Aspartame - A Lifesaving Discovery
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For
eleven of the fifteen years that I used Equal (aspartame)
in my coffee 21 of 21 clueless doctors only misdiagnosed
and improperly medicated me for my ever-increasing number
and types of evermore crippling and painful medical
conditions.
Using, at
maximum, the "allowable daily intake" (ADI) for a child
(one third that of an adult) my problems began with
arthritis-like pains and physical limitations.
However, none of the expensive medications solved the
"problem". Those pains became so bad that by 1992
(when I discovered I had terminal prostate cancer) I
spent $17,000 for an addition to the back of my home that
would house a new $5,500 medical grade Jacuzzi. For the
next three years soaking from 2-5 times a day, at up to
108 degree F, kept me "operational" and able to
work. By late 1995 my case of tinnitus (ringing in
the ears that causes balance problems) made it unsafe to
continue using the Jacuzzi. Indeed... by that time the
benefits of a 20 minute soak at 108 degrees F lasted only
until I cooled down.
Early
in 1996 I visited a rheumatologist for a "second
opinion". After reviewing my CAT, bone and MRI scans and
the results of his own tests he commented that the other
20 doctors seemed to have been incompetent because my
minimal type of arthritis could not possibly cause my
types and levels of debilitating pains. So he promptly
misdiagnosed me for Fibromyalgia. When those
powerful (and expensive) medications didn't work he
misdiagnosed me for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome... but those
meds didn't work, either.
Finally,
his last misdiagnosis was that perhaps I was imagining
all of this so he gave me a script for Prozac.
This
powerful drug turned me every which way but loose over a
weekend of taking the pills. I researched Prozac on an
Internet Drug Database and discovered it was for
depression and "head" problems. I was NOT imagining my
problems... nor was I crazy! At that point I gave up on
the US medical system and resorted to extensive searches
on the fledging Internet for something, anything to tell
me why I seem to be the first person on earth to be dying
form "terminal" arthritis.
At
that time my problems were:
-
What seemed to be terminal (crippling) arthritis and
getting worse
-
numb-tingling hands and feet
-
combination carpal-tunnel/tennis-elbows that made my arms
almost useless
-
Fibromyalgia-like hot spots (all over)
-
chronic-fatigue like exhaustion
-
sleeplessness
-
memory loss
-
depression (and getting worse)
- a
few short blackouts (just long enough to fall down
stairs)
-
vision problems (and getting worse)
-
bouts of what I called burning heels that made walking
impossible
-
shooting-stabbing pains in my legs (I was later told this
could have been misdiagnosed as multiple
sclerosis).
-
tinnitus
[Next: Desperation strikes....]
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