Dangers Of Guarana

[prose]

My friend's hubby just got out of ICU.

Here is what she sent me today about what happened.

[quote]A week ago I rushed home fron Costa Rica (2 days into my 14 day trip) b/c Zbylu had been found unconcious & siezing on our bathroom floor. He'd drank a 4 pack of Rev coolers (with Guarana - which is a herbal energy suppliment) He had a reaction to the Guarana & it resulted in him drinking too much water (3 Liters) and he went into blood poisoned shock! He was found by his brother, who broke into our condo when he didn't show for plans. Rushed to Emerg, then ICU, then a reg ward, discharged three days ago.
He's doing great considering everything, esp since we don't know how long his brain didn't have oxygen!
His memory is a bit disorganized & he's still disoriented at times. We're both off work for about a month (maybe more, maybe less... it's too hard to say now)
But... I'm just hapy he's going to be ok in time. I'm happy we have friends & family to support him. And I'm happy that the things like jobs & stuff in our lives are workign in our favor.
I've got 2 notes posted w/ more info if you want...

In the meantime... all I wan from everyone I know is this : TELL YOUR FRIENDS THAT GUARANA - ESP WHEN MIXED WTIH ALCOHOL - IS POTENTIALLY DEADLY!!!
It's not FDA approved & in south america where ti's from they call it crack.
Peggy, I know you're involved in a youth group, so you have a chance to tell the kids that the energy drinks that they can buy are potentially very dangerous... I'm sure they wouldn't be drinking the booze ones from the liquor store... but warn them about that too!!
Thanks honey!!
xo B[/quote]

[prose]

Here is the longer version

[quote]First of all thank you so much for everyone's kind words & concern, it means so much to us both to have such supportive people in our lives.
I'm writing a note because I just don't have the time to respond to everyone because the response to Zbylu is SO overwhelming I apologize that I'm not able to write to everyone ... I will soon.

Here's a short version of what happened... Saturday night I talked to him from Costa Rica, he was planning a quiet night in with a couple of drinks. He talked to me, his mom, my mom & his brother... making plans with Krys for Fringe Sunday.

He went to the liquor store & bought a 4 pack of Rev coolers w/ Guarana in them. He came home, drank them & had a reaction to them. He then drank water b/c he'd become fevered & sick from the Guarana extracts.

When he didn't show up for plans with his brother Sunday, Krys broke into our condo & found him unconcious in the bathroom. He was rushed to Emergency @ the Royal Alex & I rushed home from Costa Rica after hearing that he had not yet been stabilized.

He spent 3 days in the ICU with water poisoning symptoms (where the sodium & electrolite balance in the body is so disturbed it causes shut down). He was transferred to a regular ward yesterday & is now home recouping at the condo.

The doctors have no concrete evidence that the Guarana is the culprit but here's what I think everyone needs to know:
- if you go online you can see more info, but this stuff is:
NOT FDA APPROVED
MORE THAN 5 TIMES AS POTENT AS CAFFINE
THERE IS NO RECOMMENDED DOSAGE ON THE PACKAGING
THESE ARE SOLD OVER THE LIQUOR STORE SHELF WITHOUT WARNING
IN SOUTH AMERICA THE NICKNAME FOR THIS STUFF IS 'CRACK'
THESE SIDE EFFECTS ARE POTENTIALLY FATAL

I have no idea from teh doctors as to when he'll be fully recovered - we're lucky in our jobs & have the time away to let him get back on his feet though.
Starting next week I promise I'll let you visit if you want- but for now it's family only while he rests.

Zbylu is a remarkably strong man & will be back on his feet before we know it ... but in the meantime, thank you for your kind kind thoughts & support. And PLEASE spread the word about Guarana... apparently this problem is common but no one knows.

In time, when he doesn't need me as much, I'll be talking to a lawyer to see what I can do about fixing this problem (without getting sued)
Thank you again! Much love from me & Zbylu !![/quote]

[CatherineM]

That's so sad. I heard that some people are mixing alcohol with these energy drinks, and the energy drinks can keep you from feeling the effect of how drunk you are getting, and can get alcohol poisoning. I guess it is like taking an upper and downer at the same time. Some of these herbal things are like ephedrine. It definitely makes you want to read every label.

[philothea]

That's a very unfortunate reaction, but I have to say, for clarity, that the stimulant in guarana [i]is caffeine[/i], so it can't be 5 times stronger than caffeine.

Perhaps the confusion is from the concentration of caffeine in a guarana seed being 5x higher than in a coffee seed (bean), but no one is eating these things unprocessed.

There are small amounts of other stimulants in guarana as well, like theophylline and theobromine, but those are also found in tea, chocolate, and coffee.

I can't guess what caused his reaction, but I guess four of whatever those drinks were is far too much...

