Shilpa's Blog - Homeopathy and more...

Your health is in your hands!

2010-06-16T04:49:00.000-07:00

I came across a recent article from Paul Zane Pilzer about the Wellness industry, which says - "Today a new health related industry is emerging that has nothing to do with sickness but all about creating wellness. Wellness doesn’t treat people who are sick but people who are already well, want to stay well, slow down the aging process, feel healthier and keep away from becoming sick."

And I thought isn’t this just what homoeopathy is all about. This certainly shows a positive change in our outlook towards health and disease. Further the article mentions wellness is not the same as health care. What we call the health care or the medical system has got very little to do with health but concerned with treating the symptoms of sickness. This set my mind thinking.
I grew up in India and having trained as a homoeopathic doctor, I have seen both conventional and homoeopathic systems being used to complement each other and both forms of doctors working together in hospitals. So for me it is not a question of debating over which is better but more importantly about recognising the fundamental difference between the two systems and learning how we can use both to our advantage. This is an intelligent choice for the future I guess.

How is Homoeopathy special?
The concept of disease is changing today. The world today sees the importance of body-mind relation and views disease as affection of the whole human. Recent research accepts that immune system has a big role in preventing chronic diseases and considers that a person is sick first and infections come later.
Herein lies the advantage of homoeopathy because it treats the person as a whole individual and helps strengthen his weak immune system. Health is not just absence of symptoms and disease. Being healthy in the true sense is when you meet the demands of life fully and easily, enjoy life to the fullest without restrictions and reach your goals successfully resisting stress, illness and disease.
Good homoeopathy aims to help patients achieve that quality of life and reach a level of health where the need for long-term medication homoeopathic or otherwise should gradually reduce in certain chronic conditions.
Homoeopathy is an effective, scientific system of healing which assists the natural tendency of the body to heal itself.
It uses natural remedies made from Plants, Animals and Mineral substances. They are prepared in such a way that they are non-toxic and do not cause side effects. They are prescribed according to Law of Similar an age-old belief that recognises the body’s ability to heal itself.

What does health and disease mean in Homoeopathy?

The body is striving to keep itself healthy and in balance and harmony. It is an innate response of the immune system and its self healing mechanism.
When threatened the body responds by producing symptoms such as pain, fever, cough, diarrhoea etc. This is disharmony. Disharmony is dis- ease. (not at ease) – The battle between body’s defences and external agents.
Hence Homoeopathy regards symptoms as a healthy reaction of the body’s defence system supports them, instead of suppressing or opposing them.
These symptoms form the disease picture and homoeopathy treats patients according to individual picture he or she expresses. No attempt is made to separate the mental and physical conditions. The picture is taken as a whole without concentrating on just one part of the body.
We are surrounded by germ and disease causing agents all around us, inside the body, outside in the food, water we consume and the air we breath. But they can affect us only if the body’s defences are weak. Homoeopathy regards the cause of disease to be within the body itself, which are the weak defences of the body. And it aims to strengthen the body itself so it resists harmful organisms every time you fall ill.

Hence the major advantage of homoeopathy is that it assists the body in the battle between your body and external agents and your body emerges stronger after each illness. It is one of the best preventive systems of healing.
The second important advantage is the treatment of chronic recurrent disease such as all types of non-specific allergies including hay fever, asthma and skin rashes, Emotional depression, mood swings, anxiety, stress induced illnesses such as headaches, migraines, gastritis, ulcers, Skin disorders such as eczema, herpes. ENT and Respiratory disorders such as earaches, ear infections, sinusitis, colds and coughs, Gastrointestinal disorders like indigestion, constipation, diarrhoeas, colic, irritable bowel syndrome, Muscular and bone system disorders like muscular pains, arthritis. It is amazing how the frequency of these episodes gradually wane with correct constitutional remedies over a period of time.
The best advantage of homoeopathy is in bringing about a harmony within as it balances both the body and mind. The mind gradually relaxes you start experiencing a feeling of well-being. A relaxed mind makes positive decisions and contributes to the quality of life. Homoeopathy makes real changes in people’s lives. This is probably the greatest satisfaction any homoeopath can give and derive. This is the higher aim we look forward to with homoeopathy when a homoeopath treats you constitutionally.
Having said all that it is important to also realise that Conventional medicine is invaluable in emergencies where you lose vital fluids like massive blood loss, which requires supplements. Certain Surgical conditions require mechanical interference. So do certain severe acute life threatening disorders, which require external help. You can’t attempt to assist an exhausted drained soldier. You remove him away from the invader instead of expecting him to fight with his depleted resources!!! Remember homoeopathy can only focus what resources the body has in the right direction, but in someone with suspended or depleted resources, let someone else take care of the invader now without depending on the body!
This is an intelligent decision and a trained homoeopath can quickly recognise the state when you require interference and reference.
However interference and wanting quick relief each time for every ailment without strengthening the body to take control is not going to make you independent of fighting your battle. This dependence can make you weaker and your body lacks the confidence to take care of itself. A vicious cycle which can be habit forming. Your body will not want to take the effort to fight. Even an attitude of absolutely avoiding the pain and suffering, ‘just get me back to my job’ will not help in the long run. The laws of nature require efforts and patience but the efforts are worth it in the end.

