Re: Soft drinks, etc.
Fri, 19 Jan 1996 14:50:37 -0500 (EST)
Diabetic Mailing List
….
3. does anyone have suggestions re soft drinks that don’t contain
asparteme? I get headaches from Nutrasweet, etc., and it seems like
everything on the market has Nutrasweet. I can drink about a half a can of
Tab or Diet Dr. Pepper without much impact, but any more than that
generates Excedrin headache No. 26. Needless to say, I use Sweet N’ Low in
my coffee, oatmeal, etc. and omit sweetner from my favorite cereal,
Grape-Nut Flakes.
….

————–

Re: equal…headaches
Thu, 18 Jan 1996 01:06:26 -0500 (EST)
Diabetic Mailing List

up to the time i was in the hospital in october i had
no trouble with equal or aspartame…but since then
i have had cough ing spells and headaches whenever i
eat jello or drink soda pop with the stuff in it…
is this normal or is it just a finicky reaction to
this artificail sweeetener???

————–

Re: NutraSweet
Date 19 Jan 1996 06:02:46 GMT
Newsgroups misc.kids.pregnancy

I’m certain that there is something to the Nutrasweet problems.
I had a most interesting happening in my business that I got to
witness some eighteen months ago. Two clients met and got into a
conversation about food. One is particularly concientious regarding the
food she takes into her body, and the other was merely participating in
salon conversation. I was quite startled to discover both women weeping
and hugging, especially since neither of the ladies are prone to such,
and our environment is certaintly not really comfortable for outbursts
of an emotional nature.
Both women had brutal migranes, false hunger, depression, and
generic irritability, restlessness, and discontent that had been traced
to Nutrasweet consumption. Both had spent over a year fooling with the
medical establishment, and spent quite a bit of time thinking that:
a) they were nuts, and b) they were alone.
Since this time I’ve run across about half a dozen folks that
have sensetivities to something in Nutrasweet with about the same
responses. (I’m a stylist, and conversations tend to go where they
will. . .)
I’ve no idea what this might do to a child on the way, but
herself has made it clear that Nutrasweet is taboo for both of us til
we pay off the delivery.
Most assuredly better safe than sorry.

—————

Re: Nutrasweet? Has it caused problems for anyone…
Date 19 Jan 1996 00:45:05 -0500
Newsgroups alt.support.epilepsy

I had my first of two seizures 9 years ago right after losing 30 pounds in
3 months on a diet filled with nutra sweet. The cause of my siezures were
never figured out, but the neurologist said that nutra sweet can cause all
kinds of neurological disturbances and to never touch the stuff again.
Once, a couple of years ago, I drank some tea with some in it, by accident
and got light headed. Afterward, someone told me there was nutra sweet in
it. So, I definitely hold stock in the nutra sweet theory. You should
read up on nutrasweet. It basically is poison. Lose weight some other
way….i.e. watch your fat intake!

————–

Date: Tue, 16 Jan 1996 23:19:33 -0500
To: xxxxx@xxxx.xxxx.xxxx
Newgroups: rec.food.veg, misc.health.alternative, sci.med, sci.med.nutrition,
alt.folklore, herbs
Subject: Re: rBGH – LAUGH OF THE DAY!

xxxxx,

Here is my brief Aspartame story. It doesn’t involve a 60-day
break, but maybe it will be useful anyway.

I don’t drink diet colas with Aspartame because each time I did
several years ago, I would get this strange tightness in my chest.
No pain, just a little knot somewhere around my heart. This was
enough for me to simply stay away from these colas. I’ve had less
than 10 of these colas in my life.

I had no idea then (and still don’t) if anyone else has experienced this.
In other words, I didn’t drink it thinking that this was a possible
symptom. It was a pure observation.

——————-

Re: Hi, new reader, any aspartame-induced like me?
Date 17 Jan 1996 00:12:08 GMT
Newsgroups alt.support.epilepsy

Xxxxxx,

well, I was having seizures befoe aspartame came out…but
“coincidently” my meds became “less effective” for several years after
it hit the market. The I read that aspartame had been known to cause
seizures. Dropped the diet drinks and my meds were reduced to a third
what they had been!

—————–

Re: NutraSweet
Date Wed, 17 Jan 1996 16:08:29 -0800
Newsgroups misc.kids.pregnancy

Several people have posted that their doctors told them that NutraSweet
was o.k. during pregnancy.

I just want to make sure that people know that despite what I’ve heard
in articles and from doctors, some people do not react well to
NutraSweet. For example, NutraSweet gives me digestive problems at both
ends, and that’s when I’m well! I’m not the only one, either…I have
several friends (and have met others) whose reactions vary from
“bouncing off the walls” to hives (including at least 10 people that
I’ve met with similar problems to mine). A few other are like me in
that the body’s tolerance goes down with repeated drinks…we don’t know
if it builds up in our systems or what.

I don’t even like the taste of NutraSweet anymore because of these
troubles.

Just in case you think that your child will be able to tolerate it just
because you can, I am the *only* one in my immediate family with this
trouble. One of my friend’s children can tolerate NutraSweet, but she
can’t.

Use your best judgement, but I believe in better safe than sorry.

—————-

RE: Nutrasweet/metabolism HELP!
Tue, 16 Jan 96 16:05:00 E
Diabetic Mailing List

Sorry, I can’t help you with research, but I can tell you that I have read
Nutrasweet consumed in mass quantities is supposed to affect speech. Also,
some people are allergic (?) to it. It gives my sister severe headaches.

Hannah

————–

RE: Nutrasweet/metabolism HELP!
Tue, 16 Jan 1996 16:27:30 -0500 (EST)
Diabetic Mailing List

Hi!
Nutrasweet can cause severe allergic reaction. My mother swells up like
a balloon and she due to anaphylatic (sp?) shock stopped breathing. All of
hers sisters have reaction of varying severity. If you want more info, there
is a rather huge thread on misc.health.diabetes People were arguing for
about a week. So if you can get onto usenet, there is info there.

————–

Re: Depression and Migraines
Date Fri, 12 Jan 1996 19:54:59 GMT
Newsgroups alt.support.depression

i am a migraine sufferer and i’ve been taking prozac for 2 weeks. i
remember one side effect was supposed to be headaches. but so far, i
have had not one headache or migraine attack. EXCEPT when i ate some
diet pudding with nutra sweet.

i recently kicked diet coke/pepsi with nutra sweet. i spent all last
summer eating extra strength excedrin like it was candy because i had
so many migranes. i have a strong feeling it was the 6-8 diet cokes i
was drinking, i slowly weaned myself off of it a few weeks ago and
have yet to have the killer migraines i used to get. so to me, i
think you can have an even worse headache from eating/drinking nutra
sweet, or trying to get off of it. but so far, prozac has not caused
any headaches, and i am usually very sensitive to migraine triggers,
but as we all know, someone else may have a different reaction to it.

[continued in a later post]

Re: Nutri-Sweet as Trigger?
Date Tue, 23 Apr 1996 06:19:08 GMT
Newsgroups alt.support.anxiety-panic

…. i for one had lots of mood
swings, migraines, anxiety etc when i was on my 6-8 diet cokes a day.
it’s been over 3 months since i ‘quit’, and i can’t tell you how much
better i feel! not to mention not having to buy extra-strength
exedrin by bulk for my headaches!

————–

Re: Hi, new reader, any aspartame-induced like me?
Date 13 Jan 1996 06:37:07 -0500
Newsgroups alt.support.epilepsy

Hi everyone, I’m a new reader. My first seizure experience (3 violent
grand mal in 1 hour) came 30 minutes after I first ingested aspartame in a
Diet Coke.

————-

Re: Linking child sexual abuse and Fibromyalgia?
Date Sat, 13 Jan 1996 12:14:12 -0800
Newsgroups alt.med.fibromyalgia

New Topic; Has anyone posted the information about Nutrasweet to this
group? I just found out how toxic it is and want to pass the word. My
brother just emailed me and said that a rash that he has had on his legs
for years that no one could find out what it was or get it to disappear
after Rx, is gone after just two weeks off Nutrasweet. Nutrasweet breaks
down to formaldahyde, wood alcohol and something called ant sting venum.
It also attaches to fat cells – sort of embalms them and doesn’t allow
them to metabolize. So you gain weight. Since I have been off I am not
as hungry and seems to have lost a little weight.

————–

Date: Tue, 30 May 1995 06:21:37 -0400
Sender: Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder
Subject: Caffine (was Re: Allergies: intriguing news)

….
Avoiding nutra-sweet did make a difference in the stability of my moods
and my general disposition.. Avoiding caffine seems to make dexadrine’s
effect more stable, no unexpected sudden crashes.. no annoying buzz..
not to mention, no more headaches, no more stomach aches or reflux, no more
caffine induced diarrhea, no more irregular hearbeats…
(and a bunch of other stuff.. that is probably better attributed to the
effects of dexadrine.. )

———————

Date: Wed, 10 Jan 1996
To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx
Subject: RE: Poisoned by aspartame

Personal experience proves to me that ASP is dangerous. I’ll try to be
brief with my story. I use ASP rarely or never. December 1995 I stayed
with my parents for 4 days and used their Equal in my coffee. I was using –
conservative estimate – at least 6 packs/day in coffee. They also served
fruit salad sweetened with Equal which we ate at two meals, and I drank a
2-liter bottle of diet coke. While I was there I experienced unusual and
extreme irritability, which felt totally irrational and uncontrollable. I
had to lock myself in the bathroom to “get a grip”. I could not listen to
music or I felt like I would explode. I told a friend about it, because it
was so strange. January 1996 I bought a box of Equal to try to lose
weight. Using Equal in my coffee, I immediately became depressed, then
irrationally irritable, full of uncontrollable rage, trouble breathing,
anxiety, shaky, panic attacks. It only took 4 days before I realized
something was definitely going on. The feelings were as intense and
uncontrollable and irrational as the ones I had at my parents’ house. Then
it clicked, and I thought of the Equal. I don’t know why. I immediately
searched the NET for NutraSweet, found the articles about it’s toxicity, the
symptoms, the case histories. Not only did it validate my symptoms, but it
suddenly started sounding like my mom’s problem, too. Of course I quit
using the Equal immediately and I feel fine now.

——————

Re: Dumping Diet Coke & Feelin’ Better
Date 10 Jan 1996 01:25:40 GMT
Newsgroups alt.support.depression

Just wanted to report that dumping my Diet Coke addiction (6-8
cokes a day) has really helped me in the fight against depression.

Evidence is not conclusive, but, after nearly two weeks, I’m
noticing that my mental clarity, mood stability and concentration
are improving noticeably. Obviously, I’m tapering off (down to
less than 2 a day now) — to stave off headaches and other
withdrawal symptoms.

I believe Nutrasweet and Caffeine may have played a role in my
clinical depression. However, I’m not about to blame Coca-Cola Co.
for my troubles. Instead, I think high dosages or intake of
anything can be potentially toxic. Moreover, some substances are
toxic for some individuals at even low doses.

[continued]

Re: Distinguishing ADD from depression?
Date 11 Jan 1996 03:29:21 GMT
Newsgroups alt.support.depression

I’m quitting Diet Coke (after a massive addiction which grew from
minor habit to out of control over the past 5 years) and noticing
that I feel more centered, stable and focused than I have in a
very long time.

I won’t miss the twitching eyes, memory loss (multiple causes, I’m
sure) and other side effects, either. Perhaps I’ll enjoy better
health, too. God knows I’ve consumed more than enough asparatame
for one human life. Hope this stuff flushes out of my system after
awhile.

—————-

Re: are fat-free foods just as good as regular foods?
Date 8 Jan 1996 06:51:00 -0500
Newsgroups alt.food.fat-free

I do not use sugar substitutes, I just regulate the amount of sugar I use
period. I also have found that if I eat Nutrasweet it affects me like a
sleeping pill. Every so often I have a craving for ice cream. My
favorite is Breyer’s, but one time, I decided to go “healthy” and get
Healthy Choice. It put me to sleep. I thought it only affected me, so I
fed it to my niece and nephew. They knocked out cold. Now if they ask
for ice cream at my house, they always ask not to be given the “sleepy ice
cream”.

—————-

Re: Food Allergies & Arthritis
Date Thu, 11 Jan 1996 14:42:00 GMT
Newsgroups misc.health.arthritis

i just avoid the aspartame … i don’t SEEM to have problems
with red meats or nightshade veggies??? everyone’s REALLY
different i guess.

——————-

Date: Wed, 10 Jan 1996 15:05:56 +1100
To: xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xxx
Subject: Aspartame/NutraPoison

To cut a very long story short, it seems as though my persistent headaches
have been primarily caused by NutraSweet.

Several years ago I was on holiday in Israel and noticed a warning on the cans
of Diet Coke. The warning advised not to consume more than a given amount of
NutraSweet per week.

I contacted the providers of NutraSweet in Australia when I got home, and was
told there was absolutely no problem with it. I now realize (after much pain
and discomfort) that this is simply not true.

I am very concerned that the medical authorities in Australia have put almost
no effort into screening out potentially harmful additives such as NutraSweet.

—————–

Re: Aspartame info
Date Mon, 1 Jan 1996 19:16:16 -0800
Newsgroups alt.med.fibromyalgia

I’m new to the list, but thought I’d chime in on this asparatame stuff.
I have interstitial cystitis, and there’s no doubt asparatame has a bad
effect on those symptoms. So do many other foods, however, so that
doesn’t mean aspartame is “bad”, it’s just bad for me.

————–

[Updated Case History]

Date: Tue, 26 Dec 1995 16:11:12 -0800
To: xxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxxx.xx
Subject: Nutrasweet story

Since I already figured out the nutrasweet thing I’ve been off of it for
almost a year. Here is my story, you have my permission to use it.

I began experiencing migraine headaches in my early 40s. This is quite
common with “pre-menopausal” women and is definitely connected to hormone
flucutations. My migraines were what’s called classic migraines, which begin
with an aura that looks like flashing jagged lights in your vision. This
lasts about 20 minutes and is then usually followed by the actual headache.

At first my headaches would only last about 6 hours and although I had the
accompanying photophobia and phonophobia (extreme sensitivity to light and
sound), I was not experiencing the nausea that ususally accompanies
migraines. I began to get them about twice a month. My diet consisted of 1
- 3 Diet Cokes or Diet Snapples daily.

After about a year my headaches got continually worse. Instead of lasting
one day they began to last for three days. I was getting them sometimes two
or three times a week and I began experiencing the nausea. It finally got
to the point where I was so incapacitated by the migraines that it started
affecting my job performance, and I had to leave my job. (Stress is a big
trigger of migraines, along with food allergies, and my job was really
stressing me out).

After I left my job I continued to have debilitating migraines. I was still
drinking lots of Diet Coke. My doctor attributed this to post-traumatic
stress, which I’m sure was partially correct. I also started on a course of
herbal therapy, which eventually was successful, but I still got more
headaches than I was comfortable with.

Then my secretary mentioned that she and her husband had discovered that
Diet Coke was giving them headaches. She suggested I stop drinking Diet
Coke, which I did. My headaches improved dramatically, but I was away from
my “job from hell” and also taking the beneficial herbs. I never thought
there was any one factor which was responsible for the improvement, but a
combination of all three.

I still think this is correct, and I only have one or two headaches per
month now, and usually they are not acute. But on two occasions in the last
year I have ingested Nutrasweet unknowingly, and both times I developed a
killer headache within about 12 hours. This is consistent with migraines
caused by food allergies.

I have absolutely no doubt that if I ingest even a small quantity of
Nutrasweet that I will develop a migraine within a short period of time. I
haveno desire to be a human guinea pig, but I am convinced that Nutrasweet
played a big role in my migraines, and ingestion of Nutrasweet also serves
to exacerbate the other triggers which contribute to migraines.

[from ealier email]

Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 23:52:31 -0800
To: xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Nutrasweet
….
At any rate, I’ve heard of lots of people getting migraines from nutrasweet,
but it somehow never turns up on the list of food to avoid for migraines. I
KNOW this stuff is poison, I’m just waiting for the medical establishment to
figure it out.

————–

[Updated Case History]

Date: Sat, 28 Oct 1995 17:50:43 -0400 (EDT)
To: xxxx@xxx.xxxxx
Subject: Re: PCM

A good friend of mine (female, age 46) has recently been diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis. Her symptoms include numbness and shooting pains in
her feet and legs, particularly upon rising in the morning or after
sitting for prolonged periods of time. She is a serious Diet Coke
addict…2 or more liters per day, for the last ten years. I remember
that at one point you mentioned that aspartame poisoning can be
mis-diagnosed as MS. Does this seem like a possibility in this case? I was
able to convince my friend to give up all artificially sweetened products
for one week. Is one week long enough for her to see improvement or
should I get back to work on her?

[continued]

Date: Mon, 20 Nov 1995 18:24:22 -0500 (EST)
To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx
Subject: Re: PCM

Thanks for writing! I last spoke to my friend about a week ago and she said
that she is doing great and feeling better than she has in years. She
says that the pains in her feet and legs disappeared very soon after she
stopped drinking Diet Coke. She also had damage to one of her optic
nerves and was going blind in that eye. We think that may be related to
aspartame as well, based on the information that you sent me. I forgot
to ask about her vision when I spoke to her. I expect to see her over
Thanksgiving though, so I will give you a full up-date on her condition
next week.

Thanks for all your help!

[continued]

Date: Fri, 5 Jan 1996 14:50:49 -0500 (EST)
To: xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx
Subject: Re: PCM

Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. I meant to write after
Thanksgiving but things got a little busy for me. I keep meeting new
aspartame victims, though, so I thought this might be a good time to drop
you a note.

The woman about whom I have written to you is doing better all the time.
Her MS symptoms are GONE! She still has a problem with light sensitivity
in one of her eyes but that is gradually improving with time. Even
during the holidays, she has continued to lose weight since giving up
aspartame. She had been severely over-weight for many years and nothing
that she did to lose weight worked for her. It is unfortunate that the
diet products that she thought would help her lose weight did nothing but
make her more unhealthy and obese. I am afraid that many women fall into
that same trap.

————–

[Updated Case History]

Date: Thu, 31 Aug 1995 23:10:02 -0700
To: xxxxxx@xxxx.xxxx
Subject: Articles on Nutrasweet

Thank you VERY MUCH for all the articles on Nutrasweet.

I have been off Nutrasweet for about 2 weeks now. I am feeling
much better and don’t get those pounding throbbing headaches
very much any more.

More brother xxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx (who is a D. O.) has been off of
Nutrasweet for 3 days now. He has a whole host of wierd
symptoms …

Again .. Thank You Thank You Thank You!!!

[continued]

Date: Sat, 6 Jan 1996 21:53:50 -0500
To: xxxxx@xxx.xx.xx
Subject: Nutrisweet

Since I last wrote my brother has been off nutrisweet since then.
My brothers lupus type of symptoms completely went away. My brother
has been a physician for over 10 years .. his doctor (a specialist) who has
been treating him has seen the significant difference and wants to write a
research paper on this .. my brothers physician has now started prescribing
getting off nutrisweet for his other patients.

Thank you very much,

————–

Re: Nutrasweet poll
Date 3 Jan 1996 21:37:36 GMT
Newsgroups sci.med.diseases.lyme

I get headaches-the kind where can’t move your head or stand bright
light. Before my son started treatment it would intensify his seizure
activity.

He hasn’t had a seizure since he began treatement 4 years ago.

—————–

Re: Blinded by NutraSweet (aspartame)
Date 4 Jan 1996 03:29:00 GMT
Keywords Aspartame poisoning
Newsgroups sci.med.vision

I am only a physicist, with a private pilot’s license, among many
other interests. As such, I keep abreast of a great many publications,
some of which bear directly on this topic.

Many professional pilots have permanently lost their licenses to fly
due to Aspartame-induced epilectic seizures and other severe side
effects of that poison.

—————-

Date: Sat, 06 Jan 1996 10:59:41 -0600
To: xxxx@xxxx.xxxx.xxx
Subject: Aspartame

I developed CHRONIC stone formation after I switched to artificial
sweeteners 3 years ago. I also have spasmodic kidney pain which seems to
decrease when my intake of Nutrasweet is reduced.

—————–

Re: NutraSweet (from another greenhorn)
Fri, 05 Jan 1996 09:11:00 -0600
Diabetes Mailing List

My dad is always riding me about staying away from Nutrasweet because of
these reports. I tend not to use it anyway, but primarily because it seems
to give me headaches.

————–

Re: Nutrasweet/Pred/Plaquenil
Date: Tue, 26 Dec 1995 21:16:16 -0600
To: Lupus-L Mailing List

RE: Nutrasweet. I was not so aware of having headaches, but when at
Weight Watchers several years ago and downing colas, and WW products
full of Nutrasweet my heart was beating irregular and just pounding.
I experimented and got off all Nutrasweet and all the heart stuff
disappeared.

—————

Date: Mon, 1 Jan 1996 16:13:48 -0600
To: xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx
Subject: Happy New Year

During the last two months, I have been conducting an informal survey of
Aspartame effects. So far, I’ve gotten twelve individuals to discontinue
aspartame intake. Six have experienced marked improvements in health.

In one case, in just the past two weeks a friend of mine has reported a
lessening of annoying vision problems…and the condition continues to
improve. In addition, he tells me he’s sleeping much better. He’s been
enthusiastically spreading the word among others he comes in contact with.

—————–

Re Nutrasweet poll
Date 3 Jan 1996 15:38:14 GMT
Newsgroups sci.med.diseases.lyme

3 persons in local Wis group (with core of 8-9 persons) noticed adverse
response when attention was called to it, and stopped use; 5 or 6 gave it
up with going on diet recommended by local naturopath; some others, like
me, were already non-users. Lora

————–

Re: Nutra Sweet IS IT HABIT FORMING
Date 29 Dec 1995 22:58:32 GMT
Newsgroups alt.folklore.herbs

I used to drink huge quantities of Diet Coke, probably a six-pack a day,
maybe even more than that. The only way that I found to quit was cold-
turkey, and switched to drinking distilled water. It was really hard
for a few months, but I’ve found now that if I consume any quantity of
Nutra-Sweet at all I get very severely dizzy.

