How to judge the response to the first intake of your remedy? (and the consequent doses)
Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 2:24 pm
"How to judge the response to the first intake of your remedy? (and the
consequent doses)"
by Dr. Luc de Schepper, , MD, PhD, DI Hom., CHom., Lic.Ac.
http://www.drluc.com
[when he refers to A53 that means Aphorism 53, which is found in the
Organon by Samuel Hahnemann]
A correct interpretation to the first response of the patient to his first
remedy dose is essential for the future success of the case. Even when the
homeopath has selected the right remedy on the first consultation, the most
difficult work is still to be done: "How to judge the response? Was it a
good response indicating a true cure has started, or was it rather an
improvement of a local problem, possible notifying a suppression of the
symptoms, which only guarantees a worsening of the future natural disease?"
This is the topic of this lesson: I want to empower the patient to first of
all know what to expect and not to take some fantasy answers for a fact,
and secondly, it will empower the patient to assist his homeopath more
efficiently towards the cure of his illness.
The answer to this question remains the same, if your practitioner uses the
4th (dry doses), the 5th or 6th edition of the Organon. The previous
lectures already have shown the great advantages of the watery doses, but
the issue here is to know if the first step has been made towards cure
rather than suppression or palliation (suppressing symptoms where a cure is
possible).
After the first dose, the patient has to ask himself the following questions?
* Was there an improvement according to Aphorism 253: "The very
beginning of improvement is indicated by a sense of greater ease,
composure, mental freedom, and higher spirits?" And I would add: "A sense
of well being and a better sleep, often more sleep required? Or as a first
sign we may see a change in the topic of dreams: going from nightmares with
killing to a dream with festivities, traveling, meeting people, connecting
to dead people?" If so, then the remedy was chosen well (dose, potency
included) and even if the chief complaint might not be improved at all
(especially when of physical nature) the cure is set into movement. The
test dose (see lesson 3) will determine the repetition of your remedy, so
it is truly individually tailored to you the patient.
* Here is the true question the patient (and the homeopath) needs to
ask himself: "Did the picture, once the action of this first dose has
ceased, come back unaltered or unchanged?" What exactly does this mean?
Homeopaths and patients must ask themselves this question because if you
can answer yes to this question, then you have initiated your cure with the
right remedy, dose and potency. When I say "unchanged" this means not that
nothing changed: the chief complaint, let's say a chronic headache might
have decreased in intensity and frequency, but with "unchanged" we mean no
other symptoms have been added to the chief complaint. We will discuss
further what "other symptoms" mean. The first thing we can see here, as
mentioned in lesson 3, is that the advanced 5th and 6th edition prescriber
already assesses this answer on the third day where the 4th edition
prescriber (dry doses) will do so only after 3 or 4 weeks! Much can go
wrong in 4 weeks, not much can go wrong in three days! Correcting a
situation the third day or the 4th week makes all the difference in the
world.
* Did the picture remain the same with an aggravation of the existing
symptoms? This is called a similar aggravation, which leads to unnecessary
suffering. A 4th edition prescriber wants to see this aggravation as it
confirms the choice of his remedy but Hahnemann limited and did away
completely with this similar aggravation in the 5th and 6th edition of the
Organon. The watery doses allow the homeopath to choose very carefully the
minimum dose and the potency, which is now tailored, to each patient. If
there is any similar aggravation it is very minimal and again discovered
the third day with the advanced methods, and only later in the 4th edition
method. Of course even if the 4th edition prescriber hears about the
aggravation, he will say, "great we are going to cure the case." Curing
maybe but it will be a tough road and absolutely not necessary! What if the
child wants to kill his father to marry his mother (true case)? So we
aggravate him and he might just do it! This is one of the reasons to
prescribe with the advanced watery methods: "you don't have to get worse
before you get better!"
What if the picture of your disease comes back changed after the first visit?
There are different options and each one is followed by a different action
to be taken.
* First option: the patient comes back after the first dose of the
remedy with new symptoms, which he had never before! One word of caution
here: often the patient has a defective memory about previous symptoms, so
make sure to check with other family members. But if they are truly new
symptoms, creating much discomfort, then the remedy is wrong and the case
needs to be retaken! There are exceptions: if you see discharges from any
opening in the body or rashes appear after the remedy and you never had
such symptoms, it is a sign of cure as the disease is pushed outwards
(exteriorization). So never suppress these symptoms with creams or
suppositories, as you will work against the good work of the remedy and
Nature!
* There are one or two new symptoms but in a low degree of intensity
while the other symptoms are getting some relief and the Aphorism 253
symptoms (see before in this text) are present. The homeopath must
immediately check if these new symptoms are belonging to the remedy he has
given. We call these symptoms accessory symptoms. What to do with these
accessory symptoms is explained further!
