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By LegallyBlonde Community Blogger Author bio | report All blog entries by LegallyBlonde

Published April 12, 2009 at 8:13 p.m.
Category: Living
Tags: 5 hour energy, cheri oteri

This didn't happen to me. This an email from a friend who is a Firefighter. This is like mid 90s NBC commercials..."They More You Know..."

5-Hour energy put me in the ER friday.  I picked one up friday AM before my trek down to an early class on Friday morning.  30 min after I took it I had a run of massive palpitations that I felt from deep within my chest all the way up into my neck.  I had a momentary syncopal episode (passed out) where I felt everything drop out of me and fade out.  I've never felt anything like it before.  I came back quickly and my heart was racing.  I thought, hmmm, that was really weird and like an idiot I kept driving.  2-3 minutes later I felt another huge rush of palpitations and started getting dizzy and disoriented.

I pulled over figuring that was a better idea than crashing into a retaining wall if i passed out again.  I called 911 and the FD came out.  They did the full work up in the ambulance (which was completely surreal being the patient).  My BP had spiked to 180/110 and was throwing an individual PVC every 30 secs to minute.  12 lead came back normal.  They took me to the ER and got the full cardiac work up, blood draws, etc.  Everything came back normal and the individual palpitations had slowed to one about every 5 minutes.  I could feel them within me and I looked at the monitor and sure as shit there was a PVC.  They released me and said don't drink that anymore.  

I Started back towards class and after about 1 mile I got the same rush of palpitations, dizziness, weakness, disorientation.  Got into class, talked to some guys, they suggested calling ER doc back.  ER doc said to come back for further evaluation.  One of my coworkers drove me back, got further monitoring, and was admitted to stay overnight for observation.  Palpitations finally stopped by 3pm--a full 9 hours after taking the drink.  They did an echo-gram, checked enzymes in my blood, checked my thyroid.  Everything came back normal as expected.  Cardiologist said stay away from all energy drinks.  She said she understands it the new generations' way to burn the midnight oil but to just drink coffee if i need a lift.  She said the heart is not designed to take the shock of caffeine, herbs, and b-vitamins that are in those drinks.  She said long term use is REALLY bad.  

Lesson learned, I'm all better now.  Wifey is treating me like an alcoholic, she dumped all my Amp Energy down the drain.  Not like I would've drank it anyway.

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6 comments about this blog. Post your comment/review now

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by sandstorm on April 14, 2009 at 9:46 a.m. (report)

get over yourself. seriously.
the guy now knows how to spell his idol's name and has thus been saved further embarrassment.
if someone spelled my name wrong i would want it corrected. it's called respect.
and i'm a fine person, and i feel bad someone didn't know not to drink 5 cans of energy drink in one sitting.
that wasn't the deal here though was it?
i might be a cranky smart-ass around here, but you really have no idea what type of person i am.
i love my family, and give to charity.
i'm also considered kind and compassionate.
i simply hate the BS and misinformation that people pass off ass the truth in blogs.
i also enjoy a good discussion and if my snarky little comment nudged you into posting something people will learn from i don't think that is a bad thing.
i'm not self-righteous as i enjoy reading other opinions and learn from them.
then again, if i disagree, i'll probably let you know, as is my right.
again-get over yourself.

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Posted by rnzh102 on April 14, 2009 at 9:26 a.m. (report)

Ok, first of all, Sandstorm...I have been posting and reading onmilwaukee.com for years and I can't believe a person like you actually exists. Did you really need to correct the spelling of NicK Cage? Does anyone, anywhere really care? Second, your little half ass funny comment about people falling over from a cup of coffee or a MD is WAY out of line. Overdosing on stimulants has become a very serious issue. About a year ago, a girl I work with drank 5 of those monster cans in an afternoon and we had to take her to the emergency room. She was diagnosed with a stimulant overdose. I've read countless articles about high school kids almost killing themselves because they just don't understand the effects of the 100's of drinks now available. Back in the day, we had Mountain Dew and Jolt. I'm pretty sure that was good enough. Back to my point Sandstorm, I think that when someone is at a point in their life that they are making fun of people on an open forum who almost die using an over the counter drug; and somone else is just trying to warn other people about the possible effects, you need to look in the mirror and re-evaluate what kind of person you are.

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Posted by ChateauDweller on April 14, 2009 at 8:58 a.m. (report)

Of course, leave it to Sandstorm to be a jerk for no reason. You are a class act, LegallyBlonde, Sandstorm could learn much from you if he ever stopped being so cranky.

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Posted by sandstorm on April 13, 2009 at 3:12 p.m. (report)

just for the record, his first name is spelled Nic.
now carry on with stories of lightweights who would drop over dead if their lips touched a cup of coffe or a sip of mountain dew.

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Posted by LegallyBlonde on April 13, 2009 at 1:14 p.m. (report)

Nick Cage. Your grandfather, obviously, was a strikingly handsome fellow.

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