Homeopathic Practice

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Alfons Geukens Homeopathic practice 1

GEUKENS A., Homeopathic Practice (gk1)
GEUKENS Alfons
Introduction
This is a three years' course and I do not like to jump from one remedy to another. Sometimes
I will give a small remedy to keep you in suspense; but I would like to show you the different
aspects of one remedy.
You may say, "We know Pulsatilla," but I will show you that we do not know Pulsatilla.
Every remedy has so many aspects that it is very difficult to know a remedy in its depth.
The theme of the course is re-flexibility.
Almost the last hundred years have been characterized by inflexibility. Homoeopathy means
really flexibility. We talk a lot about a constitutional remedy, in the sense that a constitutional
remedy is capable of curing everything. That is nonsense and we will prove it in these cases.
We have to be flexible, because the patient is flexible, because we are dynamic persons, and
are under the influences of our surroundings. We have to give the remedy which is necessary
at that certain moment, this means that we have to be flexible and follow the patient in all his
situations, so that we can help the patient anytime. If we miss one step, we will easily make a
mistake.
If we have a patient to whom we have given Phosphorus for appropriate reasons - with a
good result - after a few weeks he comes back with this or that complaint, and probably he
will need Hypericum or Apocynum.
In every phase you have to give the right remedy; then you can treat the patient further. If
you do not do that you will loose your old patients. Because you have a name, new people
will come. It is a constant circle, always new patients, but the old patients are disappointed
and stay away.
We are doctors who are worried about the patients and we must have the opportunity to
follow a patient in his development - from birth until death - this means, we must help him
when he comes with an ischias or an inflammation of the eye.
That is what we want to show. We are not homoeopaths sitting there and saying, "We know
Homoeopathy and we require such a payment that only rich people can come." We are
homoeopaths who are concerned with the patients.
So, flexibility and also reflexibility, this means a consultation does not have to last 2 hours, a
few minutes can be sufficient to know: here I must give this or that remedy. In this way you
can treat 15 until 25 patients a day, if they are already in treatment.
A homoeopathic consultation does not have to last 2 hours, that is not appropriate.
Reflexibility means: someone says something and immediately you know: it is this remedy
and you ask a few questions to be sure. That is reflexibility and flexibility.
And the third step is of course reflection.
Afterwards, we always have to ask ourselves what the remedy has done.
Below are a few indications for a better understanding, explanation of abbreviations:
The persons speaking on video are abbreviated as follows:
A
: Alfons Geukens
P
: Patient
MP
: Mother patient
FP
: Father patient
HP : Husband patient
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WP
: Wife patient
Homeopathic practice
Osteogenesis imperfecta
Calcarea carbonica
BOY, 13 YEARS OLD
This patient came because of recurrent bronchitis, coughing, recurrent otitis media and
diarrhoea.
At the same time this is a case of osteogenesis imperfecta, but the mother did not come for
this reason.
In 1983 the patient came for the first time, afterwards he came a few times until I made this
video in 1986.
A: The patient is born with an osteogenesis imperfecta. In fact, the bones don't ossify. From
birth on he has constantly broken his bones. How many times did this happen ?
MP: About fifty times.
A: He broke his bones when he made a very little movement, for example, when he turned
over in his sleep. When was the last fracture ?
MP: In 1983.
A: The first time you were here on September 21, 1983. It is now September 21, 1986, three
years later. Did he have broken bones during the last 3 years ?
MP: No, he didn't.
P: No.
A: What is his height ?
MP: 85 cm. Before I came here he was also often ill. Colds. He ate almost nothing. He didn't
have appetite. He vomited very much and had very often diarrhoea.
A: Apparently, if you consider the whole system the problem of this osteogenesis imperfecta
was his intestines.
MP: Yes, because he doesn't tolerate milk. He has vomited milk since his birth.
A: So, in fact it is an absorption problem. The problem to extract calcium from his intestines.
That's the reason why he couldn't tolerate milk. And milk is necessary for the osteogenesis
and the growth. He had a shortage of calcium that couldn't be cured by giving him calcium,
because the problem was the mucosa of the intestines.
MP: They told us it had nothing to do with a shortage of calcium.
A: That's what they supposed, but it is a deficiency of absorption of the intestine. Indeed, that
deficiency causes recurrent colds, bronchitis, vomiting and diarrhoea.
This is a child who did not have any broken bones when he was born. When he was a few
months old he started to vomit, got diarrhoea and coryza. Until the first few months he did not
break his bones. But they did not give him the energy that he needed. As a consequence of the
vomiting and the diarrhoea he did not get what he needed; there was a lack of hard substance
in the bones. He could not take it from his intestines to build it up in the bones and that is the
reason why he always broke his bones.
On page 311 of his "Lectures" Kent writes that you can give those children large amounts of
Calcarea, but they still remain ill. You should give Calcarea potentiated and the result of the
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energy of that potentiated Calcarea is, that the child can absorb Calcarea. That is the
difference between material and energetic medicine.
He should have had this remedy when he was 2 months old. He came when he was 10 years
old. Now, he is 13 years old, and in the meantime he has not broken his bones at all. After
giving a few doses of this remedy everything would have been cured: the breaking of the
bones, the diarrhoea, the coughing, the fever and the vomiting.
This means that the disease starts somewhere, and by the treatment of antibiotics, syrups
against the cough and so a worse disease develops: an osteogenesis imperfecta. At the
beginning they called it a malabsorption syndrome. But we do not have to take care about
how it is called. We have to take care about which energy the child needs to be in balance, in
order to take calcium from his intestines and will get no more colds, diarrhoea, vomiting or
broken bones.
You see, there are indeed cases of osteogenesis imperfecta which have been caused by the
wrong treatment, because we could not give him the remedy when he was 2 months old.
Osteogenesis imperfecta is not always a congenital disease. In this case it only arose later and
became worse.
A: Did he also have otitis ?
MP: No, I can't remember that.
A: The peculiar thing was he had brittle bones. And it was as if his teeth were of glass. They
were transparent. According to me they are normal now, aren't they ?
MP: Yes, they are.
A: Before you came here he had teeth as if they were of glass, and now they are beautiful and
white. You could also clearly see an early tooth decay. It was also notable, even still now, that
his head was proportionally too large.
Homoeopathically, the perspiration was an expression of weakness.
MP: That was troubling him very much. Especially on his head, and particularly on his
forehead and in his neck.
Which homoeopathic remedy do we need to give here ?
First, he started to vomit when he was a few months old, this means he vomited the milk.
Look in the Repertory "vomiting after milk" (p. 534). At "vomiting after milk" there are a lot
of remedies: Aethusa, Antimonium crudum and so on.
Aethusa is a remedy for children. What is the appearance of the vomiting in Aethusa ? Like
curdled milk. Each time they drink - the milk has already been digested in the stomach, it is
curdled, only then they vomit the milk.
They have a very particular outlook. Those children are very thin and they always look
downward with their eyes - "eyes turned downward" (p. 268). When you do not know this
symptom you do not pay attention to it.
Normally, they also have diarrhoea with undigested food and cramps before stool. After
vomiting they are hungry again and start eating. Often they are also very sleepy after vomiting
- "sleepiness after vomiting" (p. 1251); the first remedy here is Ipecacuanha. Mostly,
Ipecacuanha has vomiting during coughing and "one sided redness, cheek", and a second
symptom is a clean tongue during vomiting - "tongue clean during vomiting". Because of the
sickness and vomiting the digestion is disturbed, so normally the tongue is coated. There is
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another remedy that has a clean tongue during vomiting, that is Cina.
In Antimonium crudum you see immediately the white coated tongue. You also find Calcarea
in the rubric, Iris, Sepia, Podophyllum, Silicea - Silicea is one of the most important remedies
in this vomiting, but you recognize them, when they vomit mother's milk. It is the first
remedy, when the mother is breastfeeding, and the child always vomits the mother's milk. But
you have to differentiate with other remedies, which are in the rubric "vomiting after mother's
milk" (p. 534): Antimonium crudum, Calcarea, Natrum carbonicum, Phosphoricum acidum,
Sanicula, Silicea and Valeriana. Mostly, the Silicea children are premature children. They are
very thin and white and also their head is enlarged, their hair is very fine, very fine and dry
like hay; they are not weak children.
Until now we have one symptom, the vomiting after milk, but up to now we can not say
anything about the remedy yet. The mother tells us another symptom, namely, that he
perspires very much, on his head and particularly in the neck. Those children perspire very
much, they perspire all over, but particularly on their head. So, perspiration on the scalp and
especially during the sleep, "perspiration, scalp, night" (p. 222). There you find remedies like
Bovista, Bryonia, Calcarea capital, there is also Silicea again, Silicea perspires also on the
head during the sleep. The mother says that he mainly perspires in his neck. Where can we
find this ? "Back, perspiration, cervical region, in sleep" (p. 944). There are 3 remedies:
Calcarea capital, Lachesis and Phosphoricum acidum.
This is the second symptom. Then I told you that observation is very important in
Homoeopathy. Do not rely on the computer. At the moment there is a computer rage going on
in Homoeopathy - and the only reason therefore is money. Do not start with a computer yet !
Later, when you have been practising Homoeopathy for a few years, and you want to do postfactum-studies and things like that, then you can use a computer. But at the moment, we have
to observe with our eyes, ears, nose, feeling and heart. The first thing to do is to observe, then
you see the peculiarities of a person. I see, for example, someone there: he has blue eyes, red
hair, and when he laughs you can probably see his gums, because he opens his mouth very
far. And I know of phosphorus that they have red hair and so on, that they are narrow, lean
people. So, I think of Phosphorus.
But what do I see in this case ? I see someone with a large head. How can we find this in the
Repertory ? "Head, large" (p. 129). There we see remedies like Cajuputum, Calcarea,
Calcarea phosphorica, Corallium, Mercurius and Silicea. We remark a large head. Here,
Calcarea shows up again, but also Silicea, so we have to differentiate between Calcarea and
Silicea.
When a child with a large head comes to our centre, who looks pale and perspires especially
in the neck - when you have this triad and besides the fontanelles remain open too long, then
you do not have to doubt about Calcarea. The differential diagnosis between Calcarea and
Calcarea phosphorica is not easy. Calcarea children usually are thick and weak; when you
take their hands, usually you can bend the fingers backwards. The hands are very soft, as if
there are no bones. This is the same for adults. When you give someone a hand and he really
is Calcarea, it feels as if he does not have any bones in his hands. That is very important even when he is a great politician, he can be Calcarea when he has such hands.
Calcarea children usually are thick, and have a headstrong character. They want to push their
own will - "obstinate" (p. 69).
Calcarea phosphorica children are rather tall, thin, small people; children who are not
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satisfied, who weep all the time and have especially - this is not mentioned in the Repertory growing pains at night, "growing pains" (p. 1 o 75). Calcarea phosphorica should be added
here. Guaiacum is a very important remedy for growing pains. Guaiacum has a very strong
longing for apples and the growing pains are ameliorated by cold.
Another remedy is Phosphoricum acidum, children who grow too fast, who are very thirsty
and like juicy things very much.
Calcarea phosphorica children sigh constantly, they do not feel very well - "sighing" (p. 8O).
Kent points out a possible line of evolution: Calcarea, Calcarea phosphorica, Phosphorus.
Calcarea phosphorica prefers "smoked meat" (p. 485).
Then the mother says that he has an early tooth decay. We look at "teeth, caries, premature in
children" (p. 431): Calcarea, Calcarea fluorata, Calcarea phosphorica, Fluoricum acidum,
Kreosotum, Staphisagria. There are two capital remedies: Kreosotum and Staphisagria. In
Kreosotum the teeth are already decayed when they come out. They are very small, and are
already breaking down.
Also this patient has already caries, but his teeth have not broken down yet, they were
transparent. There is no white in his teeth, you could look through them as if you were
looking through glass.
There is another capital remedy in the rubric: Staphisagria. How is the appearance of
Staphisagria teeth ? They have black stripes, especially at the upper part. Staphisagria is also
the first remedy for tooth abscesses in children. Do not forget to look at the teeth in children !
Last week I had a patient, whose doctor has been searching the appropriate remedy for a long
time, but could not find it. She had headache, headache, headache. He knew that the husband
of this patient had a love affair with another woman. I was sitting there, asked questions and
tried to make jokes to see how she reacted; I tried to feel what the matter was with her - and
suddenly she laughed, and then I saw those fine stripes on her teeth - "My God, that is
Staphisagria !" Why did she have this headache ? Because of the grief. Look in the Repertory
"headache from grief" (p. 14 o). Which remedies are capital ?
Because of the black stripes on the teeth, and because I knew about her matrimonial
difficulties I could say that this is Staphisagria. Then I had to ask questions about
masturbation and such things - Staphisagria is known as very, very sensitive. And when you as a man - will not give a woman enough love she will become hysterical and will throw
flowers and all kinds of things away. Look at "throws things away" (p. 88).
We know Staphisagria as very, very soft characters, people who constantly want to be
touched and also like to touch other people. They always need somebody around. The
children sit on their mother's lap, they are very sensitive. There is a problem when they do not
get a response of love; they get headache and have that outburst of passion and throw things
away. We call them hysterical, but we have to understand the background. Staphisagria is the
most sensitive remedy we know in Homoeopathy. Mostly, they have black hair, but that is not
so important. We confuse it often with Pulsatilla, because Pulsatilla is so sweet, so kind. But
Staphisagria people are not only sensitive, they are also sensual, this means sensitive to bodily
contact and the masturbation of Staphisagria. Now, you understand why there is so much
masturbation in all these monasteries. Many priests who go into a monastery or people who
study theology are very, very sensitive, very, very good, obedient people who do everything
that their parents say. We see many nuns and priests, whose greatest problem is that they can
not be free from their feelings, they may not do this or that. That is Staphisagria. And then
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comes the psoriasis, because of the suppression of their feelings - a very strong psoriasis in
Staphisagria. And then sometimes this colic comes, this Colocynthis colic. You know,
Colocynthis, Staphisagria and Causticum are complementary remedies.
Many homoeopaths are desperate, because they try to cure incurable cases. Concerning the
osteogenesis imperfecta case this child is incurable, it is too late, the growing period has
ended, but we can take care of the child, so that he is in balance, that he will not get any
diarrhoea and so on. You have to know what you can expect of a remedy; you may not expect
too much of a remedy. When, for example, a patient comes with metastases of a tumor, do not
try to treat this. You can only try to reduce the pain, but it is too late for a healing.
