Woman paralysed for two months after taking laughing gas
A social media star was bedridden for weeks and unable to walk after inhaling popular party drug nitrous oxide.
Tamika Dudley, 21, from Brisbane, became hooked on ‘nangs’ after trying them for the first time last year.
She saw it as a ‘fun high’ until she was rushed to hospital after suddenly waking up with no feeling in her arms and legs.
Regular use had caused severe nerve damage and she was paralysed from the waist down for two months.
Tamika said: ‘That honestly was the scariest most frightening thing I have ever experienced, knowing you can’t walk, knowing you might never walk for the rest of your life.
‘It’s like your whole life has been taken away from you.
‘I was scared I was going to be a vegetable in a wheelchair forever.’
(Picture: Caters)
Doctors were at first unaware what had happened to Tamika and she had to undergo multiple tests, including an MRI, CT scan, and lumber puncture.
She later discovered she had severely damaged her nerves due to long-term vitamin B12 depletion, caused by her nitrous oxide use.
She spent eight weeks trapped in a hospital bed and couldn’t feed or wash herself.
‘I was bed ridden and sh***ing and p***ing in a pan,’ she said.
Physiotherapy helped her regain movement. However she still has sensitivity in her toes and fingers and fears they will never go back to normal.
Tamika, a hairdresser with over 10,000 Instagram followers, said she became addicted to the drug after caving into peer pressure.
She wanted to share her story to warn others of the risks.
She said: ‘Not once in my head did I think ‘this is going to make me paralysed’ or ‘I might end up like a vegetable forever’, not once did it cross my mind. Because you don’t think that’s going to happen to you.
‘I need you guys to know Nangs are not SAFE. These things can ruin your life forever.’
Nangs is an Australian slang term for nitrous oxide canisters, which can be found in supermarkets for as little as ASD$10 (£5) for ten.
Nitrous oxide is a colourless gas that can make people feel euphoric and relaxed.
The side effects have seen it nicknamed ‘laughing gas’, but it can also cause some people to experience hallucinations and dizziness.
In some cases the consequences are fatal. A total of 25 people died from inhaling the gas between 2010 and 2016 , when a new law was introduced to stop it from being abused.
However, experts say this has not worked and have dubbed the canisters ‘death in a box’.
It is illegal to sell the drug for recreational use, but is has become increasingly popular among young people because of its easy availability in whipped cream bulbs.
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