Tom Bowey was addicted to Coke and Dr Pepper but now only drinks water and week squash (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
A dad who drank 4.5 litres of Dr Pepper and Coke a day says he was left with the teeth of a pensioner.
Tom Bowey would drink the fizzy pop from the moment he woke up until he went to sleep and spent around £250 a month on the habit.
The 42-year-old’s boss warned him he could die if he didn’t quit soon and his dentist said his teeth had acid erosion more commonly seen on a 70-year-old.
Tom also constantly felt bloated, put on weight and worried his daughters would follow in his footsteps.
After numerous failed attempts to go cold turkey by himself he eventually sought the help of a hypnotist Dr David Kilmurry, who he came across during a desperate search online.
Incredibly, the dad only needed one two-hour session with Dr Kilmurry in September to be able to quit completely and now only drinks water or weak squash when thirsty.
Tom, from Marlow, Buckinghamshire, said: ‘I used to drink four-and-a-half litres of Coca Cola or Dr Pepper a day, for well over 10 years.
‘It was all day, from when I woke up until 10pm. I found it hard to fall asleep because I had so much caffeine and sugar in my system.
‘My boss told me “you’re going to die soon if you don’t stop drinking them,” because I’d have the bottles sitting on the side next to my computer at work.
Tom says he drank the fizzy drinks from first thing in the morning till he went to bed at night (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
‘The guy at the shop over the road used to call me ‘Dr Pepper man’, which wasn’t great, because that was all I used to buy when I went in there.’
Tom said he spent £8 on pop every day and then also bought multipacks for home.
‘I worked out I was spending £250 a month on fizzy drinks.
‘I wanted to quit for money, but also didn’t want to tempt the kids to have it as well.
‘My eldest, who’s six, started to say ‘when I’m seven then I can drink Coke’ because I used to say ‘you can’t have it now’ so in her mind at her next birthday she could have it.
‘I said to my girlfriend ‘if I’m sitting there drinking them all day long at some point they’re going to say ‘if you can drink them all the time why can’t we?”‘
Tom said it all started with a once-a-day treat at lunchtime, before mushrooming into an addiction that spilled into his homelife too.
‘It started with one with lunch and then me and my work colleagues started buying each other drinks throughout the day.
‘They’d bring them over from the cafe near work and then there was a vending machine so I could just pop in and get them whenever I wanted.
‘Before I knew it, that’s all I was drinking and then I stopped drinking water completely.
Tom soon started noticing the toll his addiction was taking on his body.
“I felt bloated a lot of the time, had headaches sometimes and felt a bit foggy and tired,’ he said. ‘Another issue was I was finding it hard to fall asleep at night.
‘When I’d lie down [to go to sleep] I was wide awake because I had so much sugar and caffeine in my system.
‘My kids would say “no more coke, you’ve got to drink water”.
‘For a while my teeth weren’t too bad then when I went to the dentist he said to me there was acid erosion and that if I was in my 70s he would think it was normal.
Tom’s partner Anjie Daden is delighted he has quit the sugar and caffeine heavy drinks (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
‘But because I’m only in my early 40s there’s too much acid on my teeth and I’ve basically got the teeth of a pensioner as the enamel’s thinner than it should be.’
Tom said he’s lost almost a stone since giving up the fizzy drinks.
‘Before my appointment with Dr Kilmurry all my tops were large and a medium was just too tight. I fit into the medium perfectly now.’
He urges anyone in a similar predicament to seek help.
‘I tried to quit myself quite a few times but failed really badly. In the first few hours I just caved in.
‘I didn’t think he could cure my fizzy pop addiction in just one session. Since that session I’ve never once had any craving to go and buy any.
‘I’ve just changed to cordial, I put a little in my water bottle. I’m drinking so much water now, I feel so much better.
‘The best thing about it is [now when] I go into shops and don’t look at fizzy drinks, I’m not remotely tempted.
‘My girlfriend Anjie is the most excited, she can’t believe I’ve quit and not had any temptations, she’s really amazed by it.
‘We’re looking at holidays next year with the girls, maybe to Tenerife.’
Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist Dr Kilmurry said: ‘It was a blessing to hear from Tom and quite worrying to hear how his sugar addiction had reached such a high level.
‘Coming off that amount of sugar in one session we had to prepare Tom for change. Sugar addiction withdrawal can lead to mood swings, depression and even fits and seizures.
‘Tom was fabulous to work with and after one hypnosis session was able to knock his fizzy drinks on the head and rid them from his home.
‘Tom stays in touch and tells me he’s dropped weight and is feeling fantastic.’
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