splenda, licorice root and POTS

[Eli6596]

Hi

I am new to the forum but not new to POTS. POTS was triggered by pregnancy in 1996, and again in 2001, but stayed with me after the second pregnancy. Yesterday I typed my story, "Karyn's story" for the website. It felt therapeutic. It is still in the discussion forum under "aspring writers wanted". I feel very emotional and near tears when reading the discussion forum. So many people have struggled with so many things that I have.

My symptoms do worsen with nutrasweet, but splenda seems OK,maybe. What has anyone else experienced with this new sweetener? I know it is real sugar with a chloride molecule attached to prevent absorption of the sugar.

I see that some people are taking licorice root. How does this help? Please tell me more.

Karyn

sister through POTS

[Guest tearose]

Hi sis !

I know what you mean about the sharing and the tears...sometimes I think membership here should include a box of tissues! Hopefully you will laugh here too!

Okay, about licorice root: as you may know, it is suppose to raise your blood pressure. I couldn't tolerate it because I felt flushed and puffy after drinking it. It maybe that my batch of root was too strong, but my instinct is to avoid it since I am already in a fragile state of balance and need a more "regulated" dose of anything I put in me. If I learn of a type of measurable dosage, I would try it again.

I can't use equal! I get actual breakage in the little blood vessels in my fingers and it makes me have to void a lot. I cut down on Splenda because of the chlorine but have not cut it out. It is still so new in terms of knowing "long term effects" so I don't know them. I just feel it is better to err on the side of caution and do some splenda and some sugar. Someone else here suggested to try sugar twin. I haven't looked into that yet.

welcome to the family, tearose

[Gena]

HI Karen, and welcome to the forum.

I'm pasting a link here about splenda from Dr. Mercola's website http://www.mercola.com/2005/apr/2/splenda_propaganda.htm.

If you scroll down towards the bottom of that page when you link to it, you'll see his comments about Splenda. I personally don't use artificial sweetners. I stick to honey or agave nectar or stevia if I want to sweeten something (and I also love real sugar, a little too much ).

I took 2-4 grams of standardized licorice root capsules daily for 3 months, then a month off then 3 months again at about 1-2 grams per day and now I've been off of it completly for about 2-3 months. I was dx'd with POTS in the summer, and initially licorice root was a life saver for me, as it really did help me retain some fluids and boost my blood pressure. However, it can have some estrogenic side effects, which I started to experience, (i.e., bad PMS, cramping during periods, breast tenderness, heavier periods, etc.). My body has always been a little too estrogen dominant and the licorice root boosted my levels even more after taking if for some time. Once I get my progesterone levels back up, I will probably go back on the licorice for a while, as it really did help. My BP is just really too low without it and I don't want to take Florinef.

If you choose to take licorice root, it's important to have your potassium and sodium levels checked periodically (just as you would if you're taking Florinef). Licorice root helps your kidneys retain sodium, so you want to make your sodium/potassium balance is in check and that you're not losing too much potassium.

Hope this helps!

Gena

[Eli6596]

Hi

Thanks for the great info. Tearose, it was good to laugh at the post about the worst jobs for POTS. Humor really is one of the best medicines! Being a surgeon would be a pretty bad job too. I used to try to weasel my way out of assisting in surgery as a student. I did not even realize at the time that it was not normal to feel dizzy after standing for hours. I am so much worse now that those times seem like heaven. Don't we take good health for granted until something happens?

I think I will start staying away from splenda after reading the link provided by Gena. It is really not uncommon for dangerous side effects to be discovered years after a medication is FDA approved. Just a few weeks ago, a drug for multiple sclerosis, tysabri, was pulled from the market after one death and other serious illnesses. The drug had been "fast tracked" by the FDA after only one year of data because the drug looked so promising.

I think I will stay away from licorice root too. I already take 35mg a day of midodrine which carries the risk of increasing my blood pressure. It is good to be informed about alternative meds though.

Gena, I love gardening too. It keeps me sane. I plant all sorts of vegetables. I have to watch not to overdo it though. I pulled a relatively small amount of weeds today and had to lie down for hours. I use straw as mulch which saves me a lot of weeding and watering. Patience and pacing myself are key, but so hard!

Karyn

sister in POTS

[yogini]

Karyn, how does Nutrasweet make your symptoms worse? I'm wondering because I have had a a lot of diet soda over the years.

I just did a search on google and found that tachycardia is a common symptom of Nutrasweet, which I didn't know. That is very interesting to me, because I was otherwise healthy and have no family history of dysautonomia. I can't do anything about the past, but I guess I can try cutting it out to see if it helps.

