Longterm Aspartame Toxicity - Symtoms And Warnings

Some poisoning victims get their "heads up" with as little as one stick of aspartame-laced gum (8mg). Most take many years. In my case...15 years.   Personal statement of David Rietz owner and webmaster of www.dorway.com (also webmaster of www.notmilk.com, www.hungerstrike.com and more)     There are at least 91 symptoms of aspartame poisoning. (the FDA classes death as a symptom... I don't see ... http://www.dorway.com/badnews.html ).   These symptoms range from A to Z and from headaches through triggering, mimicking and/or making worse a wide range diseases. Most doctors don't have a clue... and with such a broad range of seemingly UNRELATED problems (many of which can be manifested in ONE person) few doctors would suspect toxic poisoning from a food additive that the manufacturer and FDA swear is "safe".   In my case, 21 of 21 doctors misdiagnosed and improperly medicated me for over eleven years. Then... stumped, the medical system tried Prozac as a last resort... thinking my problem might be "mental".   On day one of MY discovery of the REAL problem I had:   *numb-tingling hands and feet *combination carpel-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) *had 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   * and on 15 June, 1996, (the day of MY discovery of the FDA's 92 symptoms of aspartame poisoning) I was then five years into being the FIRST among my long lived Danish/German ancestors to get any form of cancer. This "old man's" prostate cancer was already diagnosed as terminal (already spread) at the young age of 55. I DO believe one or more of the many components/breakdown components of aspartame (see http://www.dorway.com/help.txt ) triggered this cancer. I am also convinced that a lifetime of cow's milk and dairy... with a powerful growth hormone called IGF-1 (identical between cow's and humans... a "plug and play" cancer fuel) for causing this surprise cancer to already have spread at such a young age (see http://www.notmilk.com ).   .... and there was more!   I gained 60 pounds over the 15 years I used Equal in my coffee... and this formaldehyde-laced fat is still causing me NEW problems.   Within a few weeks off Equal I was walking much better, and before long I walked a new Super K-Mart end to end and all around three times... with minimal pain. Today I am around 95% pain free despite being over sixty.   One by one the problems melted away. What remains? Maddening tinnitus, massive memory loss, and the prostate cancer. My vision has improved (no longer need glasses to drive), the depression is LONG gone, and now I sleep like a baby. Most of the Fibromyalgia-like hot spots are gone, and what remains in my shoulder may be from being rear-ended in 1987, and a subsequent neck operation in 1990. The 60 pounds of formaldehyde-laced fat that I acquired while using Equal are now only 30 pounds (after four years)... and if I lose weight too fast I have nasty episodes of erratic heart beats and blood pressure problems. That surfaced fully 18 months after removing Equal from my coffee... and will most likely be with me for the rest of my much shortened life. (My grandfather died at the age of 92, my father at 83... both of natural causes. I am now 8 years onto terminal prostate cancer at the age of 63.. and I doubt that I will see 73).   I never did have headaches, seizures, hives, or other... what I think of as "short term" and "rapid onset" problems (the majority of aspartameconsumers have long-term damage/effects, as did I).   The problems that remain are, mostly likely, permanent. Massive memory loss (probably attributable to both aspartame AND MSG), maddening tinnitus, still overweight, and of course I am now eight years into terminal prostate cancer.   However, now that I am 95% pain free and fully mobile I can function as a father and provider again. Thanks to the cancer and useless radiation treatments, my plumbing is shot... so the romantic aspect of being married for almost 40 years has been trashed... along with eleven lost years trying to get well from ignorant doctors and all the money wasted on useless tests, ineffective treatments, and expensive but useless drugs.   Any aspartame poisoning victim can have just about any combination of problems... and that same person can have DIFFERENT problems at different times... perhaps dependent upon diet, consumption levels of aspartame AND MSG, other REAL medical problems, other drug intake to combat real and aspartame-induced problems... etc. One fellow told me he had most of my symptoms after using aspartame for only a couple of months. Everyone is different... and the effects are different.   That suggests that recovery may well be as erratic and variable as the original symptoms. Two months was set as the point after which whatever remains may be the "real thing" (perhaps triggered by aspartame). Things like migraines, hives, and seizures usually clear up within a week or so. Joint pain, FM or CFS type symptoms usually take three or more weeks to ease up and evaporate.   For the record:: as owner and WEBmaster of www.dorway.com I sell nothing and have no vested interest in any sweetener. I promote the same simple, straightforward, common sense idea that got ME mostly well (1996) and which led to my large free information web site (770 pages):   "If one has medical problems that their doctors cannot seem to cure (or they are too young to have old-age related problems) *AND* they consume products laced with aspartame, then try the FREE at-home 60-day NO-aspartame self-test... and simply observe the results".   When the dust settles and the truth is known... that aspartame was one (if not all) of the reasons for one's medical problems... I DO ask, when convinced that one has been a victim, that they file an official complaint with the FDA, tell other folks... and help them to get well for free.   Regards, Dave Rietz