Food and Diet - Splenda MiniSite - Another Visitor's Experience with Splenda (sucralose)

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Another Splenda Story submitted by a visitor

Splenda Chat

Coming soon... a Splenda chatroom where you discuss the benefits and drawbacks of sucralose consumption with other Splenda users.

On February 17 2006, we received this note from K.C. of Birmingham, AL, concerning their use of sucralose.

"I have been using Splenda in my coffee, tea, and cereal, and consuming beverages containing Splenda for quite some time. I usually use 5-6 packets per day believing I was doing my body a favor. Although my doctor has diagnosed me with an anxiety disorder, after researching heavily, I am more convinced it is coming from the use of this artificial sweetener. I don't understand how I could have just developed all of these symptoms so suddenly (over the past two years) after having no problems of anxiety before. I do yoga and have a pretty stress-free life, so this does not make any sense to me. If I do have an anxiety disorder, this could be aggravating it severely. My symptoms are:

headache
worsening vision
disturbing thoughts
depression
fatigue
heart palpitations
severe vertigo when sitting, walking, driving
anxiety
fear of dying or something bad happening to my family
memory problems
occasional speech distortions
occasional crying for no reason
pains in my kidney area
joint pain in both of my feet and one finger
seeing spots after I look down in a certain direction
irregular periods
lethargy
excessive sleepiness

As you can imagine, I am worried and determined to find the underlying cause of all of this. It could be a much worse diagnosis than the use of sucralose, but I believe you are what you eat. Food is fuel and I hate that I have been using this chemical every day for so long. I want to investigate this and rule it out before I consider ANY medication.

I am cutting it out of my diet completely beginning tomorrow. I am going to document how I feel every day to see if these feelings cease. If I feel markedly different, I will be happy to let you know if you would like. I had NO idea what Splenda actually WAS. I was naive and thought it was "made from sugar." I can't believe that it is made this way. They should not be allowed to use that slogan.

Thank you SO much for this information. I have a strong feeling it is going to change my life! I am going to warn my friends and family about sucralose and all artificial sweeteners. Anything artificial, as a matter of fact."

On 4 April 2006, we received an update from K.C.:

"I just wanted you to know that 90% of those symptoms are completely gone. I have not used Splenda or any other artificial sweetener and will keep it that way. I am SO glad I found your website and I thank you!"

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

If you have experienced any side effects, whether you are sure it is Splenda or not, be sure to speak with your physician and discuss all possibilities.