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SC teen dies after consuming three caffeinated drinks

VariantX

Member
Sad to hear someone full of potential leaving this world so early. Considering how much caffeine people consume daily, especially those in college and in jobs that demand alot of their employees, I'm inclined to believe he had a condition that no one was aware of.
 
I've seen some terrible side effects of people taking pre-workout. The caffeine they put into these energy supplements/drinks is starting to get a little crazy.

I went to the gym with my bro-in-law and he gave me some pre-workout. I felt like I was high/dazed, totally out of it.

Nevar again.
 

Metalmarc

Member
I have been drinking one can of relentless almost everyday for 10yrs this year

It used to be 2 on a friday and half or none on a sunday

One time i was real tired on a friday i had one 500ml of relentless, one 500ml cheap energy drink , 1 Litre of cheap energy & 2 cans of the cheapstuff, my heart was pounding like crazy, i thought i was gonna have a heart attack so went to a & e, glad to say it wore off though, yes i was an idiot, no i wont consume that amount ever again in one day.
 

Ambient80

Member
Are you guys even reading the article?

That's...weird. As someone who does autopsies all the time (pathologist), I know that you wouldn't necessarily see anything that may cause an arrhythmia. He could have had some sort of weird electrical issue that triggered it, and you wouldn't see that on autopsy, either grossly or microscopically.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
So many of you are out of your minds. I don't know why I expected reasonable replies on a forum full of the target audience for those drinks.

When I say crackdown I don't mean having armed troops storming every 7 Eleven and confiscating all the Red Bulls. I'm talking about changing the way our society thinks it's completely fine for teens to chug those things all the time. It's fucked. A teenager's body doesn't need caffeine in those quantities. Fuck, nobody does. If you want to argue that, you're out of your mind.

Two main possibilities:

A) Everyone in this thread is an insane person except for you, as you are proposing. This is statistically implausible, and, notably, based on your impression of the responses in this thread that are all largely in agreement with the conclusions of the coroner's official medical report and the supporting press information from the Mayo Clinic et al.

B) The other one.
 
I stopped and yelled at one of my athletes for almost taking a 5 Hour energy before his 1 Mile race. He would have had a heart attack and thank god I caught him taking it out of his bag. Someone I know did something similar and almost died from racing with it. You really shouldn't be drinking caffeine in big doses like with energy drinks, especially if your intent is to use them before a workout, game or race for energy.
 

daveo42

Banned
Caffeine crackdown long overdue? What?

Coroner's report:

http://metro.co.uk/2017/05/16/boy-d...-energy-drink-and-large-mountain-dew-6640250/

Not a caffeine OD, apparently not an undiagnosed heart condition, and his death would not likely even been linked to his caffeine consumption that day except for the witness accounts of him chugging an energy drink, because he didn't have a dangerous amount of caffeine in his system.

There's nothing to really glean from this story unless you weren't aware that caffeine, while ubiquitously consumed and generally safe, is still a dose-dependent stimulant, and that energy drinks can have a lot of caffeine in them. Just a tragic outcome from a highly unusual arrhythmia trigger.

Those are the worst. If there are no outward signs then you never get check out and then drop dead one day without ever knowing you had an issue to begin with. Scary stuff. Sad to hear the kid and his parents didn't know about it early enough to avoid this.
 
In college teammate of mine had to be rushed to the hospital after losing consciousness during a practice after slamming a bunch of energy drinks in rapid succession.

We were doing some sort of breakout drill when he slumped against the boards down on the ice. The coach started yelling at him to get up thinking he was just screwing around until he realized he wasn't moving. He was unresponsive, but thankfully still breathing and our rink was less than 10 minutes from a hospital. He recovered, but of course the toxicology report read the ingredients of the cans of stuff he was drinking.

Anyway, this story is sad, and confirms my weariness of consuming these things, but I'm pretty sensitive to caffeine to begin with. That being said, this sounds like an unfortunate undiagnosed condition, not a need for more regulation.
 

