Choosing a Potency

[David Little]

Hello everyone,

There are many differing views on potency as there are many styles of
homeopathy. Some persons tend toward low potency some toward high and some
use the middle ranges. When Melanie Hahnemann was ask about which potencies
Samuel used she replied that he used from the 3c to the 1000c depending on
what he thought was necessary. He of course, also used the LM potency
extensively in the 1840s. It is best to use a fully range of potencies low
to high depending the patient, symptoms, time and circumstances.

Hahnemann noted in the 6th Organon that the sensitivity of patients
varied in a ratio of 1 to 1000. This means that a potency that would not
effect a number 1 sensitivity would send the number 1000 sensitivity into
great aggravations and complications. So I believe that predisposition and
sensitive of the patient are a central factors in choosing the size of the
dose (smaller or larger) , the delivery system (dry, medicinal solution,
olfaction) and the, potency degree (C or LM low, medium, high). This also
has a bearing on the repetition of the remedy.

These very important factors are based on the constitution,
temperament, predisposition and sensitivity of the patient. Another factor
is the stability of the vital force and the pool of vitality in the
patient. Hahnemann linked the time of cure to the amount of vital energy in
the patient in the preface of the Organon. All of this has a bearing on
dose, potency and repetition.

Another central factor in posology selection is the nature and stage of
the diseases state. Is the disease acute or chronic, miasmic or diathetic,
etc? Are the symptoms strong, moderate or weak? Is the disease in the early
functional stage, the stage of early pathology, the stage of moderate
pathology, or is it in the state of advanced organic pathology? The patient
treatment be assessed in accordance with the condition they suffer.

In general, patient's with lower sensitivity need larger doses of higher
potencies. Patient's with moderate sensitivity need average sized doses of
middle range potencies. Patent's with high sensitivity do better on smaller
doses and lower potencies. Hypo-sensitive persons may need their remedy
quite often. Moderately sensitive patients may need their remedy in average
intervals. Hyper-sensitive patient may only need their remedy infrequently. .

Functional disorders and early pathology usually does well on higher
potencies. Moderate pathology does better on moderate potencies. Advanced
organic pathology often requires beginning with lower potencies and working
up slowly as the pathology is reversed. An unstable vital force and
weakened vitality is a sign to use small doses and lower potencies. A
stable vital force and good reserves of vitality usually allow for using
higher potencies than an unstable vital force with little vitality. One
must look at all these factors and make their assessment on the leading
indications.

These are some of the main areas that one has to review when choosing
the size of the dose and potency. It is difficult to always know in advance
exactly how a patient is going to react to a remedy. For this reason, it is
usually best to start prudently with the smallest dose and lowest potency
that one feels will be effective and adjust the dose and potency upward if
necessary. This "softly-softly" approach reduces the number of
aggravations, accessory symptoms and complications. To start slow in the
beginning usually means to finish quickly in the end.

The final test of how often a patient needs a remedy is based on the
action of the medicine. If there is a noticeable progressive and strikingly
increasing amelioration the remedy should not be repeated as long as this
state lasts. If there is little or slow improvement that would take a long
time to produce any significant improvement the remedy may be repeated at
suitable intervals to speed the cure. If one is using the dry dose they
should wait until there are signs of a relapse before repetition whereas if
one is using the medicinal solution they may repeat the dose at the
appropriate intervals to speed the cure as long as there are no
aggravations or new symptoms.

From the above information one can see that it is very important to
learn how to judge the predispositions and sensitivity of the patient, the
condition of the vital force and vitality, and the nature and stage of
disease state. This offers more understanding of Nature and Life and helps
one to assess the patient and their disease as well as their remedies,
doses, potencies and repetitions, if necessary.

Similia Minimus
Sincerely, David Little

[CLBernat]

Thank you David. Always informative to read your writings. You always
bring us back to the essence of homeopathy.
Dr. Carol Stuart-Bernat
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[muthu kumar]

Thanks David- That is excellent.
To add - where the symptoms are covered well by the selected
medicine ( or how confident we are of the selection ) the higher we
can go. Since advanced pathology is something we do not have
pathogenetic provings for and only clinical guidelines, generally we
need to start lower. Even there starting low and repeating
frequently might not be prudent always- as Boericke states in
Phosphorus about Euthanasia and tuberculous cases...In general -
when in doubt - don't...Ultimately, despite all the writings of the
masters- you are the person in the spot - and only you know your
patient - and it is up to you.

