Homoeopathy is the medical practice of treating like with like. That is to say, treating an illness with a substance which when taken by a healthy person produces symptoms similar to those displayed by the person who is ill.
Homoeopathy is the medical practice of treating like with like. That is to say, treating an illness with a substance which when taken by a healthy person produces symptoms similar to those displayed by the person who is ill.
Case No. 1
Appointment 1st
Mrs. S. M
30/09/2000
Mrs. S. M is a 39-year-old lady who has been recommended by her husband. She appeared very tall, slim, smart and well dressed. Her hair was cut down to her shoulders. Pigmented brown spots were observed on arms. She described her symptoms on the following order.
Patient account of her illness
“I suffer with Alopecia. I have had Alopecia in the past three times in my life. Since this Christmas, I was suffering with stress. I feel like an old woman. I feel that everything is going bad in my body.
In the past I have been irritated due to PMT but now that is every day. At all, times I worry about dying and worry about what would happen to my children if I died and their future after my death. I get terrible pain in my chest.
I am a smoker. I hate it but I am addicted to it. I get very tired even on breathing; it may be due to smoking or due to stress. I have tingling in my arms.
I was on the pills before but the problem has occurred now. I also have spots on the face and similar ones on the stomach. I suffer with cystitis, ache and pain.
I wake up every morning with a different new problem, but mostly panic due to alopecia. My hair comes out in a bunch. I have chest pains at all times. I seem to look at it every day and worry about why it has happened to me. I worry about my health continuously. I find it too difficult to laugh. I feel sad when I see someone else laughing.
I always get up full of energy but in the night desire of sleep is not there. I do not sleep all through the night but can go sleep in the morning when I feel tired.
I also feel one side of me is weak, the other side is stronger (emotionally), and both side continuously fight again each other. I mostly feel guilty about my thoughts. I feel that I am carrying all the problems/illnesses in the world and it has all come on to me.
My alopecia has started about 3 months ago.
My chest pain started about 2 months ago. The pain sometime last for 3 days. The pain starts in the middle and the left side at the upper back. It starts panicking me and I get irregular breathing with it.
I seem to analyze every single thing in my life. I worry about my two sons and husband at all the time and feel I should keep them in a box to stop them from getting into any problems.
I am fearful that I would not be able to cope in a new situation and worry about my family. I do everything as usual but worry that I did not it properly. The thoughts of death are with me at all times, and I cannot enjoy life any more. I find life is difficult, and being a mother is different. I worry about husband until he comes back home. I feel more secure when all ‘four’ of us are in the house but do not feel better. I feel like there are 100 worries in my life. I feel frightened to say that: yes, I am happy. I feel that if I admit to being happy than something, nasty will happen or trouble will strike and take away whatever happiness I have. I only live and get some happiness from the ‘3’ members of my family. I do not know what more I want from them. I just want to protect them and have urgency to keep them secured from a bad world out there.
I am lonely whether I am on my own or with family or other company. I am constantly frighted of dying. I want people to sympathize with me especially someone who suffers with familiar issues as me and feel their problem is mine and vice versa. If someone disappoints me, I feel really bad, lose trust completely, and cannot trust any other individual. I only trust two people (my husband and a friend of mine).
My husband used to be stressed out and I took care of him completely but once he felt better, his symptoms transferred to me. I feel frustrated sometimes and get worried, and ask my husband for help.
Fear of future: Anxiety in brain. I smoke 30 cigarettes a day. I hate the addiction of smoking. I am very keen to give up smoking. I hate my self-weakness. I cannot control the fear. I feel two weak mentally to give up.
When I feel stressed out, it brings chest pain, afterwards when I stop thinking about negative thoughts or try take my mind off from the chest pain, it goes away.
I always get swollen tummy during PMT. I am really irritable. Discharge before menses, sexual desire is there but I feel very tired mentally and physically.
At the moment I do go out with my family but prefer to be on my own, indoor, as I constantly worry about falling over in the supermarket etc. I want to do things to stop the brain to think overtime. But body is very tired. I do feel better with a shower.”
Case Reportorisation: I used Kent (1995) Repertory for this case.
Grade: 1. Arsenicum album appears in 10 out of 10 rubrics
Grade: 2 Phosphorus appears in 8 out of 10 rubrics.
Grade: 3.Natrum muriaticum appears 6 out of 10 rubrics
The centre of the above case is anxiety and fear. Natrum muriaticum is sad and a grief remedy rather than fear and anxiety (Kent 1996). Also it is appears in 6 times out of 10 rubrics. So I felt it not the appropriate remedy for Mrs S. M.
As I mentioned an above that ‘anxiety for other’ is the centre of this case. Mrs. S. M mentioned again and again that she is only in a calm position when three of her family members present at home. She went so far that if it was in her control she would put these three people in a box to protect them from the rest of the world. Therefore, I needed to pay more attention to this centre point for my prescription.
Some of the mental symptoms of Arsenicum alb are the great fear of being left alone. The patient suffers from anxiety, feels very restless and excessive anguish which allows no rest. Delirium, with great flow of ideas is another important symptom of Arsenicum alb. (Clarke 1997). When the family members are away from home, Mrs S. M. was thinking that something bad is happening to them.
Phosphorus is fearful remedy while Arsenicum indicates anxiety more. The fears of phosphorus are as if something were creeping out of every corner while the fear of Arsenicum is being alone. Phosphorus fears related to thunderstorm while Arsenicum patients either have anxiety of her health or anxiety of others. Both remedies have hair lost but Phosphorus patient losses their hair behind the ears. (Boericke 1993).
