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A woman shared her warning after being unable to use her legs due to an addiction to “laughing gas” that led her to use 600 canisters a week.

Kerry-Anne Donaldson, 26, is wheelchair dependent after years of “abusing” nitrous oxide (NOS), also known as “laughing gas,” for years.

The former receptionist, from Newham, East London, says she started using NOS at parties when she was 18 and gradually increased her use.

One morning when she was 21, she says she woke up and couldn’t use her legs or hands.

Kerry-Anne now relies on a wheelchair to get around and manage her pain. She can’t walk without help.

It comes as she backs stronger measures to make nitrous oxide a schedule C drug, which would make possession illegal.

Some activists say the latest government policy announcement will not stop people from taking it and will put the supply into criminal hands.

However, Kerry-Anne says these strict measures are necessary because not enough people know about the risks.

She said: “It has affected a lot of people’s lives, and there isn’t enough awareness about what it can do to you.”

Kerry-Anne started taking NOS at parties when she was 18, and gradually increased her use, which took a toll on her body.

She said: “When I was 21 one morning I couldn’t use my legs or hands.

“I didn’t even realize what I was taking, it wasn’t until the doctors told me at the hospital that I knew it was nitrous oxide.

“I was uneducated on the subject and had no idea about the damage.”

Kerry-Anne was eventually hospitalized and required to use a wheelchair and crutches for a few months.

Speaking about her first hospital visit in 2020, Kerry-Anne said: “The doctor asked me if I had taken anything.

“So I was honest and told him that I had been using boats and balloons.

“That’s when he told me what was in them, the nitrous oxide, and told me about the effects.

“He said the reason I’m in pain and can’t walk is because of the damage it causes.

“It blocks oxygen from passing through the body and brain and destroys levels of vitamin B12.

“It was very shocking when the doctor told me that. I didn’t think inhaling a balloon could cause that much damage.

“At that moment I felt a bit stupid, I never thought that something so small could cause so much damage.

“I should have known what I was taking before I took it instead of assuming it wouldn’t do me any harm like it did.”

However, as he began to recover, he says he began abusing the drug again, inhaling the gas from ‘morning to night’.

She said: “I did recover and get better, but I was addicted and I was going through a lot.

“I knew that taking them would stop me from thinking too much, so I would take them to clear my thoughts.

“This time I started abusing. I went from using six canister boxes to 25, which is about 600 in a week.

“I’d do it for a week, then the next week I’d feel bad so I couldn’t do anything, but then the next week I’d do it again.

“It was a vicious cycle that I was trapped in.

“I would do them from the time I woke up to the time I fell asleep. I wouldn’t even eat, I would just do them one after the other.”

Kerry-Anne’s legs began to go numb again in early 2021, so she decided to quit the substance.

However, even after an entire year without being high, Kerry-Anne completely lost feeling in her legs in January 2022.

She now frequently uses a wheelchair to help control her pain and is unable to walk without assistance.

Kerry-Anne was also told she had a vitamin B12 deficiency, so she has to take injections to help.

Kerry-Anne said: “I woke up one morning and both my legs were completely gone, even though I hadn’t taken nitrous oxide in a year.

“I ended up staying in the hospital for five weeks on a drip and having all kinds of tests to find out what was wrong.

“I eventually found out I had a bulging disc in my lower back and nerve damage in my legs.

“When I came out in March last year, I was in bed. I couldn’t do anything.

“I was stressed and depressed, and to make matters worse, I knew at the same time that it was all my fault.

“I took them of my own free will knowing what I was taking the second time.

“It has impacted my life tremendously. It took me over a year to finally get a few steps around my house, but I haven’t walked without help.”

“A whole year of my life is gone. It has affected my family and friends as well.

“My dad has been my caretaker and his life has had to completely revolve around me.”

Heavy and regular use of nitrous oxide can lead to vitamin B12 deficiency and a form of anemia, according to the FRANK drug advice service.

Severe vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to severe nerve damage, leading to tingling and numbness in the fingers and toes, he added.

A study published last month, written by experts from across the UK, said there has been a corresponding increase in the use of nitrous oxide and cases of N20-SACD, damage to the spinal cord caused by the substance.

The condition is usually associated with vitamin B12 deficiency and can cause severe and permanent disability in young people, according to the scholarly article.

One of the authors of the research papers, Dr Nikos Evangelou, tweeted in August last year: “On call at Nottingham Neurology and realized there is an epidemic of nitric (sic, later clarified what nitrous) damage is going on. in the spinal cord and nerves induced by nitric oxide”. .

“It’s terrifying to see young people paralyzed by laughing gas canisters.”

After two months of “deep depression,” Kerry-Anne decided to post a TikTok warning others about her experience with nitrous oxide.

She said: “TikTok went viral, so many people reached out and wanted to help and talk.

“Since then I decided to make something good happen and turn a negative situation into a positive one.

“I think it would definitely be a good idea to ban it.

“I know the restaurant industry uses it professionally, so we need to figure out a way to not impact that industry too much.

“But overall, it’s affected a lot of people’s lives and there’s not enough awareness about what it can do to you.”