Date: Thu, 15 May 1997 22:54:53 -0400 (EDT) To: xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxxx.xxx Subject: Re: Copy of email to Dr. Friedman I used to drink vast quantities of Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi ( both caffeine free) -- they never seemed to quench my thirst and I suffered from terrible headaches. I quit using any products with Aspartame and the headaches have gone away. .... I don't think this is merely anecdotal. There is mounting evidence that aspartame is NOT safe. Please remove this dangerous drug from the market. [husband's case history] Date: Fri, 1 Aug 1997 14:14:11 -0400 To: xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxxx.xxx Subject: Fw: NutraSweet I know how hard it is to give up Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi -- I was addicted to the stuff. Do you remember how much I used to put away? Athol (my husband) as almost as bad. Here is my NutraSweet story -- I used to get horrible headaches and was thinking of taking out shares in Johnson & Johnson I was sucking down so many Tylenol! Mary Beth had told me that NutraSweet gave her terrible headaches and I poo-pooed her until it eventually got so bad that decided to try. The headache used to sit at the base of my skull and my neck would crack horribly when I stretched it in an attempt to alleviate the pain. After going through a few weeks of withdrawal symptoms -- I was fine. I haven't taken ANY pain killer for over three years. Now Athol's NutraSweet HORROR story. A couple of times in South Africa and then a couple of times here Athol had unexplained blackouts. It wasn't a faint -- he didn't crumple like a faint -- he would go down like a felled tree! We saw an endless parade of heart specialists and neurologists, he had MRI's, EKG's, EEG's, zillions of blood tests. No answer. Eventually one collapse (about 3 or 4 years ago) was so bad we thought he'd had a stroke -- he had all the symptoms of a stroke. Paralysis down one side, slurred speech -- the works. He was hospitalized -- more tests including a Doppler scan of the carotid arteries (clear). They finally let him come home after three days and we were really none the wiser. The doctor and hospital decided that a perfectly healthy 33 year old male with NO predisposing factors had had a TIA (transient ischemic attack) -- doctor-speak for mini-stroke. He had several more collapses after that. Finally one at work which freaked everyone out. His boss insisted that he stay home until he was properly diagnosed. He saw yet another neurologist in the city and this one finally diagnosed epilepsy. Athol then went through a series of four anti-seizure drugs -- Dilantin (caused a suicidal depression), Depakote (came damned close to destroying his liver -- the liver enzyme SGOT measured 240 when it should be under 40), Tegretol (made him unbelievably moody and aggressive) and finally Lacmictal which seemed to be OK. Problem was the initial dosage wasn't preventing the seizures. They kept increasing the dose until Athol was like a zombie. In the meantime I had read that NutraSweet could cause seizures. I begged Athol to stop using the stuff, figuring that someone who was already having seizures didn't need anything that could cause more. Finally in October of last year he did stop. Unrelated to this he had decided to start reducing his medication because he hated how he was feeling. He decided that he would take his chances with the seizures rather than feel so lethargic and spacey all the time. He gradually reduced his dosage and on Christmas Day 1996 stopped using medication altogether. He has not had one seizure since. Co-incidence? I think not. He only started these seizures after he'd met me and I used aspartame. When I think of the harm I must have done to myself, Athol and my kids by having us all use this poison in the mistaken belief that sugar was actually worse for us -- I feel physically sick. I can only hope that we quit in time. -------------- Date: Mon, 02 Jun 1997 20:08:29 -0700 To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: OVER 30 DAYS WITHOUT ASPARTAME,,,, Thanks for the e-mail today, it has been 34 days without any aspartame, and I feel great. Looking back, it amazes me that I was just going along, not really thinking about how I was feeling, when Jim said that he had really noticed that I wasnt in as much pain, as before. As he said, I wasnt twisting all over the sofa trying to get comfortable. My pain level has gone down by at least 60% if not more. I am doing my gardening, and general housework, and other things without to much pain. I can carry on now, even when I am getting tired. Whereas before, I would have to lay down, and nap or at least rest. I really havent got any down side, to anything, as yet. I really feel like I am getting my life back. I am much nicer to be around, my friends have noticed that, and I can even joke around now, I am not always spending my energies on fighting the pain. I just hope that it continues to get better for me. -------------- Don't Buy Stock In Monsanto :) Date Thu, 9 Jan 1997 13:33:30 -0500 Newsgroups alt.med.cfs Right on Ilena! - 9 days off of Aspartame; I feel a little better already. I can hardly wait for the 60 day countdown to feel how I am then. [update] Date: Sat, 31 May 1997 08:55:46 -0400 (EDT) To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: Re: Don't Buy Stock In Monsanto :) I feel much better, thanks. I no