You can cure breast tumors very well, when the patient lives in good circumstances, has
support of the family and so on, but it is important to make clear what you can expect of such
a case.
I treated, for example, someone who came with the diagnosis Ischias. On the radiographs you
could see a kind of hernia. The pain extended to his leg. Besides, he had a Dupuytren's
contracture. I gave him Plumbum - no reaction. Because I was sure, I did not believe it really
was Ischias. He told me that he only had pain when he started to run. So, I have had him
examined again and the conclusion was an occlusion of the femoral artery. This is a case for
surgery.
Also with coronary heart diseases it is too late for a homoeopathic treatment when there is an
occlusion. You can help very well when it concerns a functional disturbance, for example,
when the patient only has pain while exerting.
A: If he had had this homoeopathic remedy immediately after his birth, there wouldn't have
been any problems.
MP: That's bad enough.
A: Previously, he liked ice-cream very much ?
MP: Yes, but now he doesn't anymore.
In Homoeopathy it is important what someone says, because this is spontaneous.
Do not forget that patients can twist you round their fingers. They do not tell you what they
like, but what they really eat. Because chocolate and sugar are unhealthy, they say that they
do not eat sweets, but sour things.
In B. there was a patient - there I was supervising for the homoeopaths and a doctor came
with this patient. Vithoulkas had already seen this patient for three times and Vithoulkas is
really a good homoeopath. He is my master, because he has taught me, and has showed me
the right way. A master who passes his knowledge is a very good teacher; when he only
passes a small amount of his knowledge, so many important things disappear. The teacher
passes only a small amount of his knowledge to his disciples and on his turn the disciple also
passes only a small amount of his knowledge, he wants to keep a little bit for himself - and at
the end where is all the knowledge ?
However, Vithoulkas is a very open man and he passes all his knowledge, but he was twisted
round the finger by this
patient from B. This patient had a tumor of the parotid on the left side, and his doctor in B. is
Phosphorus, very sensitive, very sympathetic - never be too sympathetic with your patients,
keep distance ! The moment you use your feelings, you loose your mind. Try to examine, to
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feel, but keep distance. Only in this way you can see clearly. But this doctor came and said,
"Oh dear, he is so tired, so terrible tired ! And he has only one desire and that is vinegar !"
Until then, I have not yet seen the patient.
When the patient came I saw he was a little bald-headed. Look in the Repertory "baldness in
the forehead" (p. 12 o), and he was very thin, "lean people" (p. 137 o). And he was sitting
there like that (shows how). I asked him how this had begun. "Well, I was running." "Do you
run ?" "Yes, yes, sometimes I run." "But your doctor told me you were very tired and you run
? Well, no, that is impossible. You aren't that tired, are you ?"
"Tired" means to me as an important symptom that he hangs around all the time. I am tired,
you are tired, everybody is tired when he has worked the whole day or when he has been
drinking beer until 5 a.m. and has to get up at 9 a.m. "To be tired" as a strong symptom
means that someone is constantly tired, he has to lie down continually, he can not work and
the slightest effort exhausts him.
Everything started a few years ago, when he has run, the pain began in his right Achilles
tendon. "Why in the right Achilles tendon, why not in the left ?" "No, it was in the right. And
then later on I got a distended abdomen, I couldn't tolerate any clothes on my stomach and
when I had run in the afternoon I had to go into the bushes, because of flatulence."
Peculiarly, it started a few years ago, the pain began in the right Achilles tendon, then he got
abdominal complaints attended with flatulence, a distended abdomen especially in the
afternoon. I thought: that is Lycopodium ! But the swelling was on the left side and you could
hardly see it. Previously, the doctor told me about a tumor and I thought I would see
somebody with a big tumor. Then I proposed to have this parotid punctured and I was sure
that they only would find normal parotid tissues - and indeed, they could not find
differentiated cells, only parotid cells.
Probably, he would have it on the right side and went to the left side. Why not ? Then I asked
him whether he liked vinegar so much. "Yes, I like vinegar." "But you don't like chocolate ?"
"Yes, I do like chocolate." "But you said that you like sour things and now you say that you
like chocolate." "Well yes, I like chocolate very much, but I don't eat it, because I can't
tolerate it." When you look in your Repertory - "food, sweets agg." (p. 1364) - we know
Argentum nitricum, but there is also Lycopodium. So I gave him Lycopodium and 3 days
later the doctor from B. telephoned me and said that the patient was very well and he did not
care about his tumor anymore.
Another time one of my younger doctors of the centre came to me and said, "This patient is
Lycopodium, but he likes highly seasoned food." We know of Hepar, Sulphur, Lac caninum,
Pulsatilla and others, that they like highly seasoned food. Besides the patient did not eat sweet
food and normally Lycopodium likes sweet food. I went to see this patient and asked him
what he has eaten at breakfast. "I've put honey on my bread." "Isn't that something sweet ?"
"Yes, but that is special honey, from special bees." You see, patients often say they do not like
sweet food, but they do like it and also eat it.
Be careful and try to ask what they have eaten at breakfast.
Two weeks ago I saw a student in Holland. When he came in he was eating an orange. I
asked myself why he is eating this orange now. He told me his problem and he needed
Medorrhinum. They like what they eat spontaneously, so believe what you see: do not let you
twist round the finger, especially not by people who constantly theorize - "Well, I eat this and
not that, because ..." But you can believe what you see: tall, lean people, baldness and so on.
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He also likes ice-cream. Look at "desires ice-cream" (p. 485). There we see Calcarea as two,
Eupatorium perfoliatum - mostly in influenza with the feeling as if the bones were broken,
Phosphorus capital. Phosphorus is the remedy that eats ice-cream most. Tuberculinum is also
in the rubric and often the differential diagnosis between Phosphorus and Tuberculinum is
really difficult, because both remedies like cold milk. Look at "desire cold milk" (p. 485);
there you see Phosphorus and Tuberculinum.
Remark: "I think Phosphorus needs especially the cold and does not need so much the
sweetness when he eats ice-cream."
A: Yes, that is right, but when you look at "desire sweet food", there is also Phosphorus.
From my experience I can tell you that often it is not easy to differentiate between Phosphorus
and Tuberculinum. Also Veratrum album has a desire for ice-cream, but they prefer ice-cubes,
they are very restless - very restless and very thirsty, they like juicy things; but also
Phosphorus is very thirsty and can also be very restless. But you recognize Phosphorus people
by their character, they are very sensitive and very quick, they explode and forget
immediately; very sympathetic, but also very angry, they can even kill somebody.
A: He liked pudding, spinach, but didn't like meat. What about eggs ?
MP: Previously, he didn't like them either.
The desire for eggs is the strongest in Calcarea. Mostly, they like them soft-boiled, that is
typical for Calcarea. Pulsatilla prefers them hard-boiled. And which remedy prefers them
fried ? Natrum phosphoricum. Mostly, Calcarea likes only the white of an egg and not the
yolk. How can we translate this into the language of the Repertory ? Delicate in eating, "I
only like the white, I don't eat the yolk." "I only like the meat cut this way and not that way."
"I want the mayonnaise here and a little ketchup there and I don't like chips, but fried
potatoes." You find this at "desires delicacies" (p. 485). The most important remedy is
Tuberculinum, but there is also Calcarea.
But do not forget that Calcarea often has an aversion to eggs. In Homoeopathy it is always
so, that when they have a desire for something, they often have an aversion to it. I have
already seen Phosphorus patients who have an aversion to ice-cream. Natrum muriaticum has
desire and aversion to salt. You often see two extremes in the same remedy.
He has an aversion to eggs, but this does not mean, that he is not Calcarea.
When someone can lie in the sun, this does not mean, that he can not be Lachesis - there are
Lachesis patients who can bear the sun very well.
Only the positive symptoms are important.
When you proceed in this way, you exclude some remedies from the beginning and you will
never find the right remedy.
A: Then he was terribly afraid of thunder-storms ?
MP: He still is.
A: I can't remember other things he is afraid of.
MP: No, in fact he is not so scared. He is only afraid of storm and thunder-storms.
A: I noticed that he was and still is a very concerned child.
MP: Yes, very much. And also sensitive. When I am very sad he asks immediately what's
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wrong. Then he says all day long, "Hello, dear mummie !" He just can't bear that. It is the
same with my sister or my husband. Also when someone else, for example, an aunt of the
family is ill and I visit her, he asks immediately how she is, when he comes back from school.
A: Everything is all right with his mental and psychical development, isn't it ? There are no
problems on that level ?
MP: No, there aren't.
This child is mentally well developed and then the prognosis is usually much better than in
cases where you have a feeble-mindedness in these children.
He is very, very sensitive and this makes us think of which remedy ? That he is very much
concerned about his mother ? Phosphorus. But here you can not give Phosphorus. Be careful !
Never give a remedy on the basis of the character. But give a remedy on the basis of the
character and other, clear symptoms on which you can rely on. Many people can present
themselves completely different as they really are, they try to put themselves in a favourable
light. But we as homoeopaths, we do not have to judge. There are no good and no bad people,
there are only people who need a certain homoeopathic remedy.
A: He got the remedy on September 21, 1983. Two months later you came back and the
result was that he hasn't suffered from perspiration on the head and hasn't broken his bones
anymore. Generally, he has improved. He didn't need injections either and little by little he
got better with this remedy. He is seldom ill, only a little coughing.
MP: That is very seldom. Sometimes he has diarrhoea.
A: Last year he had diarrhoea, then I repeated the remedy. The first time I gave C 200, then I
repeated M, and last year I give 10 M. I have also noted that he was a little afraid in the dark.
M: I can't remember very well. Oh yes, when he went to sleep, we left the light on. We still
do at the moment.
A: Still afraid of thunder-storm, of the dark and very concerned.
MP: Yes, but always in a good mood.
A: Now, he is a boy who is in balance in spite of his handicap. Probably, he is much healthier
than many athletes and so-called tall people.
This is a proof of what the remedy can do. It is very sad it couldn't have been given earlier.
MP: Yes, it is. But we are very satisfied at the moment.
A: You are satisfied, because you had many problems with breaking the bones.
MP: Yes, it was incredible. It was unbearable for the child as well as for us. He was ill all the
time, always vomiting and diarrhoea. I always had to stay with him. It was also unbearable for
him. One week he was better, then he ate a little again, but the next week he vomited
everything again. Since we have come here we have a completely different life. We are very
satisfied.
A: He also suffered from shortness of breath ?
MP: Yes, he was always obstructed.
A: Did he often get antibiotics ?
MP: Yes, very often.
A: At the moment he eats well, doesn't he ?
MP: Yes, for his way of living. A little food is enough for him. Even now, he eats meat.
Now, they told us that it will become dangerous for the breaking of the bones during the
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puberty.
A: But he always had broken his bones until you came here in 1983.
MP: Yes, but they tell us it is normal that the breaking has stopped now, and that it can start
again during the puberty. That's how they explain it.
A: It is peculiar, that he has broken his bones until September 1983. Then he gets the
homoeopathic remedy and first he doesn't break his bones anymore, second he doesn't have
colds anymore and third he doesn't have problems with vomiting and diarrhoea anymore. All
his problems have disappeared. I guarantee those problems won't return during the puberty.
When you let me know when he gets problems again, for example, diarrhoea, I give him the
right remedy, that he needs at that moment.
You have to be logic, all the symptoms, complaints which he had, have disappeared: the
perspiration on the head, bad eating, vomiting, diarrhoea, breaking of the bones. Probably,
there were other complaints which I haven't noted, because the breaking of the bones was the
most important. And according to me, he has been cured. And if all this disappears with one
remedy I don't see why one of the symptoms will return and the other won't. That's all
theorization, rationalization and I will prove you that this is not so. In the future people who
have said this will have to take their words back. You don't have to be afraid of that.
MP: We are worried, because he is in his puberty.
A: He is thirteen years old now, and the development is normal. You see that he reacts to the
remedy when he needs it.
MP: Yes, he reacts.
A: And it is always the same remedy that I repeat in a higher potency. I have him on video,
because it is one of the spectacular cases. Although, we haven't changed this child into
another child concerning his physique, we have taken away his complaints. It is true he hasn't
grown, but therefore we should have given the remedy earlier. I have another child that
couldn't walk and he was paralysed in his arms and legs, the illness of Guillain-Barr. That
problem is solved too. He also had always colds and bronchitis.
How do you feel now ?
P: I feel fine.
A: Do you sleep well ?
P: Yes.
A: Are you satisfied, happy ?
P: Yes.
Question: "Did the patient have blue sclerae ?"
A: Most of these patients have blue sclerae, some more, some less. We know this from
remedies like Tuberculinum and Carcinosinum. This is not in the Repertory, but it seems to be
typical for osteogenesis imperfecta. But the symptom is not so strong as indicating a
homoeopathic remedy.
I want to explain that, when you have several symptoms in one period of time, they all have
to indicate the same base. When you have, for example, a tree, and a branch is the
osteogenesis imperfecta, this means that the bones break easily - where can we find this in the
Repertory, that the bones break easily ? "Brittle bones" (p. 1346). Then there is another rubric
"softening bones" (p. 14 o 2) and "caries of bone" (p. 1346), but the most corresponding
rubric is "brittle bones" (p. 1346), something that breaks easily is brittle.
11
In the rubric "softening bones" (p. 14 o 2) we have some more remedies like Mercurius,
Calcarea is capital, Asafoetida - which bone is the softening bone in Asafoetida ? The tibia.
Especially, when those people knock with the tibia against something, they have a lot of pain
with a swelling and it takes a long time until it is better. Asafoetida is a hysterical remedy.
What about the stomach, the intestines in Asafoetida ? They have an inverse peristaltic, the
peristaltic goes upwards instead of downwards. Usually, they have a bluish, bluish-red
appearance, they are pletoric bluish people.
At "softening bones" we also see Mercurius. Mercurius is a very important remedy for
cancer, metastases in the bone. Mercurius is a syphilitic remedy, it eats the bones. Mercurius
is the first remedy with metastatic bone pain, especially when they occur at night; when they
not only occur at night, but also during the day and caused by metastases of a breast tumor,
then Calcarea is capital. Especially, Calcarea in breast cancer and metastases in the bones,
when the bones begin to break; Mercurius with prostate cancer with metastases in the bones.
Another important remedy for prostate cancer is Medorrhinum.
There is also Silicea in "softening bones", but Calcarea is capital.
A few months ago there was a MS-patient in our centre who did not react to different
remedies. Then he said he had fallen and had sustained broken bones three times.
