Aspartame in Risperdal - side effects?

[Poppythinks]

i use 1mg risperdal/respiradone daily. i recently read on the mayo clinic site that it contained aspartame, and if you had a problem with aspartame it was available without.
does anyone know a) if aspartame is a problem, and why.
and b) where i can find out about medications without aspartame, gelatin, sodium lauryl sulphate and other stuff that might be responsible for some of the side effects i suffer.
i also read on some other sites that setraline/zoloft was not compatible with risperdal/respiradone. can anyone enlighten me, as i am also taking 50mg sertraline/zoloft.

 

[Dilb]

People with PKU can't eat aspartame. They don't have the enzyme to digest phenylalanine, which is one part of the aspartame molecule.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

What are the side effects you are worried about - are they listed as potential side effects of risperdal or sertraline. Psychotropic medications often have a large number of potential side effects.

According to the drug information leaflet, there is not specific caution against combining with sertraline (where did you get the info that they shouldn't be mixed?). But risperdal can increase the effects of other drugs that cause drowsiness - including antidepressants.

 

[Poppythinks]

thanks prof and dilb.
i have a number of side effects listed from normal to rare in both sertraline and risperdal, such as drowsiness, nausea, restlessness, loss of libido, digestive problems being the major issues on a daily basis.
i read on a site claiming aspartamine was bad news (dorway) a long list of side effects that were the same as those listed for the meds. it just got me thinking that perhaps i was having a problem with aspartame - i also have crohns disease so my gut may lack the enzyme needed to break down the phenylalanine. can i get tested for this?

 

[Professor Yaffle]

There are a lot of dodgy sites out there claiming that all sorts of things will make you ill, without any real evidence. Aspartame is one of the big ones for that. I would therefore be inclined to think it is more likely effects of the medication, or an underlying illness. I don't know of any link between crohn's disease and problems with aspartame.

Heres a site that talks about tests for Crohn's disease.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/crohns/diagnosis.html

Has a doctor suggested you have this, or is it something you suspect based on your symptoms? Because there are all sorts of illnesses that cause gut problems - from IBS to coeliac's with many other things.

I do personally have a problem with sodium lauryl sulphate. When I use toothpaste with SLS I get really severe mouth ulcers.

 

[Dilb]

thanks prof and dilb.
i have a number of side effects listed from normal to rare in both sertraline and risperdal, such as drowsiness, nausea, restlessness, loss of libido, digestive problems being the major issues on a daily basis.
i read on a site claiming aspartamine was bad news (dorway) a long list of side effects that were the same as those listed for the meds. it just got me thinking that perhaps i was having a problem with aspartame - i also have crohns disease so my gut may lack the enzyme needed to break down the phenylalanine. can i get tested for this?

From the wikipedia article on phenylalanine

Phenylalanine is contained in most protein-rich foods. Especially good sources are dairy products (curd, milk, cottage cheese), avocados, pulses and legumes (particularly peanuts and lima beans), nuts (pistachios, almonds), seeds (piyal seeds), leafy vegetables, whole grains, poultry, fish, other seafoods, and some diet beverages.

You'd probably have run into a problem with phenylalanine before now, if you had one. Also, I don't know how old you are, but most babies since the 70's have been screened for PKU. Aspartame itself is one of the most throughly tested drugs ever, and aside from PKU side effects are extremely uncommon in actual tests. Curiously, most of complaints about food the FDA receives are about aspartame, yet these side effects seem to disappear when people actually take part in studies.

 

[Poppythinks]

thanks dilb for the phenylalanine info. i'm sure you're right that i would have had a really severe reaction to aspartame if that was the case.
i've made an appointment to see my doctor to discuss why i'm suffering continuous nausea, as it's not too great feeling seasick a lot of the time.
i'm very careful with my diet to prevent crohns episodes, and haven't changed anything recently, so it's a mystery at the moment as to why i'm feeling so sick. the reason i connected with aspartame is because i have a bad taste reaction to any kind of artificial sweetner, and avoid most products containing them.
i'll close the thread with a report after i've seen the doc in two weeks.
and thanks again to you and prof yaffle for your time and interest.