longer get blurry vision, have less tremor in my hands (although this is one symptom which I think will never go away completely), no more chronic "tickle" in throat which caused me to constantly clear my throat, less chronic depression, and best of all, I don't feel that deep down fatigue that I used to feel in seemingly every bone in my body. Overall, I seem to sleep better also, although I still occasionally get one of those sleepless nights. I no longer get those inexplicable monster "back-of-the-eyeballs headaches" when I read anymore; although I used to be an enthusiastic reader at one time before aspartame, I couldn't tolerate reading for more than 15 minutes when I was on aspartame. I still do get tired more than I feel I should, but I definitely am doing better than just 6 months ago. I believe that an important residual effect of aspartame use is that due to chronic fatigue and basically feeling sick all the time had led me to become much less active which caused me to gain weight and to lose endurance from lack of enough aerobic excercize. xxx, in addition to removing aspartame from my diet, I have also cut my caffeine down to only one cup of coffee (seem to still need that jolt in the morning) per day which really minimizes that 2pm to 4pm "valley of fatigue" crash which used to hit me very hard usually right after lunch. Other diet revisions which I have made: 1) almost compete substitution of soft drinks with fruit/vegetable juices such as V-8, oj, cranberry, grape, etc. about the only soft drink that I'll still have is ginger ale but even that I have rarely; 2) major reduction (but not fanatic abstinence) in consumption of red meats especially cold cuts; 3) we make a couple of big pots of different soups every weekend made with a lot of fresh veggies which we use as left overs which last through the week; 4) also have increased intake of vitamins upto at least 1500 mg of vit C and 400iu of vit E per day along with a multi for B vitamins which I always make sure to take along with meals to ensure more complete digestion and adsorption. I really did not start my diet change until after my 60 day countdown of stopping aspartame use. So I guess it was somewhat "scientific" for whatever it's worth. We have also started experimenting with natural non-caffeine teas and oriental herbs. The main idea that I have brought away from following the CFS and aspartame post lists and web info is that everyone has a right to actively take care of his own health and to have free access to the materials and information to do so. I think that the modern medical system has become too bureaucratic and unresponsive to individual needs, especially if your symptoms don't happen to fall neatly into an easy to diagnose and prescribe ailment. As time pemits, we're trying to read more books about holistic health approaches. -------------- AOL/General Health Discussions/NutraSweet Subj: Re: nutrasweet/indigestion Date: 29 May 1997 00:07:23 EDT Nutrasweet makes me sick, my husband and daughter. It started with me. Several years ago, I took two nutrasweet packets in several cups of coffee and had one pop a day. I noticed my eyes were always burning. I read a story in the tribune about two women who sued for blindness caused by it. I stopped taking it. The burning in my eyes went away. I was afraid to have my daughter take it and wouldn't let her drink pop with it in it. She stayed over at a friend's house where a diabetic grandma lives and drank some of her nutrasweet pop. She was sick all night and half the next day with a horrible headache. When my husband accidentally had a drink with nutrasweet in it -- he believes in sugar -- it made his head hurt, his nose run and his eyes burn. I think this stuff is poison and i don't care what the FDA says is safe. they're acting more like a shill for corporations than a consumer protector. A friend of mine pulled a story off the net about a worker at the Searle plant dying from nutrasweet exposure. Apparently, all the workers have to wear space suits and this guy wasn't careful. Kind of like the food additive version of who killed karen silkwood. She also pulled a story off about the woman who died in the ER and smelled so bad? It was from nutrasweet. The chemicals in nutrasweet tuned into methyl...something that smells bad. Anyhow. I don't use it and I tell people it's poison, don't use it. -------------- Re: Lyme & Nutrasweet Date Sun, 25 May 97 13:27:46 EDT Newsgroups sci.med.diseases.lyme About a year ago I stopped drinking/eating anything with nutrasweet. This was truly amazing, because I practically lived on Diet Coke. I have noticed a marked difference in my mental abilities since giving up the nutra-sweet. I made the decision after reading a newsletter from a group that was trying to inform the public about the dangers of nutrasweet. I can't find the publication now, or the name of the group, but I can tell you what some of their issues were. They claimed that Nutrasweet only barely passed the FDA approval process, and if it were not for appointing an additional researcher to the panel that was approving/or not nutrasweet it never would have been approved. They claimed that in experimental animal studies, nutrasweet caused holes in the brains of animals given the product. If I rememeber correctly, this was not massive doses that caused this damage. Also, this group claimed that studies showed that one of the metabolities of nutrasweet (what