The world almost lost Eric Bischoff, twice. According to the former WCW President, he had a health scare recently that nearly took his life and even required an emergency helicopter ride to another state. The cause? Just 4-5 tablespoons of psyllium husk, the active ingredient in Metamucil. On the latest “83 Weeks,” the health-conscious Bischoff says he read about how fiber supplements like Metamucil can help with controlling blood sugar, as Bischoff says he is hypoglycemic. Bischoff says that he purchased some of the supplement, and partially read the directions, which recommended 1-3 tablespoons.
“Well, that’s for the average person,” Bischoff chuckled. “Since I spent thirty years in the wrestling business, I know that if one to three is good for the average person, then I need a minimum of 4-5 because that’s how that works.” Bischoff then neglected to read the rest of the instructions which adamantly warned against starting out with such a large dose. Later that night Bischoff began passing “buckets of blood” but did not want to alarm his wife and assumed it would clear up on its own. His condition only got worse, as he continued bleeding at closer and closer intervals.
“About 12:30 I wake up, I go to get up, and I’m dizzy, I can’t hardly stand up.”
Bischoff says that he used his home blood pressure monitor and noticed that his blood pressure was extremely low. Bischoff went to tell his wife he had to go to the hospital, only to immediately black out. Bischoff then woke up and rushed to the bathroom, where he did not end up making it to the toilet.
“It looks like someone gutted a goat in our bathroom.”
Bischoff tried to clean himself up while his wife called an ambulance, which took him to a local emergency room, where Bischoff remained until the bleeding seemingly stopped and he was sent back home.
According to Bischoff, he enjoyed his time as a convalescent, being waited on by his wife, but as Bischoff prepared to do his “Strictly Business” podcast, the next day, he had to tell co-host Jon Alba that he “hit a wall” and couldn’t continue. Bischoff blacked out again, alone in his office, which is not in his house.
Bischoff woke up, went back to the hospital, and was admitted to the intensive care unit for “a couple days.” Bischoff was put under anesthesia for surgery, but Bischoff was bleeding too badly to operate, and even worse, the hospital was running out of his blood type.
“I used up all of the [AB+] blood that they had at the hospital or in the county that we lived in.”
Bischoff was then helicoptered to Billings, Montana, as the hospital there had better equipment and surgeons. Bischoff says the helicopter ride was fun, despite probably costing $50,000-$60,000. After a few days in Billings, Bischoff began to feel better but was kept in the hospital for an extra day for additional observation and a barium test. Doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with him, including where the blood had been coming from.
Bischoff says that what happened is the “gel ball” that forms from psyllium ran through his intestines, tearing things up. Bischoff told his doctor about the fiber supplement and his doctor seemed to concur, telling him to “read the directions” as Bischoff almost died twice, once in Cody, Montana, and then again after being transferred to Billings.
Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to “83 Weeks”
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