![\"Nathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/102805671-15172979-image-a-1_1759920222808.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA businessman ended up in hospital for nearly a week after gorging on a 6.6lb bag of Haribo cola bottles left him with agonising stomach cramps and dangerously high blood pressure.<\/p>\n
Nathan Rimmington, 33, from South Yorkshire, ordered the bulk \u00a318 bag to satisfy a late-night craving\u2014but finished the entire thing in just three nights, consuming an estimated 10,461 calories in sugar.<\/p>\n
A few days later, the HGV business owner collapsed in agony at home, suffering intense stomach pain and wild swings in body temperature.<\/p>\n
‘I thought it might have been the Sunday roast I’d eaten a few days after finishing the sweets,’ he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘But my stomach was in absolute agony. By Wednesday I couldn’t even get out of bed\u2014I was sweating, it was awful.<\/p>\n
‘I went to the doctor, but I was literally lying on the floor in the waiting room because the pain was so bad.’<\/p>\n
Tests revealed Mr Rimmington’s blood pressure was alarmingly high, and he was rushed to Rotherham Hospital\u2014where doctors discovered the real, and rather embarrassing, cause of his suffering.<\/p>\n
‘They asked me what I’d eaten and all I could think of was the Sunday dinner, so they put it down to food poisoning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nathan bought the 3kg bag of sweets from Amazon to satisfy his cravings, despite not usually having a sweet tooth\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘Then they said ‘you’ve got loads of gelatine in your system, do you eat a lot of sweets?’<\/p>\n
‘I said I’d had some cola bottles, they asked me how many and I said: ‘three kilos. I didn’t think that was bad’.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘They were laughing and joking about it with me.’\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Rimmington was then diagnosed with acute diverticulitis\u2014a condition that affects the large intestine, causing abdominal pain, high temperature and even rectal bleeding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It’s caused by small bulges or pouches in the walls of the intestine called diverticula\u2014though according to the NHS most people will not get symptoms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Common treatment includes antibiotics, if the diverticulitis is caused by an infection and painkillers such as paracetamol.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rarely, diverticulitis can lead to serious complications such as a blockage in the bowel, a build-up of pus in the bowel, fistula and bowel perforation\u2014which can cause a severe infection called peritonitis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In Mr Rimmington’s case, doctors were able to treat his condition through administering antibiotics and fluid intravenously through a drip, negating the need for surgery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Just](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/102805669-15172979-image-a-2_1759920230974.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Just over a week later, Nathan ended up in hospital with agonising stomach cramps, a high temperature and sweats\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"He](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/102805667-15172979-image-a-3_1759920236154.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
He said he thought 3kg for \u00a318 was a good deal, not knowing the horrendous pain his binge would cause\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the six days he was in hospital, Mr Rimmington was nil-by-mouth, meaning that he was not allowed to have any food, drink or medication by mouth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A year on Mr Rimmington hasn’t eaten a cola bottle since, knowing now that everything’s better in moderation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘It was my own stupid fault and I haven’t eaten a cola bottle since,’ he said.<\/p>\n
‘It’s like PTSD, I see a cola bottle now and think I’m going to end up in A&E.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘My advice to avoid the same thing happening to anyone else would be just do it in moderation, don’t go full blase and get kilos at a time like me.’\u00a0<\/p>\n
Haribo has been contacted for comment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n