Endeavour Hills mother of three Charmaine Willoughby drank 36 litres of Coca-Cola every day for six years. Triple M\\\’s Pete and Myf have offered to help.By Kelly Yates
AN ENDEAVOUR Hills woman has publicly admitted to drinking up to 36 litres of Coca-Cola each day.
Charmaine Willoughby, a 29-year-old mother of three, spoke about her six-year addiction on radio during Triple M’s Pete and Myf breakfast show last week.
The radio duo put out a call for any listeners who had addictions and it was Ms Willoughby’s children who urged her to call in.
She said her addiction took on a life of its own and almost killed her. Her love for the drink started as a craving during her first pregnancy.
“My cravings got worse and worse,” she said.“I knew I was addicted but there was not a damn thing I could do about it.”
Ms Willoughby said she had not drunk the soft drink since July last year after doctors told her if she didn’t stop she would die.
She has since lost two layers of her stomach lining, was diagnosed with several gastric ulcers, had 11 gallstones removed by key hole surgery and also lost the majority of her teeth.
Any teeth that didn’t fall out have now turned black.
She said she would only eat one meal a day and compensate her other meals with bottles of Coca-Cola.
“I had to really manage my money because it was an expensive addiction. My children always came first then it was my Coca-Cola,” she said.
Ms Willoughby quit cold turkey and now drinks 10 to 12 bottles of made up cordial a day to compensate for her body’s craving for sugar.
Now she can’t even stand the look of Coke.
“I don’t even touch the stuff anymore. I just shudder and look away,” she said. “I only let my children drink cordial, water and milk.”
To add to the surprise of being live on radio, Ms Willoughby was thrilled when she heard that Dr Ari Masters from The Nobrace Centre had agreed to donate his time to fix her teeth.
“I just burst into tears. It’s a dream come true,” Ms Willoughby said.
Dr Masters told the News that Coca-Cola had the same acid levels as the products used to clean gravel roads.
He said the procedure could take up to six months to complete. Ms Willoughby said that every time she laughed she would either put her hand over her mouth or turn away.
“I’ve learnt how to perfect my smile by keeping my mouth closed. When I get my teeth replaced, the first thing I want to do is have a photo taken, smiling, showing all of my teeth.”
Ms Willoughby urged the community to learn from her mistakes.
“If you have an addiction and can’t control it, you must seek help. Look what it did to me.”
