Sheri wrote: "I am trying to see if you know how to use the remedies in water"
Me: If you want to know whether I know something, better to just *ask*, rather than to throw out red herring rhetorical questions.
But to answer your question, yes I do. I sometimes do so--as I've said.
And my ability to use water doses was not the question at hand; the question at hand was whether dry doses and/or 4th ed. method (single / high dose and wait) is a useful tool. You say no; I say yes. You don't care *why* I (or anyone) say yes, but insist that what's true and correct for you, must be true and correct for everyone else too. (Note that when using single / high watch-and-wait 4th ed. method, repetition of the dose is rare in a chronic case, and carefully done; in an acute case, of course, it may be frequent, but watchfully done and rare to see problems.)
You note, "Hahnemann left [dry doses and 4th ed.] behind. Why are you arguing with me."
Hm, okay, why... Here's my list.
(a) First, there's a *lot* of room for discussion and debate about what Hahnemann did; whether from that moment on he never again used dry doses and never again would.
(b) Unfortunately, my "patients" and circumstances are being managed by me, not by Hahnemann.
(c) Experience trumps theory. So I am going with my own experience, over Hahnemann's latest published theory.
You wrote: "And you know (or maybe you don't) that the same potency should not be given twice in a row, as Hahnemann found."
My reply: Of course I know that he wrote it. In addition having read it, it's been discussed here more than once in the past. If you want to know what was said, ask and I'll be happy to remind you.
You wrote: "I do not know if your cow needs LM or a C -
Me: Ah yes, but I do! Because I know the cow, the situation, and what to expect of both Cs and LMs. So trust me, single dose / high was the way to go.
Sheri: ... but I would give it to your cow in water
Me: Again, "in water" is not really the issue under discussion
--as I wrote somewhere recently--but rather 5th/6th ed. vs. 4th ed. In fact I always dose my animals (and used to dose my kids) in water, with the water then mixed into or onto their food, simply because it's the easiest way of administering. Yuk, how to get teeny little pills into the mouth of a cow or a cat!?!?! (Just have to make sure the dish or whatever stays out of direct sun!) But from there it's the same ol' 4th ed. stuff. That's the beauty of *high* potencies, that you're doing very little repetition. (And I use high potencies very respectfully and not with every case, BTW.)
Farther on, Sheri had written: "No we have been talking about leaving behind 4th edition as Hahnemann did and using 5th and 6th edition C's in Water or LM's in water."
Me: ?? Wow, is it possible we were having two entirely different conversations and didn't even know it??? What *I* have been repeatedly saying is that 4th ed. methodology is usually still serviceable, and in some cases actually preferable or even necessary. That's pretty much all I've been trying to say. How could one do 5th or 6th ed. method with dry doses at *all*? If one isn't using water doses, then one isn't practicing 5th / 6th ed. method--or am I missing something???? OTOH 4th ed. method can work well either either wet or dry doses. Back to finish up with the cow, then I'll go back to the bottom and continue.
Sheri: ... and use the same method of administration
Me: The image of me maneuvering a little pill into a cow's mouth is amusing, but... the idea of measuring drops into water and then figuring out to get a tsp of it into the cow is rather alarming! And the idea of doing it every few days, is downright offputting. And figuring out how to check her day-to-day, observe relapse and time re-dose, while she's out in pasture with the herd... Nope, 4th ed. for my cow, that will do fine. (And recall, she needed only about 3 doses of *any* remedy for anything, once I figured out what the needed remedy was, over the 4 years of her life. My PTSD cat needed only the one, single dose of stram, to both save *and* transform his life.
Sheri: and follow up with your cow as I would with a human...
Me: Eh, no. I'm thinking your career as a farm vet would be very short.
I'm also thinking that your chance of keeping my son and husband as patients would be similarly slim.
Sheri: "If you can get your uninterested teen or uncommunicative spouse to take a dry dose, you can certainly get them to take a dose in water"
Me: As above, the issue is less about "in water" than about single/high, 4th ed., versus anything that requires short-term management and observation. I use sometimes water, sometimes dry with them, and yes, they are willing to take either--when I can catch them! I suppose I should cop a plea for "laziness" on my own part, then, and so be it.
Sheri: "That is no excuse for doing less than quality homeopathy."
Me: Oh, I quite agree! That's why I suit the method to the case and circumstances at hand--individualization.
Sheri: "No you can't do water doses and use 4th edition as it is NOT only about giving it in water. It is much more but you refuse to see that."
Me: Excuse me, you most certainly can! I don't see how one could use 6th ed. method with dry doses, but doing 4th ed. with water doses (single doses of high potency, but given in dilution) really presents no problem. I'm curious to know what you think the problem should be? How do you feel I should proceed differentely, having given a single dose of a high potency in water, versus having given same dry?
The issue, at least so it seems to me, is whether one is dosing with a high potency (and why) or a low or LM (and why), and the "what happens" and the "what does it tell me and what do I do next." All of that changes when you change the potency scale. LMs and low/repeated (whether dry or water) does give more control; it also requires more oversight. It's a trade-off, which is in some cases worth it, in others necessary, and in others really not worth it. I have a different range of patients and situations than you, so it is not surprising that the cost/value ratio works out differently for me.
As to whether any of my folks are being harmed by those "frequent repetitions of an unchanged potency", for one thing I'd note that when you're using *high* potencies by the watch-and-wait method, there is not much repetition--even 2ce per year would be a lot for the cases I work with. And even with low potency dry doses, I've done plenty of that on myself in the past (various reasons) and seen no harm; my experience has been shared by many. I now use water dose by preference, but am just not scared of dry doses like you feel I ought to be. Oh well...
Best wishes,
Shannon