3 ms·

I’ve used and enjoyed laughing gas a few times, and while I can strongly relate to the euphoria, I can’t relate at all to any kind of altered thinking. I wouldn

I’ve used and enjoyed laughing gas a few times, and while I can strongly relate to the euphoria, I can’t relate at all to any kind of altered thinking. I wouldn’t be safe to drive a car in the 3-5 minutes the effect holds I’m sure, but also no kind of insight or altered thinking, and the effects wear off very quickly. I am in fact very avoidant of substances other than alcohol that’s alter my thoughts, and laughing gas absolutely doesn’t feel that way for me. Perhaps the copious alcohol that’s always preceded such events has confounded it.

deleted 2y ago
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DonHopkins 2y ago
Oh, it's absofuckinglutely mind altering. There's just a threshold you haven't crossed yet. Were you huffing the gas out of whipped cream cans, or discharging tiny little whippet cartridges into balloons, or did you have a four-and-a-half foot industrial G cylinder and Hefty Contractor Load & Carry Extra Large Garbage Bags? There's a point where you "pass in" instead of passing out. Just don't try it standing up. You'll try to brush something off your shoulder, then come to the profound realization that it's the floor. Here's a classic book all about it, "Laughing Gas: Nitrous Oxide" ("HILK HILK"), which goes into much more detail than the article: https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780914171522 https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780914171522 Look for the hissing U-Haul in the parking lot of a Grateful Dead concert. There's a reason it's called "Hippie Crack".
- actionfromafar 2y ago
  Friendly reminder to everyone that too much of the good stuff can and will displace oxygen, and that hypoxia is very a bad thing which can lead to among other things, permanent brain injury.
  - swayvil 2y ago
    That's a very good point. Also, those balloons are not edible. Do not chew or swallow.
  - DonHopkins 2y ago
    Good point. Definitely don't put your head in garbage bags or fill the room or not breath enough. Also it's much safer to use a regulator on the tank instead of just rocketing it out at full pressure through a hose. Balloons are relatively safe and self regulating, since you let go of them when you pass out and they zoom hilariously around the room giving everyone another thing to laugh uproariously about, but totally bumming out the dismayed fool who just lost their whole balloon, which at the moment was their most important possession.
    - e1gen-v 2y ago
      That was such an amazing description!
  - FuriouslyAdrift 2y ago
    It also causes inactivation of vitamin B12 with long term use. This can cause demyelination and bone marrow suppression. By the time you notice the peripheral neuropathy, it's probably too late. Note: to get to this point, you would be doing quite a lot at a time. Be careful with nitrous and take your B12. https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/Nitrous_Oxide_Misuse/ https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/Nitrous...
    - csteinbe 2y ago
      Taking your B12 supplements is not a guarantee: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35253567/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35253567/ Checking your B12 levels is not a guarantee either, since the mechanism of deactivation still makes the B12 detectable in a blood test. The inactivation can last for a few days. For frequent users, getting pins and needles in your feet is fairly common, and with prolonged use it can lead to "subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord". The good news is the effects are mostly reversible if you aggressively supplement with B12 and perhaps the B12 cofactors, and stop using nitrous. If you do a search (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=%22Nitrous+Oxide%2Fadverse+effects%22%5BMAJR%5D&sort=date&sort_order=desc https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=%22Nitrous+Oxide%2Fadv...) neuro effects are most common, but but there are also reports of thrombosis, bladder issues, and sexual disfunction. Some decent papers are https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10447413/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10447413/ and https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10442242/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10442242/ I'm not a medical doctor, but the metabolic processes are fascinating, akin to background garbage collection or other maintenance processes in software. And like those, they are subject to bugs or other interruptions.
- petesergeant 2y ago
  Fascinating! Balloons from canisters for me, but I’d be interesting to find the threshold
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Arrath 2y ago
While my only exposure to laughing gas was while being put under for dental work, I can certainly see the appeal. Even that controlled application was pretty fun.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

DonHopkins 2y ago

Oh, it's absofuckinglutely mind altering. There's just a threshold you haven't crossed yet. Were you huffing the gas out of whipped cream cans, or discharging tiny little whippet cartridges into balloons, or did you have a four-and-a-half foot industrial G cylinder and Hefty Contractor Load & Carry Extra Large Garbage Bags? There's a point where you "pass in" instead of passing out. Just don't try it standing up. You'll try to brush something off your shoulder, then come to the profound realization that it's the floor. Here's a classic book all about it, "Laughing Gas: Nitrous Oxide" ("HILK HILK"), which goes into much more detail than the article: https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780914171522 https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780914171522 Look for the hissing U-Haul in the parking lot of a Grateful Dead concert. There's a reason it's called "Hippie Crack".

actionfromafar 2y ago
Friendly reminder to everyone that too much of the good stuff can and will displace oxygen, and that hypoxia is very a bad thing which can lead to among other things, permanent brain injury.
- swayvil 2y ago
  That's a very good point. Also, those balloons are not edible. Do not chew or swallow.
- DonHopkins 2y ago
  Good point. Definitely don't put your head in garbage bags or fill the room or not breath enough. Also it's much safer to use a regulator on the tank instead of just rocketing it out at full pressure through a hose. Balloons are relatively safe and self regulating, since you let go of them when you pass out and they zoom hilariously around the room giving everyone another thing to laugh uproariously about, but totally bumming out the dismayed fool who just lost their whole balloon, which at the moment was their most important possession.
  - e1gen-v 2y ago
    That was such an amazing description!
- FuriouslyAdrift 2y ago
  It also causes inactivation of vitamin B12 with long term use. This can cause demyelination and bone marrow suppression. By the time you notice the peripheral neuropathy, it's probably too late. Note: to get to this point, you would be doing quite a lot at a time. Be careful with nitrous and take your B12. https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/Nitrous_Oxide_Misuse/ https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/Nitrous...
  - csteinbe 2y ago
    Taking your B12 supplements is not a guarantee: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35253567/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35253567/ Checking your B12 levels is not a guarantee either, since the mechanism of deactivation still makes the B12 detectable in a blood test. The inactivation can last for a few days. For frequent users, getting pins and needles in your feet is fairly common, and with prolonged use it can lead to "subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord". The good news is the effects are mostly reversible if you aggressively supplement with B12 and perhaps the B12 cofactors, and stop using nitrous. If you do a search (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=%22Nitrous+Oxide%2Fadverse+effects%22%5BMAJR%5D&sort=date&sort_order=desc https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=%22Nitrous+Oxide%2Fadv...) neuro effects are most common, but but there are also reports of thrombosis, bladder issues, and sexual disfunction. Some decent papers are https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10447413/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10447413/ and https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10442242/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10442242/ I'm not a medical doctor, but the metabolic processes are fascinating, akin to background garbage collection or other maintenance processes in software. And like those, they are subject to bugs or other interruptions.
petesergeant 2y ago
Fascinating! Balloons from canisters for me, but I’d be interesting to find the threshold

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

Arrath 2y ago

While my only exposure to laughing gas was while being put under for dental work, I can certainly see the appeal. Even that controlled application was pretty fun.