Minutus

Vera- No -for me a normal,balanced outlook is not a symptom esp. if
the person has always been so. There is nothing for me to cure
there. Is anyone complaining about it?Remember even where there are
patholigcal and other symptoms it is only rarely we get a remedy
that runs thru all the symptoms- and why should we include something
that is not in any way going to help decide a remedy.

Does it strike you - the prescriber- as strange that a person
should remain so? Then you might want to look at it. If a person is
so calm in the face of looming crisis that everyone remarks about
it - then it is worth noting.
I have seen parents of manic patients saying how their wards are so
brave and courageous- the patient goes and catches a poisonous snake
or stands in front of a speeding car without fear- of course here
it is abnormal and you prescribe for this courage ( which of course
is NOT non-pathological...
If the calmness is a kind of Sulphur's indifference then you want to
note that.
Once again the deciding factor is - how would other people behave in
a similar situation, does this have an explanation and does that
sound valid?

We are collecting symptoms only for the purpose of finding a
medicine. If the medicine could be found by only 3 symtoms why would
I even want to gather more... this is the premise of Core delusions,
Key note symptoms etc. where the prescription is based on fewer
symptoms but the assumption is the medicine is capable of acting on
all the other symptoms because we have selected a remedy based on
such an important symptom.
In a way still a complete case taking is important because it allows
to follow-up the case, determine the prognosis wherever possible by
Hering's Laws etc. and to document cured symptoms etc.
Apart from that I personally never cared much for constitutional /
personality configurations etc. and never prescribed medicines based
on these. They might help in confirming a final remedy from a set of
remedies selected thru other means- but they would never decide a
case for me - just by themselves.

--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, VR VR wrote:
cheerful) as a confirming symptom? If I have a patient who is
reserved, but not pathologically so, that's just how this patient
is, it doesn't disturb function in any way. In this situation, does
the rubric have any relevance?
health
pathogenetic
not
cheerful .In
his
of
if
asking
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his
he
very

At the same time, many times a trait may be part of the remedy
picture--part of their current susceptibility--yet not developed or
accentuated to the point where it is actually pathological. Sometimes
it's just a judgment call, but IMO better to focus on what are
"clearly" symptoms; if innocent traits seem to support the
prescription, then so much the better.

I I said so in my post Shannon-

"They might help in confirming a final remedy from a set of
remedies selected thru other means- but they would never decide a
case for me - just by themselves."

At the same time I also admit other's experiences might vary and
probably for each one like me there may be 10 neo-classicals who
practice successfully with the methods I do not follow- ultimately it
is what you feel comfortable with-

As long as it helps the patient- you might remember that I have always
stated that the vital force is always looking for ways to adjust the
balance and sometimes not "the similimum" but something close to it
might be enough - otherwise so many methods might not be successful-in
fact if someone really researches the results we have been getting
from Hahnemann's time till now, I do not think we might have improved
the cure rate by that much even given the new remedies, the inclusion
of so many methods to analyze the case and computers to help us. This
has been noticed in psychotherapy. In psychotherapy even given the so
many psychotherapies etc. there is no major difference in the
effectiveness of these therapies- one is not much better than any
other and the therapy followed is more a reflection of the comfort of
the therapist and the client with that modality than any other.

I personally think that is what is happening in homeopathy. "Old wine
in old bottles, old wine in new bottles or new wine in new bottles
etc.etc." all are the same… And given that some of the current day
methods remain highly questionable to me ( I might be biased because
of my allopathy training) I would rather follow what Hahnemann and the
early pioneers with their experience with really acute conditions and
emergencies advised than follow half-baked theories. I might be extra
cautious etc. but I do not feel like Lord Farquaad in Shrek when I
address my patients " Some of you might die ( when you go to rescue
Lady Fiona) but I am willing to make that sacrifice".

And frequently there are no emotional sx to prescribe on. If you
carefully rank sx of a case it is highly likely that they could come in
at a much lower ranking than the physical pathology for example.

I tend to think that Catherine Coulter's books (Portraits of
Homeopathic Medicines), fine as they are, have contributed to this
assumption that ALL emotional sx come into the equation and that the
whole case = every character trait. As it has been stated it is how the
disease has changed the person, if at all, that counts. And not only
how they have changed but how they are reacting to whatever it is that
ails them - and they are questions that have to be asked - "how has
this changed you" and "how are you reacting to this condition" will
give you an indication.

Having said that, when someone has been chronically ill there will be
days that they feel OK, they will have 'well' days or will have
'coping' phases as Sankaran calls it. Also many people don't
dramatically change when they become ill, they carry with them their
full mixture of emotions, mental abilities etc. I like to call this a
fusion, where the diseased state becomes grafted onto the well state
and can often be difficult to separate out. It is never cut and dried
and that is why sx should be ranked and a hierarchy built. Don't let
the case envelope you but partition certain aspects and then you make
your job much easier. Best wishes, Joy
http://www.homeopathicmateriamedica.com
http://www.homeopathicmateriamedica.blogspot.com
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The Hay fever was treated successfully which made it even harder to
take. The daughter worked in the health service and had trouble coming
to terms with the fact that homeopathy cured and allopathy
didn't/couldn't but the daughter was exceptionally controlling and you
might expect the daughter or son of someone who required Arsenicum to
show these traits, she was possibly heading down the same route. Best
wishes, Joy
http://www.homeopathicmateriamedica.com
http://www.homeopathicmateriamedica.blogspot.com
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