Sandhya Raghavan
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Written By: Sandhya Raghavan | Published : October 18, 2017 5:10 PM IST
In the year 2009, I had my first episode of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia or ITP, an autoimmune blood condition that causes the body to turn against its own platelets. A confused, albeit overactive immune system hunts and destroys platelets as if they were pathogens invading the body, causing a severe deficiency of the cells. Without enough platelets, your body can bleed spontaneously.
I have had three episodes of ITP till date, and each time I noticed there were two common factors: stress and bad lifestyle. While doctors groped in the dark, trying to give me an explanation as to why I wasn't getting any better, I was very sure stress had a big role to play. But my doubts were shot down by my haematologist, who told me point blank that stress had absolutely no connection with autoimmunity. Conventional medical wisdom points towards genetic, infectious or environmental predisposing factors that could cause autoimmunity. But it was only after I sought Ayurvedic treatment (and got 100 percent better) that I found the answers to my question. Here are three things I wish I hadn't done, each time I relapsed.
(Read: How Ayurveda helped me fight ITP)
When I had my first episode of ITP in 2008, I was a 22-year-old managing two courses. During the day, I used to rush to the University for my MA Literature class and in the evening to the other end of the city for my diploma course. Each course had its own set of assignments and tight deadlines. I tried my best to negotiate the two, but I didn't have the emotional maturity to manage both. Oftentimes, I'd break down and lose my cool. I was doing too many things in a very short time. And in the words of my own doctor, I had to slow down. The constant highs and lows associated with both the courses made me end up at my doctor's office one morning with blood blisters all over my mouth and blood-red spots on my skin. Both were signs of a low platelet count.
In the year 2009, I landed my first job. It was a high-stress environment which involved odd working hours and lots of travelling. I was also very eager to prove myself in the first couple of months of joining. In this mad rush, I failed to look after my own nutritional needs. The lunchboxes that my mother packed with so much love would practically return home untouched. That's because I barely had enough time to even eat because I couldn't manage my time and would often end up working even during lunch hours to make up for my deficit at work. To quell the hunger, I'd either have copious amounts of caffeinated beverages or fill myself up on junk food. I never realised what it was doing to my body. Within a few months of this lifestyle, I had a second relapse of ITP and I landed up in the hospital bed once again after a year and a half.
When I started working, I was severely sleep-deprived, resting for as less as 4-5 hours every night. The constant travelling and long work hours would make my limbs ache as I lay down on my bed, yet sleep was scarce and disturbed. Just when I could finally manage to shut my eyes, the alarm would ring at 6 am, shaking me out of my slumber. Even though we don't have a complete understanding of the functions of sleep, your body needs enough rest. By depriving it of sleep, you are setting a stage for health problems in the future, which is exactly what my cavalier attitude towards sleep led to.
Don't get me wrong. I love my work and I wouldn't encourage anyone to quit their jobs and take for the hills in the pursuit of good health (That wouldn't be a bad idea at all!). But I subconsciously I was giving more importance to my job than my own health. I'd skimp on sleep because I wanted to reach the office on time and miss lunches because I didn't want to lag behind. The real eye opener was when I had to spend all my savings (I wanted to buy a laptop) on a single course of Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) injection. That's when I realised that pursuing professional dreams at the cost of one's health and santity is as good as chasing a mirage.
Your doctors may never tell you. But my experience taught me that autoimmunity is directly related to the quality of your life. While it's true that genetics play a role, but you can control the frequency of your relapses if you prioritise your health over everything else.
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