Energy Drinks...considering trying them...

[Rena705]

Hello all and a Happy Fathers Day to all the Dad's here!

I have a quick question.  Has anyone here used any of the energy drinks to combat fatigue?  I have been having a LOT of "sleepy days" lately and it's making it hard to do anything.  

I don't even have enough energy to go FISHING for cryin out loud!

I saw the energy drinks in the store yesterday and I just thought I would pass it by the knowlegeable people here before giving them a try!

Hugs,
Rena

[PeninaD]

Before you go on an energy drink, have you had a recent, comprehensive set of blood work, to check D and B vitamin levels, iron/ferritin, etc.  Once every other reason for fatigue has been covered, then you could see if you still need to take energy drinks.
Some of them are just fancy rotgut, empty calories, and as Lulu expressed, some ingredients can effect your heart rate adversely.

[DSL1205]

How about rock star or monster energy drinks??? I like Rock Star so help me energy. But I don't know if it is any good for MS that I am concerned.

[doublevision1]

I avoid them as I really dislike the taste, and they have too many empty calories.  When I splurge on sugar, I want to enjoy it. :-)

The caffeine content of Red Bull is comparable to a cup of brewed coffee, though this varies by brand and how strong you brew it.  I find a couple of cups a day often helps with daytime sleepiness.  NO sugar though, nonfat milk only.  And not within 4 or 5 hours of bedtime.  When I do have it in the evening I always end up regretting it.

If you don't like coffee this is probably not very helpful.  Tea is another option.

[supermum_ms]

Back in the day when i was suppose to have hypoglycemia lol, i was eating 5 meals, plus snacks and i was chugging down 'energy drinks' and when i was still struggling, i'd be chumping on glucose tablets too. lol I lost weight.

They do provide a temporary, short boost of energy but for me it just wasnt worth the rebound free fall, that always happened when my sugar/glucose level out again. Basically what goes up must come down and using energy drinks to combat fatigue, can actually make the fatigue feel much worse, when your body has used up the sugars, caffiene etc.

I tried this for over 2 years, it didn't help me in combating my fatigue, nothing basically has but sleeping when i need to seems to help take the edge off it.

Cheers.........JJ    

[JaneK1975]

Sometimes afternoons at my work desk get really sleepy for me, and I go get a Red Bull to get me through the day. It seems to perk me up a bit, but I always feel guilty for the carbs and sugar. So, for me a Red Bull works, but I try to only use it when I'm super sleepy.

- Jane

[Lulu54]

That's a great thought to try, Rena, but I'm not sure how the stimulation of these drinks would help with MS fatigue.  You could certainly try one or two and see if they make a difference.

A word of caution - read the ingredient labels before taking these.  I know if I take any of the drinks containing guarana it really increases my heart rate- I feel like my heart is beating out of my chest.  It's a crazy, horrible feeling for me.

Also look at the sugar content if you need to watch that - you don't want to be loading up on those types of carb s and calories.

I find the green teas with ginseng give me a bit of an energy bump.  Each person is different.