* Old symptoms are returning: symptoms that were present before can
now reappear again simply because they were suspended by later and stronger
symptoms. This is Aphorism 38 (from the Organon), where a stronger disease
suspends the weaker one (not cure it): see lesson 1 and 2. Always ask
yourself: "Did I ever have these symptoms in the past?" If so, you are on
your way to cure and the remedy should not be changed! There is only one
possibility that the dose and/or potency have to be adjusted (not a change
in remedy): when the returning symptoms are too strong and too frequent.
Here again the watery solutions are easily adjusted and this is not the
case with the dry doses again!
The problem of accessory symptoms
They can take two forms.
* The first one: Aphorism 253 is followed and only one or two
symptoms belonging to the remedy are present in a low intensity while many
of the original symptoms have improved: this is called a close simile
(almost the simillimum) and in that case nothing needs to be changed as it
will not impede the cure! (Aphorism 163). So this will happen: suppose you
had initially 10 symptoms and after the first prescription, 5 improve and
one new symptom, belonging to the prescribed remedy appears, then you are
on the right track! No changes needed!
* The second option is called the distant simile and a total
different matter. It means maybe 2 of the ten initial symptoms improve (and
the two might even include your chief complaint) but now 5 new symptoms
belonging to your remedy appear: your case must be retaken as the wrong
remedy was prescribed. If such remedy is repeated, your initial disease
will now be replaced entirely with a disease made up of symptoms of the
prescribed remedy, symptoms you never had! So in other words you got a
worse disease! Do not think this is not possible, I have seen it enough!
What else can you see after the first prescription (and the next ones)?
If mental symptoms are now replaced by emotional ones and later emotional
by physical ones.
Let's take a case of an autistic child I saw. Before he always said no to
everything (contradictory) now he readily agrees to doing things and
behaving better towards his sister. Before he runs away when someone wants
to take a picture of him, now he likes it. He is friendly, walks now the
dog (before indifferent), etc. All this while his eczema comes more out!
This is a shift from the emotional plane towards the physical plane and
counts as the direction of cure. He is on his way to a cure because all the
rules we need to observe in homeopathy are followed. On the other hand, if
a physical symptom disappears (for instance eczema) and now the child
exhibits emotional or mental symptoms: wrong remedy!! Needs to be stopped
and case must be retaken!
I hope this lesson helps you understanding your case follow up of that of
your loved one. In the next lesson I will explain what information is
important to communicate to your homeopath and what is not important. I
also will touch on the integration of other modalities (psychology,
Traditional Chinese Medicine, allopathy, vitamins) with homeopathy. A
special approach will be taken in account for the ASD children.
DR. LUC'S BLOG: http://www.homeopathysnc.org/blog.htm
consequent doses)"
by Dr. Luc de Schepper, , MD, PhD, DI Hom., CHom., Lic.Ac.
http://www.drluc.com
[when he refers to A53 that means Aphorism 53, which is found in the
Organon by Samuel Hahnemann]
A correct interpretation to the first response of the patient to his first
remedy dose is essential for the future success of the case. Even when the
homeopath has selected the right remedy on the first consultation, the most
difficult work is still to be done: "How to judge the response? Was it a
good response indicating a true cure has started, or was it rather an
improvement of a local problem, possible notifying a suppression of the
symptoms, which only guarantees a worsening of the future natural disease?"
This is the topic of this lesson: I want to empower the patient to first of
all know what to expect and not to take some fantasy answers for a fact,
and secondly, it will empower the patient to assist his homeopath more
efficiently towards the cure of his illness.
The answer to this question remains the same, if your practitioner uses the
4th (dry doses), the 5th or 6th edition of the Organon. The previous
lectures already have shown the great advantages of the watery doses, but
the issue here is to know if the first step has been made towards cure
rather than suppression or palliation (suppressing symptoms where a cure is
possible).
After the first dose, the patient has to ask himself the following questions?
* Was there an improvement according to Aphorism 253: "The very
beginning of improvement is indicated by a sense of greater ease,
composure, mental freedom, and higher spirits?" And I would add: "A sense
of well being and a better sleep, often more sleep required? Or as a first
sign we may see a change in the topic of dreams: going from nightmares with
killing to a dream with festivities, traveling, meeting people, connecting
to dead people?" If so, then the remedy was chosen well (dose, potency
included) and even if the chief complaint might not be improved at all
(especially when of physical nature) the cure is set into movement. The
test dose (see lesson 3) will determine the repetition of your remedy, so
it is truly individually tailored to you the patient.
* Here is the true question the patient (and the homeopath) needs to
ask himself: "Did the picture, once the action of this first dose has
ceased, come back unaltered or unchanged?" What exactly does this mean?
Homeopaths and patients must ask themselves this question because if you
can answer yes to this question, then you have initiated your cure with the
right remedy, dose and potency. When I say "unchanged" this means not that
nothing changed: the chief complaint, let's say a chronic headache might
have decreased in intensity and frequency, but with "unchanged" we mean no
other symptoms have been added to the chief complaint. We will discuss
further what "other symptoms" mean. The first thing we can see here, as
mentioned in lesson 3, is that the advanced 5th and 6th edition prescriber
already assesses this answer on the third day where the 4th edition
prescriber (dry doses) will do so only after 3 or 4 weeks! Much can go
wrong in 4 weeks, not much can go wrong in three days! Correcting a
situation the third day or the 4th week makes all the difference in the
world.
