The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
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Posted by Martine (Windsor Locks, Connecticut, USA) on 01/15/2008
I quit smoking and started using breath mints with the artificial sweetener sorbitol in it. I thought the sorbitol was an all natural sweetener. Anyway, I began to notice that a half hour after taking one of these mints I would bloat up like a balloon, my stomach would get so huge you could just see it...it was wierd. I wasn't sure if the mints were the problem but since I keep them in the car and pop them into my mouth when I'm going somewhere, I always notice on my ride home I have to unbutton my pants because of the bloatation...don't know if it's the chemicals combined with the sweetener or not but i'm not eating them again.
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Posted by Eva (New York, NY) on 01/12/2008
I would like to share my experience about artificial sweetners. For several years I would use 1 Equal tablet in my coffee twice a day. I was always concerned about these sweetners so after quitting smoking cold turkey (yes almost 14 years ago-everyone can do it) I decided to stop using all artificial sweetners as well. Last year I decided to join a home food delivery program mirrored after the Zone diet. This company offered desserts for some of their snacks. The first time I had their dessert I instantly got diarrea and had the shakes. I quickly called them up and asked them if they used artificial sweetners and they confirmed that they did. I knew at that point that the artificial sweetners did not agree with me anymore. My body rejected them. I had several desserts after that and got the same reaction. Furthermore I get the same reaction with Splenda which they claim is all natural. It is not . The first time I tried Splenda I can't tell you how badly bloated I became. My stomach ached and of course I had diarrea again. My head felt heavy and I was so queasy. I was so completely out of whack it was frightening. I drank tons of water to flush out my system and after a few days I felt back to normal. Artificial sweetners are chemicals and no one should be consuming them. A little natural sugar goes a long way.
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Posted by Judy (Bonney Lake, Washington) on 01/09/2008
I am writing about becoming very scatterbrained and forgetful when I was using lots of splenda for baking, in my oatmeal, in drinks, etc. I have been "off splenda" for 3 months and have my mental abilities back again. Anyone else had similar problems?
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Posted by Vivek (New Delhi, India) on 01/06/2008
I am a person who has carefully observed the side effects of Aspatame. To cut down sugar intake every I started taking it in tea about twice a day and within 2 weeks of usage I developed constant terrible headaches. First I took some analagesices like Nimsulide to treat, but the headaches kept on coming back. Also I developed sinsitis like symptoms. I in meantime referred to some online articles and stopped using Sugarefree and no wonder all symptoms ceased to exist within 4-5 days. I tried to pick up Aspartame again but then suffred same symptoms. So that was it I have totally stopped its consumption, and feel better.
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Posted by G. Michael (Reading, Pennsylvania) on 01/03/2008
A co-worker of mine has been using aspartame and lots of it for a long time. She was constantly complaining that she had a lot of muscle pain. A year and half ago she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. A month ago I bumped into her and I told her that aspartame can mimic fibromyalgia and I told her that she needed to completely stop using it. A month after completely removing aspartame from her diet she no longer has fibromyalgia. Praise The Lord!
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Posted by Jan (Bellingham, WA) on 12/30/2007
Hi, it is very possible that sucralose is not the same as splenda...could you look into this?? Splenda is most certainly a terrible thing in ingest, and does contain sucralose. However, my understanding is that it is sucralose itself in small amounts is harmless, and passes right through the body in a very short time. The company Univera uses sucralose in its formula 'Ageless Extra', and claims the above about sucralose. I have been taking it for a long time and its a wonderful formula. They did develop an alternative as so many people are concerned about the sucralose.... Thank you!
EC: Sucralose IS another name for Splenda, unfortunately, and can be found in most diet products.
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Posted by JG (Los Angeles, Ca) on 12/25/2007
my sister who is a doctor of internal medicine, showed me a transcript of a conference a few years ago on the subject of aspartame. the general consensus was that it is addictive, and that it can cause fatigue, depression, and other nasty things. the most chilling paragraph discussed how improper storage of aspartame and products containing it, causes it to morph into a formaldehyde-related chemical. apparently, it has been linked to Desert Storm Syndrome, with its attendant miseries - the palettes of diet coke, etc., were left on airport runways is 120 degree heat before being delivered to the troops who drank little else. how the government and soft drink industries have managed to keep this quiet is mind-boggling. as a disproportionate number of americans are addicted to diet soft drinks, they really need to know that they are literally poisoning themselves. pass it on!