[Balthazor]

Sooooo no more jager-bombs?

[zabbazooey]

[quote name='philothea' post='1645827' date='Sep 2 2008, 07:32 PM']That's a very unfortunate reaction, but I have to say, for clarity, that the stimulant in guarana [i]is caffeine[/i], so it can't be 5 times stronger than caffeine.

Perhaps the confusion is from the concentration of caffeine in a guarana seed being 5x higher than in a coffee seed (bean), but no one is eating these things unprocessed.

There are small amounts of other stimulants in guarana as well, like theophylline and theobromine, but those are also found in tea, chocolate, and coffee.

I can't guess what caused his reaction, but I guess four of whatever those drinks were is far too much... [/quote]

[url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guarana"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guarana[/url]

The stimulant in guarana is much more concentrated than just straight caffeine.

[philothea]

From the Wikipedia article on Guarana, which you linked to:
[quote]Each fruit harbors one seed which contains approximately five times as much caffeine as coffee beans.[/quote]

From the Wikipedia article on caffeine:
[quote]Caffeine is also called guaranine when found in guarana, mateine when found in mate, and theine when found in tea; all of these names are synonyms for the same chemical compound.[/quote]

[alicemary]

There are far too many over the counter medications, and yes this stuff is a medication that can be quite dangerous. It it well known in the medical community and has caused many issues in the past. Stimulants are stimulants, they can do some damage to the body. Even caffeine is harmful.
Treasure your bodies, feed it right and get enough rest. Trust me, it breaks down, even for young people.

[LouisvilleFan]

This will sound a bit harsh, but we gotta look at some facts here. It's hard to take the warning against consuming guarana seriously when this person draink [i]four cans[/i] of Rev coolers. This stuff apparently isn't even sold in the U.S., probably because it's an alcoholic drink mixed with guarana and other stimulants. Rev is 7% alcohol, and it's a carbonated drink, causing the alcohol (and probably also the guarana) to be absorbed a lot quicker into your system. It's like drinking four strong beers intermingled with Red Bulls or coffee.

Guarana is basically a natural and highly concentrated source of caffeine, so just use a little common sense with it.

Edited September 3, 2008 by LouisvilleFan

[prose]

Well, seeing as Rev is sold in bars, and I know several people that drink it, I don't see how 4 drinks in one night is terribly irresponsible.

Especially because this couple (a reminder to you, I know them personally), are not big drinkers, so he probably had MAYBE one an hour or even over a longer period of time.

4 drinks in an evening is certainly not binge drinking, and certainly is not indicative that his behavior was irresponsible in any way.

[zabbazooey]

[quote name='philothea' post='1646246' date='Sep 3 2008, 11:42 AM']

From the Wikipedia article on Guarana, which you linked to:


From the Wikipedia article on caffeine:[/quote]

Implying caffeine can be found [i]in[/i] guarana but it is not the main source of the 'stimulant'

[jckinsman]

I guess that it is safe to say to know what you consume before you consume it. JC Edited September 4, 2008 by jckinsman

[alicemary]

Very good advice JC. No one is saying that these particular people have an issue with drinking or drugs, but know what you are injesting. So many things are sold over the counter, and at the grocery story that can damage one. Alot of cold remedies contain terrible things. Energy drinks by their nature contain articfical stimulants. Even some vitamin drinks have unhealthy ingredients. Read the label and figure out what the ingredients are

[CatherineM]

I actually ended up in the hospital for a week because of taking green tea supplement. They are actually the equivalent of 750 cups of green tea. It inflamed my liver and tanked my immune system. They thought I was having a heart attack and did an angiogram. My heart of fine, but it is a heck of a hard test to have because of taking a seemingly safe supplement.

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='prose' post='1646428' date='Sep 3 2008, 05:46 PM']Well, seeing as Rev is sold in bars, and I know several people that drink it, I don't see how 4 drinks in one night is terribly irresponsible.

Especially because this couple (a reminder to you, I know them personally), are not big drinkers, so he probably had MAYBE one an hour or even over a longer period of time.

4 drinks in an evening is certainly not binge drinking, and certainly is not indicative that his behavior was irresponsible in any way.[/quote]

Is it sold in the US? I've never heard of it, but that doesn't mean anything. It's apparently an answer to Red Bull-and-vodka.

Mixing depressants and stimulants in high quantities isn't safe. Some people can't even handle one Red Bull, or even one strong beer because the alcohol gets to them too quickly. Four energy drinks of any kind (with or without the alcohol mixture) is a lot to slam your body with, as your friend found out. He's fine now, isn't he?

Binge drinking isn't the risk. It's the high intake of caffeine/guarana. Even if it wasn't an alcoholic drink, that's a lot to drink, but add alcohol to it and you make it worse.