the product brakes down into in the body) is formaldehyde!!!! Just what I want running through my body!!! As far as helping you lose weight, they claim it fails here too. This is what they claim happens. When you eat sugar, the brain detects the sugar and produces substances to metabolize it. When your body doesn't do this, it results in serious medical problems because of the inbalance. When you consume something super sweet as nutrasweet, your body is tricked into producing the same substance to metabolise the sugar it thinks you consumed. This creates an imbalance in the body. Your body uses cravings to help you to correct this problem. You end up craving sweets, and most likely you will end up consuming them one way or another. So the benefit from drinking diet sodas is negated! Anyway, I have sweared off the stuff, and think I am better off for it. I used to have the "lyme brain fog" when out and about running errands. I would go crazy looking for a diet caffinated drink to help "clear my head" It was only making it worse. I tested this on myself by not consuming nutrasweet for about a week or so, then drank a diet soda or two during the day. The increased confusion and brain fog was so marked, it convinced me to stop using nutrasweet. Now if I have 1 every once in a while it doesn't affect me, but if I have more than one, I'm feeling pretty bad. I noticed this one day when I was eating a birthday cake made without sugar and only nutrasweet. I did not know this at the time I was eating it, but I got very sick afterwards. Later, I heard the woman who made the cake boasting how it contained no sugar and was made with tons on the "blue stuff". -------------- Date: Sun, 12 Jan 1997 To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: Re: aspartame/xxxxxx Shortly after aspartame came on the market I started using it frequently. In 1983, desparate to take off some weight, I gave in to all the commercial hype and started using it regularly - everyday. I had gone to Florida to start a future there. I was consuming products with Nutra-Sweet in many of the things I ate daily. I started to feel like I was moving in slow motioin. The headaches - they were unbelievable. I would just lay on the bathroom floor (closest proximity to toilet) and just cry and throwup. Finally, one night, after being in terrible pain and confusion my roommate took me to Boca Raton Hospital. I thought my head was about to explode. Before being shot up with demeral, the doctor asked what I had been eating. I told him I was dieting and he immediately asked how much nutra sweet I was consuming. I was honest and told him I had been passing over healthy foods for things like pudding with aspartame in it or jello. As a compulsive eater, I couldn't settle for just one serving, I would eat the box at one setting instead of a regular meal. Then I ended up with what I call the nutra-sweet hangover. It took me days to get back to normal. That was it for me. I moved back to Buffalo shortly after that and went back to college. I did my own little study for a graded project, which was video taped. I got an A. After reading some of the stories, I'm really glad my professer kept my project to show to future classes. Every once in a while I used to tempt fate and see just how much I could get away with. I would actually try to consume a can of pop, and naturally, I would get sick. My sister, who is very athletically inclined used to drink diet pop on the volleyball court. She told me how she would start to feel like her body was slowing down, as well as her reaction time. I certainly made a believer out of her. She won't go near the stuff. .... I'm so glad I ran into this extremely important info on the net. Thank you for your organization. -------------- Date: Sat, 04 Jan 1997 To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: Re: Aspartame experience Thank you for your enlightening information regarding Aspartame. I would like to share my personal experience with you. When the product hit the market in the early 1980's, I was a teenager. Because I was always watching my weight, I drank lots of diet soft drinks. At the time, as you will recall, Aspartame was added to soft drinks without any other type of sugar additive available. Since Nutrasweet was touted as safe, I, along with everyone else, continued to drink diet soft drinks. Approximately two months after the switch over, I started to have mild seizures. At the time, I was not sure what was happening and continued to drink diet soft drinks unknowingly. As the seizures continued, I went to a physician to find out why this was happening to me. They tested me and concluded that I must have had a mild form of epilepsy, although nothing conclusive ever showed up to indicate epilepsy. I was prescribed an anti-seizure medicine, Dilantin, at the age of 18. After being on the drug for perhaps six months, my father had heard a TV news report (back in the 80's) that some people were having a reaction to the sweetener. At that time, I went off of anything containing Nutrasweet, as well as my Dilantin, and within six months was completely normal again. I am now 32 years old and will not touch Nutrasweet in any form. My children are not allowed to drink diet soft drinks or have anything that contains Nutrasweet. I feel that Aspartame is a dangerous food additive and should be taken off the market. What makes me angrier still is that no choice was ever given to the