On Oct. 23, a lawsuit against Panera Bread was filed on behalf of the parents of Sarah Katz, 21, who claim the fast-food chain’s highly caffeinated “Charged Lemonade” energy drinks exacerbated their daughter’s heart condition, leading to her death.
In the wake of the lawsuit, another young woman has taken to social media claiming that she also experienced adverse effects after drinking the beverage, eventually requiring a trip to the hospital.
In a video posted to TikTok, 23-year-old Hannah Shirley (@hannahshirleyy) described the symptoms she experienced after drinking a small Charged Lemonade she bought at Panera. The video has over 132,000 views as of publication.
“For the next couple of hours, my symptoms were amplifying exponentially,” she told her viewers in the five-minute-long video. “I was extremely nauseous, extremely jittery. My heart was having literal palpitations; I kept having to use the bathroom; my head was hurting; I could not catch a break. Nothing I could do was making me feel better.”
Shirley said she attempted to slow down her racing heart by performing “deep-breathing exercises” but to no avail.
She then recounted experiencing an icy “pins and needles” feeling in her arm as if it were falling asleep. “I figure it’s a blood flow problem, so I’m running around the room, moving my arm in circular motions, thinking I just need to bring some life back into it,” she said.
After experiencing similar symptoms on her face and head, Shirley contacted her father, who advised her to take a hot shower. However, her heart rate merely increased after she followed her dad’s advice.
Eventually, she headed to the emergency room. She explained that after checking in at a kiosk, she was alerted that she needed to immediately report to the front desk because she was having symptoms of a heart attack or stroke.
@hannahshirleyy Panera Lemonade: 1 Me: 0 Ive never had such a bad reaction to a caffeinated drink in my life, and i was a regular drinker of energy drinks and coffee. If youre a student or someone who uses caffeine to get work done i dont recommend drinking these lemonades — stick to your fav coffee! I havent drank coffee or any caffeine besides a few sips of soda since this incident and its probably for the best. Im so traumatized and anxious ill have a similar reaction again 😭 Sending love to the family of the girl who passed away from one of these drinks. #panera #panerachargedlemonade #greenscreen #storytime #emergencyroom #caffeineoverdose #caffeine #caffeinefree #lawsuit ♬ original sound – Hannah Shirley
“They ended up taking me back, asking a bunch of questions,” she told her viewers. Shirley was given several tests, including a blood test and an EKG. Doctors didn’t find any serious problems but did note that the caffeine had elevated her heart rate.
The doctors reportedly asked Shirley what they could do to help and gave her an anti-anxiety pill after she requested something to help her sleep. “It ends up, like, calming my mind down, but my heart is still racing,” she said. “It does nothing for that; they send me home.”
Shirley recounted falling asleep at 3 a.m. When she woke up an hour later to use the bathroom, her heart started racing again. She said she finally fell asleep again at around 5:30 a.m., only to have to wake up soon afterward to make it to work at 8 o’clock.
Following the Sarah Katz lawsuit, Panera released a statement to NBC News stating that the “charged” products in question will now be sold with additional warning labels reading, “Use in moderation. NOT RECOMMENDED FOR children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant or nursing women.”
The company’s website still claims the drinks are “Naturally flavored, plant-based, with about as much CAFFEINE as our Dark Roast Coffee.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Panera Bread via email for comment.
In the video’s caption, Shirley writes, “I’ve never had such a bad reaction to a caffeinated drink in my life, and I was a regular drinker of energy drinks and coffee. If you’re a student or someone who uses caffeine to get work done I don’t recommend drinking these lemonades — stick to your fav coffee!
I haven’t drank coffee or any caffeine besides a few sips of soda since this incident and it’s probably for the best. I’m so traumatized and anxious I’ll have a similar reaction again.”
“I’m convinced I would die if I had this drink I’m extremely anxious nauseous and jittery drinking the slightest bit of caffeine,” one viewer wrote in the comments section.
Another viewer said, “How terrifying! I used to drink their charged lemonades on a somewhat regular basis, and I would get a large! I’m glad you’re okay!”
In an email to the Daily Dot, Shirley emphasized that Panera customers should be cautious when drinking the Charged Lemonades, regardless of whether they’re typically sensitive to caffeine.
“Through my video, I’ve gotten to hear so many stories of others who have had reactions to this drink, even those who aren’t caffeine sensitive, which shows something needs to change,” she wrote. “I hope Panera takes extra measures to communicate the caffeine and sugar content in these drinks, so that no one else has to experience what I did, or worse. It was extremely scary and traumatizing.”