Fred-87

Member
Crackdown on what? He probably had a heart issue he didn't even know about. If someone died from eating almonds because of a nut allergy, should we crackdown on almonds?



Fine, show me the evidence of teenagers dropping dead on a regular basis from caffeine then I'll say regulation is needed.

Because only the worst is enough to convince you? Getting anxiety for example not
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
Yeah, like others have said, he must have had some underlying condition. That amount of caffeine does not make an otherwise healthy person just drop dead.
 

slit

Member
I stopped and yelled at one of my athletes for almost taking a 5 Hour energy before his 1 Mile race. He would have had a heart attack and thank god I caught him taking it out of his bag. Someone I know did something similar and almost died from racing with it. You really shouldn't be drinking caffeine in big doses like with energy drinks, especially if your intent is to use them before a workout, game or race for energy.

Are you serious here or is this supposed to be a joke?

Because only the worst is enough to convince you? Getting anxiety for example not

Getting anxiety in and of itself will not kill you. If caffeine causes you anxiety you stop the caffeine intake, simple.
 

Takuan

Member
Are you serious here or is this supposed to be a joke?

I mean, it kind of makes sense that it might not be good if you're already going to be working your heart to the max. I get that it's not guaranteed, but I'm sure it elevates the risk considerably.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
I stopped and yelled at one of my athletes for almost taking a 5 Hour energy before his 1 Mile race. He would have had a heart attack and thank god I caught him taking it out of his bag. Someone I know did something similar and almost died from racing with it. You really shouldn't be drinking caffeine in big doses like with energy drinks, especially if your intent is to use them before a workout, game or race for energy.

A regular 5 hour energy has 200mg caffeine, equivalent to one cup of coffee. You're suggesting that you saved your athlete's life by stopping him from having a cup of coffee before a one mile run. Dear lord.
 

Dreavus

Member
Yikes. Article says there was no evidence of undiagnosed heart conditions and that he was otherwise healthy; there was no evidence of anything the caffeine might have triggered. This is really sad.

To those giving their own experience here about drinking the same or more, it could be age that contributed to this. According to the article teens shouldn't be having more than just 100 mg of caffeine a day whereas an adult can have up to 400 mg (4-5 cups) without adverse side effects. I don't know if that's over the long term or just one binge is enough to cause harm though. Personally after I have 2 decent sized mugs of coffee (probably around 4 cups) I can start to feel a bit off.

I also wonder exactly how big that energy drink was. I know I've seen big ones that warn against drinking "more than one serving" while the can itself contains two servings, which is such misleading crap.
 

slit

Member
I mean, it kind of makes sense that it might not be good if you're already going to be working your heart to the max. I get that it's not guaranteed, but I'm sure it elevates the risk considerably.

Caffeine consumption before physical activity has never been proven to cause any issue in a healthy person. It does not elevate your risk considerably.
 

MrToughPants

Brian Burke punched my mom
Can't tell you how many people order large coffees with two or more shots of espresso at least twice a day at my store. This shit is nuts. Hello heart problems.

Have taken 1-2g of caffeine pills many times and I barely felt anything.

Give me sugar and I can fly.
 
This thread unexpectedly made me want a coffee.

giphy.gif
 

Takuan

Member
Caffeine consumption before physical activity has never been proven to cause any issue in a healthy person. It does not elevate your risk considerably.

Yeah, but when combined with the other stuff they put in there maybe there's an elevated risk? Fuck if I know, I'm just typing for the sake of typing at this point.

I do see where he's coming from because he lost someone to it and I initially read the post as "could", not "would". If that wasn't a typo, then yeah, he totally overreacted - but even then, I understand.
 

Zutrax

Member
One of my biggest issues is that I like the taste of all the things that have caffeine in them, but I don't necessarily care about the caffeine. And decaff options usually taste off or wrong.

I would love to drink "energy" drinks that have no caffeine because frankly I like the taste of them. But the options don't seem to exist so when I want my tasty drink fix I usually just grab these heavy caffeinated drinks and deal with it. Maybe I should start seeking out alternatives with no caffeine though...
 
