Rockstar Engery Drink = Fluorescent Pee

[blahblah454]

Okay I work 10 hours of physical labour each day then go home and do schooling. Lately I just fall asleep every day after work and this is no good. I don't smoke or drink coffee or do anything like that that would keep me awake. I started to drink the occasional Rockstar because it is loaded with caffeine and it keeps me good and awake.
Thing is after I drink it I have the craziest fluorescent yellow pee and I have to go about every 10 minuits. I don't know how it is physicaly possible to drink 473mL of liquid and then expell about 2L in an hour. Just wondering if there is some crazy ingredient in this that would make it super bright colors, also I hate drinking them as I do not really trust what is in them. You guys got any other ideas for how I could stay awake?

[MontanaXVI]

If I am not mistaken and I probably am, doesn't a bright colored urine indicate you are either dehydrated, or it is your bodies way of expelling excess vitamins etc. So either you are not drinking enough water, or all of the vitamins (which are debatable if they do anything in an energy drink) are just being flushed out of your system.

[blahblah454]

I drink anywhere from 3-6L of water at work each day, so I am pretty sure I am not dehydrated.

If anyone cared to know it comes out clear all day every day except after I have one of these things (I can't wait for school to be done, end of the month!)

[wraithhibn]

My gf said the same thing happens to her, but I didnt have it happen to me the one time I tried it. It tastes like sweettarts.

[ratbastid]

It's probably vitamin B12. Your body can't retain it well--it goes from your stomach straight through your bloodstream, straight to your kidneys and into the toilet, and it's BRIGHT yellow.

In fact, when I worked for a vitamin company many moons ago, I had a customer call to cancel his regular shipment. He was sad about it, because he liked the vitamins. But he had to cancel because the vitamins were staining his underwear...

[blahblah454]

Yea I actually read your previous post about that ratbastid, and I actually thought about that when this happened to me. (my undies are fine thank you!)


There is 2mg of b12 in this stuff. I don't know what the body normaly takes but 2mg doesnt sound like alot to me.

[Siege]

Caffeine is a diuretic, which means you go pee pee more often.

As to the colour, caffeine doesn't keep me awake, so I never drink those drinks.

[ARauckhorst]

Caffeine is a diuretic. It blocks ADH (antidiuretic hormone) and causes you to pee more. ADH helps the kidney to reabsorb water before passing into the bladder. So by blocking ADH caffeine causes more water to be expelled. By peeing more often it causes dehydration which could cause the darker color of your urine.

Thank you Zoology 100 hah

[MontanaXVI]

So, I was right, and wrong, and right, and off the mark.

Sweet I can be a doctor.

[pan6467]

Bright yellow can also be from the brominated vegetable oil, used in drinks like Mountain Dew, or food dye like Yellow #5.

The deeper darked yellow is dehydration.

Bright flourescent yellow is caused mainly from something you ate/drank that is not absorbed into your system. It's usually not a problem, but can lead to urinary tract infections because it can like coat the tract if you consume/release enough of it.

It's like when I eat unpitted queen manzanarilla olives, my caca is green colored. It's not because I'm molding inside it's because of the coloring from the olives.

Back in the 90's when I first noticed these problems and went to a Dr. that is how it was explained to me. And he was right I did have a lot of urinary tract infections.

[alpha66]

this used to happen to me when i worked shift work and studied. far too many of thoes drinks have a way of messing with your insides.
just out of interest how do you get to sleep after drinking that stuff, if i even have a coffee in the afternoon i can't sleep very well that night.

[blahblah454]

I can fall asleep no problem. This drink contains 400mg of caffeine and that keeps me awake for about two hours. I am the kind of person that will fall asleep anywhere anytime if I want, but the slightest out of place noise wakes me up in an instant.

[MontanaXVI]

I can chug an energy drink and fall right asleep, I have a very high tolerance to caffeine, yet I do not drink it that much, nor did I drink a lot of it as a child, my body can just handle it with minimal side effects.

[fightnight]

As for an alternative, when I need a pick me up, I drink the sugar free red bull. Low calorie, not too strongly colored, never have had any pee problems, plus it's not nearly as much liquid as those rockstar things, redbull is only like 8 or 9 ounces compared to the 16 or 20 those rockstar things come in. Might help with the color and the volume!

[maleficent]

You guys got any other ideas for how I could stay awake?

I wouldn't rely on artificial means to stay awake... First make sure that you are gettig enough sleep to begin with... Keep your mind active... Make sure the room you are in is either not too cold or not too hot, and is well ventilated... Music helps keep me awake as well as getting up every so often, when i'm at work, and doing a lap around the office...

Splashing cold water on my face or a cold washcloth on my neck also helps to revive me... I also keep a bottle of peppermint essence on my desk for a sniff if I need to focus... I also have bergamot and clary sage that are supposed to help relax me - but that doesn't help much...

[ClostGoth]

It has to be the extra vitamins. Mine's flourescent after drinking Amp or Monster - the same color it was when I was on prenatal vits... Nothing wrong with my undies, though. Oddly enough I associate flourescent yellow urine with great health - the times I've experienced it have been times when I was the most healthy and in the greatest shape. *shrugs*

[itch vaccine]

Flourescent.

Put it in a plastic tube and sell it to ravers.

Staying awake : Best way is to work out. Gives your system a whole reset. Short naps work well too. Naps are very very good.

[blahblah454]

Yea working out would be good. But when I work out I like to go all out and that takes me like an hour or two and thats too much. I tried doing push ups but 5 min later I am sleepy again. But classes are almost done so No more caffeine for me soon! woo

[itch vaccine]

An hour or two is too much? I spend almost the same amount of time at the gym.
Classes from 8-1.30, Gym from 2.30-4, Sleep from 5.30 to 8.30.

You're pretty much quite up for the night until 1 AM.
Works well for me. I still get to the books enough with 4 hours (assuming dinner gets done by 9pm )

You have to nap. Essential to a student . It gives your mind a good reset.

[MSD]

Originally Posted by blahblah454

Yea I actually read your previous post about that ratbastid, and I actually thought about that when this happened to me. (my undies are fine thank you!)


There is 2mg of b12 in this stuff. I don't know what the body normaly takes but 2mg doesnt sound like alot to me.

RDI for vitamin B12 is 2 micrograms. So it looks like you're getting about a thousand times as much as you need.


But wait!

B12 is not readily absorbed into the body, and illness (or damage to the pancreas) may upset the production of gastric Intrinsic Factor, an enzyme that preserves B12 in the acidic environment of the stomach until it reaches the ileum, at the very end of the small intestine. High dosages allow for absorbtion in the case of a damaged ileum or Intrinsic Factor deficiency. B12 deficiencey can result in anemia, fatigue, constipation, memory loss, dementia, and even physical brain damage. Excess B12 is harmless, with no known toxicity level (between vitamin supplements and energy drink intake, I know I've had upwards of 50mg in me at once, around 1/6mg per pound of body weight) and is simply extracted from the blood by kidneys and passed from the body with urine, in which it retains its flourescent yellow color.