[MsVickie]

I have a question and please yall don't think Im insane OK.

I have arthritis in my joints. Yep all of em. Nice huh. I am on pain meds to help with it. None are addictive. I would like yall to think about this for a minute. Have any of you noticed when you started using the brand Splenda that you noticed more joint pain or... felt really locked up in the joints.

Let me explain. When Splenda come out we were among the first me and my hubby to buy it and use it in Sweet Tea. We go through allot of tea. My arthritis really bothered me for months. Just so happened we ran out of it and pay day was a good 8 days away. Its expensive. So we used sugar. I felt good. We got the splenda and started using it again. I went to my Dr about my pains I was having She just uped my meds. Had knee surgery. Arthritis in massive form. Dr said someone my age having that much was plain unheard of. Showed me a pic of mine in my knee he cleaned out for me. Its a pic of broken glass chards white and sticking up everywhere. I had never seen arthritis before. No wonder it hurts so bad. Again we ran out of splenda. I stopped hurting. This time I refused to let the hubby place in in my tea. Thinking OK Im not hurting. Something is up. As you know many ice creams and drinks now have that in it. Went to my brothers house and drank a diet soda. The next am I could not even get up without major pain. I went to look Splenda up. Its made with Chlorine which is horrible on bone and cartilage.

When I went to see my first surgeon he was telling me no sugar I would have to use a artificial sweetener. My hubby then spoke up and told him what I experience with it. He said " I have wondered if that didn't speed up my arthritis in my hip". He had to have it replaced. He agreed with my hubby on this matter. He stated he ask his patients to use Equal instead. Do any of you use fruit pectin instead of sweeteners? Do any of you have pains like I have experienced? I have been tested for RA its fine. I don't have fibermyalgia. Do yall use any sweetners at all? My biggest thing I have to give up is .......Dr. Pepper. UGH I actually crave it when i dont have it for a day. Any feed back would help me on this. Thanks

[DocSanae]

Hmm. Splenda. That is interesting, and I (as well as your surgeon) wouldn't be surprised if it was the culprit, artifiical sweetners as they go, are all chemicals, and not natural ingredients of natural produce, so it could be the cause of some unexpected things.

If you can, it's best if you can wean yourself of the sweet taste itself.
When I instruct my patients, I tell them to use sugar in a small amount and get used to less sweetness, than to replace sugar with artificial sweetners and stick to the sweetness they are used to. In the long run, it is better that way for their overall health.
The less strong/rich taste you get used to, the more you will be able to appreciate the natural flavor of food, and it will help in controlling the amount you eat, and your cravings.

I drink a lot of tea, too, but I drink all types straight, and though I'm not a coffee lover, I have my coffee black. Well, for one thing, I guess I'm used to drinking tea, any tea, without sugar, lemon, or milk, because Japanese green tea is taken without anything, and so are Chinese teas. So, I enjoy the various flavors of English (Indian, actually) teas without any added taste. The differences are interesting and enjoyable in themselves. Maybe you could give it a try.

[fr1endly2]

all i can add here is that pre op i had body aches bad.....
and post op i dont ...
was it the extra weight, something in the food.
I will really never know.
BUT i have heard stuff like that .....
hugs

[mike]

That is very interesting, and unheard of to me. The research that you did, obviously was beneficial to you though, which is good. I am sorry that you were in so much pain from the sweeteners. I, myself, use splenda with no problems. The only problem that I face with using that is the fact that I crave sweets with using it. I didn't in the beginning while using it, but now crave sweets. The mind is a tricky thing. I have a big problem in the morning with craving sweets, so I always put a packet of splenda in with whatever I was making....stirfry for example....to just have a bit of sweetness in the morning. I don't anymore, and the cravings has gone waaaaaaaaaay down for me. I make everything now, just plain. Seems to be working. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try the equal though. You are finding though, that everyone reacts differently to everything. That is what really amazes me, when I read the posts about what is, or is not tolerated after surgery. Your post was very interesting. Thanks for posting.
mike

[fr1endly2]

I was multi tasking getting my kids to school before and didnt get into details. I have heard the body aches matter from people with
fibromalgia (proly spelled wrong) they are told to steer clear of
the artificial sweetners and products to help with their chronic
pain and fatigue.
I wanted to say more were i heard of this being an issue.

[akosak]

MsVickie,

I am also not a fan of Splenda, when it first came out everyone was so excited about how great it was going to be. I tried it and got sick. It upsets my stomack and makes me feel bad all over. It hard to avoid now adays because they have started putting it in everything. Makes me made. If I eat pudding or ice cream with it I am in the bathroom all night and can' get out of bed in the morning for being so stiff. So the answer to your question is yes other people do have the same problem. I just try not to eat it and since I am pre-op I can tell you the kicking the soda think was hard for me too. I loved my original diet coke (no splenda). But after a few weeks it and unsweet tea are gone and I am on all water, and I feel much better for it. It is well worth making the switch now then trying to make the switch after the surgery.

Good luck!

[MsVickie]

Thank you all for the input. Anna you mock my symptoms exactally. Somthing i forgot to include was I spoke to my Primary Care Provider about this and she ...... was like WHAT? Thats insane. Then stopped and thought a minute. She said ok Ms Thang..... I will tell you if I feel better next time I see you. Im gonna stop Splenda to. Guess what?????? LOL she is off the Celebrex now.

Somthing to think about if your having pain. For you that dont feel pain from it feel blessed it dont effect you.