I was addicted to 600 canisters of laughing gas a week and it put me in a wheelchair – but new ban won’t stop youngsters who want to get high

An east London woman, who has to use a wheelchair because of her nitrous oxide addiction, supports next month’s ban but says it will not stop young people wanting to get high.

Former receptionist Kerry-Anne Donaldson, 26, from Newham, started using nitrous oxide at parties aged 18, and within three years she had lost feeling in her legs and feet, forcing her to use a wheelchair.

The street drug, which deprives the body and brain of oxygen to achieve its high, can lead to forms of anemia and vitamin B12 deficiency, which causes serious nerve damage.

The government announced on Wednesday that nitrous oxide will be made illegal from November 8 and categorized as a class C drug.

Kerry-Anne Donaldson, 26, from Newham started using laughing gas at parties at the age of 18 and had to use a wheelchair at the age of 22 due to her addiction

Ms Donaldson said of the development: ‘I don’t think the law will get it off the streets. If someone wants it, there is always a way to buy it.

“Kids have always found a way to get illegal drugs, so I’m not sure this will actually stop them, but it should at least drive up prices and prevent overuse.”

She added: ‘As soon as I woke up I went straight to the balloons.

“I kept chasing the original high I felt, but with my mind racing, I couldn’t find it.

‘I can’t move my legs now and have to take a lot of pain medication while living from a wheelchair.

‘When I took the balloons I was barely eating so I am now anemic and the shortness of breath has affected my asthma.

‘My father is the primary caregiver and I am so lucky to have so much support around me, from him, my mother and my sisters. I don’t know what I would do without them.’

At the age of 21, Mrs. Donaldson began to notice the negative effect on health that her increased nitrous oxide supplementation was having, so she consulted her doctor.

She said: ‘The doctor asked if I had taken anything so I was honest and told him I had taken canisters and balloons.

‘Then he told me what was in it – laughing gas – and told me about the effects.’

The government announced on Wednesday that nitrous oxide will be made illegal from November 8 and categorized as a class C drug

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

‘It blocks the flow of oxygen through your body and to your brain and destroys your vitamin B12 levels.’

Mrs Donaldson was eventually hospitalized and put in a wheelchair, but struggled to stay off the substance. She quickly returned to her old habits, inhaling the drug from morning to night.

Ms Donaldson’s legs started to feel numb again in early 2021, so she decided to stop taking the drug again.

She was then also diagnosed with a vitamin B12 deficiency, requiring injections three times a week for three months.

Even after a full year off the high, Ms Donaldson completely lost feeling in her legs in January 2022.

She was confined to her bed for months and relied on the help of family and friends to complete even the simplest tasks, such as showering and dressing.

In July 2022, she finally received a wheelchair, which she has been using ever since.

Recently, after pushing herself to start walking with crutches, she says her symptoms worsened, with the numbness spreading from her legs and feet to her hands and fingers.

“About a month ago I started having trouble using my hands because I had to use both to drink from a glass,” she said.

“The doctor said my folic acid and iron levels are low, but they haven’t helped me much in recent years other than prescribing pain meds, and they recently referred me to the pain clinic.”

She is happy that the new laws will hopefully take the previously accessible drug off the streets, as she feels strongly about saving other teenagers from the same fate.

“I started my Tiktok @-theydontloveyou and posted videos about my story, and some of them went viral,” she said.

“I feel like maybe this was my calling: helping others, and it has really improved my mental health, which was never great even before the balloons.”