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Posted by Ed (Lower Burrell, PA) on 12/23/2007
I had been using 3-6 Equal packets in morning coffee for at a year. At one point I noticed my left arm had a numbing sensation that would not go away. It stayed for weeks. Sometime my arm muscle would twitch as well. It would be months before I finally stopped using the Equal and realized it was the Aspartame poisoning my nervous system.
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Posted by Heny (Bridgeport, CT) on 12/04/2007
Like others, I was lead to believe that Splenda was the answer to sugar substitute. I then started on Equal(which was just as bad) then decided to go back to sugar. I later read somewhere on this site that "Stevia" is a better substitute for sugar--nothing added(google the name and read) I just went to the vitamin shoppe and purchased a box. This stuff is real good. One packet equals to two tsp of sugar.
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Posted by Ronald F (Orland Park, Illinois) on 12/03/2007
I am re-posting. I bought SPLENDA 8 months ago and have been using in daily coffee and a few recipes. This caused severe itching and swelling/hemorroidal symptoms. I read in the paper that this sweetener can cause itchy lesions anywhere on the body.
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Posted by Dorothea Enlow (Killeen, Texas) on 12/02/2007
Splenda had me fooled. I just heard the news that Splenda is not totally just from sugar without the calories. I knew that sucrolose gives me Insomnia but I just didn't want to believe that Splenda does too, so I brushed it off. Well now I know that the cause of my intermittend insomina is also Splenda. This company fooled us good.I will from now on use sugar again, but only half the amount what the recipe calls for.
EC: Sucralose is another name for Splenda!'
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Posted by Joyce (Joelton, Tn) on 10/10/2007 490 posts
On headaches, remove the cause, instead of looking for a cure. Aspartame (Nutrisweet) is well known for causing headaches. So is Monosodiumglutamate. If you want to find some other things they can cause, type in Excitotoxins, and hit search. For those who think MSG is only found in stir-fried (Chinese foods), make a list of the names MSG is hidden under in the ingredients list, then go into your kitchen and see how many of your foods have one or more of them listed in the ingredients.
Classic example is the 15% chicken broth that may be contained in a well-known brand of raw chicken that you must take home and cook...The MSG isn't mentioned because they didn't add MSG - they added chicken broth which contained the MSG.....Learn to protect yourself and your loved ones by learning these legal loop-holes. Oh, yes, you will also learn that that they are named excitotoxins because they excite the neural cells (Brain & Central nervous system) to death.
If you also research meta-bolic syndrome X (now called insulin resistance) by orthodox medicine) you will also find that excitotoxins are the same things that cause insulin resistance which ends up as full fledged Diabetes Mellitus,Type 2 which used to be called DM, adult onset, but was renamed to DM type 1 for juvenile onset and type 2 for adult onset, because children (even toddlers, are now developing type 2. So be your own health defender by learning all the names the excitotoxins are hidden under, stop buying these products, and write the supplier telling them why you aren't buying their product. You will only have to make one list because the excitotoxins are the same ones that makes us kick out excess insulin, proceed through insulin resistance, then to full fledged DM, type 2 and all of its complications.
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Posted by Nancy (Austin, Texas) on 10/06/2007
I tried the Atkins diet a few years back and would eat 1-2 "snacks" a day sweetened with splenda. My skin on my face got very blotchy, patchy and dry. When I made the connection, I stopped eating the snacks and in a week it cleared up again. I've also noticed that sweetening anything with splenda will give me a headache. Also, whatever sweetener that is in Diet Pepsi makes me stupid. I can't put together sentences or think of the word I want to use after drinking it for a couple of days. I figured this out when I visited my sister and that's what she had to drink around the house. Within a couple of days, I couldn't converse very well and the only difference was the Diet Pepsi. I never use artificial sweeteners anymore.
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Posted by Lisa (Amarillo, TX, USA) on 10/06/2007
does anyone know ANYTHING that cures msg + aspartame headaches?!? Every time I accidentally get some aspartame or msg, I get the worst migraine headaches! of course aspartame is the worst because I cannot think properly because of my brain misfirering messages for about 24 hours after having the least bit of it:-( while I try to stay away from both substances I sometimes manage to get some and I am sorry for pretty much 2 days. PLEASE HELP ME!!
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Posted by Sherrie (Oakland, Nebraska) on 10/05/2007
Hi. I believe I am experiencing withdrawals from Splenda. My symptoms are similar to that of hypoglycemia with lightheadedness, headache,weakness, and a "shaky" feeling. This happened after 3 weeks of heavy Splenda using and abrupt stopping when I had no tea to use it in. Just thought I'd let you know that there definitely are withdrawals if one stops using Splenda. Thanks.
