Aspatame

Hi everyone

Whilst trying to find a way of coping with constipation, my dr has given me Fybogel which I can take every day, I can also use Movical but not all of the time. I do eat bran flakes every day, prunes and loads of fruit and veg. the problem I have now is Fybogel contains Aspatame; I don’t mind taking it occasionally (diet coke when I’m out) but not sure I really want to take it every day as I know there are problems with it. I’m off to my health food shop to see if I can find the bran that is used in Aspatame. Don’t care if it’s not palatable.

What I’m really saying is does anyone know if and how Aspatame is detriment to health? particularly some one with MS. Thanks for any information given.

Wendy

x

Sorry I mean bran that is in Fybogel!

Hi, my GP also gave me fybogel as well as Movicol, and my continence nurse told me that was wrong. The Fybogel was bunging me up, as does senna too. When I went back to only Movicol My bowel and bladder has been a lot better. Ocasionally I do havr to take another Movicol, and sometimes I use a glycerin suppository, but generally I cope well. The nurse also told me to drink plenty too, which at first felt odd but it does help with both bladder and bowel. If you have too much bran it bulks you up too much.

Lynnne x

Thanks for that Lynne; my MS nurse did mention glycerin suppositories and I’d rather use them occasionally than take something with Aspartame in it. I’ve just bought some bran and liqorish, hoping that will keep me regular, adding Movical when I need it. Movical all of the time seems to cause bowel incontinence which is not good when you are trying to Cathertise.

I have Just received the dvd on the Peristeen irrigation system that someone told me about last week. This could also be useful at some point.

Take care

Wendy

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Hi, I used to take aspartame sweeteners in tea (and I drink quite a lot of tea) all the time… then I read about it being bad for MS and mimicking MS so I stopped taking it altogether. Didn’t notice any difference at all in my symptoms… but I do think that if you can use a natural product then of course it’s got to be better in the long run.

Pat x

Constipation relief

I have stopped taking Movicol as I was anxious about developing a lazy bowel and am trying to avoid constipation by:

  1. eating more fruit - now start every day with a banana, some dried prunes and glass of fruit juice (as dried fruit can make you dehydrated)

  2. drinking more, have upped my fluid intake by 5/6 glasses of water a day.

This seems to be working for me so far, although the level of fluid also means more frequent toilet visits.

To answer the other part of the question - I try to avoid aspartame because I have heard it is not good for you.

Hi Wendy,

Please don’t worry about this. The old aspartame thing has been doing the rounds for years: it’s an internet rumour, which is FALSE.

If Fybogel helps you, please take it, and not worry about the aspartame scaremongering (which is all it is).

It’ll be much less detrimental to your health than being laced with sugar, and much less detrimental than trying to make do without Fybogel at all, and living with chronic constipation (which itself is a health risk, in the long term).

Sometimes we can be over-cautious, and end up not taking stuff we need. I’m sure Fybogel is a very low-risk thing to take (regardless of aspartame), and not contra-indicated for MS.

Tina

Thank you for that information Tina and Val. Put my mind at rest but thinking about it Lynne may have a point when she mentioned too much fibre can ‘bung you up’. I will increase my liquid intake even more and see where that leads, getting some use out of Wilkinson’s bargain continence pads anyway!

Wendy

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Changing the subject slightly, have you tried golden linseeds for a nice natural solution?

You beat me to it

That is exactly what I was going to suggest, so instead I will second it

Widely available, I get them from Holland & Barrett.

1 large teaspoon of them at night washed down with a large glass (250mls minimum) of water or juice if you prefer.

Thanks Whammel and Verona; I did see them in the health food shop and wondered as I was taking linseed at one time, when I was following George Jelinek’s diet to the letter! So maybe will buy some next time I’m in town.

Wendy

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame_controversy

Read the component breakdown.

In the summer I was drinking gallons of Diet Dr Pepper and I was feeling weird and odd sensation in my head.

Someone mentioned the Aspartime thing so I stopped and went to normal Dr pepper and 3 days later it cleared up.

I agree with the hoax thing but with the chemicals in Aspartime and giving it to someone that has a weird immune system
and genetic make up I believe that whats fine for normal bodies may not be fine for me

I repeated the above when Tescos had a special on the diet drinks and always felt crap that week.

From wiki ‘However, clinical studies have shown no signs of neurotoxic effects,[8] and studies of metabolism suggests it is not possible to ingest enough aspartic acid and glutamate through food and drink to levels that would be expected to be toxic’

I beleive things don’t have to be in measurable toxic levels to affect you. If that wasn’t the case then homeopathic pillls and drops would be a complete waste of time. Saying that I don’t do homeopathic remedies either

Just try it for yourself and see! its a good experiment

Most low fat yougurts muller stuff has Aspartame in it and some chewing gums so your proberly taking it somewhere anyway.