Caffiene or Artificial sweetener causing back pain?

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JennW130
JennW130 Posts: 460 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I have pretty much cut my consumption of diet sodas out. Instead of having about 2 a day, I have one every couple days as a "treat". After having 2 or so a day, I noticed my back would start to hurt and be tense. Now that I have cut it down to one every few days I have no back pain. So, at first I was thinking maybe it was the caffeine causing it, but then somebody brought it to my attention that it could be the artificial sweeteners. I really don't know which it was being that the diet soda is virtually my only source of either. Thoughts anybody? And yes I know many of you think diet coke is the devil!

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  • JennW130
    JennW130 Posts: 460 Member
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    anybody? I know I'm usually the thread killer but geeze...
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
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    My guess would be the product sending your electrolyte/ mineral balance off causing or contributing to muscle spasms. Otherwise straight dehydration or the caffeine messing with your sleep quality and relaxation. Personally I doubt the effect is as simple as one ingredient it could easily be a combination of the two elements you mention and the overall acidity.
  • JennW130
    JennW130 Posts: 460 Member
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    My guess would be the product sending your electrolyte/ mineral balance off causing or contributing to muscle spasms. Otherwise straight dehydration or the caffeine messing with your sleep quality and relaxation. Personally I doubt the effect is as simple as one ingredient it could easily be a combination of the two elements you mention and the overall acidity.
    possibly. I don't think I'm dehydrated though. I drink plenty of water, and I get 8 hours of sleep, give or take a hour, longer on the weekends. I was hoping to see maybe if anybody else had anything similar happen, or has read up on this or anything. Thanks for replying to my thread. :smile:
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
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    I don't drink soda (diet or otherwise-I don't like the carbonation), but I drink a crapload of coffee with artificial sweetener (usually equal, sometimes sweet & low). I don't have any back pain that I can't directly attribute to a logical cause. Maybe it's from caffeine & artificial sweetener-but I drink gobs of the stuff every day and rarely have back pain. I doubt that helps you at all, sorry.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
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    My guess would be the product sending your electrolyte/ mineral balance off causing or contributing to muscle spasms. Otherwise straight dehydration or the caffeine messing with your sleep quality and relaxation. Personally I doubt the effect is as simple as one ingredient it could easily be a combination of the two elements you mention and the overall acidity.
    possibly. I don't think I'm dehydrated though. I drink plenty of water, and I get 8 hours of sleep, give or take a hour, longer on the weekends. I was hoping to see maybe if anybody else had anything similar happen, or has read up on this or anything. Thanks for replying to my thread. :smile:

    I said sleep quality not sleep quantity. Drinking plenty of water alone does not hydrate you: your electrolyte balance, carb intake and many other factors play a role as to how well different parts of your body hold that water. I have done some research, lifestyle healthcare is what I do for a living, but thanks for assuming I am talking out of my backside.
  • JennW130
    JennW130 Posts: 460 Member
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    My guess would be the product sending your electrolyte/ mineral balance off causing or contributing to muscle spasms. Otherwise straight dehydration or the caffeine messing with your sleep quality and relaxation. Personally I doubt the effect is as simple as one ingredient it could easily be a combination of the two elements you mention and the overall acidity.
    possibly. I don't think I'm dehydrated though. I drink plenty of water, and I get 8 hours of sleep, give or take a hour, longer on the weekends. I was hoping to see maybe if anybody else had anything similar happen, or has read up on this or anything. Thanks for replying to my thread. :smile:

    I said sleep quality not sleep quantity. Drinking plenty of water alone does not hydrate you: your electrolyte balance, carb intake and many other factors play a role as to how well different parts of your body hold that water. I have done some research, lifestyle healthcare is what I do for a living, but thanks for assuming I am talking out of my backside.

    Thanks for assuming that I assumed you were talking out of your backside. I wasn't trying to be a smart aleck. Sorry that you took it that way.
  • hkry3250
    hkry3250 Posts: 140
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    Well, since you didn't mention where the back pain was, it could be artificial sweeteners. Not so much causing muscle cramps, but causing kidney irritation. Also, caffeine, in simple terms, sucks calcium from your bones. So, it could cause mild back pain if you're not getting enough calcium. However, my guess would be kidney irritation, especially if it's in the lower back.
  • JennW130
    JennW130 Posts: 460 Member
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    Well, since you didn't mention where the back pain was, it could be artificial sweeteners. Not so much causing muscle cramps, but causing kidney irritation. Also, caffeine, in simple terms, sucks calcium from your bones. So, it could cause mild back pain if you're not getting enough calcium. However, my guess would be kidney irritation, especially if it's in the lower back.
    It actually is the lower back, and it's a dull pain, not a sharp pain if that helps any. I'm just going to continue with the small amounts of diet soda, and if the pain starts coming back I'll make a trip to the clinic.
  • wibutterflymagic
    wibutterflymagic Posts: 788 Member
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    My guess would be the product sending your electrolyte/ mineral balance off causing or contributing to muscle spasms. Otherwise straight dehydration or the caffeine messing with your sleep quality and relaxation. Personally I doubt the effect is as simple as one ingredient it could easily be a combination of the two elements you mention and the overall acidity.
    possibly. I don't think I'm dehydrated though. I drink plenty of water, and I get 8 hours of sleep, give or take a hour, longer on the weekends. I was hoping to see maybe if anybody else had anything similar happen, or has read up on this or anything. Thanks for replying to my thread. :smile:

    I said sleep quality not sleep quantity. Drinking plenty of water alone does not hydrate you: your electrolyte balance, carb intake and many other factors play a role as to how well different parts of your body hold that water. I have done some research, lifestyle healthcare is what I do for a living, but thanks for assuming I am talking out of my backside.


    A little defensive are we? Perhaps she misread your comment, and most of us don't know about electrolyte balance so to jump all over her case when she states she drinks plenty of water and isn't dehydrated is just downright rude.

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