Incoordination, "awkwardness, stumbling when walking" (p. 953), you see, Calcarea is
capital. Do not only think of Alumina or Argentum nitricum in MS-patients, but also of
Calcarea. Too often we forget remedies, of which we think we know them.
This patient improves with Calcarea. Calcarea is the first remedy we have to think of in
brittle bones.
First: I want to show you that when you have 3, 4, 5 different symptoms at a certain time,
these symptoms indicate the same remedy. They all express the same need, the need of
Calcarea.
The allopaths say that he will break his bones again during the puberty. That is impossible.
Without having diarrhoea or vomiting, he can never break his bones again.
That was in 1986, now we are 1988, so 2 years later and up to now the child has not have any
problems, from 1983 until 1988, for 5 years long he has not broken any bones and has been
healthy. You see how they theorize, because they saw someone breaking their bones in the
puberty again.
Second: Try to get the complete picture. We say, "All right, as a child he often had diarrhoea,
vomited, at the age of twelve his tonsils have been taken away, at the age of sixteen he broke
something and now at the age of thirty-two he is very anxious and is occupied with the idea of
what other people think of him."
Not only the present symptoms are important, but also those of the past and you often see that
a remedy is appropriate. The totality of symptoms does not only mean the totality of the
present symptoms, but also the totality of the symptoms of his whole life. And then you will
see that it concerns a particular remedy at a certain time, previously it was another. That is
very important, most important for Tuberculinum, because Tuberculinum has changeable
symptoms. First, they coughed, then it became a pneumonia, they were hospitalized, later they
got pain in the back, then pain in the knee, then pain in the foot - wandering pain. Then they
got a conjunctivitis, an inflammation of the right eye with redness, pus is coming out, and
then another symptom, and another symptom. The changeability of the symptoms is typical
for Tuberculinum and you will only recognize it when you consider it in its totality. It is the
12
same in Pulsatilla.
Try to get all the symptoms he has, not only those of a certain period, but from his whole life.
And then, sometimes you see one remedy going through all this and that means, this is his
constitutional remedy that he needs.
The higher potentiated, the stronger the energy. The right chosen energy can never be bad,
never, never ! Do not be afraid of high potencies at all.
I had a patient who had a very bad aggravation after Medorrhinum M. In that aggravation I
gave Medorrhinum 10 M and everything was all right.
Forget these low potencies. You can use low potencies, you can also cure with C 9 or D 30 or
D 200, but you must understand, that the energy of a remedy gives you the strength to come
up. When you see that someone has an aggravation after a remedy, that he is not able to get
over it, you give him some more energy, so that he is able to jump over the bridge. You see
this often in acute cases, in very acute cases. Last Sunday I had my weekend-duty and there
was a patient who had been seen the day before by a colleague for a left sided
bronchopneumonia. He got Phosphorus, but he was worse as the day before. He had 38,5 C,
stitching pain, crepitations on the left lung, he could not lie on the left side - that is
Phosphorus, but Phosphorus did not cure him.
If you use the Repertory in such cases, you will never find the remedy, because there are
some remedies not put well in the Repertory, like, for example, Tuberculinum.
I asked him to take off his clothes. You could see his rips, he was very thin, very white. I do
not know whether you have seen tuberculosis patients, they are very thin, they have
prominent rips, like people who have not eaten for several days. I gave him Tuberculinum 50
M, 3 times 1 spoon and on Monday morning he came back and was cured - no more fever, no
more pain, he was laughing, eating and drinking. He was cured in less than 24 hours - with the
right remedy, but with a very high potency.
In acute cases you have to repeat the remedy, to give some more energy. Also Nash, Kent
and other masters, all serious homoeopaths, repeat the remedy a few times in high potencies
in acute cases.
Calcarea carbonica
GIRL, 4.5 MONTHS OLD
This case concerns a child with the same disease as case one. Her bones were already broken
in the uterus.
A: Tell us the story of the child.
MP: She's born with her legs upwards, near the body.
FP: First, they thought it was a breech presentation.
The gynecologist thought it was a breech presentation, because he felt the feet. But the feet
were lying near the head. So, there was a dislocation of both hip-joints. Look at "extremities,
dislocation hip" (p. 983).
13
FP: And the legs, the arms and the rips were broken.
MP: Then, they have laid her in an incubator and wrapped her up in cotton, because she had a
lot of pain. After a few days her head has become very flat, it was squeezed flat. But it is
better now. I can lay her on her side.
FP: We went to the hospital and they told us, that she wouldn't get older than one year. But
we have seen other patients and they are still alive.
Be careful with prognosis. In the University Hospital they told the parents that probably the
child would not survive the first year. With such a prognosis you can destroy a patient.
A: But they keep breaking their bones.
MP: They'll break their bones less when they are fourteen years old, but you still have to be
careful.
A: But they can never walk. How old is the child now ?
MP: 4 1/2 months.
A: In Leuven they say it is a congenital disease, there is no calcium in the bones.
FP: No, they say, it is a shortage of bone tissues.
A: How often has she broken something ?
MP: Until now, three times her arm.
A: Does she have pain ? Is she crying ?
MP: Yes.
A: Has the child other complaints ? Vomiting, for example ?
MP: No.
A: Is she tolerant of milk ?
MP: Yes.
We are inclined to theorize; we think that we know something, but in fact we do not know
anything, we do not know anything about it, what is going on on the energetic level. I have
theorized in the previous case, because I said it was an absorption problem and therefore the
bones could not absorb calcium. But I do not know what is behind this absorption problem.
This child is tolerant of milk, and nevertheless she does not have calcium in her bones. The
bones are broken. We say that this is an absorption problem, but that is not true; there is
something behind it, something deeper. Please, accept this symptom, believe the Repertory
and give the remedy without theorizing.
A: Has the child ever been ill ?
MP: No.
A: What about the stool ?
MP: I have to give her something for that, because otherwise it is too hard. She gets iron, and
then the stool is very green.
A: Was the stool also green before she got iron ?
MP: She has always had iron.
You see how they theorize: the stool is green, because of the iron; but maybe the stool was
14
green before she got iron. They try to explain why the stool is green, but in fact they do not
know it. I do not know it either, but I do know that constipation is a very important symptom
for Calcarea and they feel good with it. Where can we find this in the Repertory ? Calcarea
feels good with constipation - "cheerful when constipated" (p. 11). There is another remedy in
this rubric: Psorinum. Psorinum can not give anything away, it is so avaricious, has such a
fear of poverty, is always thinking of money, is afraid that it will not have enough coals to
heat in wintertime. Psorinum is very holding, very avaricious, afraid for money, afraid for
material needs.
Now, I will tell you something about constipation. Constipation in children is a very big
problem. Which is the most capital remedy with constipation in children, when the stool is
hard like little balls ? The two capital remedies are Alumina and Opium. When you look in
the rubric "stool, hard like balls" (p. 635), you see a few remedies, but the most important
remedy in new born children is Opium. Why ? Because the mother has been intoxicated with
derivates of Opium during delivery, for example, with DOLANTIN because of the pain. That
is the reason for constipation in children, and personally I think it is 50 % the reason for
cradle death, because of arrested respiration. Look in the Repertory at "arrested respiration
during sleep" (p. 763). The respiration stops during sleep, and when the child does not wake
up, it dies. Opium is capital in this rubric - if you have this kind of stool and if the mother has
had this derivate during delivery - I had such a case.
The mother of the child was pharmacist and the father was a dentist. The first child was in a
good health, and the second child died - cradle death. Then the mother came to me. She was
very depressed and could not get pregnant anymore. I gave her Natrum muriaticum and her
husband Aurum. After a few months she got pregnant, and everything was all right. The child
came, and two weeks later the child stopped breathing. The parents ran to the hospital, he was
connected to the monitor and all kinds of examinations had been made. They came back to
me, because they said they would kill the child with all their examinations. The child was
always sleeping right up, the bed was standing upright. When the child stopped breathing, the
monitor began to peep, and then the child started again. You know that Opium is very
sensitive to the slightest noise. That is why people who are dying and are in an Opium state,
hear so well. Maybe you heard it from other people or you experienced it yourself. Be careful
with people who are dying, because they may recover and they tell you everything what you
said. Be careful with people who are seemingly in coma; who are unconscious with open
eyes. Look at "eyes, open during unconsciousness" (p. 297). They are lying with open eyes in
the hospital. They do not react at all, but they understand everything.
What did I do in this child ? I repertorized Opium on the basis of symptoms, but there should
be another reason. Then, the mother told me that she got DOLANTIN during the delivery. I
got a completely clear picture, and I gave the child Opium and the reaction was beautiful.
Three, four months later they came back, because the child was coughing, had running eyes,
bronchitis and fever, but it was very strange that the child was constantly laughing. I looked in
my Repertory at "cheerful during heat" (p. 11): Aconitum, Opium. He got Opium M and two
days later he was cured.
The second very important remedy for constipation in children is Alumina. In which cases do
you need it ? In children who are fed by the breast ? No, children with constipation who get
mother's milk, need Calcarea or Silicea. But the children of modern mothers, who do not have
time anymore to give their children breast feeding, but give them artificial milk, those
15
children need Alumina when they are constipated. Alumina is the first remedy with
constipation in new born children who get artificial milk.
If the children get breast feeding, it is Calcarea, Silicea or maybe other remedies, but
Calcarea is very strong.
A: What kind of remedies does she get now ?
MP: She only gets iron, AD-vitamines, and something for the stool.
Who knows the most bleeding, hemorrhagic remedy in metrorrhagia ? After Phosphorus,
Sabina and other remedies the bleeding has not stopped yet, the iron is up to 0 - Kali
ferrocyanicum, this is number one. In cases where you have given Phosphorus, Sabina and
other remedies and you are fighting, fighting, fighting, and it does not help, it is Kali
ferrocyanicum. This remedy is often complementary to Sepia. The women have the same
appearance as Sepia, but we will study it later.
Remark: "I saw such a case cured by Belladonna."
A: Yes, with clots, with black clots, that is Belladonna. But fighting in a case means that you
give one remedy after the other: Belladonna - nothing; you give Rhus toxicodendron, one of
the greatest remedies in metrorrhagia; you give Phosphorus, bleeding without clots; you give
Sabina, Sepia and so on, but there is no response. This is your last save. And strange enough,
the iron in the blood is very, very low.
But, in fact, I did not want to tell you this, but something else. What happens when you give
so much iron ? The opposite. Which remedy do you have to give ? How can you find the
remedy in the Repertory that you have to give, when you have given too much iron ? Look in
the "generalities" at "iron, abuse of iron" (p. 1369). You can make them bleed by giving them
iron. You can make them weep by giving them iron. Which remedy do you have to give ?
Pulsatilla.
"After abuse of iron" (p. 1369): Arsenicum, Pulsatilla, Sulphur and Zincum. Which is the
most important symptom of Zincum ? Restlessness of the feet.
A: Apart from the fact of breaking the bones are there any other peculiarities ?
MP: No.
A: They haven't told you anything else ?
FP: She will remain small. We have met somebody who was 35 years old and measured 1,50
m, and was also deformed. Her thighs have been broken angularly.
A: Have they become straight ?
FP: No, nothing can be done about it to make them straight.
A: No, the problem is not the placing, but that she must get consolidated material in her
bones. She doesn't form it. You can compare it with a gutter where the cement has to be
formed in. The gutter is there.
MP: But she doesn't have the irons inside, that's what they told us. She doesn't make any
albumen.
A: Yes, that's theory.
All right, we have to take care of that what hardens the bones. According to me, there is not
such a thing that hardens the bones. On the radiographs you don't see the skeleton either, there
16
is no calcium in it, otherwise this would hold the radiations. There is the shape, but there is no
ossification. It is also marked that the head of the child is too large in proportion to the body.
Second, the head is wet.
MP: Yes, she perspires very much.
A: Where does she perspire most ?
MP: The side on which she lies.
A: Is there a part of the body where she perspires very much ?
MP: On her head.
A: The perspiration is very profuse at the back of her head. There she perspires very much.
This child perspires very much, so that she is wet all over. Her mother has to put her other
clothes on. Especially, she perspires at the head and in the neck - "back, perspiration, cervical
region" (p. 944). When you take off her clothes you feel that her hair is wet, because of the
perspiration.
A colleague said that every child perspires on the head. That is not true. When 80 % of the
children are perspiring on the head, this means that 80 % of the children need Calcarea.
In the feedback I asked the mother, and the child does not perspire on the head anymore.
A: How does it smell ?
MP: Well, it has a certain smell, but ...
FP: It's a kind of ... a sweet smell.
A: It is marked that the child is very lively. For its age it is very intelligent. It is very typical
for that kind of children. Intelligent in the way of very reactive. It is also an easy child.
MP: Yes, very easy.
A: She doesn't have teeth yet ?
FP: Those children get glassy teeth.
A: The problem is that they often wait too long with the homoeopathical treatment.
MP: Yes, we didn't know that either.
A: Concerning your daughter, I think they can put the legs straight. If the ossification takes
place, they can put the legs straight afterwards.
FP: They have never put her in plaster, because it has no sense.
A: Are there other complaints ? Does she sleep well ?
MP: Yes, very well.
FP: At night she cries when she wakes up.
A: But she doesn't vomit ?
MP: When she has eaten she brings up small amounts, but she doesn't now anymore.
A: Was the stool hard before she got iron ?
FP: Yes, in fact she didn't move.
MP: At that time she lay very quietly, now she moves a little.
A: How many times has she broken her bones ?
MP: About 5 times.
A: When was the last time ?
MP: About a fortnight ago.
A: Now, we'll give the child a remedy and I would like to see the child again. When she has
complaints like vomiting, diarrhoea, fever or whatever, call me. The child has to be treated
17
homoeopathically. Do you agree ? Because, when you give the child antibiotics - I can give
you the name of parents to ask them what happened to their child after antibiotics.
MP: She got antibiotics only once. She was coughing, and then she got CLAMOXYL.
A: You can ask those parents. Since I have given the remedy in 1983, this child hasn't been
ill.
There is nothing else to say ? All right.
See how intelligent the child looks.
I want to make a good video of the proportion of the head and the rest of the body.
You see a large head and large fontanelles. Where do we find this in the Repertory ? "Open
fontanelles" (p. 132). You see there Calcarea, Calcarea phosphorica and Silicea. There is also
Apis. When the head is very, very large you can also take the rubric "hydrocephalus" (p. 128):
Apis, Silicea and Calcarea. In Apis these children are suddenly shrieking, they call it "cri
encephalique" (brain cry) (p. 80). These children have a brain edema, this is usually the case
after difficult delivery. You know that Apis is an edema remedy.
