Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Getting Answers

Okay, things are getting clearer as to what, exactly, happened to me on my bike ride this past Sunday.  As you recall, I was feeling great, and riding well, for the first 15 miles of my ride.  Then I stopped for a short break, and a bottle of sugar-free Gatorade, and all hell broke loose with my body.

I have suspected that the Gatorade was the culprit, since the symptoms appeared immediately after I drank it.  And, in discussing my situation with our nurse friend, while we were trying to decide whether or not to go to the ER, she mentioned that an electrolyte imbalance can cause arhythmia, which also seemed to point to the Gatorade.  But the blood work I had done showed nothing unusual regarding my electrolytes, so that seemed like a dead end.

Then, after I got back home, I was telling another friend about what had happened, and he perked up his ears when I mentioned the Gatorade.  He asked me specifically whether it was regular Gatorade, or sugar-free, and I told him it was sugar-free, since, with my diet, I'm off sugar.  (Just to get the full irony of the situation, I would normally have a bottle of unsweetened iced tea, but it was late in the afternoon, and I didn't want the caffeine.)  Then he pointed me to this web site, which describes the link between aspartame and something called Sudden Cardiac Death.  The article cites numerous cases of otherwise very-healthy individuals dying suddenly while engaged in strenuous athletic activity, during which they consume aspartame.  And the description fits virtually exactly what happened to me.  To quote the article:  "the shock from strenuous athletics in combination with aspartame consumption. . . leads to activation of shock mechanisms. . . the cardiac conduction system that generates the impulses regulating the heart suddenly sends rapid [and/or] chaotic impulses."  Which is pretty much exactly what I experienced. Aspartame poisoning; who knew?  The fact that the article references something called 'Sudden Cardiac Death' is sobering in the extreme (I experienced a milder form called 'Sudden Cardiac Feeling Like Shit')

Of course, the FDA has approved aspartame, but one could reasonably wonder why.  You all are adults, and I trust you are competent to make your own decisions as to what foods you purchase and consume.  But aspartame (and virtually all 'sugar-free' foods/drinks contain aspartame) damn near did me in; and thousands of folks every year are less fortunate than I was.  If this is news to you, I'd encourage you to give serious consideration to deleting aspartame from your diet.  Or at least, don't engage in strenuous athletic activity while you consume it.  That shit is deadly. . .

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Alas, the news concerning my dad is not so happy.  The stroke he had was a massive one, involving two-thirds of one side of his brain, and we are now basically waiting for him to die.  It may be soon, or it may be not-so-soon, but Dad as we've known him is gone.  I will miss him terribly.  I've said elsewhere that Dad is one of the very best things that ever happened to me, and I will always be grateful that, of all the families I might have been adopted into, I was adopted into his. . .

13 comments:

  1. "Dad is one of the very best things that ever happened to me..."

    There's a message we can all take from that. He and you will continue to be in my prayers

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  2. I'm not sure I'd 100% trust that website, Craig, as it's very similar to those 'vaccines cause autism' sites....but yeah, you should definitely stay away from the fake sugar. Recently, I had a conversation with a girl who worked for a summer at the Grand Canyon and she was telling me how many people come close to dying, traveling down with just water and not Gatorade for the elctrolytes. Scary sh*t indeed. But what is a diabetic supposed to do???

    Very sad news about your dad, Craig. I'm so sorry.

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  3. As bijoux noted, that site is somewhat exaggerated but the aspartame deal is real. My heart goes swing-dancing any time I get much of the stuff. It's almost entertaining in small doses. Or maybe not so much ...

    Very sorry to hear the news on your Dad. All to familiar with the watch and wait deal.

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  4. Skip - Thank you.

    Our dads are huge in our lives. For better or worse; I count myself extremely fortunate that I got one of the 'better' ones. . .

    Bijoux - Well, you know, it's on the Internet, so it must be true, right?

    No, I understand that the site makes some pretty wildly exaggerated claims. But the phenomenon it describes is real, and is a near-exact match for my experience.

    As to diabetics. . . I don't know, but I do know that the guy who wrote the diet book that I lost 90lb on, has also written books for diabetics. . .

    One of my main takeaways from this whole experience is to get back to following my diet a bit more perspicuously. I've gotten into the habit of taking some 'shortcuts', and I just need to get back to doing what I know works. . .

    And thanks for your kind thoughts re my dad. . .

    Xavier - Yeah, that whole 'Sudden Cardiac Death' thing can be such a downer. . .

    My brothers and sisters and I will be getting together in the near future to make some hard decisions as to Dad's care. You can pray for us for that. . .

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  5. aspartame is nasty shit. we've avoided it for years for other reasons. we all tend to get horrid headaches on it and i know it does other nasty things. i had no idea it could be so rapidly lethal though. glad you have the answer and it can be easily avoided in the future.

    so terribly sorry for the news about your dad. praying he is comfortable at the very least and aware of people who love him being there. praying for comfort for you and your family.

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  6. oh and tip for the day. for rehydration since you're off sugar and don't want that horrid killer crap but still need something for a long bike ride on hot days...coconut water. not milk. water. it's clear and ever so slightly more viscous than water but it is an excellent source of electrolytes. you should be able to find it in either cans or drink boxes.

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  7. Lime - Good to see you!

    Yeah, I was just shocked by how rapidly I went from 'feeling good, riding strong' to 'feeling like shit, hope I don't die'. . .

    My brothers and sisters and I had a good meeting yesterday with the hospice folks. Once my youngest brother arrives from Out West, we'll all be here.

    The situation is almost maddeningly ambiguous, in all sorts of ways. There are so many 'gray areas' that it's just crazy trying to figure out the right thing to do. But I'm grateful for the opportunity to see Dad once more before he leaves, even if it's hard to know if he even knows I'm there. . .

    And thanks for the tip on the coconut water. . .

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  8. Glad you've at least figured out what it might be, for the electrolyte stuff- I can't give any tips though, so hopefully the other's comments will be helpful.

    Thinking of you & prayers for your family & your dad...

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  9. Hi, Sailor!

    I think I'm just gonna stick with water and iced tea. Altho the diuretic properties of tea are less helpful than I might wish. . .

    And thank you for your prayers. . .

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  10. I don't love the fake sugar things, but hmmm...when there's so much in the world WITH them in them, I'd find it suspect to think there's a connection. I'm not saying there's NOT, because, well, I'm no doctor, but still, weird.

    In the end, though, I'm glad you're feeling better and have a lifestyle plan you're sticking with.

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  11. faDKoG - Actually, the aspartame stuff is fairly well documented (altho, yeah, the website I linked is pretty sensationalistic), and it goes hand-in-glove with my experience.

    But yeah, that's my plan, and I'm sticking with it. . .

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  12. Oh my! So glad that you are alright -- sounds like quite a scary time. I don't blame you one bit for never wanting to put Aspartame to your lips, again.

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  13. Flutter - Never, ever, ever. . .

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