Aspartame - A Lifesaving Discovery2005. Awaiting revision 2007 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.
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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