Hello, I would like to provide my story so it may help someone out there. I have drunk a lot of diet cola for about 20 years. Symptoms started when I was 25 (9 years ago). I was an avid skier, pretty darn good I must say. Instead of getting better every season, as all people do, I was getting worse. I would tire quickly and get a rash on my face and go home after a couple of hours, feeling ashamed that I could not keep up with my regular crowd of friends. I also had shoulder pain and headaches. I thought that I was just getting old. I could not keep up with my college classes, my memory was awful; I had to drop out because my grades were not good enough to receive loans anymore.
(My GPA was 3.4 the first 2 years). I became too tired to be social, only had one or two friends. A few years later I was numb on my left side. An MRI showed a lesion in my spinal cord, the neurologist thought it was MS, but not enough proof to diagnose me yet. A few years later I went numb again. Two lesions on my brain this time, unexplainable. I was so tired and depressed I couldn’t function.
The anti-depressants didn’t help at all so I quit taking them, against my doctors’ advice, I felt a little better actually. I started taking “speed” like drugs because caffeine wasn’t doing it for me anymore and if I didn’t take them, I was afraid I would need to be hospitalized (fatigue), and my kids would be taken away from me. Luckily, before I became addicted or strung out or “tweaky” my mother in law e-mailed me a story about Aspartame because it sounded just like me. I quit drinking diet drinks about 6 months ago.
I take no drugs anymore (except caffeine). I can function now. I can take my kids to the park and clean the house! I feel like I am about 85% back to normal now, hopefully I will keep improving. I still want to learn to surf; a year ago I thought it would never happen. I now annoy and pester anyone who drinks or eats artificial sweetener to stop. Most do not listen or care, but if I can even help one person it will be worth it.
Thanks for reading this!