So, I've been trying to reduce the amount of sugar in my diet to help with the diabetes and to lose some weight. To do that, I've been drinking diet Coke for three days... Today, I'm in agony; my legs, feet, back, shoulders, thumb joints hurt more than the pain meds can help... Is there a legitimate correlation between fibro and aspartame? Water isn't my thing... even though I know I should be drinking it. What other beverage options do I have if diet drinks aren't an option anymore?
Hi, Kim.
There isn’t any link between aspartame and Fibro pain that I am aware of, but maybe others will know more on topic. Have you eliminated any other possible reasons your Fibro pain may have increased such as stress that may be causing a flare or weather changes?
As for water, I am not a tremendous fan either, but I can feel a noticeable difference in my pain levels and even thinking when I am not drinking enough, so I am sure to stay on top of this. As an alternative to just plain water, I flavor water with fruit like lemons or oranges or even strawberries. You can sqeeze them and leave the fruit in the glass or pitcher. Cucumbers also give a wonderful taste to water. Sometimes for carbonation, I drink flavored seltzer water. Iced teas with no sugar are also tasty.
Hugs and I hope you feel better soon!
Laurie
Hi, Kim. The same thing happened to me when Dr Pepper Ten first came out. I drank them quite a bit & noticed that my pain was increasing. I was just miserable & realized there might be a link so I googled it online. It seems that a lot of people have linked aspartame & increased pain and/or inflamation, especially among those folks with fibromyalgia. I immediately quit drinking them & gave away a full 24 can pack of them to someone not affected by aspartame. When I quit drinking them & anything else with aspartame in it, I started getting much better within a week of stopping. I no longer drink anything with aspartame in it & I spend lots of time reading labels at the grocery store. Now I pretty much won’t use any artificial sweetener–I have used organic stevia but decided I don’t really care for it all that much. Now I drink water with lemon in it all day. I was a tea addict & still enjoy tea on occasion but I make sure I get all my water in before allowing myself some unsweet tea. If there’s anyway you can enjoy water flavored with fruit as Baltimore Baby suggested, that would be the optimum best for you. I never really enjoyed plain water, like I said I was a tea addict but after feeling the way I felt after going hog wild crazy with those Dr Pepper Tens–there is no way I want to feel that terrible pain again. Aspartame isn’t worth it to me. Water will also help flush out your system & it is 100% natural. Cut the diet drinks & you will feel better soon! HUGS from Deb
Hi Kim,
Both of the ladies have really good suggestions. What I have is another incentive to switching to water. You mentioned wanting to lose weight. About a year ago I heard about a study that was done on diet soda. They wanted to see if it did help with losing weight. The surprising answer was "NO" that it actually caused people feel hungry and they ate more. I stopped drinking diet soda and dropped 25 lbs without changing anything else in my diet. Now I'm not saying this is going to happen to you but you might find it easier to lose weight. It's just like with Fibro, what works for one person may not work for another.
Hope your pain lessens soon
Good luck with losing weight
Dottie S.
Thanks Laurie. I will try the flavored waters and try to drink more. Wonder why drinking water is such a pain for me...
BaltimoreBaby said:
Hi, Kim.
There isn't any link between aspartame and Fibro pain that I am aware of, but maybe others will know more on topic. Have you eliminated any other possible reasons your Fibro pain may have increased such as stress that may be causing a flare or weather changes?
As for water, I am not a tremendous fan either, but I can feel a noticeable difference in my pain levels and even thinking when I am not drinking enough, so I am sure to stay on top of this. As an alternative to just plain water, I flavor water with fruit like lemons or oranges or even strawberries. You can sqeeze them and leave the fruit in the glass or pitcher. Cucumbers also give a wonderful taste to water. Sometimes for carbonation, I drink flavored seltzer water. Iced teas with no sugar are also tasty.
Hugs and I hope you feel better soon!
Laurie
Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm going to stop drinking the diet pop and try adding a splash of fruit to some water. I know I should drink more water, but I have a difficult time making myself choose water! :/ I like the flavored seltzer water idea too! Thanks again!
