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High Blood Pressure, Dehydration, Memory Loss and Coconut Water

What do all these things have in common? More than we may realize. All the medical tests in the world sometimes don’t give us the story we need to heal ourselves. This is my mom’s story:

“She is 87. It’s to be expected.” That’s the doctor’s prognosis. I don’t buy it. Not so long ago, my Mom was healthy and independent, enjoying her great grandchildren’s birthday parties. She is now laying in a hospital bed, completely incoherent tied to an IV.

Its Mom’s third visit to the hospital. With each visit, her symptoms worsen. This time she was brought in for chronic dehydration causing weakness, hypothermia, high blood pressure and confusion. Doctors surround her. Are we losing her? Its not that I deny she will one day pass; I simply don’t think it’s today.

My sisters have exhausted themselves and their options. Desperate times call for desperate measures; they turn to me for help. I am the sister whose healing beliefs were considered strange; weird. I came to peace long ago being called the “black sheep” of the family. I am now ready to move from the past and into the present, doing what I do best - teach people how to heal themselves. For the first time ever, I take the role to teach my mom.

When mom entered the ER, we were told that her ammonia levels were high and she was suffering with a UTI. We did what any good daughters would do; we googled high ammonia levels. 

According to Healthgrades:
“The liver plays a vital role in most metabolic processes. One of these processes is the detoxification of ammonia in the blood. Ammonia is a by-product of normal protein metabolism and is produced by bacteria in the intestines. When the liver is damaged, the detoxification process may be disturbed and cause rising blood ammonia levels. High levels of blood ammonia can cause problems in several organs, most notably the brain.”

I voiced my concerns to her primary doctor, “All of her symptoms suggest high ammonia levels.” Yet he informs me that no report from the ER with this information exists. I am learning that test reports are golden in the medical field. Nothing can be done without the essential report. My concerns are dismissed. Luckily, I am not easily dismissed. I continue my research. After three days on the IV, my mom is looking better and is now able to speak, although her words are slurred and slow. A few words together are better than none at all.

I continue pushing about high ammonia levels. To appease me, her doctor orders an ammonia test. It comes out a bit high at 40. He is not concerned. I ask him if being on the IV for 3 days could have flushed her system and brought the ammonia levels down? “It’s possible,” he agrees, still not convinced. He orders another test the following day; her ammonia levels increased to 45. He is now concerned.

I explain about the liver and chemicals. I request that all medications that are not essential be eliminated, one of which is an anti-cancer drug she was put on18 months ago. He offers his blessing; I call the oncologist. After explaining my concerns, I am told by the oncologist office to “get her off that med as soon as possible.” The office also admits, “I’m not even sure why she’s on it. Her cancer was so insignificant. She really doesn’t need it.” I have to wonder.. then why is she on it? I make sure the hospital stops the anti-cancer med immediately.

Although still weak and tired, each day Mom shows signs of improvement. She is brought to rehab for therapy to increase her stamina and muscle strength. She is now eating food and water on her own. However, her blood pressure continues to be an issue. The only answer at the hospital is to add more blood pressure meds. Slowly, her blood pressure balances. 

My next step is to clean up her diet.

I explain my concerns about the city water and the cranberry juice filled with sugar, red dyes and blue dyes that the hospital offers. Finally, the nutritionist picks up the cranberry juice and reads the label. She looks shocked. She admits that she never read the label before. She wouldn’t drink it. My mom takes note; I may not be so crazy after all. 

Most of the doctors and therapists deny the connection. Their belief is that small amounts of chemicals have little impact on the body. I assure them differently, “If you were serving my chemically sensitive son this food and water, he would not be able to think either. I want as many chemicals as possible eliminated from her diet.” With a shrug of their shoulders, I am given the green light to do as I wish. 

Two days away from discharge, I focus on cleaning up her home.

Upon discharge, her home is filled with pure spring water, organic cranberry juice, and coconut water for electrolytes. Each day her memory improves, and she is feeling better. 

However, it doesn’t take long before her blood pressure and heart rate begin to dangerously drop. I’m pretty sure she’s over medicated. Maybe the coconut water is helping? I make an emergency call to the doctor. He suggests we cut her blood pressure meds in half. I agree. 

