Your hypothalamus communicates closely with your ANS to regulate your temperature. Dysautonomia or a dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system is associated with MS. You can Yahoo "Autonomic Dysfunction, Multiple Sclerosis, where does one end and the other begin."

The ANS is regulated by two neurotrasmitters--adrenaline and acetylcholine. Vitamin B12 and folate are necessary to make acetylcholine. Studies have reported a significantly higher rate of vitamin B12 deficiency in people with MS.

Here are three of those studies you can access by title.

"Multiple sclerosis associated with vitamin B12 deficiency."

"Vitamin B12 metabolism i multiple sclerosis"

"Vitamin B12 and its relationship to age of onset of multiple sclerosis"

MS patients have also been found deficient in the other neurotrasmitter--adrenalin. Adrenalin is produced by the body when the body modifies noradrenalin. Following is a quote from an article in US News & World Report.

"Multiple sclerosis is associated with reduced levels of an important neurotransmitter, noradrenalin. There is a a lot of evidence of damage to the Locus Coeruleus (LC) in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, but this is the first time it has been demonstrated that there is stress involved to neurons of the LC of MS patients, and that there is a reduction in brain noradrenalin levels."

So, where does the body get noradrenalin? Noradrenalin is made in the brain from phenylalanine. Phenylalanine is found in high protein foods. B12 is also only found in foods that contain protein. If you lack the ability to digest dietary protein, because you lack pancreatic enzymes, you will not be able to regulate your ANS and this would cause dysautonomia.

I know dxat59 is talking about, I get the night sweats terrible sometimes, it is bad enough I have to find someplace else to sleep. I hate having anything on at night but if one leg touches the other and are bare, the nightmare begins. I read somethinga while ago about the night sweats and what to do to help. When I was at my disability hearing the soc. sec. doc made me go get tested for TB because of them and the fact I was born and grew up in upstate NY and made me get tested for something else. I f I remember I will let you know. I also have a normal body temp of 97.2 and wonder if that factors in.
redheadRA is there anything you can do to control the sweats other than seeing if you need B12?. With the summer heat coming if there is some kind of a way to control it please let us know. I thought I had read that they make a cooling unit for the bed but it was very expensive and a lot of us with MS are on disability and make it out of reach. Thanks for the links.

OleBlue- I just did some additional research on Autonomic Dysfunction and was pretty amazed. The first study titled: "Autonomic Dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis: Correlation with Disease -Related Parameters" states, "NINETY PERCENT OF THE PATIENTS HAD SYMPTOMS RELATED TO AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION."

The second study titled: "Autonomic dysfunction in multiple sclerosis: cervical spinal cord atrophy correlates" found 84% had evidence of AD.

They also stated,"Furthermore, AD appears to be more closely related to AXONAL LOSS, as demonstrated by spinal cord atrophy, than to demyelinating lesions."

This is a B12 metabolism issue and also a lack of essential amino acids such as phenylalaline. They are both derived from dietary proteins. If you are unable to break them down, you will not only get night sweats, you will get many of the symptoms of MS. If you correct the problem, which is to restore pancreatic enzymes, you will be addressing the source of the disease itself. This is done through diet. We have a group here on DS that does just that-Curing Autoimmune and Mimics. Just type it in the upper search to find it. Many of our members are getting better, just eating foods that restore pancreatic enzymes and avoiding things that cause your GI tract harm. No supplements are needed or recommended.

I agree with redheadRA...sounds logical, but I am speaking from my own personal experience. I never used to sweat at all until my first really bad exacerbation and now I have nights sweats often.

Instead of being support boards it should say" wellcome back to school" as we definately get a education on a wide variety of subjects. Kind of like low body temps, there is an actual name for that and how to get your body temp to normal. I hate when I go to the dr's and they tell me that 98.8 good, well maybe for someone normal but if you had 99.2 you have a fever. Could you imagine what life would be like if you had all of the different symtoms at once. I'll stop there as that just scared me

oleblue, my "normal" body temp is what some consider low also. 98.6 is a fever for me. I said I was going to post here so the "experts" could weigh in. I'd say that was a pretty smart move on my part. Thanks guys/gals! I'll look up the info and have a few questions for my neurologist next week when I go.

@redhead. thanks for the info. i'm definitely checking out the group.

i, too, suffer from random night and day sweats. it's frustrating. one week i changed my sheets like 5 times.

i empathize.

Here is another study that associates the lack of B12 with cerebral white-matter lesions.

http://www.ncbi.nih.gov/pubmed/18977824

This is the name for low body temps it's called Wilson's Temperature Syndrome
I will have to check more on this because it mentioned something about protiens and I remember the nurse saying that what rebif had in it. Anyways google it and see what you think about it


What's Wilson's Temperature Syndrome?

Classically, Wilson's Temperature Syndrome is:
a persistent but reversible slowing of the metabolism often brought on by the stress of illness, injury, or emotional trauma.
often worsened in stages with subsequent stress.
characterized by a low body temperature and classic low-thyroid-like symptoms.
often corrected with a special thyroid treatment even though thyroid blood tests are often in the normal range.
In addition, there are people who seem much more prone to developing Wilsons Temperature Syndrome than others. Their symptoms tend to:

Come on earlier in life, so early that some patients may not even know what it feels like to be normal.
Worsen more gradually over time.

@redhead , the last time I was at the neuro, he drew 13 vials of blood so when I go next week, I'll ask about my b-12 levels. Surely, he checked that with all the blood he drew.

This is a long thread and I'm tired and brain foggy so I didn't read what everyone said, especially anything that looked technical. So I'm sorry for that, but just to throw in my two cents.. I have had night sweats for the past couple of years. My primary checked everything she could think of several times, all to come back fine.

Also, my "normal" body temp is 97.3 so for me 98.6 is a decent fever.

Dxat- Here are some important reminders about B12 and very possibly the reason most people think they are not deficient. The US sets it level for deficiency at 200-250 pg/ml. That is the level at which you will see the most SEVERE MANIFESTION of a lack of B12--pernicious anemia. Other countries (like Japan)use a level 3 TIMES that amount to determine a deficiency. (500-550 pg/ml) At 500-550, you see B12 deficiency symptoms such as lethargy and dementia. The white matter study I posted is showing how a so-called "NORMAL" level of B12 is producing white matter lesions in the brain.

If you try and fix this through supplements you will be no better off. In fact, studies have shown an increase in disease risk. Your body can only absorb B12 only in one place --the lower intestine. That is why time and time again, studies have shown people with a high serum (blood) level,but a low cellular level of B12. As one of the studies I posted on MS and B12 shows, it is a METABOLISM issue.This can only be corrected through diet.

I have night sweats too but I have had some weird nights. I woke up with a wet pillow from a sweaty head and neck but the rest of my body was dry with just a sheet for a cover.

I have nights where I sweat but it is the whole body. The nights of head and neck only were only a week or so. The last two nights I have been cold, weird! I have no vitamin deficiency but some black holes in the white matter of the brain.
I hope you get it figured out!

i get hot at times then a sick feeling- but have discovered water- i dont go anywhere without it!!