A gamer who nearly died in hospital after his pancreas began to 'digest itself' failed to inform doctors he had drunk a dozen energy drinks in just 10 minutes. Dr Bernard Hsu, who often shares interesting tales of the patients he comes across, told the bizarre story of 'JS', a 36-year-old life-long gamer who 'didn't have any friends' as a child.
The doctor revealed that the clinical pharmacist who runs the 'ChubbyEmu' channel was admitted to hospital with multiple mysterious symptoms, the Daily Star reports. However, JS failed to mention to doctors that he had attempted a dangerous dare of guzzling 12 energy drinks in a row in a bid to impress his colleagues.
Dr Hsu said: "Immediately after chugging all 12 energy drinks, JS didn't feel well. To take his mind off everything, he started playing games." JS revealed that after downing the drinks, he began to feel his heart fluttering but he ignored it and put it down to too much caffeine.
He then started to develop back pain and had a shot of alcohol which he threw up in the kitchen sink before beginning to feel worse. The gamer admitted he waited for at least 24 hours to take himself to a hospital after he was unable to eat or drink.
Doctors eventually diagnosed JS with acute pancreatitis after they discovered that his pancreas had begun 'digesting itself' due to the extreme levels of caffeine, sugar and other chemicals in the 12 energy drinks he had consumed. According to Dr Hsu, the gamer made a full recovery after a course of antibiotics and treatment but the incident, which spiralled out of control quickly, was a big 'wake-up call' him.
The doctor is now warning people of the potentially deadly impacts energy drinks can have on the body if they are consumed excessively. He 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."
Meanwhile, YouTube commenters recognised some important lessons from the clip. One user, Jack, said: "A huge lesson to take from many of these videos is to always tell your doctor what you did even if its embarrassing.
"Feeling embarrassed is a lot better than dying or living with severe damage."
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