FEEDBACK (April 16, 1987)
A: The first time I saw you on February 16, 1987. Now, we are April 16, 1987. At that time
the fontanelle was completely open, the head was really soft, the bones weren't hard. I gave
her two times the same remedy in M potency.
How did she react to the colds ?
MP: They have gone.
A: They have gone very fast without antibiotics.
What has changed in the child ?
MP: The perspiration has gone. She eats well, the previous fortnight she ate twice as much.
And she moves very much. She tramples with her legs and grasps with her two arms.
A: At that time she was lying in a shell. You were afraid of taking her out of her carry-cot for
fear she would break something. Now, she doesn't lie in her shell anymore, you take her on
your lap. There has been changing quite a lot. In the meantime, the head has become
spectacularly round, hard and the fontanelle is nearly closed. That is wonderful, don't you
think so ?
MP: Yes, and that in two months time.
A: She puts her soother in her mouth herself, she couldn't do this previously ?
MP : No, and she can also transfer an object from one hand to the other.
A: Has she broken anything yet ?
MP: No, she can sit in a baby-sit.
A: Can she lift her head up ?
MP: When I hold her with her belly against me, her back has become more strengthened. I
can also lay her flat on her belly.
A: And previously, she couldn't move. She lay very quietly. Terrific. Also, the head is in
proportion to her body less large.
That is typical for Calcarea, also in adults (short, superficial fits of coughing, more like
18
concussive clearing your throat. When an old man works in the garden and he constantly
coughs like this, it is Calcarea. You do not find this in the Repertory.
MP: Her legs are still angular.
A: What are your intentions concerning her legs ? Do you want to have them put straight ?
Are the arms all right ?
FP: The fractures are good, but they aren't straight.
A: But functionally, they are good. Are there other fractures accompanied with
displacements, where the bones are really wry.
MP: Her thighs. Her legs are completely angular and the lower part also.
A: I am really afraid to have this child anesthetized. At the moment, I think that we have to
take care of the child and make sure that everything is all right, and put the bones straight
when the child is older.
FP: They (in the hospital) told us that they would start with it when she is one year old.
A: When did you have your last check up ?
MP: I wanted to wait until we had been here.
A: Yes, we have to cooperate with the surgeons, but I am sure that your child can walk as any
other child. Of course, a little bit later, because those legs have to be put straight. But you
don't have to worry, this will be all right. I have seen what has happened during these two
months.
MP: It is incredible.
A: It has to be sawed open. But first, we have to give nature a free run, especially concerning
the arms. If you notice that it becomes straight spontaneously, then of course you don't have
to have her operated.
FP: Yes, but those arms have grown crooked.
A: Give nature a free run, it might go into the right direction, although we have to see about
the thighs. We may not interfere too soon. Does she sleep well ?
MP: Yes, very well.
A: She's quiet.
MP: Yes.
A: What about the dentition ?
MP: She doesn't have any teeth yet.
A: Before you came here she had antibiotics only once, and she hasn't had any ever since.
When she had a cold I repeated the remedy in 10 M and afterwards there hasn't been any
problems. Are there other problems that keep you busy ?
MP: This navel rupture won't cure.
Where can we find this in the Repertory ? "Hernia umbilicalis" (p. 552). There is Calcarea,
there is also Opium, do not forget it; also Nux vomica, Nux moschata and Lachesis. Do not
forget Nux vomica in children ! We always think it is a remedy for people who drink beer, but
it is also a remedy for women and children.
I had a child with a hernia inguinalis on the left side, it was a big hernia. I gave Nux vomica
C 30, and after one month the hernia had disappeared. The parents went to the doctor and he
said, "Yes, yes, the hernia has disappeared, but it still has to be operated," but the mother did
not want it, and the child was not operated.
19
Question: "What other symptoms did the child have ?"
A: I did not have other symptoms. In general, Nux vomica is the remedy for intoxication, and
I could not find other symptoms. You can not say whether a child of 1 or 1 1/2 years old is
fastidious or easily angry. It is difficult to get a clear picture of Nux vomica in such small
babies. You know, the snuffles of new born babies is Nux vomica, Lycopodium, Ammonium
carbonicum and so on. There you can make a differential diagnosis between Nux vomica and
Lycopodium, because Lycopodium always has these delayed nostrils and the head is flat.
It is very difficult to recognize constitutional symptoms for Nux vomica in children. You
often see them with the urging for stool - they push, push, push, but there is no stool coming
and then they are crying. Or maybe, there is a little stool, the typical Nux vomica stool, a little
bit and then they have this pressing down again, this bearing down, but they are exhausted;
and after a while another piece of stool is coming out. This can indicate Nux vomica, but it is
difficult to differentiate in the appearance.
In this case we had a clear symptom and that indicates only one remedy. Sometimes you find
a remedy on the basis of one symptom, a key note, and it has spectacular reactions.
A: It will cure spontaneously. I'm sure it will cure with this remedy. I said I will treat this
child for free to prove that she can be cured. I hope you will telephone me if there is
something wrong, and that I can treat her until she is healthy.
Until then Calcarea has been given 2 times in 10 M. You have to be flexible and dynamic.
Nobody says that only one dose of a remedy can cure. Until now the child has been given
Calcarea 20 times.
Do not forget - and this has also been written by the old masters: Calcarea in children has to
be repeated often. Do not go away from the remedy, as long as the perspiration returns; repeat
it after a fortnight, after 1 month, after 1 week, after 3 days, as many times as necessary.
Repeat always Calcarea in young children. In elder people, old people one dose is sufficient,
maybe you need to repeat another dose after one year, but in young children you always have
to repeat it.
You only have to repeat the remedy when there are symptoms. Never give a remedy when
there are no symptoms. You can not cut a tree, if there is no tree. That is also true for
Homoeopathy. Only repeat the remedy when there are symptoms again; when he starts eating
less, perspiring more, and weeping easier, then you repeat the remedy. But do not give a
remedy and say, "From now on until 1992 you have to take Calcarea every week." No, that is
stupid, then you will have proovings.
Question: "Why did you repeat the remedy here ?"
A: The child has relapses, for example, coughing or diarrhoea. What do you do in such a case
? Do you say, "No, I gave the remedy, and it has to keep this way ?"
No, here you have to help. Only when there are strong symptoms for another remedy you
give the appropriate remedy.
When this child has, for example, chicken pox which are very itching, and it scratches all
night - which remedy can you give ? Not Calcarea, you have to give a complementary
remedy.
20
Proposal: "Pulsatilla."
A: Why Pulsatilla ? Does Pulsatilla have great restlessness, vesicular eruptions, sleeplessness,
turning around in bed ? Which is the remedy ? Rhus toxicodendron.
But now, when the child has fever, high fever, it means that the child is improving. Someone
with a less vitality can not produce high fever.
Besides, I am not afraid of fever. It is no problem when someone has 40 C fever, the fever is
not the problem, but the patient, this means that when a patient feels well and gets 40 C
fever, that is not a problem at all. When he has central congestion, cold feet and hands, and
phantasies a little, then you give which remedy ?
Belladonna, that is also complementary to Calcarea.
But when the child has 40 C fever without Belladonna symptoms, I can repeat Calcarea or
give anything at all.
This child has always been coughing. I repeated Calcarea 50 M. Nobody can say how often
you have to repeat a remedy. That is individual. There is no rule saying that you may give a
remedy only once. Maybe I have to repeat Calcarea 50 times. Why not ? It depends on the
circumstances.
Now, I gave the mother 5 tablets Calcarea 50 M. Each time the child reacted well. I have her
returned regularly, and I observe whether she has changed. Maybe it goes into the direction of
Calcarea phosphorica or Phosphorus or Tuberculinum or something else. I can not give
another remedy as long as there are no other strong symptoms that point to another remedy.
Until now, we have a very thick, obstinate child - "obstinate children, inclined to grow fat"
(p. 69): there is only one remedy: Calcarea.
FEEDBACK (December 4, 1987)
A: How is she doing ?
MP: She hasn't had pain since All Saints.
A: No pain for a whole month. What about the physical development ? She can do several
things now. What can she do ?
MP: She sits alone.
A: Without help.
MP: Yes.
A: Can you put her over there ?
MP: Of course.
A: She has gained a lot of strength. What about turning around ?
MP: She doesn't want to do it.
A: But you told me she did it once ?
FP: She can, but she won't.
A: She's teething now. She has already 2 teeth. How old was she when she has cut her first
tooth ?
MP: 11 months, but the two together.
The dentition is late. Look in the Repertory "dentition slow" (p. 431). You see, the remedy is
there again: Calcarea, Calcarea phosphorica and Silicea, these 3 remedies are the most
important. That is a very important symptom, also when children are late in learning to walk,
21
this is a very important symptom. Look in the Repertory (p. 1223). There are also Causticum
and Natrum muriaticum, but we will discuss these remedies later.
When you are doing the anamnesis it is important to ask at what age they learned walking
and at what age they cut their teeth to see whether it is Calcarea phosphorica, Natrum
muriaticum, Calcarea or Causticum.
You see that this child can sit now. The other child, 13 years old, can not lift up its head yet.
This case is worse, because she already broke her bones in the uterus, and the other child got
the OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA, because of the diarrhoea and the vomiting.
A: What about standing ?
MP: She doesn't want to do it yet.
T: (therapist) At the moment we are occupied with the turning, then crawling and then sitting.
MP: In fact she is too early in sitting.
A: She can keep her head up. That is no problem anymore.
MP: Her arms have become more forwards.
A: First, they were drawn backwards. That is also typical for Calcarea. They always want to
draw their arms backwards, because of the respiration.
You see, that is typical for Calcarea. When they do not get air, they draw their shoulders
backwards. Look in the Repertory on p. 771, "respiration, difficult, retraction of shoulders
amel." - or on p. 839, "chest, oppression, drawing shoulders back amel.".
Do you hear ? (These short, superficial coughs)) This child has problems everywhere, in the
whole body. The heart is feeble, the lungs, everything is feeble.
"Chest, oppression, drawing shoulders back amel." (p. 839), there is only one remedy:
Calcarea capital. When you see a person sitting like that, the shoulders backwards and the
arms over the chair-back like, for example, in asthma patients, it is Calcarea.
A: She is still coughing. She can also stretch out her arms to grasp your hand.
T: First, she cried a lot when the mother wasn't there. Now, it is all right. How is the
prognosis ? When can she crawl or walk ?
A: You know the prognosis as given by Leuven. At the moment we are more advanced. So, I
can't give any prognosis, but the child must walk. I don't care when, but she must walk. That's
what I promised at the beginning. I would also like to see this child walking.
T: I don't have problems with turning. I'm afraid to turn her around on her shoulders.
A: But she hasn't broken her bones anymore for a long time.
MP: No.
A: She doesn't want to repel with her feet yet ?
MP: No, she pulls them upwards, even when she's lying. She never extends her legs.
T: When you push against the toes, she should get an extending reflex, but she doesn't have
it.
A: She doesn't do it yet ?
T: But we are only practising this since yesterday.
A: How often do you exercise with her ?
T: Once a week, and the mother is also instructed, to exercise as much as possible.
22
I discuss with the therapist. We try to have a good understanding.
Now, the child is walking in a "hang-chair". I will wait to make a next video, when she is
standing alone and when she is walking. That was my promise, that she would walk.
This is what Calcarea can do. I gave her at least 20 times Calcarea. Each time when she
relapsed I repeated Calcarea.
Question: "What happened to the fractures ?"
A: Later on she will tell that everything came right spontaneously. I asked her to put away the
bedclothes and to let her sleep naked, so that she can extend the lower limbs. That is all we
have done, besides the exercises. I hope that she can walk at the end of the year.
Question: "Do you see more patients with OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA ?"
A: Yes, at least 10.
Question: "And did they get other remedies ?"
A: Yes, constitutionally, all of them were Calcarea - if we can use this word "constitutional" but there are others who needed Lycopodium or Tuberculinum, because of inflammations of
the lungs, or asthma and so on, after the breaking of the bones had been cured. But up to now
all of them needed Calcarea, they were clear Calcarea cases.
I think, we have 8 cases of OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA in our centre, because they
have a self-helping group and they tell it to each other. At the end you have all these patients.
Question: "Is it possible that symptoms return even when you give such high potencies ?"
A: There is no law that says how often you have to give a remedy. That is different. In some
cases you have to give it often, in other cases you only have to give it once. Who will decide ?
Only the patient himself decides.
Normally, we are very strict in repeating the remedy. We do not repeat too often, we wait,
and when we see amelioration all the time and no relapses, they do not get a remedy at all,
only Sac-lac., all the time Sac-lac.; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 years long Sac-lac.
I have cured a Multiple-Sclerose patient with Argentum nitricum. In three years time he only
got 2 times Argentum nitricum, nothing else, the other remedies were Sac-lac.
Sac-lac. is a very good remedy, but when there is a relapse you have to repeat a remedy. Do
not accept if someone says that it works a long time - well, in some cases - but not always.
That's why I say you have to be flexible and it also depends on your patient. There is no rule
that says how often we have to repeat. When you have an Ignatia patient and she reacts well
to the remedy, but lives in the same circumstances which have caused the Ignatia situation,
then she will relapse. When two people are living together and they are fighting, you can give
Natrum muriaticum for the migraine, but when they keep on fighting, you have to give
Natrum muriaticum again. This is the husband-syndrome, it is a blockade, because the
circumstances are bad; the energy gets lost and there is a relapse. We give energy and when
the circumstances are good, the energy will hold on for a long time; when the circumstances
are bad, there are relapses. That is normal.
A: Up to now the child has had Calcarea 50 M for about 20 times and has always reacted
23
well, whatever she has, coughing, fever and so on. You see, you have to repeat. She's still
coughing.
T: Yes, also while weeping, she coughs after weeping.
A: Yes, because of the effort. I discussed this with the mother already. We have to be careful
and may not overburden the child.
But she is happy and satisfied.
MP: Yes.
A: She is very obstinate.
Calcarea carbonica
BOY, 5 YEARS OLD
A: Until now I haven't seen this child. What is the problem ?
MP: Quite a lot of broken bones, until now thirteen.
A: Since when ?
MP: Since he is one year old. A fortnight ago they took off the last plaster, that was the
thirteenth time.
A: The diagnosis is OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA.
MP: Yes.
A: At that time he was one year old. Now he is 5 years old.
What has he broken up to now ?
