Lastly, the mind needs to be clear and blissful. Our western view of being healthy does not have as stringent a set of criteria as Ayurvedic medicine.[1] When offering treatments to headache patients, we are often left with utilizing a multitude of medications, many of which may have interactions requiring monitoring. Patients can begin to suffer side effects from the medications and, occasionally, we prescribe more medications to mitigate a previous medication’s side effects.[1] We can all incorporate the Ayurvedic understanding of the root causes of disease and limit the multiple medications prescribed by balancing out the system utilizing nonmedication VEGFR inhibitor approaches. This model of balancing
the dosha is something that any patient can start to do at any stage of disease. The three main categories of medications that can lead to systems imbalance are acid blockers, antibiotics, and steroids. These medications are extremely effective
if used in short courses but can lead to imbalances in the organ systems that originally caused the problem, according to the Ayurvedic philosophy of disease. For example, treating chronic reflux with chronic suppression of stomach acid, using a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), can lead to deficiencies in magnesium and vitamin B12. Hypomagnesemia, symptomatic and asymptomatic, has been reported rarely in patients treated with PPIs for at least 3 months, in most cases after a year of therapy. Serious adverse events include tetany, arrhythmias, and seizures. In most patients, treatment of hypomagnesemia required magnesium replacement and discontinuation of the PPI.”[6] In Ayurveda, the key to longevity and optimal health resides in the strength selleck chemical of digestion. Any digestive issues need to be corrected utilizing an Ayurvedic diet, herbals to balance the state and
yoga/meditation to balance the mind. By ignoring the heated, Pitta, state, and using medications to mask the underlying problem, not only does a condition continue, but secondary side effects from medications can begin to occur. Antibiotics are required if a bacterial infection is in question, but there are many situations in which patients present with sinus complaints of congestion, and antibiotics are not warranted. In this scenario, the selleck antibiotics may prohibit the growth of not only unhealthy strains of bacteria but also healthy strains that are needed to maintain gut function. Many migraine patients respond to short course of steroids for their attacks of pain. The concern with chronic steroid use is the effect that they have on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Steroids may help when the adrenals are unable to release appropriate amounts of cortisol during times of pain or stress. In our clinic, we have found that 90% of patients are adrenally fatigued.[7] The issues with utilizing steroids are the concerns that they can elevate glucose levels, leading to weight gain, along with potentially damaging the adrenal system.