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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2002 >> Aspartame - IMPORTANT _ READ _ON
        
(Message started by: helobian on Dec 28^th, 2002, 1:01am)

Title: Aspartame - IMPORTANT _ READ _ON
Post by helobian on Dec 28^th, 2002, 1:01am

I have had clusters regularly for about 15 years. Recently they had become 2-3 times a day with no breaks. I was treating them with Imitrex nasal and oxygen.

I read an article and several personal stories about people that had stopped using spartame and had various symtoms stop as well. One of these was severe headaches. I thought is was worth a try. I stopped drinking diet cokes and using any kind of aspartame and I have not had a cluster in three months now. No, I am not going to start drinking diet cokes just to see if the clusters return. I do not have any hard evidence that aspartame was causing them, but stopping aspartame has stopped my clusters.

I would recommend that anyone that uses any diet sodas, sweetened diet teas, chewing gum and mints that contain aspartame and pratically anything else that is sugar free, stop taking these items. Stop your aspartame usage completely!!! READ LABELS - IT IS USED EVERYWHERE!

Title: Re: Aspartame - IMPORTANT _ READ _ON
Post by ave on Dec 28^th, 2002, 5:05am

Yes, we had this information before.

Problem is, how do all these people (like myself) that never use sugar free stuff, diet stuff, aspartame or any other artificial sweetener, get their cluster headaches?

Was there aspartame 40 years ago, when some of the regulars here got their first ha? Does it exist naturally? No idea. Or is it a combi of aspartame and other ingredients? Still no idea.

Title: Re: Aspartame - IMPORTANT _ READ _ON
Post by helobian on Dec 28^th, 2002, 10:08am

Let me clarify! I am NOT saying that everyones clussters are caused by aspartame. I am not even saying that my clusters are caused by aspartame. I am only sharing my experience in hopes that someone else might benefit from it and get even short term relief.

Title: Re: Aspartame - IMPORTANT _ READ _ON
Post by Ueli on Dec 28^th, 2002, 11:11am

on 12/28/02 at 01:01:41, helobian wrote:

I stopped drinking diet cokes and using any kind of aspartame and I have not had a cluster in three months now.

Conclusion: There must be some stuff in coke that makes clusters much worse.

Helobian, I'm glad to hear that your clusters have eased up, but I don't believe that this has anything to do with aspartame.

on 12/28/02 at 01:01:41, helobian wrote:

I read an article and several personal stories about people that had stopped using spartame and had various symtoms stop as well.

This is one of the worst examples of an urban legend that proliferates through the net. In an e-mail circulated widely a Nancy Markle vents about a conspiracy theory between Monsanto (the maker of NutraSweet) and the FDA to suppress any reports on all the 'bad side effects' of aspartame, including multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, Dessert [sic] Storm health problems, brain tumors, birth defects, in short - any disease that afflicts mankind. As is typical for this kind of writings, there are no references to any scientific sources; even about Nancy Markle nothing more than her 'pen'name is known.

Read more about this outrageous netlore at:http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blasp.htm

Ueli

Title: Re: Aspartame - IMPORTANT _ READ _ON
Post by helobian on Dec 28^th, 2002, 5:30pm

You know Ueli, that is exactly what I thought about the whole aspartame thing. I, also, believe in scientific fact, however, I also believe there is a lot of scientific fact that we know nothing about. Everyone of us is different and we react differently to different substances. Take cluster headaches for example. Certain meds work for some people and not for others. Some meds work some of the time for some and not for others. According to scientific fact, if Imitrex nasal spray works once, it should keep on working, but it doesn't. I got to the point where I would take 2 or 3 and not have any effect. My doctor said because of the way IMitrex works, that should not happen, but it did. That's when I started using oxygen in combination with Imitrex.

You speak of snakeoil vendors. I am not trying to sell anything to anyone, just relating my experience. If there is just one person out there who has the same experience I have, then they, like me, will at the very least have some relief from their cluster headaches.

Could it possibly be that our government and large corporations ever work together and don't care about what happens to "Joe Average"? Let's find some more sand to stick our heads in!

Title: Re: Aspartame - IMPORTANT _ READ _ON
Post by Ueli on Dec 28^th, 2002, 6:34pm

Click on:

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blasp.htm