Understand this difference; Give your body the homoeopathic resource to fight as a first choice. Work with it and help it grow stronger every time, nurture it well and watch how your health blossoms over the years to come. Care and love your wonderful body. Your health is in your hands!!!

My experiences of Homeopathy in Oz - An Indian perspective

2010-06-16T04:41:00.000-07:00

Homoeopathy is a household name in India. We immediately associate it with those sweet white pills our homoeopathic doctors gave us. No wonder kids love them. It is definitely a welcome change from the prickly needles and the horrible tasting syrups. Dentonics are a norm for every teething kid. So are Arnica oils and Calendula lotions. It is more than a century and a half now that Homoeopathy has been practiced in India. Even though Homoeopathy originated in Germany, it has blended so well into the roots and traditions of India that it is one of the National Systems of Medicine and enjoys government support. Today it plays an important role in providing health care to a large number of people in metropolitan and rural India because it is cost effective, safe, gentle, holistic and promotes inner balance in an individual. No wonder Homoeopaths in India have been family physicians of not one but several generations of many families.

As we come to this wonderful country in search of new opportunities, lifestyle and identity we are also on the lookout for those familiar things which get us back in touch with our culture - the culture, food, saris, Bollywood movies, music and yes even household ayurvedic and homoeopathic remedies!

Having migrated from India as a Homoeopathic physician with seven years of experience, let me share with you my experiences of homoeopathy in Oz. To start with I had no idea whether this was a real career choice in Australia. I came in with an open mind and very soon after some substantial groundwork I was in for some pleasant surprises. Natural therapy was not only popular but in great demand here and homoeopathy was not far behind. Although homoeopathy is still in its infancy as compared to India it is rapidly growing in popularity. The homoeopathic community here is passionate, enthusiastic and very accommodating. With their support and encouragement, very soon I found myself practicing as a homoeopathic consultant as well as teaching enthusiastic student homoeopaths in colleges.

The best part was that I made plenty of friends who were willing to learn and share. I also started working with the warm hearted Australian Homoeopathic Association who are the largest and only national association for homoeopaths in Australia. This whole process has been a great learning and life changing experience.

Homoeopaths in Australia graduate as health professionals with either a diploma or a degree in Homoeopathy and have thorough understanding of health and disease. For most it is a career choice out of genuine love and passion after some successful experience with homoeopathy on themselves or their family. No wonder they strive to give their clients the best they can offer. Most homoeopaths are already from the health care system including nursing, midwifery etc and blend both professions very well. It is common to see clients wanting birthing kits of homoeopathic medicines to be taken during labor or even first aid kits for ready use at home for their families.

It is also heartening to see a growing Indian clientelle satisfied with the homoeopathic service here. They like the fact that homoeopaths in Australia spend enough time in understanding the complete history of the patient even during followups. Mukesh Malhotra is a user of the service and states,

'Homeopaths needs to be thorough and give client enough time in order to understand their full life history as mine here did. In India, I experienced that there was always a rush at my homeopath especially during followups and they had to make quick diagnosis and prescriptions which is fine for acute cases but not life long problems'

Working as a lecturer in most major natural therapy colleges in Sydney, I have realized that the homoeopathic curriculum in Australia provides a good understanding of other natural therapies as well, which can be applied in a variety of complaints for the client’s benefit. This also enables them to refer on in cases where the client requires extra support. I remember a good herbalist friend of mine referred a client with atopic eczema who was undergoing lots of emotional stress. She knew that homoeopathy would serve her better in this case, which proved correct. Similarly I have referred several cases of people suffering bowel diseases to nutritionists for dietary advice, taken with homoeopathic medication for added support. This integrated approach here with several natural therapy practitioners working in coordination in polyclinics helps give their patients the best of natural therapies.

Most homoeopaths in Australia will dispense their own medicines or will order one for you, as there are not many local outlets around which stock single pure homoeopathic medicines for ready use. Many health chains however do stock a combination of remedies for specific purposes but it is always preferable to visit a homoeopath for a deeper constitutional treatment for chronic complaints.

