Ayurvedic Purvarupa (signs) of Prameha (Diabetes)
Namaste everyone!
Welcome to Day 4 of my month of discussing diabetes and in Ayurveda we call this prameha. I hope those in the U.S.A. spent time with family and friends yesterday to celebrate our nation's Independence Day!
I am sharing with you some initial signs of prameha or diabetes. In Ayurveda there are 6 stages of disease. In the initial stages of imbalance one will see signs of doshic imbalance. After that there will be more deep rooted signs of imbalance and if untreated the actual disease rears it's head. In allopathy most diseases are not even diagnosed until a lab can be done to measure chemicals etc. By this time, the disease has already manifested and in some cases can't be reversed.
Here are some initial signs of imbalance in diabetes or purvarupa:
white coating on tongue --> a sign of ama/toxins or excess kapha/earth energy
fatigue-->general depletion and maybe of immune health
burning sensation in hands or feet-->vata/wind; nervous system is affected
mucous or appearance of mucous in body orifices-->excess kapha/earth & water energy
looseness of body-->slouching of muscles and tone
dryness of throat, palate or skin-->vata/wind energy is imbalanced
coated feeling of eyes-->kapha/earth energy is present
matting of hair-->excess oil or kapha/earth
sweet taste in mouth-->excess kapha/earth
profuse sweating-->due to obesity or increased pitta/fire energy
feeling of heaviness in body parts-->ama or kapha/earth
affinity towards cold--> with some or all of these other symptoms and the desire for cold this usually means there is a deranged craving
attraction of ants to urine-->sweet taste is present in urine or excess kapha/earth
Before I was officially diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes I had some things change within my body but was not keen to pick up that they were serious issues or could lead to something more serious. The signs did not come all at once in fact, they came one after the next.
The first sign was muscle fatigue in Feb 2012. It was weird and came out of the blue. I actually remember the yoga class I was in and my shoulders started to feel unusually tired in warrior 2. It was very odd. I was always working out regularly and in very good shape. I remember thinking--this is not normal for me.
Later over the summertime there were a few instances where I had lunch and then was in Ayurveda class after lunch and could not keep my eyes open. I was so tired that I couldn't keep awake. This was something I never experienced before. When I look back I know it was because my sugar level had risen quite high after eating so I felt sleepy.
In the fall of 2012 I started to wake up in the morning with eye irritation. Some days I would wake up to burning eyes and had to rub them to relieve the burning.
In February of 2013 I noticed I was urinating a lot and also more thirsty; I couldn't quench my thirst. I would drink a lot of water but still be thirsty. My urine was also heavy and not coming out in a steady stream but more like thick drops. It had a viscosity.
In March of 2013 I randomly tested my glucose. It was 500!! Yikes. A fasting glucose is under 100.
In Ayurveda there will always be signs of imbalance that one can understand through the 5 senses. It is up to us to get to know our body's patterns and whether or not we are in a balanced state. When we can recognize the smallest shift we can properly do things to put ourselves back into alignment. One super simple example is dry skin. Dry skin is an imbalance and often it goes overlooked. People just ignore it or think it's not a big deal. In one sense it isn't a serious imbalance--YET! Dry skin can happen due to climate change, seasonal change or just by excessively moving, exercising or wrong diet or being more stressed out. If we catch this simple imbalance soon, it doesn't continue to accumulate and then manifest into something larger. This is really what we want to prevent. Small issues accumulating into a larger one. I definitely didn't spot the signs of imbalance for myself. I would've probably been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in the summer of 2012 if I did and could've prevented long term high glucose levels.
First onset of change: Feb 2012
Diagnosis: March 2013
Here are the signs I had:
excess hair growth and nail growth -my whole life
burning of eyes, especially in the morning -Fall 2012
feeling of lethargy -Fall/Winter 2012/2013
drowsiness or day sleeping, especially after eating-Summer 2012
cannot quench thirst -2013
frequent urination, more than normal - 2013
foul smell of the body -the day before diagnosis March 2013
viscous urination -2013
Thank you for reading!
Lots of love,
Dayna