* Did the picture remain the same with an aggravation of the existing
symptoms? This is called a similar aggravation, which leads to unnecessary
suffering. A 4th edition prescriber wants to see this aggravation as it
confirms the choice of his remedy but Hahnemann limited and did away
completely with this similar aggravation in the 5th and 6th edition of the
Organon. The watery doses allow the homeopath to choose very carefully the
minimum dose and the potency, which is now tailored, to each patient. If
there is any similar aggravation it is very minimal and again discovered
the third day with the advanced methods, and only later in the 4th edition
method. Of course even if the 4th edition prescriber hears about the
aggravation, he will say, "great we are going to cure the case." Curing
maybe but it will be a tough road and absolutely not necessary! What if the
child wants to kill his father to marry his mother (true case)? So we
aggravate him and he might just do it! This is one of the reasons to
prescribe with the advanced watery methods: "you don't have to get worse
before you get better!"
What if the picture of your disease comes back changed after the first visit?
There are different options and each one is followed by a different action
to be taken.
* First option: the patient comes back after the first dose of the
remedy with new symptoms, which he had never before! One word of caution
here: often the patient has a defective memory about previous symptoms, so
make sure to check with other family members. But if they are truly new
symptoms, creating much discomfort, then the remedy is wrong and the case
needs to be retaken! There are exceptions: if you see discharges from any
opening in the body or rashes appear after the remedy and you never had
such symptoms, it is a sign of cure as the disease is pushed outwards
(exteriorization). So never suppress these symptoms with creams or
suppositories, as you will work against the good work of the remedy and
Nature!
* There are one or two new symptoms but in a low degree of intensity
while the other symptoms are getting some relief and the Aphorism 253
symptoms (see before in this text) are present. The homeopath must
immediately check if these new symptoms are belonging to the remedy he has
given. We call these symptoms accessory symptoms. What to do with these
accessory symptoms is explained further!
* Old symptoms are returning: symptoms that were present before can
now reappear again simply because they were suspended by later and stronger
symptoms. This is Aphorism 38 (from the Organon), where a stronger disease
suspends the weaker one (not cure it): see lesson 1 and 2. Always ask
yourself: "Did I ever have these symptoms in the past?" If so, you are on
your way to cure and the remedy should not be changed! There is only one
possibility that the dose and/or potency have to be adjusted (not a change
in remedy): when the returning symptoms are too strong and too frequent.
Here again the watery solutions are easily adjusted and this is not the
case with the dry doses again!
The problem of accessory symptoms
They can take two forms.
* The first one: Aphorism 253 is followed and only one or two
symptoms belonging to the remedy are present in a low intensity while many
of the original symptoms have improved: this is called a close simile
(almost the simillimum) and in that case nothing needs to be changed as it
will not impede the cure! (Aphorism 163). So this will happen: suppose you
had initially 10 symptoms and after the first prescription, 5 improve and
one new symptom, belonging to the prescribed remedy appears, then you are
on the right track! No changes needed!
* The second option is called the distant simile and a total
different matter. It means maybe 2 of the ten initial symptoms improve (and
the two might even include your chief complaint) but now 5 new symptoms
belonging to your remedy appear: your case must be retaken as the wrong
remedy was prescribed. If such remedy is repeated, your initial disease
will now be replaced entirely with a disease made up of symptoms of the
prescribed remedy, symptoms you never had! So in other words you got a
worse disease! Do not think this is not possible, I have seen it enough!
What else can you see after the first prescription (and the next ones)?
If mental symptoms are now replaced by emotional ones and later emotional
by physical ones.
Let's take a case of an autistic child I saw. Before he always said no to
everything (contradictory) now he readily agrees to doing things and
behaving better towards his sister. Before he runs away when someone wants
to take a picture of him, now he likes it. He is friendly, walks now the
dog (before indifferent), etc. All this while his eczema comes more out!
This is a shift from the emotional plane towards the physical plane and
counts as the direction of cure. He is on his way to a cure because all the
rules we need to observe in homeopathy are followed. On the other hand, if
a physical symptom disappears (for instance eczema) and now the child
exhibits emotional or mental symptoms: wrong remedy!! Needs to be stopped
and case must be retaken!
I hope this lesson helps you understanding your case follow up of that of
your loved one. In the next lesson I will explain what information is
important to communicate to your homeopath and what is not important. I
also will touch on the integration of other modalities (psychology,
Traditional Chinese Medicine, allopathy, vitamins) with homeopathy. A
special approach will be taken in account for the ASD children.
DR. LUC'S BLOG: http://www.homeopathysnc.org/blog.htm