consumers regarding what type of sweetener they wanted. Saccharin had been on the market for years and I had had no problems at all with it. The lab mice that were injected with the Saccharin were injected with doses so large, no human could ever consume the quantity given to these animals. I'm angry because I was not given a choice. I would have rather continued to been able to purchase products containing Saccharin, instead of going through what I want through with the Nutrasweet products. Please continue your good work! Hopefully, through your work, we will be able to see Nutrasweet come off of the market! Thanks again. -------------- Re: Lyme & Nutrasweet Date 24 May 1997 05:43:17 GMT Newsgroups sci.med.diseases.lyme My daughter drank diet coke until about 3 years ago. The diet brand started to make her sick gradually until she dropped them altogether and drank regular (classic) coke with no problems. She has to avoid all diet products with aspar. or nutrasweet or her symptoms make her very sick. Maybe there's some truth in your question. (But then again, both products make my brainstem swell. Think it could run in the family? hmmm.....seems there's something not hit on yet with the excacerbated symptoms and brainswelling, then with the nutrasweet with it. Because of my seizures I have to do without it. And also the right temporal lobe of my brain is swollen.........Ok, that's all i know:).....will leave the details of this one for another brilliant researcher out there:) -------------- Re: other/nutra sweet Date Wed, 28 May 1997 11:28:24 -0400 Newsgroups alt.med.cfs I agree with what you said about nutra sweet not causing CFIDS. But it can cause problems. About 2 weeks ago I ate large doses of this in a jello salad (for 2 days!) without knowing it was sugar free jello. I have had a major set-back with SEVERE joint aches, esp my right knee which was hard to walk on, fever, sweats, chills, HEADACHES, & extreme exhaustion which put me back on the couch unable to function. I finally went to my Dr. for pain pills & he said, "What did you eat?" as it was an allergic reaction he said, & it would take about 2 weeks to clear out of the system. Much sorting out, I awoke late at nite saying I bet the jello was nutra sweet. And after tracking the source, it was. Now the most pains have subsided, but he headaches are still here. I get up in the morining and cry because I feel so bad. -------------- Date: Wed, 01 Jan 1997 To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: Re: Thanks for the info I just wanted to say thanks for the information that you made available on the web about aspartame. I am a 27 year old male. For the past 10 or 11 years I have consumed large quantities of diet sodas. All of which contained aspartame. I would drink soda all day long. When I wasn't drinking diet soda, I was drinking coffee or ice tea sweetened with sweet & low or equal. All this time I was figuring I was doing my body good by not consuming all that sugar. That was until I heard about aspartame. On December 31 my mother and my wife told me about the 60 Minuets show on the aspartme. I like to check these things out for myself, so I spent hours today on the web reading about this stuff. Most of this information came from Dorway. I was sickened to read about my own governments sell out, not this type of thing surprises me. I went down the list of reactions. At one time or another, all of us experience some of these things, but they can usually be explained. I am in good health. I am overweight, but I work out and do cardiovascular exercise a few days a week. I am often surprised at how fatigued I am. I have been getting headaches out of the blue for the past two years. I have experienced some hair loss from time to time. I lately have become dizzy a few times with no warning. My joints ache, at times I have memory loss. I don't drink very often, and I don't use drugs. I try to eat right and take care of myself, and I generally stay well all the time except for these unexplained symptoms that I get from time to time. I don't go to the doctor unless Something is major is wrong, so I have never talked to anyone about these problems. I was glad to hear about this from you. This might well be my problem. I have decided to try the 60 day test. I probably will never use the product again, but for the next 60 days I will not go near the stuff. I am also telling everyone I know about the Dorway website. [Update] Date: Tue, 29 Apr 1997 20:14:52 -0400 (EDT) To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: 60 day No Aspartame Test It has been about 120 days since I kicked the habit. I thought maybe my letter was lost in cyberspace since I had not heard from you in so long. My headaches are gone. Surprisingly my dizzy spells are gone as well. That was what was worrying me. I was keeping a record of these spells, and the last one I that accrued in early Jan. They would come at any time even watching TV. They are gone. My joints no longer ache, memory is better and I feel great. I will say I do miss diet coke etc.... I now drink allot of water, mostly sparkling or seltzer with only lime or something. I want to thank you again for the info. -------------- To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: Nutrasweet Symptoms Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 10:23:02 -0400 I had gotten used to living with headaches and fatigue. I thought I wasn't getting enough sleep (7 1/2 