Help, please - if possible

[Cathy Lemmon]

I've been on this list for some time now, simply "lurking" and learning from all of you. Thank you so much for allowing me this!
I am still a novice to homeopathy. I've recently begun David Little's online course. I am convinced of the power of homeopathy, not only because of what I've been learning, but with what I've seen and experienced right here in my own family.
I am requesting help here, if it's at all possible. It's for a dear friend of mine who has just come for a ten-day visit.
Her immediate complaint is a very sore back due, she says, to the uncomfortable plane ride up here.
The problem, however, is that her symptom picture is, in my novice opinion, rather complex. To her benefit, she has a good friend back in England, where she's from, who's a homeopathic physician living in Cumbria.
She has had multiple surgeries throughout her life, beginning from the fact that she has spina bifida. She can walk fine, but the pain in her back has always been significant. She also has degenerative scoliosis, which she's known about, she says, since she's known about the spina bifida. In 2003 she had reconstructive surgery for her spine, wherein they fused eight vertebrae with cadaver bone and titanium. This also resulted in another she's told irreversible condition in her coccyx (sp?) called arachnoidities. They need now about every six months to go in and cauterize the nerves to lessen her pain.
She has to take daily pain medication (4mg dilaudid as needed).
She's also on geoddon to help her with bipolar disorder (320 mg/day). This particular medication has worked beautifully for her for four years.
She's always been very sensitive to medications, having extreme reactions to many.
She's also on a blood thinner, warfrin (5mg/5 days a week and 4mg/2 days a week), which she's been on since December, 2005, when she had a pulminary embolism that nearly killed her. About nine months ago they performed an endometrial oblation to take care of the bleeding resulting from the blood thinner. (She herself says it was just to "get rid of" another symptom.)
About 18 months ago she had a lap band fitted around her stomach to help her lose weight. This was encouraged by the doctors, to help alleviate her painful back symptoms. She's now to her normal body weight. But this has also caused many problems. It was about six weeks ago this had to be removed because she had a bout of stomach flu which complicated things and caused a slippage that became obstructed (she became very dehydrated). At first she became quite constipated with the lap band. Since it was re-inserted about ten days ago, she has had very watery stools.
Another issue happening here that has arisen in the past six years is a sensitivity to the glue in the bandages, and this has gotten worse over the years. With this last surgery ten days ago, she removed the paper tape and cotton swabs within an hour of her surgery, yet she still today has a very itchy rash.
She's primarily concerned right now with her back pain and the itchy rash. I've given her calendula cream, which she says is already helping alleviate the itchiness on the surface. What she really desires right now is to be off the opiates/pain killers she is on.
Is there anything that you could recommend for her?
Thank you all so much in advance.
- Cathy Lemmon

[mcgonigle_john]

Cathy,

You need to delve more elaborately into the pain, the quality of the
pain, what aggravates or ameliorates it etc. In short, you need to
present or take yourself the case homeopathically. You'll learn to do
this, in time. What you've presented to us is a litany of "things"
that "happened" to your friend, and not really "who" she "is" right
now.

John McGonigle, MD

p.s. If you can, you should really look into taking some classes in
your area of the world as learning this w/ other people is the best
and just about the only way to learn how to do homeopathy.
--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, "Cathy Lemmon" wrote:
learning
Little's
back in
the
her
scoliosis,
wherein
also
to go
mg/day).
days
they
resulting
of"
help
alleviate
But
this had
complicated
band.
is a
over
paper
today
helping
right

[cg_lem]

Thank you. And you're right. I've been working with her to narrow
things down, and this was the best starting point we were able to
come up with.

She's told me, while her back pain she's been working with her entier
life, the painkillers she's currently taking (the opiates) are the
only relief she gets from the constant, sharp, aching pain in her
lumbar/coccyx areas.

She says her entire day is planned around her back-- she wakes up
with where-ever her back pain is, and plans the rest of her day
around it. Cold, damp weather definitely seem to make it worse.
She's always had back pain, but not to this severity since her
surgery in 2003, when they inserted the titanium and cadaver bone.

Overall, since she's had the lap band inserted, she's lost over 100
pounds, and her health and vivality have improved immensely. Until
this, she'd always had a weight problem.

She had a very complicated childhood (orphaned at six, then playing
the "wild side", including drugs, alcohol, and all that goes with
that lifestyle). About fifteen years ago, however, she had a
complete, almost overnight change of lifestyle-- a religious
conversion-- she gave up all the "illicit-ness" and has never
returned. She has a great, supporting relationship with her husband.

With her bipolar disorder, the manic episodes were extreme. The
geoddon she's been taking has made her quite stable. I've not
studied these at all-- I simply know that she's been through a myriad
of medications, many of which she's reacted severely to. So, the
fact that her emotions are stabilized is something she doesn't want
to let go of at all.

