Harm Reduction Nitrous and B-12

[Gary White]

As regular readers know, I am a nitrous user 600-800 carts a month and I have my blood work. Taking a 3500 unit B-12 chewy once a day seems to be maintaing a better than normal B-12 level according to the lab. The rest of my stuff was normal too. I am not sure what else it might be doing bad for me but I am not as worried about the B-12 thing now.

 

[negrogesic]

I wouldn't be so quick to assume that normal b-12 levels means you're necessarily safe from N20 neurotoxicity.

Did your test include homocystine plasma levels? It might be possible to have normal b-12 and elevated homocystine levels (elevated homocystine is bad news).

N20 can also exert neurotoxicity directly through the promotion of cell death and via its putative (presumable) toxcity as an NMDA antagonist (meaning it presumably carries the neurotoxic properties of other NMDA antagonists but hasn't been observed to be neurotoxic via this route itself). I used to use alot of nitrous and often worry about the damage it might have caused. Its not good for the lungs either given the contaminants.

 

[Gary White]

Thanks, Next time they do a blood panel I will have them check that. I think the filter I am using is mitigating the contaminants fairly well.