to 8 hours per day). Each day, I used around 6 packets of equal -- three in a large 20 ounce coffee in the morning and three in a large 20 ounce tea in the afternoon. The reason I used the stuff was that it disolved quickly compared with sugar, and I actually do prefer the taste to sugar. Add in lots of sugarless gum and a diet soda from time to time, and it was consuming a lot of aspartame. I am otherwise in good health and exercise frequently. Almost immediately upon giving up Nutrasweet, my symptoms went away. No more fatigue and fog in the morning, and a clearer head throughout the day. It was your web site listing hundreds of pages of toxicity reactions that convinced me to change my habits. You have got to keep getting the word out. -------------- Date: Mon, 28 Apr 1997 12:18:12 -0400 To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: aspartame Just for the record, I stopped using aspartame and my vision problems disappeared. I suffered for years, tried all kinds of treatments and it was simply caused by aspartame! -------------- AOL/General Health Discussions/NutraSweet Subj: Re: Nutrasweet Date: 14 Jun 1997 23:09:14 EDT I don't have any documented proof by article. But I can tell you that I am positive my brilliant daughter lost her photographic memory the first year nutrasweet was out - that first summer. She is an electrical engineer now, but was afraid she wasn't going to make it during her last year of high school as valectorian. She did!!! But boy did she have to kill herself working on her studies. It would have been so much easier without the photo memory loss. I myself, have a time with short term memory loss on just a couple cans of diet pop with aspartame. I can't even remember who I just talked to on the phone sometimes. That stuff is really bad and it aggravates my fibromyalgia I found out just recently. -------------- AOL/General Health Discussions/NutraSweet Subj: Re: Re:NutraSweet and fibromyalgia Date: 10 Jun 1997 22:08:36 EDT I'm another one with Fibromyalgia. When they first switched to Nutrasweet in the diet sodas, I started itching so bad from head to toe, that I had to be on Benedryl for a year. That's how long it took me to find out the cause of the itching. I suspected the itching was related to a food allergy, but when I went without the diet soda for three days, the itching continued. I found out the cause when I went two whole weeks without any sodas and the itching stopped. It takes two weeks for it to leave the fatty tissue in your body. It definitely effects people with Fibromyalgia. I wish they would wake up and realize how harmful it is. -------------- Re: menopause joint pain? Date Sun, 11 May 1997 11:21:30 -0600 Newsgroups alt.support.menopause I am 50 years old and also have had joint pain for a few years which I attributed to approaching menopause. Accidentally, I discovered that the source of my pain was the use of Nutra Sweet. Once I stopped using it in my coffee and didn't eat or drink anything containing aspartame, my joint pain completely went away. -------------- To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Date: Fri, 16 May 1997 10:49:00 -0400 Last friday, 5/10/97, I discovered what caused a peripheral vision loss that was diagnosed in 1994. Aspartame. I couldn't believe it when I found out this crap has methyl alcohol in it.Everyone knows wood alcohol makes you blind, and here I have been drinking it since 91. I have also had headaches, memory loss, confusion, anger and who know's what else. In just 6 days without Diet Coke I have come to feel a heck of a lot better. I am writing to thank you for your efforts at educating the public (me) on the dangers of Aspartame. Keep up the fight. -------------- Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 18:29:05 -0400 (EDT) To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: Re: Whey to go!!!!!! I loved your article. Just recently I found out the EVILS of Aspertame. As soon as I did I called my Mother and told her not to drink any more of her diet Pepsi, which by the way she has been drinking for 20 years plus. Well even though Aspertame hasn't been the market 20 years it was still wrong to change what ever they were using before. Well she hadn't drank diet Pepsi for a couple of weeks and she was starting to feel better. Out of habit she bought a diet Pepsi and drank a little, and soon after realized what she had done. With in the hour she starting having pains in her sides and the old familiar headache came back. She also just felt like crap the rest of the day. Needless to say she'll never do that again. By the way she has had continual stomach and intestine problems as far back as mid '86. And every doctor has given her one potion or another to treat the problem(poison in her system). I have introduced my mom to vitamins and minerals and she loves the results. The other day she bought some vitamin B complex. Well she took it and laid down took take a nap. When she awoke she had a headache, well guess what the vitamin had, ASPERTAME. I am so glad people like yourself are standing up and making the FDA take responsibility for its BIG mistake. (one of many) If we can get the politics out of the way maybe some common sense will kick in(fingers crossed). By the way I call Yoplait and grilled them on there use of the poison. Of course I fell on deaf ears. Well keep up the great work. And if you need any more info on my story let me know!!!! -------------- Date: