The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[sydney_gavin]

I guess this radio station can expect a whopping huge lawsuit this week:

(Moral of this story - if you are drinking heaps - make sure the bathroom is nearby!)

US woman dies of water intoxication

January 14, 2007 - 1:49PM

A 28-year-old woman has died of water intoxication after taking part in a Californian radio station's water drinking contest. She was in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" competition trying to win a Nintendo Wii video game system. Assistant Sacramento County Coroner Ed Smith said a preliminary investigation found evidence "consistent with a water intoxication death".

Jennifer Strange's mother found her daughter's body at her home on Friday in the Sacramento suburb of Rancho Cordova, California, after Strange called her supervisor at her job to say she was heading home in terrible pain.

"She said to one of our supervisors that she was on her way home and her head was hurting her real bad," said Laura Rios, one of Strange's co-workers at Radiological Associates of Sacramento. "She was crying and that was the last that anyone had heard from her."

Earlier Friday, Strange took part in a contest at radio station KDND 107.9 in which participants competed to see how much water they could drink without going to the toilet. Initially, contestants were handed 220mL bottles of water to drink every 15 minutes. "They were small little half-pint bottles, so we thought it was going to be easy," said fellow contestant James Ybarra of Woodland, California.

"They told us if you don't feel like you can do this, don't put your health at risk." Ybarra said he quit after drinking five bottles.

"My bladder couldn't handle it anymore," he added. After he quit, he said, the remaining contestants, including Strange, were given even bigger bottles to drink.
"I was talking to her and she was a nice lady," Ybarra said. "She was telling me about her family and her three kids and how she was doing it for kids."

John Geary, vice president and marketing manager for Entercom Sacramento, the station's owner, said station personnel were stunned when they heard of Strange's death.

"We are awaiting information that will help explain how this tragic event occurred," he said.

[Mike]

I have heard of water intoxication death, have heard of hazing incidents with college students. I looked into this, being that it is local for me, and apparently it is true. Investigators are still looking into it.

So, when ya gotta go, go. It does make me wonder exactly how much water she did drink though, and what foods she may have eaten as well.

[thisisforme]

Water intoxication can also affect your medications, so be careful folks!

[Jan]

Hmmmm,
just a guess from me .. but I'll bet it throws off the electolyte balance in your body.. you're saturated with water.
I saw this in the paper this morning too...
jan

[bikipatra]

Hmmmm,
just a guess from me .. but I'll bet it throws off the electolyte balance in your body.. you're saturated with water.
I saw this in the paper this morning too...
jan

Which is why we have to eat pickles when dizzy or having leg cramps.

[Mike]

Watched our local news last night. Had her husband on and was just expressing regret that it happened.
Surprisingly, its not as big of a story as it probably should be.... versus Brittney's private life, and Barry Bonds taking uppers.

[bikipatra]

Watched our local news last night. Had her husband on and was just expressing regret that it happened.
Surprisingly, its not as big of a story as it probably should be.... versus Brittney's private life, and Barry Bonds taking uppers.

But Britney didn't not wee she showed her wee-wee!

[Mike]

[sydney_gavin]

Just a quick update - all 10 staff involved in this promotion were sacked yesterday - guess you could say the radio station had a bad day at the office!!

Kind regards

Gavin

[Sojourner]

Yeah...today's local news broadcast aired some of the audio of the show before the contest (Sacramento is about 75 miles NW of me). People were calling in to voice their concern with this contest stating that people could become very ill and/or die from water intoxication--one was a nurse practitioner. The DJs just laughed and said that they were making everyone sign a waiver so they'd be covered.

The sheriff's office has opened an investigation due to all of the pressure they've received from the media. It's become an international story...well, Gavin in China knows of it, right?

The question now is about whether there is a criminal or civil complaint to be had. Were the contest promoters criminally negligent? What do you guys think?

[chelleA]

I have been cautioned about water intoxication before. In 1993, I did New Direction, a hospital based liquid diet. I was supposed to drink a gallon of water a day. Knowing that they checked my pee every Monday, I sat on my patio after school with a big glass of ice and a gallon of water. When I laughed and told him what I had done to get my water in for the day, he chewed me out! That was the first time I had ever heard of that. It's very serious! I think it was the TIME in which it is consumed that matters. Probably that plus the person's weight at the time.

I'm not a professional........well........I DO hold a master's degree.... but it's in Early Childhood Education! I don't think it makes me a diet guru! Heck, if it did, why would I be here? Right?

But I'm SO glad that I am here!!! I've met some GREAT people!