The key symptoms of Arsenicum are mentally restless and physically weak, which Mrs. S. M. clearly mentioned in her case. She states, “I want to do things to stop the brain thinking overtime, but body is very tired”.
On the base of the above discussion and because Arsenicum album also have 10 marks out of 10 and Phosphorus have 8 out of 10, therefore I prescribed Arsenicum Album 30.
Now the question that is arising as why I prescribe 30 potency and not of any other potencies?
Allen’s (1969), states, “…, between these extremes there is an intermediate level of potency, the 30 which I have found useful when there is a combination of acute and chronic.”
Shepherd mentioned to treat a chronic disease; it is advisable to prescribe medium potencies for women, because he had a bad experience with prescribing high potency. (Shepherd 1995).
During my 17-years practice, I used all of the potency methods, but in the end I found my own way of minimum doses. For my patient I prescribed one dose once or twice daily in 30 – potency for several weeks. Majority of my patients feel better without any aggravation.
Therefore I prescribed Arsenicum album 30 once a day at night for Mrs. S. M.
Appointment 2nd Mrs. S. M. 21.10.2000
Patient account of her illness:
“I still feel ‘heavy’ (Negative) about my health. I am sleeping better. The tiredness is less. I do feel less tired in the morning but still feel tired in the evening. Hair is still coming out in a bunch but may be not in the bed as much. Earlier, my hair was thinning out but now is more lively. Few people noticed the change in my hair and that it is growing.
I feel a lot more cheerful than I used to be. I still do feel bored. Earlier, I used to look at people and wished to be like them but now the attitude is changing and sees them in a different way. I still get the ‘not right’ feeling in the chest in the mornings compared to all day earlier. I still feel the ‘what about me?’ The cold weather does not bother me but the inconvenience does. I had been stuck indoors. However, I am beginning to think positively.
I am not now worrying as much about the family as I did before. I still feel the outside world is cruel and that is why I wish to keep control on my children and therefore the urge to secure the family is still the same.
Although I still have negative thoughts they come less frequent. I do not feel as much panic as I used to have and I can cope with the new situation much better than before. I am not finding that life is as difficult as before.
Before the treatment, I wished that I was not a Mother, so that I would not to go through all this anxiety, but now I am joyful to be a Mother. I am still worried when he (husband) is away until he returns home. Before when he entered the house I only felt relief from worry but now when he comes home I am waiting for him and start to talk to him.
This is like excitement for me now, before there was 100% worry in my life but that is only around 50%, now I am very happy.
Still these three persons are important for me but now I am able to think about myself that I also need to do something as well. The lonely feeling is getting less and less. I do not feel that I require people’s sympathy as much. I do not need a lot of attention as I did before, especially from my husband. Still sometimes, I feel insecure and I am looking for something to make me frightened.
The stomach burning is finished. I do not have stomach pain any more while I am irritated. Also stress does not trigger the chest pain. I still experienced the PMT symptoms on this month. I had discharge before my menses. I do feel that I am more active.”
Mrs S. M getting better, not only her mental/emotional symptoms getting better but there is also improvement in the physical level as well. This is indicating ‘The Law of Cure’ from inward to out ward.
Prescribed placebo one dose every other day at night.
Appointment 3rd Mrs. S.M 16/12/2000
Patient account of her illness:
“I feel great, brilliant. Feel much better than last time. The alopecia is still there slightly but much better than seven weeks ago. During the last 7-weeks, I did not experience any bad days. I have more enthusiasm. I hate smoking but still smoke 30 cigarettes in a day.
I was feeling stressed before the Christmas time but this year I was not feeling as tense and organized my tasks much better. I still have more energy. Last few weeks husband was very moody but I coped very well. The thoughts of death do not panic me anymore and I do not feel any chest pain either.
The tingling of the arm is completely better. Do not feel aches and pains any more in the body. I am thinking more positive with myself. Now, I feel the sexual desire is normal. I am sleeping fine and also the tiredness has improved a great deal. The hair is not falling and ‘what about me’ thoughts do not come to my mind any more. I can accept the damp weather now. I do not feel lonely any more. I still have discharge before my menses. In the beginning of my treatment, whenever I was attending my appointment I was feeling anguish but now I am feeling OK.”
Mrs S. M. response was very good. She felt great and brilliant. This sentence means to me a lot that the patient vital force back to balance. The patient feels great so discharge her.
Mrs S. M. Testimonial indicates the improvement of her illness.
Mrs S. M.
Dagenham,
Essex,
RM8
24 April 2004
To whom it may concern Letter 25
I first consulted Dr Zeb at the Homeopathic clinic about three to four years ago as I had a noticeable bold patch on my head (alopecia), which was gradually increasing in size and causing me great distress. Following treatment, and to my great relief my hair grew back completely within three months. I experienced a further occurrence of alopecia a couple of years later, which consisted of several smaller bold patches on a different part of my scalp. I returned to Dr Zeb and again I began to see hair growth within a matter of weeks with full re-growth within a three to four month period.
In addition, my ten-year-old son was suffering from a skin complaint and most evenings an itchy rash would appear on his back, legs and face for about an hour and then completely disappear, my son was becoming upset both because of embarrassment and because of the dreadful itch. After three consultations with Dr Zeb, during which my son was given a course of treatment and advice about diet I am very happy and relieved to say that the condition improved considerably. It has flared up only on one occasion since, however, Dr Zeb provided more ‘medication’ and the symptoms again subsided dramatically.
Before my first ever consultation, I was perhaps a little cynical and sceptical about homoeopathy but I am now truly converted. Indeed, as my family and I have experienced successful and positive results I fully recommend and trust both Dr Zeb and the treatment of homeopathy.
Yours faithfully
Mrs S. M.