Wed, 14 May 1997 11:50:54 -0400 (EDT) To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: Re: Anxiety Attacks This makes sense to me...even though I'm taking medicine to guard against panic attacks I started having them constantly a short while ago. I never realized until I read your post that I had been bingeing on diet soda (we just had a new fountain installed in our breakroom). After the novelty of the fountain wore off, I went back to drinking water -- the panic attacks stopped! Thanks for giving me an idea as to what caused their resurgence. -------------- Re: Nutrasweet (Equal, etc.) Date Mon, 26 May 1997 16:13:22 EDT Newsgroups alt.med.fibromyalgia That stuff is like poison to me. -------------- Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 23:27:25 -0400 (EDT) To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: nutrasweet Here is another testimony to add to your thousands of others just discovered by me on the web. I have used aspartame for years, usually going back and forth between regular sodas and diet sodas as my "health consciousness" fluctuated. I knew that diet sodas caused me severe gastro-intestinal problems, but figured that was the price I had to pay for that "great taste and refreshing fizz". It wasn't until my husband informed me that he was sick of having to "rub my stomach" and maybe I should consider cutting back on the diet drinks that I decided to research Nutrasweet and found your website. ( My stomach cramps were so severe that I was unable to sit down or eat or do anything other than go to sleep for the evening, and I also was a chronic headache sufferer.) Now I vow that I will never knowingly ingest aspartame again, and just regret all the years that I've allowed this harmful substance to ruin my body. What disturbs me the most is the children's vitamins I have religiously given my 3 kids...all containing aspartame, of course. -------------- Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 22:29:36 -0400 Newsgroups: alt.support.diet To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: Re: Nutrasweet I agree! Nutripoison gives me migraines that feel like a brain explosion! Really, a half a diet coke will give a four day headache... -------------- Date: Wed, 7 May 1997 20:05:28 EDT Subject: Aspartame To: MBS-HEALING@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU Carol's right. This stuff is so bad, it would take a month just to dent the surface. And I get angry every time I see it or hear about it. It's bad stuff....and Carol didn't overstate it at all. I'm one of the lucky ones....it makes me sick to even take a sip of something w/ aspartame in it. Makes my mouth feel greasy (like sorbitol does, only slimier). And if I'd been able to keep it down, I know I'd have been using it, since I'm one of the PWCs with the weight problem. It took me a year to get my husband off aspartame after we met. Once he got off and the addiction wore away, he was *stunned* at what it had been doing to him. If you have to drink carbonated stuff (also bad), do as Carol suggested, please, and mix soda water w/ your favorite juices. I can't even imagine what aspartame does to sick people. Honest. This stuff really screws up your thinking, too. -------------- Date: Sat, 10 May 1997 18:25:55 -0400 (EDT) To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: Aspartame case No, I never did receive the info on joint pain, but I did go off nutrasweet (avid diet coke drinker) and the results were wonderful. Within days the pain in my hips and legs subsided!!! It's nice to roll out of bed in the morning and not cringe all the way to the bathroom!! -------------- AOL Post Subj: Allergy? Date: 97-02-02 13:07:24 EST My son, who is 7, developed an allergy to nutrasweet when he was about 3. It alters his behavior. It is like Jekyl and Hyde right before your eyes. He gets so aggressive and hyper and he can not be controlled. Any one else have this problem? I thought it was sugar that was making him hyper and we put him on a sugar frre diet when he was 3. About 30 minutes after ingesting it, he went crazy. We tried this off and on for about a week and had the same results. He has had nutrasweet since then and it still makes him crazy. -------------- Date: Sat, 12 Apr 1997 21:30:49 -0400 (EDT) To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: Aspartame Reaction I spent January through February aspartame free by cutting out Diet Coke. I am diabetic and have spent most of the 20+ years drinking diet sodas. I thought I was crazy cuz my husband said I had become belligerent and "testy." I've had back and shoulder pain (what I thought was bursitis) for most of these 20 years. And it's always been difficult to control my diabetes in all this time. I had been going to an accupuncturist for the back and shoulder pain. It worked but was only temporary and expensive. Well, it didn't take long in those two months for the headaches and back and shoulder pain to go away. And my attitude has improved tremendously. The unthinkable has now happened. I backslid and drank one diet coke, which then became three a day within a week's time. For the last six weeks I have been suffering from back and shoulder pain and headaches, and have become a bear again and very "emotional." And when I wake in the morning, my hands are stiff. Have been drinking probably 5-6 diet cokes for the last 5 weeks, and am trying desperately to get off the diet cokes