Online Case

[x1x17]

Dear Rosemary, Just a few thoughts hope they may be of some help.
There's an old expression: 'Don't look a gift horse in the
mouth. ' (Just give him Arsenic). Ok I added that parenthetical phrase
. But really, in addition to his (subconcious?). offering that he had
the "constitution of a horse" Arsenic does appear to cover very well
his deep fears of disease and death which seem to run through much of
his story. Also his tendency to complain (if given the opportunity),
and to be full of worries.
His 'hyperactivity' (keeping busy all the time) may be his way of
keeping at bay a very deep fear of death again, especially magnified by
the loss of his partner and his mother. You mentioned that 'the case
couldn't go foward without the resolution of his great Pessimism, there
again is Arsenic. Hope this is helpful. Rich

[Jasbir Kaur Villaschi]

A thought occured this morning ....

his transcript screams out guilt .... perhaps a few judicious
questions about his feelings towards his
family's illness may reveal what I suspect to be internalised guilt
about being healthy (going back on the transcript
he seems to refer back to others in family whenever he mentions his own
illness ... he may get what they had even when
he realises that his complaint it probaly never going to get there). He
seems to be making up his own penance by overloading on work
prayer etc.

Jas

[x1x17]

Dear Lisa,

Why has your pooch not been neutered? This may save him from a
lot of angst and wayward energy. Also, I wonder how "rough" the pup and
your daughter interact when "unobserved."
What exactly is the state of the lump currently? Best Wishes for
your smiley friend's quick recovery.

[Shelley Epstein]

Hi Lisa and everyone,
A few comments about Lisa's terribly interesting and endearing dog. I read
over the case quickly this morning, so these comments are based on my "quick
read," and not an in-depth analysis!

I agree with most of Joy's assessment, although I'd be careful about the
jealousy part. I've found that most owners report "jealousy" in their dogs
and cats, while in actuality this is probably a human interpretation of
something more natural for animals. Many animal behaviors are normal for
them, but not for us.

Many if not all of the dog's behaviors are most likely sexually related. Had
Ben been neutered before those hormones kicked in, it is unlikely that he
would have been experiencing the tremendous sexual frustration that he is
now showing. 2 points about this comment, though. In the veterinary
homeopathy world, (not in the conventional vet world), spaying and neutering
are viewed with a critical eye, although still supported for population
control reasons. Population control aside, energetically all those nasty
behaviors and physical problems that are now being prevented have to
manifest somewhere. Simply put, if the dog is now prevented from getting
testicular tumors (for obvious reasons), where will the problem show up
instead? Same with the dog's energy being expressed sexually.
Second point- at this stage, neutering him would be highly suppressive.

A few general other points. The lump, although it sounds benign, is a
symptom of some chronic disease. (local lesion) ie, I would view it as a
little flag.

The GI distress from eating chicken and turkey is not normal. Dogs are
supposed to be able to devour raw meats and do well. This also represents an
imbalance. Unfortunately, I have found that repertorizing the particular
food problems in dogs and cats is not helpful, as it is in people.

The hind end paresis event was significant, although difficult to interpret.
Please keep us posted if anything similar arises. In this regard, although
your flea products are generally considered benign, some dogs can be very
sensitive to these chemicals that are intended to paralyze the parasites-
ie, dogs can do the provings for the fleas! I'd avoid them. Had you bathed
the dog or applied anything in the days preceding the paresis attack?

Lastly, Border Collies are highly intelligent dogs. Unlike most breeds, you
can actually see their brains ticking away thoughts in their heads! (well,
not really). Intelligence, per se, is not abnormal. I would focus on the
abnormalities that arise as a consequence of not being able to handle this
degree of intelligence that he was gifted with.

Looking forward to your summary as requested by Joy.

Shelley
on 2/7/02 9:39 AM, RichG10@webtv.net at RichG10@webtv.net wrote:

[The Annan's]

Hi Shelley -

[Shelley Epstein]

