Gamer chugged twelve energy drinks in 10 minutes to impress his friends… and suffered
A gamer who chugged twelve energy drinks in 10 minutes has suffered awful consequences.
The 36-year-old man, who goes by ‘JS’, almost died and his pancreas began ‘digesting itself’ after he decided to down the caffeinated drinks in an effort to impress his colleagues.
A doctor who shares stories of previous patients on YouTube, Dr Bernard Hsu or ‘ChubbyEmu’, brought the case to attention
The video explained that when JS he was growing up in the 80s, he was always around video games – his parents liked playing them but he didn’t really have any friends.
So, trying to connect with people in his workplace, he thought it would ‘be funny’ to chug an excessive 12 freebie energy drinks within 10 minutes.
A gamer who chugged twelve energy drinks in 10 minutes has suffered awful consequences (The man pictured in the YouTube video is an actor dramatising the incident)
However, the stunt quickly took a turn for the worst – after he had finished drinking, the man immediately felt ill.
The doctor recalls ‘The bottom of his chest was burning, he wasn’t sure if it was his stomach or his heart hurting.
He was short of breath and decided to take his mind off the pain by playing video games.
Though, ‘as the hours passed, he could feel his heart fluttering’ – but he was confused by why it was happening as caffiene ‘usually doesn’t have much of an effect on him’.
JS regularly exceed the recommended 400 milligrams a day of caffeine, pushing it to as high as nine hundred milligrams sometimes.
As his condition worsened, he threw up in his kitchen sink which only made him feel worse – he could supposedly ‘feel his heart beating in his eyes’.
He didn’t suspect it was the energy drinks and waited a day before calling an ambulance as he couldn’t eat or drink.
Upon arrival at the emergency room, the gamer threw up on a nurses shoes and was ‘too embarrassed’ to admit how many drinks he consumed.
The 36-year-old man, who goes by ‘JS’, almost died and his pancreas began ‘digesting itself’ after he decided to down the caffeinated drinks in an effort to impress his colleagues ((The man pictured in the YouTube video is an actor dramatising the incident)
He was eventually diagnosed with hyperglycemia, which is when the level of sugar in your blood gets too high.
However, doctors were worried that something else could be wrong and after more tests, he was diagnosed with hyperlipasemia, also known as acute Pancreatitis.
This is a serious condition where the pancreas becomes inflamed over a short period of time.
The man’s pancreas had started ‘digesting itself’ due too much fat in his blood, caused by the energy drinks – his liver and kidneys began to shut down and he developed a blood infection.
Thankfully after medical treatment and antibiotics, JS survived the ordeal.
Though, it serves as a stark warning that could lead others to rethink their energy drink consumption.
Dr Hsu warned viewers ‘Most people know energy drinks can be dangerous when consumed in huge excess.
‘If you have one once in a while, and you’re young and healthy, it’s probably not a big deal.
‘But if you start chugging multiple cans back to back, then bad things are probably going to happen.’
The man in the YouTube video is an actor dramatising the incident.
Dr Gareth Nye, Programme Lead for Medical Science at Chester University, said the man is lucky that his heart didn’t stop immediately.
He said: ‘Energy drinks consumption has been increasing over the years, particularly in younger people.
Dr Gareth Nye, Programme Lead for Medical Science at Chester University, said the man is lucky that his heart didn’t stop immediately
‘Well known side effects of energy drinks include tachycardia, anxiety, stomach irritation, and dehydration – mainly centred around the high caffeine content.
‘Caffeine is well known to alter the nervous system and cause dramatic changes to our hearts, with higher levels leading to a bigger impact.
‘The man in question is extremely lucky his heart didn’t stop immediately after the ingestion of 10 cans of energy drink.
‘Energy drinks can however, on rare occasions lead to other organ damage with the pancreas being impacted in 35 people per 100,000 users in the United States.’
He added that, although remaining rare, it has the potential to be severe:
‘Acute pancreatitis is life threatening with death reporting in 50% of cases of severe illness.
‘In 80% of cases, acute pancreatitis is caused by alcohol consumption or gall stones but never the less the symptoms are severe abdominal pain and vomiting.’
A 2021 study found that a 21-year-old man from the UK who was suffering from unexplained kidney failure, had a history of energy drink consumption and two could be linked.
In 2019 an English 21-year-old, Vinny Pyner, got hooked on energy drinks to help him stay awake for his college studies and ended up snapping his weakened teeth
The study published in BMJ Case Reports states that ‘There was no significant past medical history and family history was not suspicious for cardiomyopathy or sudden cardiac death.’
Adding ‘however there was a history of regular ‘Energy drink’ drink consumption, specifically consuming an average of four 500 mL cans per day for approximately 2 years.
‘Each can contains 160 mg of caffeine in addition to taurine and various other ingredients.
‘Given the history of chronic energy drink consumption, lack of significant past medical or family history, cardiac imaging findings and improvement with ceasing intake, energy drink-induced cardiotoxicity was felt to be the most likely cause.’
Last year, a construction industry boss called for a building site ban on energy drinks as he believes they are damaging the health of young builders and making work slower.
In 2019 an English 21-year-old, Vinny Pyner, got hooked on energy drinks to help him stay awake for his college studies and ended up snapping his weakened teeth.
Soon he was drinking up to 45 cans a week and his four front teeth eventually snapped off when he bit into an apple.