I’m trying to figure out what to write about in my technical writing class, and I think Aspartame and MS-like symptoms would be perfect for me. I have another story to add to this website, but first I would like to ask you for recommendations for other websites, any scientific evidence supporting this, doctors that support this theory, etc. I think it would be great to write a technical report to the FDA or other authorities on this subject.
Here’s my story:
I’m a 28 year-old male and about a year ago I started having MS-like symptoms. It started with a numbing sensation in my lips that moved to my tongue, nose, and the point between my eyebrows. A couple days later this sensation showed up on my fingertips. I started having vertigo and I was feeling more emotional than usual. A couple times I lost my balance and fell over which was very unusual. I didn’t have any pain though.
The first place I went for help was a chiropractor because I thought it was possibly caused by a pinched nerve. After I realized this wasn’t working I tried acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Finally, I went to my doctor only to find out these were MS-like symptoms. He was pretty sure I had MS, but to prove it he ordered a MRI. The neurologist I was seeing referred me to a neurosurgeon and this scared me quite a bit. It turned out that I had a lesion in the tectal region of my brain. SCARY! He called it a tectal glioma and said it was a very rare brain tumor. He then ordered another MRI for three months later to check its status. Fortunately the lesion was gone which proves I didn’t have a tumor. He referred me back to the neurologist who took my films to a neurologist convention to see what they thought. It turns out they thought it was definitely MS.
Shortly after all this, I received an e-mail that described how Aspartame may be linked to MS-like symptoms. I used to chew lots of trident gum before I received the e-mail, and after I stopped using Aspartame, my symptoms went away and have been gone ever since. I have no idea if it was the Aspartame or if I really do have MS, but there does seem to be a correlation, and I haven’t had any symptoms since I quit using Aspartame.
I must mention that one of my co-workers is going through the same thing I went through, and she drinks lots of diet Pepsi. In fact, she’s going to have a very painful nerve conduction test because nothing else has proven MS.