For your information and interest, the Australian Homoeopathic Asscociation has provided a complete profile of homoeopathy in Australia on their website www.homeopathyoz.org, including a list of AHA Professional Homoeopaths in Australia.

(This article has been previously published in "Indus Age" in 2007)

Case - Trapped in her Father’s house!

2009-07-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

Abstract
I would like to take you along with me through this journey during my case taking process using the sensation method.
As I went from the most superficial to the deepest levels of her state confirming her miasm and kingdom along the way, I surprisingly discovered the deepest sensation and energy of one of our well known remedies!
Patient -
38 year old woman, married with two children referred to me by a Naturopath. She had completed my questionnaire, which had the following important points, before the interview.
Chief complaint -
The anxiety attacks and irritable bowel have ruled my life for over 15 years.
Every time I travel, I have these chest pains, tightness of chest, palpitations associated with an irritable bowel.
It is more intense when I am in a hurry, if running late or going to an appointment and haven’t met the person. I get very nervous and feel ‘churned up’ in the stomach, like really bad butterflies in the stomach.
Past history – Tonsillectomy (recurrent tonsillitis as a child) and small moles.
Family history - Mother has suffered a stroke and has taken Warfarin on a daily basis for the past 30 years. She had a cardiac valve replacement six years ago.
Generals -
Hot patient
Sleeps on right side.
Mental state - Bad childhood with mum and dad having violent episodes. I have blocked most of my past out especially my girlfriend’s death which took over six months of grieving. Saw a counsellor, then a hypnotherapist which all helped a lot. I have problems getting along with my family. My dad is very strong and so is my sister, but I am a strong person also, so we all have times when we don’t talk, which is happening now.
The consultation was as follows. My thought process is given in italics in brackets.
Tell me about the panic attacks?
I get it from my mom. Phobias in confined places. I don’t go on buses, trains. Feel I can’t get out.
My best friend died in a horrific car accident 13 years ago. She was crushed by a garbage truck.
I have a sister who doesn’t accept me for who I am.
During panic attack I have to empty my bowels. I am very particular about cleanliness. OCD. Washing hands.
(She immediately goes from one subject to another, so I bring her back to my initial question.)
Can you please describe what happens during the attack?
For example when going by train to the city, I feel I am trapped. I feel ‘just get me out of here, somewhere to a toilet.’ Its been more so after the kids were born and while coping with them when they were so dependant. My ten year old daughter is full on. I am very anxious. I take Bach flower drops to settle me down during the attack. But they still come back.
During the attack I need to have nobody around me. When in a car I feel I can open the door and just jump. I need to get out. Feel tight and very trapped.
(She mentions a sensation here – tight and trapped. So I enter the case from here.)
Describe this a bit more please?
It goes straight to my stomach and I have this urge to go to the toilet. When I get the urge nothing can stop me. I have to go especially when I am in a train/bus or car with no toilets around. The feeling is ‘what if there are no toilets around?’ I feel trapped as in a cage.
I need to drive and only then feel I am in control. If I am not driving I am not in control. It’s not normal. We are confined at home. I need to plan ahead for trips. I drive my husband insane. I hate spontaneous things. If I have to rush somewhere it churns up things inside. My mum is the same.
What is the experience of being trapped?
It’s a sensation over my entire body. Confined inside, can’t get out. Agitation and anger as if I could hit someone. Get me out. I am possessed. Get me out of here now, just drive over or kill someone but get me there.
(This must be the deepest she can go from her chief complaint. She goes from a local complaint to a general sensation. Trapped, confined and can’t get out. The way she reacts to this is with anger and violence to the extent of killing someone and losing control. This is the miasm i.e. syphilitic.
Now I need to explore other areas and confirm whether the same sensation is recurring with similar coping mechanism and reaction.)
I had a similar panicky feeling when I visited Jenolan caves. I was spaced out and dazed, couldn’t comprehend. I felt if I go deeper and deeper in the narrow cave I will die.
(She spontaneously mentions another situation with a similar reaction. I realise she is too fast and quickly jumping to another thing before I catch her to explain further.)
I have fear of crocodiles, spiders; I have had dreams covered with tarantula spiders.
I can be so angry. I wouldn’t hurt anyone, but I get a bunch of plates and crash them. Then I laugh. It’s my release.
Push me and I snap.
Tight in the chest and not in control.
Don’t come near me two days before menses.
My dad would niggle and torment mum. She would snap, scream and would pass out. Felt confined. No way in the world I am going to put up with that.
(She takes me to her child hood with a similar sensation – being confined. So this is another entry point.)
Niggle?
Cleverly doing things to annoy you. We would be sitting there feeling sick. Chew fingers, pick skin, nervous and edgy, too frightened to open mouth. They do it so quietly.
He locked the TV, whipped us with a lash.
I have anger which I cannot control. I was a good girl in life. Did not touch drugs.
I remember all the traumas. First day at school, I was screaming; it was traumatic. Dad was bashing mum, yelling at her.
I have the most vicious tongue in the world. Stay away from me. Its a lead up. My life is just edgy. I am a perfectionist.
I hate being told what to do. I so hated school. My husband says it has to be your way and on your terms. I have always been rebellious when teachers made me do something. Left school at year 10.
At home it was dad. If you did the wrong thing he never bashed us, but you had to do what was told. He was a control freak. There was no room to move. He never let me go anywhere. He ruled us. No sleepovers. He was a strong personality. Dragged us to the beach. It was doing what he wanted to do. Dad hated my boyfriends. I sneaked out. Deceived him and lied; went to night clubs at 16. Didn’t tell dad as he would be cranky and take it out on mum.
(She describes situations of being controlled, ruled, abused and dominated by her father and teachers. There was no room to move. She reacted in anger, being a rebel, using deceit and lies.
This is the delusional level. I need to go deeper to the sensation here.)
