drinking coffee, what would kill you first?

[andyandy]

ok, this is a somewhat silly question, but i was wondering if it would be possible to die from drinking too much coffee....and what would kill you first....

the cafeine itself in your system
the fact that cafeine is a diuretic
the amount of liquid you would consume

how much would you need to drink - and what would you die of? :)

[andyandy]

....there's a cheery website "death by caffeine" (http://www.energyfiend.com/death-by-caffeine) which can calculate how many cups (850), though i'm not sure how scientific it is :)

[Boo]

ok, this is a somewhat silly question, but i was wondering if it would be possible to die from drinking too much coffee....and what would kill you first....

the cafeine itself in your system
the fact that cafeine is a diuretic
the amount of liquid you would consume

how much would you need to drink - and what would you die of? :)


A lot unless you are sensitive to caffeine. Probably from complications due to rapid heart rate.




Boo

[casebro]

Suicide. Caused by the wild thoughts you would have going through your mind after being sleepless for the several days that it would take to drink 850 cups. of anything.

[calebprime]

103.55 cups of Drip Coffee + You = Death.

Actually, the coffee I drink is stronger than this, so let's play it safe and say 50 cups. OMG, I've had 2 today! What if I absent-mindedly imbibe 48 more?:eek:

[Dr. Imago]

Pure caffeine, available through pharmaceutical preparations, is clearly dangerous at very high doses. We routinely use 250mg/mL concentration to "enhance" the seizures induced by ECT in the treatment of refractory depression. I would imagine a toxic dose would cause profound cardiac instability and, in a patient predisposed to arrythmias, may result in cardiac arrest.

-Dr. Imago

[danielk]

Urgh, only 224.1 cups of iced tea? Oh ****...

[brainlesssteel]

ok, this is a somewhat silly question, but i was wondering if it would be possible to die from drinking too much coffee....and what would kill you first....

the cafeine itself in your system
the fact that cafeine is a diuretic
the amount of liquid you would consume

how much would you need to drink - and what would you die of? :)

I don't know for sure, but I do recall one late night at IHOP when my friend decided he was going to try to drink 100 cups of coffee. he got to around 25-30 before it made him sick and he eventually threw up. I suppose it would have been easier if he had drank it black, but he could only stand to drink coffee with a lot of sugar and cream in it.

That experiment alone makes me doubt that one could commit coffee suicide.

On the other hand one could always swallow a couple of bottles of Nodoz.