption]
Kennedy NewsPaige is now sharing her story to warn of the dangers of taking ket[/caption]
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
7 days agoNew York StateComments Off on Towie star Lydia Bright reveals she’s dating again after split – but fans send her urgent warning over ‘dangerous’ app
TOWIE’S Lydia Bright has sparked huge concern among her loyal fanbase after revealing she’s joined a single parents dating app following a “tough” break-up.
instagram/lydiabrightTowie star Lydia Bright has revealed she is dating again after her recent relationship breakdown[/caption]
InstagramThe TOWIE alum has split with gardener partner Ben[/caption]
PAYet fans have expressed concern over the mum of one’s chosen dating method[/caption]
Lydia, who is mum to five-year-old Lorretta, made her relationship reveal back in January declaring she was “single AGAIN.”
Lydia and Ben first begandatingat the beginning of 2024, with the TOWIE babe initially keeping her new romance under wraps.
Now the dust has settled on the relationship breakdown Lydia has taken to her Instagram page to muse on the aftermath of returning to life as a single mum – and reveal she’s back on the dating scene.
Alongside a video showing her posing in her bedroom in cream tassel pyjamas she told how she had signed up to online dating site even – which purports it is for “more than parents.”
It claims it is “the dating app for single parents who make it a priority to think about themselves too” – yet some followers have flagged concern for both Lydia and Loretta’s safety.
In her lengthy caption, Lydia posted: “Navigating dating as a single mum is a juggle.
“Which is why the first time ever, I am online dating. I have recently discovered @even.uk a dating app for single parents to meet single parents. I love that everyone is in the same boat, so we are celebrated, and you don’t have to worry about the stigmas.
“With detailed dating profiles you can have meaningful matches, based on more than just a photo and discover what you have in common to inspire conversation.
“As well as peoples parenting situation, including number of children, ages and child arrangements. Meet people with confidence knowing Even check and moderate accounts.
“Along with being able to chat for free in the messenger feature and start a video or audio call directly in the app, all from your sofa and before you commit to meeting in person.
“The App allows you to discover up to 100 profiles a day and connect with singles near you.
TOWIE STARS SPIN OFF
WITH the announcement TOWIE will return in 2025 for two new series, it's good news for some former ITVBE stars, too
TWO of the show’s best loved former stars will celebrate their own big life moments with a spin off series featuring Tommy Mallet and Georgia Kousoulou.
Their new show title is currently unconfirmed.
The pair, who first met and found love on TOWIE back in 2014, finally say ‘I Do’ in a three part special produced by Objective Entertainment.
The show will follow on from the success of their Baby Steps series.
“So if you are ready to get yourself back out there, this could be for you.”
While many fans were happy Lydia was looking ahead to her next chapter, others expressed concern over the “safety” of the app.
One quizzed: “How safely vetted is this? It’s well known that some people deliberately target single parents for awful things.”
A second put: “Agreed, people dismissing your comment but I worked in child protection for 10 years & it’s quite common for pdf files to groom vulnerable single parents, to gain access to their children.
“There are so many creeps on dating apps & the video chat function could be exploited without proper safeguards in place.”
A third commented: “Many single parents don’t even know they are vulnerable.”
One added: “This app allows people without kids to join which just completely defeats the idea along with being creepy.”
Yet others were hugely supportive, and one fan was quick to remark: “You are thriving my girl.”
Another put: “We love you so much our super mum x”
A third added: “You deserve love and happiness Lydia xx.”
instagram/lydiabrightLydia, 34 told her Instagram fans she had joined dating app Even, which is for single parents[/caption]
InstagramIt came as she detailed the ‘tough’ aftermath of her split with Ben[/caption]
InstagramFans called out worries over ‘vetting’ on the app[/caption]
7 days agoNew York StateComments Off on Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca set to hike tourist charges up to 200 per cent – find out how much your holiday would cost
BRITS heading to Spain could soon face a hike in their holiday costs.
Plans are underway to hike charges for overnight tourists staying on one of the Balearic Islands by 200 per cent, under new measures being proposed by its regional government.
