A man ended up being ‘hours away from death’ after drinking two litres of energy drinks every day for two years.
Andy Hammond was left fearing for his life after he collapsed and was rushed to hospital. The Hartlepool bloke had a long-standing love of energy drinks which he started on as a teenager, thinking they were ‘cool’.
But this led to the 36-year-old guzzling them up in high amounts for the last two decades, starting off at one can a day.
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He explained: “I remember drinking energy drinks when I was a kid because it was the 'cool' thing to do.
"Since drinking them from the age of 15, I've just continued to drink them ever since. It wasn't that I really liked the taste of them, it was more of a habit.
"I started drinking one to two cans which increased to three or four a day then I started drinking the 500ml cola Monster energy drinks, I was drinking four a day, then I started getting water infections and was passing blood in my urine.”
And it’s that constant downing of Monster that he reckons led to this hospital scare, which saw him be treated for several severe water infections before suddenly collapsing at home on Christmas Day.
Doctors found the bloke had developed a four millimetre kidney stone, unsurprisingly leaving him in extreme pain.
The NHS explains kidney stones are typically formed as a result of a build-up of a substance like calcium, ammonia or uric acid in the body. Most kidney stones are composed of calcium and oxalate – found in many caffeinated drinks.
"I told them I don't drink a lot of water and drink quite a lot of energy drinks,” he said. "They told me that energy drinks contain a lot of caffeine and phosphorus and sugars and there is medical research linking drinks to the formation of kidney stones.
"And kidney stones can turn septic which can kill you in hours."
Andy ended up admitted to hospital again as the pain got worse, undergoing a operation to have a stent fitted between his kidneys and bladder to help pass urine.
Still suffering with water infections now, the dad is waiting on surgery to have the kidney stone removed.
The dad, who is still suffering with frequent water infections now, is awaiting surgery to have the kidney stone removed.
"They told me it could take between six months and two years to fully recover. And if I continue to keep getting infections, I won't get any better,” he added.
Andy explained he was able to drink so many Monster cans because ‘they’re readily available cheaply’ but after this ‘eye-opener’, he’s sworn off energy drinks completely.
"I have two children and know this kidney infection could've turned into sepsis, which can kill you. I've been really poorly and feel grateful I'm one of the lucky ones,” he said.
"For me it's just water and eating healthily now and staying fit. That's me off them for life now.
"You always see kids drinking energy drinks. We're yet to see the long-term harmful effect that these drinks are having since they're quite a recent thing."
LADbible has contacted Monster Energy for comment.
Topics: UK News, Health, Food And Drink
Jess Battison