Ms and hypoglycemia

[Peanutsmama1]

I have been having extreme bouts of hypoglycemia, back to back, making the ms feel ten times worse, was just wondering is there a link between having me, and suffering from frequent episodes of low blood sugar, especially in the morning?

[supermum_ms]

Hi and welcome,

I don't think hypoglycemia has specifically been linked to MS, there was some research happening with MS and Diabetes a few years ago and another looking for an association with blood sugar and disability rates...

"The most common comorbidities in people with MS --  hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and chronic lung disease -- are associated with delays in the MS diagnosis, delays in starting treatment with a disease-modifying therapy, a higher number of hospitalizations, more rapid disease progression and a reduced quality of life. Treating these additional medical or psychiatric conditions is essential not only to your overall health and wellbeing, but to the effective management of your MS as well."
https://www.nationalmssociety.org/Living-Well-With-MS/Diet-Exercise-Healthy-Behaviors/Managing-MS-and-Another-Condition

"Sugar and progression: We don’t know yet why some people’s MS progresses slowly and others experience rapid progression, but a small study from Drs. Wael Richeh, Jesus Lovera and colleagues at Louisiana State University gives food for thought. They asked whether blood sugar is linked to levels of MS disability, and found that people with higher levels of glucose were more likely to have higher levels of disability. This important lead needs more study to prove a role for blood sugar in MS progression. (Abstract P04.130)"
https://www.nationalmssociety.org/About-the-Society/News/Emerging-Therapies,-Risk-Factors-and-Other-MS-Rese

"Finding a link
Experts don’t yet understand how comorbidities are related—or whether they’re related at all.

Some conditions may simply be linked to aging, which increases the risk of developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease.

There’s also the possibility that MS-related lifestyle changes can lead to other diseases. For example, if you’re not physically active because of weakness or balance issues, you may develop decreased bone density, or you may become overweight, which can in turn heighten your risk of conditions like heart disease.

There’s growing evidence, however, that there may be connections between MS and other medical issues. Research shows some health conditions share common risk factors. For instance, Dr. Marrie says smoking is a risk factor for both MS and inflammatory bowel disease. These two diseases also share some genetic factors, which makes it even more plausible they would happen concurrently.

Inflammation is also a common factor in many of the diseases that seem to go along with MS. “Many of the diseases that afflict us are inflammatory in nature—heart disease, atherosclerosis, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and, of course, MS,” Dr. Jones says. “These diseases may share a systemic connection as problems of the immune system.”

Impact on MS
The key question that researchers and healthcare providers are asking now: Does having another condition on top of MS make the MS worse? For at least some conditions, signs point to yes."
http://www.momentummagazineonline.com/coping-dual-diagnoses/

The general rule of thumb to help prevent low blood sugar mornings is to avoid low carbohydrate diets, try eating a snack before bed, though high fibre snacks, because foods high in fibre slows down glucose absorption and change your diet to eat small, frequent meals throughout the day rather than three larger meals a day.

I'm unlikely to have answered your question enough to be helpful, i would suggest you contact your neuro clinic for advice on how to manage this and or your general physician for dietary blood sugar guidance...

Hope that helps a little.........JJ