Her biggest issue, is her pain. And I'm really thinking, with what
she's shared with me, that it would be very helpful to address this
first. The scaring from her many surgeries is definitely
increasing. Her lap band had to be removed about six weeks ago
because of an obstruction. When the surgeon re-inserted it last
week, he was astonished at the amount of scar tissue that had
developed, that he had to cut through. The "simple" half-hour
surgery took two hours, and my friend was in severe pain for about
five days.

From my novice point of view, I'm seeing this scar tissue as possibly
being a symptom of something that's been suppressed. And the fact
that it's worsening so quickly and causing her the pain that it is
concerns me. I'm thinking with the multiple issues going on within
her that this may be a good "starting point."

I hope any of this helps you see her picture any better.

Thanks again.

- Cathy

P.S. I would LOVE to be able to do a "local" homeopathic course and
study one-on-one with practising homeopaths. I have so much to
learn. My problem is that I live in the middle of Montana, and
there's no practising homeopath anywhere close by. This and David
Little's course and the wonderful people I'm meeting as a result are
the best I'm able to do right now. Than you for your suggestion,
though!
--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, "mcgonigle_john"
wrote:
the
do
only
dear
from
in
spina
coccyx
months
4mg/2
rid
to
very
watery
years
worse
still
itchy

[Rosemary C Hyde PhD]

Cathy,

You're right that an excessive amount of scar tissue is homeopathically
relevant -- this is something that happens to a minority of people, and
therefore it will help in the process of distinguishing among remedies. But
this woman's case is extremely complex, and in addition, it may not be
possible to use homeopathy to help reduce the pains from the surgeries.

That being said, people sometimes use the remedy Thiosinamine as a help in
preventing excessive scar tissue from forming -- probably best in a low
potency, 6x or 6c. However, there are about 40 remedies that have this as
part of their symptom picture, so a much deeper analysis by an experienced
homeopath would most likely be necessary to help her feel significantly
better overall through homeopathy.

Caduceus Institute of Classical Homeopathy is one excellent homeopathic
distance learning program you might check out if you'd like to learn
homeopathy in more depth. Here's their website:
http://www.homeopathytraining.org/hm21.htm

Rosemary

[muthu kumar]

Cathy-
Homeopathy is a systemic therapy; it affects the system as a whole
and in ways not always predictable; esp. if there has been so much
of dosing and surgeries like your friend has had. There would
definitely be benefits but there could also be upsets which
sometimes would seem too bothersome to persist with homeopathy- the
cure sometimes being worse than the condition.

Even though your friend desires control of pain more than anything
else, I guess, by now with your acquaintance with homeopathy, you
might have realized that, with homeopathy sometimes you get more
than you bargained for...

I would cautiously say - yes she can be helped - if she is willing
to persist with the treatment in face of all the changes that
Homeopathy can bring to her state-

She would probably need long term, personal, good expert
homeopathic care...
--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, "Cathy Lemmon" wrote:
learning
Little's
dear
back in
the
in her
scoliosis,
spina
wherein
also
to go
mg/day).
4mg/2 days
they
resulting
of"
to help
alleviate
But
this had
complicated
very
band.
watery
is a
over
paper
today
itchy
helping
right

[cg_lem]

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all who have offered your
help for my friend, both on the list and privately. I knew-- and she
did too-- that her case was difficult, complex, etc., etc.

But the good news is that we've been able to find what looks like a
good, solid classical homeopath right in the area where she lives.
I'm going to take what has been shared with me-- and what I, with her
input, have written-- and put it all together so that she can take
this with her to her first appointment. I told her to still be
prepared-- that her first appointment will most likely take every bit
of at least an hour-and-a-half, if not longer.

And thank you, Rosemary, for the recommendation for the distance
learning program through the Cadaceus Institute. I'll definitely be
looking into that.

You've all been very helpful with this, and we both thank you very
much.

- Cathy Lemmon

[Tina Belgaumkar]

Hi Cathy,
I just read about your friend's problems who is with you I think, from England,
My advise to you is , after reading the type of illness, and surgeries she went through , if we give some homeopathic medicines, if we guss it is not good of a Dr. to treat with out seeing and getting all the medication's she is on, I am a Homeopathic Dr. Practiceing in Toronto Cana da, these type of problems you must see what type of Pharma. Drugs she is taking, whgy pain ? what is her age etc.
if you could sent me more in detail I may be able to give you some hint. but it willnot be a good treatment.
good luck.
Hans
rsvp DR.Tina

Dr.Chinnamma Tina Belgaumkar Belna Homoeopathy & Wellness Centre
70 Cass Ave. unit # 124, Scarborough,
Ontario, Canada. M1T 3P9
416-293-6693, 416 697-9355


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