A teenager who drank up to five energy drinks a day has shared a scary image of herself to warn others how dangerous they can be.
Dion Parratt, 18, says her former addiction has left her with a serious heart condition. As a result, she must wear a heart monitor linked to an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine 24/7 so doctors can closely monitor her condition.
She also blames two miscarriages on consuming the sugary, caffeinated beverages since she was 11.
Dion claims that for 7-years she consumed five energy drinks per day.
In a Facebook post which has been shared more than 5,500 times, Ms Parratt called for energy drinks to be banned. She said: ‘Before you drink cheap energy drinks think again about what you’re doing to your body’.
In a post on Facebook, Parratt said: ‘This is what happens when you spend your childhood drinking energy drinks.
‘I’m now stuck with wires and a massive box attached to me for 24 hours.
‘Before you drink cheap energy drinks think again about what you’re doing to your body.
‘And anyone who is a parent, don’t let your kids drink them, they should be banned.’
She now suffers from dangerously low blood pressure and a ‘severe heart problem’.
This means her pulse drops suddenly, causing her to pass out. Doctor’s don’t blame her condition fully on the massive consumption of energy drinks however.
Doctor’s state that the high level of caffeine in energy drinks can cause heart palpitations, but would not likely cause low blood pressure. Doctor’s believe that Parratt may have had an underlying heart issue that was only discovered after she went to the hospital complaining of heart palpitations.
Drinking two cans of energy drink a day is ‘dangerous’ as this could equate to around 800mg of caffeine.
Up to 400mg is the safe level. Any more than that and you might get heart palpitations. You could get caffeine withdrawal symptoms when you stop – feeling shaky, feeling awful.
Parratt says that after she had her second miscarriage is when doctor’s found out she was having heart issue. She blames both her heart issues and miscarriages on the energy drinks.
Why did she drink so many? Parratt said that during school, she didn’t want to be overweight, so she barley ate any food in order to stay skinny. Instead of eating food, she would consume energy drinks to give her the energy needed to get through the day.
Moral of the story. Drink water and ditch the energy drinks.
