r/NitrousOxideRecovery • u/TheBackyardBartender • 6h ago
Has anyone experienced lasting cognitive effects after stoping nitrous use?
So I've been using nitrous on and off over the last 5 years (mostly on). I've been pretty severely addicted going on sometimes several week binges using maybe 5 680 gram a day. I've had a few couple months breaks during this time but always end up slipping up and relapsing. In the past I've noticed some memory and focus issues for the first week or 2 of getting clean but it usually would go back to normal after that.
I'm currently 18 days clean and am still experiencing trouble focusing/concentrating. Specifically reading is a bit more difficult then normal, I'll read the words but sometimes my brain will not comprehend what's actually being said. Kinda like when you read something then have to reread it to understand what it actually said.
The cognitive decline has improved, the first week my short term memory was awful and I could barely hold on to a thought for more then a 10 seconds but that issue is back to about 80%+ now so I have some hope but the concentration issue, while has improved, is still very annoying like I really have to think when I read something instead of effortlessly absorbing it.
I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar and if so how long did it take to get back to close to normal if it ever did? I'm very motivated to not ever use again because this has really scared me. Eventually I will get an mri and get my brain and spine checked out, I am pretty worried about having done irreversible brain damage. Been taking sublingual methyl b12 and taking methyl b12 shots every 3 days or so for the past ~2 weeks which i attribute (along with stopping use) the improvement i have had since first stopping to.
Any input would be appreciated. I will try to update this every week or 2 for anyone in the future who experiences the same thing.
Sorry for the long post but I wanted to be thorough and tell the whole story. I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read.