I had been drinking diet sprite for years and years with no real problem other than panic attacks that I thought were from a neurological standpoint but then this past May 2003 I started getting a burning rash around my eyes, it would always be there for 5 or 6 months I always had it in one spot or another flaring up around my eye lids or under my eyes, that delicate area, ooh the shower everyday was a nightmare with the moist heat on it, anyway I have never had any skin problems in my life, thought it was a new allergy, since Georgia is allergy central, I thought I was developing weird sensitivities since moving here, well I switched moisturizers, base makeups, eye shadow, eye makeup remover, mascara, all of it and nothing changed, still burning rash, dermatitis, I was very concerned. The doctor had given me elidel cream for it but it only somewhat eased the burning but it never went away.
Recently (3 months ago) in my cosmetology class we had a massage speaker one night and we talked about everything, she really an “of the earth” seeming woman and she mentioned how poisonous Aspartame is to the body blah, blah. I didn’t think anything of it at first, thought she was just hippie type organic food eater, so I went home looked it up on the internet and I was tremendously appalled that this, if this was true, how come it was not common knowledge.
Well, I was researching what products had Aspartame in it and found that gum did, which is odd because I think it was about late spring early summer when I found that pop out card gum, eclipse or trident stuff, It was so easy to pop a piece out about 10 times a day, I was going through it like crazy, so I decided to do a trial run of no Aspartame in my diet, thinking that maybe the gum pushed over my limit of Aspartame intake- well I am happy to announce that 2 months after stopping ingestion of Aspartame I no longer have the dermatitis around my eyes,
it has been a month since no symptoms and there are still no signs of it, which is amazing to me, it was definitely the reason for my ailment, there is no doubt in my mind whatsoever, I am a believer, I am so happy I tell people I know not to use Aspartame, stop drinking Diet Coke blah, blah. I realize you have to be very careful when mentioning this to friends etc., you come off seeming preachy and they automatically stop listening. I have to figure out a way to get it across to them without seeming like a fruitcake. They almost don’t want to believe it, which I understand, it’s in everything that especially a woman would consume, diet stuff, gum, diet drinks, they figure if they don’t acknowledge it they won’t have to stop. It’s hard to find alternatives, really hard.
Well there is my story- it wasn’t as serious as a mimicked nervous system disorder or anything major, just an annoying eye rash but I had to live with it every day and because I have educated myself on Aspartame I feel like I am one up one the rest of the world and I am only better because of it! Thank you for your time.