It was around 8 PM when the first signs of something seriously wrong set in. I felt dizzy, confused, and shaky. As the symptoms grew stronger, I got terrified; it was nothing like I had ever experienced before in my life. I had enough sense still left in me, so I got on the computer and started to search on my symptoms. I accidentally stumbled across a mention of something called “water drowning” and “ water overdose ”. These conditions perfectly outlined my symptoms and also stated it could be fatal if not treated. I didn't know what to do because I had no insurance and I couldn't pay for the bills, so I called the emergency room and confessed I didn't have insurance and needed help. Their advice? “Sit back and ride it out – you'll be fine.” I was glad I didn't listen or else I probably would've died.
In a last ditch effort to avoid the emergency room and bills I knew I'd never be able to afford, I called a friend and told her what I had done. She started to walk me through the process and I'm convinced to this day, pulled my bacon from the fire.
By this time, I was becoming seriously confused and desperately struggling to keep focus. She told me to start eating salt. I didn't have any salt in the house, but then remembered the salt packets from Wendy's take out sitting in a drawer. With my hands shaking almost uncontrollably, I ripped open the packet and most spilled onto the floor, but there was enough in my hand to start licking. Laurie began to ask me what I had for food in the house, and as I told her, the room started spinning as the muscles began to violently contract in my legs and neck. I was eating spinach and salt, and trying hard to breathe. It felt like I was being strangled while having a heart attack, and it wasn't until that moment that I realized how strong the will to live is so deeply embedded into who and what we are.
“Do you have Gatoraide in the house, Sue?!” I hate that stuff – it's nasty as nasty can be, but my friend Fred and left two bottles in the house about a year and a half ago. I struggled with all I had in me to shake the contents and remove the cap. My tongue went stiff and my mouth went into “cotton mode”, and I was having difficulty swallowing. In the end, I was able to get down a teaspoon every five minutes. As I started coming back to my senses, I realized I had chicken in the house. “Eat it, Sue – your body needs the salt and protein. I don't care how long it takes you to eat, keep at it until it's all gone.”
I spent the next six hours fighting to stay awake, afraid I was going to relapse and die alone in my sleep. Eventually I stopped clutching my Bible and trusted in God to see me through to the next morning if it was His will for my life.
The next day I did wake up, but I had horrible all over body cramps. I called another friend of mine who has potassium problems and started to pick her brain about what happened to her when her potassium got too low. She described many of the same symptoms – the most recognizable one was not being able to keep my head up and nearly falling over onto the kitchen floor more times than I care to remember. So I went out later that day and bought some magnesium and potassium, but turns out it was almost a shock to my system and I developed a lot of the same symptoms from the night before. Unfortunately, I was in for another long night by trying to overcompensate.
Potassium, sodium, and magnesium…all had been seriously depleted with the advice of a diet guru who probably never stopped to think about the damaging recommendations he was giving out. Potassium controls the electrical impulses the brain sends to the muscle. Magnesium controls the ability of the muscles to contract and relax. Salt is a necessary evil that helps to control blood pressure and used in the muscles.
I have since set a rule for myself that seems to be working well on this diet. I suggest you find the largest cup you can (or buy one) that will contain no more than 40 ounces of water. Fill the cup up twice, and when you're done, that's it! Do not consume any more water. This will give you the recommended 64 ounces of water, and then a little bit more, but not enough to get your body into trouble. I'm also assuming you're eating a sensible, balanced diet and your doctor has okayed you for it.
There are some diet plans out there that have said you should drink 100 ounces of water a day, but from experience, that's not exactly easy to do – and I'm a water fiend! I'm not a doctor and your health is your own responsibility, but I'm conveying this information to you so you don't end up making the same mistake I did. There are a lot of quacks out there dispensing advice, but I recommend you do two things:
- Investigate the supplements you might want to take
- Bring them to your physician and discuss your own ability to health issues that might prohibit you from taking them.
Also ask your physician if you can keep a bottle of Gatoraide in your house and consume it without screwing up your body. It contains a high bit of sugar that could be a problem for a diabetic. If that is the case, ask your provider for an acceptable alternative that won't send your sugar soaring and your body into shock.
If you don't like trying to find all the segments of this series, you can locate the links to them here and they will return you the exact spot on the socyberty.com site.
quazen.com articles by this writer can be found here
socyberty.com articles can be located here
relijournal.com articles are here
picable.com photographic images are here