See how close your teetering to the great beyond

https://www.caffeineinformer.com/death-by-caffeine

I'm good for a daily maximum of 10 to 20 cans of carbonated, caffeinated sugar water I normally consume! WHOOOO! Still not as bad as modern "energy drinks".

Drinking that much might eventually cost me a foot though. Still might, just will take longer. I do need to stop drinking this shit, I cut down significantly for a few months three years ago and quickly lost around 30 pounds, I need to get back on that.
 
You can actually (mostly) reset tolerance by going off of caffeine for like a week. I would routinely do it after hitting 3+ servings in a day. It's just not that hard of a drug for most people.

If caffeine were to disappear from the world, productivity would nosedive.

This always blows my mind how so many people are slaves to the stuff. Most of my co-workers, friends and wife can't seem to function without it. As someone who has never used anything to wake me up or keep me up I'd hate to ever have to rely on a crutch like that.

/highhorse

In all seriousness though, does it ever bother any of you that you rely on caffeine so much? I've seen posts in here about stacking coffee and pills and that seems kind of worrisome if you need that much caffeine to keep you awake.
 

Onemic

Member
This person must have had a medical condition of some sort. That's not a ton of caffeine.

EDIT: seems like it had nothing to do with caffeine at all. Just a random trigger.
 

commedieu

Banned
That's a shitty way to go..the parents must feel horrible and confused.


The article says:


Davis' autopsy showed no undiagnosed heart conditions and that Davis was healthy and had no conditions that could have triggered by the caffeine intake. Also, no other drugs or alcohol were found in the teen's system, according to Watts

'

Yet "definitely a underlying cause, not my caffeine!!!!"

Some folks are different.
 
RIP

I wonder if the school had no AEDs? Thought that was a requirement at schools nowadays? Or maybe they did and no one recognized in time and applied them.
 

Bookoo

Member
I have been drinking one can of relentless almost everyday for 10yrs this year

It used to be 2 on a friday and half or none on a sunday

One time i was real tired on a friday i had one 500ml of relentless, one 500ml cheap energy drink , 1 Litre of cheap energy & 2 cans of the cheapstuff, my heart was pounding like crazy, i thought i was gonna have a heart attack so went to a & e, glad to say it wore off though, yes i was an idiot, no i wont consume that amount ever again in one day.

I still drink 2-3 monsters a day. I space it out to a 4-5+ hour between, but I probably should cut back.
 

Hoo-doo

Banned
Some kids experience sudden death from cardiac arrest while on the soccer field. Ban soccer.

Crack down on caffeine? This is an anomaly. One instance of caffeine in the doses described are not a threat to cardiovascular health.
 
Most people can tolerate doses of upto 800mg caffeine without issue, so clearly this kid had an unknown issue that caused the adverse effect to what sounds like around 300mg.
 

commedieu

Banned
Some kids experience sudden death from cardiac arrest while on the soccer field. Ban soccer.

Crack down on caffeine? This is an anomaly. One instance of caffeine in the doses described are not a threat to cardiovascular health.

Crackdown gets you imagining the ss kicking in doors.

Americans, we have poor health. Teens probably don't need to pound as much caffeine as they do. But when schools are lobbied by pepsi..and coke.. not much one can do.

I understand the concern, not that it's always dire to health. But that it does make a culture of people that become dependant on a drug. That should be avoided, sort of. Not because it can kill you, but because it's an expensive hobby.

I made a million dollars because I never bought coffee or 5hours.

*parts of this post is a total lie.
 
Worst thing that happens to me after 13 espresso shots in 5 hours is an upset stomach and severe hicc ups.

Then again, if someone's sensitive to caffeine it can and will fuck you up. Especially caffeinated drinks have crazy amounts of caffeine in them sometimes. Or Liberica Beans... those even get my hair on edge.
 

Breads

Banned
Missing a lot of sleep and piling on the caffeine/ energy drinks can do that to a person. It's not unheard of.

