I was drinking diet Coca-Cola with NutraSweet (Aspartame) in it and liked the taste. I realized about 5 years later that I was having mood swings — getting very angry at our sons for no reason at all and yelling at them and sending them to their rooms for looking at me wrong. I was suffering from heart palpitations, memory loss, almost no energy to do anything, slept for 12 hours at night, got up for three, then went back to sleep for two or three hours again. I was no good to anyone for anything. And I couldn’t figure it out. I wasn’t the same person I used to be.
One day after yelling at our youngest son for no reason (again), I could take it no longer and wondered what was happening to me. I had no control over my moods, no control over my sleeping habits and no control over how I was hurting my family. I was thinking about it and it came to me: NutraSweet. Get off the NutraSweet. It was as if God whispered it from heaven. I listened to God and within three weeks, there was a drastic difference. My heart palpitations were gone, my memory was returning (although it still isn’t what it used to be) and my sleep habits were getting better. After six weeks, I was back to my old self with a few minor lingering problems. I believe I was left with a little bit of memory loss, at age 39 I was diagnosed with bursitis in both shoulders and I can’t remember the years when my youngest son was 1 to about 4 years old. I hate that the most. I have almost no recollection of those years at all. Not even the important stuff. I have pictures, but no memories. It wasn’t just my kids. My husband suffered through it, too. He had no idea what happened to the sweet, fun, relaxed, happy-go-lucky wife he married. But he stuck it out. If you love your kids as I love mine (I have homeschooled them and spent almost 24/7 with them since they were born and they are now 16 and 14) please stay off of this stuff. NutraSweet (Aspartame) is bad. It isn’t good for anyone. Especially not those you love and will have to live with you. lsmac@bv.net