poledriver
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2005
- Messages
- 11,543
'I was frothing at the mouth and looked like a corpse': Teen, 18, reveals how he 'almost killed himself' by 'smashing 15 drinks in two hours'
The parents of an 18-year-old man who consumed 15 standard drinks in only two hours said he looked like a 'corpse' when they collected him from the floor of a police cell on New Years Eve.
Ryan, from Portland, south-west of Melbourne, said doctors warned him that he could have gone into total organ failure after smashing a six pack of beer and half a bottle of straight whiskey as he ushered in the New Year with friends at a carnival in Portland's CBD on Thursday night.
‘I started having sips of Jack Daniel’s which wasn’t the smartest idea because I was already pretty smashed from the six pack,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘By 10:30pm I was black out drunk and I could not remember anything from around then until I woke up in bed the next morning.’
'I was as white as a sheet of paper and I was frothing at the mouth,' he said.
'They told me I looked like a corpse, more like a dead man than a live one.'
His parents rushed to the police station with his grandfather, who after seeing Ryan's condition insisted he be taken to the Portland District Hospital.
Ryan said his blood pressure was too low and his heart was beating at double the normal rate. Doctors said he was close to total organ failure.
His stomach had to be pumped and he was helped to breathe for two hours before he was released into his parent's care.
‘They calculated that I had 15 standard drinks in two hours, so basically I compressed eight hours of drinking into two,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
'Their main concern was my airways because if I threw up I would have choked on my own vomit. It was lucky that didn't happen in the cell.'
His mother sat by his bedside for hours, waking him up to ensure nothing had gone wrong as he slept.
'I woke up at about 10 or 11am with the biggest headache of my life and Mum gave me a very graphic description of what she had to do to keep me alive for those few hours.'
Ryan said he had only ever drank beer before and had no idea the affects drinking straight spirits could have on his body.
‘It was the first time I had straight spirits so I didn’t know how much I could take and I think I over estimated myself a little there.'
'I am just so lucky I didn't pass out on the side of a beach somewhere alone.'
The 18-year-old said he got wrapped up in the New Year celebrations and forgot how important it is to drink responsibly and in moderation.
'I still have half a bottle of that Jack Daniels in my room but I am not going to be drinking that any time soon,' he said.
While there has been a focus on the dangers of illicit substances following a spate of drug-related deaths at recent festivals, Ryan's story is a stark reminder that alcohol can also be lethal.
Professor Michael Farrell, Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW Australia, said alcohol poisoning is sill one of the most common reasons for young Australian teens to present at hospitals, with admissions from alcohol related illnesses far outstripping that of illicit drugs.
'If you look at any emergency department on New Years Eve or even a Friday or Saturday night you will see that the biggest problem is alcohol and not other substances, it is quite important to remind ourselves of that,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
He said Ryan experienced acute alcohol poisoning, which is 'quite common' among young people who are not used to consuming significant amounts of alcohol.
Cont -
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3382479/Teen-18-reveals-killed-alcohol.html
The parents of an 18-year-old man who consumed 15 standard drinks in only two hours said he looked like a 'corpse' when they collected him from the floor of a police cell on New Years Eve.
Ryan, from Portland, south-west of Melbourne, said doctors warned him that he could have gone into total organ failure after smashing a six pack of beer and half a bottle of straight whiskey as he ushered in the New Year with friends at a carnival in Portland's CBD on Thursday night.
‘I started having sips of Jack Daniel’s which wasn’t the smartest idea because I was already pretty smashed from the six pack,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘By 10:30pm I was black out drunk and I could not remember anything from around then until I woke up in bed the next morning.’
'I was as white as a sheet of paper and I was frothing at the mouth,' he said.
'They told me I looked like a corpse, more like a dead man than a live one.'
His parents rushed to the police station with his grandfather, who after seeing Ryan's condition insisted he be taken to the Portland District Hospital.
Ryan said his blood pressure was too low and his heart was beating at double the normal rate. Doctors said he was close to total organ failure.
His stomach had to be pumped and he was helped to breathe for two hours before he was released into his parent's care.
‘They calculated that I had 15 standard drinks in two hours, so basically I compressed eight hours of drinking into two,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
'Their main concern was my airways because if I threw up I would have choked on my own vomit. It was lucky that didn't happen in the cell.'
His mother sat by his bedside for hours, waking him up to ensure nothing had gone wrong as he slept.
'I woke up at about 10 or 11am with the biggest headache of my life and Mum gave me a very graphic description of what she had to do to keep me alive for those few hours.'
Ryan said he had only ever drank beer before and had no idea the affects drinking straight spirits could have on his body.
‘It was the first time I had straight spirits so I didn’t know how much I could take and I think I over estimated myself a little there.'
'I am just so lucky I didn't pass out on the side of a beach somewhere alone.'
The 18-year-old said he got wrapped up in the New Year celebrations and forgot how important it is to drink responsibly and in moderation.
'I still have half a bottle of that Jack Daniels in my room but I am not going to be drinking that any time soon,' he said.
While there has been a focus on the dangers of illicit substances following a spate of drug-related deaths at recent festivals, Ryan's story is a stark reminder that alcohol can also be lethal.
Professor Michael Farrell, Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW Australia, said alcohol poisoning is sill one of the most common reasons for young Australian teens to present at hospitals, with admissions from alcohol related illnesses far outstripping that of illicit drugs.
'If you look at any emergency department on New Years Eve or even a Friday or Saturday night you will see that the biggest problem is alcohol and not other substances, it is quite important to remind ourselves of that,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
He said Ryan experienced acute alcohol poisoning, which is 'quite common' among young people who are not used to consuming significant amounts of alcohol.
Cont -
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3382479/Teen-18-reveals-killed-alcohol.html
