It all started in December of 2009, I was sitting at a basketball game working with the statcrew when I felt a twinge in my left elbow. I shook it off, surely it wasn't anything, I'm a 25 year old male in good shape and I try to eat right and watch my weight. I returned to my office later that night and again I felt the twinge in my left arm, this time accompanied by chills and a shock to my central nervous system.

More scared this time I stopped, took a deep breath and threw up. My heart was racing and I had no idea what was going on. Eventually my heart rate slowed and I found the courage to drive back to my flat. When I arrived home I readied for bed - again shaking it off as something maybe to much repetitive motion in my arm and I just threw up because I was scared.

Four hours later I was in the emergency room holding my arm and screaming from the pain. When I arrived in the ER, the doctor looked at me with a puzzled glare, I could from his gaze he had no idea what was wrong with me. He held my elbow, which I could no longer move in his hand and tested the sensation in my fingers. "Hmmm....," he said, "I think it's a nervous system problem, nothing serious, you probably need to see a neurologist, but check with your regular doctor first." He sent me home, with nothing to treat the pain, and no answers.

It was 4:45 a.m. when I arrived home from my visit to the emergency room. It was snowing in Emporia that night, and I had a lot of trouble driving my car.

Three days later I was sitting in my doctors office. He explained that he though it might just be a pinched nerve and that I should take some drugs and I would feel better. He also gave me pills for the pain.

It was four days later, a Sunday, I hadn't slept since Thursday and I was as weak as I have ever been in my entire life. At night as I would try to fall asleep, my head would kick as my nerve synapses misfired. I went to the emergency room again on Sunday afternoon. This time complaining that I couldn't feel my hands, and that my mouth was on fire.

This time the diagnosis was different, Raynaud's Syndrome, it had to be, that was why I had felt so cold during the night. And still a pinched nerve, it would probably need surgery, but I would be okay. I was referred to a neurologist in Wichita for an appointment the following month. Until then the ER doctor told me, I was to get treatment from the ESU training staff for a pinched nerve in the neck.

For a while, I started to feel better, but never had what I'd call a string of good days. The appointment with the neurologist couldn't come any sooner. It was already the end of January and I didn't have any answers of any kind. I was growing more and more frustrated with every day that passed. I couldn't sleep most nights, and I was convinced I had some kind of cancer.

I woke up the morning of the appointment in Wichita experiencing involuntary movement in my arm and a dry throat and burning tongue. My head was foggy at best as I loaded up my car for what I hoped would be a trip with answers.

I arrived in Wichita, only to be told full testing couldn't be done until later that month.

Still in relative agony I returned home dejected and wishing someone had the answer. I returned to Wichita weeks later and painful tests were performed on my arms and legs and neck nerves. Painful shooting snaps that would hopefully tell us which nerve was injured, and I was okay with doing it, because it meant answers would follow. I was sent home while they calibrated the results.

February 19th, the call came, "Mr. Slaughter, we can't find anything wrong with your nervous system, everything tested perfectly." I remember almost crying, and being really, really angry. I returned to my doctor, almost at the point of yelling asking what the next step for us was. By this time my stomach had began to become impacted. With painful spasms and a severe pressure just below my rib cage. "Well it must be ulcers," he replied.

He got me an appointment with a gastrointestinal specialist who scheduled me for a "stomach scope." On April 1, 2010 I had the procedure to find out what was causing the severe discomfort in my stomach. I awoke following the procedure with my dad and pastor both in the room. My dad had that, I don't think they found anything look on his face.

The doctor arrived minutes later and said they had found some stomach discomfort but that it shouldn't be causing me this much pain. He said he didn't have any answers other than maybe changing my medication and seeing if it would improve the situation.

It was now May 16th, the new medication was not working as I still suffered from occasional stomach spasms and stomach pain as well as arm numbness and pain. I returned to my doctor, almost in tears, asking what I could do now. He said he had an idea, he'd read an article about something recently.

He handed me some food that contained high levels of MSG (monosodium glutamate) and asked me to eat it. Within almost 15 minutes my arms were numb and I couldn't feel my tongue and my face had started to grow a little puffy. "Congratulations," he said, "You're one of the 1% of Americans who suffer from MSG Intolerance, their is no cure and a lot of research has yet to be conducted on people's reactions and the severity of it."

It had been six months, and I finally had a diagnosis. Later that day my brother learned he had the same thing, and I realized this was a real problem, a real problem I'm going to face from today on.

So quickly I begin to research this condition, and found out I was not the only one, that I had help. Here's some of the facts.

According to MSGtruth.org: For years MSG Symptom Complex has been known in the US by the misnomer Chinese Restaurant Syndrome. We do not use that term anywhere on this site, except this page. The reason is quite simple. Calling this health problem Chinese Restaurant Syndrome not only does a disservice to Chinese Restaurant owners who do not add MSG, but it also dangerously hides the fact that American processed food is now so loaded with the flavor enhancer Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) as to be the largest source of MSG in the average American diet. Most Americans, when told MSG is harmful respond with "I don't eat Chinese food, so I don't need to worry".

I quickly went to my local grocery store and began looking over the labels of the food on the shelves. I found that nearly 85% of the food on the shelves contained MSG, and also learned through blogs and support groups that MSG can go by one of 17 different names on food labels.

Here is my predicament as a single male in the United States. First of all as a single man with a fast paced job in a fast paced industry, cooking fresh food every day is simply out of the question. First off it doesn't keep and secondly it is not economical.

So I'm left with the quandary, "How sick am I willing to let myself be and still be able to function in society?"

This is the problem many of us with "MSG Intolerance," face every day as we keep strict food journals, describing how each food made us feel. Until the government realizes this is a we will continue to suffer in relative silence. I've already sent 157 strongly worded letters to government officials regarding MSG legislation, asking... no pleading with them to require companies to display that their product contains MSG in large letters. And urging them to require restaurants to label MSG free foods on their menu. Until then, I'll continue to ask my friends for help, as they go eat out asking the manager what foods on their menu are MSG free so that I can compile a list of "safe food."