At the time, I was 38-years old and very scared.  I saw doctor after doctor.  I had two CAT scans. I had blood work done multiple times. Everything came out okay. My doctors were baffled. My neurologist thought I was nuts. It was very hard to describe how I was feeling. I would get what felt like vibrations in my head.  I would hold onto things to avoid falling down or passing out. I was scared to drive very far and started relying on other people for things.

I have always been physically fit throughout my childhood and adult life. I was a gymnast, so eating properly and exercising was important to me as a lifestyle. I was very in tune with my body and I knew something was very wrong.

All of my joints started to hurt. By the time I was 39, climbing the stairs was a challenge.  I felt like I was 70. I had started to limit exercise by walking less and less. This was very disheartening to me. I love being outside and exercising. I assumed years of gymnastics had finally destroyed my joints. All the while, my headaches were happening daily.  The fatigue was unbearable. My skin started to feel as if it was crawling, especially at night. My skin also felt sensitive to touch.

My doctors really thought I was nuts. They kept asking me if I was having anxiety attacks. These were not anxiety attacks! I was starting to think I was nuts, too., Maybe Prozac would help, the doctors said. I started contemplating the idea. This was the worst I have ever felt in my life.

Now the symptoms were becoming more numerous. From kidney pain and blood in my urine to horrible stomach aches and bloating. Off to the doctor again. Thank God I have insurance!

This entire time, I was drinking Propel fitness water, eating low-carb foods like protein bars, and chewing sugarless gum. I was eating low-carb ice creams and puddings. I look back now, and I see I was being poisoned. It really gets me angry. Even the medicine in Airborne has sucralose!

I never put this together until a year later. Now, three years had gone by. I figured it out by chewing sugarless gum while trying to take a walk. About 20 minutes into chewing the gum, while walking, I nearly passed out. My heart was racing. My vision was blurry.  My head was pounding. I almost called 9-1-1. Instead, I sat on the curb and pulled the gum out. Why I had not looked at the ingredients before, I don't know. When I got home, I got on the internet and looked up every ingredient. Voila! Splenda was one of the ingredients that said it all. My three years of turmoil might actually be over, but I had to be certain.

I threw out everything that had sucralose or Splenda in it. I already knew Equal and the other sugar substitutes were bad, but I wasn't aware of Splenda.  The commercials say it's wholesome enough. It was in everything. I thought I was being good to my body, instead I was polluting it with this stuff.  I was horrified to know this was making me so sick. It robbed me of three years of my life!

My nerves have been shot thinking I had some mysterious disease. I discussed my will with my 16-year old daughter. She has been heartbroken thinking I might be extremely sick. This stuff wrecked three years of my life and my family's life.

Just one week after eliminating all sucralose, I feel 80% better. I haven't had a headache this whole week.  My bloating is completely gone (I looked like I was pregnant all the time!). My joint pain is completely gone. My memory is sharp again.  I can focus on a movie without feeling confused and zoning out.

I hope this lasts without any relapses.  I'm surprised the insurance companies don't get involved since they pay for these tests which could have been avoided if a danger label was on these products. Let the consumer make an educated choice in this. WE ARE NOT GUINEA PIGS!!!"

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

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