a bland case?

[Joy Lucas]

Here's a case some of you might want to work on. It is a cured case and I
will give the remedy write up later.

CASE:-

female, 80 years old - average height, slim build, pale skin

the form I send out for new clients has a list to fill in for past medical
history - this was completely blank

presenting complaint = nasal polyp, right side, near bridge of nose

for many years has had problems with her nose, mainly sinus and the polyp,
on and off for more than 20 years - has had the polyp removed surgically,
twice, but it keeps returning

cannot breathe through right nostril at all
there is no pain but it is always << when she has a cold and < damp
almost constant build up of thin, clear mucous but no congestion as it
clears easily, effects her sleep as she can't breathe very well when lying
down - this were the only sx she could give me

she described herself as quiet, easy going

I observed a nervous habit of shifting in her seat a lot and her right hand
was constantly fiddling with the armchair rest cover and her umbrella and
she was almost constantly tapping her feet

I had a notion that this was going to be a difficult case to get a flow of
information from, so I asked her about her life, her interests, what she
liked to do etc

"my life is nearly over now, I don't think about that now. I don't complain
about anything."

this seemed a somewhat gloomy approach and stated in a benign, accepting
way, little was forthcoming but I managed to extract the following:-

had 2 children, likes gardening, holidays, reading spy thrillers and mystery
stories based on reality - doesn't care to cook - concentration and memory
good - general health very good

prefers small groups of people, confident on her own, takes holidays on her
own, likes cities and historical aspects to her holidays

she would liked to have worked but her husband wasn't keen on this and she
didn't really know what she would have done, maybe a nurse

doesn't have a temper, doesn't want to feel emotions, keeps quiet about
herself, avoids talking about herself, not fanatical about the house or
house work

loves cats - we had a long conversation about them as I was glad to enter
into a more solid conversation with her at this stage

fears spiders, is claustrophobic in lifts and tunnels - she says she has
been restricted in her life and now fears any restriction of this nature

likes plain food, bread, chicken, sweets, no salt or fat but overall not
bothered at all about food, won't eat curries as she doesn't like what they
look like!, couldn't possibly eat oysters, avoids dairy because of nasal
mucous, average thirst, allergic to wine (makes her sneeze)

menstrual history ok, pregnancies and births all ok

doesn't like tight clothes because of restriction

likes the temperature to be just warm, not too hot and not too cold, doesn't
like thunder or lightning "but I just put up with it"

sleeps easily but lying down makes her nose get blocked up, needs 3 pillows,
no remembered dreams, doesn't like to be hot in bed, likes windows open but
husband closes them, loves to walk in the fresh air

had to nurse her husband for a long time as he was very ill with skin cancer
and kidney problems, it took up all her energy and time but she seemed
totally unemotional about this

blandness 'seemed' to govern the whole case

I prescribed Nat mur 30 which did absolutely nothing!

If you would like to guess what remedy cured, then have a go )

best wishes, Joy

www.homeopathicmateriamedica.com

[J.VENKATASUBRAMANIAN]

Hi Joy,

The woman is of hiding nature ( not filling past history), with
constriction agg( pressure of clothes), bored and indifferent, but
loves her cat.
Cat loving people are- lach, sulph , tub
hide desire to - lach ( among 16 remedies)
indifference ennui with- lach ( among many)
Amusement desie for- Lach, pip-m

Other generals- mental symptom during thunderstorms, company
aversion to, laziness( this is superfluous since it goes with the
ennui rubric), right side,warm agg, and warm amel, cold becoming
agg , air open desire,wine agg, thirst, fear of narrow places all
confirm lachesis

Only fear of spiders contraindicated.

My remedy is lachesis.
If you ask for a theme, well, it is confiement. In every act there is
a desire to break free from home, husband, ( even her nasal block).
When this was not possible, she got bored and an escape route was her
comic books and thrillers, cats and the runny nose.

Another small rubric is very intersting - delusions , suffered
wrong, he has( adam, carc, Hyos, lach,lyss, naja)

How did the woman respond to your Rx ?

regards
J.venkatasubramanian
--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, Joy Lucas wrote:
and I
medical
polyp,
surgically,
it
when lying
right hand
umbrella and
flow of
what she
complain
accepting
and mystery
memory
holidays on her
and she
about
house or
enter
she has
nature
overall not
what they
nasal
cold, doesn't
pillows,
open but
skin cancer
seemed

[Trudy Kuesteiner]

Dear Joy,
id could be a Cal-p., Caust., or a Sepia Case. But the most of all it could
be a Kali-n. Case, the probleme is i have`nt seen the patient.
I am wating for the medicine you gave!
Thanks for these case
Have i nice day
Trudy

[Rosemary Hyde]

Thanks, Joy, for sharing this opportunity to learn.

Very interesting indeed.

The polyp would make one think of Sycosis, but the thin, clear mucus doesn't confirm that miasmatic influence with any vigor.

Her hatred for restriction and her love for travel, along with her obvious love of cats and fear of spiders makes one think of an animal remedy. She's doesn't have the sensitivity one would usually find with a plant remedy. Her extremities are also very restless -- a hallmark of spider remedies, among others.

