case of polycystic ovaries

[Joy Lucas]

Dear All,

If you would like yet another case to work on and guess the remedy
prescribed here is one with a presenting complaint of polycystic ovaries.
Female, 34, teacher, no children. Very communicative, friendly, funny, open.

was diagnosed 10 years ago and prescribed 'the pill'
never told which or if both ovaries are involved but 'feels' it is the right
side
says she feels a great lack of harmony in myself
feels there is lots of contradiction
a possible hormonal imbalance
wants to care more

used to get dreadful hangovers and blamed the medication

periods always irregular - one every 3 months was 'normal'
never very heavy, lasted 4 days, quite a lot of "debris" with blood

had acne when younger
gained some facial hair and weight
thought she might want to have children and needed to get this sorted

when describing herself she says:-
not at one with myself
want to make decisions but find this really hard
never sure about present relationship
job not stretching me enough
I'm a city girl but do love the countryside (moved from the city to rural
area recently)
indecision rules every aspect of my life
but I love my life and friends
I never instigate but I am always up for it

she is sociable, funny, laughs a lot, confident, loyal, self deprecating
doesn't like commitment or feeling trapped
wanted to be a teacher since she was 16

when she was 21 her mother committed suicide
life had been great and now she felt she couldn't rely on anything
cannot invest in anything because of this

she was able to talk about this event quite openly
said she knew she should be able to talk about this
felt softer about her mother now
got a lot of support from dad at that time

she likes privacy and when its given genuinely she will extend herself

generally feels distracted, her mind is elsewhere, procrastinates all the
time, fears real commitment

she smokes and likes to drink and get drunk even though she is fearful of
'trashing body'
smokes hash for relaxation - to get away from the mundane, takes the edge
off

she fears illness especially cancer
thinks a lot about mortality
she is intelligent though and easily accepts the inevitable
claustrophobic because sister used to shut her in a wardrobe

describes herself as lazy - all or nothing, a real sloth or over the top
with cleaning

fears complacency, always wants change, always looking for something,
looking for stimulus

she under-achieved at school but got a first class honours at uni

she is loquacious and intelligent - but very private

would like to be a strategist, this would provide an intellectual stimulus

could be more pro-active - feels guilty about doing nothing

sees red if someone is rude - she is forthright and assertive
likes to be pampered when ill (laughs at this)

cannot eat breakfast
-- fatty meat and eggs
likes alcohol
smokes about 10 a day

has a bladder of steel, can go all day without urinating
never finishes a cup of tea

always hot but loves the sun, even cold sunny days
hates grey wet days
likes heat but must have air

sleeps easy, feels groggy in morning

gets eruptions on fingers - like blisters, very itchy and red
had warts as a kid on thumb, finger and elbow
she had a period just before she even took the remedy!!!
had another a month later
feels fabulous, been on holiday, feeling positive
another period followed exactly on time
feels so much more grounded and positive.
Regards, Joy Lucas

[andyh]

Subject:
[Minutus] case of polycystic ovaries
Central in case:

Physical:
-cystic tumors
-hair on face (hormonal)

peculiar
-Irresolution in someone who wants to be a strategist and is a seemingly “together” person seems peculiar

-likes to use substances to escape

rubrics:
added:
GENERALITIES; TUMORS, benign; cystic (K1409, SRII-660, G1162)
FEMALE; TUMORS; general; cysts; ovaries (K744, G611, G632)
FACE; HAIRY; lip, upper, in women

subtracted
MIND; IRRESOLUTION, indecision (K57, SRI-650, G45)
MIND; FEAR; general; cancer, of (SRI-494)
FEMALE; MENSES; irregular (K726, SRIII-546, G619)
MIND; FEAR; general; narrow place, in, claustrophobia (K46, SRI-513, G37)
GENERALITIES; FOOD and drinks; alcohol, alcoholic drinks; agg. (K1362, SRII-216, G1110)
GENERALITIES; FOOD and drinks; alcohol, alcoholic drinks; desires (K483, SRII-217, G413)

Elimination: Calc., nat-m., sep.
Ideas:

Bar-c—big cyst remedy, big irresolution remedy with carbonic component which is like calc. But she seems way too together to need Bar-c. The irresolution seems out of place to the rest of her, and not a result of her feeling crippled or childish.

Calc-c-could cover the case if it was really the remedy. Hard to know without seeing person. Fear of cancer, cysts, irregular menses all there, hair on the face, hard worker. Irresolution could be covered also,. She doesn’t sound so much like a plodder, wants to be a strategist, seems maybe more savvy than a typical calc (though calcs can be plenty savvy), but this is of course speculation.

