I know theres loads of hype about aspartame and how bad it is for you but i never really paid attention to it until...
Yesterday I got a can of coke zero to drink while shopping, cos i hadnt had one in ages. Within 2 minutes my tongue wasnt working properly, i couldnt speak or form full sentences, and i couldnt line the words up from my brain to my mouth properly either, if you know what i mean? it took me a few minutes to cop what was causing it, and a few minutes after i threw it away all the feeling came back and i felt fine.
but this has me really worried, thats never happened to me before! it really had me thinking; that was probably a fairly large dose in one go, but think of all the small amounts that are building up in our bodies over time. now im really afraid to eat/drink anything with aspartame in it!!!
Has this ever happened to anyone else?

Are you SURE it was the aspartame?

Please know that I'm not minimizing what you went through. I just think that there are a lot of other additives and chemicals in a Coke Zero that could have caused you to react badly.

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Could have been hypoglycemia too.

I just blogged about my bad reaction to aspartame here:

http://3fatchicks.com/diet-blogs/del...d-feeling-bad/

But I know different people have different reactions to it.

Did you know the symptoms you described fit also with a *mini-stroke*? If you have ever had one before or ever have that again, with or without the aspartame, please follow up. And let your doctor know. They seem to be a very important warning signal. Of course, it could be just the aspartame. Scary.

Glad you are okay!

I dont think it's Hypoglycemia, it sounds like this symptom came and went too suddenly for it to be that.

I think its difficult to say what exactly it was but please dont let it scare you to eat/drink! Maybe just avoid coke Zero. If it continues see a GP perhaps.

delitaagain, im only 21 so i really hope it wasnt a mini-stroke! as for hypoglycemia, i dont know what the symptoms of that are but i might as well check it out just to see.
either way, it made me realise how filled full of chemicals our food is, and how diet foods which are meant to be good for you might turn out to be worse than non-diet versions. its frightening me, to be honest

If it was an allergy or something, it seems like it would have taken longer to "feel fine" afterwards. Definitely weird!

Several years ago I thought I was having a stroke - or some kind of neurological problem. I was having a hard time talking (couldn't think of the words I wanted and couldn't seem to make my tongue cooperate with the rest of my mouth when I did have the words), couldn't type (and I normally type 120 wpm), couldn't keep my balance, had no depth perception.

I went to the doctor who drained my sinuses and everything cleared up IMMEDIATELY. Apparently it's possible for pressure on your sinus cavity to affect your inner ear which *can* affect your speech in that way. She told me that it can happen to someone who eats something very cold as well ... some people get those "cold headaches" but some people the cold will cause their sinuses to seize up and put pressure on certain nerves.

I thought it was HUGELY weird ... but she prescribed a nasal decongestant which I took for a week to keep the sinuses clear ... and I've never had the problem since.

Our bodies are just odd sometimes.

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I was thinking the same thing when I read your post. I actually know someone that this happened to, and she did have a stroke (thankfully she recovered fully), but I wouldn't even wait if I were you. I'd make an appointment with your Dr. right away, just to be safe.

That is bizarre! Good thing to keep in mind.

You said you hadn't had a diet soda in a really long time so maybe you had just lost your tolerance for it? And, as PhotoChick said, it might have been any of the other chemicals in there too. Or even something that was on the lip of the can?

To be honest, I'm not sure "diet" foods are really "meant to be good" for us. I think most of them (not all - that's why reading nutritional information labels is so important) are meant to get us to spend money on them with (empty?) promises of weight loss ( I haven't completely decided for myself yet but there is a camp out there that is claiming the food industry is intentionally using substances - like aspartame - to perpetuate our obesity so we will continue to spend billions every year on *diet* products). Kind of a moot point for me since I'm rapidly becoming a whole foods junkie anyway

Thats really interesting because i have both these problems constantly! the depth perception thing makes me very concerned when i drive. also, my doctor told me i probably have an inner ear problem, because i get have chronic motion sickness since i was a baby. maybe something in the coke just triggered something?

thanks so much for all your advice and words of wisdom, I dont feel half as worried now! except about the mini-stroke thing, but i think i could eliminate that based on my age and general health and family history

Anyone can have a stroke...anyone.

Sounds like you are allergic to the colorings in Coke Zero, which I've read about before. I'll try to find the article.

I have really nasty reactions to aspartame and sucralose (Splenda). Migraines, double vision, dizziness. I'm firmly convinced it's terrible for you.