Posted by Ame Sans Vie on October 28, 2003, at 18:45:49
My mother noticed a sensitivity to aspartame just a few days ago -- she was breaking out in a rash, aching all over, her joints were swelling, and she could barely move. She had no idea what it was at the time, but then her mother mentioned a book on health problems associated with aspartame and she read it. The symptoms matched hers exactly. She cut out the Diet Vanilla Coke and figured we should all do the same -- my 15-year old sister and I have experienced unexplained rashes from time to time, and then of course there was my "fibromyalgia". So we've switched to a cola made with sucralose (Splenda) and my mom's problems have disappeared. I really don't know what else to say... it's an anomaly. <shrug> If you're not hypersensitive though, perhaps it's okay to drink but I would highly suggest drinking it in moderation. There was also a link of aspartame to cancer in that book. :-\
As an aside, my mother is highly sensitive to *many* medications. I've only ever seen her take prednisone and benzodiazepines without having problems. Codeine, morphine, Ultram, all OTC pain-killers, antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood-stabilizers, lithium, barbiturates, Ambien, alcohol, clonidine, phentermine, fenfluramine, amphetamine, Provigil, caffeine... the list goes on and on and on. Etodolac (a pain-killer [prescription] similar to ibuprofen but stronger) incapacitated her completely for over a week -- that was when she went to the ER and got the prednisone. The one sensitivity I share with her is the OTC pain meds -- I can't ever even take a Tylenol when I want. <sigh>
Michael
P.S. I take phenylalanine every day, as does my mother, without problems -- aspartame is a combination of phenylalanine and aspartic acid. I would say the aspartic acid appears to be the culprit, but chemistry is more complicated than that, lol.
poster:Ame Sans Vie
thread:274410
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031023/msgs/274410.html