What is going on with me, aspartame poisoning or Parkinson's?

[beth144]

I'll try to keep this short...for the past 6wks i have been experiencing some very scary symptoms that seem to be related to parkinson's, but i think could also be related to aspartame poisoning.  My main symptoms are as follows:

resting tremors/muscle twitching(mainly on left side, but other various places on body)

left sided muscle weakness

left arm stiff

neck muscles sore/stiff

unbalanced feeling/vertigo

left foot catches on everything

severe daytime fatigue, but unable to fall asleep at night

moderate/severe anxiety

heart palpatations

some loss of sense of smell

When i'm tired or stressed my tremors seem to crop up more if i'm in a resting position. I had an MRI which came back normal, and all sorts of blood tests which have come back normal. B12 seems to help a little if i take large amounts everyday (5000-7000iu's daily). i have also gone to a gluten free diet, not sure if this is helping or not. Prior to this I had been drinking a 12-20oz diet pepsi daily for about 5-6mo to combat fatigue. I have not had any for the past month though and my symptoms are not getting better. My aunt was dx with young onset Parkinson's about 10yrs ago at the age of 42 (started having symptoms at 40). i am 32 yrs old.

Even though my symptoms seem spot on for Parkinson's they are mostly subclinical, so the medical community has been less than helpful. Also, the symptoms have come on rather rapidly, which is not usual for Parkinson's.

Any thoughts or experiences to share? I'm very confused right now:(

[1love4ever]

I am sorry you are going through this:(  My uncle has Parkinsons although I dont know much about it.  One of the first things that began happening in his case was his speech got slower and he was a little harder to understand when he talked.

Have you checked other foods that you eat/drink for aspartame?  Yogurt, any beverages other than water and milk should be checked, anything that is low calorie or sugar free.  Honestly I would go on an all-organic whole foods diet with lots of fresh fruits and veggies(make sure any vitamin supplements you are taking are organic whole foods based such as Garden of Life brand products), this way you can rule out everything such as pesticides, MSG, antibiotics, trans fats, etc causing problems, and this can help cleanse your body.  It is thought and certain studies have shown that many of these synthetics are never eliminated from the body, or are very hard to eliminate.   Also taking some probiotics or drinking organic kefir would be a good idea, and if you drink milk I would switch to raw milk.  I also think raw nuts are very healthy for you, and they have good fats that can help your body out a lot.

It would also be a good idea to eliminate other toxins in your life such as- do you heat things in plastics?  Eat a lot of packaged foods?  Do you get outdoors much or spend most of your days indoors where the air quality is much worse than outside?  Opening windows often and having plants indoors can help A LOT.  Many lotions, cleansers, etc have very toxic substances in them, I would advise you check all your personal care products on this website http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/  , they should have your product but if not you can also look up individual ingredients.

For more ideas and info please check out my posts on this thread http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1321919/reasons-to-go-organic-and-tips-to-make-it-affordable/20  , explore the links and videos that I mention, etc.  Good luck and let us know how you are doing:) 

[marimara]

Have you had your thyroid tested?  What about autoimmune stuff?  I have several of those symptoms and I have an autoimmune disorder as well as thyroid issues.  

But, omg, you know what just occurred to me after I read this again? Magnesium deficiency.  Look it up.  I bet that's what it is.   I use Natural Calm Magnesium.  Also started it for the muscle twitching.  Check it out, good luck :)

[1love4ever]

Yeah if you dont eat a lot of "healthy" foods such as whole grains, fresh veggies, raw nuts, etc, it is sometimes hard to get enough of this mineral from your diet.   If a person was a very healthy eater like I suggested then this concern would likely not be a problem.  Taking a daily whole foods based multivitamin would not be a bad idea, and I recommend Garden of Life brand.

[beth144]

Thank you for your replies! just to update, I had an appt. w/ an ND on friday and he did some tests and he feels like i have severe adrenal fatigue along with some vitamin defiencies (including magnesium). Taking the Mag has helped my tremors, muscle twitching, and muscle weakness alot. He's also got me on some other things that i think are helping as well as changing my diet to be lower carb. I think that even though i eat general healthy (i only eat out of my garden for veggies during the growing season) and was taking a good quality whole food prenatal vitamin the diet pepsi, nursing, and gluten intolerance was simultaneously sapping my vitamins and not allowing them to absorb either. i do feel like i'm getting better though! i'm so relieved its not Parkinson's!

[1love4ever]

Thats great!

[marimara]

That's awesome that you saw and ND and that the mag helped.  Good luck with the rest!!!