A woman has warned about the dangers of laughing gas which has left her in a wheelchair.
Kerry-Anne Donaldson, 25, from London, suffers crippling pain and can only leave her house in her chair due to her 600 canister a week habit.
She first tried the drug aged 18 at a party when you could buy it legally and said she did not think it could be addictive or cause health problems.
But by the time she was 20, Kerry-Anne was using it increasingly more and started buying it online to take at home.
“My first time was a huge rush, lots of laughing and feeling like life was great," she told the Sun Online.
“After that, every time I went to a party I’d always ask if anyone had any and I’d have a few more balloons.
“Soon I was using over 200 canisters a weekend, equivalent to hundreds of balloons, and never socially. I was sat in my bedroom alone, getting high."
Kerry-Anne told how easy it was to use laughing gas since it was affordable and almost easier to buy than alcohol with nobody asking for ID.
She later became depressed, had to quit her job and began noticing a constant tingling in her arms and legs.
Eventually one morning, she woke up and realised she was unable to stand up.
Kerry-Anne’s older sister Katy took her to hospital where doctors explained that her body had been starved of oxygen by the laughing gas.
She was put on vitamin B12 injections but they had little effect and she had to use crutches to walk.
By January, Kerry-Anne was in so much pain with scans revealing nerve damage in her lower back.
Medics said the damage was "almost certainly" a result of the tens of thousands of balloons she had taken.
She now depends on her dad to cook for her and be her carer at the tender age of 25.
“I know there’s no way of reversing the damage I’ve done and feel like my life’s over and I’m only 25," she said.
"I want to share my story to warn others that laughing gas can ruin lives. By the time the damage is done, it’s too late."
Laughing gas has risen in popularity with experts calling the new craze "terrifying."
The drug is relatively harmless in small doses, heavy use can lead to permanent nerve damage and paralysis.
While breathing it in directly from a large canister can be fatal.
The Government might ban retail sales following a decision by the Netherlands to prohibit it in January, except for sales within the medical and food industry.
Home Office officials are waiting for a report from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on the issue and has promised it will “consider the advice carefully”.
One neurologist recalled seeing two young people "completely paralysed" and unable to walk after taking the substance.
While one teenager told how she is lucky not to be paralysed after using the drug at a house party and losing feeling in her legs.
She suffered body shudders over the next few weeks, exhaustion and bad pins and needles.
She was then taken for an eye test which showed extremely low levels of vitamin B and underwent a gruelling series of injections to restore her health.
Laughing gas is currently able to be bought on the high street or online with an industrial sized canister costing around £30.
It is the second most commonly misused substance after cannabis among young people and has been linked to 56 deaths in the past 20 years.
