TPB - E.E.Case's method (Long)

[vtyekkirala]

Hi,
On this subject of using the TPB, here is how E.E.Case worked with it.
Those of you having TPB may like to follow this and offer your comments.
(NOTE: The page nos noted in the brackets are as found in my copy of
TPB, B&T 1935 EDITION. comments inside the brackets are mine.)
with best wishes,

V.T.Yekkirala.
"Time and the experience of many physicians has proven the great value
of Boenninghausen's Therapeutic Pocket Book. It was through the
employment of the single remedy as selected by this repertory that
Homeopathy won the support of the intelligent people of the former
generation. As we all know, with this a selection of remedy is made by
considering the mental state, the sensation, location and conditions of
the symptoms. This may be used by a master of Materia Medica to remind
him of the remedies which have the peculiar symptoms, jotting them down
as Hahnemann directed. Prof. T. F. Allen recommends the use of this
with Yingling's Checking List. This is a pad of sheets. Upon each is
printed a list of the remedies. In studying the case the proper number
of lines, from one to four according to the size of the type in the
repertory, are drawn after the remedies having each several symptom. In
this way the the one having the highest claim to be administered may be
easily found. After a considerable use of this pad I have returned to
my old method, which seems both more speedy and convenient. First have
some quadruple lined paper (that is, paper ruled in small squares) cut
commercial note paper size, which is sufficiently large for most cases.
Then at the left hand of the sheet write in a perpendicular column the
symptoms of the patient studied, placing the most peculiar ones at the
top. Then write in the spaces in a horizontal line across the top of
the page in alphabetical order, abbreviations of the remedies having
those peculiar symptoms. Then place in the intersecting square of each
symptom a remedy, the proper figure, 1 to 4 according to the importance
of the symptom under that remedy. It will take only a short time to
consult the repertory and note the remedies having the remaining
symptoms. You will then have a comparative study of the case, which may
be filed for future reference.
The following will illustrate this method:
On the 27th of July, 1893, a fleshy, dark-haired woman, aged 51 years,
has suffered during five months from lameness in the feet. This has
been treated locally and internally by allopathic physicians without
benefit. Two weeks after the treatment begun, Iritis developed in both
eyes. An old school oculist treated this in addition to her usual
attendant. The eye pains have gone, leaving a dull appearance in the
eyes and the vision obscured. A month ago the ankles became swollen.
Now for two weeks she has had a severe cough. Status praesens:

Gentle but suspicious mental state.

Splitting or bursting sensation in the bottoms of the feet, worse when
beginning to walk, better from continued walking.

Pain and soreness in the soles of the feet, worse from warmth.

Bitter taste in the mouth. Food tasteless.

Sense of smell lost. Sneezing in a warm room.

Thick, yellow, mucous nasal discharge.

Dry, hard cough from tickling in the larynx, worse after eating and
from talking.

She has an itching, scabby eruption on her extremities, which is her
usual state.
The mental symptoms, gentleness (19)and mistrustfulness(19), were taken
as her most peculiar characteristics, which must be met by the curative
remedy.

These were therefore placed at the top to the column of symptoms, and
the names of the twenty-six remedies covering them were written across
the top of the page.

( In my copy, there are 52 and 61 remedies listed against these rubrics
respectively. Remedies common to both rubrics worked out to 28)
The other symptoms were then added as follows:
Splitting sensation(182) and soreness internally(181);

then the location where felt, soles(138);

then the conditions - worse at the beginning of motion(292), better
from continued motion(317), worse from warmth(307);

next the symptoms of taste - bitter(70) and lost(72); smell lost(50);
sneezing, the condition worse in warm room was omitted because already
used in connection with the symptoms of the feet;
nasal discharge thick(48), yellow(49)
; cough dry(115), coming from the larynx (120), worse after eating
(278), worse from talking( 303);
eruption scabby( 213), itching (211);

dark hair ( 27) ;

full habit. (160, 251)
Perhaps a quarter hour was spent in noting the comparative value of
these symptoms in the repertory.

