Aspartame: Sweet Intoxicaion

So I have not posted anything for nearly 5 months. The last 5 months have been the most challenging months of my life. I had finally received a referral to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN. My appointments started December 22nd and ran through this month (February). All in all I had over 40 appointments including countless MRIs, CT scans, bone scans, surgeries, blood tests, biopsies and numerous other tests that I can't remember the names of. Finally the last doctor I see asks me if I chew a lot of gum or drink diet sodas. I find this question odd because I don't see how those common household items could make me so sick. So I blew her off.

Over the next few days I was thinking about the doctor's question again. So I went and looked at a pack of gum I chew and a can of soda. The one thing that the two items had in common was they both contained aspartame. So I grabbed my computer and did some quick research on aspartame. Turns out that there can be some pretty deadly side effects. Some of the main symptoms are muscle twitches, nerve/muscle pain, headaches, dizziness, ringing in ears and a lot more. A complete list can be found on this site about Aspartame.

Without telling anyone I had decided that I would cut aspartame out of my diet. I was very skeptical as it seemed too easy. Also note, that I had been eating an entire pack of gum every single day. You could say I was addicted. Well over the next few days I began to feel gradually better. I couldn't believe it! All of my symptoms started to subside. Could it really be that easy?

So I went back to the Dr. at Mayo who had originally asked me about the gum and the soda. Right away I asked her "why did you ask me about gum and soda?" Her answer was, "because of the artificial sweetener, aspartame. It is well documented that it can cause a whole lot of symptoms." So then I told her what I had been doing and how I was improving. I was still in SHOCK and disbelief.

Things had gotten so bad with my health and suspected "Fibromyalgia" that I had taken a medical leave from work. And now I could possibly be on the road to recovery. I know to a lot of people this may sound crazy and I thought myself that it was crazy. That is, until I started getting my life back. Even those that love me noticed an immediate difference in how I was acting and what I was now capable of doing.

I am now back at work and getting back into the swing of life. I am still not 100% but it has only been 5 weeks since I stopped consuming this poison. All of the research states it should take about 60-90 days to get out of my system completely. It greatly disturbs me that our government allows such a substance in our food with no warning! I had no idea that aspartame could cause such horrendous side effects. I just want to share my story with the world so I am able to help just one person. One thing is for sure, this has changed my way of life and how I look at food for the better. Look out for aspartame! It could be lurking in your foods, drugs, vitamins and drinks.

Blessings and love!