Too much Energy drink ?
Discussion
Just wondering if anyone has the same problem with this stuff as i do ? and what are the long term effects if any ?
Background is i was a long distance HGV driver, consumed a can of Red Bull every other day, then changed jobs to a nightshift shunter, every other day turned to a can every night to beat the sticky point at 4am, came off nightshift, back onto the road but driving local, consumed a can a day (big Monster or Rockstar cans by now), couple of times tried to come off them, lasted a couple of days then back on them.
Changed jobs again (with the same company), now shunting day shift (less money but less stress off being the road), managed to cut back on the energy during the week, maybe one can in the afternoon mid week, but, beasting it at the weekends, bought a four pack of Monster Thursday (off Fridays), finished the four cans between then and now.
Is this excessive and a'm i likely to do myself harm ?, i'm 42, normal weight for my height, get plenty of excersise, apart from the Energy drink i drink water or milk (used to be Pepsi Max but cut that out a couple of years ago), dont drink/smoke, diet not too bad, sleep fine, dont feel tired or lethargic during a normal day but i do feel better with the energy drink (Caffine high maybe ?)
Background is i was a long distance HGV driver, consumed a can of Red Bull every other day, then changed jobs to a nightshift shunter, every other day turned to a can every night to beat the sticky point at 4am, came off nightshift, back onto the road but driving local, consumed a can a day (big Monster or Rockstar cans by now), couple of times tried to come off them, lasted a couple of days then back on them.
Changed jobs again (with the same company), now shunting day shift (less money but less stress off being the road), managed to cut back on the energy during the week, maybe one can in the afternoon mid week, but, beasting it at the weekends, bought a four pack of Monster Thursday (off Fridays), finished the four cans between then and now.
Is this excessive and a'm i likely to do myself harm ?, i'm 42, normal weight for my height, get plenty of excersise, apart from the Energy drink i drink water or milk (used to be Pepsi Max but cut that out a couple of years ago), dont drink/smoke, diet not too bad, sleep fine, dont feel tired or lethargic during a normal day but i do feel better with the energy drink (Caffine high maybe ?)
^ Thing is, is a few cans at the weekend moderation ? (which is what i'm down to now), have never drank more than one can a day, though it was a can every day untill recently.
I know they will be full of crap chemicals but forgot to mention, in mitigation i dont eat any other crap, e.g sweets, very little chocolate, hardly any crisps, no fried food etc, the energy drink is my only vice really.
Also forgot to mention i never drink Tea (cant frigging stand it) or Coffee (can drink it but dont go out my way)
Besides 8 cans a day is a tenner a day at least = £70 a week in friggin Energy drink man
I know they will be full of crap chemicals but forgot to mention, in mitigation i dont eat any other crap, e.g sweets, very little chocolate, hardly any crisps, no fried food etc, the energy drink is my only vice really.
Also forgot to mention i never drink Tea (cant frigging stand it) or Coffee (can drink it but dont go out my way)
MajorProblem said:
A guy who I work with used to drink alot of it, by a lot I mean 8 cans of monster a day. He now suffers from blackouts and fits.
Well 8 cans a day is just daft, not surprised he's having fits, i know a couple of mechanics in my company consume two cans a day, i think that's excessive. Edited by MajorProblem on Sunday 12th May 19:35
Besides 8 cans a day is a tenner a day at least = £70 a week in friggin Energy drink man
Edited by Markgenesis on Sunday 12th May 19:53
I use to drink at least 20 cans of Monster a week. It got to the point that I felt really ill if I didn't have some (probably all in my head).
Anyway, one morning I got up as normal to go to college, went to get on my bike and blacked out. I woke up with a paramedic car and an ambulance next to me with a few worried paramedics looking over me. My sister was crying her eyes out and I'm told that I couldn't remember who my dad was. I suffered a head injury where I just collapsed, so violent that I ripped my wing mirror clean off as I fell down and I had a deep gash in my hand. I've suffered from memory loss since then (probably due to the head injury), it comes and goes but sometimes I can't remember what I've done that day - quite worrying really.
Apparently if someone blacks out for more than 1:30 seconds, you need to call an ambulance. I was out for just under 25 minutes - they said they haven't seen anyone out that long for a while.
When I got to hospital, they did all sorts of tests but found nothing, one of them even referred me to a brain clinic. One of the doctors suggested that it could of been all the energy drinks that I consume.
So yes, it can do some damage. Well, I think it can.
