Mum died after self-medicating with 100 canisters of laughing gas

A housebound woman who used laughing gas to help her cope with chronic pain died after inhaling too much, an inquest heard.

Sarah Dudley, 46, ordered batches of 100 capsules of nitrous oxide at a time to ease her complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and diabetes.

She had turned to the gas to numb the pain after finding her painkillers to be ineffective, an inquest heard.

Her son, Iain Dudley, told Winchester Coroners Court, he had tried to get her to stop using the canisters but she continued to have them delivered to her Southampton home.

He told the hearing that she had been denied access to ‘ketamine infusion’, which could have been an effective painkiller for her.

Mr Dudley told the inquest: ‘If mum had got the treatment she needed the whole thing wouldn’t have happened.

‘I feel it is medical negligence. I don’t blame the NHS I blame the GPs at Woolston Lodge.’

Laughing gas, sometimes referred to as ‘hippy crack’, can give users a euphoric feeling, setting them off in fits of giggles, or helping them to relax.

Regular usage can lead to a vitamin B12 deficiency, which can cause nerve damage, or prevent white blood cells from forming properly.

In the days before Ms Dudley’s death, she was taking increasingly high doses of nitrous oxide and her carers raised concerns with nurses from the community nursing team.

However, GPs at Woolston Lodge Surgery were not told, the inquest heard.

A review, undertaken by Solent NHS Trust, indicated that there was a lack of documentation relating to Ms Dudley’s care, the court was told.

Suzi Graves, a senior matron for community nursing in Southampton, said changes had since been made after her death, including hiring more staff and closely monitoring patients with complex needs.

She also said there would be better communication between the different parts of the NHS going forward.

Consultant pathologist Adnan Al-Badri told the inquest nitrous oxide would have depressed Ms Dudley’s respiratory system and eventually caused her death during the night of February 14.

Recording a conclusion of misadventure, coroner Grahame Short stated that she had inhaled an excessive volume of the gas ‘in an effort to control her pain’.

Ms Dudley’s brother, also called Iain Dudley, described her as a ‘kind person’ who ran an international support group for people with CPRS.

He said after the inquest: ‘She was always doing something for other people.’

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