Sep-It is a hormonal case (menses, hair on face, ovaries) but she seems pretty alive, not in stasis, although she has a problem with commitment.

Nat-m-private person, sustained a grief (mother), moved to country, drinks/smokes (escape?), private person, claustrophobic. The below rubrics seem to support nat-m, which paradoxically shows up with an irresolution in ideas (like what to do with her friends), and doesn’t want to commit to marriage and thus is irresolute about relationships.

Other rubrics:
(MIND; AILMENTS from; rudeness of others (K75, SRI-22, G60): agki-p., anac., bar-m., calc., carc., cocc., colch., hyos., lac-c., lyc., mag-m., med., mur-ac., nat-m., nux-v., ph-ac., puls., Staph.)--this rubric not taken strictly because developed no ailments, but to see about sensitivity
MIND; IRRESOLUTION, indecision; marry, to (SRI-652): carb-v., ign., lach., lyc., nat-m., nux-v., phos., plat., sil., staph., verat.

MIND; IRRESOLUTION, indecision; ideas, in (K57, SRI-652, G46): m-aust., nat-m., sulph., tarent.

(self-deprecating, even if just humor):
MIND; REPROACHES; himself (K71, SRI-832, G57): acon., ambr., anac., ars., aur., aur-ar., bar-s., bros-g., calc-p., cand-a., cob., con., cupr., cycl., dig., falco-p., germ., gink., haliae-lc., hell., hura, hydrog., hyos., ign., lach., lap-c-b., lyc., m-arct., med., merc., myric., nat-ar., nat-m., neon, op., ph-ac., plb., pseuts-m., puls., sarr., sil., stram., sulph., thuj., verat.
====================================
My guess: NAT-M

====================================
=============================================
Dear All,

If you would like yet another case to work on and guess the remedy
prescribed here is one with a presenting complaint of polycystic ovaries.
Female, 34, teacher, no children. Very communicative, friendly, funny, open.

was diagnosed 10 years ago and prescribed 'the pill'
never told which or if both ovaries are involved but 'feels' it is the right
side
says she feels a great lack of harmony in myself
feels there is lots of contradiction
a possible hormonal imbalance
wants to care more

used to get dreadful hangovers and blamed the medication

periods always irregular - one every 3 months was 'normal'
never very heavy, lasted 4 days, quite a lot of "debris" with blood

had acne when younger
gained some facial hair and weight
thought she might want to have children and needed to get this sorted

when describing herself she says:-
not at one with myself
want to make decisions but find this really hard
never sure about present relationship
job not stretching me enough
I'm a city girl but do love the countryside (moved from the city to rural
area recently)
indecision rules every aspect of my life
but I love my life and friends
I never instigate but I am always up for it

she is sociable, funny, laughs a lot, confident, loyal, self deprecating
doesn't like commitment or feeling trapped
wanted to be a teacher since she was 16

when she was 21 her mother committed suicide
life had been great and now she felt she couldn't rely on anything
cannot invest in anything because of this

she was able to talk about this event quite openly
said she knew she should be able to talk about this
felt softer about her mother now
got a lot of support from dad at that time

she likes privacy and when its given genuinely she will extend herself

generally feels distracted, her mind is elsewhere, procrastinates all the
time, fears real commitment

she smokes and likes to drink and get drunk even though she is fearful of
'trashing body'
smokes hash for relaxation - to get away from the mundane, takes the edge
off

she fears illness especially cancer
thinks a lot about mortality
she is intelligent though and easily accepts the inevitable
claustrophobic because sister used to shut her in a wardrobe

describes herself as lazy - all or nothing, a real sloth or over the top
with cleaning

fears complacency, always wants change, always looking for something,
looking for stimulus

she under-achieved at school but got a first class honours at uni

she is loquacious and intelligent - but very private

would like to be a strategist, this would provide an intellectual stimulus

could be more pro-active - feels guilty about doing nothing

sees red if someone is rude - she is forthright and assertive
likes to be pampered when ill (laughs at this)

cannot eat breakfast
-- fatty meat and eggs
likes alcohol
smokes about 10 a day

has a bladder of steel, can go all day without urinating
never finishes a cup of tea

always hot but loves the sun, even cold sunny days
hates grey wet days
likes heat but must have air

sleeps easy, feels groggy in morning

gets eruptions on fingers - like blisters, very itchy and red
had warts as a kid on thumb, finger and elbow
she had a period just before she even took the remedy!!!
had another a month later
feels fabulous, been on holiday, feeling positive
another period followed exactly on time
feels so much more grounded and positive.
Regards, Joy Lucas

[Joy Lucas]

Dear Andy, thanks for your work on the case. May I make a few points.

