About three years ago, I was diagnosed as hypothyroid. I was avoiding caffeine and taking Synthroid (50, the white ones). I was actually feeling better than I had in a long time. I don't remember when I first tried Splenda, but I didn't like it because it seemed to cause my blood sugar to shoot up and then crash so I could barely stay awake. I didn't buy anything with it, but I may have had some occasionally at a restaurant or at someone's house.

Last Thanksgiving, I bought some flavored instant decaf coffee. When I was drinking that I was not having the sleepy crash so I didn't suspect the Splenda. But I was not feeling well. I was anxious and depressed, especially in the mornings. The coffee was the only thing I was eating or drinking that was different. When I stopped drinking the coffee, I felt much better.  I didn't associate the problem with the Splenda, though, and thought it may have been related to the process of removing the caffeine.

Since then, I occasionally had soda with Splenda and didn't seem to be bothered, although as I look back, my hypoglycemia seemed worse at times and I had symptoms with lower amounts of carbs. Last month, at the end of the school year (I am a teacher), when I was under more stress than usual to get everything done, I bought some sugar-free ice cream with Splenda. The stress and the Splenda together caused real problems. I felt terrible. I was nervous and depressed, especially in the mornings.  I could feel my heart beat and my thyroid started working overtime, so I had to stop taking my thyroid medication. After less than a week without Splenda, I was feeling much better, and after a week the symptoms were gone.

I think, in my case, the Splenda aggravated the hypoglycemia. I'm not sure why it made my thyroid work overtime, but it certainly seems that it did."

Thank you N.H. for sharing your story with our visitors.

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