Minutus

On 24 Apr 2004 "J.VENKATASUBRAMANIAN' wrote: "Homeopathy is now in a
regeneration
phase. There was almost no big activity for fifty years on new provings and
repertorial compilation. And add to them the fact that whatever had to be
done as far the theory and their practicability had been done 150 years ago.
Only the provings and their proper classification had to be done."
REPLY FROM DR. V. KRISHNAMURTHY;
I beg to disagree with the above views. Reference books like Kent,
Boericke, Lilienthal and Knerr's are more than sufficient to tackle any
cases. No better classification or provings are required. These are
necessary only if we have difficulty in finding the remedy for a patient.
Please read the cases mentioned below to know where you lack in your
knowledge about the use of existing reference books:

WHAT IS LILIENTHAL'S HOMEO THERAPEUTICS AND HOW TO USE IT?

Actual cases treated successfully are given below to illustrate the use of
Lilienthal's:

Case 1: A boy of eleven was brought by his mother: "Doctor, look at him.
The boy is making constant movements of his fingers.) He often becomes
violent
and restless. This started six months ago. We went to allopathic hospital
and they diagnosed his case as worm complaint and gave him santonine, but
even the double the adult dose of it had no effect. Then we went to a
Homeopathy specialist. (Here shows me the prescription: Cina-30 daily
morning and Graphites-30 daily night, for one month. (Graphites, on the
symptom--eruption on the left forearm of the boy.) We completed one month
course of
these two remedies but no result."

I looked at the boy again and then the case sheet. 'Case sheet' means plain
white sheet on which we start writing down one below the other what all the
patient and/or his relatives tell us. After a pause, the mother told me with
wide open eyes, "Doctor, ever since he developed worm complaint he often
complains of headache and vertigo. Why is it so doctor?"

I went through all the remedy descriptions in Lilienthal's HOMEOPATHIC
THERAPEUTICS under the chapter 'WORM AFFECTIONS.' Thirty-four remedies are
described and the words 'vertigo and headache' told by the mother (which is
an 'uncommon' symptom in worm complaint) were found under one remedy only
viz., Cicuta virosa. This remedy in 200th potency, single dose, cured both
his worm symptoms as well as his skin complaint.

Case 2: FIFTEEN YEARS OF SORE THROAT AND CONSTIPATION COMPLETELY AND
PERMANENTLY CURED WITH ONE SINGLE DOSE:

A certain middle aged patient came to me at 3 p.m. asking if I can give him
some throat paint for his sore throat. I told him that I would give pills
only and asked him to tell me how long he is suffering etc. (something to
make the patient talk about his complaints.) He replied:

"Doctor, I have this for fifteen years Daily at 3-4 p.m. it starts, so much
burning that in the evening I am unable to do poojas (later I learnt that he
is a priest in Hindu temple there he has to use loud voice to utter verses
during worship etc.) loudly because my voice becomes husky. The burning pain
would continue in the night, but next morning there won't be any pain.

In this case only one symptom is prominent - "< evening, night."

I went through all the remedies under the chapter SORE THROAT in
Lilienthal's. The symptom "< evening" was found under the remedies Alumina,
Hepar, Natr. mur. and Silicea. In Alumina it is "< evening and night."

Under the remedy Alumina the words "clergyman's sore throat. < evening and
night. with husky voice" suited the case. Just to confirm the remedy (since
it is one of the remedies for chronic and obstinate constipation) I asked
him about his bowel movements, to which he replied that he would pass stool
once in 3-4 days.

Alumina-10M single dose cured his chronic sore throat as well as
constipation. (I never knew that he got complete cure till one day when I
casually visited the temple in which that priest was doing poojas. I even
forgot him. On looking at me he immediately removed a big garland from
around the neck of the deity and put it around my neck (this is a sign of
honoring V.I.P.s in Hindu temples). I was rather puzzled. He gave me fruits
etc. and came out with me till the entrance while other big heads were
waiting by paying heavy amount etc. That night I narrated this to my
house-owner who does part-time work in that temple and he said that I was
honored because my prescription of one single dose completely cured that
priest, which he used to remember almost daily.