MP: Six times the left lower leg, three times the right one and once injured and three times
the upper leg, his arm also once. But his left leg is worst. Now he wears supports to support
the lower legs. But now he breaks his upper leg.
A: It doesn't improve ?
MP: No. He has worn those supports for almost one year. But now he breaks his upper leg.
A: Let's have a look at those supports.
MP: He can't stand well.
A: It is peculiar that he breaks his legs after the first year. What's the reason ?
MP: Well, when he was born you couldn't notice anything, except the blue sclerae. When he
was four months old he wrenched his leg and cried. The children's doctor thought that the
bones couldn't easily break in such a little child and said to let him rest for a week. Then it
was better.
A: He had blue sclerae.
Carcinosinum and Tuberculinum are two remedies of which we know that they have blue
sclerae. And you often find blue sclerae in OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA children.
A: At that time he wasn't ill, didn't have diarrhoea or colds ?
MP: No, he was never ill.
A: Until the bones began to break spontaneously.
MP: Yes.
A: No milk allergy or so ?
24
MP: No, nothing.
FP: He drinks milk very much.
A: He likes milk ?
MP: Yes, very much.
A: There is no indication why he got this disease ? There hasn't been any disease of this kind
in your family ?
MP: No, nothing of this kind. When he was one year old he fell three times after each other,
broke his bones and then we noticed it.
A: Did he get a lot of antibiotics ?
MP: In fact, no. But I noticed that he became weaker when he took antibiotics.
A: How did you notice this ?
MP: It seemed as if he became supple.
FP: Then he broke his bones easier.
A: So, when he took antibiotics he broke his bones easier. Why did he get antibiotics ?
MP: If he had a severe sore throat he had to take antibiotics, because it couldn't be cured
without.
A: Did he have antibiotics regularly ?
MP: When there was no other solution, with sore throats and coughs. He's not so often ill.
I asked her whether the child has often colds. She said, no, but now I found out that he got
antibiotics very often. She thinks that this is not important. Every time the child was weak
after the antibiotics. As the name says "anti - bios" antibiotics are against the life. We should
not take antibiotics at all. Then of course, we have to give the right remedy. When you do not
find the right remedy, you have to give antibiotics. In Germany they wrote that you have to
give gamma globulins when you give antibiotics, because the body defence has become weak
after the antibiotics - in order to sell their gamma globulin and indeed, in the laboratory they
proved that the gamma globulins decrease by antibiotics.
Indeed, antibiotics kill the bacteria, but also the patient if he always gets antibiotics.
In this case the child became weaker and started to break his bones as a consequence of the
antibiotics. I can not say that this child has OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA since his birth,
but the symptoms of the OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA arise, because he became weaker
after the antibiotics.
A: What do you notice in this child ? Do you have other children ?
MP: No.
A: Did you notice any other symptoms ?
MP: No.
A: Does he perspire easily ?
MP: Yes, very much. On his head.
A: Where exactly ?
MP: In his hair.
A: Is there a particular place where he perspires most when he lies in bed ?
MP: When he lies in bed his hair is wet at the sides.
A: Also on the back, in his neck ?
MP: I haven't noticed it yet.
25
A: You haven't noticed it yet.
MP: No.
A: But you noticed his wet hair ?
MP: Yes.
A: Do you think that his head was rather large when he was a baby ?
MP: I haven't noticed anything of that kind. But the fontanelle was closed very late.
A: If you look at his neck, it is notable that it is very thin.
At which symptom do I look ? "Back, emaciation, cervical region" (p. 887).
A: Even the neck and the back of his head are a little wet.
MP: Yes, that's right.
A: When did he cut his first tooth ?
MP: When he was six months old.
A: Rather early. Let's have a look at the teeth. They are white, not transparent. He is a very
vivid child. All these children have open eyes, are very clever, and follow everything exactly.
Is he anxious ?
MP: Yes, I must say that he has become anxious, because of the many broken bones and the
treatments.
A: Of what is he anxious ?
MP: Of hurting him.
A: Of what else ?
MP: He is anxious of sleeping in the dark. He can't bear a lot of noise.
FP: He is anxious of the doctors, that they hurt him.
A: I won't. I'll only feel his head. Is he very anxious ?
MP: Yes, I also.
The mother is very concerned, maybe she also needs Calcarea. Calcarea has the most
anxieties, they can have 50 different anxieties.
A: Like the mother. Is he anxious of animals ?
MP: He doesn't come much into contact with them.
A: Of mice, dogs ?
Calcarea, but especially Tuberculinum, is anxious of dogs. We may not forget this, because
the child has blue sclerae. But a Tuberculinum child would never sit so quietly. Even during
sleep he rolls his head - "motion of head, rolling head" (p. 131).
MP: Not of dogs, but of spiders, he is startled.
A: Does he have fear of height ?
FP: I don't think so. Not when I hold him in the air.
A: But you have never been with him in a high building ?
FP: Once we went up with an elevator, he wasn't afraid then.
A: Does he sleep well ?
MP: Yes.
26
A: Does he dream ?
MP: I can't say.
A: Does he watch T.V. ?
MP: Yes.
A: Is he afraid of certain programmes ?
MP: Yes, when there are masks or so, or horrible faces.
A: What happens then ?
MP: Then he asks me to switch off the T.V.
A: Does he wake up at night when he has seen something like that ?
MP: Not that I know.
"Horrible things affect profoundly" (p. 52).
A: His fine hands are very particular. They are very soft.
MP: He can easily bend them.
A: What about his appetite ?
MP: That's very difficult. At the moment I have to give him vitamins.
A: What does he like to eat ?
MP: Chips and hamburger. He likes that very much. But he has been very difficult in eating
since he was a little boy.
A: Sweets ?
MP: No, not much.
A: Does he like eggs ?
MP: Yes, he likes them.
A: So, chips, hamburger and eggs.
MP: Yes, but in fact he eats everything. When he is ill and he doesn't want to eat then he still
eats chips.
A: Could you say that he is fond of eggs ?
MP: Yes.
P: And bacon.
A: How does he eat eggs ?
MP: Soft boiled.
A: May the white of the egg be slimy ?
MP: No.
A: It has to be right. And the yolk has to be soft to sop the bread in it.
MP: Exactly.
"Aversion to slimy", that is Calcarea and Natrum muriaticum. When Calcarea eats eggs, they
are mostly boiled or fried; seldom scrambled eggs, and he sops his bread, fried potatoes or
chips in the yolk.
A: On which side does he sleep ?
MP: Always on this side, usually left.
A: Do you agree that I treat the child completely ? I mean, when the child becomes acute ill it
has to be treated here, and may not get antibiotics. My prognosis is that after the remedy the
27
child won't break his bones anymore, unless it gets an accident, but not just by falling. In fact,
vitamins aren't necessary anymore, they are sufficient in food. When he doesn't get acute ill I
see you in August again.
MP: At the moment he's coughing.
A: I heard it. It becomes also better after the remedy. On the radiographs you see that the
cortex of the bones is very thin. We have radiographs of 1982 and 1986. The thickness of the
cortex has changed very little. Maybe, after a few years you can take other radiographs and
compare. But the main thing is that he doesn't break his bones anymore.
MP: I'm very satisfied if he wouldn't break his bone during one year.
FEEDBACK
A: He came with OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA. It was notable that he perspired very
much on his head and was very anxious. His appetite was moderate. You called me, because
he had diarrhoea and I repeated the same remedy.
The next day the child got diarrhoea. I consider this as a secretion process. If he has this
diarrhoea for six days I repeat the remedy. Maybe that is something new: when there is an
aggravation after the remedy you can help by repeating the remedy and so giving more energy
to overcome the aggravation. If the child is strong enough to bring something outwards then
you have to consider this as a secretion, for example, perspiration, diarrhoea. If you repeat the
remedy you give some more energy and the aggravation period is smaller.
That is what we do on our centre: in severe aggravations we repeat the same remedy in the
same potency. There is no rule concerning the frequency of the remedy and the height of the
potency.
MP: On Thursday after the first tablet he was very difficult.
A: How was the appearance of the stool ?
MP: Yellow. After two or three days nearly watery and stank.
A: So, yellow, watery, and stinking.
You were here on June, 4 and on June, 12 you got the second tablet.
MP: The next day it was much better.
A: That's peculiar.
MP: Is that a normal reaction ?
A: A very good reaction.
MP: I heard you get fever of the remedy. He didn't.
A: The fact is that he reacted, because the next day he got a different stool and the same
remedy, repeated after 8 days, stopped the stool. How is the appearance of the stool now ?
MP: Now, it is good.
A: The most important symptom was the perspiration on the head. How is it now ?
MP: Much better, but he's still perspiring.
P: When the sun is shining.
A: In what sense is the perspiration less ?
MP: Now it is changing. Sometimes much, sometimes less.
A: Previously, he perspired constantly.
28
MP: Yes.
A: So, we can say that he perspires less ?
MP: Yes.
A: All right. Has there something changed in his behaviour ?
MP: In that way, he is the same.
A: And his appetite ?
MP: Changing. But he drinks very much. He is always thirsty.
The mother says that his appetite changes. She is very concerned about the child. Previously,
she said that he was a very bad eater, this means that now he eats better than previously.
A: Previously, he was less thirsty ?
MP: I noticed it immediately, that he is constantly thirsty. Much drinking doesn't harm, does
it ?
A: No, what does he drink ?
MP: Always the same: water, chocolate milk, lemonade, milk. Sometimes he asks for coffee,
but he isn't allowed to drink coffee, is he ?
A: Does he prefer cold or warm drinks ?
MP: Cold.
A: Has his appetite changed ? Previously, he was very difficult.
MP: He likes dinner. He's not so fond of soup, but he likes potatoes, vegetables and meat.
A: He also liked eggs. What about them ?
MP: He still likes them. He gets one every day. Also hamburger and chips.
P: And mayonnaise.
There are still quite a lot of Calcarea symptoms. But up to now, there are no problems with
the bones anymore. The mother is afraid to put the supports away.
A: Have you informed whether there has been tuberculosis in your family ? Has someone
died of lung diseases ?
MP: No, but of heart diseases. My father and his 4 brothers.
A: You told me he is anxious of noise, dark, spider and dogs.
MP: He has never borne noise very well. He is still afraid in the dark.
P: But I don't cry anymore.
A: He sleeps well ?
P: Yes.
A: He doesn't wake up at night ?
MP: No.
A: He doesn't like horrible programmes on T.V. ?
MP: He still doesn't like them.
A: What about his walking ?
MP: He walks much better. Besides, we started with physical therapy.
A: Previously, his upper leg was broken. When ?
MP: On April 19, of this year.
A: And plaster.
29
MP: Until May, 28.
A: Before April, how long ago was the last fracture ?
MP: There were nearly 9 months in between.
A: He's still walking with supports, why ?
MP: I'm afraid without them. Not when I can hold him.
A: You are afraid that he is falling ?
MP: When he breaks something he has to go back into the hospital.
A: We have to take care that he doesn't break anything.
MP: He won't break them anymore, will he ?
A: According to me not, because he has reacted very well to the remedy. You told me, for
example, that he perspires less. I can compare the walking with difficulty.
MP: Yes, he has been in plaster for two months.
A: Previously, he had a cold regularly. And now ?
MP: No, I noticed that he has become stronger.
A: Now, I gave Foliata squalosa. When there is something wrong, for example, a cold or so,
you call me and get a remedy. He can go on with the physical therapy; massage isn't
necessary.
MP: There, he does all kinds of exercises. Is that another remedy ?
A: No, we stick to the same remedy.
MP: What does it contain ?
A: That's energy that he needs. The remedy comes from a sea mussel. It is energy, nothing
material. Probably, it is an absorption problem. When he took the remedy he got diarrhoea.
Probably, that is a reaction of the kind of a secretion process, a healing process of the
intestines. The energy, that comes from a mussel as in this case, accomplishes the good
Calcarea absorption in the intestines. It is not a problem of the bones, but of the malabsorption
of the intestines ... (discussion about the homoeopathical way of working) For you it is
important that the child becomes healthy.
MP: Sometimes, he also has inflammations of the penis.
A: Phimosis. There is also this remedy. You don't need to put ointment on it, only keep it
clean. When he gets a strong inflammation, call me. Does he walk about much ?
MP: Yes, one leg is shorter.
A: He's still growing.
MP: Lately, he has grown quite a lot.
A: Now we will wait three months until you come back.
He was coughing and I gave him Calcarea M, because the cough would not stop. What would
you do ?
Proposal: "Wait, wait a week !"
A: No, no. I repeated the remedy. You can not do any harm when you give the right remedy.
How can you do any harm when you give energy ? In fact, we may not say remedy, but we
give energy. How can you do any harm with the right energy ?
Remark: "But with a high potency there can be an aggravation."
A: With the right remedy ? Give me a clear example where this happened. I have never seen
30
this with the right remedy and we have up to now 16,OOO patients in our centre. I do not
believe that. He has so called aggravations after the omitting of allopathic medicines.
Remark: "But there are aggravations after high potencies."
A: No, when I am sure of my remedy - I had a Phosphorus patient with eczema and I gave
Phosphorus 50 M, afterwards the itching was much better. If I had given Sulphur, there could
have been an enormous aggravation, but a high potency of the right remedy is no problem, but
it is with a wrong remedy, a close remedy, that is dangerous. When the child needs
Phosphorus and you give Sulphur, Lycopodium or Calcarea, you can provoke, for example,
asthma. Patients with skin diseases, who need a so called psoric remedy, they are all sensitive
to Sulphur, Psorinum, Lycopodium and Calcarea.
Remark: "Until now I thought that the first remedy would disturb the second as long as it is
working."
A: As long as you do not have an amelioration after the remedy and you give the second
remedy too early, indeed, you can have an aggravation.
Question: " ... ?" (not understandable)
A: When the patient gets the remedy the first time and previously, the disease has been
suppressed and you give a 10 M potency, you give him energy, he is stronger and can bring
out the symptoms which have been suppressed previously, that is normal.
But you have to be careful when you give a child Graphites. When he can not urinate or is
not thirsty anymore afterwards, it can be an Apis situation. It can get a fit of toxic materials
which the kidneys can not secrete. Then you have to give Apis.
Question: "Why did you treat the diarrhoea ?"
A: When the aggravation takes too long, it means that the patient is not strong enough. I do
not want to theorize, but I only want to show that we think in practice it is necessary to repeat
the remedy in this kind of aggravation and to stop the aggravation in this way. I do not know
what is all behind this.
A: We give the same potency and usually dissolved in water and let our patients take a few
times a spoon of that solution.
