As promised, I have enclosed my case history about Aspartame and intend to give the information about it to my rheumatologist when I see him in the new year.
In order to give a complete chronicle of my Aspartame problems I will start at the point that I began to have physical problems and continue up to today. I will follow up with more information in another sixty days.
In the fall of 1995 I began to have some problems in my right knee and left shoulder. My family doctor treated me for migratory bursitis. The medication seemed to work as the symptoms would go away in a couple of days
At first it would only happen every few weeks or so.
By the spring of 1996, I began to have joint pain about once or twice a week.
A couple of more months with anti-inflammatory drugs and they seemed to help mask the pain, but not deal with it effectively. In early summer, my family doctor sent me to a rheumatologist. I was put on a daily dose of Ibuprofen and Chloroquine in late August 1996. The pain joint had then progressed to the point where it occurred daily and in several joints at a time. I began to feel that I might be crippled with this disease for life. It began to affect my physical, social and mental life. I stopped exercising for fear that I might do more damage to my weakened joints. After a couple of months on the program I began to feel marginally better, but then began to search the internet for a solution.
I first looked at my diet, since that can be the cause of many ailments, and realized that while not perfect, my diet was not that bad. The only thing that I consumed too much of was Diet Coke. I had known for quite a while that I was addicted to Diet Coke, but never wanted to quit. After all, it contained no sugar and only a 20% of the caffeine of a regular coffee and I don’t drink coffee. On the internet I found Mission Possible who sent me information on Aspartame. So in early October I completely quit ingesting Aspartame, almost exclusively from the consumption of Diet Coke. I didn’t think that I would be able to do it, but it was quite easy because of the side effects of Aspartame and the potential benefits of removing it from you diet.
Since quitting Aspartame about two months ago the improvements to my life have been:
1. My joint pain has been reduced to a manageable level. I still get pain in my joints when I am sleeping or sitting for long period of time. However, once I get moving the pain goes away very quickly.
2. The biggest surprise is that I have lost 10 pounds in the 2 months that I have eliminated Aspartame from my diet. I have not changed my diet with the exception of the fact that I drink a lot more water and have the or regular coke. It is way too sweet and rarely finish a full can.
3. I have begun to exercise on a regular basis again and feel much better when I am exercising than when I am resting. I even have the ability to play squash.
4. My short term memory seems to improve, but that one is a bit harder to put a finger on.
5. I have much more energy at the end of the day than before I quit Aspartame.