See page 54 for table. - (could not be included in this email)
Pulsatilla covers every symptom with a sum total of 78 and the highest
rank under fifteen symptoms. Lycopodium also covers all the symptoms
with the highest rank under five of them and a sum total of only 55.
Sepia with the total of 67 lacks the marked condition, worse on the
beginning of motion. Phosphorus with the amount 62 lacks the symptom,
better from continued motion. Rhus with the amount 57 lacks the
catarrhal symptoms. Sulphur with the amount 59 lacks the conditions,
worse on the beginning and better from continued motion. Also its nasal
discharge is watery instead of thick. Silicia also ranks high with a
sum total of 58, but its characteristic aggravation is from cold, while
that of our patient is from heat. It also lacks the catarrhal symptoms
like Rhus. A reference to the Materia Medica corroborates the
repertorial study of the case, and Pulsatilla is selected as the most
similar remedy. Four powders were given, one every two hours dry on the
tongue, of Pulsatilla 1m.
Aug. 19. The cough is very much relieved, otherwise the symptoms
remain the same, except that they are less severe. Since Pulsatilla is
one of the short acting remedies, it seems best to repeat. Therefore,
she received on powder of Pulsatilla cm Fincke.

Sept. 13. There has been a decided improvement "all along the line."
Two weeks ago she had an attack of vomiting and diarrhea with which the
cough ceased entirely. The swelling of the ankles is also gone. Last
week, for no ostensible reason, her back was so lame that she could not
bend it. It was the same condition as that which followed a fall while
carrying a wash-tub full of water several years ago. It is now quite
comfortable. Gave one powder Pulsatilla 5cm Fincke.

Oct. 17. Soon after the last prescription the Iritis was reawakened,
and it has now subsided, leaving the eyes in a good condition.
Afterward she had paronychia at the roots of the finger and toe nails,
one or more upon each member, destroying the nails. With theses the
eczema disappeared, and the feet are now nearly well. Health was
restored without further treatment.

Among the many points connected with the cure of this case, these seem
of especial interest:
1. The disappearance of the symptoms in the reverse order of their
development. The cough, the latest symptom, was the first to depart.
The iritis and its injury to the vision also passed away before the
initial symptom, lame feet, and her chronic eczema was cured. As we
again view the scenery in returning from a journey, but in a reverse
order, so always is the succession of disease images reversed as the
sick individual returns to health by the restoration of the vital force
to its equilibrium. This calls to mind the reference which Hahnemann
made to the importance of the later symptoms. The proper remedy must
cover these, because they must be the first to depart if the patient is
cured.
2. The reappearance of the old symptom, lame back, in the course of
the cure. This is always a sure indication that the treatment is
correct, and, if we wait patiently, such symptoms will pass away and the
progress will be favorable; but if we change the remedy and try to treat
these old symptoms, we defeat our purpose and render a complete cure
improbable, if not impossible. The system will not again respond so
readily to the proper remedy.
3. The disappearance of a symptom with a discharge from mucous
surfaces. The cough departed with the vomiting and diarrhea.
4. The suppuration at the root at the nails, attending the cure of the
eczema. This is a circumstance which I have several times observed in
the cure of skin affections. It illustrates the truth that symptoms
improve from above downwards. For example - in the treatment of
Arthritis, so long as the inflammation changes from the large to the
small joints of the extremities, we may rest easy; but if it is
extending in the other direction, there is good cause for anxiety. A
seeming, but not a real exception to this rule occurs in the respiratory
tract. There the progress should be from below upward. How often we
have seen a cough improve as a coryza was developed. If the
prescription under such circumstances is not interfered with, health
will soon follow.
Hahnemann states that "It is almost impossible that medicine and
disease should correspond as accurately in their symptoms as two
triangles with equal sides and angles resemble each other." (Par. 156).
When this difference is unimportant, the aggravation is so slight that
it is unnoticed except in very sensitive patients. But when the potency
of the remedy given is inappropriate to the case, a pronounced increase
of the suffering often follows."
"One of the oldest and best general repertories is Boenninghausen's
Therapeutic Pocket-Book. The latest edition by T. F. Allen has many
added remedies and is brought down to the present date. This should be
in the library of every homeopathic physician. In it the cardinal
symptoms of condition, sensation and location are noted. With the
indications for these covered, good work can be done, but not always the
best possible. The finer shades of difference cannot be found from it.
Indeed, no repertory can or should attempt to give symptoms so carefully
that a prescription could be made for a complicated case of sickness
without consulting the materia medica itself. It may, however, give
characteristics so plainly that the remedies requiring comparison shall
be few. The repertory should be used simply as a guide to the materia
medica. If we attempt to use it as a substitute, disaster will surely
follow us, or, rather, will fall upon the patient."---E.E.CASE.
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