Guest guest Posted May 10, 2007 Report Share Posted May 10, 2007 PCOS is slowly becoming another epidemic like Diabetes. The disorder originating in affluence and sedentary lifestyle. The treatment protocol is arduous, requiring multiprong approach as in Cancer, faced with ups and down as well as depressive moments for patient. The reason is of course patient is unable to judge the treatment progress quickly. It is necessary to trace the root casue. Basic factor is inadequate function of endocrine glands as a result of insulin resistance. After a sumptuous lunch in a marriage, most would like to relax for a while, as a result of drowsy feeling. When insulin is available and used by cells to produce energy, one feels energetic again. Even if insulin is available but cells unable to use due to quality of insulin being poor or cell receptors missing/inactive, no energy or function of cells can occur. This is what happens to endocrine glands in PCOS. Processed calories rich food is another reason. Fatty lipids synthesized from carbohydrates and stored in the body's adipose (fat) tissues, mainly Triglycerides in the blood are associated with insulin resistance. [but this does not mean carbohydrates should be stopped]. The triglicerides dominant fat is stored in liver, around belly button area causing central obesity. As a result, liver is not able to convert excess androgens into bile soluble compounds and this gives rise to some of the PCOS symptoms. This is characteristic of PCOS patients. Central storage of triglicerides also takes toll on breathing capacity, reduction in cellular oxygen as a result, causing further degradation of glands fuction, including pancreas. Cardiac muscle also suffers giving rise to angina pains sometimes. In many cases insulin resistance is hereditary, diabetic parents or mother suffering from PCOS exist and in such cases the situation is nearly incurable. Defective insulin that cannot bind normally to the insulin receptor or insulin receptor missing from the cell surface or does not function properly. Or person's immune system destroys the receptivity of the insulin receptors. This is vatic disorder, and leading to Primary amenorrhea. PCOS condition involvs all three doshas to varying extent. It is mainly a disorder in the prepartion of saptdhatu. This affects meda, and shukra/arthava dhatu. These all need to be considered in treatment. It is futile to classify symptoms into different doshas, since all doshas are present and treatment is not static, but dynamic, changing as patient improves and doshas balance out slowly. In the early stages of insulin resistance, the pancreas increase production of insulin in response to higher levels of glucose in the blood. As a result, hyperinsulinemia develops. If insulin resistance is not treated early, loss of active beta cells occurs. Now these diabetics need to take insulin externally. Eating foods which give rise to higher blood sugar, inappropriate foods for prakruti, mandagni, depression, anxiety and stress may be included as the lifestyle/behavioural reasons. These need to be tackled first. Low level of physical activity is the driving force. Muscle tissue takes up 95 percent of the glucose that insulin helps the body utilize, inactivity further reduces the muscles' ability to use insulin effectively. The muscle of the hind arm starts showing flabbiness, an indication for vaidya. Many drugs are notorious to start insulin resistance. B/c pills are well known villains. SSRI class drugs, antidepressants, other drugs aimed at CNS are also responsible to some extent. PCOS Treatments Being a complex syndrome involving all doshas, only general sketchy details can be given, each case is unique, and treatment needs to be changing with time. Under drugless approach comes Panchkarma, Yoga, morning walk and breathing techniques. For one patient swimming was seen to reduce the weight and reduce Insulin Resistance to an extent where just 3 months herbal treatment was adequate to start regular cycles. This patient was a girl of age 19. Castor oil fomentation using Arka(Maddar) leaves or salt bag to pelvic area 4-5 times a week for 40-50 minutes (or less if patient has discomfort) is another home remedy to be carried out for 6-8 months. Author practices panchkarma techniques aimed at reducing triglicerides and central obesity together. This helps restore hepatic generation of Sex hormone Binding Globulins to take care of excess androgens. This is already covered in archives (Tackling obesity with Liver). The herbs used can be classified under obesity reducing herbs (insulin receptivity enhancing herbs) hormone rebalancing (Phytosterols) and obstruction clearing herbs(Apan Vata). Apana Vata vitiation leads to vitiation of Kapha and Pitta. Herbs aimed at insulin resistance and improving circulation(Vata) include fenugreek, gudmar, Tulsi, Giloy, Karela, ginger, Jamun, peeper longum, black peeper, arjuna, trifla, psyllium, cinnamon, shilajit. Each herb has a wide spectrum of area of activity and relative proportion of each herb should be worked out specific to each patient. Some herbs can be omitted also, if unnecessary for some. Herbs for hormonal rebalance include Shatawari, Aloe-vera, Licorice, Aswagandha, Goxura, Ashoka, Amla, Lodhra, Jackfruit bark, Drumstick, mango bark. Author has used mango seeds, okra seeds, papaya seeds also some times. Supportive herbs and Bhasmas: Dashmool, Shankh Bhasma, Bang Bhasma. Loh Bhasma, Yashad bhasma. Panchgavya medicines Nari sanjivani and Gudmaradi ark offer a ready formulation as a distillate of cow urine with many herbs given above. Cow urine has strongest power for reducing insulin resistance. Its distillate without any herbs also is adequate. Ayurveda offers so many herbs for tackling PCOS, some of them have been studied in various trials and the global references to them may be found in: José A. Olalde Rangel, Meyer Magarici, Francis Amendola, and Oswaldo del Castillo " The Systemic Theory of Living Systems. Part IV: Systemic Medicine— The Praxis " Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., December 2005; 2: 429 - 439. The table containing various herbs is available online at: http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/2/4/429/TBL5 ayurveda , mandv m <mandakiniven wrote: > I have a patient who had taken the pill for fourteen > years due to ovarian cysts and has just stopped and > has amenhoria now. > I want her to start menstruating again. > She is almost going to look into allopathic treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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