My experiences with Aspartame began shortly after I was forced into ending a decade-long battle with alcohol. I entered a detox clinic with a BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) of .39, one drink away from death. I have been sober since, but my health problems would continue. Though I would make many trips to doctors for my ailments, they couldn't find anything they could properly diagnose. I even made a trip to the country's most noted substance abuse specialist, Dr. Drew Pinsky, co-host of the nationally syndicated talk show Loveline. He didn't find anything. He and other doctors would always say that it was stress. Their diagnosis' always seemed like a form-letter.

My weight had always fluctuated, so in sobriety I made the choice to cut out sugar and junk food, even though I wasn't always too strict about the latter. It was then I discovered Diet Pepsi. I had been drinking about a six pack of regular Coke as well as several cups of coffee with 6 cubes of sugar daily, so I made the transition to Equal as well as Diet Pepsi. In my over-indulgent ways, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. For the next 6 years, I would be sick, blaming it the whole time on the remnants of alcoholism and it's perils. I knew that alcoholism was a severe condition that could cause many problems, yet doctors couldn't find any problems, nor point them to alcohol. My liver was a little ragged, but it's since recovered, as they do if not infected by cirrhosis.

The "fog" was a continuous problem. So were the aching joints, swollen face, migraine headaches, digestive problems, severe stomachaches, head tremors, disorientation, dizzy spells, loss of memory, sleep disorders, painfully dry skin, paranoia, depression, sexual dsyfunction, heart palpitations and chronic fatigue. I had no insurance, so I had no way to alleviate any of the agony other than turning myself into a human science experiment and the occassional visits to doctor I couldn't afford. I self-diagnosed like mad. I thought it could be post-alcoholism, lactose-intolerance, chronic sinusitus, a weak heart, age (was in my 20's at the time!), smoking, dry skin, stress and several other medical conditions, none of which have panned out.

Finally, this year, I recieved medical insurance and began a quest to get to the bottom of things. Of course, my doctor was stumped. She ran dozens of tests, did guesswork, sent me to specialists, prescribed medication. I even had a mole removed, which was benign I might add. The only serious diagnosis she could come up with is that I had chronic sinusitis. Something I had already guessed. She showered me with prescription medication, none of which had much, if any, effect. To my chagrin, she turned out to be what I know think of most doctors. Overpaid guesstimators.

On a hunch, I decided to follow some advice a friend had given me a few years ago. He's one of these politically-conscious guys who believes Blockbuster edits movies, Disney exploits child-workers and that NutraSweet is poison. At the time, I would just shrug and say "...everything's a freakin' conspiracy with you." Well, years laters, I thought, could he be right? Does it really cause brain cancer. What if I quit Nutrasweet, what would happen? Why don't I look it up on the Internet? I have a T3 connection at work. During a little down time, I did just that and the rest is history. I found out the truth and quit all forms of aspartame a couple of days later. I have been "recovering" ever since and ALL my problems are vanishing, if not completely vanished a mere week after quitting. I am one happy camper. No depression, no trauma, no illness, no grief. Just life. If it weren't for the Internet and people like Mark Gold, I may not have ever found out.

My experiences over the last 6 years have been anywhere from discomforting to unbearable, but never "normal." Now I can see the world clearly, without pain, other than what "normal" people experience. I firmly believe that Nutrasweet is poison and that a percentage of us are dangerously affected by it. It is a crime that Monsanto continues to get away with bloody murder and probably will continue to long after we're gone. Trying to slay the Monsanto behemoth would be like trying to bring down a skyscraper with a pickaxe. I am incredibly pissed off that I blindly blamed myself. Since I've discovered that a multi-national corporation was not only getting rich off of people like me, but playing God with the health of the world, I've become enraged. Monsanto must come clean, if not just for the current victims, then for future ones. Whatever the case may be, this must end! The FDA and Monsanto should be reprimanded, the guilty parties apprehended and thrown to a jury of self-acknowledged aspartame sufferers.