--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, David Little wrote:
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[Shannon Nelson]

Could you explain this? I thought it was a
way-too-high-for-this-frail-person (with advanced pathology) that could
lead to euthanasia? And did not know that low/repeated was
contraindicated for tuberculosis? Please tell?
Thanks!
Shannon

[muthu kumar]

To reproduce from Boericke MM-
from Phosphorus Dose:
Third to Thirtieth potency.Should not be given too low or in too
continuous doses.Especially in tuberculous cases. It may act as
Euthanasia here.
---But medicines sometimes behave differently in different doses -
primary action and secondary action and all that jazz... You know
that Hepar sulph in higher potencies may abort suppuration and in
lower promotes it. Similarly Phosphorus might break down calcified
tuberculous lesions in continuous, lower doses and might prove fatal.

There are many holy cows and their cow boys in homeopathy. What do
we mean by "acting deeply"? Is it deep in a tissular sense? Is it
deep in a philosophical and "vital" sense? Is deep acting going from
physical to vital to mental planes or is it acting on deeper than
superficial physical layers? I think it is more in the "vital" sense
that we mean "deep acting". So remedies can act deeply in a tissular
sense whether in high or low potencies. If low potency medicines are
good enough for treating Cancer then why should we think that they
are not deep acting. When low potencies can cure then they can also
cause the same... which means they can also cause lesions... then
they could kill as well. It is in naturally inert substances that
the real healing power is considered "released" in potencies... ah -
Lycopodium. To restate what I said -

There are droves of holy cows in the Potency corral.

--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, Robert & Shannon Nelson
wrote:
could

[muthu kumar]

And also in Hahnemann's famous Washerwoman case-

"Now as this woman was very robust, and the force of the disease
must consequently have been very considerable to prevent her, on
account of pain, doing any work ; and as her vital powers, as
stated, were not impaired, I gave her one of the strongest
homœopathic doses, a full drop of the undiluted juice of Bryonia
root, to be taken immediately, and bade her come to me again in
forty-eight hours. "

Bryonia mother tincture was given not because the person was frail
but because she could with stand a full dose. Of course this is
Hahnemann's very early case before the "vital" power of high
potencies was discovered and Boenninghausen's research on high
potencies was concluded ( I am not sure about the dates here any
how).

--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, Robert & Shannon Nelson
wrote:
could

[Shannon Nelson]

Hmmmmmmm (grumble grumble...)
A robust person, with a violent (presumably acute) illness...
I guess I'd be looking at just how marked the "distinguishing
characteristics" were--is it a strong, clear bryonia case, with
keynotes, or is it more a general outline of bryonia? If the former,
I'd feel pretty compelled to use a high potency (well, today I
*wouldn't*, actually, because I've been having such nice results from
low potencies; but by my initial training I would have).

if the latter (no keynotes, modalities not all that marked) then I
would use a low potency (or tincture) not because of *her*
characteristics, but because of the vagueness of the symptoms.

Do you know, toward the end of his practice did he *still* consider
tincture to be "the strongest homeopathic dose"? My observation is
that if the rx is a good fit, potency is a way secondary concern.
(Except that some cases should not have high potencies.) I have
certainly not found low potencies "stronger" than high, but the
reverse! Wouldn't you say? (Really confused now...)
Shannon

[Dr. Joe Rozencwajg, NMD]

Remember that Bryonia is a classical herbal remedy too, although known as
violent and dangerous.
I cannot remember the chronology of this case, but if H prescribed it at the
beginnning of his work on homeopathy, he might still have used the herbalist
s indication with what would amount for a herbalist as a minimal dose.
Dr. J. Rozencwajg, MD, PhD.
"The greatest enemy of any science is a closed mind".

[Shannon Nelson]

Minimal for an herbalist, but why "one of the strongest homeopathic
doses"??
Strongest in terms of *flavor*, I'm sure! But in what other
sense?

[Gaby Rottler]

Hi Shannon, all,

You said:

The quote (case of the washer-woman, treated by Hahnemann) had been:
Important is the foot-note:
* "According to the newest perfections of our new healing art taking a
single, finest globule, moistened with the decillionth
force-development, would have been at the same time quicker and totally
sufficient for complete restoring; as well, in the same way certain,
only smelling of a mustard-seed size globule moistened with the same
potency, so that the drop of raw juice akways given by me then to a
robust person in that case may not serve any more for imitation."

About the dates:

The case of the washer-woman was written down in the article
'Vorerinnerung' in the 2nd Vol of the MMP in 1816 (1st ed.).
The footnote as mentioned was added in 1833.

You asked:

Because in term of 'strength' you have to think in terms of
potentization.
The full drop is the undivided part, so strong (depedning of the
substance could even be toxic).
The millionth, the decillionth part sure are less strong (concerning the
toxicity of substance), but of course not weaker (concerning the
effect).

Best,

Gaby

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gaby Rottler
Germany
rottler@curantur.de

http://www.curantur.de
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~