A gamer’s pancreas started breaking down after he guzzled 12 energy drinks in 10 minutes in an attempt to show off to his colleagues.
Known as JS, the 36-year-old man nearly lost his life after he downed the caffeinated drinks because his pancreas started ‘digesting itself’.
Dr Bernard Hsu has publicised JS’ story in a bid to highlight the negative health effect of drinking a lot of energy drinks.
After downing the 12 freebie energy drinks within 10 minutes, JS instantly felt poorly, with the bottom of his chest ‘burning’.
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Throughout the day, his heart continued to flutter despite him being used to a high intake of caffeine, with the gamer usually consuming 900 milligrams of caffeine a day – 500 more than the recommended amount.
According to JS, his heart felt like it was ‘beating in his eyes’, forcing him to call an ambulance a day after the energy drink incident.
Once admitted to hospital, the 36-year-old was diagnosed with hyperglycaemia and acute Pancreatitis – a condition where the pancreas becomes inflamed over a short period of time.
Doctors found that JS’ pancreas was breaking down due to a high amount of fat in the blood as a result of downing the 12 energy drinks.
His liver and kidneys were also rapidly declining, and he went on to being diagnosed with a blood infection.
The gamer did survive after undergoing medical treatment and taking antibiotics. However, doctors are warning people to reduce their energy drink intake.
Dr Hsu said: “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.”
Dr Gareth Nye, Programme Lead for Medical Science at Chester University, noted: “The man is lucky that his heart didn’t stop immediately.
“Energy drinks consumption has been increasing over the years, particularly in younger people. Well known side effects of energy drinks include tachycardia, anxiety, stomach irritation, and dehydration – mainly centred around the high caffeine content.”
He added: “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.”
He concluded: “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.
“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.”
Vinny Pyner, 21, was addicted to energy drinks so much that in 2019 his teeth snapped off after biting into an apple.
The 21-year-old was drinking up to 45 cans of energy drink per week, making his front four teeth so weak that they shattered.