Hi Lisa,
Did you say he had a rabies vaccine? Local reactions can occur and palpate
very similarly to the lump which you are describing. If this is the case,
these lumps resolve in 1-2 months. If this is not from a rabies vaccine,
then I would not repertorize it, as it is a solo lump and not monopolizing
the attention of the life force (in the way that a malignant lump would).
Likewise, I no longer bother to see if these little lumps are included in
the remedy that I select, as they usually aren't!
It doesn't matter.
I couldn't say if it was a seizure. The rubric for convulsions is too big to
be helpful anyway. However, convulsions with paralysis is smaller and
something to consider. In any case, in veterinary homeopathy, we tend to
wait to see if another episode occurs and then glean any useful symptoms
from it. (frustrating, huh?)
I believe there are 2 schools of thought on fleas. One is that healthy dogs
are resistant to them. The other is that fleas effect all dogs. I tend to
think somewhere in between.(my personal 3rd school of thought) Even
relatively healthy dogs tend to get fleas, although in smaller quantities-
my dogs, for example, all tend to get a little itchy during the flea season
here (Philadelphia), but I can rarely find the critters on them, indicating
low levels of infestation.
What I recommend is Advantage, a spot-on that is highly effective and very
safe relative to other products out there. It is a chemical used in
agriculture and approved for human consumption. I tell this to all my
clients...and then add that nevertheless, I only eat organic!!! Anyway, the
nice thing about Advantage is that you might only need one or 2 doses, given
monthly, and then you're done for the season.
I have not found the herbal products to be effective. I also stop all herbal
treatments, topical or oral, when using remedies. Many of these products
contain tea tree oil and pennyroyal, both of which can be nasty when applied
topically to dogs.
One more thought about fleas and susceptibility to them: We used to see a
ton of itchy dogs, with flea infestations, with a typical "flea bite
dermatitis" pattern on the lower back. With the advent of highly effective
flea products, we no longer see tons of infested dogs, but we still see the
flea bite dermatitis patterns on some dogs! Quite reminiscent of tubercular
individuals getting tuberculosis- ie, the soil is waiting for the seed to
come around. I don't know if this is relevant to Ben or not, but just
wanted to throw it in!
-Regards,
Shelley

[The Annan's]

Hi Shelley,
my replies below yours:).

[Shelley Epstein]

Hi Lisa,

Is the lump in the same site (or near the same site) as the rabies vaccine?
Sometimes the material will migrate downward, from gravity, and the reaction
will occur a few cms lower than the vaccine entry point.
If you feel the lump could be from the rabies vaccine, then you can use it
in your repertorization. I would view it as a foreign substance that caused
a reaction that is persisting an abnormally long time, rather than rabies
vaccinosis. The adjuvant in the vaccine is what is supposed to cause the
local reaction, not the rabies material itself. For acute local reactions, I
use ledum or lachesis or whatever appears to fit the particular reaction.
But this is a prolonged reaction (if you think it is from the vaccine).

In my experience, I have not found that repertorizing minor lumps is
helpful. Rather, the tendency to form lumps of a certain sort is more
helpful, but again, not very useful to repertorize. For example, lipomas
that tend to form in overweight dogs would fit a remedy picture that is
sluggish. (lipomas are benign fatty lumps) Dogs get warts that would put any
human to shame (translation: you wouldn't believe how many warts dogs can
get on one little body!). Also in repertorizing lumps, other factors are
more important: causation (ex-tumor formed in sight of trauma); appearance
of tumor (ex-ulcerative, phagadenic; or blood-filled).
Sounds intriguing, but I have no idea what you're describing!
In the exam room, I have the owners vocally imitate the sound. Ah, the
limitations of on-line forums...
Dogs get a lot of throat spasms. Sometimes, these are pharyngeal (reverse
sneeze, but that doesn't sound like your description). Snoring. Wheezing.
Repertorizing spasms is helpful.
It's available in the US. (I can't speak for other countries)
Yes, I'm a veterinarian.
Regards,
Shelley

[The Annan's]

Hi Sheila,
Wow - I can't thank you enough for all your input into Ben's case. My
husband read this with me....some thoughts/questions below;)......

[Shelley Epstein]

Hi Lisa,

on 2/10/02 9:25 AM, The Annan's at annan@omantel.net.om wrote:
When I take a case like this, I like to consider all possibilities. One
angle you can consider is the rabies vaccination as causation. You have the
lump at the site of the vaccine, the increased male sexual desire (which we
still might consider normal), and the hind end paresis episode.

Interestingly, lyssin is a grade 3 under Male, sexual desire increased in
the Complete 3.0 rep. (I'm not suggesting use of the nosode, but rather
focusing on the miasm). Again, this could be normal behavior. (BTW, could
this little white bitch be the alpha since she's the one cycling?)

Also, hind end paresis/paralysis is a symptom of rabies. In the chronic
state, degenerative myelopathy, a slowly progressive paralysis of the hind
end, is considered by many veterinary homeopaths to be related to rabies
miasm. Here's a symptom from Hering's Guiding Symptoms:

"Loss of power in limbs; gait unsteady, at times some stiffness of hind
legs; dog."

As we say, your work is cut out for you!
Good luck,
Shelley