aspartic acid (from nutrasweet) and glutamate from MSG, both stimulate the nervous system, the receptors called NMDA receptors. These receptors report PAIN.

Magnesium is a antagonist.
Zinc also, and now melatonin, are also active in blocking this pain receptor:
http://www.ionchannels.org/showabstr...ium+NMDA+block

Ah yes, Aspartame. I do not tell this story in most circles, as I get "strange looks" from the people listening..........

I had severe lower back injuries when rear-ended in the fall of 1986. So bad I could not fly the last year of active duty in the Air Force. Fast forward ten years and I was drinking a lot of diet drinks. Two 44 ounce cokes a day (or Pepsi, whatever was available) and it caught up with me. I think it was a Friday when it felt like metal jaws were tearing the flesh off of my thigh bones (is that the Femoral Bone??). I called my Orthopod and told him what was going on, I could be ready for surgery in fifteen minutes. Never mind the operating room, I knew it would be booked, the back of my Chevy truck would be fine. Heck, the parking lot was ok by me. He told me it was not possible on such short notice and asked me several questions about my diet. DIET?? Holy Mother of God doctor, we have incredible pain here and YOU want to discuss my lunch menu??? Long story short, he told me Aspartame could cause such problems and if I were drinking a couple of 44 ounce drinks a day, that might do it. QUIT the aspartame. Under my breath I traced his ancestors to Darwin's "missing link" and was sure he got his license to practice medicine from a Wheaties box. My son-in-law runs a lab for a major Cancer Center and is into health food. He faxed me page after page of problems caused by Aspartame and convinced me to quit diet drinks all together. Aspartame was all that was available at that time. At least all I could find at a 7-11, etc.

By Tuesday the pain had went away and I quietly canceled my request for surgery. Heck, at its worst, amputation was becoming a thought...... now we all know I am exaggerating a little to make a point, but not as much exaggeration as you might think.

That was about ten years ago and I now drink Diet-Rite Soda, made my RC Cola (or whoever owns them by now). Other than that, I don't drink diet sodas. Period. I drink iced tea (no Equal) or I drink water.

I abused Aspartame and take the responsibility for it. Had I drank a couple of 12 ounce cans a day I might still be using it. I don't know. Every single one of us reacts differently to the environment around us. But if you have any doubts, research Aspartame and don't get blind sided. I don't trust any manufacturers of anything artificial. Anyone on this forum had darned well better start being a skeptic about anything we put into our bodies.
My personal problem is memory. I can't remember things very well, so when mrsD suggests some vitamin, I have to go back and read the thread a few times, write it down and then buy it. Frustrating for both of us, but if my body and brain were functioning normally I would not be perusing these threads for info.

I guess the old saying of, "We are what we eat (consume?)" was never more true.

Yes dllfo, i agree.

Neuropathy has given my some positive things. I thas made me aware of the impact anythin i put in or on my body can have. I now read every label in the products i buy and i avoid taking processed foods as much as i can.I am also careful with deodorant, creams, shampoos and so on. The trend of consuming good and healthy products is not present in Mexico. Some people say i am overreacting and being paranoid. I really don't care. I have read somethings they haven't. I try to avoid all artificial stuff around me. I try to avoid polluted environments as much as i can.

On the weekend i generally go away from the city to calmer places. Yesterday i did. I was inmersed in a pool of some special hot water that emerges from the ground. It has some minerals. It was very relaxing. Today i am feeling great! , no pain at all!!!

Thanks for a wonderful post, dllfo! I can't stand Aspartame. Never could get past the taste.

I was using Splenda for the past year and after I quit smoking my body went haywire. Then I ran out of Splenda for a bit. I discovered that Splenda was causing blood sugar issues for me. Since I quit using it I've had only one episode of hypoglycemia in the past month or so when before and at it's worst it was every day if I wasn't extremely careful. It was such a dramatic change is why I noticed it. Needless to say I don't plan on going back to the Splenda. I may give the Stevia formulation a try when it becomes available because it's plant based.

Every person is different and some of us are more sensitive than others to things in our environments. I've learned to think about what's around me and what I'm putting into and onto my body, as Monica said, especially when I'm having a flare or if something odd is going on with my body. It's a slow process this learning that I'm more vulnerable than I ever supposed before. I'm learning what are sure triggers and I'm learning *how* to pay attention to my body at a level I wasn't even aware of before. It's kind of like learning to meditate I think in that I've had to learn to pay attention to things on a level I wasn't even really aware of before.

I do not drink or eat anything with any
artificial sweetener, whatsoever!
C&S with coffee, no substitutes in cooking or baking, either.
My wife is diet conscious (lost 50 lbs 3 yrs ago with Weight Watchers, and still goes to a 'weigh-in' once a month) and there is plenty of it in the house, but she doesn't have PN, thank goodness!
I won't touch artificial sweeteners.

Oh God! I can put down the beer....the wine (well, at least one glass every week or so). But, my diet Pepsi? I don't know if I can do that. I can cut down. There are days where I have 3 cans in a day, but no Diet Pepsi? You can only drink so much water. I don't drink coffee after 11 in the morning. I only have tea when I eat Oriental food, and my drinking 3 glasses of milk a day, ended when I was in my 30's. I will have cookies and milk, or chocolate cake and milk. But.....I would rather believe that alcohol is the main offender and not the artificial sweetener.

Only way to tell is trial & error, Jack......trial & error.
(LOTS of errors!)
BTW, if you can cut down on your diet Pepsi,
cut down...... and make it regular Pepsi for a trial period.

Even mixing it half and half, plus pour it over ice. That will help.

Hey gang -

I guess I finally got that pepsi I drank Tuesday night out of my system...my hands and feet felt sooooo much better last night and again this morning. I only drank a half but boy did it did a number on me. That is absolutely the last time I backslide!!

--but sugar is a definite neuroexcitant. A number of artificial sweeteners, such as sorbitol, act that way as well.

For those of us with nerve damage already, a big sweet tooth is often a ticket to a flare.

We'd all be better off consuming less of that stuff, anyway, whether we have nerve damage or not.

I know we've got chocoholics, donut eaters--hey, I think I'm in recovery from Fig Newtons--but we should all try to be measured with our sweet treats (soft drinks included).