Case 3: This is an interesting case. A boy of twelve was brought to me for
tuberculosis of lungs . I asked the boy a few questions (no standard
questionnaire etc.
please) just to make him talk, about the name of his school, what games he
play etc.

Nothing 'uncommon' or 'rare-strange-peculiar' or 'mind symptom' came out. I
got up and went to the cupboard of medicines, took out a bottle and was
preparing doses of some medicines.

At this time it occurred to me to consult Lilienthal. I studied the short
descriptions of all the remedies given under the chapter PHTHISIS PULMONUM.
While doing so, under the remedy Lycopodium, the words "observing
disposition" made me to pause and ponder. I could recollect how the boy was
constantly observing me at what all I had been doing, writing on the case
sheet, referring to books, preparing the doses etc. I could remember that
unlike other patients, he was constantly observing me.

Lycopodium 10M was prescribed. Next month he was due to report. He did not.
Later when I met the boy's father, he said, "Oh! He is perfectly alright
now. That is why we did not come to you again."

The last case is very interesting and educative too.

Case 4: A certain breastfed baby was brought to me for constipation. On the
symptoms (which I don't remember now) I prescribed one dose of Nux
vomica-30. The lady came three days later saying that with the one dose the
child passed normal stool the next morning. But next day, again
constipation.

It has never been my experience that one dose acted for one day only. I only
thought that my selection of Nux-Vom may be wrong. To select a better
(correct) remedy I looked through all the remedies given under
"CONSTIPATION" in the Chapter "CHILDREN, DISEASES OF" in Lilienthal's. I
read Nux-vom. also wherein the following words under the remedy caught my
attention:

".the nurse takes too much coffee and lives too high."

I asked the mother about coffee habit and she at once affirmed that she
consumed daily seven or eight cups of strong coffee.

I gave one dose of Nux-vomica 30 to be given to the baby at bedtime and
emphatically told the mother that she must (i) either stop coffee or (ii)
stop the breast feeding. She agreed to take light coffee 1-2 times only.
After the second dose of Nux-vomica there was no relapse of constipation.
Without Lilienthal I would only have concluded that my first prescription of
Nux-vom. was wrong and would have meddled with the case.

Remember the words of Dr. Samuel Lilienthal: "Drop a symptom in the slot and
you get the remedy." Yes, it is so quick and certain in some cases. Much
less than the time needed to switch on the computer, leave alone opening the
software etc. etc.

Selecting the remedy manually with the repertory (ies) is neither difficult
nor time-consuming. It is definitely quicker than the computer. What is
time-consuming and difficult is Case Taking which the computer cannot do
even one per cent.

Most homeopaths consider "totality-of-symptoms" and so administer a
questionnaire to the patient, but they are not taught that
"Totality-of-uncommon symptoms" is the correct method. [Section 153 of the
Organon]. In any patient "uncommon, rare, strange or peculiar" symptom is
one or, at the most, two only. For referring these one or two symptoms to
the repertory, doing it manually is definitely quicker than the computer, as
explained in the above four cases cured with the help of Lilienthal's.