Far be it for me to make any criticism about eliminating remedies in a
mathematical sort of way, but I really think it can be very misleading.
Perhaps it is one of the big short comings of computing cases. Either way,
if the remedies that remain after eliminating don't resemble in any way the
case, then something really isn't quite right.

You were very correct to throw out Calc Carb, Bar Carb and Sepia but I don't
know why you hung on to the Nat Mur - they who are sad, dejected, full of
retention and hate, even though they can be so dutifully sympathetic - well
I don't need to paint the picture of Nat Mur.

This woman is very sociable (and private), funny, open, confident, self
deprecating (from an intelligent point of view), loyal, intelligent.

Centre of the case - yes ovarian cysts, but not the facial hair - it was
only some and not a really big issue.

Your are definitely on the right track when you home in on irresolution. And
to reiterate - doesn't like commitment, procrastinates, lazy, full of
indecision, her mind is elsewhere and easily distracted, loves her job very
much but wants to do something completely different, always wants change,
can't be trapped - fear of closed spaces, all or nothing, sees 'red' if
someone is rude, can't eat breakfast.

Why not try it without using a computerised repertory.

Warm regards, Joy

[Wendy Howard]

> If you would like yet another case to work on and guess the remedy
open.

Interesting case, Joy! I keep coming back to Lycopodium, though she seems
almost too pleasant.

Regards
Wendy

[Wendy Howard]

> Interesting case, Joy! I keep coming back to Lycopodium, though she seems

Forgot to mention: I see Pulsatilla as another strong contender. Carcinosin
also features.

Regards
Wendy

[Jan Klüssendorf]

Dear Joy,

Here is my contribution to this on line case.
It's not evident but of course if it would be evident you wouldn't have
presented the case, am I right?

Yesterday I read the case for the first time and tonight, in bed, I thought
I must check on Nat M and Puls for this case.
What stroked me a lot when reading this case was the:
"She had a period just before she even took the remedy!! "
To me this comes very close to the classic Puls keynote: 'feels already
better when leaving the cabinet of the homeopath'.
When I repertorized the case today I see that Nat M and Puls, next to Phos
and Lach rank high. Also Nat Sil, as a small remedy, ranks high but this
remedy is not in my MM so I can't check it.

Nat M was already the choice of Andy so I can rule this out.
My guess is Puls.

Here are my arguments (besides the one above":
* Affectionate
* Irresolution, indecision
* Irresolution, indecision, laziness, with
* Amusement, desire for
* Fear of narrow places
* Consolation amel.
* Open Air amel/
* Aversion to fat & eggs
* Menses irregular & to late

And indeed, I disregard the fact that Puls is not mentioned under 'Ovaries
Tumors'.

Regards,

Jan

[Dave Hartley]

Sounds llike carc.
Dave Hartley
www.Mr-Notebook.com
www.localcomputermart.com/dave
Seattle, WA 425.820.7443
Asheville, NC 828.285.0240

[andyh]

Dear Joy,
Thanks for your effort and superb pedagogy.

ideas:
Lyc-skips breakfast, lack of initiative, fear commitment, but assume "bladder of steel" and doesnt finish tea, were eliminators for Lyc

ars-all or none, fear of cancer, dependent on friends-but doubtful that would be that irresolute

tub-not enough abandon, often will like fat, likes change but more romantically aggressive, not really irresolute, more restless

Carc-has all the symptoms, desires change, not sure if appetite low in AM; can be averse fat, averse eggs; similar to nat-m, but more cosmopolitan and less burdened with grief. Assume that her ability to talk about mother's suicide eliminated nat-m for you. I would like to see a few more confirms but I agree the irresolution and difficulty processing sensory input prob elucidates Carc,

=================
Second Guess-Carc

=================
Warmest regards,
Andy

PS-ok, good point about mathematics. I'll try to tone down the eliminations
==========================================

Joy Lucas wrote:

[elham mohajir]

Dear Joy Lucas
How about Palladium
or even cann-i
elham

[elham mohajir]

Dear Joy
Did you send the name of the medicine precribed- I did not get it.
Best regards
Elham