To Elisa,

I'm praying for you and your daughter.

I believe that your diagnoses that aspartame is your daughter's problem is accurate. Do not be surprised if your neurologist has a different opinion. Regardless his opinion, try to eliminate all of her exposures to aspartame and other excitotoxins (caffeine, MSG, etc.). Rarely will physicians choose to receive valid evidence outside of their cherished "teachers." The vast majority of the education is connected to the pharmaceutical corporations. And aspartame is a pharmaceutical. What makes it more difficult is that aspartame was created by accident. It was discovered accidentally that it was 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is formed by 2 essential amino acids that your body requires. Therefore, it is considered safe. Some physicians are aware that when aspartame breaks down, one of its metabolites is "wood alcohol." Wood alcohol is known to cause blindness.

My personal experience with aspartame:

About 14 years ago I was working at a job, when I discovered that my vision would become blurred toward the end of each day. I was working 12 hour days, seven days a week for four weeks in a row, then I would be off for four weeks. During my off time, I was seen by my ophthalmologist who could find no change in my vision. He told me that I was probably just getting old (pushing 40 at that time) and prescribed me bifocals. The bifocals did not help any, and I realized that my problem was worse when I was at work. This went on for over 2 years, until one day when I was off work I happened to watch the 700 club. Pat Robertson was reporting about the many problems of aspartame. One of which was blindness and blurred vision. I recalled being told of the "very rare " possibility of blindness from medical school. I decided to stop all aspartame and my blurred vision cleared. About three weeks later I decided to drink a lingering diet cola that was left in my refrige! rator. I sat down to read the newspaper, when halfway through the cola my vision suddenly became blurred as before. That proved to me that the aspartame was the culprit. I then realized that when I was at work (my clinic was next door to the cafeteria) I was sipping coffee with aspartame all morning, and sipping diet cola all afternoon. No wonder I was having visual problems. Aspartame is difficult to avoid because it is hidden everywhere. But it definitely is a poison. (By the way, no one has ever lost weight drinking "Diet" drinks.). And you

There are a multitude of articles on the Internet on these neurotoxins. I'd highly recommend that you do a search. You might also want to research the "ketogenic diet" for the treatment of seizure disorders. Don't let the diet bother you, the brain is made up of 60 percent fats, and some of the nerves up to 80 percent. The following is an excerpt from an article which confirms your excellent diagnosis.

Shalom, John Clark
 
 

Aspartame: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
 
 

http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/hidden_dangers.htm
 
 

Epilepsy/Seizures With the large and growing number of seizures caused by aspartame, it is sad to see that the Epilepsy Foundation is promoting the "safety" of aspartame. At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 80 people who had suffered seizures after ingesting aspartame were surveyed. Community Nutrition Institute concluded the following about the survey:

"These 80 cases meet the FDA's own definition of an imminent hazard to the public health, which requires the FDA to expeditiously remove a product from the market."

Both the Air Force's magazine, Flying Safety, and the Navy's magazine, Navy Physiology, published articles warning about the many dangers of aspartame including the cumulative delirious effects of methanol and the greater likelihood of birth defects. The articles note that the ingestion of aspartame can make pilots more susceptible to seizures and vertigo. Twenty articles sounding warnings about ingesting aspartame while flying have also appeared in the National Business Aircraft Association Digest (NBAA Digest 1993), Aviation Medical Bulletin (1988), The Aviation Consumer (1988), Canadian General Aviation News (1990), Pacific Flyer (1988), General Aviation News (1989), Aviation Safety Digest (1989), and Plane & Pilot (1990) and a paper warning about aspartame was presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association (Gaffney 1986).

A hotline was even set up for pilots suffering from acute reactions to aspartame ingestion. Over 600 pilots have reported symptoms including some who have reported suffering grand mal seizures in the cockpit due to aspartame.(21)
 
 

Emotional Disorders In a double blind study of the effects of aspartame on persons with mood disorders, findings showed a large increase in serious symptoms for persons taking aspartame. Since some of the symptoms were so serious, the Institutional Review Board had to stop the study. Three of the participants had said that they had been "poisoned" by aspartame. Researchers concluded that "individuals with mood disorders are particularly sensitive to this artificial sweetener; its use in this population should be discouraged."(18) One researcher stated about aspartame, "I know it causes seizures. I'm convinced also that it definitely causes behavioral changes. I'm very angry that this substance is on the market. I personally question the reliability and validity of any studies funded by the NutraSweet Company."(19)

Additionally, there are numerous reported cases of low brain serotonin levels, depression and other emotional disorders that have been linked to aspartame and often are relieved by stopping the intake of aspartame.