GettyPlans are underway to increase charges for overnight tourists staying on one of the Balearic Islands[/caption]
GettyIf the plans are approved by the regional government, tourist charges could rise by as much as 200 per cent[/caption]
The new measures, which are currently awaiting approval, could see tourist charges increase by at least 66 per cent.
Brits planning to holiday in Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera in the summer will be some of the hardest hit, with maximum overnight tourist charges rising from €4 (£3.36) to €6 (£5.04) per person per night.
Rates will vary depending on the quality of accommodation with holidaymakers staying in super four and five-star hotels in June, July and August paying the most.
If the plans are approved, holidaymakers staying in four and five-star hotels will pay €42 (£35.31) per person per week, a rise of €14 (£11.77), which would cost a family of four with children over the age of 16 £141.24 a week.
Cruise ship passengers will be the hardest hit, with overnight charges increasing by 200 per cent from €2 (£1.68) to up to €6 (£5.04) per person per night.
However, it’s good news for tourists who head to the Balearics in January and February, with overnight charges set to be scrapped.
This is in a bid to entice holidaymakers to visit the popular Spanish islands during the low season.
The regional government is also considering imposing an emissions tax on tourist vehicles, including a charge on rental cars.
Money raised by the fee will be invested back into public transport on the island.
Plans to introduce new controls on tourist accommodation are also being discussed.
These new plans could see fines of up to €500,000 for illegal holiday rentals, as well as a ban on new holiday rental flats within residential apartment buildings.
While the plans are still seeking approval, Jaume Bauzá, tourism minister in the conservative People’s Party Balearic government, previously said: “The islands have reached their limit.”
The news comes after Majorca put plans in place to introduce a residents-only zone, affecting tourists.
Sóller, a town on the island, has introduced a ‘residents only’ zone where no hire cars are allowed through its town centre, unless they are registered by locals.
Holidaymakers can still drive to Sóller but will need to park and walk through the town instead.
While the new rules won’t affect Brits holidaying on the island, tourists will need to research about the low emission zone as failure to adhere could result in a fine.
Because of the lack of housing in some Spanish cities, laws have been introduced to stop any more holiday homes from being registered.
Meanwhile, Malaga has introduced a law stopping any more new holiday rentals for the next three years across.
In the city of Barcelona, holiday flats have been completely banned with it fully coming into place by 2029.
Other destinations with tourists taxes
THESE popular holiday spots either have a tourist tax in place, or are introducing one soon.
Greece
Holidaymakers heading to Greece in the near future could be hit with a tourist tax, with plans for the levy outlined by the government earlier this year.
Holidaymakers traveling to the popular holiday destination during the high season (from March to October) will face an additional tax on overnight stays.
Just like the previous tax, the rate will vary depending on the type of accommodation tourists have booked, and it will range from €1 (£0.86) to €4 (£3.45) per night.
The new tax will be added to the country’s existing accommodation tax, resulting in higher charges.
Tenerife
Visitors to the Canary Island will be hit with a new tourist tax after locals demanded a freeze on holidaymakers in mass anti-tourism protests.
The new tax system will come into effect from January 1, 2025, as residents of Tenerife demand a cut in the number of holidaymakers.
The amount visitors will have to pay has not been confirmed yet.
Tunisia
Holidaymakers heading to Tunisia will be forced to pay a new tourist tax under plans outlined by the country’s government.
From November 1, 2024, package holidaymakers staying at properties with a two-star rating or higher will need to pay an additional charge for their overnight stay.
The rate will vary depending on the type of accommodation tourists have booked, and it will range from 4 Tunisian Dinars (£1) to 12 Tunisian Dinars (£4) per night.
For example, holidaymakers who’ve booked to stay at a two-star hotel will need to pay 4 Tunisian Dinars (£1) per night.
Meanwhile, those staying at three-star hotels will be asked to pay 8 Tunisian Dinars (£2) per night, while four and five-star hotel stays will cost an additional 12 Tunisian Dinars (£3).
Meanwhile, this popular tourist destination is also planning to increase its daily tourist charge.
And this UK seaside town became the first to tax tourists last year.
