For the first week, I wrote down everything I ate, right down to the grams, total grams, calories, fat, carbs, protein, etc. I realized I had taken in so much fat and carbs and not enough protein to maintain my muscles.

The second week, I started a clean diet to stay lean and gain more muscle. This was a typical bodybuilder's competition diet adjusted for portions and calories based on my height, body weight, and goals:

• egg whites with cheese and oatmeal with Splenda
• whey protein shake and fruit
• chicken breast and veggies and a whey protein shake for lunch
• whey protein shake or meal replacement shake and homemade peanut butter bars mixed with whey protein and Splenda or oatmeal with Splenda
• whey protein shake or meal replacement shake for mid-evening snack
• egg whites with cheese or chicken with veggies and a homemade peanut butter bar for dinner
• whey protein shake for late evening snack

During that second week, I started having eye pain every two hours. Pain inside my eye, like a spasm, also in front of my eyeballs. This was not an irritation.  This was PAIN. My vision became blurry as if there was a clear plastic bag in front of my eyes--sometimes clear, sometimes cloudy. I was freaking out. I was crying.  This would happen day and night. I started having panic attacks at night for fear I might wake up blind.

I decided to see an ophthamologist.  He said my eyes were in perfect condition. He could find nothing wrong. He said it may be associated with allergies and suggested I take OTC medication for allergies. He said to check with him in a year.

The third week--the same thing. Now I was groggy, fatigued, irritable in the morning, anxious and restless at night with panic attacks. I cried at work because my vision got blurry and the pain became worse. I went to see another ophthalmologist to get a second opinion. This doctor couldn't find anything either. She said my eyes looked good and gave me a prescription eye drop--Zylet to take four times each day to keep my eyes moistened.

I went home, ate some peanut butter bar mixed with Splenda, and lied down because my eyes were dilated from the exam. As soon as I lied down, I felt excrutiating pain in my eyes again.

My boyfriend said to record how long, how often, and when I got pain in my eyes. He suggested I also recorded anything I was doing differently, etc. Then it struck me! I looked at the huge box of Splenda that I had purchased. I never used a sugar substitute before. All bodybuilders, competitors, and trainers swear by it because it has no carbs. It was the only new thing that I had taken, right from the moment my eye pain began.  I looked on the web regarding Splend and its dangers, and was shocked to find out many other people experienced the same problems I've had.

I didn't realize I was consuming Splenda at almost every meal. I ate oatmeal with Splenda. My peanut butter bars were made with Splenda. My whey protein shakes have Splenda--it's listed right on the tub with their logo. My cranberry juice had Splenda.  My meal replacement shakes had been sweetened with Splenda. Even my vitamin C chewables were sweetened with Splenda! I found out I was consuming about 1/2 cup to a full cup of Splenda a day! I was able to figure this out from my food diary where I counted every gram of everything.

I threw out all of the Splenda I had. It took me another week to get all of the Splenda out of my system. I feel a lot better now. I no longer have that excrutiating eye pain.  From this moment on, I will never consume a sugar substitute again. I am all organic now."

On 3 June 2006, we received an update from C.M.:

"Thanks for adding my story to your website. It really means a lot to me since so much has happened to me. Yes... I just noticed even my Dentyne Ice has Splenda!

After reading all these stories about Splenda, I'm glad I didn't spend any more money going to the doctors. My ophthamologist suggested I see an ENT since she thought my eye problems were associated with allergies, she said if they don't find anything wrong, they'd send me to an neurologist to get an MRI. I don't want any more bills, thanks.

My co-workers want to know what happened with my eyes.  They keep suggesting it's irritation from my contacts or looking at the computer too long. They try to problem-solve for you. But it gets annoying.  I told one co-worker it was from Splenda, and she chuckled as if that was the most absurd thing she's ever heard. So, I haven't told anyone else except my family and my boyfriend. Others don't understand because they didn't go through what I went through. They think it's just a little page of sugar.  Big deal. But since this affected me so much, I refuse to ingest another drop. If someone offers me something with artificial sweeteners in it, I just tell them I'm allergic (K.I.S.S. rule).

I still get a little stinging in my eyes here and there. Maybe the chlorine molecules are leaking out of my eyes! I sometimes get anxiety attacks at night, fearing the eye pain, twitching will come back.  But the pain hasn't come back since I stopped using Splenda. I feel like Pavlov's dog--already trained to respond to a particular stimulus.

I recently tossed out my Diet Pepsi, which I totally loved. Out went my energy drinks. I even had to throw out my Yoplait yogurt. They all had sucralose or aspartame in them.

Thank you again."

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

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