Question: "... ?" (not understandable)
A: What we see in these circumstances in which we live - maybe we have less defence than
those people of Kent's time - today we have to repeat the remedy individually. In one case we
have to repeat it often, in another case one dose is sufficient. It depends on the circumstances
in which the patient lives. And therefore I say: be flexible, individualize.
Allergic asthma
Calcarea carbonica
BOY, 6 YEARS OLD
31
A: What is the problem ?
MP: Matthias is suffering from allergic asthma. In the hospital they called it "extrinsic
asthma". When he has been running, he starts coughing. According to the tests he is allergic
to house dust.
Do you see what I am doing here. The hands are very flexible. In every Calcarea child you
can do dorsal flexion, because they are very soft. Also when you take their hand, it is as if you
have a mollusc, a very soft thing in your hand, as if there are no bones, very soft.
Then I felt there (at the back of his neck). Usually, you have to feel there and you will feel
the wet in the cervical region. When you do this, it gives you a few points and this child gives
you a certain impression and immediately after 3 or 5 minutes you know the remedy.
A: He's wheezing after coughing ?
MP: He starts coughing and then wheezing.
A: Especially after efforts, this seems to play an important role.
MP: When he was little he had more problems with that. Now, he gets medicines.
A: What kind of medicines ?
MP: BEROTEC drops, LOMIDAL and LOMISOL as nose-spray.
A: I notice that he is rather a nice, easy child. He perspires a little at his hands.
P: I am too warm.
MP: Normally, he is easily cold.
Be careful. Everybody says that Calcarea is a chilly remedy, that they are easily cold. Up to
10 years old they are often, but also sometimes, warm.
But be careful in your consultation; for example, when you ask the mother, "Is your child a
chilly child ?" And she says, "No, he perspires easily." But there is a difference between
chilliness and perspiring. Be careful.
Remark: "Children to the age of 4 years are not at all chilly, but warm and they can become
chilly when they are 6 years old."
A: Yes, right - but when you are dealing with an Arsenicum child who is warm - I do not
know. But up to the age of 10 years Calcarea children can be warm-blooded. Do not rely too
much on the sensitivity to cold or warm. If you have a very chilly man, 99 % of the
homoeopaths will not prescribe Sulphur, never, if you are dealing with a very chilly man. But
I can tell you that 30 to 40 % of my Sulphur prescription is for cold, chilly people, they react
very well to Sulphur. So, do not forget, Sulphur is in 40 % chilly, not warm-blooded, as it is
written in the books.
The same in Calcarea. Mostly, adult Calcareas are chilly, but we have had patients, who tell
us that they are warm-blooded. And then the differential diagnosis is difficult to which
remedy ? The Calcarea appearance in an adult is rather fat, blue eyes and blond hair, that is
often Calcarea. If they are warm-blooded to which remedy do they remind us of ? Pulsatilla.
That is the difficulty in the differential diagnosis between Pulsatilla and Calcarea.
Remark: "Pulsatilla can also be chilly."
32
A: Yes, Pulsatilla is chilly, but does not tolerate warm rooms nor the sun. Sometimes, you
have a difficult differential diagnosis. And then you have to go to the character and disorder
stomach from fat and so on.
Anyhow, this child, she says, is a chilly child, easily cold, but perspiring easily.
Where am I looking at now ? At the neck. There is an emaciation, this is an observation.
When you see an emaciated neck, a Cleopatra neck - Cleopatra's neck was very narrow - look
at the Repertory, where can we find this ? "Emaciation of the cervical region" (p. 887). There
you find Calcarea, Lycopodium, Natrum muriaticum. Natrum muriaticum is the most
important remedy in emaciated necks. That is observation, that is very important !
FP: Yes, he is easily cold.
A: He has a very narrow neck. He is easily cold, but perspires easily, like the father.
That is peculiar: he is chilly, but perspires easily. That is peculiar; it is strange that they are
chilly and perspire easily. That is also the case in Silicea.
Besides: do you know how Calcarea women sleep ? Like a spoon nestled close to their
partner, because they have cold thighs. In the Repertory you find the rubrics "coldness thighs"
(p. 961) and "coldness gluteal region". Phosphorus sleeps with his knees pressed to the
stomach of the partner, because Phosphorus has cold knees.
A: Where does the child perspire most ?
MP: When he is sleeping his hair is often wet.
A: So, not all over his body, but at particular parts of the body.
FP: Also in the face.
A: Where especially does he perspire at the head ?
MP: At the forehead, the hair implantation.
FP: You can easily see this.
A: Have you noticed that he perspires at the back of his head ?
MP: No, I haven't paid attention to that.
A: He looks rather pale.
MP: Yes, rims around the eyes.
A: When has he learned walking ?
Calcarea children are late in learning to walk. I will tell you the rubrics, because many of you
do not know them: "Extremities, late learning walk to" (p. 1223) and "weakness, child late
learning to walk" (p. 1228). In Natrum muriaticum children it is not because of the weakness,
but because they do not know how.
MP: At 12 months.
A: When did he cut his first tooth ?
MP: At 7 months.
The first problems arose between the first and the second year. Previously, we didn't notice
anything. As a baby there was a rattle on his chest.
Be careful. Sometimes they have a very good development until they are walking and then
33
the Calcarea state starts. If they walk early, on 12 months, do not go away from Calcarea. It is
not because they walk early that this cannot be a Calcarea case. If the disease starts later, after
when they are 1 year old, then the Calcarea problem starts. Only the positive symptoms count,
the negative symptoms are not important. You can not say that this is not a Phosphorus case,
because he does not like ice-cream or sleeps on the left side. You know, mostly Phosphorus
can not sleep on the left side, but in our cases we have 50 % of the Phosphorus patients who
sleep on the right side and 50 % on the left side. But if they can not sleep on the left side, this
is a strong symptom for Phosphorus and for Lachesis. But if they can sleep on the left side it
does not mean anything against Phosphorus, nothing. The same in this case, if they can walk
on 12 months, it still is not against Calcarea.
You see, the first problems arose between the first and the second year. So they started later
than his walking. If they would have started on 6 months, he would have walked late.
A: Is he an anxious child ?
FP: When, for example, someone dies, he is very concerned about that.
A: He is dealing with that. Is he anxious for something particular ? For example, has the light
in his bedroom to be switched on while he's sleeping ?
MP: No.
A: Does he watch TV ?
MP: Yes.
A: Is he anxious for certain things shown on TV ?
MP: Yes, lately there was a programme about the middle life, where they had been fighting
and there was also a dragon. We had to switch off the TV, because he didn't like that.
"Anxious for dragons" - where can we find this ?
"Horrible things affect profoundly" (p. 52). When Calcarea children see such things on TV or
in a movie, and go to bed afterwards, they see those horrible monsters again on closing their
eyes. We will talk about these rubrics later with another case.
There is another rubric, that indicates this horror in the mind.
"Excitement after hearing horrible things" (p. 40). There is Calcarea again, also Cicuta.
The child can not see horrible things or monsters on TV.
A: Also anxious of dragons. Did you notice he has fear of high places ? For instance when
you hold him in the air ?
MP: No.
A: Are there other things he's anxious of ?
MP: No.
A: What about his appetite ?
MP: He eats very much. Except milk products, he likes them less. He eats milk only in
pudding or rice-milk. But he does not eat cheese, yoghurt, or curd.
P: I don't like that.
MP: Meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, he eats everything.
A: He doesn't eat cheese.
34
MP: Only when it has been melted, for example, in Croque Monsieur, there is also cheese in
between, but melted. Then he'll eat it.
You see ? Delicacies, he only wants cheese when it is in Croque Monsieur. It is also cheese,
but he only likes cheese in this way. He is dainty in the choice of his food.
A: This means, that he is very dainty in the choice of his food. So he doesn't like eggs either,
when he doesn't like milk products.
MP: He eats eggs. He likes them rather very well.
A: How does he like his eggs ?
MP: Fried.
A: Why fried eggs ?
P: To sop my bread in the yolk.
When you see children eating - they have 2 (fried) eggs and they put their bread in the yolk,
put it in their mouth and when one egg is finished they start the other one. Also in soft-boiled
eggs; they cut the head and then they put pieces of bread in it and eat them. That is the way of
eating of Calcarea carbonica. Do not forget that !
A: That is very typical. How do the eggs have to be when they are boiled ?
MP: We seldom eat boiled eggs. But he likes soft boiled eggs, but we eat it too seldom if I
may specify it.
A: Also an aversion to milk ? Is he afraid of certain animals ?
MP: I have to think. We don't have domestic pets. I think, in fact no.
FP: No.
A: What kind of meat does he like ?
I make a differential diagnosis to which remedy ? Fear of dogs, what kind of meat does he
like ? Tuberculinum. You must be very careful in mixing up Calcarea and Tuberculinum. I
know, Tuberculinum is a more difficult child. If you have a difficult child, the first remedy
you have to think about is Tuberculinum. But he is calm, he is sitting there. We have to
prescribe so often Tuberculinum and so often this Tuberculinum picture is the same as this
Calcarea, about the same, so that we must be careful. We also have to see, if there is a
Tuberculinum picture behind this Calcarea. That is why I ask about fears of animals. The fear
of dogs is very strong for Tuberculinum and the kind of meat he likes - they say
Tuberculinum does not like meat, but there is one kind of meat they like. Which ? They like
sausages and minced meat, so that they do not have to bite. Especially this kind of meat they
like: hamburger, all this rotten meat, all these things, which consists of 50 % meat and 50 %
all other kinds of things. They like these kind of things - but in general they do not like meat.
That is only for me to know, maybe in the future, and we have seen this often, that the
reaction to Calcarea was very good, after a time they relapse and there is no reaction and then
we learn that there has been tuberculosis in the family, fear of dogs, and grinding teeth at
night - that is Tuberculinum, and then you have to give Tuberculinum.
You often will see this in your practice, that you have right, good indications for the remedy,
for example, to give Calcarea. First, you see that the patient reacts well, but relapses
35
afterwards. He gets Calcarea again, there is again a good reaction and relapses again. And
then you ask yourself why he relapses and then suddenly you see Tuberculinum.
That is why Tuberculinum is the remedy when a well-chosen remedy does not act or acts too
short. But you have to have indications to give Tuberculinum.
I ask those questions only for later.
MP: Minced meat, chicken.
P: Sausages.
MP: Beefsteak less.
FP: He doesn't like liver.
A: Tell me something about the history of the family. Were there any particular diseases in
the family ? Has someone of your grandparents been in a sanatorium ?
MP: No.
A: Was there tuberculosis in your family ?
MP: No.
A: Or has someone been positive in a tuberculosis test ?
A: You have to inform you exactly for the further treatment.
FP: Yes.
Which is the first examination you have to do, when you want to prescribe Tuberculinum ?
Where do you have to feel ? You have to feel here, both sides of the neck. Tuberculinum
children have always 99 % chronical glands here, sometimes thick, sometimes thin, but you
can always feel glands. In Tuberculinum you always have to look at the back, they have very
much hair on their back, and when they take off their clothes, you see a narrow chest, they
have a very narrow chest - and you see the rips.
A: Does he sleep well ?
MP: Yes.
A: Does he grind teeth ?
FP: When he was little.
MP: I think, he doesn't do it now anymore.
A: So, grinding teeth when he was little.
That is a very strong symptom for Tuberculinum - "grinding teeth during sleep" (p. 432),
"motions of head while sleeping"; in children also the desire for cold milk, which you also
find in Staphisagria and Sanicula.
What do you expect ? I think, in this case I would give Calcarea and after Calcarea, maybe
after 1 year, there will be relapses and then I will have to give Tuberculinum. That is what I
expect.
But the character does not indicate Tuberculinum now, not at all. This is a slow, obedient
Calcarea boy.
A: Tell me something about his character. What kind of boy is he ?
MP: He likes to tease someone. He is Mr. Particular. He doesn't like to make mistakes; in
36
colouring he will never go outside the brims of the drawing; everything must be exactly. He
can also be very obstinate.
FP: And sensitive.
A: In what sense ?
MP: When someone has had an accident, when something has happened, or someone has
died.
FP: When he sees that someone has died on TV he is very concerned about it.
A: What does he do in his spare time ?
MP: He's always playing.
A: With what ?
P: Lego, puzzles, drawing.
A: He's not a physically active child. He can play quiet games.
MP: Yes.
That is very important. He plays with Lego, not active playing. That is a very big differential
diagnosis between Calcarea and Tuberculinum. Tuberculinum is restless, running from here to
there, jumping here, throwing things away, always busy, running. And Calcarea ? No ! He sits
down, making designs, making all these things, where he does not have to use energy.
Because when he is riding a bicycle or when he is running, he has oppressions - in "physical
exertion agg." Calcarea is the most important remedy. Then they have this pumping
respiration when they walk upstairs, or when they ride a bicycle. That is why Calcarea people
are no good bicyclers. Calcarea can be a good sprinter for 100 M, but is never good in doing
long distances. Marathon is nothing for Calcarea. The opposite is Sepia, running will, for
example, ameliorate - "difficult respiration, running does not agg., slow motion agg.".
A: All right, that is obvious. Does he take BEROTEC every day ?
MP: Yes, every day. In winter he has to take 3 times 10 drops. In summer we may decrease,
if he is all right. Then he gets 10 drops in the mornings. Then he became worse and I give him
10 drops in the mornings and evenings.
A: So, when he was better, he got less drops.
MP: Yes.
A: And LOMIDAL ?
MP: 3 times a day. We had to give him this all the time.
A: And LOMISOL ?
MP: Also 3 times a day.
A: The child is only cured when he has no complaints without medicines. When he has no
complaints while taking medicines, he is not cured yet. Do you agree that when he has less
complaints after the remedy to decrease BEROTEC, to omit LOMIDOL and LOMISOL at
noon and later on in the evening ? So, you have to decrease the medicines yourself when you
see that your child feels better. It has no sense to give him the medicines when he doesn't need
them or to stop the medicines if he needs them.
MP: Yes.
A: He gets a tablet. It is a clear picture. I see that he has an early tooth decay ?
MP: Yes. Has this something to do with it ?
A: No, that also points to the remedy. Don't let him have dark fillings with quicksilver. Later
37
on, he will have symptoms of poisoning. These are only milk teeth. When it is necessary it is
much better to have his teeth extracted instead of to have them filled. Well, now you get a
remedy that he will have melt under his tongue. This child may not get any antibiotics at all.
