aspartame,alcohol,etc

[Guest guest]

I've been reading the posts recently and it made me wonder...

First of all on the aspartame...I have noticed that when I drink

coffee in the morning which is a ritual for me that after about 3 cups

I get the usual pain...I use NutraSweet in my coffee, which is normal,

yet I am starting to wonder. My sister went through two bouts of

severe allergic reactions where she was admitted to the hospital yet

they knew nothing about what was causing the episodes. Come to find

out it was artificial sweetener.

Anyways, I am typing as I am thinking so please forgive me...I care

deeply about my sister and she is 3 yrs younger than me. She has been

complaining about feeling sick, and , well, you all know the symptoms

of pancreatitis. She drinks, but I have no idea if it is as much as I

drank...there comes another question I have. My doc told me that

--well of course alcohol is bad for the pancreas/liver, but there are

so many people out there that drink their whole lives (heavily) and

never have pancreatitis. I am only 26, So it makes me wonder if there

is something else that is causing it along with the alcohol--for me

that is--not those that have never had a problem with alchol That made

me remember how my dad came to see me in the hospital when I had my

acute attack and said somthing about how he remembered having pain

where he was doubled over when he was about my age and not able to get

out of bed. He drank till he was like 55 off and on with periods of

sobriety, I must admit that I was pretty out out of it with the

morphine and all so I didn't really talk to him about it.

Anyways, I just wonder how much may be hereditary...My mother's side

of the family is basically not in the picture...for some reason it has

always been that way. But her father died when I was young and she

said that there is some speculation as to how he died, in that a

doctor told her sister that she had a possible lawsuit on her

hands...that he could have lived if someone had seen what his pancreas

looked like.

Very Scary, just found this out today....

Kay