On a holiday partying in Ibiza, Wesley Lloyd-Roberts really got into ketamine - with an addiction to the Class B drug eventually leaving him incontinent.
But the issue wasn't so much its availability on the white isle, but when he got home to Penmaenmawr, Gwynedd, he said "it was everywhere", and its use "just kind of blew up" in north Wales.
Figures from the Betsi Cadwaladr health board area show a sharp rise in ketamine-related A&E attendances - from two in 2020, to 372 last year.
For the past three years, numbers being admitted to hospital in the north Wales area have been more than in the other four Welsh health board areas that responded to a Freedom of Information request combined.
Wesley was left needing the toilet every five minutes, and explained: "If I had pain in my bladder, I could take more because it would get rid of the pain.
"If I had pain in my nose, which I was getting really bad, I could still manage to take it, and then it'll get rid of that.
"But I was just making everything worse, and I knew I was, but I still couldn't let it go."
A Betsi Cadwaladr urologist said the drug is becoming "commonplace", while a recovery specialist said it is attractive because young people can become high for 40 minutes for a couple of pounds, and then return home with their parents none the wiser.
Ketamine-related A&E admissions in the Betsi Cadwaladr area were 128 in 2022, 241 in 2023 and 372 in 2024, according to Freedom of Information figures.
The combined total for Cardiff & Vale, Cwm Taf, Hywel Dda and Swansea was 109 in 2022, 163 in 2023 and 228 in 2024.
Swansea had the second highest admissions of those that responded - 63 in 2022, 65 in 2023 and 92 in 2024, while Powys and Aneurin Bevan health boards did not respond.
Wesley was 18 when he got into the drug - now 27, he is in rehabilitation having hit "rock bottom", losing his family and partner, and becoming homeless.
He is not surprised by the figures, saying the drug had "such a tight grip" on him.
"I was getting incontinent, so I needed to go to the toilet a lot, like every like five minutes, sometimes even like less than that," Wesley said.
"I was getting blood in my urine... it was hurting all the time to urinate."
He became a chronic and heavy user - and health problems followed, from incontinence to pain in his kidneys, bladder and liver, as well as mental trauma.
What is ketamine?
While commonly used on animals and in healthcare settings, ketamine is also thought of as a party drug due to its hallucinogenic effects.
An estimated 299,000 people in the UK aged 16 to 59 reported ketamine use in the year ending March 2023 - the highest on record.
Ketamine was upgraded from a Class C substance in 2014 due to mounting evidence over its physical and psychological dangers.
Currently, the maximum penalty for producing and supplying ketamine is up to 14 years in prison.
Possession can carry up to five years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.
The steep rise shown in the Betsi Cadwaladr area is because the drug is becoming "commonplace", according to Dr James Sutherland, the clinical lead for urology, at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor.
"One patient told me he can go to the end of his road and score a high," he added.
"It's cheap as well, so people are spending maybe only £5 on what is a high for an evening or a party, and I think it has become more socially acceptable to use ketamine."
Dr Sutherland said the main issues he sees in patients is bladder pain caused by blockages, with some needing stents inserted to drain the kidneys.
Many users manage that pain by using even more ketamine, said Dr Sutherland, and some patients end up having their bladders removed entirely, living with a stoma for the rest of their lives.
"The symptoms tend to start as kind of urinary urgency and frequency so people become unable to hold on to their urine," he said.
"From there people then develop blood in their urine, and [they] may become incontinent, and end up becoming dependent on adult nappies, which for young adults is really challenging."
Cheryl Williams is strategic lead for recovery charity Adferiad, and says up to a quarter of their admissions to rehab have been for ketamine use.
She has been raising awareness of ketamine issues alongside the sister of Colwyn Bay-born drag artist James Lee Williams, better known as The Vivienne, who died in January following a cardiac arrest brought on by the drug.
They run a ketamine support group in the town, with newcomers turning up every week.
She says the drug has a particular appeal for young people because it is "readily available and cheap", adding: "Let's say you have a friendship group of three to four.
"A couple of pound each and you can be disassociated for 35 to 40 minutes and then you can go back home and your parents might not suspect you've been doing anything."
Wesley still has a long way to go in his rehabilitation - and is facing the prospect of bladder surgery as a result of using ketamine.
But some of his symptoms have reversed, and he feels fitter and is even back playing football, something he had given up during his addiction.
"I thought it was better on drugs doing things than it was sober, but now I'm like this is so much better, like everything is just so new I guess," he said.