Anyway, one morning I got up as normal to go to college, went to get on my bike and blacked out. I woke up with a paramedic car and an ambulance next to me with a few worried paramedics looking over me. My sister was crying her eyes out and I'm told that I couldn't remember who my dad was. I suffered a head injury where I just collapsed, so violent that I ripped my wing mirror clean off as I fell down and I had a deep gash in my hand. I've suffered from memory loss since then (probably due to the head injury), it comes and goes but sometimes I can't remember what I've done that day - quite worrying really.
Apparently if someone blacks out for more than 1:30 seconds, you need to call an ambulance. I was out for just under 25 minutes - they said they haven't seen anyone out that long for a while.
When I got to hospital, they did all sorts of tests but found nothing, one of them even referred me to a brain clinic. One of the doctors suggested that it could of been all the energy drinks that I consume.
So yes, it can do some damage. Well, I think it can.
Petrolhead95 said:
I use to drink at least 20 cans of Monster a week. It got to the point that I felt really ill if I didn't have some (probably all in my head).
Caffeine is habit forming, you were probably getting withdrawal. It passes after a few days to a week in my experience (albeit that is from coffee).
I used to get through a fair bit of red bull etc.
I found its a never ending round about. Tired, drink a can get even more tired drink another then i couldnt sleep and when i did woke up real early. Then the more you drink the more you get used to it so you drink more of it.
I knocked it on the head + cleaned up my diet, cut out ale in the week and started working out etc was tired out to start with but soon after slept loads better and had more energy than i ever had.
I found its a never ending round about. Tired, drink a can get even more tired drink another then i couldnt sleep and when i did woke up real early. Then the more you drink the more you get used to it so you drink more of it.
I knocked it on the head + cleaned up my diet, cut out ale in the week and started working out etc was tired out to start with but soon after slept loads better and had more energy than i ever had.
About 10 years ago I ended up in hospital from drinking coffee and red bull for a whole evening.
I thought I was having a heart attack and dying.
The Doctor said it was quite common around Uni exam time of the year.
Have always been pretty careful ever since not to OD, despite my love of strong coffee.
I thought I was having a heart attack and dying.
The Doctor said it was quite common around Uni exam time of the year.
Have always been pretty careful ever since not to OD, despite my love of strong coffee.
I wouldn't be as worried about the caffeine in it as I would about the synthetic taurine that's added.
Web says:
Studies have implicated synthetic taurine in illnesses ranging from high blood pressure to strokes and seizures to heart disease. For these reasons it’s been banned in some Scandinavian countries after being linked to the deaths....
Web also says:
... taurine has a stimulating effect on the central nervous system that’s very unnatural.
And:
Taurine is POSSIBLY SAFE for adults and children when taken by mouth in appropriate amounts.
Plus:
there is one report of brain damage in a body-builder who took about 14 grams of taurine in combination with insulin and anabolic steroids.
Web says:
Studies have implicated synthetic taurine in illnesses ranging from high blood pressure to strokes and seizures to heart disease. For these reasons it’s been banned in some Scandinavian countries after being linked to the deaths....
Web also says:
... taurine has a stimulating effect on the central nervous system that’s very unnatural.
And:
Taurine is POSSIBLY SAFE for adults and children when taken by mouth in appropriate amounts.
Plus:
there is one report of brain damage in a body-builder who took about 14 grams of taurine in combination with insulin and anabolic steroids.
A few years ago I worked nights for a supermarket,and necked a litre bottle per night,whizzing around doing my job and by the morning ready for bed.
As said this can get expensive and become a problem,so I would then buy a case of the cheap Lidl cans.
One night after necking 4 small cans I had the most strangest of feelings I'd ever had .sweats,spinning head and the feeling of wanting to vomit, though I didn't.
I just thought it was over rushing of my body (43 yrs)and needed to slow down.
Anyhow didn't think anything of it until on my night off I drank two cans on that day waiting to pick the Mrs from her job....again the same thing happened, sweats etc.
From this day 12 years on I never touch the stuff and been fine, the smell of it makes me want to puke.
It's s
t.
As said this can get expensive and become a problem,so I would then buy a case of the cheap Lidl cans.
One night after necking 4 small cans I had the most strangest of feelings I'd ever had .sweats,spinning head and the feeling of wanting to vomit, though I didn't.
I just thought it was over rushing of my body (43 yrs)and needed to slow down.
Anyhow didn't think anything of it until on my night off I drank two cans on that day waiting to pick the Mrs from her job....again the same thing happened, sweats etc.
From this day 12 years on I never touch the stuff and been fine, the smell of it makes me want to puke.
