A man who nearly died after drinking 25 energy drinks in six hours is calling for them to be banned.
Nick Mitchell, 56, suffered a brain hemorrhage and three mini-strokes after drinking dozens of cans of Red Bull and Monster while he was hosting a karaoke night.
After he returned home and got into bed his head started to hurt.
“It felt like someone had cracked my head open with a sledgehammer. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears,” Mitchell told The People newspaper.
“I’d had with migraines in the past, but this didn’t compare. The pain was off the scale. I called an ambulance, but I was so worried I’d pass out I opened my windows in case I couldn’t get to the door when the paramedics arrived.”
Mitchell had to be rushed to a nearby hospital where he was told he had a bleed on the brain as a result of an overdose of caffeine.
The mechanic from West Yorkshire in the north of England was warned he may have a haemorrhage within the next few days—and it could be fatal.
Mitchell suffered three mini-strokes that left him unable to speak, he told The People.
“I had three in the space of a week,” he said. “These drinks nearly killed me. I was so close to death and thought I might not make it through surgery.
“They should not be sold. They are as bad as drugs and should be banned.”
Mitchell’s ordeal happened eight years ago but he is still affected by word blindness and is now warning people against energy drinks.
He said, “It could have been so much worse. I shudder to think teenagers can’t buy alcohol yet they can buy these drinks that are equally if not more dangerous. It’s ridiculous. They are so addictive.”
The People contacted Red Bull, whose spokesman told them, “One 250ml can of Red Bull contains 80mg of caffeine, about the same as a cup of home-brewed coffee.
“The European Food Safety Authority has stated that caffeine intake of up to 400mg per day (five 250 ml cans or five cups of coffee) does not raise safety concerns for the general healthy adult population.”
