I have a friend at work that is addicted to Baking Soda. How?

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   Dee42posted 12 years ago

   She acts like a crack addict, hiding it, spilling it a little in the break room.  I just don't understand, how can this be? She has tried to stop before and can't. I wonder what other crazy addictions do people have?  I'm not perfect either.  I am addicted to coffee and BAD.  I get bad headaches if I don't get my caffeine.

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      paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      How do you know it really is just baking soda...

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         Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

           Sheeesh.. pass the shades! You know it's Baking Soda by how much Whiter her teeth get every time she 'uses!'

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            paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            

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      kissayerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Does she eat it? That is really odd... it is just like that strange addictions TV show. I can't see the attraction in baking soda, but whatever floats her boat I guess

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      brimancandyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      A really sad addiction in the gay community is poppers. It's a liquid that you snort up your nose. Almost everyone I know does it, but, I personally can't stand the smell of it, or be around it. Makes me sick.
      
      Never heard of anyone dying from it, but, doing enough of it is worse than being a drunk. I have seen some people fall down while using it, and your ability to think clearly is about like being as dumb as a rock.

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      h4s123posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I stopped eating it, I noticed my skin becoming more wrinkle like, and my skin on my face reacted negatively to it, causing painful bumps that were large, and took some time for my skin to clear up. I think it was God telling me to give up the addiction, through Jesus Christ. Try eating grind powdered peanuts, or some other kind of nut that is slightly salted with a nice amount of iron content, like chia seeds, or flax seeds.

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   Eric Newlandposted 12 years ago

   Have you ever seen the show "Strange Addictions?"
   
   Your friend is normal compared to a lot of them in that she is compulsively eating something that's at least technically edible (or at least, used in food). Still, it may qualify as a form of pica in my unprofessional Google-informed opinion. It may be a symptom of an underlying issue that needs to be addressed, and there are health risks associated with baking soda intake. From Wikipedia (this refers specifically to using baking soda medicinally):
   
   "Adverse reactions to the administration of sodium bicarbonate can include metabolic alkalosis, edema due to sodium overload, congestive heart failure, hyperosmolar syndrome, hypervolemic hypernatremia, and hypertension due to increased sodium. In patients consuming a high-calcium or dairy-rich diet, calcium supplements, or calcium-containing antacids such as calcium carbonate (e.g., Tums), the use of sodium bicarbonate can cause milk-alkali syndrome, which can result in metastatic calcification, kidney stones, and kidney failure."
   
   I hope your friend stays healthy and figures out a way to beat the habit.

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      Dee42posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Oh thankyou! Yes, I have seen that show 'strange addictions' advertised, and I said 'oh, grose' and went on to something else.  Oh my gosh tho, Im glad you wrote in, I will address this to her, if she will listen. And there was a girl said that she ate red dirt, didnt know if this is the same kind of thing or not.

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      A Thousand Wordsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      same

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   Dee42posted 12 years ago

   lol really.

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   Karandaposted 12 years ago

   Someone I knew used baking soda as a way of treating his indigestion. To start he would lick his finger and dip it in to the soda. Eventually he was eating it by the spoonful any chance he could get. Not addicted so much as the indigestion had gotten out of control and the baking soda was not giving him the relief it had in the early stages. He ended up at the hospital, had an endoscopy and has been on prescribed drugs for years. No more soda, addiction overcome.

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      couturepopcafeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Sometimes I hate doctors. So here's a man with a legitimate problem, tried self medicating, and instead of the doctors healing him and telling him what caused his problem, they give him another medication to be addicted to. Welcome to America.

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         Robertr04posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I'm glad someone is seeing what's going on.

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            Eric Newlandposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Well, if his problem was acid reflux disease or something similar then medication is, in fact, the only "cure" available. I hope they ruled out diet-related causes and other things first; that post may be a long story short, mind you.

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   Arlene V. Pomaposted 12 years ago

   My doctor prescribed the stuff to me.  Otherwise, I would not take it.  The pharmacy only had it in this big tablet form.  As in--gag me with two per day!  I think I have about 200 tablets left, but I don't have any fun with them.  Trust me.

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   Stickmonkeyposted 11 years ago

   Different strokes for different folks.
   But I do know that addiction is a sneaky strange disease.

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   brimancandyposted 11 years ago

   If baking soda is so dangerous, why wouldn't the food and drug administration ban toothpaste manufacturers from putting it in toothpaste if it is that addictive? But, than again, Coke used to have a blend of cocaine in it when it first came out. Probably why it was so addictive. But, with all the recalled drugs, and deaths from recalled drugs. I wonder if the food and drug administration even checks anything. There is always something out there that is addictive, and life threatening.
   
   I used baking soda in my toothpaste the other day, and could not believe how white my teeth were when I was finished brushing. I plan on brushing with it again, but, will keep the soda use to a minimum.

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      StandingJaguarposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I don't think baking soda will be dangerous to you in the amounts used for brushing teeth. I think people were pointing out the risks of consuming several spoonfuls of it every day, which is just something your body isn't really supposed to do. (But I agree, the FDA is is just politics!!)

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   Stickmonkeyposted 11 years ago

   I do not think that baking soda is dangerous at all.
   I think that the disease of addiction,just uses different things  to make folks act out additively.
   Like with the other lady,it was toilet paper,or another that snorted comet.
   Even without a physical drug,some folks act out addictivelly without it.

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      h4s123posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Baking soda itself is not a food source of some sort you grow from seeds or a plant.  I was eating it often, and my body responded negatively to it.  If you are eating a variety of junk foods, and certain meats with steroids injected and such, then when your body reacts negatively, you may not know exactly what caused the reaction.  I had a limited diet, and the only difference was baking soda, so when I had chest pains, and slight stomach pain, and painful bumps break out on my face, then I knew what the cause stemmed from, and that was baking soda.  So now eating like nuts in a grind or such with a nice iron content helps me a lot.

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   Stickmonkeyposted 11 years ago

   As a recovering addict myself,I know that over the years,in my teen days,I researched every possible way to get high legally.Never once did the topic of baking soda ever come up,or sound like a good idea
   of mine or any of the friends from high school, college,in any of my friends on the two ships that I was on,the drug abuse treatment centre that I worked at for two years ,so I think this is just confusion about the disease of addiction and how it works(witch after being in recovery since 1994,I still do not completely understand).But I have been wrong before as well.
   
   I have done some on line research with Google and Bing,and as far as I can tell by my readings,we are allowed to post back links to other sites that are on topic mentioned.
   
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bicarbonate
   
   http://www.livestrong.com/sodium-bicarbonate/

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