What was the experience of being in that situation with your father and no room to move?
He was so strong it was frightening. When he bashed mum she had a fit and we even laughed with him as we had to be good kids!
But when I was a bit older I gave it to dad. I said you are not going to rule me anymore. You push me and I snap. It was push- push- push and I snapped. I can only take so much. I am nice, so nice and then go nasty nasty and it’s your fault. It just irritates me. In the past I had a lot of guilt as he was my dad after all. But now I have dropped that. I have this fiery temper but I don’t bash people. Dad is licking his wound back home now.
I was trapped in his house. It was dad’s way or no way. Couldn’t get out.
(Again she came to the same sensation of being trapped in his house. She reacts with violent anger.
We are at the sensation level and hence the kingdom is getting clearer with some key words. It is she versus someone ~ the situation of a victim and an aggressor. Strong and weak. Competition and survival of the fittest. This is the animal kingdom.
There is an animal side and a human side. Also there is a conflict between the two. The animal side is concerned with fighting back while the human side has the guilt for the animal within.)
At work, I have been picked on and looked down on. I don’t work well with people. I have high expectations and am running the job but I don’t treat my colleagues as if they are down there. I am the organiser. If someone tells me to do it I go gr…gr….( Hand gestures of opening fists and growling noise). I am multi-skilled and perfect but I get tired.
My sister is the ruler. She’s a lot stronger than me. Doesn’t like to be told.
(Again at the sensation level she is a lot more animated.)
Dreams?
Attacked by a shark. I wake up and my heart is going fast. Something horrible happening to the kids.
Dreams of spiders, big ones, tarantula, huntsmen. Once a spider entered our lounge and I was very scared. I was twitching and climbed a stool on the dining table. I twitched all night.
It was extreme panic and fear.
I don’t remember what I felt as my mind was going too fast.
(I couldn’t reach any deeper here. So went to another entry point.)
Hobbies?
I am very creative. I am also very quick with answers and figures. Extrovert. I dart around the room and I can go from one conversation to another.
I like walking. River walks with my dog. I am not happy with myself. I need to lose at least five kgs weight but I can’t walk in a gym! Its too closed!
(Another expression of the same sensation, No closed places. Need to walk in open places.)
I have a nice family. We love each other and our family is bonded. We talk non-stop. We are soul mates and people are jealous. We have a dog but he is human-like. Very intelligent. It is like another child in the family. I am not very keen on cats. Once a cat attacked me. I hated cats even as a child and was cruel to them. They are selfish. Dogs can be taught tricks and can be good companions. Our dog doesn’t realise he is a dog. He is a bit of a boss; he looks after the girls.
(She anthropomorphizes the animal kingdom with different examples of behaviour, of domination and being dominated.)
I had a huge panic attack during my last holiday. We were in a confined area. I wanted to get out. I felt it come up here. (Points to throat.) Zoned out, stomach turned.
(She again takes me to another situation where she had a huge panic attack in a confined area.)
Now having confirmed the same sensation i.e. trapped and confined, in multiple ways and different areas I wanted to qualify the sensation and possibly get the complete animal story. Her survival story.)
What is the worst type of confinement possible?
Buried alive in a coffin and dying. Suffocating and dying. Drowning is also a horrible way to die. Trapped and not being in control.
Or being caged and cannot unlock the door and walk off. Eaten by shark or crocodile. (This is the sensation in her dreams). Mum has episodes of TIA.
I need ventilation. Lots of air. Trapped and not being able to breathe. Dying a death of suffocation. No one can help. Horrific the way my girl friend was trapped, squashed and killed.
A quick reaction would be to drive off but she froze. She was not in control to make a decision and do something. She just froze. Nobody can help. You can do nothing.
Once I read a horrible story of man being trapped in water. Angry how that poor man couldn’t do anything. Its unfair. He didn’t deserve it. Screaming for help and no one hears you. Somebody put him in and he died by being trapped. The pressure of water pinned him against the railing: he was trapped. No time to get up.
I hate hearing such horrible stories. I don’t like violence.
However I love the program ‘Underbelly’. That type of violence doesn’t worry me.
Police couldn’t pin them and they managed to kill 30 people. It’s interesting how the other side lives. How did police not pin them? How were they so clever to get away? They were cunning and clever. It’s real.
Pinning someone?
Just like my dad. Niggling and making me bite. I can pick people and see through them.
My daughter has been called a bully. A girl pinned her and called her a bully.
I react and bite.
However if someone is stronger I back down. They rule over me but I can fight it. If somebody is on top I can be furious if they won.
I am very quick to react. I can think things like that. I do dramatize things. I juice it up, my sister says.
When my stomach turns it feels as a tight knot in my abdomen and then it goes up in my chest. I don’t like tight clothes.
(By this time the subkingdom was getting a bit clearer. It is the story of being trapped, suffocated, pinned, squashed and killed. Push Push Push, Niggle niggle niggle and then the reaction is to bite, snap back in anger, desire to kill or escape by a quick reaction, being cunning, clever and deceitful.
This is the survival mechanism of snakes.)
How do you react to snakes?
My grandfather breeds them. No fear at all. No fear of them choking me. But I hate spiders!!
Case Analysis -
It is interesting that she experiences the whole survival mechanism of snakes at sensation level but did not mention any snakes. She did mention a lot of animals at a delusion level but the sensation was always trapped and suffocated to death. This is where it is vital not be prejudiced by these metaphors which are symbols at the delusion level.
Having understood the sensation and the reactions well, I went to the source books and the proving data to check if the remedy was a proved one.
I did not want to break the understanding of her deepest sensation into rubrics for repertorization but I wanted to find which animal remedies cover these deepest sensation and themes.
I used the Quest feature of the program HomeoQuest and entered her key words. This gives me a thematic analysis from all our proving data. (In short a thematic repertorization from the repertories and also the materia medica.)
I used the following key words at the sensation level.