-Rita

[Eli6596]

Nothing dramatic happens when I drink nutrasweet containing sodas. However, I noticed that I seem to be more likely to have a bad day during which my medications don't seem to last as long between dosages. Specifically, I have more fatigue, dizziness, and brain fog. I also have more migraines when I drink nutrasweet. I know that nutrasweet definitely triggers migraines in others as well. I completely avoid caffeine and alcohol too since they are like water pills.

I will be interested to see how you feel off nutrasweet if you chose to go off of it. It is amazing how seemingly little things can make a difference. I doubt nutrasweet would have been the cause of your dysautonomia but maybe it could be a contributing factor?

Karyn

[Guest tearose]

I didn't realize that nutrasweet can cause fast heart rate. See how much we don't know.

When will we know if Splenda is okay?

I'll use moderation for now, Anyone know about sugar twin?

[blackwolf]

Sugar Twin is my prefered choice of art. sweetener. I use very little of it because of the sweetness and love the brown sugar on my daily bowl of oatmeal. I bought some splenda and didn't like the way my stomach reacted to it. I know use very little splenda and hope to have it gone soon.

Oh, you can bake with sugar twin, but I use a mix of sugar/sugar twin. I also like the one to one replacement ratio.

my best,

black-in the hole, and getting tired of it-wolf

[Guest Julia59]

If I use artificial sweetners, my bowel motility get's worse. I don't know about splenda so far as far as that goes, but I do notice it kill's my appetite instantly, and kind of makes my stomach a little upset.

I've always had kind of odd reactions----so I avoid them. I have been trying diet soda lately and don't tolerate them well. I am trying to avoid regular soda-----as it is lots of sugar and calories. There is some kind of artificial sweetner in that dentyne- fire cinnamon gum---can't remember the name of the artificial sweetner, but it's the only one I tolerate well. That is usually the onlygum i'll chew other then the altoid's gum, but I didn't check to see if the same artificial sweetner is used in altoids gum.

I don't know anything about licorice root..........

Julie :0)

[Eli6596]

Thanks everybody!

Karyn

[ramakentesh]

When i first tried licocrice root i thought I had found a goldmine! When i was feeling dizzy and spaced out it always improved my condition almost immediately. I found it a little hard to concentrate after drinking a full mug, but it seemed like an ideal treatment.

The down side for me was that I got a migraine EVERY DAY after consuming just two mugs of the stuff for 7 days! I stopped and then started again with the same result.

My migraines are real annoying - they stop me from sleeping properly, so i decided to deal with the occasional dizziness rather than stay on licorice and get migraines.

[sick_of_being_sick]

I can say that ever since I've been sick (since last year), I have noticed that I cannot drink any diet sodas or put equal in anything I consume. My stomach goes completely out of whack and sometimes I get headaches! It took me a while to put two and two together, since I used to use equal all of the time (never ever had problems). Splenda is ok. . .but sometimes I will use just plain sugar (which I'm not a big fan of since you have to put so much of it in your beverage to actually taste it!). I'm so glad I read your post. . .its good to know that I'm not the only one who can't tolerate it.

[Jillybeanbme]

Hi everyone! I've been gone a while...busy with life, job and feeling like crap. I have now had Fibromyalgia added to my list of problems...sorry off the subject.

Splenda....I think it *****!! I know that's rude and blount..please let me explain why I feel this way. I don't like artifical sweetners..never have never will. One, I can stand the funky aftertaste they leave. Second, I don't like putting possiable cancer causing chemicals in my body for the sake of saving calories. Splenda is sneaky. My doctor told me had to increase my water intake to 3 liters a day, roughly 100 oz's. I thought there is know way I'm going to be able to drink that much plain water! Enter Dasani's new 'Naturaly Flavored Waters'. Wow they taste great, there 'naturaly flavored', I can do this!! I was buying these things like hot cakes!! I was doing great I was up to 60 to 80 oz's of this 'Naturaly Flavored Water' a day. Then one day I was cleaning out my car and as I started to throw away the Dasani bottle I had just finished I noticed it all of a sudden had a Splenda logo on the side of the bottle. The bottle still said 'Natural Flavored'. The only difference between the bottle I just bought and the one I was about to throw away (besides the Splenda logo) was the one without the Splenda logo had more sodium. I called the Coco-Cola's 800 # and asked why were they marketing this as a Naturaly Flavored product when it is made with an artifical sweetner? I was told because Splenda is made with sugar. I told the representative when clorine is used to make something it is no longer NATURAL!! and I will no longer be using there product. I have now learned Splenda's generic name is Sucralose. I will be reading labels more closely from now on so I don't take in any more UnNatural Natural Flavorings.

[Michelle Sawicki]

I've been using Stevia with good results. It is a plant that is much sweeter than sugar. Here is some info on it:

http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.asp?id=2269

Michelle