Terrifying.
Radio presenter Lottie Ryan has opened up about her experience of being spiked in Dublin on a night out.
With spiking incidences on the rise as the nightlife sector reopens, Lottie has revealed that she and her sister Bonnie were left "hanging on to the wall" after the horrifying incident.
During a night out in the city over 10 years ago, Lottie recalled the moment she had her drink messed with, opening up to fellow 2FM host Jennifer Zamparelli.
"It happened to me and my sister on the same night. It happened on a night out many moons ago and I'll pre-empt that, not that I should have to, by saying that I’m not a big drinker," Lottie recalled.
"I’m a cheap date and I know how much alcohol I can handle and it’s not very much. I go out on the dancefloor and I’m sweating to bits by the end of the night, that’s what I do on a night out.
"So, I went out with my sister and a couple of friends and we were dancing, and I wasn’t as cautious as I should have been with my drink. In hindsight I’m so annoyed with myself for doing it and I should have known better at the time, but my drink wasn’t far away from me.
"It was on the floor beside me and in the moment, I must have thought it was fine and it wasn’t a big deal but clearly it wasn’t fine."
Going from a "little bit buzzy, soberish, to being the drunkest" she's ever been in 10 minutes, Lottie immediately knew something was wrong when she couldn't speak.
"I was having clear thoughts, but I couldn’t verbalise and I remember looking at my sister and she did not look good and I thought to myself, she looks the way I feel. Something is after happening here. Something is not good; something is not right," she added.
"I felt like I couldn’t speak, and I felt there was something coming over me. I know that we had to get out of there and go home asap."
Grabbing Bonnie and leaving, the pair didn't even say goodbye or get their coats, they just knew they needed to leave.
"From the door of the nightclub to the taxi, I could feel my legs going. I can’t describe how quickly this happened, it was so quick. I was holding onto the wall and there were people laughing at us because they obviously thought we were completely locked.
"Bonnie was very sick. I was with her the whole time. We both woke up the next morning and both of us were like what in god’s name happened to us?"
Feeling responsible for her younger sister, Lottie opted not to tell her mum or the Gardaí at the time and blamed herself for not closely watching her drinks but knows now that wasn't the case.
You can find out more information about what to do if you are spiked
here.
