A woman has shared her warning after being left unable to use her legs from a "laughing gas" addiction that saw her use 600 canisters a week.
Kerry-Anne Donaldson, 26, relies on a wheelchair after "abusing" nitrous oxide (NOS), also known as "laughing gas", for years.
The former receptionist, from Newham, East London, says she first started using NOS at parties when she was 18, and gradually increased her usage.
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 cannot walk without help.
It comes as she backs stronger measures to make nitrous oxide a class-C drug, which would make possession illegal.
Some campaigners say the latest policy announcement by the government would not stop people from taking it and will drive supply into criminal hands.
However, Kerry-Anne says these tough measures are necessary because not enough people know of the risks.
She said: "It's impacted so many people's lives, and there's not enough awareness out there about what it can do to you."
Kerry-Anne first started taking NOS at parties when she was 18, and she gradually increased her usage - 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 realise 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 hospitalised and needed to use a wheelchair and crutches for a few months.
Speaking about her first hospital visit in 2020, Kerry-Anne said: "The doctor asked if I had taken anything.
"So I was honest and told him I had been using canisters and balloons.
"That's when he informed me what was in them - nitrous oxide - and told me about the effects.
"He said the reason I'm in pain and unable to walk is because of the damage it causes.
"It blocks oxygen from going around your body and to your brain and destroys your vitamin B12 levels.
"It was very shocking when the doctor told me that. I didn't think inhaling a balloon could cause so much damage.
"At that moment I felt a bit stupid, I never thought 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 has."
However, when she started to recover she says she started to abuse the drug again, inhaling the gas from 'the morning to night'.
She said: "I did recover and get better, but I was addicted and going through a lot.
"I knew that taking them would stop me from overthinking, so I would take them to blank out my thoughts.
"This time I started to abuse it. I went from using six boxes of canisters to 25 - which is about 600 in a week.
"I'd do it for one week, then the next week feel ill so I wasn't able to do anything but then the week after I'd do it again.
"It was a vicious cycle I was trapped in.
"I would do them from when I woke up to when I fell asleep. I wouldn't even eat I would just do them one after another."
Kerry-Anne's legs began to feel numb again in early 2021 so she decided to quit the substance.
However, even after an entire year off the high, Kerry-Anne completely lost feeling in her legs in January 2022.
She now frequently uses a wheelchair to help manage her pain and cannot walk without help.
Kerry-Anne was also told she had a vitamin B12 deficiency, which she has to receive injections to help with.
Kerry-Anne said: "I woke up one morning and both of my legs were completely gone, even though I hadn't taken any nitrous oxide in a year.
"I ended up staying in the hospital for five weeks on a drip and having all sorts of tests done to find out what was wrong.
"I finally found out that I had a disc bulge in my lower back and nerve damage in my legs.
"When I came out in March last year, I was bedbound. I couldn't do anything.
"I was stressed out and depressed, and to make it worse I knew at the same time that it was all my fault.
"I took them off my own accord knowing what I was taking the second time around.
"It's impacted my life massively. It's taken me over a year to finally take a few steps around my house, but I haven't walked without help.
"It's a whole year of my life gone. It's impacted my family and friends too.
"My dad has been my carer and his life has had to entirely revolve around me."
Heavy regular use of nitrous oxide can lead to a deficiency of vitamin B12 and to a form of anaemia, according to anti-drugs advisory service FRANK.
Severe B12 deficiency can lead to serious nerve damage, causing tingling and numbness in the fingers and toes, it added.
A study published last month, authored by experts from across the UK, said there has been a corresponding rise in nitrous oxide use 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 serious and permanent disability in young people, the academic article said.
One of the authors of the research papers, Dr Nikos Evangelou tweeted in August last year: "On call for Nottingham Neurology and I realised there is an epidemic of nitric [sic - later clarified to mean nitrous] oxide-induced spinal cord and nerve damage.
"Terrifying to see paralysed young people from 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: "The TikTok went viral, I had so many people reach out who wanted to help and talk.
"From 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 catering industry uses it professionally so we need to think about a way to not impact that industry too much.
"But overall it's impacted so many people's lives, and there's not enough awareness out there about what it can do to you."