Homeopathy software is not altogether useless. It can certainly do a better
job in the hands of researchers and authors of books. But, unfortunately,
homeo software is dumped into the heads of innocent practitioners. The real
and ideal use of computer is in the hands of those who are doing
compilations, preparing manuals, indexing, writing special repertories,
therapeutics like Lilienthal's and so on.
---------
RANDOM NOTES ON PRACTICE
Certain symptoms cannot be classified under any rubric in the Repertory and,
therefore, they must be memorised. Let us consider a few clinical cases.
Calcarea carbonica: We find the phrase 'Easy relapses, interrupted
convalescence' under this remedy in Boericke's materia medica. We shall now
learn the significance of this
Quite often we have observed this symptom with children that often catch a
cold. The mother would say: 'Doctor, he gets the cold and fever almost every
month. We give some medicine and he is cured. But the attack saps his energy
and his health is going down hill. We give tonics or nutritious food and he
slowly recovers in a month. By this nutritious food and he slowly recovers
in a month. By this time, when he is exposed to cold or plays in water,
another attack come on; again it takes away all the regained health of the
child.'
There is not only 'recurrent relapses,' but every time it also interrupts
the recovery of the child. The convalescence (period of recovery following
illness) too is interrupted. As soon as the child recovers from the last
attack of cold and fever, there is another attack undermining its health.
It is not either, the easy relapses alone or the interrupted convalescence,
but both together are seen in the patient. It is a syndrome. In these
situations I give the child a vial of Belladonna-30 or 200 (one or two doses
only at four hours intervals) to be given only when the child is having
cough and cold and, as soon as he recovers from it, to be followed by one
dose of Calcarea carb.1M. I also prepare a dose of Calc. carb.10M with the
instructions that, when the child gets his next attack, at that time they
have to repeat Bell.30 or 200 (one or two doses) and as soon as recovery is
complete, to be followed by Calc. carb.10M, and like this each time Calc.
carb. in the next higher potency.
The monthly attacks, during the acute phase, always points to Belladonna.
When the mother carries out my instructions she finds that the next attack
does not come after a month but it is postponed by a few months. During a
relapse she repeats Belladonna, followed by the next higher dose of Calcarea
carb. and this, in turn, holds on the case for a longer duration and so on.
Ignatia: In homoeopathy we do not treat aches, fevers and haemorrhoids but
the patient. Treating the patient and not disease, alone brings permanent
and complete cure in the shortest possible time and in the gentlest way.
Thus, instead of pathology and prognosis we, in homoeopathy, have to learn a
different classification of patients (not diseases), and that is the real
and correct study of homoeopathic techniques.
In the remedy Ignatia we find the phrase 'Great contradictions' (again, in
William Boericke's Materia Medica). This, indeed, is a very interesting
symptom. My first case was that of my daughter.
One night when I was away from home at 10 O'clock she was found muttering
and trembling in bed. My wife woke her up and took her to a nearby allopath
who put the thermometer in her mouth and found a temperature of 102°. But
her body was not hot to touch. That doctor gave her medicine. The next
morning I returned home. On touching her I found her body hot but the
thermometer showed 98.4°. This, at once, brought the above symptom to my
mind. The previous night when the thermometer showed 102°, her body was not
hot to touch. Now the body is hot but thermometer shows a normal
temperature. Ignatia 200, in a single dose, cured her. Homoeopathy is just
and only a specialty.
Another homoeopath reports that by keeping in mind the above symptom 'great
contradictions' in Ignatia, he could cure a case of haemorrhoids with one
single dose. The curious feature in his case was, in the very words of the
patient, "Whenever I get constipation and strain at stool there would be
complete relief of pain and burning in my piles. Whenever I get diarrhoea,
during loose bowel movements, the suffering gets worse.''
It is both-ways. Constipation alone aggravates piles and loose bowel
movements give total relief to piles patient. In this case, both are
directly opposite. Hence the word appears in plural in Ignatia: "Great
contradictions.' Dr. William Boericke is indeed a great author!
------------------------

THE HOMEOPATHIC PHYSICIAN versus SYMPTOM-COVERER: A CASE FOR "ROUTINIST
versus EXPERT"

Homeo is not a matter of rituals---giving the remedy Arnica for
injuries and Belladonna for fever. Such routinist homeo won't tolerate.

Homeo is not a substitute for allopathy. Again, homeo is not
just another system like Ayurveda, Rei-Kei, herbal etc. Then what is homeo?