————–

Date: Fri, 20 Oct 1995 15:09:16 -0400
To: epilepsy-list@calvin.dgbt.doc.ca
Subject: Re: [EPILEPSY-LIST:2222] Just venting!

Oh yea, while I do not have the seizures, my 8 year old son has them. Boy are
there days when the seizures just come and come… and there are no answers.
I turn to this list, my wife and my church.. hope for answers. None have ever
come.
….
So any way, we started the Keto diet in March and his seizures dropped from
50 per week to ess than 10 per month. Antibioitics, aspertene (ie Nutra
Sweet), symthopmatic strep — ALL seemed to increase seizure activity. Double
check and make sure you did not *introduce* new foods, over the counter meds,
etc. You may also check out some of the things the Keto diet recommends you
stay away from.

——————

Date: Fri, 29 Dec 1995 00:16:33 +1100
To: xxxxxx@xxxx.xxxx
Subject: aspartame

Hello xxxxxxx,

I believe you’re collecting anecdotes about aspartame. I’m sending you a
copy of a message I posted on Fidonet recently, in reply to a query about
Nutrasweet. I have added a sentence here and there as I’ve sent copies to
other people who’ve mentioned it. I think you will find it interesting.

It’s been around 3 months now, and I’m beginning to feel human again.

Regards, xxxxx

From: xxxxx xxxxx
To: xxxx xxxxxxx
Subj: canker sores

XX> Does anyone else get canker sores from eating or drinking things that
XX> contain Nutrasweet or chewing sugarfree gum with Nutrasweet? I guess
XX> I’m allergic to it.

xxx, I don’t get canker sores, but I have recently had a nightmare three
years from Nutrasweet (aspartame).

I stopped sleeping – when I did sleep it was in 90 minute blocks, which
had something to do with REM sleep intervals apparently. I might go 3
nights without sleep, then sleep just 90 minutes the 4th night. No
matter how tired I was, I couldn’t sleep during the day either. As well
as being constantly tired, I developed tinnitus, so loud I couldn’t hear
myself think, and this exacerbated the sleep problem. I had a kind of
inner shuddering all the time – like a fridge motor cycling – but this
was invisible to others. I had palpitations, hot flushes, cold shivers,
I felt like all the nerves in my body jumped every 30 seconds or so. I
changed doctors, I saw heart specialists and neurologists, I even had a
CT scan. I had weird rashes and broke out in a chicken-pox like skin
condition. I’d get loud noises in my head like when my amplifier was
malfunctioning. I had excruciating joint pains, and thought I was going
down the family road of arthritis much sooner, and it amplified my back
and wrist pain and wouldn’t let me lie in any position for long when
trying to sleep.

I read an article about MS and got even more worried, as that sounded like
me. I stressed out even more because I began to believe that no-one I saw
was competent to diagnose what was wrong with me, or would take me seriously
long enough to do so. I’d seen naturopaths – one won my respect for her
iridology by telling me about my nerves jumping, without me telling her
about it. Her herbs helped a little, but nothing helped me sleep. I tried
Reiki and spiritual healing, and slept those nights. I’ve meditated for
years, but in my state it became almost impossible, so I had no way of
safely reducing the stress that became worse the longer this went on.

Six weeks ago, I decided that I must have changed something vital those
three years ago and began working through my memory. Eventually I came
to the time when my daughter and I went to Weight Watchers. On WW, a
measure of juice, a serving of fruit, something more solid when you’re
hungry! So instead of juice we started drinking Diet Coke or other diet
soft drinks – in a family who seldom used soft drinks of any kind. Never
more than one can per day, each. At WW, and on any weight reduction diet
I’ve ever read, the “light” versions are always recommended. I’m not
blaming WW, but this was the big change I had made that lost me three years
of my life. Six weeks ago I stopped the Nutrasweet and started reading
labels – you wouldn’t believe how many things contain Nutrasweet! Within
two weeks, my symptoms had faded. My sleep is slowly improving – unfortun-
ately I’d got into such a disturbed pattern it has to be a slow process.
Last week, I found the Tinnitus FAQ on Internet – I wish I’d seen it three
years ago, as it mentions Aspartame/Nutrasweet as one of the causes of
tinnitus, which was driving me nuts, and might have given me a clue.

I don’t know what mental block stopped me seeing this glaring anomaly in
an otherwise healthy diet, but I did mention it to everyone I saw and they
all missed it too. My naturopaths were happy with my diet when I described
it – they must have missed my mention of a daily diet soft drink. Coca
Cola and soft drinks seem to be such an ingrained part of life these days,
I think many of us have a blind spot there.

I don’t blame the doctors, I don’t blame the naturopaths – they didn’t
know what they were treating as it is so weird, yet I believe it is
documented for anyone who wants to search. I’ve made sure they all know
what I found out for myself, for the next time some poor, demented,
sleepless, itching, palpitating, shivering and hot flushing, jumping-
nerved woman walks into their rooms!!! I’m sure most of them thought
I was a raving hypochondriac, as they couldn’t find much wrong with me.

From blood tests, it appears I am menopausal – after a hysterectomy some
years ago it was difficult to tell otherwise – and my most recent doctor
and naturopath were inclined to put my symptoms down to the “menopause
from hell” after the tests I had were inconclusive, so I’d also spent a
fair amount of time trying one type of HRT after another. Without this,
I might have woken up to the real reason – aspartame – earlier.

————–

Date: Wed, 20 DEC 1995 19:59:42 GMT
Newgroups: rec.org.mensa
Subject: Re: M&Ms (no, not Mensans and morons)

It’s a good thing they put that swirl logo on anything containing it. I view
it with the same respect I give the radiation or biological hazard symbol.

—————–

Subject: Nutrasweet
Date: Sun, 24 Dec 1995 20:01:16 -0600
To: Lupus-L Mailing List

I never drink diet sodas – I’m a Mt Dew kinda gal – the one with
caffeine. :) Anyway, several years ago, I went down to Subway to get
a soda – they were out of Mt Dew, and I thought that it would be a
nice change to have a lemonade – it was that Crystal Light stuff. A
little while after drinking it, I got a horrible headache and upset
stomach. I didn’t attribute it to the lemonade at all. But, after
about 2 more times of drinking the stuff and getting a horrilbe
headache from it, I drew the conclusion that it was the Nutrasweet
that was giving me the headaches. Case closed. I never drink diet
stuff at all anymore. It’s not worth the headache.

—————–

Subject: (Fwd) more on aspartame/sulpha allergies
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 19:31:15 -0600
To: Lupus-L Mailing List

Thank you! I happily ingested diet soda for years, then whoomp!
there it was in everything–aspartame/Nutrasweet. Within 1/2 hour,
flaming headache, nausea, “flu”. I can now tell if McD’s or whomever
mixes up the order with one taste, and avoid the agony. The problem?
Family get-togethers–Dad and brother are Type II diabetic, and they
all conveniently forget I’m allergic to Nutrasweet.

Interesting correlation–Bactrum (sulfa family) does nasty
drug-induced flare; even jaws lock up. Thank you again!

—————–

Subject: (Fwd) more on aspartame/sulpha allergies
Date: Sun, 24 Dec 1995 14:06:59 -0600
To: Lupus-L Mailing List

And here I was thinking I had discovered something truly
revolutionary all by my lonesome!! I, too, had gone through numerous
tests to find the cause of increasingly severe almost daily
migraines. While visiting a friend who is allergic to aspartame I
quit drinking diet sodas and the migraines stopped immediately. Why
don’t doctors know this??????????? (rhetorical question)

—————

Date: 20 DEC 1995 14:38:31 GMT
Newgroups: rec.org.mensa
Subject: Re: M&Ms (no, not Mensans and morons)

My wife gets severe head aches and I have heard similar reports as
yours.

I personally don’t touch the stuff. It comes under the umbrella of
the ‘Titanic Effect’, and it’s day has yet to come.

————–

Date: 21 DEC 1995 19:21:56 GMT
Newgroups: sci.med.nutrition
Subject: Re: Betty B** and Nutrasweet

For years I suffered from terrible, debilitating headaches that wouldn’t
respond to any medication. Acetamenophen, Aspirin, and Ibuprofen were
all ineffective in relieving the headaches. I’d get several of these
headaches a week. The only thing I could do was to lie down and sleep it
off.

Several months ago I read some of Betty’s and Mark’s stuff here on
sci.med.nutrition. I decided to eliminate Nutrasweet from my diet.
The headaches stopped.

A couple weeks ago I was preparing a bowl of cereal and I decided to
put in a couple bags of Equal. An hour or so after finishing the
cereal, I got one of “those” headaches.

That was the last time I used Nutrasweet. That was the last time I
had one of “those” headaches (and the only time since getting off
Nutrasweet several months ago).

Well, that was my own personal TEST. And I’m convinced.

—————

From: MargieJ737@aol.com
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 1995 18:57:03 -0500
Message-ID: <951221185456_21048144@emout04.mail.aol.com>
To: immune@weber.ucsd.edu
Subject: more on aspartame/sulpha allergies

I just discovered another wonderous fact about aspartame from my
immunologist. Aspartame is processed through the same pathways as sulpha, so
if you have a sulpha allergy, guess what? Results are joint pain etc. Needs
to say I nixed the aspartame (I get Stevens-Johnson syndrome from sulpha) and
my hands and feet are feeling and looking very different. I don’t know how
different my really affected joints will be but I have a VERY irritable
bladder and all a sudden it’s behaving itself! And the FDA prides itself on
warning labels?

—————–

Date: Sun, 24 DEC 1995 15:58:30 GMT
Newgroups: sci.med.nutrition
Subject: Betty and Nutrasweet experiences

My own experience took place long before I ever _heard_ of
Betty or the s.m.n aspartame wrangle.

I’m an aerobics instructor. During classes, I chew gum to
keep my mouth and throat moist for cueing. When I started
out, I was using an aspartame-sweetened chewing gum, and I
chewed quite a lot of it. Over a period of about three
months, I began experiencing joint pain in my elbows mostly,
but also wrists and fingers. There didn’t seem to be any
source for the pain – I don’t do heavy weights, nor am I a
proponent of the use of handweights during my classes, so
overuse injury seemed out of the picture. To make a long
story short, I started examining my routines, both physical
and nutritional, to determine what was causing the problem.

The only thing which I could identify as being a major change
from the time prior to teaching aerobics, was the gum, so I
changed over to a sugar-sweetened gum just to see. Now, this
is the part which makes little sense to me – the pain stopped
within a couple of days. Mind you, it wasn’t ever severe or
debilitating, just a nagging, annoying little ache, but it
really did exist, and now it was gone!

I wasn’t entirely out of the aspartame-sweetened gum, and I
didn’t see any way it could really be the problem, so I took
up chewing it again, and the aches came back within days. It
is well to note that I was not using a single brand-name of
the gum – just grabbed whatever was near the checkout. So, I
stopped chewing the stuff again, and the pain went away again.
Now I don’t use aspartame _anything_ any more, and the only
time I get joint pain is when there is some identifiable cause.

As I said, it’s anecdotal. Your mileage may vary, and you may
not believe it at all. I don’t really care whether or not you
do – I merely present it as my own experience – not as any sort
of scientific evidence for or against aspartame use.

—————-

Date: Sat, 23 Dec 1995 23:29:19 -0500
To: xxxxx@xxx.xxx
Subject: Aspartame and Floaters

Ok xxxxxxx,

You’ve gotten my attention. I rarely had problems with floaters until I
started drinking 3 Diet Cokes daily. I got large floaters in my left eye,
flashes, as well as headaches over the bridge of my nose and some strange
malady that caused me to be very sensitive to bright lights which lasted
about 45 days. I figured out that the aspartame was causing the headaches
thru the process of elimination, but have not heard anything in regards to
the aspartame causing floaters. If this is true, I’m really pissed off!
How about sending me the info on aspartame.

—————-

Date: Tue, 19 DEC 1995 16:45:06 GMT
Newgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: Re: Triggers, Triggers, Triggers!

>>possible. E.G. Should I stop my diet yogurt with NutraSweet?

I spent three years in total agony before I found out that the
NutraSweet was the cause of my headaches. I’ve never been *right*
since. The answer to your question is: Yes, it certainly won’t hurt
you to stop eating it.

————–

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: Re: Triggers, Triggers, Triggers!
Date: 5 Dec 1995 16:43:45 GMT

Hi: you probably will get many responses, but I would say
YES to stopping Nutrasweet. I definitely get headaches from
it, as well as wine of any sort, cirtus fruits….but I
also find environmental and weather triggers to be among
the biggest factors.
Good luck.

—————-

Date: Wed, 13 DEC 95 00:59:22 GMT
Newgroups: rec.arts.sf.fandom
Subject: Re: Brainwipe via Aspertame (was Re: Dim Sum!)

I too would be interested to know more. Some years ago, back in the days
when I used to diet, I took to drinking Tab (when it was a cola not a
clear drink) and Diet Pepsi/Diet Coke. Long after the diet was abandoned,
I found myself drinking vast amounts of diet coke. I cured this addiction
by switching to real coke, which I still drink, but not addictively. I
refuse to drink diet drinks, though I quite like flavoured mineral waters
(except that some of them also have aspartame in them, so I don’t drink
those). Anyway, all those years ago, I was convinced that there was
Something Not Quite Right about diet drinks. I’d be delighted to find out
that my hunch was supported by, like, real evidence….

—————-

Date: 14 DEC 1995 06:52:25 -0500
Newgroups: rec.arts.sf.fandom
Subject: Re: Brainwipe via Aspertame (was Re: Dim Sum!)

Well, absent a reply from Steve, or someone more knowledgeable
about psychopharmacology than I, here’s my anecdotal evidence
from personal experience and chatting with other folks. For one,
I’ve noticed degradation of control in the speech center — I’m
likelier to stutter, lose track of what I’m saying, experience synaptic
hang-fire, when I’ve had aspartame than not. I’ve had
others confirm experiencing speech center related anomalies.
For two, I find aspartame puts me in a more agitated and ineffectual
frame of mind, and seems to affect fine motor control so that I have
trouble managing tasks like typing or operating a sewing machine
without making errors at an increased rate. A rough and ready loadie’s
description of the effect would be to say that I get a mild and unpleasant
buzz from aspartame. About two diet Cokes in a row will do it.

—————-

Newsgroup: rec.org.mensa
Re: M&Ms (no, not Mensans and morons)
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 1995 15:29:10 GMT

> But you know about studies. One recent study cited that sugar has
> no affect (in regards to hyperactivity) on kids as compared to the
> control group given artificial sweeteners. You would be hard pressed
> to find one parent who would agree to this. (This statement discounts
> all those whose position is “they’re the experts – they must be right”)

That doesn’t surprise me at all, if I take anything with Nutra-Sweet in
it there is a very high probability the my heart will fibrillate.
I am on drugs to control it and I am hyper sensitive.
But the speed of the reaction leads me to think that it would be a
very poor control in tests of this kind.

Die_t coke could be the end of me.

—————-

Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 17:12:16 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Aspartame and diabetes (fwd)
On Fri, 15 Dec 1995, xxxxxx xxxxxxx wrote:

> I just so damn glad that finally someone else is saying what I’ve been
> saying for the past 20 years. NutraSweet is poison. I began noticing
> the rising incidence of brain tumors about 5 years ago. Until then brain
> tumors were extremely rare, brain cancer even rarer. Not so any more.
> When I discuss this with some of my “medical” colleagues they point to
> improved technology – Pet Scans – MRI – as the reason, since diagnosis is
> now easier.
>
> Brain tumors weren’t hard to miss when the only diagnosising tool was an
> X-ray.
>
> I’ve always disliked NutraSweet. For me it has an aftertaste and I
> noticed early on that I often got a headache after consuming a diet
> beverage. I’ve tried to convince friends to eliminate it from their diets,
> but it’s like asking them to give up breathing.

————–

Date: Fri, 15 DEC 1995 20:14:54 -0500
Newgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Subject: Re: Aspartame on MedLine

In a message dated 95-12-15 20:03:20 EST, you write:

>I get severely sick
>from aspartame (without alcohol)

So do I and my 8 year old!

—————-

Newsgroups: alt.support.diet
Subject: Re: Changing Lifestyle & Diet Sodas
Date: 30 Nov 1995 17:19:59 GMT

I am not sure you will find the exact truth. I used to drink a fair about
of diet sodas and then I started collecting information of the effects of
Aspartame (used in most diet drinks) about some of the side effects. Although
I am not sure I beleived everything that I read, it turned me off enough
to try a diet soda free eating program. So, I stopped drinking soda and
have tried (painfully I might add) to increase my water intake. Honestly, I
would say that a ‘cloudy” feeling in my head boarding on a ‘headache’
disappeared. I feel a lot better. However, I do treat myself to a soda once
in awhile because anything in moderation is not bad for you. [Not quite!]

————–

Date: Fri, 1 Dec 1995 11:13:17 -0800
To: xxxxx@xxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: How Safe is Nutrasweet? (fwd)

xxxxxxx,

Just wanted you to know that after about 4 months of no nutrasweet, my
hypoglycemia symptoms have almost disappeared and I can eat dairy products
without discomfort (I’m not sure whether the last benefit is due to now
aspartame or no carbonation!).

————–

America On-Line Post
Subj: alternative sweetners
Date: 95-12-12 08:23:44 EST
From: Raggy40590
To: xxxxxxxxxx

I, too am a n insulin dependant diabetic for over fourty years now.
Nutrasweet makes me deathly ill and now I find I really have to go
easy on sweet& low, and at present, I can find nothing else out
there. Could you e-mail them to me???????

—————–

> Date: 29 Nov 1995 15:23:59 -0500
> Newsgroups: alt.support.anxiety-panic
>
> Nutrasweet makes me ill. Through trial and error I figured this out. Maybe
> some people can tolerate it but for me it is a NO NO. Does it cause
> depression or anxiety, that I don’t know????

[continued in another post]

Re: ASPARTAME……………LINKED TO FIBROMYALGIA…?
Date 8 Apr 1996 13:33:55 -0400
Newsgroups alt.med.fibromyalgia

I stopped drinking diet soda for quite sometime because I suspected that
it was making me feel pretty bad well I don’t know why I did this but last
week I decided to try a diet drink to be more specific I had two and
became extremely ill all my FMS symptoms were in full force for a good
week after that. I am one of those who just can’t tolerate it no more
experimenting for me. In fact I had the drink guy remove the diet soda
from our soda machine in our shop.

—————

From: schwartz@fshops.sfsu.edu (JSchwartz)
Newsgroups: alt.support.food-allergies
Subject: Re: Nutrasweet
Date: Mon, 04 Dec 1995 13:26:35 -0800

I don’t drink any more Diet Coke and I have noticed a decrease in my
nose stuffiness, congestion in my throat, and headaches. (No, I
didn;t have the flu for years…)

————–

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: Re: Triggers, Triggers, Triggers!
Date: Sat, 09 Dec 95 13:19:53 GMT

I would strongly urge against nutrasweet. It is probably not too bad in
very small quantities if you are not sensitive to it, but my experience
when I drank it to “lose” weight had the opposite effect. I craved
more sweets instead and got whopping headaches.

————–

Date: 19 NOV 1995 18:10:46 GMT
Newgroups: alt.med.allergy
Subject: Re: ALLERGY TO NUTRASWEET (ASPARTAME)????

When I consume a lot of Equal (in packet form) with my coffee or tea,
I notice that the skin of my hands seems to dry out, to the point that
the skin develops fissures (cracks). But even if this is so, who
knows whether it is due to the Aspartame, or one of the inactive
ingredients in the Equal? One of the inactive ingredients is silicon
dioxide; consuming sand might have its own drying effect. :-)

—————-

Re: ALLERGY TO NUTRASWEET (ASPARTAME)????
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 11:14:30 GMT
Newsgroups: alt.med.allergy

Aspartame gives me immediate cramps and diarrhea -from breath
mints, ice cream,etc. I’ve had one violent attack right after drinking
a diet soda by mistake- on an empty stomach. Thought I was having a heart
attack, couldn’t breathe, pulse racing. I was reaching for the phone to
call 911 when I looked in the mirror . When I saw I was bright red from
head to toe, I realized what was happening.
FDA August report of 92 documented symptoms from coma to
death. Aspartame is a seizure triggering drug and most of the symptoms
are neurological in nature. In lab animals it caused brain tumors,
mammary tumors, ovarian tumors.

—————-

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: Re: Migraine Triggers
Date: 15 Nov 1995 15:05:10 GMT

Gives me slight headaches, when I used to drink 16oz Diet cokes with
lunch, I would feel a slight disorientation a short while after even a
light lunch,

—————

Date: Fri, 24 Nov 1995 17:33:21 -0500
To: xxxxxxx@xxxx.xxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: NutraSweet makes you Fat

I discovered by accident 4 years ago that diet drinks with nutra-sweet
gave me migraine headaches. I haven’t intentionally touched nutra-sweet
since. Please send me a list of alternate sweeteners and where to get
them. Thanks in advance,

—————-

America Online Post
Subj: Nutrasweet Causing Problems
Date: 95-11-23 20:47:40 EST
From: JENROD

Hi. New to this area. Didn’t realize it existed. Wondered if anyone
had gastro-intestinal problems related to Nutrasweet.
I have cut it out completely and feel 100% better. Far less headaches
and also less stomach problems. Anyone else have this?

—————-

Newsgroups: bionet.neuroscience
Subject: Re: WARNING! Aspartame (Nutrasweet) Labelling Need
Date: 23 Nov 1995 18:35:15 GMT

I’ve used aspartame containing drinks as a self-treatment for ADD-like
symptomes for about a year now. I find that 1 can of diet soda resolves
a lot of the symptomes within about 10-20 minutes. The problem is that
it only lasts for about an hour. I’ve also noticed that it causes
pretty sever visual disturbances: strangely enough I didn’t notice
this until I read about it in this thread. If aspartame is really as
bad as it looks, I will probably stop taking it but I’ve definately
noticed an effect.

