Diet soda symptoms and conditions

I was taking lisinopril and having optical migraines, pain behind my left eye, continued high blood pressure and had lost half the vision in my right eye. Went into the hospital bp was 240/138 having tia. After 10 years of fighting the BP problems and going from med to med, I finally figured out my problem was really with Aspartame, the artificial sweetener. Aspartame and MSG are both excitations that do terrible things to your brain. After cutting out diet soda and all other sources of the aspartame, and reading labels and staying away from MSG, and cutting out caffeine. I am off all of my meds and starting to feel normal again. It sure cuts down one the quick things you can eat, but better than being a slave to the BP meds forever. with all their side effects. Search the web for Aspartame side effects. You'll be surprised

Topamax is off label for weight loss. I was put on it after gaining about 35lbs from Seroquel. It took the weight off like it was supposed to. My dose has recently been stepped down because I'm back at my normal weight of 135 (I'm 5'11").

When I first started taking Topamax diet soda and other sugary things tasted really strange, which my doctor says he's never experienced before. I also had a numbness and tingling in my face and hands for about an hour or so after taking the pill for a while.

One more thing that I noticed about this drug is that while on it my vision went from perfect to needing to be corrected by glasses. I have read a few things about vision problems associated with Topamax but I am not sure if it caused my nearsightedness or not.

Thanks for letting me share my thoughts.
M.

i have been taking topamax for about 6 weeks, so far it has not been too bad. The worst thing was the first week when I though I would die of heat. I looked like an idiot at work. I had a paper towel around my neck with ice cubes in it. Luckily it only lasted about a week, I still get hot every once in a while but not too bad. The taste has changed as well, but that means diet soda is not so bad so maybe I'll lose even more weight. I am nausea sometimes, but overall the side effects have not been too bad. Luckily I have not had the numbness and tingling. I want to wait out the side effects because from everything I have read the full effect doesnt take effect for at least 2 or 3 months, so try and wait it out, if it works anything is better than the migraines!!!!!

I started taking Topamax a couple of weeks ago, but decided to make the decision to stop taking it.
Typically, I am a very quick, sharp thinker, but not while on this medication. I became very forgetful, almost absent-minded, and confused. And, the mettalic taste in my mouth was very unpleasant. I drink a lot of diet soda, a real bummer to discover it's flat taste. Also, a couple of days prior to my quitting it, the fingers in one hand were feeling numb.
If these are just the beginning of the side effects, I am saying no thanks to Topamax. There has to be something better out there with less side effects.

Vitals--35 yrs old male, 210lbs, 5'6". Three years ago, I had an agruement with my wife over dinner and brought on stress resulting in soreness in my left arm. I went to the hospital and stayed there for five days. I had an enlarge heart and a BP of 215/110. I didn't have a heart attack but was told to change my lifestyle. I was initially placed on atenol(however you spell it) but my doctor told me lisinopril was better.

I have family history going against me, my father has HBP and has had two mild heart attacks, 47 & 57 currently he's 61 and was treated by angioplas for those heart attacks and his father had four heart attacks and died at 85. Diabetes in all over my family, only in seniors.

Here's my deal, I have anxiety issues, I'm just a high-strung person. Since the two years, being on this stuff. I've noticed weakness in my left elbow at times, tingling feeling, and sometimes in my legs. I've developed this year, pain around my gall bladder and stomach pains. I don't have gall stones was checked out. I have also after six months of being on this stuff developed gaut in my big left toe, where I couldn't walk for a week. I have mini-attacks of gaut from time to time. And to add to the misery, this week, I passed two kidney stones.

I do feel tired all the time and my sex drive has weaken a bit, and let me tell you, my wife is hot and I love her to death so that's not the problem. I do get depressed from time to time. I don't get the cough as everyone has stated, but two years ago I did get pnemonia over the summer.

It's been a rough go, but let me offer hope to all. I've been trying to lose weight but been holding it on for some reason. I would recommend the most sensible solution, and we know what it is.

