Well first of all, let me clarify that I'm not on Atkins and never was. What I have done is very similar however which is why I participate in the threads.
I drink about 50oz of plain water a day (more on hot summer days) and occasionally, I'll have a sports drink like Propel Water (made by Gatorade) which doesn't have as much sugar as most. I have beer and wine which admittably contains sugars (or at least is processed into sugar in the case of beer). But I don't consider a glass of beer anywhere near the sugar content of a glass of soda - which I avoid totally.
Now that the cold weather is upon us, I drink coffee and tea flavored with Splenda, which many on these threads prefer to the other artifial sweeteners out there. Personally, I can't stand the taste of aspartame or Nutraweet. But Splenda tastes just like real sugar to me.
I've never tasted Splenda, so I googled it. Some sites say there are no side-effects. Other sites, like the following, have a whole list:
The side-effects seem to be as bad as aspartame. Sorry to ruin your day!