Alcohol's Effect on MS Symptoms Even one drink can make issues like unsteadiness worse. “If you have a lot of trouble with balance, thinking, or memory symptoms from MS, it may be better to avoid alcohol altogether,” says Graves. Alcohol can also lead to sleep problems and worsen bladder symptoms.
Alcohol can exacerbate some symptoms of MS, such as those related to urinary frequency, depression, thinking, and balance. Alcohol can also interact with medications, affecting how they work or increasing the risk of adverse effects, such as liver damage.
Some studies suggest using alcohol causes a decrease in the progression of the disease and slow the development of symptoms that may be experienced with MS. However, alcohol may negatively affect some of the side effects of MS. One such side effect is decreased amounts of sleep.
Alcohol's effect on multiple sclerosis is not fully understood, but most studies suggest that low to moderate alcohol intake helps slow the progression of MS. Researchers attribute this potential benefit to alcohol's anti-inflammatory effects on the immune system.
A small study found that MS patients who drink more sugar-sweetened beverages like soda tend to have more severe disease. High sugar intake also is linked with a higher risk of other conditions, like diabetes and heart disease, that may exacerbate the symptoms of MS.
“Regularly having several drinks could worsen neurological damage and function for patients living with MS, but a glass of wine or single beer at dinner is unlikely to cause significant issues,” says Graves.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) triggers that worsen symptoms or cause a relapse can include stress, heart disease and smoking. While some are easier to avoid than others, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and overall health and wellness can have outsized benefits for MS patients.
In conclusion, it appears that drinking a moderate amount of caffeine shouldn't have any ill-effect on people with MS.
Recently approved medications, including Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), Kesimpta (ofatumumab), and Mayzent (siponimod) not only prevent new inflammation, they can also slow down the progression of symptoms that MS patients can experience, Dr. Ntranos says.
Dating someone with MS, or being in a relationship with them, can be a source of happiness and contentment. However, the condition can also be challenging, meaning people may need to adapt their approach to spending quality time together, intimacy, and maintaining an emotional connection.
Most symptoms develop abruptly, within hours or days. These attacks or relapses of MS typically reach their peak within a few days at most and then resolve slowly over the next several days or weeks so that a typical relapse will be symptomatic for about eight weeks from onset to recovery.
MS itself is rarely fatal, but complications may arise from severe MS, such as chest or bladder infections, or swallowing difficulties. The average life expectancy for people with MS is around 5 to 10 years lower than average, and this gap appears to be getting smaller all the time.
Multiple sclerosis is caused by your immune system mistakenly attacking the brain and nerves. It's not clear why this happens but it may be a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
There is no cure for MS (multiple sclerosis), but early, aggressive treatment at the earliest signs of the disease can prevent recurrent attacks.
The Overcoming MS diet
The OMS diet recommendations are similar to the Swank diet. It advises cutting out dairy and meat, and eating less fat – particularly saturated fat. It also recommends flaxseed oil as an omega 3 supplement and vitamin D supplements if you don't get out in the sun much.
As expected fatigue was a significant symptom for the people with MS in the studies included, it was commonly experienced and often affected those people severely. Daytime sleepiness was observed less often than fatigue and was usually less severe, but it had a significant impact on the people it did affect.
There's some evidence that lower levels of vitamin D are associated with higher relapse rates in MS. One study found that people with higher levels of vitamin D (above 50 nmol/l) were less likely to have relapses or new MRI lesions after five years.
The most common treatment regimen is a three or five-day course of intravenous (Solu-Medrol® - methylprednisolone) or oral (Deltasone® - prednisone) corticosteroids. Corticosteroids are not believed to have any long-term benefit on the disease.
Research tells us exercise can help you manage multiple sclerosis symptoms, including fatigue, and problems with balance and walking. Exercising can also: improve your mood. improve your overall health when your MS is mild.
You might find you lose weight because of the way MS affects you. For example, problems with posture, swallowing, fatigue and tremor can all make shopping for, preparing or eating food more difficult. And your appetite can also be affected by stress, anxiety and depression, as well as certain drug treatments.