Dad dubbed ‘Dr Pepper Man’ who blew £30k on 4.5-litre-a-day addiction reveals grim toll it’s taken on his insides
A SUGAR-LOVING dad dubbed “Dr Pepper Man” for his obsession with the fizzy drink has revealed how the bizarre habit affected his life.
Tom Bowey, 42, guzzled cans of Coca Cola and Dr Pepper from the moment he woke up until his head hit the pillow at night, spending an eye-watering £250 a month on the habit.
His worried boss reportedly urged him to cut back, warning he’d die soon if he didn’t quit the sugary habit, while his dentist said he had the teeth of an OAP due to acid erosion.
Tom, from Marlow, Buckinghamshire, decided to take action due to his bloating waistline and fear his daughters would pick up the destructive habit.
After numerous failed attempts to go cold turkey on his own, the dad-of-two searched for help online and found articles about how hypnotherapist David Kilmurry had helped others.
Tom says that after just one two-hour session over Zoom on September 22 he’s been able to quit completely and now sups pints of water and weak squash when thirsty.
Previously gassy Tom has dropped a stone in weight and instead of a size large now wears medium tops.
He is planning to spend the cash he’ll save on a family trip to Lanzarote next summer.
Tom 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.
“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.
“I was spending £8 every day at work, plus the multipacks at 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?’.”
What started as a once-a-day treat at lunchtime a decade ago for Tom mushroomed into a frequent sugar and caffeine hit throughout the day at work that spilled over to home too.
Tom said it started with one with lunch and then he and his 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 he could just pop in and get them whenever he wanted.
He said: “Before I knew it, that’s all I was drinking and then I stopped drinking water completely.
“I liked the taste of Dr Pepper and Coca Cola but the caffeine and the sugar also gave me a bit of an energy boost in the morning.
“I used to buy the 24-can multi-packs so I always had them and had at least five cans in the fridge all the time.
“I’d have my first one as soon as I woke up and then when I left the house I would always take a can with me for the drive to work as well.
“I’d buy two bottles before I got into work from the shop to have in the morning and then I’d have another two for in the afternoon then I’d sip them throughout the day.
“Then when I went home I would drink them all through the evening before I went to bed.
“I felt bloated a lot of the time, had headaches sometimes and felt a bit foggy and tired. 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’.”
In addition to feeling sluggish and unable to sleep, Tom struggled with bloating and was warned about damage to his teeth.
He said for a while his teeth weren’t too bad but then when he went to the dentist ht was told there was acid erosion which would have been normal for a man in his 70s.
Tom added: “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.
“I was also feeling really bloated all the time as well, you gain a lot of weight when you’re just drinking sugar all the time.
“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.”
Tom, who’s dropped from 15st to 14st 2lbs, credits the one Zoom session with helping him kick the habit for good and urges anyone in a similar predicament to seek help.
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 without his daily burden of Cola and Dr Pepper.
“I could not wish more and more good health to Tom and his family.”