****Please don’t take this as an endorsment for aspartame.*****
****If you have ADD dont start taking it as a medicine ******

—————–

Date: Fri, 17 Nov 1995 09:53:51 -0500
Reply-To: Brain Tumor Research/Support
Subject: Re: Aspartame – More lovely stuff

I consider myself “sensitive” to Aspartame. When I drink more than 1
can of diet soda a day – I get headaches. Before I figured that out (took me
a few years – I am a slow learner) I had mild headaches every day, and
occasional vertigo. (Guess what I thought caused those:) Since I stopped, I
would say I get maybe 1 headache a week or less – and no more vertigo. I
tested it a few times – since I didn’t really beleive in it – by drinking a
few cans of diet soda a day. After about 3 cans of soda in 1 day – I would
ALWAYS have a headache. Now I just avoid it and feel much better in general
(except for a nagging back problem:)

—————

Newsgroups: alt.support.epilepsy
Subject: Re: Homepathic supplements?
Date: Tue, 28 Nov 1995 08:09:23

I also am concerned about my health, but now I am much healthier than
before… especially after getting into a regular excercise routine and
quitting aspartame (Equal).

(continued in another post)

Newsgroups: alt.support.epilepsy
Subject: breakthrough seizures
Date: Wed, 29 Nov 1995 09:34:11

I have been on dilantin for 2+1/2 years for grand mals, but was having some
auras or partials(deja-vu, uneasy panic-attack type feelings, twitches in one
arm or leg in bed at night) until about a week ago when I discontinued
aspartame use.

—————

Date: Wed, 29 Nov 1995 08:03:40 -0500 (EST)
CC: immune@weber.ucsd.edu
Subject: Re: Aspartame

Thank you for the posting on aspartame. When it first came out my
endocrinologist told me to stay away from it. I have hypoglycemia and
considered a sugar free diet. He noted that he still had a lot of
questions about the safety of the item and was routinely warning his
patients to watch for adverse reactions and to avoid this additive if
possible. So I cut down my sugar intake, stayed away from diet foods
containing nutra-sweet and felt better.
I found out a couple of years later that I was allergic to
aspartame because I had difficulty breathing and a severe headache after
consuming coffee containing it. I drank that brand of coffee regularly at
that time with no problems. It only took a short amount of time to pin it
down. Now I stay far away from the stuff and list it as an allergy on my
medical alert card.

————–

Date: 13 NOV 1995 23:46:13 GMT
Newgroups: sci.med.nutrition
Subject: Re: Any bad affects from nutrisweet?

>I get severe headaches from consuming products with nutrisweet. The
>headache doesn’t last long–a half hour or so, but it is enough that I
>avoid the product. When I have mentioned this to friends, they speak of
>a similar problem.

—————-

To: xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx
Subject: Re: aspartame and depression
Organization: Jaxnet
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 95 02:53:04 GMT

I have severe headaches due to aspartame. I first realized what was causing it
when that EXTRA gum cam on the market. we were chewing it like it was going
out of style!!
I can’t even have a few certs with the stuff in it…

[continued]

Re: NutraSweet Horror – TO EMBALM..OR NOT TO EMBALM
Date Tue, 16 Jul 96 21:34:58 GMT
Newsgroups sci.med.pharmacy,

Have you walked in anyone’s shoes that has a problem with nutrasweet. I knew
years ago before betty even was in the picture that it caused problems. I was
having extreme headaches. and I stopped with the discontinuation of extra gum.
I am not one to have headaches that keep me home and in bed. but at 18 I was
very incapable of going to work several days during my process of finding out
what it was. My parents also quit nutrasweet before I ever knew (i was 18 and
never home for that kind of daily news) they had a problem with it.

—————-

Re: Nutrasweet (Equal, etc.)
Date 28 May 1997 04:31:57 GMT
Newsgroups alt.med.fibromyalgia

I too must say that I’m affected by Nutrasweet (aspartame), and will get
very disoriented, dizzy and feel weak. My daughter has the same reaction.
She was given a piece of gum by a classmate once, and within 20 min. has
a bad reaction. I do not buy anything that has that poison in it. Heard
it turn into formaldihyde (sp?) after being in your body.

Doesn’t surprise me, though, that it’s approved by the FDA, as it is
making money, right?

I also heard that it can cause seizures and that there have been over 50
documented deaths due to aspartame, which “is” Nutrasweet.

—————

Newsgroups: alt.med.allergy
Subject: Re: ALLERGY TO NUTRASWEET (ASPARTAME)????
Date: 17 Nov 1995 09:44:38 -0500

xxxx> I’ve developed unbearably itchy hands. I think it
xxxx> might be from using Equal sweetener. Anybody heard of
xxxx> an allergic reaction to aspartame? Help!

Actually, you can be allergic to Aspartame. It gives me headaches when
I use it. What would happen if you touched it I am not sure, but the
most common reaction to drinking it that I have heard is headache.

————–

Date: Sun, 15 Oct 1995 21:10:05 -0400
To: xxxx@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: Aspartame and Obesity, Clinical Effects

Forwarded from xxxxxx xxxx

Date: Sun, 15 Oct 1995 09:43:53 -0700
Subject: Re: Aspartame and Obesity, Clinical Effects
To: xxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx
Status: R

I have had several opportunities to live abroad, UK and NZ. Both times, I
lost weight and gained health, because they do not have available the
glut of “fake foods”. Even though I try to maintain a natual diet when
I return to the US, I still find that I gain weight, uncontrollably. I
have also suffered from long history of depression. The one thing that
I have used throughout is Diet coke and sweet&Low. I cut both of those
out over 6 months ago, and am losing weight again, as well as gaining
physical health back.

—————

Date: Tue, 21 Nov 1995 07:14:39
To: xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx
Subject: Re: Autoresponder Instructions (fwd)

I got online this morning to send you a Thank You. After
reading your post on I_See and requesting the info that you
have sent me today I took my father in law off the aspartame.
He is 85 and is on insulin for adult onset diabetes. He has
had a horrible skin rash since the first of August and I
realized that was about the same time that I started replacing
his sugar with aspartame. His doctor was trying to treat him
for an allergic reaction and nothing would work. After one and
1/2 weeks of being off the aspartame,the rash is almost
totally gone. We both thank you for the information

---------------

Date: Tue, 7 Nov 1995 10:34:40 -0500 (EST)
To: xxxxx@xxxxxx.xxxx.xx
Subject: Stevia Information

Thank you for your information regarding aspartame. I went off
Nutra Sweet for 3 months and lost 5-10 lbs. in that time period.
23 years old, 5 yrs IDDM

------------------

America-Online Post

Subj: NutraSweet
Date: 95-11-06 10:31:16 EST
From: Van Asch 7
To: xxxxxxx

I understand you have some info about NutraSweet. Could you e-mail me some
of your info? My sister has epilepsy and NutraSweet seems to trigger her
problem? Her Neurologist is non-committal but said, "If it seems to bother
you don't use it".

I have no major health problems, but when I drink or eat something with
NutraSweet I notice that my skin is excessively oily for days afterward.

-------------

Date: Tue, 07 Nov 95 16:39:29 -0700
To: xxx@xxxxx.xxxx
Subject: (no subject)

I have been drinking Diet Pepsi every day for about 10 years (
I am now 27) and pop my entire life. After reading your
articles I went cold turkey on the Diet Pepsi (which my friends
refer to as toxic soup),
It has only been a week now, but I am feeling a bit better. I
don't know if this is related to cutting out aspartame, but my
desire for sweets has gone down considerably.

----------------

America On-Line Post

Subj: Checking In
Date: 95-11-03 10:45:13 EST
From: SASTEW

Hi there....Its me after a long time...I am continuing to try to
avoid nutrasweet...I am not always good about it but I try. If I
drink any I can tell the next day, I am fatigued and I have trouble
urinating. In fact if I stay away from diet coke I have no bladder
problems.
....
I think it has helped...and to answer the gal who asked about
fibromyalgia...I think that my diet Coke habit and my fibromyalgia
are directly linked.

--------------

Newsgroups: alt.support.dissociation
Subject: Re: nutrasweet article
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 1995 22:08:53 GMT

I noticed that I was being pretty affected by Diet Pepsi. I was drinking
at least 2 liters a day. (eeek, gag!!) I noticed that burning sensation
several times, but never thought anything of it. Finally, I realized that
D.Pepsi was unhealthy for me. I thought it was the caffeine. It was
really difficult for me to "come down" from it, and I've been d-p free
for about 3 weeks! :) *cheers, applause*

This article helped me to think about whether or not the caffeine was all
that was making me ill. I've been drinking water and natural juices, and
feel much better. (However, better is very relative because of the time
of year/unholy days lingering over my shoulder)

-------------

Newsgroups: alt.support.dissociation
Subject: Re: nutrasweet article
Date: Wed, 01 Nov 1995 01:15:26 GMT

>I noticed that I was being pretty affected by Diet Pepsi. I was drinking
>at least 2 liters a day. (eeek, gag!!) I noticed that burning sensation

I drank Crystal Light at work for a week.
I got headaches and dizziness. Ginally I realized it was the
aspartame after not being able to drive.

I stopped and the headaches stopped.

My girlfriend gets migraines. She stopped too, but the lithium weight
gain is urging her to start again.

My best friend's left ankle swells when he drinks it. (!)

The stuff is dangerous.

-------------

Newsgroups: alt.support.dissociation
Subject: Re: education on drugs...
Date: 27 Oct 1995 17:54:21 GMT

It seems that aspartame has been implicated in aggravating
both MPD and attention deficit disorder, among others. I
experienced my first uncontrolled switching when I was doing a
lot of aspartame. I was also getting severe migraines and
visual disorders including tunnel vision, moving shadows, and
color dropouts (I would lose the green/blue range). All of
these are known side effects of aspartame, it seems. In some
people, aspartame is known to inhibit seratonin production.
Swell.

But what was scariest was the shaking fits (like I was having
an epileptic seizure) and hypoglycemic problems so severe I
was known to pass out. (Sugar revived me.) This last is why
I stopped doing Nutrasweet. I'm borderline hypoglycemic.

When I stoppped Nutrasweet, the uncontrolled switching
stopped, too. It took a while for the migraines and visual
disorders to work out, but they were gone within a few months,
as was the switching. (The switching was severe enough that
friends thought I was "drunk" because I was acting so strange,
but alcohol was not involved!)

[continued in another post]

Newsgroups: alt.support.survivors.prozac,alt.support.depression.manic,
alt.support.depression,alt.support.anxiety-panic,alt.human-brain
Subject: Re: aspartame and depression
Date: 10 Nov 1995 00:31:10 GMT

Well, in my personal case, I was at a party a few months back,
and consumed quite a bit of punch. Within 8 hours, I started
getting a migraine headache, color dropouts in my vision, and
loss of my night vision. Realizing that these previously-experienced
symptoms (for which I spent several years and doctors trying
to find causes) seemed to be linked to aspartame, I checked
back and asked about artificial sweeteners . Yup, Nutrasweet
in the punch.

—————-

Newsgroups: alt.support.depression,alt.human-brain,alt.pagan,
alt.support.anxiety-panic,alt.support.depression.manic,
alt.support.dissociation,alt.support.survivors.prozac
Subject: Re: Regarding Prozac
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 14:56:38 +0000

Thats interesting as I avoid drinks containing this substance as it
rapidly makes me feel slightly nauseous and I also trembly. That’s
after one can of diet drink.
Goodness how are they allowed to poison people…strikes me sugar is
quite natural and safe.

—————-

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Subject: Greeting’s from the Armadillo Dude Ranch…
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 05:31:18 GMT

For those of you still huring, I hope you find your way back
too….and I really believe that the LESS chemicals we plug back into
our overburdened bodies the better..esp. the nutra sweet products.
THey alone tend to bring on a bout of pain, but lately I have been
able to work thru it with excersie.

—————

Newsgroups: sci.med,sci.psychology.psychotherapy,
alt.support.attn-deficit,alt.support.depression
Subject: Re: Distinguishing ADD from depression?
Date: 31 Oct 1995 19:04:15 GMT

I am normally quite skeptical about “X is the root of all evil/disease/behavior”
but I’m inclined to agree with the Nutrisweet warnings. I’ve always had
ADD symptoms and I’ve never used aspertame products until about a year and
a half ago when I started dieting. One Diet Coke would leave me in a
depressed fog about thirty minutes after drinking it, unless I ate a high
carbohydrate food along with it. It would leave me irritable and edgy and
I was prone to spells of cold-sweats, which I attributed to low-blood sugar
(see below). I’ve quit drinking them and decided that exercise, balanced
diet with smaller portions, and reducing my overall soft drink intake (got
to have my caffeine) was the best answer.

>Dr. Roberts explains in his book (and has done 30 years of research on
>Alzheimers) that the two amino acids in aspartame, phenylalanine and
>aspartic acid without the other amino acids in protein are neurotoxic and
>go past the blood brain barrier and are deteriorate the neurons of the
>brain. This is, of course, the cause of Alzheimers. He says in his
>opinion that aspartame is escalating Alzheimers Disease, a 20th century
>disease now the 4th leading cause of death in adults.

This is interesting. I self diagnosed my dizzyness and weak spells this way:
I have always drank lots of soft drinks (mostly Coca-Cola). When I drink
a diet drink, my body says, “Hmm, 220 calories of sugar coming in, better
step up my insulin production.” All of this insulin gets into my system and
doesn’t find any digestable sugars, so my blood sugar drops and I get foggy
and weak. I had read about the decreased neuro-transmitters from Aspertame
consumption, but the study I had read had one of those, “the equivalent of
twelve diet Cokes in a one hour period” kind of doses. If the biological
theories of ADD are correct (decreased neurotrasmitters in the frontal lobes) is
true, then ADDers might be much more susceptible to the Aspertame reaction.

>So, if you don’t want to be fat and depressed and suffer memory loss,
>ADD, learning disabilities – and a host of other problems – be warned –
>get off NutraSweet.

As I said before, I’m not drinking anymore and I do believe that Aspertame
might be complicating my ADD, but I’m sure its not the cause of it and I don’t
know if casual consumption of Aspertame by non-ADD adults is likely to cause
the same symptoms. I do know that I don’t let my kids anywhere near products
containing Aspertame.

BTW, if anyone wonders about the efficacy of TV ads, my four year old daughter
sat in a restaurant the other night doing the Cher NutriSweet commerical with
the artifical sweetener packets at the table. “This one is saccherine, it
doesn’t taste good. This one is NutriSweet and you can pour it in your hand
and eat it, because it tastes good.” It was a good opportunity to explain that
you can’t believe everything you see on TV.

—————

Date: Thu, 26 Oct 1995 00:35:50 -0400
Sender: Parkinson’s Disease – Information Exchange Network

Subject: Re: DRUG INTERACTION: Nutrasweet & l-dopa – Request for Info

Thanks for posting the info on Nutrasweet and PD. I consummed tons of
Nutrasweet until recently when I started having a strange gut feeling that it
might be affecting me. I was getting restless legs, especially at night and
felt sort of depressed. As a person who has PD on both sides of my family
(dad and uncle) I appreciate your posting. I quit Nutrasweet about 9 weeks
ago and seem to feel better.

—————-

Date: Thu, 26 Oct 1995 10:12:39 -0400
Sender: Parkinson’s Disease – Information Exchange Network

From: Allan Rosenberg
Subject: Nutrasweet

My wife (PD) has been a long time user of diet colas. After seeing the
discussions on this Mailing List, she has stopped them completely and when
she has tested the impact by going back to a single can (twice) she claims to
have felt an adverse effect.

————-

Date: Fri, 27 Oct 1995 16:24:41 -0500 (CDT)
To: xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: Nov. 3, 1987 Hearing, NutraSweet – Health and Safety Concerns (fwd)

Well, I haven’t been on the NutraSweet at all since I wrote last. I haven’t
had the panic attacks/nervousness that I had had, at least I haven’t noticed
it. I still have had some depression, but not too bad, guess it could be one
of those monthly things :-)

—————

Date: Fri, 27 Oct 1995 17:01:27 +0100
To: i_see
Subject: PCM

I have also eliminated aspartame (Equal(tm)) from my diet. I usually
don’t drink diet drinks, but when I need something cool to drink I would
pick up a diet drink if nothing else was available. I no longer do
that. I also suggested to my wife that she quit drinking diet drinks.
She did and noticed that her joints no longer gave her pain. She is a
doctor and has to travel to about 3 hospitals and round on her patients.
She has to do a lot of walking.

She also bought some vitamins for our children the other day. I looked
at the label and discovered that the number one ingredient was
aspartame! We did *not* give this to our children. If you are trying to
eliminate aspartame from your diet beware of anything labeled sugar
free. I have found it in gum, jelly, and cough drops.

—————-

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: Re: nutra sweet and headaches
Date: 25 Oct 1995 22:07:40 GMT

Hi xxxxxxx, many migranes are triggered by different foods. When I consume
Nutrasweet I might as well put a gun to my head because sure enough I
will have a killer migrane. I also noticed that caffeine, or should I say
lack of caffeine, can also trigger a killer headache. When I was first
diagnosed with migranes two years ago, my neurologist suggested changing
my diet. When I stopped drinking my morning 16 oz cup of coffee, I would
get a killer headache. Because most foods are filled with crap , it’s
really difficult to pin down migrane triggers, but Nutrasweet is
definately one of mine. If you give up your daily dose of diet coke and
begin to get headaches you might want to try another caffeine substitue.

—————–

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: Re: nutra sweet and headaches
Date: 25 Oct 1995 19:37:18 GMT

Well, as the years go on, and I find myself becoming more and more
‘natural’, I find that my migraines are becoming less and less frequent.
Not that they could ever be kind enough to leave forever, though…of
course not…

But anyway – First, I quit harmful substances excluding alcohol, then I
stopped eating mammals and poultry, then I reduced my caffeine intake,
then I quit soda, and I have drastically reduced my alcohol intake – and
NEVER drink hard alcohol, wine or anything except microbrew beer, and
FINALLY I have stopped using Nutrasweet. AND I have definately noticed a
decrease in my headaches since I stopped using my Equal.

(Whew, all that just to say that since I stopped using Equal, I can
definatley see a reduction of occurances)

—————–

Newsgroups: alt.support.tinnitus
Subject: Re: aspartame
Date: Thu, 26 Oct 1995 08:11:22 GMT

I was a longtime user of aspartame, because I consume a lot of soft-
drinks. Sugar has a stimulating effect on me. Since I stopped using
Aspartame (approx 2 litres/day) 2 mo. ago, I have had a lot less head
pain, but my t is not better. I did try using aspartame again and
immediately had severe head pain, so I am pretty sure it is the aspartame.

————–

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Sun, 22 Oct 1995 10:02:44 PACIF
Subject: Re: Irritable Bowel

I’ve found that I can’t tolerate anything with aspartame in it any
more. It not only irritatates an already irritable bowel, but gives
me a blinding headache and ?? makes me retain water. Sounds like an
allergy, and after all those years of being on Weight Watchers where
they push anything sugar free. I have a friend who’s brother is a
pediatrician in New York City and Bill says that his brother will not
allow anything with Nutra Sweet in the house and his kids aren’t
allowed to have it PERIOD!. Something to think about, eh………

————-

America On-Line Post

Subj: Re: nutra
Date: 95-10-23 20:02:06 EDT
From: TazRobStar
To: xxxxxxxxxxxx

I already feel a difference!! Thank you- you have done more for me than any
doctor has- and I didn’t have to pay thousands of dollars or take off my
clothes!!! I was wondering, is it okay to use sweet and low (saccarin)?
Robin

————-

Date: 20 OCT 1995 01:46:56 GMT
Newgroups: misc.health.arthritis, alt.support.arthritis
Subject: Re: “Of course aspartane could be a problem.”

Just my 2 cents: aspartane does not make my RA worst (I don’t
think), but it does make me extremely dizzy and disoriented.

Not good stuff!

————-

Date: Thu, 19 Oct 1995 14:49:00 PDT
Subject: artificial sweeteners
To: Multiple recipients of list HERB

…much nutra-sweetener and an eventual trip to the hospital because of it
later, I avoid nutra-sweet etc., like the plague.
one natural sweetener that I use is stevia.

————-

Date: Thu, 19 Oct 1995 19:09:15 -0400
Subject: Re: artificial sweeteners
To: Multiple recipients of list HERB

When it first hit the market several years ago, I was exposed to it in
samples of “Crystal Light” and marketed iced tea mixes. After two weeks I
was waking up with tremors and cold sweats during the night. Leg cramps too.
That was the end of nutra-sweet for me! And, I avoid it altogether with you
xxxx!

————-

Date: Thu, 19 OCT 1995 12:58:47 GMT
Newgroups: alt.support.arthritis
Subject: Nutra Sweet (R) / Aspartame

Hello All,
Greeting from New Zealand, I am a 54 year old male with RA for 3 years
and (partly because of my medicines) overweight.
So trying to cut down on sugar I used sweeteners.
A couple of weeks ago an article was posted about Aspartame in Nutra
Sweet.
After Reading the post I decided to stop my intake of Nutra Sweet and
my Diet Coke to see what difference it would make, after two days (to
my utter surprise) the aches and pains were a LOT less.

————-

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: NutraSweet = Mega Migraines
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 1995 03:40:32 -0400

SOME DIETARY CAUSES OF MIGRAINES I HAVE DISCOVERED

In a desperate attempt to find a cause for almost daily migraines that
seemed to start not long after a meal, I decided I had to go on a fast.
After fasting for two days, I began adding items back item by item so as
to identify what if any item might be causing my pounding immobilizing
headaches. I found major answers that have brought peace back to my life.
….
(C) NutraSweet

As soon as I added the diet sodas back to my diet, wham ! Bowled over by
the killer head banging pain. Now that I have cut them out I have had
virtually no headaches for many weeks. Praise god (and I am an atheist).

The only puzzle I have yet to solve is why after using NutraSweet for
many years, on and off, was it hitting me so hard this summer? Perhaps it
was only mild before. I have had headaches, albeit milder, for many
years. Perhaps it was building up in my system. ?? But indeed it was
the main causative agent.

