How I felt when my drink was spiked

Remember: All drugs, including the misuse of prescribed medication, can pose serious health risks, up to and including possible death.

I never thought much about the risk of drink spiking until it happened to me. I was out for a night with friends, the normal mix of drinking, dancing and generally having fun in the same nightclub we go to every weekend. Throughout the night, we left our drinks at a table every time we hit the dance floor. The only thing we worried about at that time was the chance of someone stealing our drinks.

By the end of the night, I’d had a few drinks – enough to be tipsy but not too bad as I always had to wake my parents up when I got home.  As we left the nightclub, I spotted my brother and went to talk to him, leaving my friends to head to the nearest takeaway, after which we would all get a taxi home together.

After a while talking to my brother, I headed off to find my friends again but at this point I didn’t feel well. I was dizzy, confused and sick feeling, and felt paranoid that people were laughing at me. The time after leaving my brother is a bit of a blur. I stumbled around the street and takeaways but didn’t find my friends.

Unfortunately, they thought I’d gone home with my brother and had already left in a taxi. I was very upset as well as sick by then and I was too confused to figure out how to get home. Luckily, a taxi stopped and the driver, who knew my family, asked me if I was okay – I must have looked in a bad way by this point. He offered to take me home, so I got in and he drove me back to my parent’s house.

Once there, I couldn’t get my key into the door. At this point I was barely able to stand: I kept losing my balance and falling, banging against plant pots as I fell. I rang the doorbell several times and when my mother finally opened the door, she found me in tears, covered in bruises and unable to explain what was wrong with me. The next day, I felt awful and explained to my parents that I didn’t really know what happened. It was my mother who suggested that I might have had a drink spiked, either by alcohol or drugs, I’ll never know which.

It was a valuable lesson and I feel very, very lucky that I was taken home safely that night and that I didn’t end up in any further danger. Since then, I always keep an eye on my drink and either finish it or take it with me when I go dancing or move around in a pub. I also try to never leave friends to get home on their own at the end of the night, especially if they’re drunk. Anyone who is reading this: take care of yourself and your friends and keep an eye on your drinks, so that you never end up having as bad a night out as I did.

Find out more about alcohol, drink spiking and taking care of drunk friends.