Three days later, my mom’s blood pressure is perfect; her heart rate is good. Her memory is back, her stamina is improving. We watch her heal. There are still two complaints; a heaviness in her head and shaking of her hands. I believe both are side effects from one of her meds.

Three weeks later, mom takes a huge step backwards, and we are back at the hospital. What happened?  After a four hour evening away from home, mom began fading fast. She drank little water and no coconut water while she was out. She quickly became completely dehydrated, confused, weak and lethargic. Her blood pressure peaked. Increasing her meds was the doctor’s fix; I thought differently. Instead of trying to fix the blood pressure, why not fix the electrolyte problem?

Mom being away from coconut water with electrolytes caused severe dehydration which caused the body’s rise in blood pressure. I was focusing on an absorption issue.

After a week on the IV, her blood pressure was still not normalizing; after a short time off the IV, dehydration returned quickly. I knew the coconut water was instrumental in my mother’s health. I ordered her back on it. The nurses and my sisters complied. Within two days on coconut water, my mother’s blood pressure was stable and she was taken off the IV. Her body was able to maintain health. 

My sisters and I made the decision to mix half spring water with half coconut water. Mom drank it throughout the day. Each day she improved physically and mentally. By the third day she was discharged. The last hurdle that needed attention was her constant light headedness and her uncontrollable shaking of her hands.  

The following week, we went to the doctor’s office for a quick check. Her blood pressure was now too low. Mom was able to eliminate another of her morning blood pressure pills. Within a short time, the light headedness disappeared and her hands stopped shaking. She graduated from her walker and was able to use only a cane for assistance. Her interests in reading, cooking and cleaning returned. My mom is healthier now than she has been in a long time. 

When she complains about having to drink coconut water throughout the day, I remind her that if all she has to do to be healthy is drink coconut water, then she has nothing to complain about. I get her to laugh at herself.

I learned as my mom’s advocate that those who spend the most time with our elderly parents have the most knowledge to help them heal. A medical test does not always give the answers we need. It was up to me to keep the vast array of doctors on the same page, something that was lacking between them. I made sure I did my job well.  

Its not that I expect my mom to live forever, I don’t. However, while she’s here, I do want her to enjoy her life. We were able to go to dinner the other night and she truly enjoyed herself. I plan on more of these adventures together.


Life is meant to be joyful... what we eat and drink makes all the difference in the world. Advocating for your elderly parent(s) is essential, and drinking coconut water may be the secret weapon! 

14 comments:

Sarah Cohen said...

Amazing Linda! What strength and conviction you have!

Anonymous said...

Awesome!Congratulations to you and coconut water!!What amazing innumerable benefits from the coconut - the fresh kernel, the oil, the water!Truly an elixir of life, like pure water!
Surprising how some medical doctors are clueless about basic nutrition! Is it not taught in med schools?
Our best wishes for good health to you,your mother and your family.
I hope family members now recognize and acknowledge the immense healing knowledge that you have. Hope they will study your blog articles to understand it.
Thank you for sharing this.

Linda Wojcik, Nutritional Kinesiologist, Spiritual Intuitive, Flower Practitioner said...

Strength and conviction... =love.. I love my mom! :) Thanks for reading it...

Linda Wojcik, Nutritional Kinesiologist, Spiritual Intuitive, Flower Practitioner said...

And thank you so much for taking the time to write.. your words are much appreciated...

Unknown said...

Thank you, Linda!

Anonymous said...

hi!
thank you for sharing the articles on artificial sweeteners and on magnesium and on sunshine on your facebook! an eye-opener! how easily we are being misled by 'research' reports in the media and promotional advertisements!
How can the average person or even 'trained' doctors know the truth?
How can we transform ourselves to be more humane? Any suggestion from you ms. linda?

Linda Wojcik, Nutritional Kinesiologist, Spiritual Intuitive, Flower Practitioner said...

