Prescribing Symptoms - last question ... I promise

[artybergman]

Thankyou 'Dogs on Holiday', 'Shannon and Nelson', and DCR for your
input re my Presribing Symptoms question, and I'll take the
opportunity now to thank others who may yet assist me to leap over
this conceptual hurdle I have.

My difficulty as to whether, as some prescribers of note recommend, to
include mental and physical general symptoms of the patient regardless
those symptoms not differing from the usual natural state, or to
include them only if they do differ from the usual natural state.

My confusion arised from reading Boenninghausen's Lesser Writings on
the Characteristic Value of Symptoms where under the hexameter Quis,
he states when discussing symptoms; "In all these peculiarities
whatever differs little or not at all from the usual natural state
needs little attention; but everything that differs in a striking or
rare way therefrom deserves a proportionate notice".

Perhaps my having used 'chilly' and 'shy' has implied that
understanding the value of those particular traits are what my query
is about - it is not.

I might in fact have illustrated my query better by way instead of the
following more general hypothetical clinical scenario: a patient
presents with a disease from which number of characteristic symptoms
which include Location, Condition and Modalities, and even a well
described (LoCoMo) Concomitant have been elicited. On further enquiry
no mental or physical general symptoms of disease are portrayed, ie
their physical and mental generals show no (perceptible) change or
deviation from their or the population 'norm'.

It is now that my readings of seemingly contradictory philosophies
about what the prescribing totality is that brings me to a fork in the
prescribing road when I ask myself : "Should, in addition to my
patient's current totality, I now seek out and add some additional
mental/emotional/physical general features (for they are not symptoms
if they do not represent the disease state .. are they?) that
represent their healthy state and use them to confirm or select the
remedy?

In Anticipation of Assistance
Regards - Arthur Bergman

[Luise Kunkle]

Hi Arthur,

I think that all prescribers have that difficulty, one way or other.
Or they have had it in the past and have decided for themselves how
they will handle it.

Being at the fork now you will have to decide or experiment I guess.

Regards

Luise
--
One thought to all who, free of doubt,
So definitely know what's true:
2 and 2 is 22 -
and 2 times 2 is 2:-)
==========> ICQ yinyang 96391801 <==========

[Piet Guijt]

Athur,

forgot the link to article:

http://www.curantur.de/English/Articles ... ution.html

kind regards, Piet

[Piet Guijt]

Hello Arthur,

This depends of the level of our prescription, for a constitutional
prescription the most reliable symtoms are not always the disease symptoms,
but those symptoms which are exaggerated features of the constitution; the
mentals en generals of the current state. There must always be a connection
with the complaints and the characteristics. Only for the last prescription,
on the level of the innate constitution the characteristics will help to
find that remedy, say red hair phos, lach, sulph etc. When someone is shy,
it a characteristic, but when he has no problem with that, and comes to see
you for a complaint that is not connected to his shyness, you should not use
this, because it is no symptom.
Tho make this more complete, constitutional disease moves within the
spectrum of the involved constitution, so these features have some influence
on which remedies might be usefull, but only as a indication or
confirmation.

Maybe you should read the article "Constitution and chronic diseases - the
value of constitutional symptoms as seen by G.H.G. Jahr" by Gaby Rottler
http://www.curantur.de/English/Articles ... ution.html

Kind regards, Piet

[Piet Guijt]

Hello Arthur,

This depends of the level of our prescription, for a constitutional
prescription the most reliable symtoms are not always the disease symptoms,
but those symptoms which are exaggerated features of the constitution; the
mentals en generals of the current state. There must always be a connection
with the complaints and the characteristics. Only for the last prescription,
on the level of the innate constitution the characteristics will help to
find that remedy, say red hair phos, lach, sulph etc. When someone is shy,
it a characteristic, but when he has no problem with that, and comes to see
you for a complaint that is not connected to his shyness, you should not use
this, because it is no symptom.
Tho make this more complete, constitutional disease moves within the
spectrum of the involved constitution, so these features have some influence
on which remedies might be usefull, but only as a indication or
confirmation.

Maybe you should read the article "Constitution and chronic diseases - the
value of constitutional symptoms as seen by G.H.G. Jahr" by Gaby Rottler

Kind regards, Piet

[Christine Wyndham-Thomas]

Hi Arthur

I'll give you an example of how I came to help a friend of mine whose only
symptom, according to him, was very bad burning when he went to the toilet.
I also knew, however, that many years ago he suffered a back injury. Once
or twice a year he had to go see an Orthopaedic, because every now and again
he would get twitching spasms, which were quite painful.

urine, burning
back, spasms

These were the two symptoms I repertorised. In total, I had 184 remedies to
choose from. However, from the gradings, I managed to narrow it down to the
top 13 and the remedies I came up with were : Ars, Nat-s, Nux-v, Bell,
Calc-p, Lach, Acon, Ant-c and Bry.
I needed one remedy and I didn't have much in the way of rubrics to help,
nor modalities, because the spasms didn't often happen; it was rare, but
when they did, he needed to see an orthopaedic to help. The burning,
however, occurred every time he went to the toilet.

I started by looking at the keynotes of the remedies and I was then left
with Nux-v, Bell and Bry.
Now, the Mentals of Nux-v fitted my friend to a 'T', as they say.
Everything I read in the mentals I could identify with him - not that the
mentals were symptoms, but it was just the way he was.

To be sure you have the right remedy, always read the Materia Medica - as
many as you can really.

Anyway, that was over a year ago and everything is fine. There's been no
repeat of the burning.

So, unless the mental condition was causing a problem to the person, I
wouldn't include it as a symptom when repertorising but would use it to help
choose between remedies.

Hope this helps
Christine

[artybergman]

--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, "Dogs on Holiday-UK" wrote:
whose only
toilet.
Once
and again
remedies to
down to the
help,
that the
- as
been no
to help

Thanks Christine ... I looked at all the replies to my question and
from the 'totality' I got the picture. However, just now reading your
'in the nutshell' view, I got the penny to drop. Thanks