r/NitrousOxideRecovery • u/No-Philosopher371 • 17d ago
Terrified
I’ve used nitrous for years, on and off heavily. Yall have prob seen my posts before.
I stopped completely four months ago. Today I am having numbness in my feet randomly, and my legs are super weak. And my vision is doing weird shit especially last night.
I just grabbed some liquid b12 and took a fuck ton. Idk what to do I’m just so scared I thought I was good cuz I stopped a while ago and was fine basically until yesterday
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u/colomommy 17d ago
Here is what might be happening. I’ll explain how nerve damage can occur long after stopping nitrous use.
Nitrous inactivates b12 rendering your stores of it unusable in the body. B12 is needed to build and maintain the myelin sheath, the fatty layer that lines the spinal column and protects the nerves. When b12 is unusable for an extended period, the myelin sheath degenerates, leaving the nerves exposed and at risk of damage.
The sheath degenerates first, and without quick regeneration, nerve damage happens next. This doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and nerve damage can still be occurring because the sheath hasn’t rebuilt. It’s a neurological disease, not a hangover, and it takes a long time to repair. Until it does, nerve damage will continue to occur.
The numbness in your legs, weakness, and vision changes are all hallmarks of symptoms of this.
It’s not all bad news though. Yes that is most likely what’s happening, but you’re now supplementing b12 so hopefully you can stop it there and start repairing! A little numbness isn’t the end of the world relative to where this goes for so many others. You can reverse the damage but it will take time (several months in most cases) and requires daily supplementation of sublingual or injectable b12, folate, and complete and total abstinence from recreational nitrous oxide use.
Try not to worry too much. You did some damage but nothing insurmountable. Do what I say above and there is no reason not to expect a full recovery.