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Sherrie (Oakland, Nebraska) on 10/05/2007
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Hi. I believe I am experiencing withdrawals from Splenda. My symptoms are similar to that of hypoglycemia with lightheadedness, headache,weakness, and a "shaky" feeling. This happened after 3 weeks of heavy Splenda using and abrupt stopping when I had no tea to use it in. Just thought I'd let you know that there definitely are withdrawals if one stops using Splenda. Thanks.

Replied By Heather (Denver, Co) on 05/03/2010

Hi, I stopped using all artificial sweeteners this weekend and have felt shaky & like my blood sugar is too low also for 2 full days. How long did it take you to stabilize and feel normal again? Heather

Replied By Kelly (New York, Ny) on 12/31/2011

I also experienced "Splenda withdrawals" which felt similar to hypoglycemia. I was so sick I thought I might have Type I diabetes even though I am in my 30's. The symptoms were really severe for at least 2 days and it took about a week before I felt somewhat normal. I was scared to eat because every time I did I felt groggy and flushed and shortly afterwards I would feel light-headed and anxious just as if my blood sugar had crashed. I had severe lower back pain, anxiety and photophobia and would wake up in the middle of the night in a sweat and severe anxiety. It was very scary and I'm posting so that maybe I can provide peace of mind for someone else going through this.

I was eating the packaged Splenda every day which includes sucralose and maltodextrim. I believe the sucralose gave me SIBO (I had little burps constantly immediately after eating and steatorrhea and my vitamin D was low even though I supplement with cod liver oil every day) and the maltodextrim was probably masking the signs that I had absorption problems by providing a constant source of sugar to my brain (I noticed the flushed feeling with the packaged Stevia as well which also contains maltodextrim as a filler).

While on the Splenda, I gradually developed severe brain fog. The whole process was very insidious because I didn't notice any effects immediately after eating Splenda so I believe my side effects were a result of SIBO since sucralose has been shown to kill off 50% of the good bacteria in your intestine (which would make sense if bad bacteria are using the undigested sucralose as a food source and then killing the good bacteria).

I drank lots of water, acidophilus and some apple cider vinegar to try to restore my gut flora. One good thing to come of this, is that I discovered I have mild Asperger's syndrome which the Splenda probably exacerbated. I was definitely a different version of myself on Splenda.

Replied By John (Dallas) on 07/10/2016

I may be going through the same thing. Did you guys feel cold and clammy, jumpy, and did you feel tired, with a racing heart? Thanks!

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