When and where other systems fail, homeo comes in. In other
words, homeopathy is a specialization, as the following case would show:

A middle aged patient came in and asked if I can give him some
relief for pain in his anal region where he had been suffering for a few
months with boil like eruption. First he went to allopathy, then Ayurveda.
Again, he went to a homeopath who said he would give Silicea in low potency
to make the abscess ripen and suppurate out. It worked. But in two weeks
time it reappeared. He went to a somewhat senior homeopath, who said he
would abort it and so gave high dose of Hepar sul. The eruption subsided.
But three weeks later it reappeared. He was then referred to a Specialist
who said he would give a remedy to "eradicate the tendency to boils" and
gave Graphites. Patient had relief this time also and he thought that the
story was over once for all, because this time he was treated by a
specialist! A month later it was the same old story. At this time he came
to me. I told him I may not be able to give medicine at once (off-hand
prescription) and that I needed a few hours. I asked him to tell me from
the very beginning ever since he first had the skin complaint.

He told me that his skin complaint first appeared five years ago
around his mouth. For this he took allopathy and got relief. A year later
it appeared on his left upper arm--the same eruption. This time allopathy
failed and so he went to an Ayurvedic doctor whose medicines gave relief.
About two years later the same complaint appeared on his right hip. He went
to a doctor and got cured. One and a half years after this, it appeared on
his left nates. This time he took allopathy and got relief but six months
later it reappeared on the anus. It was at this time one homeopath after
another treated him, first to suppurate it out, then the second homeopath
aborting it and finally a specialist eradiating the tendency.

CASE REPERTORISATION: In this case the only available peculiar or uncommon
symptom is the "direction of appearance."

From left upper arm it goes to right hip

(left upper, right lower)

From right hip it goes to left nate

(upper right, lower left)

Though "sides of the body" is the least valuable symptom, since
no other more valuable symptom was available in this case, this was taken as
a matter of exception. (Page 1400 of Kent's
Repertory)--GENERALITIES--SIDE--CROSSWISE.

LEFT UPPER AND RIGHT LOWER--a big list of remedies

LEFT LOWER AND RIGHT UPPER--several remedies

Remedies common to the above two lists were taken out and read
in Boericke's Mat. Medica.

The words "Mouth and anus chiefly affected" found in the remedy
Muriatic Acid seemed to suit the patient. (Originally it appeared around
mouth. Now finally it is in anus). Muriatic Acid-1000, single dose,
completely cured him. It is now more than ten years and there is no
relapse. His general health too improved.

[The mistake committed by many homeopaths is they mainly concentrate on
"sensation, location, modality, concomitant" but if we carefully keep in
mind the advice of Dr. Hahnemann in section l53 of his Organon, we would
learn that if we prescribe on a symptom not at all connected with the
pathology, we can be more confident of our selection of the remedy. By this
way alone we can treat the patient and not the disease as the following case
would show:]

CASE 2: Sixty year old Mr. C. L. K. was referred to me for chronic renal
failure. The attending nephrologists said that kidney transplantation was
the only way out. At the time of the visit of the patient in my clinic,
five of his relatives were with him. They showed me his case file that
contained lab findings, blood reports etc. etc. I have to patiently look
through the file. After twenty minutes, one of the relative went out to
bring money for my fees. Others except the patient also went out. I and the
patient were sitting in my office. The patient said, "Doctor, instead of
telling me that I am alright and would recover soon, my son and others tell
me quite often not to talk much, not to work much and to take rest etc." (He
repeated this two more times). I asked the patient to come the next morning
for collecting his medicine.

The rubric in Kent's Repertory cannot be so exactly found by a
homeopath. To make a start anyhow, we may think of

"Complaining, discontented"

"Reproaches others"

A more appropriate word would be 'wants moral support' (but this
would not readily occur to anyone.)

To start with (we have to start somewhere, like a detective, no
hard and fast rule for this) Boericke's repertory was consulted:

MIND--(page 695) fault finding, finicky,
cautious--13 remedies

--Complaining, discontented,
dissatisfied--21 remedies

[Some readers may wonder why we have not considered kidney
symptoms of the patient. The answer is simple. The patient did not tell
any 'uncommon' 'rare-strange-peculiar' symptom in respect of his kidney.
Also if we select a remedy, that too on mind symptoms that are not commonly
found in a disease, we are playing a sure and safe game. Section 213 of the
Organon.]