When there are problems you call me. In the meantime I have to see you once again. So, call
me when he has fever. I think it will improve rather fast, so I will see you again within 6
weeks. I don't think, there will be any problems. I hope he doesn't need other medicines after
6 weeks.
FP: With this little tablet ?
A: Yes, that is classical homoeopathy.
FEEDBACK (October 24, 1987)
A: You were here on September 12, 1987. I gave him a remedy. Tell me, how did it go ?
MP: In fact, everything went all right. Slowly we omitted the medicines. Since last weekend
he doesn't take any medicines.
A: So, you omitted BEROTEC, LOMIDAL and LOMISOL.
MP: Yes, he has a cold since a few days, he's coughing.
A: But he has no shortage of breath ?
MP: No, not the way he had previously.
That is very interesting. Now, his cough is loose, you hear, but it is not asthma. You see,
when you treat asthma and you change the asthma into a loose cough, so that they can
expectorate, that is very good, that is a very good reaction. You only have to repeat the
remedy.
FP: Today is the first day he coughs so much.
A: But the problem was his wheezing, that he was short of breath and was wheezing.
MP: I haven't told you the last time, but when he has a cold, he's still wheezing.
A: Has he been ill of the remedy ?
MP: No.
A: Previously, he had problems with shortage of breath regularly.
MP: Yes, for example, when he has played football outside.
A: Now, you have omitted the medicines and the shortage of breath hasn't increased ?
MP: No.
A: He has improved.
FP: Yes.
MP: In school they haven't said anything about his shortage of breath anymore.
A: He perspired easily. What about that ?
MP: We have paid attention to this. Indeed, he perspires especially at the back of his head.
A: So, that's right. Does he perspire less now ?
FP: Yes, much less, but it hasn't completely disappeared yet.
A: He's coughing at the moment. Probably, he needs the remedy again. I'm glad you came.
Then he can conquer it by taking the remedy.
A: Has the child changed in some other way ?
38
A: Now, he has been healthy for 1 1/2 month. Previously, has he also been healthy for such a
long time ?
MP: He couldn't live without medicines.
FP: And even with medicines, when he was riding a bicycle or going up a mountain.
MP: Previously, I couldn't have let him go to school by bike. Because, when he arrived at
school ... Now we have been to school by bike a few times and everything went well.
A: All right. He gets the remedy once more in solution.
He does not take medicines anymore and can go to school by bike. Now, he has a relapse, but
without a shortage of breath, without asthma, this means the relapse is not so bad. Previously,
he had an asthmatic respiration with every cough. Now, he gets the remedy again for this
cough, 3 spoonful of the same potency, 10 M.
Question: "Is Calcarea typical for asthma in children ? It is not in the rubric ?"
A: You find it in "difficult respiration, children" (p. 768). The clinical rubric, which disease
he has, is not so important. He needs the energy of Calcarea.
That is what I mean with reflexibility. In 80 % of the cases I know the remedy as soon as I
see the patient or the mother. Then I try to prove my impression by facts. When a child comes
in and starts running, I will never think of Calcarea.
Reflexibility - then you will become sure and trust your feeling.
In the OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA child I have postponed the vaccinations.
Concerning the vaccinations of children we take into account the distance of the patients, the
control of the disease and the cooperation of the parents. Our centre is 24 hours assured, with
night- and weekend services. When the patients live a long distance away from the centre,
there might be difficulties, but when it concerns patients who come when there is something
wrong, you can advise them to have their children not vaccinated.
In teeth fillings we have seen rheumatic cases where the symptoms disappear by removing
the fillings. They all had Mercurius symptoms. If you are sensitive to quicksilver, you get
Mercurius symptoms because of the fillings.
A 50 old year doctor with a metastatic testes-tumor came with nightly bone pain in our
centre. The testicles were removed and the bone pain disappeared. He said, "Probably, I have
only one year to live, but maybe you can help me anyway." When he was speaking I heard
the trembling in his voice. He spoke with a kind of a full mouth and had a weak tongue, but
he perspired at night. I looked at his teeth and nearly every tooth got an amalgam filling.
Every filling had to be removed and when there was any doubt, every inflamed tooth should
have been extracted. He did so and took Mercurius afterwards. The nightly bone pain returned
and disappeared with Mercurius. That is why we are sure that the amalgam filling in patients
who are sensitive to this can do great harm. I advise those patients to have all those teeth
extracted.
Guillain-barre syndrome
39
Calcarea carbonica
BOY, 4 YEARS OLD
You know, the disease of Guillain-Barr is a paralytic disease and in the allopathic world the
differential diagnosis is difficult from neuritis, polyneuritis, other kinds of paralyses, and even
multiple sclerosis. This is a feedback and I like to show you this case to understand the
evolution, where it started and the evolution of the allopathic treatment.
A: He was born on August 20, 1982 and it was a normal delivery ?
MP: Yes, very normal.
A: At the age of about four months you noticed that he became ill, when you changed from
breast feeding to bottle feeding. Tell me about it.
MP: According to the family doctor he had otitis and got antibiotics. He couldn't tolerate
them well. He became more ill and the fever wouldn't go down. He constantly vomited the
antibiotics. Probably, they didn't digest.
The first disease was otitis media and he was 4 months old. Up to 4 months the child was in a
good health, and the mother changed from breast feeding to artificial food and then the first
disease started.
MP: Then we went to the hospital and the doctor said he had tonsilitis. He prescribed other
medicines. He vomited constantly, but not so much as previously. Then we had to go back to
the hospital and according to the doctor the inflammation had become worse. At that time he
had even more white blood corpuscles as previously. They kept him there for observation,
also because he had a very severe stridor; he was wheezing very much. The doctor thought he
might have a small tumor at the trachea. Then they have lanced his ears, because they didn't
know where the inflammation came from. For two, three days they have administered to him
intra-muscular antibiotics and then he was allowed to go home.
This means, that first he had an otitis media, got antibiotics, came in the hospital, got
antibiotics again, and then he got a more strong disease, a lung inflammation with stridor and
difficult respiration. Why does this happen ? Because they tried to help someone ? No,
someone has been made more ill by antibiotics.
A: PENBRITIN and NEOMYCIN.
MP: Yes, I have written everything down, that's why I still know it. He got eruptions,
probably because of the antibiotics. At home he got injections for another two or three days
and he has taken antibiotics for about a week; and then he was very weak.
They gave him antibiotics and he became weak. Here starts the so-called Guillain-Barr
syndrome. You see what happened ? An otitis media becomes a neurological disease.
A: Everything started on December 15, 1982 ? The first disease ?
MP: Yes.
A: And after the treatment of his otitis media with antibiotics you noticed that he became
40
weak in his arms. Was that also previously ?
MP: No, no, he was a very normal, healthy baby. After the hospitalisation he was weak. In
fact, we noticed that not only his arms were supple, he was weak, he was also ill. He gained
strength, but he remained such a weak baby.
A: On January 12, 1983 he got tonsilitis again and a spastic bronchitis.
MP: Yes, he got antibiotics again. He was wheezing very much and had much expectoration.
A: First, he got an otitis media, a rather high infection and that infection was coming down.
He had less resistance and got a much deeper infection, a spastic bronchitis.
MP: After the antibiotics he got tonsilitis again - again antibiotics. In the meantime, he was
still suffering from expectoration; it didn't improve much. And with the treatment of
antibiotics he was better for a while, he gained strength again, but after 3 or 4 weeks he got an
inflammation again. It was a bronchitis or a tonsilitis, always something to get antibiotics.
A: And so you plodded on. Here, it says, for example, that in September 1983 he doesn't like
his milk bottle anymore.
MP: Yes, he never liked milk very much. That was a plodding.
A: In the meantime, he cut his first tooth when he was 8 months old, and in September 1983
he couldn't sit alone yet, then he was 13 months old. In fact, that's very late. Did he remain
weak the whole period from end '82 until September '83 ?
MP: I have been here in the meantime.
A: No, you were here in December '83.
MP: That's right. In the meantime he was hospitalized once, in May '83.
A: In May '83 he cut two teeth, had very much expectoration and was very weak, especially
in the right arm. In May 1983 he was hospitalized in the University Children's Hospital.
MP: First, it was meant as an observation of two or three days, but then he got pneumonia.
A: He had an infusion with antibiotics: GENTAMICIN, TAPOTAGE, and when he came
home he has had EUSAPRIM for another three weeks. The mucus had gone. He wasn't
allowed to drink cow's milk, but had to drink nutrisoya.
MP: He preferred that.
A: I didn't receive a report of that hospitalization, did I ?
MP: We haven't been here by that time.
A: The probable diagnosis was Guillain-Barr, because of his weakness.
That was the syndrome of Guillain-Barr or a congenital neuropathy. How can this be
congenital ? The child has been good up to 4 months; how can they say that this a congenital
neuropathy ? They say that it is congenital, because if they can not cure it, it is not their
problem, because it was already hereditary or congenital. But the paralysis of the child has
been caused by the treatment, he got the weakness because of the antibiotics. I do not say that
antibiotics are always harmful. But in some cases, if you give antibiotics, you kill the bacteria,
but you do nothing about the resistance and then the disease goes on - and so we make the
child more ill, because we do not give him resistance.
In some cases we have seen that, indeed, patients have been made more ill by antibiotics;
they have a suppressive influence. And in this case it is the same: by giving him so much
antibiotics the child got a neurologic disease. You see what you can do with antibiotics. If you
are lucky, nothing will happen, but if you are not lucky, you will get troubles.
41
MP: In fact, they didn't know exactly what it was.
A: Then you came here in December 1983. In October he had tonsilitis again, in November
he had an inflammation of the throat and got antibiotics again.
On December 14, 1983 you came here the first time.
I wrote down that your child had recidivistic inflammations, bronchitis, inflammations of the
tonsils, and also the question of Guillain-Barr. I examined him from a homoeopathic point of
view. Previously, he perspired very much on his head, especially the back of his head, in bed.
The dentition was very late. He could sit alone when he was 9 months old. At the age of
fifteen months he started to walk a little.
MP: We had to hold him very tight. He was very anxious.
A: He was a plump child - the perspiration, being blond, being plump, that was very
characteristic. At that time he was rather fat. He was fond of cold drinks and had an aversion
to milk. Further, there wasn't anything particular to say.
The differential diagnosis between Silicea and Calcarea is that Calcarea is flabby, pale and
rather slow; that is why they also call it leucophlegmatic, white like lime and slow, a little
leucophlegmatic and flabby.
A: His appearance, the fact that he perspired so much and didn't tolerate cow's milk, lead us
very quickly to the remedy.
On December 14, 1983 I gave him a tablet in C 200 potency.
On December 31, 1983 he got an inflammation of the throat and you came back.
MP: He had very high fever. You gave him something for the fever and the convulsions.
A: I gave him the remedy that follows after his constitutional remedy.
This means, on New Year's Eve, 2 weeks after Calcarea, he had an inflammation again, but
with high fever and congestion of the head and I gave him Belladonna.
A: For me that was a very good reaction. He was central red, glowing red and had cold feet. I
don't know whether his hands were cold, but he had a typical fever for which I gave him an
acute remedy that follows after his constitutional remedy. And the fever disappeared quickly,
I thought ?
MP: His face became cooler and his arms and hands were glowing. That happened the same
night. In no time the thermometer in the arm-pit pointed to 40 C. The next day we had to
come back to get another remedy and so little by little the fever decreased. He hasn't had
tonsilitis ever since.
He got Sac-lac. But do not be afraid, when a child has very high fever. We have to throw the
thermometer away. It is not important to know, how high the fever is. Someone who has a lot
of resistance, has a good reaction, will have a high fever. That is why you often see very high
fever in children, this means that the child reacts well, produces antibodies - I am theorizing.
It is good that they make high fever. You only have to give the right remedy depending on the
symptoms and you will have beautiful reactions.
If there is a low state fever, like we see in Baptisia or Tuberculinum, it is not so interesting. I
42
mean, it is better to have a serious, high fever. Do not be afraid, do not give any fever killing
remedies. It is not necessary, let it. And ask the mother to put the thermometer away, to sell it.
We have to observe and not use these instruments, it is not necessary. Our Repertory says
nothing about fever of 38 or 39 C or so. The thermometer frightens the mothers, and
certainly the Phosphorus or Calcarea mother. They are very afraid and say, "Oh my God, this
fever is so high," and they get sick themselves and go to the allopaths. He will say,
"Fortunately, you come in time. If you had come 2 days later your child would be dead." Do
not forget: give a remedy and give the right remedy ! If you do nothing, indeed the child will
get problems. You have to give the right remedy. We can not talk against the allopathy if
there is nothing that replaces it.
You can say: no vaccinations. Yes, no vaccinations, you can give this advice. We know that
it is bad to vaccinate, but you have to put something else in the place.
I mean, when a child is ill, you take care that the child can come immediately to your centre.
When you work alone, you can not do this, because you can not work day and night, Sunday
and all other days. So first, build a centre that is attainable for your patients, day and night,
Sunday and every other day. And then you can ask the patients who do not live to far away
from the centre, "Do not have you vaccinated." But first take something in place and then you
go on.
A: I saw you on February 16, 1984. The result was that he had tonsilitis only once, a few
days after his constitutional remedy. It was solved with an acute remedy. Here, it says that he
has felt very well for quite a long period, except for that tonsilitis.
MP: Yes.
A: He didn't have bronchitis or difficult respiration. He started coughing very heavily a few
days before you came here. It was notable that he was stronger in his legs. He ate well, in fact,
he always did. His fontanelle, originally very large open, had more closed. A clear change. He
was still fond of cold drinks. There was a general improvement, but he had a very heavy
cough. At that time I gave him the remedy in M potency, and that is the last remedy I gave
him.
I saw him again on December 7, 1984. Here, it says that he hasn't had inflammations for a
year. He had no problems anymore. This was the result of two times his constitutional remedy
and once an acute remedy. Gradually, he started to walk, and on January 29, 1985 you went to
the Children's Hospital for a check up.
I read the letter, "Problem Ig-E mediated allergy for dogs and protein. Differential diagnosis:
Guillain-Barr or congenital neuropathy."
The child has improved. Now they fear that it is probably a neuropathy. Do you understand
how this can be ? There is no reason to be concerned, the child is not ill anymore.
A: At this moment we have to determine that the child hasn't had complaints concerning
inflammations, fever and so on for about a year. He can move his arm better now.
MP: But he has had physiotherapy.
A: Yes, and he started to walk.
