After consuming 12 energy drinks in around ten minutes, a 36-year-old man developed acute pancreatitis. According to a doctor, he could have suffered a cardiac arrest.
- A 36-year-old man drank twelve energy drinks in ten minutes.
- Many symptoms appeared, and a few days later, doctors diagnosed acute pancreatitis.
- According to a doctor, he could have suffered a cardiac arrest given the quantities of caffeine consumed.
He wanted to impress his colleagues, he came close to death. On his channel Youtube, a doctor, Dr. Bernard Hsu, tells the story of a 36-year-old man named JS. At his workplace, and to amuse his colleagues, he took on the challenge of drinking twelve energy drinks in ten minutes. He quickly began to experience strange symptoms, until receiving the diagnosis several days later: he developed acute pancreatitis.
Hyperglycemia, increased heart risk: what were the effects of the twelve energy drinks?
Right after consuming these drinks, JS felt burning in the back of his throat. Then he had difficulty breathing and felt pain in his heart. But the thirty-year-old was not worried, according to the doctor, the man did not see caffeine abuse as problematic: he was used to consuming up to 900 milligrams per day, while American health authorities recommend not to exceed 400 milligrams. He preferred to play video games to take his mind off things. Little by little, his pain worsened and he began to vomit. Ultimately, he could no longer eat or drink.
Faced with these throbbing pains, he ended up contacting the emergency room. Initially, doctors identified hyperglycemia, a blood sugar level that was too high. However, several days had passed between the consumption of the drinks and his visit to the emergency room: the blood sugar level should have gone down, according to them. This observation put the doctors on the path: by carrying out an ultrasound and then a CT scan, they identified acute pancreatitis.
Energy drinks: what is acute pancreatitis?
“Acute pancreatitis is the acute inflammation of the pancreasexplains French National Society of Gastroenterology. It sets in within a few hours, or even a few days, and can resolve spontaneously in 80% of cases.“In the vast majority of cases, it is linked to chronic alcoholism or a gallstone. The inflammation it causes is linked to the activation of enzymes, which will attack the pancreatic gland. More serious, it can lead to a global inflammatory syndrome with consequences on the kidneys, respiratory system and other vital organs. In this patient’s case, treatments were able to cure him.
Heart, pancreas: energy drinks to consume in moderation
For Dr Bernard Hsu, it is necessary to remember the risks linked to the overconsumption of energy drinks. “If you drink one every once in a while, and you’re young and healthy, it’s probably not a big deal, he warns. But if you start downing multiple cans in a row, bad things will potentially happen..”
In The Daily Mail, Dr Gareth Nye, head of the medical sciences program at the University of Chester, adds that such consumption could have caused cardiac arrest. In fact, tachycardia is one of the possible side effects of these drinks. But these liquids can also cause kidney problems, irritability, nervousness or even epilepsy.
In France, the Coves recommends not consuming them before or during physical activity and not combining them with alcohol. These drinks are not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women, children, adolescents, people with cardiovascular or hepatic disorders, or those suffering from renal insufficiency.
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