I can but curse NutraSweet — A.K.A. aspartame — to the darkest hells.
The stuff was litterly killing me. I spent many days in bed w/ pounding
head thinking my life is over. I still get a very mild throbbing related
to eating out, during which time I often eat cheese. There may also be
some other factors I have yet to uncover. But the number 1 leading cause
of the hell I was going through was NutrSweet. Its abolition from my
diet has been a significant new lease on life for me. |^) YES !

————-

Date: Fri, 13 Oct 1995 10:25:49 -0400 (EDT)
To: xxxxxx@xxxx.xxx
Subject: nutrasweet

I just thought that I would drop a quick note to you… Thank you for your
article regarding Nutrasweet. When Nutrasweet came out with that little
gumball, I had headaches all the time. When i figured out what it was
( about 3 weeks later, I was shocked that a new product could do that.
I stopped taking Nutrasweet immediatly and do my best to avoid it, but
still, Friends or restuarants will make something like Jello using NS,
and the headache will return. I learned quick…..and I hope my body
is better because of it…

————

America On-Line (AOL) Post
Subj: Migraines
Date: 95-10-04 00:12:00 EDT
From: StephieDiB

I reviewed the message board on Nutrasweet. I suffer terribly from
migraines. I’m swearing off diet pepsis. I don’t drink coffee so I guess
I’ll have to start drinking ice tea with good old fashioned sugar. what is
this product stevia ?
….
I am a 51 y.o. white post-menopausal female on estrogen therapy. I have high
blood pressure and increasingly frequent migraines since I was 19. Normally,
my migraines arrive in the wee hrs of the morning – 3 or 4 am, and by noon I
have re-bounded enough to function. For my bp I take 240 mg cardizem and 20
mg lotensin, both of which should help to screen out migraines. However, I
frequently have to resort to cafergot, although I do limit the amount of
cafergot that I take over the period of one week. i do not drink any alcohol
and never have, i do not smoke. After having read the Nutrasweet messages a
few minutes ago, I’m going to swear off of Diet Pepsi. I also know that
chocolate and aged cheeses can trigger migraines — but not always, so there
must be a tolerance level that i exceed to trigger one. Can anyone give me
any input as to why my headaches always seems to start when I am trying to
get some sleep !
….
Thank you, thank, thank you. No Nutrasweet yesterday (or any soft drink for
that matter) and no headache this morning !

————

Newsgroups: misc.health.diabetes
Subject: Re: ‘free’ drinks
Date: 5 Oct 1995 14:58:52 GMT

I find that all drinks with aspartame give me terrible migraines.
Splenda drinks seem to be fine, but I am worried there might be
side effects that I don’t know about. I am wondering why it is
not available in the U.S. but is here in Canada.

I just stick to bottled water and herbal tea.

—————

Newsgroups: alt.support.diet
Subject: Re: Aspartame (Nutrasweet) danger
Date: 6 Oct 1995 10:46:03 -0400

Nutrasweet gives my mother headaches

————–

Newsgroups: alt.support.tinnitus
Subject: Aspartame and T Update
Date: 10 Oct 1995 03:06:24 GMT

Hello All. I have not taken any food with the A for 1 week. I don’t
think it has lowered the T but my balance seems better. Also less
dizziness. I will lay off the A for another week and see what
happens. I might just make it a permanent move. That will be hard.
I like my diet coke and pepsi[:}>.

[continued in a later post....]

Re: Dizziness and Diet
Date 28 Dec 1995 03:17:16 GMT
Newsgroups alt.support.tinnitus

I don’t have Meniere’s but have had T for about 2 years. One thing
I discovered that was giving me a lot of problems was Aspartame.
There was an artice posted on this group back in Aug. about
the problems Aspartame can cause so I decided to layoff it for
a while. I have been off it since the end of Sep. and ALL of my
dizziness is gone and my balance has improved 100%. I also
think I have less motion sickness. I flew to FLA in Nov. and
had no problems with motion sickness but the T was pretty bad.
I have laid off the caffine and that has helped.

[continued]

Date: 18 MAY 1996 02:40:59 GMT
Newgroups: misc.health.diabetes, rec.food.drink, sci.med.pharmacy,
misc.kids.pregnancy, misc.health.alternative
Subject: Re: NutraSweet Horror – TO EMBALM..OR NOT TO EMBALM

I doubt if it was the caffine that was causing my symptoms as
I still drink regular tea and us other artificial sweetners. So far
the other artificial sweetners have not caused any problems.

——————

Newsgroups: alt.support.diet
Subject: Re: Aspartame (Nutrasweet) danger
Date: 8 Oct 1995 03:42:33 GMT

Nutrasweet does this to LOTS of people. Apparently they forgot to consider the
possibility that an amazing percentage of the population would have at least
minor side effects when consuming aspartame. I personally get headaches and
nausea.

—————–

Date: Wed, 11 Oct 1995 13:02:18 -0400 (EDT)
To: xxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: nutrasweet

Dear xxxxxxxx,

I have noticed the effects of Nutrasweet myself. It scares me to see
how many of my friends and family consume these products thinking they must
be safe or they wouldn’t be sold. I would greatly appreciate a copy of
aspartame’s history to pass along to friends, family and institutions that do
not realize the reprecussions of their actions.

————–

Date: Sun, 1 Oct 1995 15:54:17 +0000
To: xxxxx@xxxx.xxxx
Subject: aspartame

It has been almost 4 weeks since I have stopped using
aspartame. It is amazing the changes that have occured in me! I
willgive you my history so that you may understand.
I have always been a diet soda/artificial sweetner user since I
have had a problem with low-blood sugar as well as my father and
sisters. Using saccharin, I never encountered any problems. Many
years ago when they started offering Nutrasweet I slowly made the
change over. I have always been a slim person with my weight in the
115 to 120 range at 5 feet 4 inches. A few years ago my weight went
up a bit to 129 (god I was fat). In July 1992, my husband and I both went
to Jenny Craig and also enrolled in a health club. In the first
couple of weeks I only lost a couple of pounds. When I switched from
Diet Pepsi to Diet Rite (because of the sodium) my weight just fell
off. I didn’t drink as much Diet Rite because it just didn’t have
the flavor. I had reduced/eliminated my coffee intake because they
said caffeine interferes with fat metabolism. In no time I was 118
pounds and my body was PERFECT. I had only 16% body fat and I looked
like one of those health ads. I was wearing a size 3 and I looked
and felt FANTASTIC!
Once I had achieved my goal (September 1992)….I had gradually
added reduced
caffeine coffee to my diet and started drinking a few Diet Pepsi’s. I
no longer did the Jenny Craig thing but was eating low-fat and had
started drinking Met-RX (has aspartame) to enhance my diet.
I maintained my weight but at that time my shoulder had started
aching me where it would go up into my neck. I visited a shiatsu guy
because I thought it had been a muscle strain from the gym. I was
still maintaining a 5 day a week workout with 20 minutes of aerobics
and a very fast paced 45 minute weight routine. The shiatsu helped a
bit…..but then I noticed my glands were swollen on that side and my
ear on that side had a burning/itching sensation. In in short while
my throat was inflamed and burning. I went to my doctor who
prescribed potent antibiotics which didn’t do it so I had to go for
another ten day course. He had also given me a cortisone shot for the
major inflamation. This all left me soooooo fatigued that I couldn’t
even work out. After a month (November 1992), I returned to the gym but
it seemed
that I could never get my old energy level back. I still worked out
hard and my weight maintained, but I seemed to have lost some
strength and endurance.
I maintained this until June 1993, with some problems of my
weight fluctuating and experiencing stomach bloating, puffiness in my
thighs and increased sinus problems. I had always been allergic to a
couple of blooming trees but nothing major. In June, hubby and I
both decided to stop smoking. It went well for a couple of days.
In mid June, a few days after stopping smoking, my body bloated out
real bad and my weight jumped despite not eating more and still
working out as usual. I left for a trip to the EasT Coast for a
couple of weeks. My blaoting continued and my sinuses were puffy and
burning and I started bleeding from my sinuses. BY the time I came
home from my trip I was at 135 pounds. Since the trip from the East
Coast to Hawaii is a long one…(15 to 20 hours depending on
layovers) jet lag is a real problem. When I came back I couldn’t
sleep and I was horribly fatigued (worse than any jet lag I had ever
experienced in my life) A trip to my doctor started rounds and
rounds of antibiotics, decongestants and steroid inhalers. He
eventually ordered blood tests, a full thyroid panel and CAT
scan….nothing there! The doctor acted as if I was eating things
that made my weight skyrocket!The fatigue got worse and worse with my body
vacillating between not being able to sleep and sleeping too much. We had
returned to Jenny Craig in hopes of repeating our prior success but
my weight just went up! Hubby and I then consulted a nutrionist and a
trainer
at the gym. We followed the plan but I had to drop out….I could hardly
keep my head up! To say the least my job was suffering.
IN October my husband marched me down to the doctor. He was
convinced I was depressed. He had heard depression can cause some of
these problems. At that point I was! I was defeated! The doctor
prescribed Paxil. It made me sleepy…so at least I was able to
sleep. The sinus problems continued….to the point I was sent to an
ENT specialist. He kept me on the same drugs…but said that all I
was complaining of was not related to each other. He wondered if I
was under stress at work. I was because it was ill, tired and having
mood problems. Add to it the weight…I couldn’t bear another
comment about my weight! I tried various trainers to find the magic
workout/diet plan…each time my weight went up! They all thought I
was cheating.
In January 1994, the ENT guy decided to do a fiber optic scope
of my sinuses…the burning/bleeding/pressure continuted despite all
the drugs. He found a lesion in the area behind my nose (adenoid
area). A CAy scan with contrast (they shoot iodine on your veins to
light you up) revealed there was something there and 4 days later I
was in surgery! They found is what they called a “soft
tissue mass”. It wasn’t cancer! I felt an improvement in the
fatigue and pressure! BY then I had been demoted at work.
Despite the improvement, I still wasn’t myself. By July, the
company I worked for was laying everyone off (not just me, due to
financial booboos). I had a planned vacation to Italy to see friends
so I extended it to 5 weeks instead of the original two. Hubby
thought the break would be good for me.
ON my return, despite still eating good and all the damn walking
up and down the steps EVERYWHERE in Italy (elevators are almost
unheard of)….I was 158 pounds. I returned to my doctor in tears.
I told him I refused to take all this medicine anymore…it didn’t
help.He decided to send me to an allergist. (this is beginning of Oct.
1994)
I had over 250 allergy tests. I am now SEVERELY allergic to cats,
both
kinds of dust mites and dust. To a lesser degree….I am allergic to
acacia trees, mango trees, juniper trees, eucylyptus (SP?) trees, palm
trees, coconut trees, mock orange bushes, cockroaches, horses and a
few more I can’t even remember. Alas I thought this was the answer.
I started bi-weekly allergy shots.
After a month…I started feeling much better. I had stopped
working out entirely….it did me no good, especially looking as I
did…I was embarressed. BY that point I had said the hell with it
all. I just ate whatever…it didn’t make any difference weight wise
what I ate. I had stopped eating all that diet food with the
exception of drinking Diet Pepsi and using Nutrsweet in my coffee and
tea! I had started a new job…it was going well!
I felt better. I thought it strange that I started to lose
weight eating junk food but had attribuated it to the allergy thing!
My weight dropped to 148 in no time! This was an improvement but I
still felt bad!
In November, I suddenly started having migraines which coincided
with my periods getting horrible. The cramps and bleeding were
horrible. They had gotten a bit worse the year earlier but this was
far more worse. Also my periods had gotten closer together…every
3 to 3 1/2 weeks. The migraines would be more likely to happen in the
week prior to my period until my period had stopped. I had never been
a headache person before. The doctor asked about stress. I told him
if it were stress I would had had them the year prior…not when I
was feeling better. My stress levels had dropped. The frequency and
severity of the migraines would vary a lot. I had a few outside of
the time frame that I normally had them. He prescribed a painkiller
and a vascular dialator. Sometime they would kick it and sometimes it
didn’t even matter that I took them. One time it was so bad I had
to go in for a shot of Imitrex.
A few months back I started having back and leg pains. I
previously had intermittent lower back aches, aches in the legs and
shoulders but nothing like this. It didnt seem to coincide with
exertion or strain of any type. Motrin used to be of help but it
didn’t seem to phase it. It bothered me every day for 3 months at
least. Sometimes sitting down my leg would have a painful spasm.
One day I was surfing the Web…I found a link to your
information. Reading your info was like reading my medical history.
I gave it a try. Within 2 days my leg as well as my shoulders and
back stopped hurting and it hasn’t returned. I have dropped 8 pounds doing
nothing but stop drinking Diet Pepsi and coffee/tea with Nutrasweet and
any other foods that contain it. My energy levels have increased five-fold
and my sunny dispostion has awakened from hibernation. My stomach
is happier too.I used to be bloated all the time with problems of
constipation.
My hubby has been wondering if I have been doing sit-ups because my
tummy has gotten much flatter. The gas I had experienced before is
gone. I don’t get as hungry as I used to and I don’t seem to crave
or desire to eat any sweets. Most people think I have lost more than
8 pounds. I wake up in the morning easily and am energetic all day.
I just had my period a week ago….I had less cramps and less
bleeding. I had only one minor flare with a migraine on the worse
day of my period. My sinuses have cleared up quite a bit. I haven’t taken
any antihistamines or decongestants in a while. I stopped having the
burning sensation in my throat and this weird pimply rash on my
shoulders disappeared too. I had been having a problem with my hair
being real dry. In about a week after stopping, my hair got softer
and less dry. And on a weird note…I had noticed that the hair on
my legs seemed to grow back mush faster in the last couple of years.
Since stopping Nutrasweet, I can go longer without shaving…use to
have to shave every day.
To be honest I don’t want to even try and drink a Diet Pepsi
right now. I am convinced that Nutrasweet is the problem. My
problems started with my increased use of it and has been the only
consistent thing in my life since I have been ill. In retrospect, I
can see where my worse episodes have been when I was drinking lots of
coffee in addtion to the 6 to 8 diet sodas I would drink in a day.
MY weight gain started many years ago when I increased my usage of
diet soda. Prior, I was always skinny.
I don’t want to feel that way anymore.
I have started back bicycling and my daughter is teaching me how to
rollerblade. It feels good like exercise should. Before, when
exercising, I would always feel more bloated and swollen after
exercise. Now, I don’t feel that way…..I feel rejuvenated.
Others have noticed the change in me. They are shocked when I
tell them my story. I have been giving your info to as many people
as I can. I printed Dr. Roberts 167 page report from Mark’s Home
Page and mailed it to my sister. She has had many problems too! I
hope that my husband the skeptic will get the message. He loves his
Diet Pepsi….I won’t buy it anymore…he has to buy his own. I know
he has reduced it but hasn’t completely eliminated it. It is also
time to show my doctor this info! This will be a tough job. Most of
my problems seemed to be serotonin related (depression/migraines
etc.) The medical profession is not much help here. I have lost
faith in the FDA to protect us and our doctors depend on them.

Sincerely and with great graitude for your help,

PS This morning I wieghted 138…a 10 pound drop!

————–

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: Re: Nutra_Sweet affecting anyone else?
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 1995 23:37:34 GMT

Yes the Nutrasweet is a trigger for me, the yogurt (anything cultured
or aged) can also be a trigger for me and the frozen yogurt would
probably give me a ice cream headache to boot. All three would guarantee
me a real boomer.

————–

Date: Sat, 30 Sep 1995 16:18:05 -0400
To: xxxx@xxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: Stevia Approved 9/18/95

I am a new diabetic (46 years old). I have not had diet softdrinks in
several years, because they gave me headaches. Now, with diabetes, I drink
water.

————–

Newsgroups: misc.health.arthritis
Subject: Re: Aspartame and pain.?.?.?
Date: 27 Sep 1995 13:45:28 GMT

My doctor suggested that I not use artifical sweeteners. He said there
wasn’t much scientific evidence, but in his experience they could
aggravate Lupus, which I have. I quit immediately. I’ve made a lot of
changes, and am taking medication, but I am in considerably less pain
than I was before. So perhaps it has an effect.

———–

Newsgroups: misc.health.arthritis
Subject: Aspartame and pain.?.?.?
Date: 26 Sep 1995 15:31:08 GMT

I want to thank the person who posted something about aspartame
(NutraSweet(R)) and pain last week. Apparently (s)he quit using
this diet sweetener and certain pains subsided.

Over the past couple years, I have seen 4 doctors and a chiropractor
(hey, it hurt) for increasing, chronic pain in my left big toe joint.
It started out from 2 or 3 on a 10 scale, increasing to about 8 or
9 over the past few months. As expected, there was nothing these
health-care professionals could do for it.

Well, after reading that post last week, I decided to quit drinking
Diet Coke(TM) (about 1 to 2 cans per day), spooning on the Equal(?),
and using other aspartame-based products for a while. The results
were immediate and dramatic! Within two days the pain was down to
about a 1, with only slight soreness from having it hurt so long.
Over the past couple days I’ve had virtually no pain! In fact, I
walked/played 18 holes of golf on Sunday (in my “bad” golf shoes no
less) and only the pain of playing golf poorly lingered.

(continued in a later post)….

Date: 19 OCT 1995 15:16:58 GMT
Newgroups: misc.health.arthritis
Subject: Re: Nutra Sweet (R) / Aspartame

I was the one who started a small thread about this a few weeks ago. I
had reported that after a few years of increasing, chronic pain in my
left foot, it started to subside within days after stopping use of
aspartame-based products. As of last week, even the soreness of the
long-term pain is now gone (although I went on a 10-plus-mile walk this
past weekend and it was *slightly* sore afterward — bummer, eh? 8^).

Since posting my previous article, I mentioned this experience to my
chiropractor — a person in whose abilities I have complete confidence.
After discussing his knowledge on the topic, he gave me a VHS tape of a
local (S.F. Bay Area) talk-show program from 1985 to check out. On it
was a lady who had attributed blindness to the use of aspartame (at the
time she was in a legal battle with Searle, NutraSweets’ benefactor).
Others stated that a number of other cases involving possible aspartame-
related blindness were under investigation, as well as purported cases
of hyperactivity in children, weight gain (although it is used in diet
products, it apparently causes sugar/fat cravings), epileptic-type petit
and grand mal seizures, and a number of other things. There were
*numerous* studies cited from prestigious universities (MIT, UCLA, etc.)
who concluded that aspartame should not have been allowed such wide-spread
usage due to a poisoning affect of one of the two amino acids it produces.
The other amino acid is what requires the “Phenylketonurics: Contains
Phenylalamine” note on NutraSweet-based diet sodas, for example. This is
a warning to people with PKU (apparently people with this affliction have
difficulty “absorbing” too much of this amino acid). Nifty, eh?

It was only after someone else posted a NutraSweet-pain experience that
caused me to halt it’s use — what did I have to lose? Well, I lost a
great deal of pain. By the way, to the individual who wrote me that I
only lost the pain due to a placebo affect, fat chance. If this ecstasy
of foot painlessness is due to a placebo affect, perhaps I’ll stop eating
altogether and get rid of all my pains.?.?.? 8^)

————

Date: Wed, 27 Sep 1995 11:46:25 -0400 (EDT)
To: xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxxxxx.xx
Subject: aspartame info request

Dear xxxxxx,

I read your post on the effects of aspartame (your response to
xxxxx xxxxxx) on misc.kids.health and am very interested in
having more information. You mentioned the auto-responder…
could you send me instructions on how to access that? Any other
info you have would be appreciated. I had a bad exprience with
Nutrasweet affecting my vision, and I try to warn others about
it.

———–

Newsgroups: alt.support.anxiety-panic
Subject: Re: Any problems with Nutrasweet?
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 1995 13:32:14 -0700
Organization: University of Oregon
Lines: 23
Message-ID:
NNTP-Posting-Host: gladstone.uoregon.edu
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
X-Sender: cindysch@gladstone

yes I used to drink diet soda al the time but it started to make me feel
weird and bring on panic attacks so I dont touch the stuff anymore.

————

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: Nutra_Sweet affecting anyone else?
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 1995 23:30:28 -0600

in> By trial and error I discovered that Nutra_Sweet will trigger what
in> several people described to me as a migraine. Absolute worst headaches I

I’ve had the same problem. Some people were telling me that it was
all in my head..and it was quite painfully.

in> Now I avoid everything with NS in it and have not since experienced my
in> “migraine” headaches. I had heard one person talk about an “alcohol

Same here. I avoid it whenever possible.

in> I will say that I have now a complete and utter sympathy for anyone who
in> suffers from this type of pain. I had heard about migraine headaches all
in> my life, but had no clue as to the magnitude… Perhaps this info will
in> help someone else who has the same sensitivity to NS that I seem to
in> have.

Thanks for posting it. Unfortunately, mine aren’t only caused by the
Nutra Sweet, but it is one thing that can cause them.

————-

Newsgroups: alt.support.diet
Subject: Re: Aspartame (Nutrasweet) danger
Date: 25 Sep 1995 04:41:21 GMT

My experience with Aspartame is this: in the early 80’s (which is when
I think it began being used heavily?) on a very, very hot L.A. summer
morning, I was chuggin Crystal Light Lemonade. I went to church at noon
and passed out halfway through the service (very dangerous, considering
those pews are spaced pretty closely together). My mother, certain I
was pregnant (I was actually a virgin) rushed me to the hospital. They
did a bazillion tests and whatnot, including a dizzying array of EKG
*and* EEG tests. blood sugar levels, etc. etc. What they concluded
was that I had passed out due to the large amount of Aspartame in my
system. They told me it is really, REALLY tough to metabolize, and
they had been having a number of fainting victims related to ingesting
the stuff. I don’t remember exactly why it made people faint, maybe
a lot of blood goes to your stomach, trying to digest it, and there’s
not enough going to your brain and boom – you’re horizontal.

A friend of mine who was a chem major at USC at the time told me they’d
run some tests in one of his labs and determined that Aspartame turns
into methol alcohol in your stomach, but I think he was joking…

At any rate, I avoid it like the plague, now. (Aspartame, not methol
alcohol. Well, I don’t eat *that* either. :)

————-

Newsgroups: alt.support.anxiety-panic
Subject: Re: Any problems with Nutrasweet?
Date: 22 Sep 1995 18:58:22 -0700

Caffiene is normally a no no in PD.. it heightens anxiety! im off
caffiene.. There are good sodas ( pop ) what ever ya call it.. that are
caffiene free! My S.O cannot have nutrasweey either, due to left temporal
lobe epilepsy.. Im very familiar with the problem it can cause!