A few words about Lilienthal. Most homeopaths would think that
the above two lists should be read in Lilienthal's HOMEO THERAPEUTICS in
chapters connected with urinary system. But this is not so. We selected
remedies on mind symptoms alone. For such cases where we select a remedy (or
remedies) on mind symptoms, we must go to the chapter "Melancholia" in
Lilienthal. This is the only chapter in Lilienthal for mind symptoms (apart
from 'hysteria' 'insanity' and 'emotions')

If the reader does not find some remedies (selected through the
Repertory) under the chapter "Melancholia" he may ignore them.

When we did the above, i.e., while reading the description of
remedies (in the above two lists 'fault finding...' and 'complaining,
discontented...') in the chapter MELANCHOLIA in Lilienthal, the remedy
Tarentula Hispania seemed to suit the patient because of the following words
under that remedy

"...despondency, sadness...moral depression and relaxation..."

In some rare case of patients you come to learn the exact words
for a symptom of the patients while you study them in the Materia Medica
after having selected remedies through the Repertory. (The Materia Medica
should be studied with the aid of a Repertory.) You have to be an artist and
not a clerk doing mechanical work. You have to be an executive as far as
"taking of the case" and/or "selection of the remedy" is concerned.

In the case of the above kidney failure patient, his reference
to the attitude of his relatives indicates his feeling of not getting moral
encouragement.

Tarentula Hispania-10M single dose was given and placebo, with
instructions to report after six weeks.

Four weeks later, the son of the patient (who is an allopath)
told me over phone that the lab. test showed lot of improvement in uric acid
and creatinine level. When the patient met me two weeks after this, he
said, "I feel very good...but how can I say that my kidney which is inside,
has improved..." (Drags on his reply)

I asked him to pay my fees of two hundred rupees for the next
course of medicines; he hesitating replied, "Money is a difficulty for me
now..." (This time too, drags on in his reply)

A healthy reply in the case of a poor patient would be either
that he would take loans from somebody or make arrangements for the money
etc. In this case, he drags on in his reply.

In the above two replies of the patient (i) regarding
improvement of his kidney and (ii) payment of fees to me, he is not definite
in his reply.

For many homeopaths, selecting the appropriate word for this
attitude is not easy. At the most, we may say 'indecision' or 'inconstancy.'
'Inconstancy' under MIND was there in Kent's Repertory. All the twenty
remedies in this list were studied in Lilienthal under the chapter
"MELANCHOLIA." Therein, under the remedy Arsenicum Alb. the following words
caught my attention.

"...gloomy disposition of mind...conscientious scruples..."

One of the meanings for the word 'scruples' is "feeling of doubt
or hesitation...about acting or approving of action." (Oxford)

The patient's reply in respect of his kidney condition and
payment of fees, both were of hesitating nature. Arsenicum Alb.10M single
dose was given. (Fortunately a distant relative of the patient who
accompanied him volunteered to pay the fees to me on behalf of the patient).
Arsenicum Alb. showed further improvement. Patient is still under
treatment.