AlamyIt is not yet known when the plans will be approved[/caption]
Viral videos showed hundreds chanting those same words on the road leading up to the iconic stadium.
TheManchester Evening Newsclaimed that there were an estimated 5,000 people taking part in the mile-long march.
Scores of flares were set off as fans dressed in black sang pointed and abusive songs towards co-chairman Joel Glazer and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has spent £1.3bn for a 28.94% stake in the club.
The United captain curled in a dead ball after referee Anthony Taylor set the Arsenal wall back 11.2 yards, according to broadcast technology, rather than the minimum 10 yards.
Rice brilliantly whipped in Jurrien Timber’s cutback to level the match with 16 minutes to go and then, moments later, slid in when sub Rasmus Hojlund was clean through on goal.
The England star celebrated the tackle almost as emphatically as the goal.
7 days agoNew York StateComments Off on Buyer viewing my house raped me after I was forced to choose between me and my daughter – then left us to DIE in inferno
WHEN Kristy Frensley was asked by a man to view her home as a potential buyer, she didn’t think twice about letting him inside the property.
But it was a decision the mum-of-three would regret for the rest of her life.
Kristy Frensley had no idea her life would be changed forever when she let a potential buyer view her homeYouTube/LMNPICTURED: Kevin Wayne Dunlap who murdered Kristy’s three children before burning their house down
When Kevin Dunlap approached her on her front lawn, she thought there was no harm in quickly showing him round.
But the mum had no idea that this stranger was a sick monster who would end up raping her and brutally murdering her three children.
Speaking on I Survived, Kristy, who was 36 at the time of the attack, was a single mum living in Texas, trying to sell her house.
The devoted mum had three kids, Kayla, 17, Kortney, 14, and Ethan, 5, and wanted to leave their sleepy suburb home to be closer to the city.
“It was a nice suburban neighbourhood,” she explained. “No-one locked their doors, everyone was friendly.”
“The kids and I wanted to move closer to town because where we lived was about a twenty-minute drive to anywhere.”
A Normal Day
Kristy recalls the horrific day started just like any other, with her cleaning up outside her house.
It was an autumn day in October 2008 when he approached her to say he was interested in looking at the house, and initially, Kristy was hesitant to let him in.
She said she had recognised him from the previous week when he approached her asking if someone he knew lived in the area, but she told him she wasn’t sure and he left.
But now, he approached wearing a satellite TV work shirt, and she thought, ‘He’s probably just in the area working and stopped by real quick to take a look at the house.’
The mum of three agrees to show him around the house, a decision that would change her life forever.
While doing so, she noticed he didn’t ask any questions and stood behind her the entire time, which made her feel uneasy.
She made her way upstairs to show him the bathroom and the next thing she knew Kevin Dunlap had his arm wrapped around her neck and held a gun to her head.
Viscious Attack
“He told me to do what he said and no one would get hurt,” she recalled.
Kristy was left terrified and complied as he took her to the bedroom and told her to sit up on the bed.
She remembers he was eerily calm and quiet as he methodically bound her wrists and ankles with zip ties he had brought with him.
Once done, he asked her who else lived at the house. When she replied it was just her children, he went on to ask for their ages before adding, ‘Are you sure no one else lives in the house with you?’
When Kristy replied there was no one else, he began acting even more strangely. He paced around the house, opening and closing windows as Kristy was bound on her bed.
She prayed he would leave, hoping he would just burgle her, but it was clear he had no plans to when he asked when the kids were coming back and started rummaging through their bedrooms.
I didn’t want them to come in and see their mummy tied up.
Kristy Frensley
He found a pair of tights in her eldest daughter’s room, cut them up and put them in his pocket.
Kevin remarked that the kids were late coming back from school, and Kristy begged him to let her answer the door to send them to neighbours.
“He told me ‘No, shut up.’ When I realised he wasn’t going to leave before the kids got home, I was scared for them. I didn’t know what was going to happen,” she explained.
“I didn’t want them to come in and see their mummy tied up.”
