"I am another victim of sucralose poisoning. In June 2004, I got an unusual rash on my foot. I went to one doctor who prescribed a fungal cream. It was not gone by July, so I went to another doctor who prescribed a steroid-antifungal lotion. I went on a cruise to the Caribbean and the rash finally cleared, only to return shortly after I returned home.
In September 2004, I visited a dermatologist who diagnosed me with psoriasis. He prescribed a steroid cream and a Vitamin D3 ointment. I decided to "eat healthy" to try to make this rash go away.
In October 2004, I began getting scaly, itchy red patches all over my arms, chest and back, with a few spots on my legs. I figured it was more psoriasis, and I applied the cream (that was not helping my foot). It was also at this time that I began experiencing anxiety attacks, and had a generally unhappy demeanor.
In November 2004, I returned to the dermatologist who diagnosed pityriasis rosea--which should clear by itself in a few weeks. The rash would come and go, as would the anxiety and depression.
By December, I felt like I was living in a fog. I was uninterested in preparing for Christmas or working on my home renovation. I was overwhelmingly fatigued by each afternoon and my vision was irregular. The anxiety worsened to the point that I needed to take Xanax. My doctor prescribed prednisone for the rash and did some blood work. My white cells were elevated and some of the liver tests were "off."
By January 2005, I was at my wits' end. I returned to the dermatologist. The red scaly patches were larger, redder, and burning more than ever. She determined that it looked like something I ingested. When I asked what could do this, she mentioned NutraSweet. I let her know that I don't drink cofee, tea, or soda, so I can't imagine having ingested it. However, I was drinking yogurt smoothies for breakfast. The smoothies are made with Splenda. She didn't think Splenda could cause a reaction like this because "it's just sugar."
I went home and searched for Splenda on the internet. I found the Mercola website. I was stunned to see the testimonials from people experiencing exactly what I was going through. I reevaluated my diet and found sucralose in yogurt smoothies, low fat microwave kettle-corn, the salad dressing that I began using in June, and even in my Citrus Listerine!
In October, I noticed that SlimFast Optima had recently been marketed as having 50% less sugar. That's because it has sucralose.
I've been sucralose free for three weeks and my rash, even the stubborn one on my foot, is finally clearing up. Best of all--aside from remnants of fatigue--I feel like "me" again. My blood tests also came back normal.
UPDATE: Ocassionally, I get anxious or red patches of skin. When I reevaluate my diet from the previous day. I typically find that I unknowingly ingested sucralose. This week, it was a tiny breath mint that my daughter popped into my mouth. After I ate it, I looked at the ingredients, and found sucralose. I thought nothing of it--it was so tiny--unitl I had a one-inch red splotch on my back the next day.
Thanks for your website. Please let me know when you make a petition to the FDA to stop this poison from being added to everything. It's even going into kids' cereals now!"
On 23 March 2005, we received an update:
"Thought you would be interested in this...
Yesterday, my seven-year old had a fever. I gave her some Tylenol Jr Meltaways targeted for ages 6-11. I was horrified to later read the inactive ingredients and see that sucralose is actually in kids' medicine! Note that McNeil makes both products!!
Fortunately, my daughter has not shown any symptoms of sucralose reaction. Can you imagine the kids who do have reactions? The parents will be thinking that the rashes are caused by the illness, and never suspect that the Tylenol may be causing it!"
Thank you D.D. for sharing your story with our visitors.
|