LEARN HOMOEOPATHY EXACTLY AND ACCURATELY!
Question & Answers
1. What is the only one correct remedy to be given to a pregnant woman, when
the foetus (baby in uterus) stops growing?
2. During epidemic encephalitis (brain fever, e.g., in Ariyalur district)
what remedy would you use as prophylactic (preventive)?
3. All the children borne to a woman are syphilitic by birth. What remedy
you would give her to prevent syphilis in the offspring in future
child-births?
4. What is the remedy to be taken once in a month by all practising
homoeopaths? (Just because no homoeopath has been taking this regularly,
they are not able to prosper)
5. Write the names of two authors who had written biography of Dr. Samuel
Hahnemann.
6. Doctors say that an expectant mother is too weak to develop normal pains;
moreover, she is anaemic and so caesarean alone is the answer. What is the
only one remedy that will cure her anaemia, remove weakness and thus cause
normal child birth? (Please note that the answer is NOT Pulsatilla.)
7. What is the chief or first remedy that you would think of for
haemophilia?
8. In homoeo terminologies what is the meaning of 'scrofula or scrofulosis'
and 'cachexia?'
9. What is the remedy for jaundice after blood transfusion?
10. In respect of the symptom "haemorrhage," differentiate between
Phosphorus and Hamamelis.
11. Name the remedy for (a) violent blow on single part of the body; (b)
after a person falls rolling down from a speeding train or bus; (c) falling
from height (second or third floor or from a tall tree) with bleeding; (d)
falling down while trying to climb into a running jeep from behind?
12. Under what heading in the repertory you would search remedies for a
patient with chronic tonsillitis?
13. What is the name of reference book (and the name of its author) you
would use for complaints of pregnant women occurring directly before, during
or after child-birth or abortion?
14. A certain patient tells that he feels as if a crowbar is lodged inside
his chest. What is the name of reference book (and its author) you would use
in this case?
15. A lady of twenty-eight had attempted to commit suicide (by swallowing
kerosene or sleeping pills) and somehow she recovered. What is the remedy
for her so that she may not repeat it in future?
16. What is the remedy for 'ghost pain.'
As a sample, we give below the correct answers for question No. 1, 7 and 12:
Answer to Qn. no.1: Secale is almost a specific when the growth of foetus is
arrested. (See page 698 of Repertory by Dr. Calvin B. Knerr: Pregnancy,
foetus: arrests development, Secale.)
Answer to Qn. no.7: Crotalus horridus is one of the prime remedies, to be
thought in cases of haemophilia.
Answer to Qn. no.12 For a patient with chronic tonsillitis, you would
generally look into the Repertory against the following:
Tonsils, inflamed (quinsy, tonsillitis) (page 389 of Knerr's Repertory)
But remedies in this list may be useful for acute complaints of tonsillitis.
For curing tonsillitis permanently, it needs 'treatment of chronic diseases.
' Chronic tonsillitis is in most cases due to tuberculosis (See MEDICAL
DISEASES OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD BY Dawson Williams, M.D., London: Cassel &
Co. page 338-348)
(a) When tuberculosis affects lungs we call it tuberculosis of lungs or
phthisis pulmonum; with family history of tuberculosis, when t.b. affects
bones or glands it is called 'scrofula' or 'struma' in homoeopathy.
(b) All chronic affections of glands are due to tuberculosis in the family.
Chronic affections of bones may be due to tuberculosis or syphilis; (in
syphilitic affections of bones we find nightly boring pain.)
THEREFORE, to cure a chronic tonsilitis patient, we must examine the
remedies given in Knerr's Repertory again the following head.
Page 1191-Constitution, scrofulous (strumous):... enlarged glands:
For knowing the correct answers to the remaining questions, and to increase,
perfect, correct and enlarge your knowledge of homoeopathy, you may read the
book ADVANCED HOMOEOPATHIC PRACTICE
Case 1: A lady, the mother-in-law of a fourth stage cancer patient, came to
me asking for medicine for cancer. When I asked her to bring the patient she
said that he won't come. I asked her to tell me at least in verbatim what he
had said. She replied, "He does not say anything.''
At this stage I asked her whether she did not care to go and see her
son-in-law who is said to be in fourth stage cancer. She replied:
"My daughter wrote me a letter stating that and doctors have said that he
would live for another six months only, and he is not afraid of death, but
he wants to live with family in the same quarters in which he had been all
along living and said that he does not want anyone (be it friends or
relative) to visit him.''
(Sometimes, we do get valuable symptom from the report of messengers).
Let us now see how to work out this case.
does not want anyone to visit him Company, aversion to
till death wants to live with family in the same
quarters where he had been living all these years Homesick
(1) COMPANY, aversion to: 46 remedies (page 27 of Knerr's Repertory)
(2) HOMESICK: 10 remedies (page 50 ..)
Only three remedies, viz., Carbo a., magn. m., and natr. m. are common to
the above two lists.
To confirm one out of these three, all these were studied in HOMOEOPATHIC
THERAPEUTICS (By Dr. Samuel Lilienthal) under the chapter ""Carcinoma''.
Only Carbo a. was described and the remaining two remedies (magn. m., and
natr. m.) were not found.
In the description under Carbo animals, among other things, the words
"Cachexia fully developed " confirmed our selection..
Carbo animalis cured the patient and the patient is living even today

