I’ve got DEAD zones in my brain and can’t feel my feet after mistaking my £160-a-day laughing gas high for harmless fun
RACHEL Kelly was forced to relearn how to walk after her £160-a-day nitrous oxide habit killed off parts of her brain and numbed her limbs.
The 29-year-old first tried laughing gas when she was just 21, while working at a bar in Michigan, US, in 2018.
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By 2023, Rachel says she was forking out $220 every day -about £160 - to inhale eight two-litre tanks of the chemical compound.
Shocking photos show her breathing in the gas straight from a tank, which she claims was easy to buy from nearby convenience stores.
Her feet and right hand went numb during a bar shift in April 2024 so she visited the ER - but she was discharged after being told she had muscle spasms.
She admits she bought another tank of laughing gas the same day but was encouraged by a friend to return to hospital two days later and come clean about her nitrous oxide use.
Rachel was admitted to hospital right away and within just a few days she lost the ability to walk as her nerves "died" and her body "shut down'.
Following months of occupational and physical therapy and B12 injections, Rachel, who is now a receptionist, was able to turn her life around.
It has been more than a year since she last inhaled nitrous oxide and is sharing her story to warn others about its dangers.
Rachel, from Chicago, Illinois, said: "I was first introduced to nitrous oxide in 2018 at an EDM show.
"I was bartending in a bar right next to a venue and it was very big.
"I was 21 at the time, The high lasted a really short time and it just made me feel out of it.
"In 2022, I started working at the bar again and everyone had started to take nitrous oxide through these tanks.
"A lot of people take it out of the balloons as a safety method so you don't get frostbite but I was just hitting it straight out the nozzle.
"The biggest part for me is that the nitrous oxide was so accessible to me.
"[In 2023], I was using about eight of the two-litre tanks a day so I think I averaged spending around $220 a day on them, sometimes more.
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"[At a shift in April 2024], my hips felt really tight. People thought I was drunk and I seemed intoxicated as the nitrous oxide was poisoning my brain.
"My feet and right hand were completely numb and it felt like my hips were broken and I could barely walk."
In the US, possession of nitrous oxide is legal but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has outlawed its distribution for purposes of human consumption.
But in the UK, possessing laughing gas is now illegal - with repeat users facing up to two years in prison.
I just watched my body lose all function. I then woke up the next day and couldn't walk
Rachel Kelly
After 10 days in hospital, Rachel was transferred to a rehabilitation centre where she spent a month undergoing occupational and physical therapy 30 hours a week for a month.
During these sessions, she says she had to learn to walk and write again, as well as teach herself how to brush her teeth.
Rachel was then discharged to her parents' house, where she spent the next five months in continual therapy and had to use a walker.
Rachel said: "I lost the ability to function in the hospital. I couldn't hold my phone and I couldn't go to the bathroom and had to catheterise myself.
NITROUS oxide - also known as laughing gas or hippy crack - was recently made a Class C due to the dangers associated with the drug.
It can cause a range of health issues and in some cases can even be fatal.
Some common side effects from inhaling the gas are dizziness, nausea, disorientation, loss of balance and weakness in legs, according to a study on its risks published to the National Library of Medicine.
Nitrous oxide can impair memory and thinking, the research mentioned. Some users might also feel anxious or paranoid.
According to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF), the gas from nitrous oxide bulbs is intensely cold, sometimes as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius.
Inhaling directly from the canister or crackers - handheld devices used to 'crack' open canister - can cause frostbite on the nose, lips and throat, even the vocal cords.
The icy chill of the gas canisters can also cause cold burns to the hands.
Long term, heavy use of laughing gas can cause a lack of vitamin B12. Severe deficiency can lead to serious nerve damage, causing tingling and numbness in the fingers and toes.
Lack of B12 can also cause damage to the spinal cord.
In some cases, frequent and prolonged use of nitrous oxide has been linked to thromboembolic events - this means a blood clot has gotten stuck and caused an obstruction.
The so-called laughing gas has also resulted in deaths.
"All the nerves in my body that you don't think about [weren't working]. I couldn't go to the toilet on my own.
"The nitrous that they're selling you is not cut with oxygen so it stops your body from producing B12 which is a vitamin which helps protect the myelination of your spine and nerves.
"All of mine had died and my body was just shutting down.
"My nerves were firing on and off as they were dying so it felt like muscle spasms.
"For the first couple of days, I just watched my body lose all function. I then woke up the next day and couldn't walk."
Just because something is sold in a store, doesn't mean it is safe to use. They will sell it to you until you can't pee on your own
Rachel Kelly
More than a year on, Rachel still has to take oral B12 medication and can't feel some of her toes.
She plans to become a drugs support worker in future and is urging others to not inhale nitrous oxide as "the 30-second high is not worth it".
Rachel said: "I now have a bunch of dead zones in my brain and these don't come back. It's like rat poison.
"Since coming out [of hospital] I haven't touched nitrous oxide again and I wouldn't do now.
"Just because something is sold in a store, doesn't mean it is safe to use. They will sell it to you until you can't pee on your own.
"The end stage of this is you will end up in the hospital and it's just a [matter of] when this will happen to you and when you will wake up and not be able to feel anything."
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thesun