The peculiarity I see is that despite the fact that she obviously has a life of her own, good health, ability to do what she wants physically, and a pretty solid sense of her individual essence, she sees her life as restrictive and her response is resignation, even despair -- helplessness?? In any case, she sees her advancing years and her husband's illness in the same perspective as thunderstorms -- something one endures because it can't be changed. Would one go so far as to say "Ailments from suppressed emotions?" Possibly.
Certainly her emotions are suppressed, fear as well as anger or sadness.

It intrigues me that though she had two children she doesn't mention them or any possible grandchildren. She doesn't have a sense of connection with other people in her family, or any sense of being part of lives or finding joy in connection. Averse company?

Certainly, from your description of trying to learn about her, she's both very closed and quite taciturn, which does not confirm the thought of a snake remedy, which I had considered at first. On the other hand, several things make me think strongly of Sepia. She lacks connection with her husband and family, and has spent her life doing things she hasn't wanted to do (e.g., not working because her husband didn't want her to, sleeping with the windows closed although she'd like them open...). She has invested her emotional energies in animals and in following her own pursuits rather than in her family. In a way, she's run away from her husband and children simply by not being there emotionally.

The lack of any history of illness or symptoms in an 80 year old woman is most peculiar, and if the remedy is Sepia, that could be explained by Sepia's feeling that talking about her symptoms makes them worse -- but we don't know that.

Sepia comes through strongly in the rubrics I used:

EXTREMITIES - RESTLESSNESS
MIND - COMPANY - aversion to - desire for solitude
GENERALS - CLOTHING - pressure of clothing
MIND - FEAR - narrow place, in
MIND - MILDNESS
MIND - EMOTIONS - suppressed
NOSE - OBSTRUCTION - right
MIND - TACITURN
GENERALS - WALKING - air, in open - amel.
In any case, the resonance with Nat-m that is definitely a part of the case, would also confirm the thought of Sepia, and my bet is that Sepia was the remedy that worked, for what it's worth.....

Rosemary
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[V.T. Yekkirala]

Hi Joy,

Since she likes cats and all,
Let all the rubrics go to dogs,
My first vote goes to Zincum-phos!
V.T.Yekkirala.
_________________________________________________________________
MSN 8: Get 6 months for $9.95/month. http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/dialup

[Tanya Marquette]

the case didnt come through. the attachment doesnt open

can you cut and paste it into the body of the post

also, i am so beseiged with a virus attack that i wont open any attachments or
any posts that i dont know

tanya

[Rochelle Marsden ntl]

I don't suppose the remedy that worked was the specific rx for polyps i.e. Teuc.?

Regards,
Rochelle (abroad with no rep!!)

www.rochellemarsden.co.uk

-----------------------------------------
Email provided by http://www.ntlhome.com/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Rosemary Hyde]

Thanks, Rochelle.

I wasn't familiar with Teucrium, but it does seem to fit -- actually the woman wasn't totally taciturn, just about her health -- she enjoyed talking about her cats! Anyway, thanks for prompting me to look up a remedy I hadn't encountered, and will now remember.

Rosemary

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[tumla]

Hi JOY
opened your website - and where do I go from there??????
Kindly
Almut

[Joy Lucas]

Thanks to all who responded to the case.

The remedy was indeed Teucrium - so a good guess from Rochelle (although
there is more to this case than being a considered specific for nasal
polyps), and J Venkat came close to the essence of the remedy by including
'desire for amusement.'

There appeared to be so little to this case, it really did seem to be bland
and uncomplicated (although I tried to make too much of the theme of being
restricted), so I sent this case as an illustration of how simplicity is
sometimes the best route - reducing all the peripherals and extracting just
the essentials, i.e. in this case we have:-

nasal polyps with stoppage of nose
sensation as if right nostril was blocked
desire for open air
< night
< warmth of bed - has to have air
retarded sleep - due to nasal obstruction
< damp
< sitting, moving improves
a general indolence, aversion to work
sympathetic - looking after her husband and cats - Teucrium has 'horrible
things, sad stories affect her profoundly' (the context for this took me
quite some time to realise)
suitable for the elderly!

But it is the rubric/sx 'desire to stretch' which brings out more of the
mental and emotional picture of Teucrium - and it does, in fact, link up
with the initial thoughts about being restricted, and encompasses her almost
constant agitation of hands and feet during the consultation.

There is a need for mental and physical activity, desire for exercise, there
is nervousness and trembling when this is restricted. The polar opposite of
this is a 'learned' dullness (I used the word 'bland' instead).

Phatak has - trembling involuntary, excitement aggravates.

Boenninghausen has - extraordinary excitability and sensitivity.

This remedy is in the Labiatae group (the mint family) and Sankaran
describes the main sensation as being that of EXCITEMENT which, in this case
was leading to physical irritability as the only outlet. Her love of real
life thrillers and mysteries was also an indication of this need for
excitement.

It is possible that this woman has spent her entire life dulling all her
ambitions (although she did not say this outright) but the presenting state
was certainly a need for activity encased within dullness (blandness) and
lack of interest - "my life is nearly over now and I don't think about it
anymore + I don't complain about anything."

I prescribed Teucrium 6 to be taken on alternate days (with instructions to
stop if there was any aggravation) and after 2 months the polyp, although
still there, is tiny now and causing very little in the way of sx.

By the way, of pure coincidence - Teucrium is also called CAT THYME!! The
conversation with her about her cats was exceptionally 'exciting' for her,
compared to the rest of the case.

Thanks for your contributions and I hope you found it interesting.

Best wishes, Joy

www.homeopathicmateriamedica.com