When they came home, Kevin launched at Kortney and put a gun to her head before locking all three of them in the bedroom with Kristy as he tied each of them up.
Kevin let the young boy hug his mum before using the tights he’d stolen earlier to tie his hands
Then, Kevin took each of the kids out of the room one by one, as Ethan, her youngest, asked Kevin Dunlap: “Why are you doing this to my mummy? I love my mummy.”
After, he came back to the room Kristy was in before telling her to make a horrible choice.
findagraveKortney Lan McBurney-Frensley’s body was found with multiple stab wounds[/caption]
findagraveKayla and Ethan had also been subjected in the attack[/caption]
Sexual abuse in numbers
669,000 adults are sexually assaulted in England and Wales every year
1 in 5 women (8m) in the UK have been sexually abused
1 in 6 men (5m) in the UK have been sexually abused
1 in 20 children in the UK have been sexually abused
Sexual abuse has been attributed to:
15% of all suicides in the UK
11% of all common mental health disorders in the UK
7% of alcohol dependence disorders
10% of drug dependence disorders
15% of eating disorders
17% of post-traumatic stress disorders
(Source: Safeline)
Me or Her
The sadistic man told Kristy he had to rape her or her daughter and that she had to decide.
Like any mum would, Kristy chose herself rather than put her daughter through that, hoping it would keep them out of harm’s way.
It’s like he just snapped – he was calm and collected before, then all of a sudden was a monster.
Kristy Frensley
“He started kissing me, he told me to use my tongue, he then cut my zip ties and pulled my shorts till they were all the way off,” and then he raped Kristy.
To cover the evidence, Kevin then took Kristy to the bathroom to shower her before taking her back to the bedroom.
He told her, “I’m going to have to put you out so that you don’t see me leave,” and began to strangle her.
“It’s like he just snapped – he was calm and collected before, then all of a sudden was a monster,” she recalled.
Kristy fought back and then he tried to break her neck before taking out a knife and stabbed her.
He left the room before returning to stab her again, this time in the ear and lower back.
He used such force that the court documents state the butter knife snapped off inside her.
Kristy pretended to be dead to stop the attack and he covered her body with a blanket. Kristy could see Ethan, her son, in the other room lying on a pile of pillows, peacefully sleeping.
She figured she would pick him up and take him to safety before realising her wrists were still tied up, and Kevin had come back pouring, what we now know was flammable liquid, in the room.
He lit the room on fire and Kristy’s foot soon was as well, but when she tried to get up, she realised her right side was paralysed from the stabbing.
She managed to roll off the bed and used her left foot to open the French doors while her body was catching fire and rolled onto the deck.
By the time Kristy reached safety, most of her house was ablaze and she had no idea where her children were.
Neighbours had come fleeing to the house to help, with one seeing Kristy’s daughter Kayla through the window.
They smashed it open and pulled her out – but the fire was so hot her skin peeled away in their hands.
It was later revealed that Kevin had slit her throat from ear to ear and she died in her garden.
The house burned down, and they tragically found Kortney and Ethan’s bodies.
When you lose your children, I don’t think you ever heal emotionally.
Kristy Frensley
The autopsy report revealed Ethan had two stab wounds to the chest (including one that penetrated his heart), six stab wounds to his back and one to his stomach.
Kortney had three stab wounds to her chest that penetrated her left lung and one stab wound to the right side of her neck; both had died from their stab wounds.
Kristy was put into a medically induced coma because of her severe injuries, which included a fractured skull as well as her vocal cords and ear canal being severed.
“I kept waking up asking for my children; they told me they were in good hands,” she said.
Kristy was woken up on the third day surrounded by the police and her family, where she was tragically told all of her children were dead.
A friend told her, “Kristy, we’ve been telling you your children are in good hands because they are, but they didn’t make it.”
Kristy sobbed as she heard that her children were brutally murdered. On the same day, Kevin was charged with the murders.
He was sentenced to the death penalty but died in hospital at the age of 51.
“When you lose your children, I don’t think you ever heal emotionally,” said the mum. “It’s something you never get over.”
findagraveKristy had to bury all three of her children after getting out of the hopsital[/caption]