Hello: You are very welcome, and thank you for taking the time to write to me. We are taught to follow; yet our true nature is to lead... lead by example. Lead ourself back to our self. We are all unique and different. To heal I must honor my differences. As I do that, my body honors me by speaking clearly what it likes; what it does not like. That becomes my truth. As I heal, it does not matter who agrees with my truth. It matters that I know it to be mine. This is how we separate in a healthy way. Allow yourself to follow your knowing and you will begin to heal yourself.

Anonymous said...

Hi! Thank you for your reply. So much depth in what you have said, but the difficulty lies in how to 'know oneself' in the first place, in order to follow! If one is unable to or poor at recognizing one's intuition, how does one raise awareness about it? Is there any method where on can do so? Through prayers? Meditation? Or.... ?? Would you be kind enough to write a post on it?
Thank you.

Linda Wojcik, Nutritional Kinesiologist, Spiritual Intuitive, Flower Practitioner said...

Getting to know one's self takes time, energy and patience. Each experience is an opportunity to get to know more about me. Sometimes I need to know what I don't like so I can focus on what I do like. Prayers and meditation are great ways to listen to our self. I used to use the woods as my meditation grounds, taking an hour a day to walk with myself and listen to my thoughts. I was flabbergasted at how deep my judgments and criticisms showed themselves. I spent most of my walk forgiving myself for my own thoughts. Over time, I worked my way through the judgments and criticisms and found my thoughts of joy. And there were many well hidden and buried. This was all time well spent with myself.

Trying different experiences helps me learn which ones make me happy. The ones that make me happy, I continue to do; those that don't make me happy, I don't do. I am free to make my choices as you are free to make yours. Go find what makes you happy and then remember to love that you did it!

Vibrational medicines can help of course.. They open doorways we have shut so we can look at all aspects of who we have become. It is here that we can decide if this is who we truly desire to be now... Enjoy! :)

Anonymous said...

Hi!
Thank you immensely for sharing your valuable knowledge. Your mention of time, energy and patience needed to get to know oneself is a reminder to learn acceptance and not stress.Am i right in understanding that just an observation of the thoughts that arise could help in the process of 'knowing'? It's comforting to note that vibrational medicines can help in this journey.
Thank you once again for taking the time to reply.

Linda Wojcik, Nutritional Kinesiologist, Spiritual Intuitive, Flower Practitioner said...

Good morning... you are very welcome.. and yes.. our ability to witness without judgment is a huge step toward knowing ourself.

Anonymous said...

Good morning! I like your refreshing articles. It has brought me a very very new and interesting perspective to see our health condition linked to food choices and our buried feelings!
In addition to your articles, would you suggest for us readers, some more reading material to further understand this at a deeper level?
Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Good morning!
Thank you for this article. I wish to share or reiterate that tender coconut water has certainly helped progressively bring back mental clarity,appetite, energy and enthusiasm in my elderly aunt!
She was having a lot of confusion, disorientation, tiredness, sleeping a lot more often during the day, poor appetite,disinterest in doing her usual activities, having irrational thoughts when awake, imagining a lot of negative/violent 'talk' going on.
At one stage, she did not respond when we were trying to wake her up one morning, went into a stupor or a 'catatonic' state! We applied Sweet Chestnut drops on her lips and rubbed Rescue remedy drops on her wrists and soles. In a short time she woke up suddenly and looked around, like normal and even embarrassed by all the fuss and panic!!
A combination of things has helped - lots of TLC, prayers, coconut water,judicious monitoring of her meds for high BP, Oedema, Heart, Pranic healing by a relative who happened to stay for a fortnight.
There is steady progress,she is now certainly more relaxed,has increased interest in doing her tasks and activities, there's reduction in her irrational thoughts (though not gone fully).
Hope we get to see her normal old happy and cheerful self soon. She continues to have tender coconut water everyday.
Thank you for all you blog posts.

Linda Wojcik, Nutritional Kinesiologist, Spiritual Intuitive, Flower Practitioner said...

Good morning:
Thank you so much for taking the time to share in your aunt's healing journey. It sounds much like my own mother's journey. The more we share, the more comfortable others will be in trying alternative therapies. They certainly never hurt. Your aunt is very blessed to have such support and love.