Trapped
Suffocation/death by suffocation
Constriction/tightness.

The only animal which came up strongly was the well-known snake Lachesis.
Understanding lachesis at various levels as related to her case
Sensation Level -
The rubrics/symptoms^ⁱⁱ in Lachesis which come closest to the sensation are

Fear of narrow places
Fear of Suffocation.
Asphyxia death suffocation from, drowned person in.
Constriction external.
Tight clothes agg.

Her reactions to this sensation -

Violent anger, desire to kill.
Quick to act.
Biting
Loquacity, jumping from one subject to another.
Jealousy
Deceitful, Sly
Cruelty

Delusional Level -

Del powerless, is
Del persecuted, of being
Del injured of being, by surroundings.
Del wrong, suffered, has

Emotional Level -

Anticipation, ailments from
Authority, refusal to accept, other, person of another
Dictatorial, control others, wants to.
Death of loved ones, beloved agg.
Disputatious
Dreams animals of, danger of

Fact Level -

Anxiety, palpitation with, cramps in precordial region
Anxiety, riding aggravates.
Anxiety, abdomen in
Pain abdomen, riding in a carriage agg.

Name Level -

Panic disorder and irritable bowel syndrome.

Miasm – Syphilitic.
Prescription -
She was given the Lachesis 200C, one dose. She was also advised to take doses whenever she had a panic attack. She was booked for a follow-up a month later but had to cancel it.
Follow up -
I didn’t hear from the patient until she called me after about a year later to book in again.
21/5/09
I was very well for an entire year. Didn’t have another panic attack since the first dose. The medicine was wonderful. I even got on that plane ok for my husband’s birthday.
Things are fine with my family. Dad has just accepted things. Sister keeps a distance from him.
Work is the same; no stress with that.
However just the last month I have been very anxious and having a stressful time. I thought I would check with you whether the drops are still ok as I still have that bottle you gave me last year!
Bit of a political problem at daughter’s school. I have no anxiety attacks now but just walking to her school I get anxious and then five minutes into the walk I am fine.
Can you talk about this incident?
I was one of the organisers of the fete at school. I put my heart and soul into it and it was a huge success. After that five children were selected for leadership including my daughter. But someone changed the rules and she wasn’t picked. It was very unfair on her. After what we had done for the school, they disregarded us and let us down. That silly woman (assistant principle) changed the rules. I was boiling inside and confronted her. She then drew daggers at my daughter. Once at a speech, I had my daughter put a hat on. She had it taken off. So my daughter wasn’t visually evident. It was a war between her and me. I changed her school finally.
It was unfair, she was discriminated against; I hate deceit and lying. It became personal. They were playing with fire (which is me). So I completely cut it and they felt it. I was depressed, drinking and crying. My daughter felt hurt and crushed. I know they feel wrong was done to us. Everyone deserves fairness.
My second daughter is still in the same school but I have documented everything so if they give her trouble they have had it. I threatened the principal that if you put my younger daughter in the previous teacher’s class I will take her out of the school and he has agreed to that.
I still get angry when I see that teacher. I felt as if in a hole and couldn’t get out.
Apart from that the entire year had been fine. I was taking drops as and when required when we travelled in September last year. I felt fantastic straight away and they have been good.
Didn’t remember to take them during this stress at school.
I have had no panic attack episodes which were out of control since starting them. If they do come the intensity is very low. The feeling does come as I walk my second daughter to school but I keep walking through and then I am fine. Nothing like the extreme way I used to run for a toilet before.
Even when I have this urge to go to the toilet on long trips in a car, I simply think I want to go at the next service station and it is fine.
Maybe things are starting to creep back in and I may require more drops.
I don’t have phobias as much.