------------------
Let us now illustrate with actual cases where patients were cured by me with
one single dose.
Case: In the homeo doctors' meeting on a Sunday evening one doctor asked
what is the best remedy for eczema because he has been treating a 58-year
old person with ten years eczema and he tried Sulphur, Psorinum, Graphites
etc. etc. with no results.
Five days after the above doctors meeting I happened to be in the clinic of
the doctor who asked for "the best remedy for eczema." At this time, the
patient with eczema (whose case was discussed in the previous Sunday evening
doctors meeting) came to see the doctor.
After the patient has told his symptoms (that there is no relief with the
medicines prescribed by that doctor last time) the doctor gave some
medicines.
After receiving them and paying his fees the patient remarked, "Doctor, I am
not taking medicines with a desire to get well. I am now 58 and am going to
retire from service in two years. Before I die, I would like to see that my
daughter gets married to a decent boy and my only son settles in life by
getting a good job; then I may die in peace".
At this time, I asked that doctor whether he has prescribed Petroleum to
this patient because this last words told by the patient agrees with the
symptom "Feels that death is near and must hurry to settle affairs" which is
found under the remedy Petroleum in Boericke's Materia Medica.
Petroleum 1M cured the patient completely as confirmed by the doctor (when
I saw him later) and by the patient.
BY THE WORDS "MENTAL SYMPTOMS" MANY READERS WRONGLY CONSIDER THAT THEY MUST
PROBE DEEPLY INTO THE MENTAL FACULTY OF THE PATIENT BY PUTTING
SYMPTOM-ELICITING QUESTIONS
No. Not at all! You have to simply listen to the patient. He has to tell his
remedy and not you.
While 'key-notes' 'characteristics' or 'rare, strange and peculiars' are
also ways to find the remedy, there is another but easy, quick and surest
way to arrive at the similimum, and it is to work out the case on mind
symptoms.
S.210 of the Organon reads:
"...in all the so-called corporeal diseases the condition of the disposition
and mind is always altered; and in all cases of diseases we are called on to
cure, the state of the patient's disposition is to be particularly noted,
along with the totality of the symptoms, if we would trace an accurate
picture of the disease, in order to be able therefrom to treat it
homoeopathically with success.''
Again, in S. 211 Hahnemann adds:
".... the state of the disposition of the patient often chiefly determines
the selection of the homoeopathic remedy, as being a decidedly
characteristic symptom which can least of all remain concealed from the
accurately observing physician.''
Case: The other day a homoeopath was sitting by my side when a patient
walked in and asked:
"Doctor, do you have treatment for diabetes?"
Myself: "Yes, I do... tell me your symptoms"
Patient: "Diabetes... see my hand (feel my pulse) and give medicine..."
[The tone of the patient was similar to that of a king or emperor who, when
he wants a work to be done, will make noise by clapping his hands and as
soon an attendant or soldier comes and bows, the king will command 'Go and
bring that man's head by this evening.'
In other words, the tone of the patient was 'imperious.']
Upon this, the doctor who was by my side started blaming patients coming to
homoeopaths. He said to me, "Oh! see, these patients do not tell their
symptoms; how can we make a prescription?" I smiled to myself, and taking
Dr. Calvin B. Knerr's Repertory I turned the pages under the chapter MIND
(page 19) and showed the following to him:
Answers imperiously: Lyc.
[A symptom need not necessarily be one about diabetes. Mental symptom does
not mean that the patient should start telling. "Doctor, I have terrific
fear.." or "I had mental shock a year ago.."]
The mere attitude of the patient (as observed by you) may in itself become a
symptom.
Case: Mrs. L., thirty-five, as a result of undergoing radium therapy for
uterus cancer , came with symptoms of profuse and frequent diarrhoea for
which the allopaths could not do anything. I did not talk. After a little
while, she said, "Doctor, please stop this diarrhoea somehow..."
I continued to look through the pages of the repertory.
After a pause, she just spurt out:
"Doctor, cure me somehow; I want to go to my village people and prove to
them that I got completely cured; they had been disrespecting me by telling