Friend of mine's brother passed away a few years ago for the same reason. He would sleep two hours then rock the coffee, 5 hour energy, and red bull. Heart gave out one day.

People who play videogames/mmos/ streamers go through this from time to time.
 
Are they able to measure the amount of caffeine in his system? Maybe the drink/drinks he had were over saturated via factory mistake?
 

Kthulhu

Member
I went to the gym with my bro-in-law and he gave me some pre-workout. I felt like I was high/dazed, totally out of it.

Nevar again.

Word to the wise, don't take that stuff, ever.

Supplements and energy drinks aren't regulated by the FDA, and if there is some adverse affect they can't do anything for a long period of time.
 

Hoo-doo

Banned
Crackdown gets you imagining the ss kicking in doors.

Americans, we have poor health. Teens probably don't need to pound as much caffeine as they do. But when schools are lobbied by pepsi..and coke.. not much one can do.

I understand the concern, not that it's always dire to health. But that it does make a culture of people that become dependant on a drug. That should be avoided, sort of. Not because it can kill you, but because it's an expensive hobby.

I made a million dollars because I never bought coffee or 5hours.

*parts of this post is a total lie.

The sugar content in those Cokes and Pepsis are a larger threat to people's health than the caffeine content.
 

Kthulhu

Member
Crackdown gets you imagining the ss kicking in doors.

Americans, we have poor health. Teens probably don't need to pound as much caffeine as they do. But when schools are lobbied by pepsi..and coke.. not much one can do.

I understand the concern, not that it's always dire to health. But that it does make a culture of people that become dependant on a drug. That should be avoided, sort of. Not because it can kill you, but because it's an expensive hobby.

I made a million dollars because I never bought coffee or 5hours.

*parts of this post is a total lie.

I graduated in 2014 and my highschool didn't sell soda or junk food.
 

rtcn63

Member
People take caffeine pre-workout? That seems unnecessary.

It's a practically zero-calorie stimulant. If you workout 2+ times a week, especially while on a calorie deficit, caffeine is your bestie.

In all seriousness though, does it ever bother any of you that you rely on caffeine so much? I've seen posts in here about stacking coffee and pills and that seems kind of worrisome if you need that much caffeine to keep you awake.

In moderation, it's 99.9% safe and has benefits above just a simple increase in energy, i.e. weight control. The ephedrine/caffeine stack in particular is a well-reputed (and well-backed scientifically) calorie burner/hunger blunter.

Personally, when I feel I'm doing too much of it, I just cut back for a few days. (Yes, when I'm at the point where I'm stacking pills + coffee to stay vertical is often a good sign)
 
That's the culture. College & grad students always talking about how they pretty much bleed coffee.

Overworking themselves all the time... No, sleep!
 

Diablos

Member
I've had that much caffeine before all at once. A select few times intentionally and that's pretty dumb, most other times by mistake... it's a lot to take in but nowhere NEAR enough to kill you. Something else had to be going on with his health. That said, I don't suggest consuming so much caffeine in such a short span of time.

If you for whatever reason would and find it unpleasant, drink lots of water and/or take a vitamin c supplement. But yeah, best to avoid so much intake to begin with.
 

commedieu

Banned
The sugar content in those Cokes and Pepsis are a larger threat to people's health than the caffeine content.

I graduated in 2014 and my highschool didn't sell soda or junk food.

Doo, correct.
Kthulu, yes, but advertisements towards kids and soda/caffeine culture saturate the lives of our youth. I'm not dying on this hill. It's a legit gripe along with many other health concerns, but. Eh... nothing much can be done about it. Parents have to teach them to steer toward better health.
 

Hex

Banned
When I was playing league paintball I used to drink 3/4 monsters a day because they were our sponsors and we got flats of it for free.
Still have days where I will binge on monster zero.
 

nicoga3000

Saint Nic
I feel terrible for the friends and family, but don't fucking turn this into a case of "energy drinks kill!" There is absolutely more to this story - an un-diagnosed heart condition or something.
 
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