————-

Newsgroups: alt.support.anxiety-panic
Subject: Re: Any problems with Nutrasweet?
Date: 20 Sep 1995 20:25:17 -0400

You bet. I’ve got temporal lobe epilepsy that manifests as panic attacks,
and there is no question in my mind that Nutrasweet increases my seizure
activity. I’m off Diet Coke, but the downside is I’m back to drinking
coffee. So…what’s the story on PAs and caffeine?

———–

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: Re: Nutra_Sweet affecting anyone else?
Date: 19 Sep 1995 15:18:56 GMT

I also get migraines from nutra_sweet. :-(

————

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: Nutra_Sweet affecting anyone else?
Date: 18 Sep 1995 18:05:48 GMT

Sorry if this has been covered in a FAQ, couldn’t spot one in a scan of
this newsgroup…
By trial and error I discovered that Nutra_Sweet will trigger what
several people described to me as a migraine. Absolute worst headaches I
had ever had… rendered me non-functional. I had never experienced
anything like them before, but began to have these once or twice a month
and they started to come on more regularly. A friend suggested that they
could be diet related so I began to monitor what I consumed. After some
time I narrowed it down to Diet Sprite and frozen yogurts with the
Nutra-Sweet brand sweetener in them. I thought at first that it might be
the “coldness” of the food, but no other ice cream or cold drinks trigger
an attack.
Now I avoid everything with NS in it and have not since experienced my
“migraine” headaches. I had heard one person talk about an “alcohol
bonding molecule” or somesuch in the NS that affects some people in this
way. Has anyone here read or heard anything about this or had a similar
experience?
I will say that I have now a complete and utter sympathy for anyone who
suffers from this type of pain. I had heard about migraine headaches all
my life, but had no clue as to the magnitude… Perhaps this info will
help someone else who has the same sensitivity to NS that I seem to have.

[same person]

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: Re: Nutra_Sweet affecting anyone else?
Date: 22 Sep 1995 13:26:22 GMT

>Is it automatic? IOW, do you get a headache every time you use
>Nutrasweet? The reason I ask is that I’ve eradicated sugar out of my
life
>(even though my headaches weren’t being caused by sugar, as it turns
>out). I eat a fair amount of Nutrasweet, but my one to two headache
>sessions a week would be far more frequent if they were only due to
>Nutrasweet.

For me it seems to “build up” before I got the headache… I started
drinking the diet Sprite and switched to frozen yogurt probably weeks
before I had the first attack, which is why I didn’t connect the two. I
don;t know whether the NSweet had to build up in my system first, or
what, but while I was trying to find out what was causing the headaches I
began to get them within a day after consuming anything with it. After
dropping anything with that wicked little symbol on the package my
headaches stopped, and I have been free of them for almost two years…
I do have a sensitivity to Nutra-Sweet now. I did discover that not
everything has the NutraSweet symbol printed on it. I had something,
don’t remember what, but after eating it I got the “weird” feeling… and
checked the ingriedients: Aspartame. Thankfully I never got the
migraine, which leads me to think it must build up in my system to
trigger the headache.

—————

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: Re: Nutra_Sweet affecting anyone else?
Date: 18 Sep 1995 21:00:49 GMT

Yes. If I have anything w/ Nutrasweet I am almost
assured a migraine.

It is a common trigger.

————–

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 11:12:00 -500
Sender: FIBROM-L Fibromyalgia / Fibrositis Discussion Group
Subject: Survey on FM ‘Triggers’ -Reply

The following items seem to “TRIGGER” my FM:

Colas (Yes)__x___ Which one(s)___all__________
(No) _____

Dr. Pepper (Yes)_____ (MORE than other Colas)__x____
(No) _____ (NO MORE that other Colas)______

Other Cafeine sources (yes) choc_____ Which
one(s)________________
________________
________________

(No) _____ Cafeine does not bother me

Love Chocolate (Yes)___XXXX!______ (No)_________________
Sometimes bothers___x___
Always bothers ______
Never bothers ______

NutraSweet (Yes)___xx_____ (No)_________________

Other types of dietary “Triggers” for me are:

sugar

—————

Newsgroups: alt.support.anxiety-panic
Subject: Re: Any problems with Nutrasweet?
Date: 19 Sep 1995 00:29:26 GMT

When NutraSweet first came out, I used it alot (i.e I drank
gallons of diet Coke).

I began to get headaches, dizzyness(sp), and a buzzing in my
head. After awhile, I noticed that it only happened after
drinking something with NSweet in it.

Everyone said that it was the “most thouroughly tested product in
the history of mankind” and that there were no reports of adverse
effects. However, since I gave up NSweet, I have never had those
symptoms again (and it’s been about 9 years now). Go figure.

————

Newsgroups: misc.health.alternative
Subject: Re: fibromyalgia
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 1995 18:37:59 GMT

Now. I just recently tried aspartame, against my better judgement
when my husband was diagnosed with hypoglycemia. Thought maybe I just
wouldn’t be one of those people to respond negatively, but I developed a
completely different form of migraine headache than I’ve ever experienced
before. Did my FMS symptoms get worse? No, but I wasn’t doing as well
as I had been for some time. Now that I’m off the aspartame my symptoms
remain consistent. No magical cure.

————-

Newsgroups: alt.support.anxiety-panic
Subject: Re: Any problems with Nutrasweet?
Date: 17 Sep 1995 19:07:35 GMT

Yes, NutraSweet brings on severe attacks for me from as little as
a single can of diet soda. And i was working at nutrasweet as a
consultant for 6 months or so (this year) so i tried it many times
to be sure. valium seemed to stop the attack in mid stream
though.

————-

Newsgroups: alt.support.anxiety-panic
Subject: Re: Any problems with Nutrasweet?
Date: 17 Sep 1995 13:01:04 GMT

>Has anyone experienced anxiety-panic attacks brought
>on or made worse by nutrasweet (aspertame)?
>
>I read one posting on the diabetes newsgroup claiming
>such a connection.

YES! Nutrasweet totally brings mine on!

————-

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 10:16:06 -0500
Sender: FIBROM-L Fibromyalgia / Fibrositis Discussion Group
Subject: Re: Survey on FM “Triggers”

The following items seem to “TRIGGER” my FM:

Colas (Yes)__X___ Which one(s)__Diet Colas_______
(No) _____

Dr. Pepper (Yes)_____ (MORE than other Colas)______
(No) _____ (NO MORE that other Colas)______

Other Cafeine sources (yes) ______ Which one(s)________________
________________
________________

(No) ___X__ Cafeine does not bother me

Love Chocolate (Yes)____X_____ (No)_________________
Sometimes bothers______
Always bothers ______
Never bothers __X____

NutraSweet (Yes)___X_____ (No)_________________

Comments:
I have noticed (now I’m quit smoking) that I have spring and fall alergies,
due to trees. I seem to be acutely aware of a high mold count, too.
Otherwise, nutra sweet is the only real sensitivity I’ve noticed, so far.
Until three years ago, nutrasweet didn’t bother me.

————–

To: xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxx
Subject: Aspartame Test
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 11:42:22 -0700

By the way – I gave my doctor the post that you sent me from xxxxx xxxx.
She was very impressed. She told me that she took one of her patients off
of Nutrasweet for an undisclosed (to me) condition and was starting to see
improvement. She promised to be sensitive to effects of Nutrasweet in all
of her patients.

Anyway the post ……….

A while back, I promised to post my results after taking xxxxx’s test. Now
seems as good a time as any, although some things are going on that haven’t
completely played out yet.

First off, I have been a diabetic, type 1, for 35 years; I take thyroid
replacement hormones, and I have alopecia areata. I tried the test because
of the hope of increased energy.

Well, I’m still a diabetic – although my average blood sugar has gone from
155 -160 to 135 -140, and I’ve been able to maintain that for about six
weeks now, somewhat of a record for me. I’ve lowered my insulin dose, but
only slightly.

I’m taking about half the amount of thyroid replacement that I was taking,
although this is a bit uncertain. Thyroid is measured with an indicator
that is a 4 to 6 week average. I was having symptoms of hyperthyroid and
the doctor decided to lower my dosage. The actual correct dose won’t be
confirmed for a while.

I have seen some hair return in the alopecia areas – but only a bit; I’m
still not ready to grow back my mustache (though I keep hoping). I have
been using rogaine as the treatment for this – however, it hadn’t seem to
help until recently.

I’ve lost nine pounds; I’m not as hungry as I used to be. The tendonitis I
had in my hip has gotten considerably better; my shoulder (still recovering
from surgery) seems to be opening up a bit more; and finally my sense of
smell and taste are both better. I also feel better and indeed have more
energy.

Now all of these things could and frequently do happen to people with no
effect from aspartame. My wife attributes all of this to the “halo
effect,” that self righteous glow associated with sacrifice, and that may
well be the case. Tendonitis does get better, people gain more control
over their diabetes, alopecia does go into remission. However, I am
convinced that giving up aspartame played some role in all of this. These
effects seemed to happen at once and seemed to be related to my giving up
the stuff. At any rate I’m convinced enough to not use it again.

————–

Subject: Re: Aspartame, anyone?
To: xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxx
Date: Sun, 17 Sep 1995 20:55:05 -0700 (PDT)

A belated thanks for the info; thought-provoking and potentially useful,
though the food allergies areat least 3/4 gone now. (Can’t tell
exactly – my diet is pretty restricted for other reasons now, and
survival food habits mostly hold me in their grip… but prognosis is
excellent!)

Your article is a “keeper”!

————–

AOL Post
Subj: Migraines and Nutrasweet
Date: 95-09-16 21:48:42 EDT
From: PRLester

I am a nutritionist working on my Master’s degree. I’m not taking a position
to argue about whether or not the government should have approved NutraSweet
and don’t intend to enter that debate. However, I know that NutraSweet gives
me headaches. This theory was confirmed when I sent my husband out one night
to get some ice cream. He prepared me a bowl of it without my seeing the
container. Within a matter of 1/2 hour I was in bed with a headache and
stayed there all night and the entire day following. When I finally got out
of bed, I went to look for something to eat and noticed that the ice cream he
had purchased had NutraSweet in it. We do not purchase items that contain
NutraSweet for use in our household. My husband made a mistake. His
mistake, however, helped to verify my theory that NutraSweet gives me a major
headache. A lady I work with has the same problem. I don’t knock anyone for
using it if they feel they can with success. I’ve always thought that
NutraSweet is like a lot of other things were are exposed to
everyday…someday we MAY find that what we thought was good for us really
wasn’t at all. Time and new research will tell.

————–

Newsgroups: alt.med.cfs
Date: Sun, 17 Sep 1995 00:20:42 -0400
Subject: Re: Aspartame and headaches

You aren’t the only one who gets headaches with aspartame. I get them and I
also have a friend who gets them. But, try telling your mother and sister,
who live on diet Coke, that you can’t have anything with aspartame. They
look at you as if you are crazy which I know I am not. At times I have my
doubts about them though for not believing me when I have something to say.

————–

Newsgroups: alt.support.big-folks
Subject: Re: Sugar-free sodas
Date: Sun, 3 Sep 1995 19:49:29 -0600

I don’t know about sugar cravings, but I do know that my mom, who is
diabetic has problems with low blood sugar if she drinks a soda with
Nutrasweet too late in the evening. It seems to be OK during the day, but
not at night (probably because she can notice the low blood sugar
symptoms better and do something about them when she is awake than when
she is asleep…). For some reason, the nutrasweet seems to fool her body
into thinking she has more sugar to burn than she does.

————–

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 1995 11:03:32 -0400
Sender: FIBROM-L Fibromyalgia / Fibrositis Discussion Group
Subject: Re: Another Newbie with a question

I can’t consume anything with NutraSweet in it because it gives me a
terrible headache (relieved only by feverfew), but I don’t think it’s
caused my FM problems (could make them worse maybe? due to the sheer
volume of pain and it’s interference with sleep?).

————–

Newsgroups: alt.support.arthritis
Subject: Re: Joint Pain
Date: 12 Sep 1995 00:10:56 GMT

>: I recently purchased a LARGE box of Carefree gum at my local
>: warehouse-type-store. After chewing it for about four days, my bad knee
>: started giving me real fits. After I stopped chewing the gum for about a
>: week most of the pain went away. This gum contains aspartame which I
>: suspect is the contributor to my discomfort. As a result, I am now staying
>: away from sugarless gums and diet soft drinks. I was wondering if
>: anyone out there has had a similar problem with aspartame?
>
>Interesting. I had a similar experience with this ingredient in Kool-aid
>and have stayed away from it since. I wasn’t sure if it was valid or I
>was just paranoid. Seems I wasn’t alone.

Well, guys – guess what? You’re definately not alone. I experience
the same thing with diet soft drinks. Will check out the book
mentioned in a later post. Looks interesting.

————–

Newsgroups: misc.health.diabetes
Subject: Re: I Quit Artificial Sweeteners – Neuropathy Gone!
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 95 15:17:31 GMT

Well, my fiance was doing a lot of NutraSweet (coffee, Diet Coke, etc.). I
printed out some of the posts here and she decided to cut out the NutraSweet
for a couple of weeks to see what happened. The results have been quite good.

She has been having headaches for years. There is a noticable reduction if
not elimination of headaches. She has problems with anxiety and panic
attackes. She has not experienced one since coming off the NutraSweet.

There are other noticable effects, too, but suffice it to say, cutting out
NutraSweet in her diet was a good move and something she plans to continue.

————–

Newsgroups: misc.health.diabetes
Subject: I Quit Artificial Sweeteners – Neuropathy Gone!
Date: 13 Sep 1995 17:42:34 GMT

I am an Electrical Engineer and have been retired 8 years, so I do not
represent anyone, and I am not posting this as a testimonial. I only want
to share my personal experience.

I am a Type II Diabetic and have injected insulin for about 18 years. In
following the diabetic regimen I used quite a large amount of artificial
sweeteners, ending up with aspartame. For example I would drink 1 to 2
litres of diet soda pop each day as well as adding sweetener to hot drinks,
cereals, desserts, etc.

Over the years I lost all feeling in my feet and hands. My eyesight worsened
to the point that I needed a magnifier as well as my prescription reading
glasses to read the newspaper. Three years ago laser surgery was used to
remove a growth in one eye, although I can’t say this was caused by
artificial sweeteners. Because of loss of feeling I was injuring my hands
and feet quite often, cuts, scrapes, burns. It was no longer safe for me
to use power tools and I had to be very careful with anything sharp. I had
to drop a few hobbies which required “tinkering”, I couldn’t feel the small
parts, etc. Touch-typing went out the window too.

Then, as result of the “evils of aspartame” postings here, as well as the
flame wars, I thought I should experiment myself.

Two months ago I quit using aspartame and switched to stevia, the South
American herb. I use sun dried powdered leaves to avoid any possible
complications from processing.

Today I can report that my neuropathy has almost disappeared completely.
I have feeling in my hands and feet again. I am happily touch-typing, using
power tools and have resumed some of my former hobbies. Also, I no longer
need a magnifier to read, so my eyesight has improved.

I too am a skeptic and wary of snake-oil salesmen and exaggerated claims.
Therefore, on occasion I cautiously try some of these things myself and
form my own conclusions.

My experience may get others to find out for themselves.

————–

Newsgroups: alt.support.depression,alt.support.depression.manic
Subject: Re: Prozac: Orgasmic Yawns
Date: 10 Sep 1995 01:32:04 GMT

I’ve discovered (the hard way) that 1) stellazine in _extremely_
low doses (1-2 mg/day) is effective for controlling my bipolar swings,
2) the drug has a nearly instant effect (hours, not days), and 3)
that even with these very low levels of stellazine the “Nutrasweet”
in a typical diet soft drink is enough to produce an intoxicated state.

Any of those statements is enough to surprise most psychiatrists.
Stellazine is not a conventional treatment for bipolar mood swings,
and it normally takes a much higher dose and duration to see any
significant effect.

And as to an “intoxication” due to the interaction of aspertine and
stellazine, well let’s just say I might be the only person on the
planet to experience this.

My doctors accept this… because if they don’t I find another doctor.
But it’s something you would never see in the PDR. Neuropharmacology
is such an black art that orgasmic yawns doesn’t surprise me at all.

————–

Date: Sat, 9 Sep 1995 15:38:41
To: xxxx.xxxx.xxx
Subject: Re: Tinnitus FAQ Pointer

Anyway, please send me instructions for the auto-responder. My tinnitus did
increase after ingesting large amounts of diet pop over several months, so I
agree with you in my case.

————–

Date: Mon, 11 Sep 1995 14:42:14 -0400
Subject: Re: Aspartame, in response to Re: Twin Labs – Metabolift

I suffered a minor heart attack in June, and felt horrible afterwards. I’ve
suffered from clinical depression for a long time, and most people have
associated it with my weight, which may or may not be the case. However,
since I’ve stopped eating and drinking aspartame products, I feel more alive
than I have since I was a teenager. My arithmea is beginning to lessen as
well, from the feel of it. I think from now on, I’ll stick to corn syrup,
honey, molasses, and fructose as sweeteners, and partake of products having
only these sugars in them. I dislike cane-sugar’s taste.

————-

Date: Sat, 9 Sep 1995 17:54:05 -0500
Newgroups: misc.consumers, alt.movies.kubrick, misc.health.alternative,
misc.fitness, misc.fitness.misc, sci.med.nutrition, sci.med.pharmacy
Subject: Re: ALUMINUM AND ALZHEIMER’S

Interesting. I used to work for a firm (”The International Center for
the Solution of Environmental Problems” — ICSEP) that had Monsanto as
one of its clients. It’s true — their pockets are very deep and their
motives are very questionable. Just one of the reasons I don’t work at
ICSEP anymore… They basically provided “expert testimony” in Monsanto’s
favor.

My mother used to get migranes from Nutrasweet. She had to stop
drinking diet soft drinks. A few years later, she’s drinking them again
because the symptoms are gone… Eek.

The most annoying thing is, the “blue stuff” is no better than the
“pink stuff”… I can’t believe how much Nutrasweet has taken over.

—————-

AOL Post
Subj: Re: CDC studies, etc.
Date: 95-09-06 14:49:34 EDT
From: EvaS

I had a bad experience with aspartame, too. I got dizzy, nauseous, and faint
in hot weather after drinking it. The first article explains that very well -
the conversion and breakdown of aspartame to methyl alcohol and methanol.
Thanks so much for sending these files to me!

—————–

Date: Wed, 16 Aug 1995 18:34:01 -0700 (PDT)
To: xxxxxx.xxxx.xxxx
Subject: Nutrasweet

I myself have had problems with Nutrasweet and foods/beverages containing
aspartime. Everyone thinks I’m nuts, and I know I’m not. I would love to
give them documented information about this. I would also like to get my
mom off of Nutrasweet, it seems to be a major portion of her diet.

——————

Newsgroups: alt.support.big-folks
Subject: Re: Sugar-free sodas
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 95 01:51:24 GMT

I’m a Diet Coke addict. If I weighed 100 lbs., my teeth were made of
titanium, and they’d found that DC was more carcinogenic than tobacco,
I’d *still* be drinking Diet Coke. I always shake my head at people
who think I drink Diet Coke for health reasons. I say to them, “Have
you *looked* at Diet Coke? Have you *tasted* Diet Coke? Does it
seem like a healthy beverage to you?” No way it’s healthy. It’s more
like jet fuel. I love it.

—————

Newsgroups: alt.support.diabetes.kids
Subject: Re: Diabetes Camp
Date: 2 Sep 1995 04:09:03 GMT

We’re just in from the same camp, which was as wonderful as Annette reports.
One thing about the meals we found, however was that there was a reliance on
using foods with Aspartame in them (our daughter gets stomach cramps when she
eats it)….

————–

Newsgroups: alt.med.cfs
Date: Sun, 3 Sep 1995 20:44:31 -0400
Sender: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome discussion CFIDS/ME
Subject: Re: aspartame and headaches

I had a headache for eight years. After, my mother mentioned that aspartame
gave her migraines, I stopped drinking diet Coke (I drank about 2 per day).
The headache went away. I had always assumed that the headache was from my
allergies. The last time I had aspartame, I unknowingly consumed it (it was
at an ice cream shop) in a blizzard-like thing. I wound up in the dr’s.
office with one of the worst migraines that I have ever had. Now, I wouldn’t
go near the stuff.

—————

Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 12:40:36 -1000
To: xxxxxxx@xxx@xx
Subject: NutraSweet

About 8 years ago I was drinking a *lot* of low-cal Nutrasweet stuff
(Cyrstal Light, tea mix, etc) and started getting Yeast infections.
Then I read an article that said that too much suger *or* artifial
sweeteners could cause this to happen. So I stopped drinking that
stuff and yes the problem went away, never to return.

—————-

Date: Thu, 9 Jan 1997 16:30:59 -0500 (EST)
To: xxxxxx@xxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: DID YOU WATCH 60-MINUTES DEC. 29th?

Back in 1976, I had a bad reaction to the swine flu shot, which (IMHO)
eventually resulted in my CFIDS. I was able to function, and live a
“semi-normal” life (working, enjoying friends and family, etc.) until 1983,
when I first started drinking lots of aspartame-loaded soft drinks–a few
months after aspartame was approved for this use, and made available on the
market. My health-status dropped as if it had fallen from a cliff; doctors
knew something “neurological” was wrong, but they couldn’t find anything
official. At the time, no one suspected the aspartame, and I continued
drinking the stuff until 1989, all the while watching helplessly as I
descended into bedridden-ness. By the time a new doctor took me off
aspartame, there was already permanent damage. But I’m not bedridden
anymore, no longer have the kind of headaches that make one pray for
doctor-assisted suicide, and am gradually incorporating “normal” activities
(going to movies with friends, etc.) into my life.