It's s
t.Ilikebeaver said:
there is one report of brain damage in a body-builder who took about 14 grams of taurine in combination with insulin and anabolic steroids.
well there ya go, a bloody huge amount of it damages you, but i think there is less than one gram in the pint cans, so you would have to drink fking loads to get near that 14 grams.plus, in small amounts, its alright, as taurine is an amino acid.
Slink said:
well there ya go, a bloody huge amount of it damages you, but i think there is less than one gram in the pint cans, so you would have to drink fking loads to get near that 14 grams.
plus, in small amounts, its alright, as taurine is an amino acid.
According to their website it's 1g in the big cans. 14g is a crazy amount, what sort of lunatic thinks that's a good idea...king loads to get near that 14 grams.plus, in small amounts, its alright, as taurine is an amino acid.
That said EFSA say 1g/kg body weight is safe for taurine, which means an OD is a lot of cans, more than the LD50 for caffeine in them I'd think. Necking 14 cans would give you some serious problems from the sugar as well I suspect.
EFSA statement here:
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/ans090212....
I used to work for a well known energy drink company and very few people in the company actually drank the stuff!
Approximately 13 chemicals that are toxic to the body.
It's not the caffeine that does you the harm, it's all the other c**p they put in it.
There are quite a few natural energy drink brands in the market now that are far better for you.
Approximately 13 chemicals that are toxic to the body.
It's not the caffeine that does you the harm, it's all the other c**p they put in it.
There are quite a few natural energy drink brands in the market now that are far better for you.
I do a bit of radio and on one of the shows I do, about 18 months ago, we had a Professor of Nutrition (or some such title) on as a guest. Amongst the things we discussed were energy drinks (partly as a result of me having a can of Red Bull on the go at the time).
The 'official' or medical advice is that moderation is key. A can every now and then is not going to kill you.
A good point he made though was that these products are artificial stimulants that people consume to overcome tiredness. The key word being 'overcome'. Fundamentally, the body and brain is tired because it requires rest. Energy Drinks can suppress the symptoms of tiredness but does not 'cure' tiredness, you still need rest but you don't feel it. The danger is that because these products work in this respect, people become reliant upon their effect which can compound into far bigger problems associated with rest and sleep deprivation.
An example he gave was that if you rely upon such products to see you through an all night drive, it does not necessarily mean you will avoid crashing through lack of attention but you will be very aware when you do.
Water and a Banana can be as effective if one is looking for more natural remedies!
The 'official' or medical advice is that moderation is key. A can every now and then is not going to kill you.
A good point he made though was that these products are artificial stimulants that people consume to overcome tiredness. The key word being 'overcome'. Fundamentally, the body and brain is tired because it requires rest. Energy Drinks can suppress the symptoms of tiredness but does not 'cure' tiredness, you still need rest but you don't feel it. The danger is that because these products work in this respect, people become reliant upon their effect which can compound into far bigger problems associated with rest and sleep deprivation.
An example he gave was that if you rely upon such products to see you through an all night drive, it does not necessarily mean you will avoid crashing through lack of attention but you will be very aware when you do.
Water and a Banana can be as effective if one is looking for more natural remedies!
OP - try weaning yourself off them and onto Pepsi Max again as a sort of step on the "come down" slope rather than going from drinking them every day to not at all 
I have a similar addiction to Pepsi Max, although I don't think that the two cans at work, plus a pint of it on an evening will do me much harm. I am however weaning myself off it as I realise it was messing up my sleep pattern if I happily chugged a pint at 9pm. My plan is to gradually start replacing it with caffeine free Diet Coke...
As for Monster, it's an awesome way to get over a hangover on long part weekends when your main priority is getting up and getting on it again.
I have a similar addiction to Pepsi Max, although I don't think that the two cans at work, plus a pint of it on an evening will do me much harm. I am however weaning myself off it as I realise it was messing up my sleep pattern if I happily chugged a pint at 9pm. My plan is to gradually start replacing it with caffeine free Diet Coke...
As for Monster, it's an awesome way to get over a hangover on long part weekends when your main priority is getting up and getting on it again.
I've posted this before but I used to drink lots of Diet Coke, it gave me heart palpitations resulting in an ECG etc. Other side effects are thirst/dehydration (which I tried to counter by drinking more Diet Coke) and sleep disruption.
I stopped, cold turkey, I felt a bit odd for a few days but not like giving up an addiction, after that I've never missed it. Just need to do the same with chocolate biscuits, that's proving a lot harder.
I stopped, cold turkey, I felt a bit odd for a few days but not like giving up an addiction, after that I've never missed it. Just need to do the same with chocolate biscuits, that's proving a lot harder.
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