People, especially my dad thinks this (homœopathy) is mumbo jumbo but I don’t know why this calmness has come over me since I have started the drops. That anxiety had ruled over me for 15 years before!
Prescription -
She received a fresh dose of Lachesis 200C as her sensation was still the same and the chief complaint was coming back.
I last called her in August 2009 to request her permission for this article and she wrote to me regarding her present state in an email.
‘I feel great at the moment, no episodes whatsoever. I have been a bit stressed with work as it has been very busy with tight deadlines to meet, but this hasn’t affected me at all. I must admit I do feel comfort in just having the remedy in my bag as it gives me a sense of safety and security and I would like to continue to get this medicine refreshed from you every six months or whenever you recommend. I do take it if I feel that I may become a little anxious e.g. before appointments etc. Thanks for asking about the article and I am so happy to have met you.’
Conclusion -
Today we are privileged to have more tools and methods to work on our cases than a century back. So depending on how deep a patient wants to go, I normally vary my case taking and analysis to suit them. Like everything else in homoeopathy I prefer my approach to be individualistic.
In my experience the best thing about working with the Sankaran method is that I require minimal effort during the follow ups! All that work is basically done during the first consultation. It’s as if you uncover all layers and all levels at one go instead of uncovering layers each time. So the follow-ups are just a process of reconfirming the state and determining when to repeat.

HomeoQuest Software www.homeoquest.com
Zandvoort Roger Van (2008) Complete Repertory www.morphologica.com

This article was published in Similia – The AHA homeopathic magazine Dec 2009.

Studying a remedy through different lenses

2009-06-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

A young man of 22 years comes to me in Mumbai, India with complaints of severe asthma since childhood. He is currently on bronco dilators and gets the episode at least once a month.
The case is in the patient’s own verbatim. My thought process and explanations are in bold in brackets. His peculiar words are in italics.
Tell me about your complaints?
It starts with cough and cold. Then I realise that I cannot breathe completely, the air doesn’t go in completely at one go. I need to inhale 1-2 times to feel relaxed. It happens especially during eating. It is aggravated when I am lying down but I feel better if the head is raised during sleeping. I am also better on hill stations where the climate is cleaner.
Tell me more about not being able to breathe completely?
The breath stops, does not go in completely. I cannot eat and feel suffocated. When I breathe deeply only then feel do I feel calm and satisfied. I breathe with my mouth. I have to straighten my spine. I breathe in 2-3 times or I feel suffocated. The air stops somewhere in the middle. It doesn’t go in completely. I am very uneasy. I know that if I try it will happen. Whatever the oxygen requirement is needed is not going inside.
I play football a lot but I never had trouble during that.

(Here he spontaneously connects to a situation and it is peculiar; that he is better during physical play in spite of asthma so I enter the case here).

Tell me about playing football?
I love football because there is lot of activity. Cricket is dull and lazy. In football you run up and down. I also like dancing where the body is active. I am hyperactive. But whenever I drink water during hyperactivity it has to cause cough. However I love playing football even if I get wet in the rain and play. I like running and have been following it since childhood. The body gets fit I guess. It gets loose of its stiffness.

What do you mean when you say loose?
My parts relax and the stiffness is gone. My hands, feet, neck are all relaxed. The stiffness after sitting in one place all day long during work is relaxed and normal. Even during dance there are body movements and the parts get loose. It is like greasing a rusted part. (This is peculiar comparison – as if rusty and needs greasing so we are one layer deeper and I need to go further into this more). I want to add one more thing that I also get fever during asthma and my eyes burn and breath is hot.