—————-

AOL Post
Subj: Migraine trigger/alternatives
Date: 95-08-27 21:23:24 EDT
From: RClark1

After reading a lot about nutrasweet as a possible trigger for migraine on
the migraine message board on aol and on the alt.support.headaches.migraine
newsgroup, I decided to give it a try — giving up diet cokes, that is. I
also gave up caffeine at the same time, so I can’t say for sure which it was
(or both), but I’ve been off both for 6 days now & my migraine frequency is
decreasing (it’s been a very stressful time & I would have expected to have
another 2 or 3 migraines by now).

————–

AOL Post
Subj:=09Nutrasweet side effects
Date:=0995-08-29 11:43:14 EDT
From:=09CatInBlack

I’m curious to see the official list. I quit using Nutrasweet nearly two
years ago at my doctor’s suggestion. My hair and skin have seen dramatic
improvements.

—————–

Newsgroups: alt.med.cfs
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 1995 15:48:42 -0400
Subject: Re: Aspartame and headaches

I get horrid migraines from aspartame (Nutrasweet). I discovered it when
I started to drink diet Coke. I think there’s been studies done in
England on the relationship between aspartame and headaches. But I
tested it well on myself and found, alas, I MUST stay away from it or pay
heavy consequences. I would be interested to see what the pilots’ assn.
found.

—————-

Newsgroups: alt.support.depression
Subject: Re: ** Does NutraSweet Cause Brain Damage and Depression? **
Date: 29 Aug 1995 17:51:08 GMT

> This whole discussion was happening recently on rec.aviation.misc
> where it got a cold shoulder. Wether or not nutra-sweet causes any
> problems remains to be proven. It seems that many posters proved
> the original posters wrong.

Strange that my doctor doesn’t seem to have the same opinion. When i
mentioned problems with nutra-sweet he said it was known that some people
do have such problems. I find it interesting also that the basic problem
i had with it was feeling run down and more depressed after using it.
Sort of kills the advantages of caffeine, and then goes farther.

—————–

Subject: RE: Aspartame stats
Date: 24 Aug 95 20:07:02 -0700
Newsgroups: misc.health.diabetes

Each time I tried Asparthame, I got a headache. When some say
Asparthame may induce brain cancer… my temptation is to believe it.

————-

AOL Post
Subj: NutraSweet
Date: 95-08-24 16:24:20 EDT
From: CCima

I have been saying for years that NutrSweet gives me irregular
heartbeats and no one would pay any attention to it. I usually have a diet
coke every afternoon. The problem is I don’t always get the irregular beats!
But I noticed people mention other little problems that I have also noticed
that may or may not be coming from NutraSweet. I wonder if memory problems
are really true. Lord knows at my age I can’t afford to have any memory
loss.

————–

AOL Post
Date: 95-06-25 00:55:58 EDT
From: Depollak

One swallow of anything containing Nutrasweet gives me
immediate chest pain. So not only watch your food and beverage consumption
but also check medications if you are experiencing problems.

————

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: artifical Sweetners
Date: 13 Aug 1995 16:26:12 GMT

Well somedays it just doesn’t pay to get up. After starting a lifestyle
change, you know, less comfort food( except during 7+ migraines, more
exercise, or should I say a more active lifestyle) I know from personal
experience that Nutrasweet definately cause migraines in me, every single
time, so when Splenda came out I thought yeah great, so last week out
went the sugar and now I was chewing the gum, drinking the pop and was
feeling pre-migraineish( what a word) so I stopped and it cleared up.

————

Date: Fri, 28 Jul 1995 15:16:39 -0600
To: xxxxx@xxxx.xxxxx
Subject: Mission Possible

xxxxxx,

I enjoyed reading your article on NutraSweet. I have known of the
problems with the product for years. My first experience with it left me
with a very BAD headache. My father who was diabetic started drinking
it. His eye sight started going bad before he died. This was attributed to
the disease. and not to any other possible causes. I first learned about
the problems with nutrasweet from an article in an aviation magazine
about 10 or more years ago and since then have never knowingly had it
again. I have warned anyone that I know who drinks or eats nutrasweet
products about the problem but I am always met with ” If it was so bad
they would never let it get on the market! “. This concerns me ,especially
when I see an expectant mother who drinks diet pop like it was water.
What effects will this have on the child? Will there be altered brain
chemistry? High risk of cancer? Learning disabilities?

———-

Date: Thu, 17 Aug 95 08:46:57 EST
To: xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxxx.xxx
Subject: Re[2]: Aspartame Report Request

Well…

Much to my surprise, something I was sure was _not_ aspartame caused
disappeared in a little over a week. I have arthritis of the hip
joints, probably from years of competitive swimming. So it was
“normal” when I got hip pain — I’m 47. A couple of doctors has
notices the arthritis over the years in x-rays.

I’ve been drinking a lot of Diet Pepsi for years.

I was accustomed to the dull ache in both hips, which occasional got
very stiff and painful. It’s gone for the first time in two years,
disappeared about 10 days after stopping drinking Diet Pepsi and I
have had no hip pain at all.

(continued in later email) …..

Date: Tue, 28 Nov 95 09:15:28 EST
To: xxxxx@xxxxxx.xxxxxx
Subject: Re[2]: Are you Better

Your memory is fine. I was a heavy Diet Pepsi user. I had joint pains
and fuzzy vision.

However, I read all your literature and saw the memory loss issue. I
was looking at myself to see what other effects I _might_ have. I
never experienced memory problems. The joint pain was the most obvious
and serious. I had it for years. That is what the doctors, including
orthopedic surgeons, kept attributing to my former sports and
resulting arthiritis.

Within a week of stopping Diet Pepsi (about 4 liters a day), my hips
felt much better. I have barely noticable aches and only on occasion.
Before, there were days when I had difficulty moving around in the
office.

I suppose the scientific thing to do would be to saturate myself with
aspartame again and see whether the hip pains recur. I am _convinced_
that it was Diet Pepsi and don’t want the pain again.

I changed nothing else in my diet or activity and lack only the proof
of causing the symptoms again. For me, experiential knowledge is
enough.

The other symptom that disappeared may have been related too. In the
summer when there was plenty of light from the upper window, I’d
shower in the morning without switching the electric lights on. When I
closed my eyes to rinse my hair, I’d see strobe-like flashes. They
disappeared when I opened my eyes and did not recur in any other
conditions. Those stopped with the hip pains.

—————

America On-Line (AOL) Post
Subj: Re:NutraSweet
Date: 95-04-14 00:08:33 EDT
From: SKBurns

I react to products sweetened with nutra-sweet. No heartbeat problems, but I
have itching skin and instant headaches. Have heard that it can cause a
variety of problems and is very harmful. My doctor said there is no allergy
test available yet but that a lot of people are sensitive to it.

————–

AOL Post
Subj: Re:NutraSweet
Date: 95-02-19 18:36:59 EDT
From: WgtEast3rd

when i got pregnant the first thing my doctor told me was to stay far away
from any diet products because nutrasweet can cause severe brain damage in
the fetus? why on earth is this stuff not labeled? i have heard that
coca-cola is involved in a lawsuit, any body got more information?Subj:

————–

AOL Post
Re:NutraSweet
Date: 95-01-23 20:34:19 EDT
From: DHISLAND

Other known problems with nutrasweet are: Severe headaches (neurological) and
amenohorrea (cessation of menstrual periods in females). I know 2 women
personally who had this happen and periods returned to normal when they
stopped drinking diet Coke.

See my posting re. other side effects. I know a gal who had the same
symptoms as you — starting when she took a new job where she had diet coke
available and drank a lot of it. I advised her to stop and see what
happened. Lo and behold, the “spells” went away. To test further, she tried
diet coke again, and had even worse symptoms.

—————-

Date: Sat, 29 Jul 1995 15:19:35 -0700
Sender: FIBROM-L Fibromyalgia / Fibrositis Discussion Group

Subject: Re: FM and Aspartame (Nutrasweet)(Dr. Nye?)

I have had a long standing problem with the preservatives that are used
in canned vegetables. I use only fresh or frozen vegetables now. I
decided that I didn’t need to become so intimately acquainted with the
toilet and that discretion was the better part of valor. I also have the
problems with nutrasweet and other sugar substitutes as well as msg.

—————-

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 1995 22:37:36 -0400
Sender: Allergy discussion list
Subject: Re: Nutrisweet, quitting smoking

Are sorbitol and mannitol the substances in Nutrisweet (sp?)? I react to
Nutrisweet instantly, even if I don’t know it’s in something I’ll tell
you right away as I have the same symptoms you’ve described. I’ve only
heard of one other person who had the same reaction.

—————

Newsgroups: alt.med.allergy
Subject: Re: Aspartame and Joint Pain
Date: 12 Aug 1995 23:15:41 -0400

I have noticed that when I use Nutrasweet on my cereals, my hands ache
more and more, sometimes my legs as well. I know it is the Nutrasweet
because I son’t use it every day – but when I do, they ache within 3-24
hours!!

—————-

Newsgroups: alt.support.diet
Subject: Re: I’m a coca-cola addict…
Date: 13 Aug 1995 10:59:19 GMT

I too am a Pepsi fan, not willing to let it go.
I allow myself one in the a.m. when I want it,
and one in the evening – this is a major cut
back for me – 5-8/day. I can’t drink or eat
the drinks/foods with aspartame/nutrisweet as
it causes reactions such as migraines, diarrhea.
I make sure to get in my 8 glasses of water/day
and that seems to cut down on my urge to drink
my beloved Pepsi – it’s the best!!!

—————-

Newsgroups: alt.support.anxiety-panic
Subject: NutraSweet/aspartame
Date: Sat, 5 Aug 1995 17:18:16 -0400 (EDT)

Anyways, I had a few panic attacks starting several years ago, and now
that I think of it, the onset was roughly around the time I started
consuming NutraSweet stuff. After consulting a pharmacist friend who
avoids the stuff also (mostly because of the “shady” approval process), I
tried giving it up, and I’ve felt a lot better since — no panic or
anything!

It could be just a coincidence, or it could be just psycological, but I
thought I’d post this just in case — especially after hearing from
another reader of this newsgroup who suffers from panic and who uses a
large quantity of NutraSweet products.

—————-

AOL Post

Subj: Re: Hypoglycemia
Date: 95-08-11 10:04:23 EDT
From: Ssecunda

Thanks! That’s interesting. I HAVE wondered if the nutrasweet affected me.
The soda’s still made me feel a little sluggish (nothing liek regular suger,
though.) I have gone to using the sacharin for that very reason. Have you
noticed anything? I am going to see if I can find anything else on
aspartame.

————–

AOL Post

Subj: Nutrasweet and SVT
Date: 95-08-10 23:52:31 EDT
From: PeggyJM

Thanks for all the info you’ve been sending! I took all the Diet Coke I had
in the house (more than 50 cans!) and opened them, and poured them down the
drain. I’ve been off of Nutrasweet for two days now….I’ll let you know how
it goes. I heard from someone else who has a friend who went off Nutrasweet
and was able to go off all of her cardiac drugs and is doing fine. I’ll keep
you posted.

————-

Subj: Re:Nutrasweet /heart
Date: 95-08-08 03:47:09 EDT
From: xxxxx xxxxx

XXXXXX,

Thought you might like to know that I’ve been off of Nutrasweet and all
related products for almost a month now. I was diagnosed in late june wiht
PVCs or irregular heartbeat. All tests (and I had a LOT of them) came back
normal. The PVCs had increased to the point that they were
incredibly distracting to me, 2-3 per minute. Since I stopped Nutrasweet they
have decreased to the point that they occur
only 25% as much and they hopefully are still declining in frequency. I don’t
honestly know if its the abstintion from Nutrasweet directly, but the timing
of this is uncanny. Stopping Nutrasweet is literally the only change I’ve
made. I haven’t even been concious of it. I just noticed one day last week
that the PVCs werent happening nearly as much.

I’ll keep you posted and thanks again for all the info,

P.S. After a period of time I’m planning on going back on Nutrasweet at my
previous level of consumption to see if my heart becomes irregular. : )

Thought you might want me to answer some of the questions 1-4.

> “1. In what forms and approximate daily amounts was aspartame ingested?”

I was eating quite a bit of nutrasweetened candies, always in my coffee(2-3
packets a day
) plus thte kicker, I used probably 6-7 packets on cereal each morning! I
know it sounds crazy…..
Also in yogurt. Basically if it said Nutrasweet I ate it.

> “2. Did any of these products have caffeine (e.g., diet Coke)?”

None of these apartame sweetend products contained caffine to my knowledge

> “3. Were you ingesting any other cafeinated products?”

Yes, I’m a big coffee drinker. I cut back briefly 4 cups a day to 2, but have
now been back up to 4 cups for al least 2 weeks. I cut back on caffeine a
week before stopping all aspartame. I never stopped caffeine all together.
Only moderated briefly and am now back to previous levels.

>”4. When you cut out aspartame, did you also significantly reduce the
> amount of caffeine ingested.”

As I stated before, only briefly…

I’ve already called my Cardiologist and we will be discussing aspartame
direcly.
Feel free to reprint this if you like

P.S. below is the original conversation to refresh your memory
P.S.S I’m really serious when I say the PVCs were INCREDIBLY distracting and
frequent. All of this was captured in various tests as well.

Newsgroups: misc.fitness.weights,misc.fitness.misc,misc.fitness.aerobic
Subject: Re: Aspartame/NutraSweet
Date: 29 Jul 1995 00:47:16 GMT

My experiences with nutrasweet, and those of my family members, have
been painful. Its use correlates to chronic headaches, sinus problems
and in some instances nausea among people in my family. I know other
people who’ve noticed similar symptoms. On the other hand I know people
who use it all the time and have no problems. Maybe (I’m guessing)
there is varying tolerance for the stuff depending on different genetic
factors and/or environmental factors.
The idea that nutrasweet is unsafe is backed up by some research that
was posted earlier in this thread, but that doesn’t mean that refined
sugars are safe. They are simply less unhealthy than aspartame, unless
you are diabetic of course.
The IDEAL thing would be for all of us to lose the sweet-tooth.
Simple sugars in the anounts most of us in the industrialized world eat
are unhealthy and also environmentally irresponsible. Try a piece of
fruit or some orange juice instead.

————-

Date: Mon, 24 Jul 1995 23:22:53 -0400 (EDT)
To: xxxx@xxxx.xxxx.xxx
Subject: URGENT: NutraSweet(tm) De (fwd)

I, too had bad experiences with aspartame. It replaced saccharin
about 10 years ago; as a marathon runner in his 30s, I consumed
gallons of diet drinks daily at that time. When I first drank soda
with aspartame, it had immediate and severe effects upon my
consciousness and vision. After a few scary incidents, soda
consumption and problems seemed related. I described symptoms and
circumstances to my doctor. He ran tests, but never seriously
listened to my concern of relating soda with the effects. He was
a reasonably competent GP, but not ready to distrust, let alone
blame, and FDA approved sweetener. Eventually I quite ingesting
aspartame and have not had incidents since.

Employed in the professions and a postgraduate, I conduct research
occasionally and am aware of the difficulty of matching cause and
effect (and the danger of doing it improperly). But there is no
doubt in my mind that “tests” with my body proved that aspartame
is bad (at least for me). When I spoked about this to a non-flying,
weightlifting gym friend, he volunteered for a test. After
drinking one can of diet soda, his ears started ringing within
minutes and he got a pulsating sensation in his brain.

————–

Date: Mon, 31 Jul 1995 15:37:37 -0700
To: xxxx@xxxx.xxxx.xxx
Subject: Re: URGENT: NutraSweet(tm) Destroys Usenet!!!!

xxxxxx: I’d like a copy of the article. Nutrasweet did not cause
seizures, but my lips started peeling and were extremely dry. I did not
associated with Nutrasweet until I went back to using honey (I’m
addicted to the stuff) and it cleared up. To test it further I went
back to Nutrasweet and the same thing happened. Thanks CADS

————–

AOL Post
Subj: Nutrasweet
Date: 95-08-02 12:37:05 EDT
From: Kay Anders

I used to drink tons of drinks with Nutrasweet…I had a concentration
problem, lack of focus, migranes, lightheadedness, severe mood swings, skin
rashes, and giddiness to the point of manic-depression. 95% of where I got
Nutrasweet from was those soft drinks… Then I got a kidney infection about
four years ago, and had to go off soft drinks cold turkey.

Guess what? I still get headaches sometimes, but migranes are rare…and the
headaches don’t come every day like they used to. I still have skin
problems, but the rashes on my legs and feet are mild, not so bad I wind up
on crutches like before. All my other problems have abated or lessed to the
point where they’re negligible.

The mood swings can be brought on by caffine, but the have *never* been as
bad as they were with Nutrasweet. Nutrasweet is *toxic….* That’s all
there is too it. I haven’t touched it in four years, and I’ve never felt
better.

—————-

AOL Post
Subj: hype?
Date: 95-07-30 18:03:10 EDT
From: RcktWalker

As for me personally, I get dizzy and get headaches from Nutrasweet. Plus I
don’t like the flavor — it tastes nothing like sugar to me. But I still
drank diet cokes in an effort to lose weight yet stay awake at work. Until
one day my husband noted that I was particularly cranky that day and I must
have had a diet drink. That’s when I realized that the nutrasweet was also
making me very irritable and for the sake of my sanity, I went back to
caffine and sugar. Caffine doesn’t make me near as cranky.

————–

Date: Mon, 07 AUG 1995 17:46:20 -0400
Newgroups: bionet.neuroscience, misc.health.diabetes, rec.aviation.misc,
sci.med, sci.med.diseases.cancer, sci.med.nutrition,
sci.med.psycholbiology, sci.med.vision, alt.usenet.kooks
Subject: Re: URGENT: NutraSweet/MENTHANOL/TRUTH

To add to the anecdotal evidence: my wife is subsceptable to migraine
headaches. Taking Aspartame, she’ll get one every four or five days. Off
Aspartame, she’ll get one every six to twelve months. Eating an unknown
food containing Aspartame will usually trigger a migraine in 24 hours.

Needless to say, my wife avoids Nutrasweet at all costs, and has gathered
considerable research on it.

—————

Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 12:07:32 -0700
To: xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xxx
Subject: Aspartame info

It started about 6 years ago when I was about 43 years old. At the time
that is when the now popular term “presbyopia” started to become known.
That , as you probably know, is described as the natural and
predictable process whereby the flexibility of the lens in the eye
begins to decrease and the eye loses it’s ability to focus on close
items. Hence the jokes about needing longer arms to read a printed
page.

My vision had been 20/15 all my life, and I was horrified that all of a
sudden I needed reading glasses. Further, I spent many hours a day
using a computer, and I had become privately convinced that I was
developing an attention deficit because I had trouble concentrating.

My genetic predisposition to type 2 diabetes had prompted me to
eliminate sugar from my diet (mainly for weight maintenance). Of
course the only widely available alternative is equal/sweet&low.

The trip to the optical shop got me some reading glasses that seemed to
do the job. I even got a pair that was optimized to the computer
screen distance. However, I seemed unable to concentrate as well as I
had in years past. Also my need for the glasses seemed to vary for
reasons I could not explain. Sometimes I could read very fine print
without assistance, and other times 1/8″ letters seemed to swim on the
page.

At about this same time, I developed another pretty weird neurological
symptom my hearing became hypersensitive to noise. Particularly on the
telephone. When talking on a cellular, for example, a loud or
distorted voice or sound would cause me to lose equilibrium and get
very dizzy and disoriented. Basically, I got the symptoms of motion
sickness.

At this time I also became so clinically depressed I went on an anti
depressant. I also have a strong genetic component of clinical
depression. I was in therapy, taking my pills and wishing I were dead.
In spite of excellent therapy and good medical help, I felt that my
world was falling apart and that I was physically falling apart.

About a year later, I was interviewing a bunch of job candidates in St
Louis for a sales position. I had coffee with about 14 people during
their interviews. At that point I would use one or two Equals with
each cup of coffee. As the interviews progressed, I became very sick.
I was wearing bifocal reading glasses, and every time I looked up from
the resume’s to look at the candidate, the little flickering change of
perspective gave me this wave of extreme dizziness. I got so sick that
I cancelled the interviews and went to bed. I thought I was having a
stroke or a brain tumor or high blood pressure. I called my doctor who
fedexed me some high blood pressure meds since I had a strong familial
tendency for hypertension. I had had mild hypertension in the past,
and the pills were a precaution against something worse. I was too
sick to leave the hotel until the following day and I hurried back for
an exam. I had layed off the coffee thinking that if my problem was
hypertension that coffee would be bad. I went in for the exam and
confirmed that I had hypertension and was given a prescription for that
which controls it very well. The doc said to closely monitor my BP and
see if caffeine was a factor. I could demonstrate no relationship
between my caffeine intake and BP levels, so I went back to a modest
coffee intake. Still, though, I found my hearing sensitivity and
related disequillibrium seemed to return in the afternoons. I also
scheduled my demanding intellectual pursuits in the mornings because I
was unable to focus mentally and visually in the afternoon. I was
pretty scared, since I had controlled the apparent cause of my problem,
but the most obnoxious of the physical symptoms remained. The story I
have told you happened over a period of several years.

About three months ago I was sitting in my office reading in the
morning (without glasses) a very small type face at the bottom of a
magazine ad. I said “hey, This can’t just be presbyopia and it is not
just a fatigue issue. . ..sometimes I can see and sometimes I can’t
see!” It just hit me so hard that I had to investigate. I made an
inventory of what I did all day long what I ate and drank, what I read,
how much I used the computer, etc. The only commonality I could find
was that I drank coffee all morning (abount 36 oz) which included a
total of six packets of Equal. Then, at lunch I’d have a diet coke
usually 32 oz. In the aftenoon, I’d have another diet coke and maybe a
coffee. Thank God I’m not too reactive to caffeine, I’d be dead.

Anyway the reduction in cognition and in vision coupled with the
disequilibrium tracked and correlated almost directly with my aspartame
intake. Eureka! I was trained in science, so I decided to eliminate
the aspartame from my diet to evaluate the differences, if any, that I
could feel see or measure.