1. Diet--No matter what--fast food is crap-repeat after me-fast food is crap. Soft drinks are bad, yes even diet soda. Drink water and water and more water. Water is not boring when you cut fresh lemon or lime slices and put them in your glass or pitcher. Fruits, Veggies, low-sodium foods(throw away the salt shaker). Eat plain oatmeal with fresh blueberries in the morning. Zero fat yogurt perhaps as a snack. No meat. As much as I love prime rib, I had to give it up. Maybe meat once a month, or a small portion the size of your fist.
2. exercise--this is a no brainer. Just walk on a treadmill, once a day for 10-15 minutes while watching TV. Increase the minutes as months go by, but check with your doctor.
3. mediation--Half a hour daily, clear your mind, pray to God, or think about Hawaii, whatever it takes to relax.

Take care all,

John

My son was 4 when he started singulair chewable tablets for children for his allergies (winter and spring) he took it for 2 months and then we started noticing that he started to stutter/ stammer. His sppech was not like before. He would also make facial expressions like he is trying to force the words out with his eyes looking up. He also became excessively sensitive and emotional. He would cry over anything. He appeared depressed. Then I decided to look into his medication. I looked at a few websites and found other parents had complained about similar side effects - then one smart parent noted that singulair chewable tablets for kids contained large doses of ASPARTAME ! It was clearly labeled on the medication by Merck but to my shock it meant that I was giving my son with each tablet the equivalent of 5 cans of diet coke worth of aspartame ! Turns out aspartame is one of of the most horrendous things to anyone. If you visit websites about the subject you will be shocked at what the popular diet soda sweetner causes. Apparently it was the culprit. I took him off the medication immediately and his speech became normal within a couple of weeks. The same smart parent noted in her posting that she/he had given their child a split adult dose of singulair - since IT DOES NOT CONTAIN ASPARTAME ! apparently they put it in the children dose as a sweetner since it is chewable.... may be worth a try since the medication was very effective with the allergy symptoms - but for me I am gonna have to try to find an alternative...

Well it is now three weeks since my last posting here, and 3 months on Topamax at 200mg per day. My sleep pattern is back to normal and my migraines which were 2-3 times a day before topamax are now only 1-2 times a week which is so much more tolerable! My trigeminal neuralgia is completely under control, I never have any pain while I take this medicine. I have lost 26 pounds in 3 months since I started taking topamax. I used to drink diet soda all the time and now just drink water with an occasional crystal light. What a difference. I must say my energy level isn't what it used to be but that is something that I can try to work on. I have to try to find energy to exercise. My appetite is much lower, so I don't eat as much as I used to...and it takes quite a bit less to fill me up at a meal. Even before Topamax I was on the weight watchers plan, so I eat right and know that I am not starving myself or making bad meal decisions. I don't sweat like I used to, and that is something we need to be aware of so we don't overheat. I still have the tingling in my feet and hands every day but am getting used to it. I don't seem to lose my train of thought or "lose my words", like I used to when I first started taking this drug. I hope that is a good sign for us all. Overall, Topamax has been a very positive experience for me and I hope that others of you out there have the same good experiences that I have had. Good luck!

200 mg a day since April 2002, dont know if my visual problems have anything to do with Topamax or not. my visual field is effected. Will know more after further testing. Pressure is great. Tremors under both eyes now. Tingling in hands once in awhile now. Nothing like at first. Headaches much better once a month or every two months. Weight loss was great. Keeping it off. taste buds changed. Couldn't taste much at first. Over salted everything. I can drink soda now. Diet soda doesn't taste good at all. I drink juice now. Water it down. Short term memory lost still is a problem.

I stopped Advair just over two weeks ago. I skipped a day and had a little trouble breathing - so I took it again. Then I skipped two days and took it again. Then I was able to quit for good. I'm off of it now.

I am using Albuterol just a little bit more than I did while on Advair -- but nothing extreme. I feel better. I've lost 6 pounds without really changing anything (I did quit drinking diet soda also). My ankle swelling has subsided a lot. No more pain.

I hope things get even better with time.