issie Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 I think I figured out why I had such a bad POTS attack and wound up in the hospital - get this - Sugar Free Gum - Lots of it in one day. Piece after piece of yummy, nerve settling, juicy, sugar free gum. Yup, it has aspartame in it. What is that, well it's not only a chemical that is very, very bad for you - but it is derived from phenylalanine. What does phenylalanine do - well it can increase dopamine (the feel good hormone) then from that norepinephrine is made. Too much of either, in our system - keys you up, can give you heart palpitations and tachy and last but not least - increases blood pressure (Hyper POTS response). Yes, that's what my symptoms were. I also had chest pains and some long QT's, thrown in for good measure a few ST's and an extra sound with a S3. Why nitro helped this, except to enlarge constricted blood vessels and increase nitric oxide, got my heart rate to come down - still not knowledgeable enough to completely have that part figured out. But, my guess is I did it to myself with too much phenylalanine from sugar-free gum. So, with this conclusion on my part - it brings up a question as regards another subject we've been talking about. Could DLPA (two forms of phenylalanine) help with the NET (noriepi transport disorder) or would it make it worse - because it would increase noriepi even more and it wouldn't be transported to where it needed to go. Seems like it would increase the problem. But, on the other hand if some type of dopamine problem is the issue and it can increase dopamine - maybe it would be helpful. Also, an article I read on Life Extension suggested to use theanine and or glutamine with it to increase noriepi and dopamine - (which as was brought out in the other thread, is a sibilance of cocaine and can be a helper in kicking the habit.)So, how many of us are creating our problems with aspartame and an over-load of phenylalanine? I don't know why I chewed that gum - knowing how bad aspartame is for your brain and what it can do to your body - but I thought that day - a splurge and it tasted so good. How many thousands of dollars is that gum going to cost me --haven't gotten the hospital bill yet. But, if phenylalanine is something that we may need - take it as a supplement. Realize though that it could increase your blood pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramakentesh Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 Potentially I guess. its also implicated in worsening or triggering some autoimmune illnesses. SOme norepinephrine is necessary - its just that the balance is weird in POTS. Either some parts feel it normally while others feel it less, the whole body is very over sensitised to it, or in some cases there isnt enough being released orthostatically, etc. If betas work for you then this might be a trigger for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdlady Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 Issie this is very interesting. I'm glad you figured out what could have triggered your POTS attack. You could have simply had a reaction to the aspartame. I stay away from aspartame, acesulfame k, sucralose and whatever other artificial sweeteners. Ugh If I eat it, I get massive migraines. When I used to drink diet sodas on a regular basis, I had migraines all the time and lived on Excedrin. I stopped drinking it and I never get migraines now. That's proof enough for me that it's a bad idea! You cannot buy gum at the store without at least 1 or 2 artificial sweeteners in it. Even ones that say "sweetened with Xylitol" will have other sweeteners in it. Gah I just want some gum. hahaI had my organic acids/amino acids tested and interestingly phenylalanine was elevated on my tests. I'm not really sure what to think about it all! Nice job investigating all of this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lieze Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 Certain types of gum would always give me horrible stomach cramps and bloating to where it was almost unbearable.I was to relieved to see that allergies can cause bad breath because I've always suffered from it horribly.It's horrible to feel like you can't open your mouth at all without offending others. So here was my problem, I would chew multiple sticks of gum per day only to have my breath feel worse. My gums are in a horrible mess from all of the gum chewing and none of it seemed to help.My tongue would get an icky sticky coating on it and by evening ( I worked morning shift ) it would basically be so bad that I would lose my appetite.Since I had to work and deal with the public and my coworkers I felt forced to continue this horrible cycle just so I could talk to people.Maybe addressing these allergies will help resolve some of that I can only hope.I think all the gum chewing made me feel more dehydrated also and sometimes my jaw would ache.I hope to get out of that horrible routine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sue1234 Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 Dana, what kind of doctor thought to check your amino acids/organic acids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdlady Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 I actually decided to do it myself, but just had one of my natural doctors sign the requisition form. It was through Genova Diagnostics. The results are nearly impossible to interpret though, so either you'd have to see a mitochondrial doctor or try to research it on your own. I'm too broke to see a mito doctor at this point! Dana, what kind of doctor thought to check your amino acids/organic acids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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