I bought a case of something called "Sparkling Ice" at Sam's and have been drinking about 1-2 bottles a day. This drink is made in Canada and has Splenda in it. I also had been drinking about one cup of coffee with Splenda about four times a week.

I first noticed that I had dizziness in the shower for a few seconds, but it passed and I didn't think anything of it. Over a two-week period, I experienced the same dizzy feeling three or four more times. Then at work one day I had a very awful dizzy feeling and nausea. Since I work in a doctor's office, I had one of the nurses take my blood pressure.  It was 175/96. Normally, it is around 135/75.

Since that time, I have had the same feeling or worse at least five more times. I went to see my doctor and she put me on high blood pressure medication because it seemed like the most logical thing to do. I guess... They really didn't have an answer for why I was feeling like I was.

One night, around 11:30, I actually felt like I was going to die because I didn't know what was happening to me. I even talked to a physician on-call who told me to go and take a warm shower and try to relax. I told her that I wasn't under any stress and the feeling just comes over me unexpectedly and I cannot control it.

I stopped drinking the soda with Splenda in it for about a week and, after a couple of days, I felt better than I had in weeks.  Then, yesterday, I was invited to a luncheon at a friend's house.  She served strawberries with Splenda on them. After lunch, I got the same panic-attack feeling, so I went upstairs to the bathroom to recover. I still feel lightheaded and not normal. Before I ate the strawberries, I had felt completely normal for several days.

I am almost positive it is the Splenda that is making me feel this way.  NO MORE Splenda for me and I will see if this happens again. I just hope I can get it totally out of my system. This feeling is the worst! I have never had panic attacks or dizziness, so I can only attribute it to the Splenda. That is the only thing that has changed in my diet."

On 24 July 2005, we received an update from D.D.:

"One of the other symptoms that I was experiencing and didn't realize it was Splenda-related was a sort of hot-flash type feeling where I was even sweating. I attributed it to hormones, but had not had that in the past. Since I have been off Splenda (it took at least 2-3 weeks), I have not had these symptoms any more. I can sleep a lot better at night. I had been waking up hot and taking off the covers, only to feel cold again later and waking up to put the covers back on. It was waking me several times a night.

I am symptom-free since I have been off of Splenda. Not even a hint of a panic attack. Now, I am positive that it was the Splenda that caused all of my problems. I have a feeling there eventually will be a class action lawsuit.  There are way too many complaints.

Anyway, I wanted to update you now that I am 100% better."

Thank you D.D. for sharing your story with our visitors.

On 3 February 2006 we received an update from D.D. and a copy of an exchange with Kellogg's:

D.D. to Kellogg's:

"I bought this cereal today and was very disappointed to see that it contains sucralose. Nowhere on the box does it say that it is a low-sugar food, so why the sucralose? I cannot have any sucralose at all as I have terrible reactions to it. It is truly poison to me. It seems that there are more and more products that contain this artificial sweetener and we, the public, are being subjected to this involuntarily. There are thousands of people like me who cannot tolerate sucralose. Since there is also sugar in your cereal, there is no reason that it should contain sucralose. Read the stories on the many websites on the Internet and you will see that I am not alone.  If you do a search on "Splenda poison" (same as sucralose) you will see that there are many, many people that cannot tolerate this artificial sweetener. Now I will have to take back the box to the store. Unfortunately, I would love to be able to eat it as it looks delicious.  I also bought regular All Bran so I guess I am stuck eating that instead. Please remove this unnecessary ingredient from all of your cereals. Thank you."

Kellogg's to D.D.:

"Thank you for contacting us regarding the sugar alcohol(s) used in our products.  Sugar alcohols are carbohydrates that have a slightly different chemical structure than sucrose (table sugar).  Sugar alcohols often replace sugar as an ingredient in foods because they enhanced their sweet taste and texture.  Sugar alcohols used in our products include sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, erythritol, lactitol, zylitol, and hydrogenated starch hydrolysates.

Most sugar alcohols are made in the factory.  Some sugar alcohols, such as sorbitol and maltitol, are also found naturally in fruit. Each sugar alcohol has a varying range of sweetness as compared to sugar. Sugar alcohols do not contain the form of alcohol used in alcoholic drinks.

On the food label, sugar alcohol may be listed by the individual name or as sugar alcohols. When more than one sugar alcohol is used in the product, they are grouped together and listed as sugar alcohols on the Nutrition Facts. When one sugar alcohol is used, it is listed by its name on the Nutrition Facts panel. The ingredient statement will include the name of each sugar alcohol used in the product.

Products with sugar alcohols often have fewer calories than products with sugar, since many sugar alcohols contribute a lower quantity of calories per gram than sugar. However, sugar alcohols are carbohydrates and still contain calories. Some individuals may be sensitive to the amount of sugar alcohols they consume. This is especially true with sorbitol. It is possible to experience abdominal discomfort if too much of the product containing sugar alcohol is consumed at one time.  Therefore, it is important, as with all foods, to consume products containing sugar alcohols in moderation and as part of a balanced diet.

Thank you for your inquiry and we hope you find this information helpful.

Chris Godinez, Consumer Affairs Department
Kellogg North America
PO Box CAMB
Battle Creek MI 49016-1986"

D.D. to Kellogg's:

"Mr. Godinez,

You must not have read my email carefully the first time, so I am sending it again. I am not sensitive to any of the sugar alcohols that you mentioned. I am very sensitive to sucralose, the most common ingredient in "Splenda." Nowhere in your reply to me did you mention sucralose, though it is included on the list of ingredients in your new All Bran Yogurt Bites cereal. Your quote is "Sugar alcohols used in our products include sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, erythritol, lactitol, zylitol, and hydrogenated starch hydrolysates." As I previously stated, it is totally unnecessary to add the artificial sweetener, sucralose, to our product. Sucralose, or Splenda, has been added to many products in the last few years, but are normally labeled low-calorie or artificially-sweetened. These products include diet soft drinks as well as hundreds of other products. Unfortunately, many of us are not only experiencing abdominal problems, but dizziness, spiking blood pressure, and several adverse reactions every we consume sucralose. As I stated previously, if you would investigate "Splenda poisoning" on the Internet, you will see that I am by far not alone with this problem.  Here is one of the many sucralose websites that I suggest you check out: www.splendasickness.blogspot.com. This ingredient is not necessary to add to your cereal. It was only introduced as an artificial sweetener here in the USA about 5 or 6 years ago."

Comment from D.D. to us:

"Needless to say, this was sent over a week ago and I still have not heard back from anyone at Kellogg's. Surprised??"

On 13 February 2006, we received another note from D.D.:

"It is pretty amazing how they just ignore the public and post irrelevant replies to serious inquiries. I guess Mr. Godinez must be afraid of me since he didn't reply to my last e-mail.

I assume he thinks we will all just go away if we are ignored.

BTW, still no Splenda and still symptom free! Not even the "hot flash" type feeling that I posted in my follow-up. Splenda made me feel so horrible that I really feel that it is a poison to me."

.