Interestingly, the symptoms were pretty much gone by the third day. I
still need my reading glasses, but the size print I can see unaided is
much smaller than before! I can concentrate much better, and the
dizziness symptoms have disappeared. I now drink coffee with sugar and
pepsi (sugared) in about the same schedule and volume as before. I was
thrilled with the immediate and marked improvement in how I felt and
what I could do. Note, I had never heard a single bad thing about
aspartame before, in fact I could not have told you that aspartame is
nutra sweet! By the way I decided to go back to nutra sweet to see if
it triggered a return of the symptoms. After about 3 days it all came
back. I then permanently quit using nutra-sweet. This is a controlled
experiment with a single subject measuring what seems to be subjective
data. Nevertheless, I am completely convinced that my body and nutra
sweet are incompatible.

Now, I no longer need anti depressants, I religiously take my
antihypertensives and I feel immeasurably better.

….

However since my small personal discovery I’ve talked to a
young woman who gets instant migranes from nutrasweet and a close
associate of mine who has similar visual effects as my own.

—————–

Date: Tue, 30 May 1995 09:15:26 +1000
Subject: Re: Protein and dyskinesias
Reply-To: Parkinson’s Disease – Information Exchange Network

I am personally convinced that high intake of some proteins concurrently
with levodopa interferes with its absorption. I was in the habit of taking
my levodopa an washing it down with artificially sweetened blackcurrent.
The effects on me were somewhat erratic. Sometimes all PD symptoms would be
diminished, at othertimes some would remain. I then noted that the
sweetener (marketed under the name of Nutrasweet) included phenylalanine
which in turn has a molecular structure somewhat similar to dopamine. I
switched to the sugar sweetened variety and all my PD symptoms were
diminished – in some cases to the point of eradication. I believe that
other changes to my medication, diet and lifestyle (more fibre, more
exercise, less feeling sorry for myself) have also helped.

I was examined by a neurologist on May 26th and he said that he found it
difficult to believe that I had Parkinsons at all – he had not seen me
before I started the levodopa + eldepryl + florinef + Vitamen E + high
fibre + exercise + positive thinking. Right now I feel “normal” for the
first time in three years. Incidentally, when I first started on levodopa
I felt constantly nauseous and it was several months before I could take
the medication without unpleasant side effects.

—————

Date: Fri, 4 Aug 1995 09:18:03 -0400
To: xxxxxx@xxxx.xxxx.xxx.xx
Subject: Re: How Safe is Nutrasweet?
Newsgroups: sci.med.nutrition

I just recently gave up aspartame in my diet, and my headaches have completely
disappeared. ANother thing that surprised me was that my eyesight is no
longer blurry in the morning! That really amazed me. I had been complaining
to the last 2 eye doctors about this, and they just shrugged their shoulders
not knowing what may have been causing it!

——————

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 1995 14:10:08 -0600
Subject: Aspartame and Joint Pain – Reply

Over the years since Aspartame has been introduced I have sworn off
of it a number of times because I was always convinced it was causing
me problems, headaches, tiredness, etc. Somehow it would creep back
into my life.

—————

America On-Line post

Subj: Re: Chronic Fatigue
Date: 95-07-27 22:58:56 EDT
From: SharonC958

xxxxxx: thanks so much for the information. it reminded me of a summer i
spent in sunny hot florida. i was body building regularly in heat, and
drinking a TON of this new iced tea with nutra sweet. i was having alot of
problems with muscle cramping and kidney pain. i stopped srinking the stuff
and it all got better. but i also moved to a cooler climate. gradually i
started up with diet cokes etc. today is my 2nd day witout the stuff. it
really takes work now. i could whip into a mcdonalds and grab a diet coke.
now i have to think clearly about taking water bottles with me and finding
alternatives to drink. but its ok.

my doc doesn’t think it caused my health problems, but was relieved to hear
me say i was going to get off of it. its just one more contribution of
poison to my already weak body. its funny that you mentioned that getting
off may help me lose weight, because thats why i drank the stuff! what does
our government allow to be marketed?!?

—————

Newsgroups: bionet.neuroscience,misc.health.aids,misc.health.diabetes,rec.aviation.misc,sci.med,sci.med.diseases.cancer,sci.med.nutrition,sci.med.psycholbiology,sci.med.vision,alt.usenet.kooks
Subject: Re: URGENT: NutraSweet(tm) Destroys Usenet!!!!
Date: 1 Aug 1995 23:36:36 -0500

Aspartame:

I used to drink a lot of caffein-free Diet Coke and still drink a lot of
regular and decaf coffee.

I discovered that I felt weak and began slurring my words after drinking
more than a can or two of Diet Coke, so I stopped drinking it. Drinking
too much coffee affects me in entirely different ways.

—————-

Date: Wed, 2 Aug 1995 09:19:30 +0400 (EDT)
Subject: RE: Nutrasweet…
To: xxxx@xxxx.xxxxx.xx

I’ve been a diabetic since I was 3. I’m 25 now. In that time, I’ve used
saccharine heavily when it was all that was available, and initally used
aspartame heavily when it first came out.
Honestly, I think saccharine was the healthier choice of the two :-/
I recently decided to try to go aspartame-free. I haven’t had any in two
months now, and have noticed that I get less headaches and my blood
sugars don’t seem to swing around as much. I don’t know if it’s a
placebo effect or for real, but it’s still a good enough reason for me…

—————-

Newsgroups: alt.med.allergy
Subject: Re: Aspartame and Joint Pain (There is a Connection!)
Date: 1 Aug 1995 22:57:33 -0400

Yes, I have been plagued by severe joint paint. I tried to take
numerous antiflammatory drugs only to have my stomach get so upset that I
had to stop. For the past two years I have found relief taking Voltaren.
If I take more than one a day my stomach gets upset. Several times I
stopped taking the Voltaren only to have the severe joint pain return.

Now I have learned the cause of my severe joint pain: DIET SODA.

I stopped taking Nutra-Sweet containing products and no longer have
joint pain. If I start taking Aspartame products it returns along with
some mental confusion and dry eyes. I no longer have to take Voltaren
and no more upset stomachs.

—————-

Date: Tue, 1 Aug 95 13:41 MDT
To: xxxx@xxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: Aspartame and Joint Pain

>:Mark:

Thanks a lot!

My Nutra-sweet experiences are similar. A few years back, I started
experiencing severe Arthritus-style joint pain. Went to every doctor in the
state, with no results…they could find nothing.

Suspecting Nutra-sweet, a swore off the stuff…the results were amazing,
but it took a year for thing to get back to normal. Which includes my
normal water skiing, skydiving, and weight lifting.

A few days ago, I accidentally swigged down a whole “Arizona Iced Tea” with
Aspartame in it. All the pain came back big-time!

Hope it goes away quicker than last time….

—————-

Newsgroups: alt.support.mult-sclerosis
Subject: Re: Aspartame and MS
Date: 30 Jul 1995 07:51:26 GMT

I do thank you for your research on Aspartame. I for
one will never use it, also for life. It gives me
terrible headaches and IBS. I think the people of
the world have been deceived for at least 20 years.

—————-

Newsgroups: misc.fitness.misc,misc.fitness.weights,misc.fitness.aerobic,misc.fitness
Subject: Re: Aspartame/NutraSweet
Date: 29 Jul 1995 06:31:14 -0400

Nutrasweet was giving me heart palpitations. I stopped….even if I have
a diet coke now, I can feel a difference. I avoid it.

—————-

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Sat, 29 Jul 1995 15:15:44 EDT
Subject: Re: FM and Aspartame (Nutrasweet)

NUtrasweet is one of the things I have removed from my diet,
and yes, I think it is worth it to go without. I feel better
generally. I have also removed MSG and as many artificial
things as I can. I can’t say that diet is the cause/cure, but
every little bit helps.

————

Newsgroups: alt.support.mult-sclerosis
Date: Tue, 25 Jul 1995 14:40:58 -0600
Subject: Aspartame reactions (was Re: Epilepsy caused by MS)

The symptom I get almost immediately after taking any form of aspartame
(even when I don’t know I’ve gotten it) is nausea. The degree of nausea
depends on the amount of aspartame digested. One of my co-workers baked
a delicious cake (we have cakes at the office the first Wednesday of
every month). About 15 minutes after eating it I started feeling real
sick to my stomach and couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Later I heard
her tell the recipe to another co-worker, the icing had nutrasweet in
it. Diet drinks do the same thing to me.

Aspartame is also a common migraine trigger (recognized by most headache
research centers as such) and I get migraines.

————

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Subject: Re: FM and Aspartame (Nutrasweet)
Date: 25 Jul 95 01:04:22 -0600

I’ve seen several patients with FMS who notice that aspartame increases
their symptoms, particularly the IBS component. Others notice no
effect. This seems analogous to migraines (which aspartame may also
trigger in some patients) — certain foods, smells, etc. trigger
symptoms in some patients, and others in others.

————-

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 1995 21:59:43 -0600
Subject: Re: FM and Aspartame (Nutrasweet

Because of a severe head injury 16 years ago, I am sensitive to aspartame
(and Ultram) because it can precipitate seizures. BUT my 2 cents has
more to do with soda. If the theory about Fm being a problem with phosphate
metabolism is true, then soda (diet or not) is a good thing to avoid.
KyleAnne

—————-

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 1995 21:09:44 +0000
Subject: Re: FM and Aspartame (Nutrasweet

Ditto here. I used to drink Diet Coke and it didn’t bother me. Then
I started on Jolt Cola. Now, I cannot go back to Diet Coke. The
same headache strikes after one sip or taste of anything with Asp.

————-

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 1995 14:55:29 -0400
Subject: Re: FM and Aspartame (Nutrasweet

Not using aspartame is no cure for me, but I avoid it like the plague
because it causes lethal migraines. I do believe it’s toxic, if not for
all than for many. A Medline search will provide articles on its
neurotoxicity, although some in the medical community still say its fine.

————–

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 1995 11:24:12 -0700
Subject: FM and Aspartame (Nutrasweet)

I am being cautious is swallowing hook, line and sinker the negative news
on aspartame, and I have a lot more research to do on the subject before
stating unequivocably that it is a poison. However, I have stopped using
any products containing it for the past two weeks, and I have noticed the
following:

1. Increased alertness, less brain fog
2. Increased energy
3. Easier to wake up in mornings and get going
4. Disappearance of intense cravings for carbohydrates
5. Able to cut back on Elavil and Soma
6. Sleeping better
7. Better diabetic control

For me, anyway, there seems to be a connection. I’m not saying aspartame
is to blame for all my problems, but it may have been a trigger as I
began consuming large amounts of diet sodas, deserts, and hot drinks
sweetened with it as an effort to lose weight back in 1985. I’ll be
interested in hearing what others in this group may have to say.

…. (same person below)

Date: Mon, 24 Jul 1995 11:23:56 PDT
To: FIBROM-L
Subject: FM and Aspartame (Nutrasweet)

I haven’t finished reading all the info you mailed me–only about 1/3.
But I have remained free from aspartame for over 2 weeks now. Symptoms of
the fibromyalgia have not disappeared, but have lessened considerably,
especially the “brain fog” as it is jokingly called in the newsgroup.
That alone is a great relief since my mother has Alzheimer’s (she never
used anything with artificial sweetners, so aspartame is not to blame).
For the first time in months I feel focused on reading and doing my job.
I have actually read three novels the past week, something I hadn’t been
able to do in a long time because of shortened attention capability.

—————

Newsgroups: misc.health.diabetes
Subject: Stevia & Nutrasweet
Date: 28 Jul 1995 12:29:46 GMT

Preface: I used 2 packs of Equal a day to sweeten my tea plus
my wife would either buy or bake a cake or pie with
it ONCE IN A WHILE. My wife was drinking 8-10 cans
of diet coke a day plus several glasses of tea which
she was putting 2 Equal in each (about) 8 oz. glass,
and the same piece of cake or pie.

The numbness in my fingers is all but gone. I had been doctor
diagnosed with a NEROUS coln, it has settled down to the point
I think I am going to be able to get off the pills . I spent
the better part of 2 weeks eating home made bread with a lot
of All Fruit on it and generally just sitting instead of
exercising. My BG was 94. I have to also say that I’ve started
using Stevia so the BG reading may be at least in part to that.

My wife BG has been over 200 for better than 2 years. It dropped
18 points within 4 days of getting off the Equal. She has had
times…..a lot….when all she could MAKE herself do was sit
on the sofa, she’s got a LOT more energy than she did. She’s
been trying to loose weight for 10 years, she dropped 8 lbs.
since we got off Equal.

There’s nothing scientific about what we’
re seeing but it sure looks like it’s working for us. A
friend just lost her diabetic brother who lost a leg a few
years back. We showed her the WARNING flyer and yep you
guessed it, he had almost every symptom listed and the doctors
NEVER COULD FIND OUT WHAT WAS WRONG. This lady said she wished
she had had the flyer a few months ago, maybe her brother
would still be alive.

….

One other item I forgot to mention. I have severe arthritis in
one finger. The joint hurts like crazy most of the time and
there is almost always a spot on the side of it where my body is
trying to get rid of SOMETHING hard, right at the joint. That
has now gone away and the joint is still swollen but it doesn’t
hurt AT ALL anymore.

——————-

Date: Sun, 23 Jul 1995 14:45:31 -0500
From: vfreire@mindspring.com (Virgilio Freire)
Subject: Nutrasweet, you conviced me

xxx, I was drinking about 2 liters fo diet coke per day, and your comments
in sci.med.nutrition convinced me, I quit completely, and am feeling great!

————-

More America OnLine (AOL) case histories:

Jen35 – My sister had to give it up. It was making her head bob like
Kate Hepburn’s (really). Nutrasweet and caffeine, the Doctor said.
At first we thought she had Parkinson’s, but since she gave it up,
she is LOTS better.

—————

More America OnLine (AOL) case histories:

GotToLose – I used to avoid sugar entirely but not the desserts. Thus I
consumed pudding, milk shakes, jello, etc. all sweetened with Nutrasweet.
I would drink a quart of Crystal Light in 1 day. In 1990 I had 2 grand
mal seizures. I haven’t touched it or allowed my children to have it
since.

—————

More America OnLine (AOL) case histories:

Par T Bear – I have a problem with irregular heartbeat, and/or
sometimes rapid, pounding heartbeat when I drink or eat anything that
contains nutrasweet.
I do not get that effect when using saccharin or sugar for sweeteners.
And it doesn’t take a lot – half a can of diet drink or less will do it.
So I avoid anything with nutrasweet like the plague.

—————

More America OnLine (AOL) case histories:

BIGGS BOY – I had terrible burning stomach pains I thought were ulcers.
I consumed gallons of antacids and $$$$ of anti ulcer drugs. I tried
cutting out different foods and found that diet soft drinks seemed to
aggravate my condition.
Cutting them out helped but not completely. Then I realized it wasn’t
the carbonation that was hurting, it was the aspartame. Stopping all
aspartame intake solved my problem. I have challenged this many times
and there is no question in my mind that this is the cause. I got pains
once while chewing (non-diet, non-sugarfree gum.. or so I thought). But
a look at the fine print of ingredients had “you know what”.

—————

More America OnLine (AOL) case histories:

Sleepdeprv – I had severe headaches whenever I consumed aspartame. I
avoid it now and I never have headaches. I wondered how man others have
problems?

—————

More America OnLine (AOL) case histories:

APKolb – I experience severe headaches and joint discomfort when I
consume nutrasweet. I also have a similar problem with minerals in
the asparated form. I’ve been curious about a possible connection:
aspartame – aspartate?
[had another woman with the same complaint with the mineral supplements
with Jenny Craig diet - she had bad reactions and of course couldn't use
the deserts with all the aspartame either.)]

—————

Newsgroups: bionet.neuroscience,misc.health.aids,misc.health.diabetes,
rec.aviation.misc,sci.med,sci.med.diseases.cancer,sci.med.nutrition,
sci.med.psycholbiology,sci.med.vision,alt.usenet.kooks
Subject: Re: URGENT: NutraSweet(tm) Destroys Usenet!!!!
Date: 22 Jul 1995 18:11:48 GMT

I dunno about the lady with the neat last name, but I do know that
nutrasweet and its imitators cause me to grey out. Scared the daylights
out of me on takeoff in a turboprop. Its not a problem – I just don’t
use it. Call me the fat flyer.

—————

Newsgroups: misc.fitness.misc
Subject: Re: Aspartame/NutraSweet
Date: 17 Jul 95 09:58:00 GMT

I take Zoloft to combat chronic depression. The Doctor
who prescribed it to me (and has gotten me out
of a life threatening situation). Told me to never
ingest aspartame. It affected the serotonin levels.
(also alchahol, certain other nasties outthere…)

—————

Newsgroups: alt.support.diet
Subject: HELP!!!need advice
Date: Mon, 17 Jul 1995 16:59:48 GMT

How bad are pepsi’s and other sodas (i’m a soda-a-holic)
and I just can’t stand nutrasweet, it gives me an upset
stomach.

————-

Newsgroups: alt.support.diet
Subject: Re: HELP!!!need advice
Date: 21 Jul 1995 00:12:51 GMT

Yes, you can get used to nutrasweet, but I’m not sure that’s such a good
thing!! I recently weaned myself off a very long-term diet coke habit (can
you say Super Big Gulp?) and I’m feeling a lot better.

————-

>Newsgroups: sci.med.nutrition
>Subject: what artificial sweetener?
>Date: Mon, 17 Jul 95 23:33:43 -0500
>
>I’m looking for a good artificial sweetener. I have severe reactions
>to aspartame, so that rules out most commercially available sweet foods
>and beverages that are sugar free. I know so many people that
>experience some type of reaction to aspartame, I’m surprised that the
>FDA has not removed it from the U.S. market.

————-

America On-Line Post
ROSALY
Writes that her daughter is allergic to NutraSweet, but she didn’t
mention symptoms or how they found out.

————

America On-Line Post
Jeffyjeffy
Got off NutraSweet on the advice of a retired brain surgeon.

————

America On-Line Post
Peach La
Her financee diagnosed with Angiodema about 7 years ago, totally
disabled.
Swelling of face, eye, tongue, cheek, hands, feet, genitals hospitalized
twice.
Drinks a 6-pack diet coke daily (conservative guess). They even contacted
NutraSweet 3 years ago (sent them a survey) but nothing came of it. His
tests are negative on every disease they can test for. Suggested she have
him tested for methanol toxicity.

————

America On-Line Post
JoanG30895
This girls said “My nails split down the middle and my hair fell out.
Stopped all Nutrasweet intake and my nails cleared up and hair is healthy.
Wonder what it did to my brain. By the way this had been going on for
years. Did not know there was any relation to Nutrasweet and my problem.
Only discovered it after stopping the product.”

———–

America On-Line Post
Lifestars
This is some kind of organization out of California. He remembers
reading about a young woman in the San Diego area that died from a heart
attack and the medical examiner put on her death certificate that she died
from an aspartame induced heart attack.

———–

America On-Line Post
Nknown
Summer of 93 having muscle spasms in neck, horrible pain, went away
after getting off aspartame (had been drinking an iced tea mix with aspartame
4-5 times a day.
Prior to that, tried a packet of Equal in a cup of coffee – within minutes
had blinding headache, nausea and had to leave her job for the rest of the
morning. Her mother uses saccharin with no problems.

———–

Subj: Thanks for the aspartame info
Date: 95-07-14 12:00:42 EDT
American On-Line Post

Thanks for all the aspartame info. It is convincing enough, in combination
with my own mild reactions, that I will stay away from aspartame.

———–

Subj: Re: SWEETENERS substitutes
Date: 95-07-10 22:55:27 EDT
American On-Line Post

HI
Thanks for the info on NutraSweet I have a girl friend that drinks 6
sodas in less than 20 minutes. and has alot of insulin reactions and goes
into comas very often.. I very rarely drink the stuff because it tastes to
sweet to me. Also she has kidney problems and doesn’t it a protein. She is
totally blind also. I am going to give the information to her I hope it will
help her and pay close attention to it also.

———–

a)Subj: Re: METHANOL TOXICITY
Date: 95-07-10 20:37:22 EDT
American On-Line Post

Well, Bill went to the grocery store yesterday and bought a case of real
coke!!!! He still has 4 or 5 diet cokes left wich he will finish but he says
that he is committed to trying this. I had my last Nutrasweet a week ago and
am becoming a label reader as well as spreadng the word to friemds and
family. Besides Bill’s agioedema I told you about, He also experiences joint
pain, diminished vision, headaches and other things wich you have listed.

———–

Newsgroups: alt.support.mult-sclerosis
Subject: Re: Aspartame and MS
Date: 12 Jul 1995 23:17:16 GMT

I get the same headaches. I’m told it is from the methonol that is
released when the major componants break down .
Well, so much for diet anything now a days.

—————

Newsgroups: alt.support.mult-sclerosis
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 1995 19:32:20 -0400
Subject: Re: Aspartame and MS

I am not trying to argue for or against the use of aspartame here, but I
would like to point out that I was able to drink lots of Diet Coke and other
products with aspartame in them for several years. Then, I started developing
horrible headaches each time I drank a Diet Coke. Jello and pudding made with
aspartame also caused these headaches. I had to stop using the product
altogether. My husband, who does not have MS, has developed the same problem.
Has anyone else had this happen to them?

————

Newsgroups: alt.support.mult-sclerosis
Subject: Re: Aspartame and MS
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 1995 09:52:45 -0600

I also have MS, and do not use aspartame. My mouth goes weird when I do
have it. I don’t need to read labels, because even if there is a trace
of aspartame in anything my mouth goes fizzy, so instantly know it and
don’t eat or drink it.

————

Newsgroups: alt.support.mult-sclerosis
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 1995 01:55:38 -0700
Subject: Re: MSLIST-L Digest – 9 Jul 1995 to 10 Jul 1995

On the subject of Aspartame:

Do you all know that it is in some of our medications?
The FDA does not require that pharmaceutical companies
print out all ingredients, so I don’t know which ones
contain aspartame, and I get really sick when I use it.
It’s very dangerous and the Government has known this
for at least 20 years, yet they allowed it to be put in
just about everything. Give me my cyclimates back:-)

————

Newsgroups: alt.support.mult-sclerosis
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 1995 09:49:25 EDT
Subject: Re: Aspartame and MS

I have never had Nutrasweet cause an exacerbation; BUT when I quit using it
for 2 weeks and then started again, I discovered it was what was causing my
arms and legs to “buzz”. I would have never believed it if I had not tried
an elimination diet.

