Hidden clues in cases
Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2002 11:24 pm
I am posting, with a couple of examples of cases I have had recently, where
I struggled with the "essence" of each case, until I have been given that
"oh, by the way..." symptom that you click your fingers for. Example number
1: I posted several months ago for help with a dripping nose for which
several well-indicated remedies had been tried for this complaint of 6
weeks. I re-read the original case where the woman mentioned some-one was
sharing the house with her husband and daughter, which at the time was just
passed over. I had explored every possibility I could think of regards to
her dripping nose(diet, allergies, lifestyle etc etc), and told her I felt
there was something preventing her from getting better. So I asked her
"What is getting up your nose?"(she is a lovely person, and has a great
sense of humour, so it was said in a light-hearted fashion). She then went
into great detail about how upsetting the house guest was, how he had
over-stayed his welcome, how he was always complaining, and never
pro-active. She kept talking and getting angry. I gave her Staphysagria
200, and the dripping nose stopped the next day. Although I had given other
remedies, there seemed no indication of the extent of suppressed anger.
Example 2. Yesterday I saw a lady with a sinus infection(had for past 3
weeks), who has been self-treating with remedies. When she read out the
remedies she had taken it was like a Who's who of the materia medica! Sepia,
Kali Bich, Pulsatilla, Arsenicum, Nux Vomica, more Sepia, more Kali Bich
etc. I thought I had taken a thorough case, and we were trying to decipher
the symptoms she had, and what remedy changed what . Yesterday wasn't a
busy day, so she had been with me about an hour and a half, and she was
joking that she really had messed up, and could I please come up with the
magic formula. Sometimes, when the case seems a bit confused, and the
patient has a good understanding of homeopathy, I give them a few remedy
pictures to read, and this(for me) is a good way for them to be able to say,
"no that's not me", or "yes I have that symptom" (and may not have mentioned
it). We had done this, and she said" I really feel the best by the sea". I
live by the sea, and there was a brisk breeze blowing into the clinic room.
She had already mentioned she hated wind. I gave her Nat Mur to read, and
she said, that is me! I gave her 1M, and just heard from her this morning,
and her sinuses have unblocked with great unpouring of gunk! She didn't
seem to fit Nat Mur with colour of mucous, and she had a really distinctive
cough which didn't fit Nat Mur, but the mentals fitted. Maybe it has
cleared the over-kill of remedies, and another remedy may be needed to
finish the picture, but I thought this was a good response.
Does anyone have techniques they use to elicit more symptoms from their
patients?
Responses welcome,
Rhonda
I struggled with the "essence" of each case, until I have been given that
"oh, by the way..." symptom that you click your fingers for. Example number
1: I posted several months ago for help with a dripping nose for which
several well-indicated remedies had been tried for this complaint of 6
weeks. I re-read the original case where the woman mentioned some-one was
sharing the house with her husband and daughter, which at the time was just
passed over. I had explored every possibility I could think of regards to
her dripping nose(diet, allergies, lifestyle etc etc), and told her I felt
there was something preventing her from getting better. So I asked her
"What is getting up your nose?"(she is a lovely person, and has a great
sense of humour, so it was said in a light-hearted fashion). She then went
into great detail about how upsetting the house guest was, how he had
over-stayed his welcome, how he was always complaining, and never
pro-active. She kept talking and getting angry. I gave her Staphysagria
200, and the dripping nose stopped the next day. Although I had given other
remedies, there seemed no indication of the extent of suppressed anger.
Example 2. Yesterday I saw a lady with a sinus infection(had for past 3
weeks), who has been self-treating with remedies. When she read out the
remedies she had taken it was like a Who's who of the materia medica! Sepia,
Kali Bich, Pulsatilla, Arsenicum, Nux Vomica, more Sepia, more Kali Bich
etc. I thought I had taken a thorough case, and we were trying to decipher
the symptoms she had, and what remedy changed what . Yesterday wasn't a
busy day, so she had been with me about an hour and a half, and she was
joking that she really had messed up, and could I please come up with the
magic formula. Sometimes, when the case seems a bit confused, and the
patient has a good understanding of homeopathy, I give them a few remedy
pictures to read, and this(for me) is a good way for them to be able to say,
"no that's not me", or "yes I have that symptom" (and may not have mentioned
it). We had done this, and she said" I really feel the best by the sea". I
live by the sea, and there was a brisk breeze blowing into the clinic room.
She had already mentioned she hated wind. I gave her Nat Mur to read, and
she said, that is me! I gave her 1M, and just heard from her this morning,
and her sinuses have unblocked with great unpouring of gunk! She didn't
seem to fit Nat Mur with colour of mucous, and she had a really distinctive
cough which didn't fit Nat Mur, but the mentals fitted. Maybe it has
cleared the over-kill of remedies, and another remedy may be needed to
finish the picture, but I thought this was a good response.
Does anyone have techniques they use to elicit more symptoms from their
patients?
Responses welcome,
Rhonda