A British mother's caffeine habit apparently helped put her in an early grave. Victoria Lane, who'd struggled with mental health issues since surviving a bad car accident at 16, battled anxiety and paranoia. In an attempt to appease the dry mouth the prescription antidepressant fluoxetine gave her, her mother says she turned to Pepsi Max. A lot of it. Her teenage son and only child Reese told an inquest that his mother would drink as many as eight liters of the soda a day, as well as up to a liter of vodka, reports Metro UK. The pathologist says the 38-year-old's April death wasn't directly due to alcohol but rather the ingestion of excessive fluoxetine, exacerbated by excessive use of caffeine.
While Lane's mother said her daughter "became very black" after the accident, a neighbor described her as "warm and funny," reports the Mirror, but added: "She did have hidden demons, though, which came from her car accident. I think drinking became a way of coping." Reese recalls the horror of discovering his mother in the same position as he had seen her the night before, with her jaw locked, and assistant coroner Sarah Murphy, who ruled Lane's death accidental, called it "absolutely tragic that such a young lady who had overcome significant adversity ... died prematurely." The family has raised more than $1,000 on Justgiving for the charity Mind UK, which they say "provided much-needed support" for Lane. (This mom wants you to see photos of her dead daughter.)
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