again. -------------- Re: aspartame Date Mon, 14 Apr 1997 07:27:52 -0700 Newsgroups misc.consumers.frugal-living All the studies in the world are not going to convince me Aspartame is okay when my husband AND I get excruciatingly painful headaches when we ingest the stuff (and since we're not genetically related, that's pretty scary), and only when we ingest the stuff, and when we stop ingesting the stuff, our headaches go away. I will also never forget being told BY MY DOCTOR not to ingest Aspartame when I was pregnant, because it might cause fetal brain damage. I think this is a dangerous product, and I won't let my kids go near it. -------------- Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 14:47:25 -0400 (EDT) To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: NutraSweet case/headaches Read with great interest the information on aspartame. What a tragedy! I repeatedly found myself plagued with severe migraines if I consumed as little as is found in four cans of diet soda. I thought I must be crazy; surely they can't be caused by the Nutrasweet. After testing my theory, the cause and effect finally became clear to me. I thought I was the only one until I found various sites dealing with the issue. Thank you for confirming what I really had already known in my heart - aspartame is very dangerous. [update] Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 To: xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx Subject: Re: Nutrasweet -Reply Headaches are all but gone. I've only had one or two migraines which were clearly hormonally caused. I am spreading the word, Betty, and so admire all you're doing... -------------- Date: Tue, 6 May 1997 10:43:41 -0400 To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: Aspartame I just wantedto say THANK YOU for taking the time to put this vital information on the web. So many consider the subject taboo. I am 33 years old and have kidney disease. Two years ago Duke University performed nurmerous test to find out why I had so many headaches, and other symptoms. I was told that I had an allergic reaction to aspartame which is found in most all diet products. Doctors would not comment if this was related to the kidney disease I have, but I believe it is possible. As a diebetic, I have great concerns about nutrasweet. Several letters to the Nutrasweet Corporation have gone unanswered. God help all that are using these products to try and make themselves thin and beautiful for society. They are putting themselves in the grave. -------------- Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 01:05:21 -0400 (EDT) To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: Re: simple case history my wife used to drink diet coke religously. we live in south texas, a hot and humid climate. Several nights, she couldn't sleep. She had heart palpitations and flutterings. (she's only 36) She is a non smoker, non drinker, exercises regularly and is 5'4" and 107 pounds. I hate doctors. ( I also have worked for American hospital supply co, been around the hospital long enough to know that they don't have all the answers.) We have used acupuncture and chiropractors, so use some alternate homeopothy treatments. Anyway, after 2 nights of no sleep, I did what doctors do; I asked questions. What did you eat differently? " " " drink? ANd the only unhealthy thing I could fathom was the Diet Coke. The coke left our home that day. She has been in the pink ever since- with one exception. The day she drank 4 oz of the stuff her sysmptoms reappeared-albeit mildly. Now, for the first time in a long time, she perspires, sleeps and feels just fine. Much more (filtered when possible) water, and an occasional herbal tea are the only changes in lifestyle. Glad to have my wife back. All this, and I had never read your stuff before! -------------- Re: Nutrasweet (Equal, etc.) Date Sun, 25 May 1997 16:57:42 -0400 Newsgroups alt.med.fibromyalgia I stay as far away from it as possible. I discovered that it triggers terrible migraines for me. -------------- http://www.dorway.com/ Guestbook page Wed, 13 May 1997 > Tue May 13 20:26 > Thank you for compiling SO MUCH information! My diabetic husband used to go > through > times where he would do anything to find an argument. We finally connected > these episodes to his Nutri Sweet comsumption. I have a book titled > something like "The Handbook of Food Additives". It has a whole page > (instead of a couple lines for most other additives) dedicated to this > lovely product, but you've fleshed out the description and supportive > details. It is SO hard to find soft drinks without it. Right now, he > primarily drinks home-made iced tea with Sweet & Low. I'm fighting my own > battle with a relatively mild case of environmental illness. What we DON'T > need is another chemical that our bodies have to deal with. Keep up the > good work. -------------- AOL/Allergies, Immune Disorders/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Subj: Re: aspartame Date: 97-02-09 20:01:34 EST I have the same reaction to aspartame as I do MSG, horrible head-in-a-vice headaches, I also have the samereaction to ibuprofen which is SUPPOSED to be an analgesic. Go figure. -------------- Diabetes Mailing List Chockaholism & Nutrasweet Tue, 03 Jun 1997 01:56:09 -0700 By the way, packets of Nutrasweet powder are loaded with dextrose which is, guess what, a sugar! The Nutrasweet tablets are dextrose free. I have found that even two tabs a