My mom is diabetic and the doctor told her to drink know more than 1 diet drink a day that they can lead to dehydration which would cause her to feel worst and add to her problems. I find if i drink water as soon as I get out of bed I do better then during the day I will flavor it with fruit it can take a while to get used to but it will help.
I haven't noticed a correlation for me. I drink 1-2 diet sodas a day usually. However, I also drink plenty of water, I am the odd one that actually likes water. lol.
I would like to add, that when I decided to cut caffeine from my diet, I got the worst migraines of my life!!! According to the MD I was having withdrawal symptoms & ordered me to go back to drinking caffeinated coffee. I am allowed 2 cups every morning, M
2 CUPS!!!!!? I drink coffee most of the morning then switch to Coca Cola in the afternoon! Luna01 - what do you drink during the day?
Drinking water will HAVE to be a conscious decision on my part!
purplebutterfly said:
My mom is diabetic and the doctor told her to drink know more than 1 diet drink a day that they can lead to dehydration which would cause her to feel worst and add to her problems. I find if i drink water as soon as I get out of bed I do better then during the day I will flavor it with fruit it can take a while to get used to but it will help.
I drink decaf green & black tea & depending on the day & how I feel I add different flavors, sweet basil, anise seed, ground cloves, cinn sticks, 3 slices of fresh ginger, marjarom, goldenrod flowers, dandelion leaves or root, sage, spear or pepper mint, I better stop I can write here all day. If you need sweet maybe you could test the sweet basil on yourself. M
Kim said:
2 CUPS!!!!!? I drink coffee most of the morning then switch to Coca Cola in the afternoon! Luna01 - what do you drink during the day?
Kim, here are some ways I make SURE to get water…
- I carry a full water bottle or seltzer water bottle in my purse every day.
- I keep a full water bottle/glass in common rooms in apt. -living room, bedroom, kitchen… And,
- I keep one by my desk at work.
If it’s staring at me, I can not forget or avoid drinking water!
Good luck in your quest to quench!
Laurie
Please explain these flavors. Are they essential oils, herbs (fresh/dried)...? I'm interested b/c I just can't keep drinking all this pop.
Thanks!
Luna01 said:
I drink decaf green & black tea & depending on the day & how I feel I add different flavors, sweet basil, anise seed, ground cloves, cinn sticks, 3 slices of fresh ginger, marjarom, goldenrod flowers, dandelion leaves or root, sage, spear or pepper mint, I better stop I can write here all day. If you need sweet maybe you could test the sweet basil on yourself. M
Kim said:2 CUPS!!!!!? I drink coffee most of the morning then switch to Coca Cola in the afternoon! Luna01 - what do you drink during the day?
I grow my own golden rod, spear, pepper, & cat mints, the plantain, dandelion & milk thistle are just weeds here so I harvest those as well. The fresh ginger root I buy at the store (you will think that it is a bit pricey but well worth it). The rest I get out of my spice cabnet. M
Hi again. :) I'm really interested in trying these teas out. But I've no idea how to make them. :) Would you mind sending me your recipes?
Send me a friend request & we can go from there. M
I have been virtually sugar free since Jan 11th. There are alternatives to diet drinks out there and really good sweeteners like organic honey and blue agave syrup. both can be added to sparkling water with vanilla flavor or lemon/ lime juice, etc. I also like the sparkling ICE drinks. They have spring water and flavor, but they do have sucralose if you don’t mind Splenda style sweetener… good luck! Most of my cravings are covered with my diet and I am happy with my food, and down 7 lbs…(9 to go!)…
Hugs…
Lisa
Vitamin Water or Perrier (sparkling water) would be my suggestions for other drinks. Gentle hugs for the flare.
I like to drink Perrier. I usually buy the lime kind. It has no added anything to it, and it still has the bubbles that I enjoy. The flavor is also really light, like lime peel. I really recommend trying it. That way I am drinking something I like, as well as drinking water.
Kim said:
Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm going to stop drinking the diet pop and try adding a splash of fruit to some water. I know I should drink more water, but I have a difficult time making myself choose water! :/ I like the flavored seltzer water idea too! Thanks again!