"Where to begin? Guess it would have to be around three or four years ago. I found that Equal (aspartame) was too harsh for me, so I opted for Splenda. No after effects, at least none that I knew of. I was looking at different diets--Weight Watchers, Atkins, etc--and thought going the artificial route would be a wise choice.
At no point would I have ever put two-and-two together until today when I received an e-mail from my friend forwarding information to me about Splenda. I read the websites' information, did more research, and found your website. Now it all becomes more clear to me that I may not have had emotional problems or perhaps thought about diabetes, but that Splenda may have been the cause.
The most profound effects that I have witnessed have been major mood swings and irritability to the point my wife and I had to seek marriage counseling. She could not deal with my mood swings, depression, forgetfulness, lack of focus, dazing, irrational outbursts, sensitivity to the children, etc. She thought it was an unwillingness to continue to be married to her. She could not understand how I could be gentle one moment, then a tyrant the next. There was no rhyme or reason for my behaviour.
I had even been to a doctor on numerous occasions to discuss my depression, fatigue, anger management lifestyle, and based upon what he heard, he placed me on different medications--Zoloft, Lexparo, Wellbutrin--to try to help the depression.
I was gaining weight, even when properly following Atkins or Weight Watchers, which, of course, did not help matters either.
Many sleepless nights, tossing and turning, which, of course, caused sleep deprivation and only added to the irritability.
I like both tea and coffee and just recently got into the coffee roasting-grinding-brewing hobby. So, of course, the more coffee I drink, the more Splenda I use. And, ever since August, things seem to have gotten progressively worse.
Although I have not actually suffered the pains that many others here on this site have with regard to stomach aches, headaches, heart palpitations, I have to sympathize with all of them for being as naive I was. Everybody is naive who uses sucralose. We sometimes let our trust go too far with the big industry money makers and assume they know what's right for us.
If I prove myself correct (as I expect I will) by going cold-turkey from Splenda, and notice an increase in energy, less moodiness, etc., I will definitely provide an update to this site for everyone else so that the message gets out that we need to take control of our bodies and not let others tell us what is good for us.
If I need sweets, I am going to head to the fruit aisle at the supermarket. At least I know natural sugars are not going to cause me any pain or grief. Let them try to prove natural fruits and other foods aren't healthy!"
Thank you E.V. for sharing your story and updates with our visitors. We'll be posting his update as soon as we get it.
|