Explain this greasing of rusty parts?
Making them flexible, thighs, knees, and ankles. Get flexibility in my walk. My joints move normally and start relaxing. So I generally play the entire weekends on Saturdays and Sundays. By the end of Thursday I start getting fixtures in my body especially in my neck, shoulders and spine and I play the weekends to get back to normal. This happens week after week.
Even during work I get lot of stiffness and strain in my body and I change my sitting position a lot. I develop muscle pains and am very uncomfortable. I support my back or change positions. My muscles get all contracted (Hand gesture of pressing his fist). It is pressed and better by changing sitting position.

(So there is a sensation common to both work and play – of stiffness, strain, contraction, fixture and he is better by activity during football, dancing, changing positions and loosening up)

I cannot tolerate oranges, watermelons or rice. I always drink luke warm water and even bathe with warm water. My asthma is aggravated by cream, menthos (mint flavour), bananas, and cardamon as well as aerated cold drinks. I have forgotten the taste of ice cream, which I stopped since childhood. I have had asthma since the age of 7 to 8 years.
(He comes back to asthma so I probe here deeper to get the sensation during asthma. The deepest sensation in the chief complaint has to connect to the whole case. )

Tell me more about the asthma attack?
I cannot breathe in completely. It happens especially when I am eating. I breathe in 2-3 breaths to feel completely relaxed and then can I eat or otherwise I stop eating and am busy with breathing and getting the air in. I feel very uneasy. I straighten my back and get each breath deeper and deeper and after a few breaths I know it is going to happen so there is not much fear. May be the cough is jammed inside and so air cannot pass.
What is jammed?
It doesn’t pass through. So I make efforts so that it can loosen the cough. It is blocked and nothing can pass through.

(He gets a similar sensation during asthma i.e. of being jammed, blocked and making effort to loosen up. The opposite of jam is loose. I try and elicit the sensations in other areas to see if there is a connection through the whole case.)

What upsets you the most?
When I want to do something and it doesn’t happen it upsets me. In my job I am a top performer but if someone goes above me then I have to perform much better next time. I feel I have not given 100%. I am not happy with my position; I want to reach managerial level. Once my colleague was promoted and I felt very bad. I want to go higher and this temporary job doesn’t give me any satisfaction.
What gives you satisfaction?
Playing football, chilling out the body and when mind is free of tension at work.
What is freedom from tensions like?
No tensions of job, family, being late. You are in your world.
What gives you tensions?
If I am stuck in a traffic jam! I get angry very fast. You can’t move (Hand gesture similar as before). I get irritated or if someone stops me e.g. that day the policeman stopped my auto rickshaw. I don’t like someone ordering or bossing over me. I also get tensed if someone asks me to move in a small gap or place. I will never enter such a place. I will get stuck. I will not be able to come out.
The other day I was seeing the video of Vaishnodevi temple. (It is a holy pilgrimage place in North India in the Himalayas.). There was this small gap on the way up. I saw people crawling and I said I could never go in. I will never be able to come out. I will get stuck, my body will get stuck and I will never be able to move in that small place. I could see people moving but I had the instant reaction that I cannot go. I can stand in crowded trains but seeing that Vaishnodevi video I don’t know what happened.
(Again the same sensation of being stuck and not able to move)

Also fixed timings are a no no, same with someone ordering me.

Any dreams?

I had repeated scary ghost dreams as a child. A ghost is taking me away and I am sweating in my palms. He has caught both my hands and is dragging me away. I am trying my level best to get myself freed and get rid of him. I am a kid and helpless. No one is there is rescue me as he has killed my parents. I will be killed if I don’t free myself.

Tell me about the fever during the attack?

During fever my eyes start burning, breathe is hot, the whole body is painful especially head, hands, shoulders and back. Cough is always there (3). Body pain is too much. There is ache in all my muscles.

Case Analysis

I analysed the case using Kentian analysis and repertorized the rubrics from the Complete repertory –

Mind – Activity desire for.
Generalities – activity desires physical
Generalities – agility
Generalities – Change of position desires.
Generalities – sensation of tension, tightness, contraction, strictures.
Respiration deep desire to breathe frequent and long.
Respiration lying while aggravates.
Respiration difficult sitting bent forward aggravates
Respiration difficult sitting upright ameliorates.
Back pain sitting while long after
Back pain motion on amel
Cough chill/fever during.
Fever pain with.

I repertorised the case using the HomeoQuest homeopathy software.

The remedy coming up was Rhus Tox.

Understanding the case in the light of newer concepts of sensations by Rajan Sankaran using plant family, miasm and hand gestures.