day promote water retention and some degredation of short term memory. Artificial sweetners should be taken with (hmmm) a grain of salt? -------------- Re: sodas Date Mon, 2 Jun 1997 04:52:46 GMT Newsgroups soc.motss Aspartame also does bad things when it gets hot, and can have lots of other nasty side effects. In any quantity at all, it makes me dizzy. -------------- AOL/General Health Discussions/NutraSweet Subj: Re: nutrasweet/indigestion Date: 06 May 1997 04:10:32 EDT I have a really hard time with my stomach about 1 hour after injecting anything with nutrasweet in it. My stomach hurts, I have heartburn really severe. Anyone else have similar symptoms. Thank goodness I recognized them right away. So I have to watch it close. I read labels a lot. Atleast I realized what was causing the problems. -------------- AOL/Diet, Exercise and Fitness/Zone Discussions Subj: Re: Diet Jello in the Zone? Date: 29 Apr 1997 16:26:49 EDT >MTZ about NutriSweet not being good in the Zone I would suggest that NutriSweet (aspartame) is not good in or out of the Zone. A growing number of people are discovering that their headaches and memory problems were directly related to this stuff, and the problems disappeared after stopping all use of it. In my case, it was headaches. Although fond of sweets, I'm even more fond of being pain-free. :) -------------- Re: Meal Replacement Date Sat, 24 May 1997 01:18:31 GMT Newsgroups misc.fitness.weights .... If I chew sugarfree gum I get a pounding headache. Why put something with a possible negative effect if you can avoid it. -------------- Date: Mon, 19 May 1997 19:42:20 -0400 (EDT) To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: Aspartame/asthma On Mon, 17 Mar 1997, xxxxxx xxxxxxx wrote: > I've been having increasing problems with mood swings, loss of memory > and asthma. I have, unfortunately, been using aspertame is much of my > cooking and soft drinks. [update] My symptoms have indeed subsided. Mind you, the biting cold, dry winters we have are definitely something that can worsen asthma. But I do know that if I drink more than one Diet Coke, for example, I'm reaching for my inhaler within a couple of hours. My mood swings haven't changed much. However, I am going through a very stressful time in my life, so heaven forbid, I may just be experiencing real emotions instead of something chemically introduced!! 8-) -------------- Re: Nutrasweet as a trigger? Date 8 May 1997 02:34:08 GMT Newsgroups alt.support.headaches.migraine I concur with xxxxxx. Nutrasweet is a potent trigger for me, but sorbitol is no problem at all. -------------- Date: Thu, 5 Dec 1996 12:25:36 -0700 (MST) To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: Re: Transient Loss of Vision ? thank you very much for the info. there is a strong possibility that I may indeed be a victim of aspartame. for the period in which I experienced my vision problems, I was drinking 24-32 oz. of diet coke on a daily basis. (of course, I'd love to be able to tie these symptoms to something external that I can eliminate.) during the period in question, I suffered strong symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I am prone to this condition, and have learned to control its severity. however, during my "aspartame" period, its intensity was so strong I couldn't manage the symptom. just by happenstance, I took another job in a work environment without a soda machine and stopped drinking the stuff regularly... -------------- Date: Sat, 10 May 1997 To: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxxx Subject: Re: brochure Dear xxxxx. Thank you for the very prompt resonse to my request. They arrived yesterday. So far they are airing out in my garage, because of my severe chemical sensitivities, but by tomorrow they will be fine. I know it will help a numberof peopel who have no idea why they have so many problems. I lived in Skokie, Il when Nutrasweet first came out. took one sip and turned red as a beet. Since Searle was in my home town, I called and reported it,and they told me just a rare thing peculiar to me. So, I waited a year , tried again, and same thinghappened, only worse. Called again, and they said well, a few isolated cases, but do not worry!!Needless to say I never took another sip, and started a long time ago to wan people. but still no one will believe me unless they are really sick. So much to do, and thank you for your efforts, xxxxx -------------- STOP: NutraSweet / Caffein / Smoking Date Wed, 07 May 1997 03:02:34 GMT Newsgroups sci.med.prostate.prostatitis I had/have a case of prostatitis. 1st Urologist put me on Floxin 2/day - 3 months. At the end, pain lessened, but not gone; sex painfull. 2nd Urologist did a good exam, and asked if I drank coffee, used Nutrasweet or smoked. Answer was "all three" I learned that all three things (nutrasweet and/or sacharrine, caffein, & nicotine) are "known bladder irritants". Urether too I'd guess. Have now cut out all artificial sweeteners & coffee/tea for 3-4 weeks. RESULT: Pain almost gone, sex drive returning. -------------- Sulpha Drug-Sulpher-Candida Date 2 May 1997 13:20:12 GMT Newsgroups bit.listserv.autism .... My wife is also highly reactive{allergic, intolerant} to sulpha drug and I started wandering if there might be a connection between her candida and food problems and her sulpha problem. It turns out that certain dyes in foods and aspartame in her diet Coke would cause negative mental effects. ....