————

Newsgroups: alt.support.mult-sclerosis
Subject: Aspartame and MS
Date: 8 Jul 1995 10:46:20 -0400

I used aspartame until 2 weeks before my first major exacberation,
as I associated it with symptoms leading up to it. I suggest no one with
MS should risk the possible involvement in their situation by aspartame by
using nutrasweet, or anything including nutrasweet, such as diet coke.

————

Date: Sat, 10 Jun 1995 15:01:22 EDT
Sender: Brain Tumor Research/Support
Subject: Research – aspartame

A friend of mine had a summer job in an ampitheatre. She started having
periodic dizzy spells that gradually worsened to seizures. After the worst one,
she ended up in a coma. After puzzling the doctors for quite a while, she was
diagnosed as having epilepsy and put on the appropriate drug. When she returned
to her normal life, the problems continued despite medication.

Finally, a friend of the family provided info on nutrasweet (aspartame). My
friend had had free access to a fountain soda machine when she worked in the
amphitheatre and had been drinking a lot of Diet Coke. The summer was hot and
the Diet Coke was free. When my friend finally heard the aspartame info, she of
course stopped her intake. Her problem completely disappeared. She is fine
(off all medication)) as long as she avoids nutrasweet. The only problem she
has had in years was once when she was served something that had nutrasweet (and
she didn’t know it)….she felt dizzy immediately.

————

>>Newsgroups: sci.med.nutrition
>>Subject: Re: How safe is Nutrasweet?
>>Date: 5 Jul 1995 05:03:48 GMT
>>
>>In the 1980s Common Cause did an extensive investigation into Aspertane
>>(Nutrasweet). I’ll look for my copy of the articles, but you might want
>>to contact them directly. The state psychiatric hospital where I worked
>>in quality assurance the psychiatrists charted that patients exhibiting
>>Parkinsonian tremors should not receive any food or beverage containing
>>Nutrasweet as it increased the tremors.
>>
>>Common Cause noted that Nutrasweet was approved for use in foods three
>>months after Reagan came into office. Scientist who had studied
>>Aspertane did not recommend it for use in foods because when heated it
>>breaks down into toxic elements.
>>
>>I will try to find the Common Cause article so I can give you the date
>>of the publication. But the quickest thing to do is to get the phone #
>>for Common Cause and ask them for a copy of their study.
>>
>>Good luck. I NEVER use aspertane (Nutrasweet) or any food or beverage
>>containing it due to what I have seen as side effects in patients with
>>Parkinsonian tremors.

————

Date: Mon, 5 Jun 1995 16:08 EST
To: immune@weber.ucsd.edu
Subject: the evils of aspartame

has anyone heard of aspartame being addictive? i haven’t, but suspect that
this might be the case. i seem to recall seeing a post on this list about
phenylalanine alleviating pain by causing elevated levels of endorphin. is
this true?

more questions: how does aspartame lower serotonin levels in the brain? are
there any studies documenting mood changes due to the use of aspartame?
also, are there any natural substitutes for sugar that are not harmful (and
also won’t pile on the pounds?)

another interesting thing… isn’t dry mouth/eyes one of the side effects of
aspartame? i guess that would be really good for the soft drink
manufacturers… the ideal product!! one that first quenches and then causes
thirst!

i am finding this vein of posts very interesting… i recently sent mail to
the list regarding my own problems (which led to responses from many of you,
urging me to be tested for lupus). thankfully, a battery of tests revealed
nothing ‘wrong’ in the autoimmune spectrum. but i am left with the same
problems as i have had for years… i am a huge consumer of aspartame, and now
am wondering if this might be the cause of my problems. it is scary, but
despite the numerous posts (most, i believe, from Claire Gilbert) regarding
aspartame, i am still using it (i actually prefer it to sugar, and crave it if
i haven’t eaten any for a while…), and cannot seem to kick the habit.

———–

Newsgroups: misc.health.diabetes
Subject: Aspartame = memory loss???
Date: Thu, 25 May 95 23:57:00 -0400

I was talking with the doctors and nurses that I worked with during
one shift, and many of us had neurological adverse effects from
NutraSweet. The doctor said that there isn’t much research on it, but
it’s a common complaint with patients. One nurse has numbness develop
in her mouth immediately after consuming the product. I, myself,
experience migraines from it. Another nurse has an elevation in blood
pressure and sees auras and has blurry vision. Although they are all
different complaints, they all relate to the neurologic system.

———–

Newsgroups: misc.health.diabetes
Subject: Re: Aspartame = memory loss???
Date: 25 May 1995 09:47:05 -0400

Nothing surprises me about Nutra Sweet. I was drinking diet cola, eating
nutra sweet laden ice creams, youguts ets. One evening I collapsed…head
felt like it was exploding, I was dizzy, momentarily blinded, heart
racing…I was very scared and my husband panicked. After under going
tests to find out if I had a brain tumor or a stroke, it was determined by
my doctor that I was having a reaction to NutraSweet. I was told by
doctor and several nurses to avoid it at all costs. Regular sugar in
moderation only. Seems more & more people are having reaction to
it..don’t know long term affects of the stuff. I have never suffered
memory loss from it but nothing surprises me…

———–

Newsgroups: misc.health.diabetes
Subject: Aspartame = memory loss???
Date: 24 May 1995 15:15:37 -0400

I was at the grocery store yesterday trying to find an easy to measure
sweetener pack for my Kool-aid. While I was trying to decide which of the
many packages would be the easiest, a nearby clerk offerred to help.
Turns out he has diabetes too. But then he shocks me with this story of
how he had been a Nutrasweet freak when it first came out and after about
2 years, he began suffering annoying memory loss (he was way too young for
“normal” memory loss). He didn’t think much about it, thought it was just
age (yeah, early 20’s will do it to you!). But he moved around that same
time, and 6 months or a year later went back to the town he’d lived in and
couldn’t remember his friends names! People he’d known for years! Went
to his doctor who told him to lay off the aspartame. After about 6 months
of limiting his aspartame to just a can or two of soda a day, he was back
to “normal.”

I was floored, but mainly because I’ve been experiencing memory loss
lately. I figured it was normal for someone of 35, although it did seem
odd that it came on so noticeably quick. I thought it was related to
another health problem, and it may be, but it is also odd that for the
past year I’ve been upping my water intake to 8-10 glasses a day by
drinking that much aspartame sweetened Koolaid.

———–

Newsgroups: alt.support.diet
Subject: Re: no carb questions re: aspartame
Date: 2 Jun 1995 22:43:53 -0400

Just putting in my 2 cents . . .

Several years ago, I read an article in Psychology Today about aspartame,
which said it was found in lab tests to increase seizures in epiliptics.
I can corrolate this w/two experiences: an ex who started drinking diet
sodas and started having seizures on a daily basis after seven years of
control on Dilantin; my poor Sheltie, who is okay unless someone leaves a
half-full glass of soda around and then the poor thing has a reaction.
Say I’m crazy, many have, but the final experience, memory loss, is
something I can say has increased over many years of aspartame use. Any
others w/similar experiences?

———–

Newsgroups: talk.environment,sci.environment,tor.general,ont.general,can.general
Date: 2 Jun 95 12:53:09 GMT

I know this is only anecdotal but my sister at age 32 with no neurological
symptoms her whole life had two grand mal seizures in the space of a few
days. This was after a summer of drinking large quantities of Crystal Light,
a lemonade mix sweetened with Nutrasweet. No antecedents or siblings
have ever had such symptoms. This was several years ago, but we (my family)
eventually decided to lay off aspartame. I guess I do believe that there
are people with a heightened sensitivity to aspartame. It is an easy thing
to avoid.

———–

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Subject: Re: FREE NESTLES SWEET SUCCESS
Date: 4 Apr 1995 01:20:17 -0400

And on the subject – does anyone else have severe reactions
to Nutrasweet? I get a headache from a soda and once had
convulsions after eating a slice (okay, a rather *big* slice) of
chocolate cream pie made with it. Which is the reason I’m
familiar with products that have it – unfortunately, it’s no longer
as well marked as it used to be – I tried the Slim Fast powder
without reading the ingredients and have terrible headaches
before reading the label. I ignored it the first day, thinking it
was just eating less that caused it.

[continued in a later post]

Re: ASPARTAME……………LINKED TO FIBROMYALGIA…?
Date Thu, 7 Mar 1996 10:10:10 -0600
Newsgroups alt.med.fibromyalgia

This is very interesting to me! I’ve never been able to track the onset
of FMS to accidents or virus like a lot of the people here can – mainly
because I have a lousy sense of past time. I do know that my last and
severe (to the point of convulsions) reaction to Nutrasweet wasn’t too
long before my symptoms started picking up speed.

Unfortunately, I’m not very objective about Aspartame and am likely
to be too willing to believe the worst. I shudder when I see pregnant
women drinking it because it affects me so badly and doesn’t affect
my mom.

———–

Newsgroups: alt.med.cfs
Date: Sat, 8 Apr 1995 06:01:52 -0400
Subject: Re: MED: Nutrasweet (fwd)

>> Wow, I had no idea that it could cause so many problems.
>>
>> xxxxx
>>
>__________
>Count me in on the aspartame, too. Gives me headaches, nausea, and
>worsens the brain fog. Besides, I can’t STAND the taste!

Heyheyheyheyheyhey……
Sorry to barge in here. I just gotta. I’m a sporadic browser in this
group and haven’t been tuned in lately…could you Aspartame-sensitive
people get in touch with me? My friends think I’m whacked when I tell
them that aspartame makes me feel dizzy, out of breath, nauseated, clammy
and that it makes my heart race. I don’t have CFS, but I am
hypersensitive to several things, aspartame it particular. Also, do any
aspartame-sensitive people out there live in fluoridated areas? Thanx :)

[updated information]

Re: NUTRASWEET
Date Mon, 30 Sep 1996 20:56:31 GMT
Newsgroups sci.med.nutrition,sci.med.immunology,sci.med,sci.med.pharmacy,mi
sc.health.diabetes,alt.conspiracy,alt.drugs,alt.med.allergy,alt.support.epilepsy

Good of you to post your experience — I had a similar one, only my symptoms
were really terrifying. At first, I thought I had developed an allergy to
nitrited pepperoni, since the worst attacks always happened after I’d eaten
pizza, which I always ate with diet peach or raspberry soda. I quit the
combination until I had a SEVERE attack (pounding heart, irregular, weak pulse
- weird since my heart was *hammering* – difficulty breathing, dizziness,
nausea, headache) after downing about 12 ounces of diet Pepsi. The next day I
ate some of my favorite pizza with a glass of water and nothing happened. A
couple of days later, I drank 6 ounces of peach soda, had a reaction, and
haven’t touched the stuff since.

It was quite a shock to “suddenly” develop such a reaction to something I had
been drinking for several years, especially since it had been touted as
NATURAL, and I had no allergies up to that point. My doctor tells me it is
not unusual, and that people often just chalk it up to caffeine (which I still
drink fearlessly and painlessly along with my tea and coffee), without
actually BOTHERING to find out for themselves. There are reams of terrifying
legal and research material out there for anyone who doesn’t just want to
snort at the idea of Aspartame being dangerous. I cringe when I see clueless
parents feeding this poison to their toddlers, but after an experience with an
utterly indifferent mother, I don’t bother telling them they might be ruining
their kids’ health. Nobody wants to hear bad news. But hey, the vision in my
left eye quit deteriorating ABRUPTLY when I quit aspartame (I lost about 50
feet of vision in it). Makes me kind of suspicious!
And I feel *so* much better! My craving for sweets left me as well. Isn’t it
a relief?! :)

———–

Newsgroups: alt.med.cfs
Subject: Re: MED: migraines (fwd)

>>Me too on the Nutrasweet. Horrible headache. <<<

Another 'thumbs down' on the Nutrasweet from me. I also
get head-aches and a kind of very unpleasant sensaation
throughout my body - kind of like a nervousness but I
can't really describe it. I just know it makes me very
uncomfortable and I avoid it at all costs. Also, I know
some people prone to seizures who say it triggers them.

-----------

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Subject: Re: Nutrasweet
Date: Wed, 8 Mar 1995 20:27:18 GMT

YES! I started getting migraines in '88. Before that time I usually
drank 1-2 diet sodas per day and used packaged Nutrasweet on cereal, etc.
It took a few migraines to realize that they were being triggered by the
Nutrasweet.

I got FMS/MCS in 1991, and still react badly to Nutrasweet. I get the
headaches, but also nausea, and the shakes. I stay away from it in any
form now.

-----------

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Thu, 2 Mar 1995 11:17:57 -0800
Subject: new member/Nutrasweet

After reading all the posts about nutrasweet, I wanted to add my experience
with it. In mid-1984 I started using the tablets in my tea (one tablet in
my one cup of tea daily). Shortly after (the 4th of July, I remember!) I
awoke one morning with a stabbing pain in my right big toe. Of course, I
did not connect it to the Nutrasweet -- why would I, especially back then?
My doctor tested for various things, but could find no problem. The pain
gradually, over a couple of months, worked its way up my leg, and stayed in
my knees for several weeks. Then to my hips, for several more weeks. It
finally ended up in my shoulders for several months, and stayed in my left
shoulder for nearly two years. I was referred to a rheumatologist, and I
made the "mistake" of mentioning that I was in therapy -- and you know
the look on his face at that.......However, he did a bone scan, which showed
inflamed joints, and I was diagnosed with "polyarthritis" (many joints) and
started taking Feldene (after trying many others first) with limited success.
I even had cortisone shots in my shoulder (about 7 or 8). Early the next
year, after this "diagnosis", I moved to another city with my then-boyfriend.
I quit work for awhile, which resulted in drinking only 2 or 3 cups of tea
a week, versus 5 or 6. You can guess that my shoulder was not quite as
painful, but still enough pain to medicate. Gradually, I switched to
herbal teas (vs. Twining's English teas) and did not need to sweeten them
at all. Over about 4-6 months, my shoulder "un-froze" and became pain-free.
I attributed it to a less stressful lifestyle and sheer good luck. Then one
day, I opened a drawer while cleaning and came upon a packet of the Nutrasweet
tablets and realized I hadn't used it for over a year. Bingo - the light
came on! I actually stood there for several minutes staring at that package.
I can't tell you how SURE I was that the Nutrasweet had caused my problems!
But I decided to test it out with a cup of herbal tea and one nutrasweet
tablet. I didn't really believe, though, that only one tablet would bring
on any symptoms, so I drank the tea and went on about my business. Twenty
minutes later, the large vertabra at the base of my neck started pulsing
very painfully. That convinced me.

So now I don't use anything with Nutrasweet, though I have occasionally
eaten it because I didn't read a label carefully enough. Had some in frozen
yogurt last year, unknowingly, until I awoke in new pains. Went to the freezer,
and there it was on the label, in small print.

I did write to the manufacturer, in 1990. Got two pages of mostly the expected
"of course, it's safe and tested, etc.", but the last paragraph contained
a few lines about the Center for Disease Control receiving 500 "reports" (note
they don't say "complaints" about adverse reactions to nutrasweet, and the
CDC has "conceded that some people may be unusally sensitive..." to
Nutrasweet.

-----------

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Wed, 1 Mar 1995 10:46:15 -0500
Subject: nutrasweet

I have been working with a nutritionist with some success. She equates
Nutrasweet reactions with MSG reactions. These include flu like symptoms,
achiness, sore muscles, irratible bowel, just the thing we all have enough
of already. So, at her suggestion I have eliminated MSG and nutrasweet
and really do notice a difference.

-----------

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 16:23:42 PST
Subject: Re: Nutrasweet
Lines: 10

Makes me dizzy and gives me headaches.
I quit drinking it several years ago, before I had FMS.

-----------

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 22:30:16 -0500
Subject: Re: Nutrasweet

Several months ago, there was a fair amount of discussion about this. I
believe the chemical in nutrasweet is called "aspartame." And a fair
number of people who are chemically sensitive do better staying away from
it--me for one. Watch out, it's in things like sugarless gum that you
might not think of right away. You also may want to eliminate carbonated
beverages, and cut back on sugars as well--there've been periodic
discussions of all of this on the list since I discovered it in October.

-----------

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Tue, 28 Feb 1995 08:32:50 -0500
Subject: Re: Nutrasweet

I too have suffered debilitating headaches from Nutrasweet. Haven't
touched it since I discovered the cause and have never had another
migraine-type headache since.

-----------

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 18:17:58 -0800
Subject: Re: Nutrasweet

I've always known my body did not like nutrasweet/aspartame, but I never
connected it to the fms...hmmm.....

Wonder if it has to do with our chemical and amino acid imbalances?

-----------

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Subject: Re: Nutrasweet
Date: 27 Feb 1995 22:07:33 GMT

My mother was diagnosed with FM about 3 years ago and at the time was taking
15 tylenol per day, several vivarin and drinking at least a six-pack of diet
coke. Her doctor at the time (thankfully) told her to quit all three, and she
does think that aspartame (nutrasweet) was responsible for the horrid headaches
she so often suffered from. I know nutrasweet gives me a headache, and I don't
have FM. On another note, my grandfather-in-law (how many of you have that
relation?) recently had surgery for bladder cancer, and his doctor said off-
handedly that it was probably caused by all the diet drinks he consumed. I
wasn't there for that conversation, but it does make you wonder.

-----------

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 20:17:56 -0500
Subject: Re: Nutrasweet

Yes xxxxx, I have a problem with both caffeine and Nutrasweet. I have
allergic reactions to Nutrasweet. Norenia

-----------

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 17:05:07 -0700
Subject: Re: Nutrasweet

Yes, yes, yes -- ME, I have definite problems with nutrasweet. I can't
eat/drink anything with nutrasweet without feeling nauseous (even when I
*don't* know there is any nutrasweet in it). For other people I know it
acts as a migraine trigger, etc.

-----------

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Subject: Nutrasweet
Date: 27 Feb 1995 11:50:41 -0700

At my last appointment, my dr commented that most of his FMS patients
smoke, most of them do better when they don't consume caffeine, and most
of them have side effects from nutrasweet. He said that he is not
implying anything, just stating an observation. I have heard about the
smoking and caffeine before, but has anyone ever heard about problems
with nutrasweet?

[continued in a later post]

Re: ASPARTAME...............LINKED TO FIBROMYALGIA...?
Date Thu, 7 Mar 1996 06:00:00 MDT
Newsgroups alt.med.fibromyalgia

I can't blame the onset of my fibro on aspartame, but I do know
beyond a doubt that nutrasweet makes my fibro symptoms much, much
worse. My doctor pointed this possibility out to me, and when I
stopped eating anything with nutrasweet, I felt better.

-----------

Date: Thu, 15 Dec 1994 15:47:15 -0500
Subject: Re: Re- any info on headaches?
X-cc: Multiple recipients of list SOREHAND

Nutrasweet can trigger terrible migraines.

-----------

Newsgroups: misc.health.alternative
Subject: Re: ** What is best tasting diet soda ??
Date: Wed, 05 Jul 95 17:19:58 -0700

Well, up to last month my daughter and myself had been drinking lots of
diet coke, pepsi or any other diet cola. My daughter had been getting head
aches and I had started to get pains in my head. I went to a seminar and
they had a speaker on there who was a Dr. who specialized in eating and
drinking healthy foods.
He mentioned that diet pop that used aspartane(sugar substitute)can give
reactions like headaches, upset stomachs, nauseous. It appears that
aspartane breaks down into methylol alcohol which, if you drank it in the
pure form, would cause blindness. My daughter and myself no longer drink
or use anything that has aspartane in it if possible. My daughter's
headaches are gone and I no longer have pains in my head. This is just a
personal observation, but I was glad I went to that seminar.
I hope others benifit from my personal experience.

-----------

Newsgroups: alt.support.attn-deficit
Subject: Re: NutraSweet
Date: 4 Jul 1995 23:10:22 GMT

(I've not been diagnosed with ADD, but both MSG and Nutrasweet give me
headaches.)

------------

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: Re: Aspartame - How important a trigger?
Date: Mon, 19 Jun 1995 02:48:14 GMT

For me, even a few sips of a diet soda of any sort equals at least
two days of full blown migraine. Always. And the (*&% stuff
(aspartame) is even in "light" yoghurt. Luckily, I've always been
conscientious about reading labels...

------------

Newsgroups: misc.health.alternative
Subject: Re: Nutra-Sweet
Date: 21 Jun 1995 13:39:24 -0400

XXXXX, side effect for me is that I get dizzy when nutrasweet is consumed.
Not so dizzy if not on empty stomach, but still some.

I know 3 people who have this reaction. One, like me, has a mild
reaction.
One passes out. None of us turned this in to the FDA.

------------

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: Aspartame--How important a trigger
Date: Sat, 17 Jun 1995 17:40:19 GMT

Aspartame is a trigger for me. I drink nothing diet and avoid all
products with that lovely Nutra Sweet seal. It's an automatic sign to
stay away.

------------

Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine
Subject: Re: Aspartame - How important a trigger?
Date: 17 Jun 1995 21:02:01 GMT

In additional to nasty headaches, aspartame increases my dyslexia problems.
I tend to transpose letters (sometimes entire words are written backwards)
and have problems speaking quickly (like reading a weather bulletin over
the air). As another person said, the Nutri-sweet label is like a
scull and crossbones for me.

------------

Newsgroups: alt.med.fibromyalgia
Subject: Re: Survey for individuals with Fibromyalagia
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 1995 08:11:19 GMT

> Oh BTW, my son took my NUTRASWEET away from me, and I started feeling
> better….about 6 months later! But, boy does that stuff make me ILL
> now…wonder if it was all along? Diet’s=sick=not worth it….

I had no trouble with nutrasweet or coffee until I got sick. After that,
one drink of either with start a migraine within minutes.

Weird huh?