The common sensation throughout the case is – Caught, stiff, tight, tension, stuck, pressing. [1; 78]

Active reaction – Activity, movement, loosen up, relax, escape ie stuck and want to move constantly. [1; 78]

Miasm – According to Sankaran’s concept of miasms – They provide the reaction, the pace and the depth to which someone experiences the sensation. In our case – He needs to make a critical effort to come out of the stuck situation eg take in breath during the asthma attack itself or he could die. In the dream the sensation and miasm again come up strongly – The dream is of getting caught and trying level best to free himself. So the sensation is similar of being caught and wanting to free but the miasm is clear here of being a helpless kid and making critical efforts to get away from the situation – typhoid miasm)

In Sankaran’s Insight into plants vol –1

Family Anacardiaceae

Miasm Typhoid

Caught, stuck and held in a situation and have to come out of it immediately or it can be dangerous –[1; 79]

Rx Rhus tox 1M 1 dose on 11^th July 2005.

Follow up
He came back on 14^th August. He had a very mild attack of asthma that month and it was without any fever for the first time. Cough still persisted but without yellow expectoration. Stiffness same. He was given one dose of RhusTox 1M to be taken only during any attack.
He reported back on 12^th September. He says the stiffness in his entire body has gone completely. He no longer gets the stiffness on Thursdays. Body is calmer. He is feeling positive mentally and sleep is much better. He had no episode of asthma that month. I told him to experiment with substances that aggravate him and report back. He was scared of trying any thing, especially ice cream which he had not had since childhood, but I encouraged him to report back in case. He still has the previous powder with him.
He kept in touch on phone when I moved to Sydney. He was much better even after trying every aggravating substance. His family was very surprised. He could eat ice cream after years without an asthmatic attack. He says he feels much more confident in himself. He gets no body pains even after playing. He says that the body strain is gone like magic.

He continues to remain in touch through emails and keeps well.

Conclusion

It was a case in which I learnt a lot personally, I learnt about seeing a well-known remedy in the light of the newer concepts of sensations and delusions. It is amazing that no matter what way you look at a case the simillimum is crystal clear. I just hope to keep this openness in all my cases and I am sure homoeopathy will continue to surprise me. I guess we all agree that every case just convinces us how much more there is yet to learn and know.

References

Sankaran Rajan (2002). Insight into Plants. Homoeopathic Research and charities, Mumbai.India
Zandvoort Roger Van (2008) Complete repertory v2008 from the software HomeoQuest (c) Shilpa Bhouraskar.

This case was published in the Australian AHA magazine – Similia 2005

A case of stammering

2009-05-21T03:10:00.000-07:00

This was one of the initial cases in my practice in Mumbai, India.
A father came to my clinic with his 7-year-old child. He was stammering a lot as he spoke and wondered whether homeopathy could help him and his son who had a similar problem.
He was actually more worried about his young son as he did not want him to feel any humiliation in school when other kids bullied him.
When I spoke with the child, the father seemed more desperate and coaxed the child to answer my questions and greet me. This made the kid stammer even more so I offered him to play with some toys and spoke with just the father.
I managed to get the following information with some difficulty.
The son -
The stammering aggravated when he had just started school more so whenever he was very tensed or angry. He hit other kids when they bullied him and his voice and the whole body actually trembled when he got very angry. It was difficult to understand him more so when he spoke in excitement.
The father -
He has a similar temper but he had gradually managed to control his temper. He mentioned it was no use getting to their level and retaliating back. However at times he still found it very difficult to control his anger. He suffered for days after that and lost his appetite and sleep.
The case taking was very short due to the intense stammering.
I decided to take the peculiarities in the case and found a striking similarity in the state of both the father and his son. The son presented an uncompensated picture.
I prescribed a remedy based on my Materia medica understanding then.
Stammering
Trembling when angry
Voice weak when angry
Excitement aggravates.
The remedy was Staphysagria.
The father’s state was Staphysagria too, where he felt the humiliation of his son and has ailments from suppressed anger.
Hering writes – was insulted, being too dignified to fight subdued his wrath and went home sick, trembling and exhausted.
Here is a quick Quest analysis of the same symptoms using the HomeoQuest software.

Follow up -
Both of them got Staphysagria 200, a dose to be taken once a week for a month.
They followed regularly for about a year.
The progress was gradual but very encouraging. The son responded very well. His violent anger came down gradually. His speech got more fluent and distinct. The teacher at school noticed a marked improvement in his behaviour and speech. The father has relaxed mentally and his speech was not as hurried and so he stammered less often.
This challenging case made me aware of the definite potential of homoeopathy in stammering considering the multiple causative factors involved in the condition.