that I won't get cured and would die soon. I want to challenge my villagers
by telling "Look here, I am cured, what is your answer now? (A practitioner
cannot readily classify this into an appropriate mental symptom in the
repertory, but, after selecting a few remedies on other symptoms and while
reading mental symptoms of those in the materia medica, he may probably be
able to identify or classify this mental symptom.)
If we read the above, we would realise what we have to prescribe for her.
But, however, for the anxious pathological prescriber, let us proceed in a
different routine:
How the remedy was selected in this case?
Most practitioners would look under the heading 'diarrhoea' in the
repertory. That is not correct. This complaint is after radium treatment.
The correct symptom is 'discharge, profuse.'
The discharge is from 'mucous membranes' and so I looked into the great
monumental work Repertory by Dr. Calvin B. Knerr. On page 1136 of this work,
we find the following being relevant to the case on hand:
Mucous membranes, secretions...profuse, like
haemorrhages, draining system, Ham.;
...secretions with depressed vitality, Kreo.
...transulation of watery portions of blood
causing copious diarrhoea, Crot. t.
...profuse, watery, serous, especially stomach
and intestinal tracts, Elat.
...passive, flux, Ph. ac.
(We cannot find the above rubrics in J.T. Kent's Repertory and we are unable
to understand as to why Kent is talked about and praised so much)
I read all the above five remedies in Boericke's materia medica; the
following words under Hamamelis made me to confirm the remedy.
Wants "the respect due to me" shown.
This made me to recall what the patient had been saying; she wanted to get
cured and then go and prove to the people in her village that she is now
cured.
Moreover, out of the five remedies indicated above, any homoeopath would
easily say that Hamamelis is a 'traumatic' remedy and decide this remedy for
the case because the discharge (diarrhoea) started after radium treatment.
Hamamelis 1-M single dose cured her completely.
Case: A lady of fifty was suffering from chronic arthritis. After trying for
cure under several systems (including homoeopathy) she consulted me finally.
She started describing her symptoms which were very common in arthritis
cases like unbearable pain, swelling, aggravation at night etc. etc. After a
pause, she remarked:
"Doctor, I got married when I was five years old. My husband passed away
within a year of the marriage. As I do not have any children, many people
have inquired whether I am not worried about it. But I used to reply them
that I am unaffected by all these things in life. Listening to the radio,
teaching music to children, I am happily spending my life."
The words 'I am happily spending my life' are the most important and
uncommon mind symptom to be considered for homoeopathic prescription. It is
not a healthy state of the mind or healthy mental symptom at all for the
case under review. (If it is a healthy state, she should have replied as
under
(a) "I am not worried now though I had lost my husband at my very young
age."
or
(b) "The fact that I had lost my husband and that I have no issues bothered
me initially but I have slowly recovered from this shock and right now I
rarely think of it."
In this case, the patient had remarked that she is not at all affected by
the worst happenings in her life and that she was spending the days happily.
Let us see how this case was worked out with Boericke's Repertory
MIND (page 695) gay, frolicsome, hilarious: Bell., Can. ind., Coff.; Croc.;
Cyprip.; Eucal.; Formica.; Hyos.; Lach.; Nux. m.; Plat.; Spong.; Stram.;
Thea.; Val.
On studying the above sixteen remedies in Boericke's materia medica we find
the words "An arthritic medicine" under the remedy Formica Rufa in
Boericke's materia medica (page 292) relevant to the case on hand. In the
remaining sixteen remedies no symptom was found regarding arthritis..
Formica Rufa-IM was prescribed and it gave her relief; After three months,
she reported relapse and 10M potency, single dose, of the same remedy cured
her completely. (At this point the beginner starts taking notes "Formica
Rufa is good for arthritis.' No, not at all! He should note down as "Formica
Rufa is almost a specific for arthritis patients if they are jolly type or
gay-going.")
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