Report of the hospital of January 25, 1985, "The child walks in a hyperlordotic way. The
Gowers test is clearly pathologic. The movements are uncertain, there is a complete areflexia,
43
little muscle strength, weak muscle bulk. Mentally, rather good.
Anamnesis: Walks independently since he is 24 months old. Intellectually, a clever boy.
Progress: Between his 9th and 29th month he only had a moderate motor recovery. Still
muscle weakness. That tells against Guillain-Barr, so that we fear a congenital neuropathy,
which has clearly a worse prognosis.
A hospitalization for a technical examination had been proposed, but to our regret, the
parents wanted to delay it for another six months."
I advised that, because I think that the child does not have to suffer for that examination. He
might suffer in order to cure, but as he has evolved rather well, we did see no point in doing
that.
Further with the letter: "You are both invited for new information on May 20, 1985.
Conclusion: Clear polyneuropathy, in spite of an homoeopathical treatment."
A: You went on May 28, 1985 for a check up.
"Problem: Guillain-Barr or congenital polyneuropathy." They don't say anything about
allergy for dogs and milk anymore.
MP: In the meantime he drinks milk very well and plays with dogs and cats.
A: The letter, "The Gowers test is better, but still clearly deviant. The areflexia remains.
Indeed, he has improved. He is in the first nursery class, has no problem with the fine motor.
But he is slow. He can go up- and downstairs holding on. His language is good.
There is also a better coordination of the upper limbs.
Conclusion: The lower limbs are still weak.
The complete areflexia remains. Further follow-up is recommended. We consider a
supplementary examination within six months."
They don't say a word about homoeopathy.
Check up on February 4, 1986:
"Problem: Follow-up neuropathy, DD Guillain-Barr or congenital neuropathy.
There is a further progression perceptible. At school he plays with his friends (in spite of the
worse prognosis !)."
MP: In the meantime, we let him have the muscle tests.
A: We will return to that in a minute.
"He can ride a bicycle (further in the letter), in going up- and downstairs he puts one foot
near the other. He does not suffer from recidivistic inflammations anymore. He is a sharp,
cooperative boy.
While walking the knees are extended too far; Gowers also with extended knees, but rather
fast. There is a clear hyperlordosis, and there are no tendon reflexes perceptible yet.
Neurologically: Slowed motor conduction.
Conclusion: At the moment the clinical picture and the supplementary neurophysiologic
examinations rather point to the direction of congenital neuropathy. Although, further followup will bring more clearness in the picture of the disease."
So, this is the last report I received from the hospital.
You see, how they are interested in the diagnosis, trying to get a diagnosis - not trying to cure
the patient. That is the problem. That is the problem in our present medicine. We do not have
to fight against that, but we must try to forget what they say and only treat in a homoeopathic
way.
All those names are not important, the names of all the diseases nor the names of the doctors
44
who discovered the diseases. The important thing is that this child is a flabby child, perspires
on the head, is late in walking and late in dentition, that is important. And that it concerns a
child who is slow, slow in motions. Look at the Repertory, "slowness in motion" (p. 81). You
see remedies like: Anacardium, Calcarea, Conium, Phosphorus - Phosphorus is capital.
Phosphorus is slow in motion, that is very important for Phosphorus.
A: They can not put a clear diagnosis, but in spite of the bad prognosis of that eventual bad
diagnosis the child evolves well. The child has been subjected to an EMG.
MP: Yes, to an EEG and an EMG. That was very painful. They told us it wouldn't be painful.
I think that the results are mentioned in the letter.
A: So, slowed motor conductions. Now, I'll try to record him while he's walking. He walks
well, doesn't he ?
MP: Sometimes a little on his toes, but when I say he shouldn't do that, he goes better. He
rides a bicycle alone, up hill, down dale, and especially where it isn't flat.
You see the evolution. Two times Calcarea carbonica, one C 200 and then 2 months later M,
because he started coughing again. And this child did not have otitis, bronchitis or such things
and has been cured. Last week I saw the mother and they have to go back to the University
Hospital and we will see what they will say about the case now.
Question: "Why did you give C 200 ?"
A: That was in 1983 and at that time I was still under the influence of Voegeli, who said that
C 200 is a good potency. And you see, C 200 did work well. Now, I am under my own
influence and I give high potencies from the beginning, because - we do supervisions, we
have students, doctors and often you do not see a good reaction after C 200, you are doubting
and I like my students to see a very good reaction of the remedy. I have seen, that the reaction
to the remedy is better when we start with 10 M or M. When you give C 200, sometimes you
are doubting and say, "My God, this is not correct, I will change the remedy." And after one
year you see that the best reaction was on the first remedy. When you give high potencies you
see a better reaction of the patient - mostly, not always. You can cure with a C 200, but also
with a C 30, that is no problem. Personally, I see very good reactions, clear reactions with
very high potencies. And nothing is more difficult when a patient comes back, especially
when you are not so sure of your prescription, and says, "Doctor, I don't know." That is a
difficult situation, and you ask yourself whether this remedy is right or wrong. That is the
point where many homoeopaths make mistakes. They think that the remedy was wrong and
give another remedy and then they are walking through the wood of homoeopathic remedies
and after 5 years they say - if they are still homoeopath - then they say, if they know a little bit
more about Homoeopathy or much more, "But this is Calcarea. I will give now 10 M." And
then they give 10 M and see a beautiful reaction. That happened to me in a Sepia case. It was
1980/1981, I gave Sepia C 200 and didn't see any reaction. One year ago, it was 6 years after
the first Sepia, I gave everything for depression, constipation, she was so irritated against her
husband and so on - so a year ago I gave Sepia 10 M and she reacted wonderfully.
You see, if you give the right remedy and you give a bad interpretation of the reaction to the
remedy, you think that it is not Sepia and you will forget Sepia. Then you will run through the
whole homoeopathic world to find the remedy and you have given the right remedy. Because
45
you have given the remedy already, you will never give it again, and then you are lost and we
call this "a spoiled case" or we say, that certain people are not curable with Homoeopathy. It
happened to me and that is why I advise: give high potencies !
Remark: "The mother looks very depressed and ill. I think that a child needs a healthy mother
for a good development."
A: No, no, she is very good. She is working at home. She has two children, I think, but she
also does the administration in a school. Maybe you are right, but be careful, because you also
see that the child was not so happy anymore, the second child with OSTEOGENESIS
IMPERFECTA. I think, it was not because of the mother, that the child was ill. She is very
sympathetic, she is Phosphorus.
But you see that in September when the children go back to school, the parents are teachers,
they put their children in a "children garden", then you see that many diseases come back,
because the children loose the contact with the mother. This is a loss of energy, that is sure.
Not only the changing of the weather in September, but also the need of love of the children
causes relapses.
Asthma
Calcarea carbonica
BOY, 12 YEARS OLD
A: It is about a year ago that he came here. He came for his asthma. He has had this disease
for quite a long time. How old is he now ?
M: 12 years old.
A: He was 11 years old when he came here and has had asthma since he was 2 or 3 years old.
When he came here he took: POLARAMINE, VENTOLIN syrup, VENTOLIN spray and
THEODUR LA 250.
Since his birth he has had eczema, especially behind the ears and in the arm- and knee folds.
MP: When he had eczema he never suffered from shortage of breath.
A: You went to the dermatologist and you got ointment. Then he got bronchitis with allergic
rhinitis, a kind of hay fever, and with a kind of asthma, although not a real asthma. It was
always a kind of bronchitis accompanied by shortness of breath. After a cold he always
suffered from shortness of breath.
From which rubric can we start ? "Asthma from suppressed eruptions" (p. 765). We
differentiate the remedies of this rubric to see, whether one of these remedies is indicated,
unless there appear other important, strong symptoms which indicate another remedy that is
not indicated in this rubric. We have to start from this rubric, stick to this rubric, and
differentiate all the remedies from here, because he had eruptions that have been suppressed
and therefore an asthmatic bronchitis has been developed: Apis, Arsenicum, Carbo
vegetabilis, the first remedy is Pulsatilla. There is also Psorinum, and Ipecacuanha;
Ipecacuanha is a remedy for which disease in children ? Bronchitis with loathing and nausea,
all the time nausea. But how can you recognize the remedy in the aspect of the tongue ? They
are nauseous all the time, but the tongue is very clean. There is another remedy which has a
46
clean tongue with nausea, that is Cina. Why is Cina nauseous ? Because of the worms.
Do you know which remedy is constantly picking the nose ?
Answer: "Cina."
A: No, no, I only asked for picking the nose. It is Arum triphyllum. Cina picks the nose and
behind.
Have you seen this child ? Before he was doing this ... (shows something) - eating
indigestible things: that is Calcarea, do not forget this ! Calcarea picks the nose, takes the
crusts out of the nose, puts them in his mouth and eats them. There is another remedy that
does the same thing; it is not in the Materia Medica, that is why nobody knows it, it is Bufo.
Here, we have the remedies for "asthma from suppressed eruptions" and we will have to
make a choice between those remedies.
Remark: "Calcarea is not in this rubric."
A: Calcarea is not there, right - but who says that this is a Calcarea case ? I showed you
Calcarea cases, but we can not show the same remedy all the time, we have to change.
A: He walked when he was 13 months old. He was late in talking. If he has seen a horror
film, afterwards he would see it again before his eyes, wouldn't he ?
MP: Yes.
When he has seen a movie, a little bit horrible, he could not sleep. How can we translate this
in terms of the Repertory ? He can not sleep, because he sees the same things before his eyes.
In the evening when you go to bed and close your eyes, you see this horrible movie again,
and then you open your eyes and want the light on. Where do we find the corresponding
rubric ?
Answer: "Horrible things affect profoundly" (p. 52).
A: Yes, but we are looking for the rubric indicating when he lies in bed, and on closing his
eyes in the dark, he sees those things again and is afraid. "Delusions, images on closing the
eyes" (p. 27) or "delusions, visions on closing the eyes" (p. 34). You see, Calcarea is there,
but also Sulphur and Pulsatilla. They have both asthma after suppressed eruptions.
Question: "Do you think that this is pathological ?
A: I think of only one remedy. - That is pathological, yes.
Remark: "I don't think it is pathological in little children."
A: It means ... again theorizing !
Do you remember ? Last year there was an endocrinologist here and after the first video of
this OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA case she said that every child perspires in sleep. I said,
"Wait !" We saw the feedback and the perspiration had stopped.
What does it mean: Does every child perspire in sleep ? Calcarea children perspire in sleep,
but not every child. This means only that many children need Calcarea carbonica. After this
remedy the perspiration disappears. I warn you, for too much theorizing !
In Belgium I have taught 12 people who are teachers in Homoeopathy themselves. I showed
47
a video of someone who had liver and stomach problems after eating fat. They said that
everybody with liver problems does not tolerate fat. I said, "Why ? How can you say this ?" In
the Repertory there is a rubric "disorder stomach after fat". Which is the most capital remedy
? Pulsatilla. And then ? Ignatia, maybe China, Carbo vegetabilis is an addition, there is also
Ptelea.
So, this woman, when she had this problem, had to eat sour, lemons and things like that, so
sour things ameliorate. There is only one remedy that has those both symptoms together "disorder stomach from fat" and "eating sour, amel." - that is Ptelea. I gave her Ptelea and she
has been cured wonderfully.
You see, by theorizing, you go away from the remedy. You have to take the symptoms as
they are. Do not theorize and say, "I do not take this symptom, that is normal" - nothing is
normal.
If the patient gives you a symptom, please be happy that you have a symptom. We all intend
to theorize, not only you, but I also, everyone of us; but try to put it away, try to forget that
you are doctors, try to be a human being like the patient.
So, back to the case: delusion.
"Horrible things affect them." You can take this rubric, there is Zincum, all kinds of remedies
are there. But now it becomes difficult, "asthma from suppressed eruptions" - there is not
Calcarea; then "horrible things affect profoundly" - very strong Calcarea; "delusions at night,
sees things, frightful delusions", again Calcarea.
A: It was also clear that he had fear of high places. Have you ever felt dizzy standing on high
places ?
P: Yes.
"Fear high places" and "vertigo high places". We take the rubric "vertigo high places" (p.
100). There we see Argentum nitricum, Aurum, Calcarea, Sulphur is capital, by which
Sulphur has vertigo on standing on a bridge and looking into the water underneath, like
Ferrum; further there is Natrum muriaticum, Pulsatilla, and Zincum. There is also Aurum. Do
you know Aurum ? They tend to jump when they stand on high places, they like to jump,
have the impulse to jump. Also Argentum nitricum has that.
And Sulphur - Sulphur has also "asthma from suppressed eruptions". Is there Zincum in the
rubric "asthma from suppressed eruptions" ? No, Zincum has neurological symptoms from
suppressed eruptions, Zincum has chorea - like which other remedy ? "Convulsions from
suppressed eruptions", there are 3 remedies: Causticum, Sulphur, Zincum.
Up to now we do not know the remedy yet.
A: He is also afraid in the dark ?
MP: Yes.
"Fear of dark", I forgot. "Fear of dark" (p. 43). Which remedies have this rubric ? Calcarea,
Camphora officinarum, Cannabis indica, Carbo animalis, Carbo vegetabilis, Cuprum,
Lycopodium, Medorrhinum, Phosphorus, Pulsatilla, Stramonium capital, Rhus toxicodendron,
but there is not Sulphur, strange.
48
A: And a very worried, anxious child, when he didn't have good marks on his report.
MP: Yes, indeed.
A: He had an aversion to fat. He likes beef, chips, macaroni, he also likes milk, pizza. He
liked fried eggs, but how did they have to be fried ?
MP: Scrambled.
A: No fried eggs, or boiled eggs ?
MP: Boiled eggs, but hard boiled.
Which remedy likes hard boiled eggs ? Pulsatilla likes hard boiled eggs, Natrum
phosphoricum likes scrambled eggs.
A: He sleeps on his back and on the left side. He is not quickly angry, and is a very obedient
child. The nails are splitting up a little. Previously, he had a bloody nose sometimes. He used
to take a hot water-bottle to his bed to warm his feet. He had cold feet in bed.
You know Silicea for splitting of the nails, but for soft nails there are remedies as Calcarea,
Calcarea phosphorica, many remedies have soft nails.
Now, he says, "When I go to bed I take a hot water-bottle."
MP: He still has.
A: Does the hot water-bottle lie at your feet the whole night ?
P: No, just half an hour or so.
A: What do you do then ?
P: I put it away.
A: Because your feet have become warm ?
P: Yes.
"Coldness, foot, evening or night in bed", look on p. 963. Which remedies do you find there ?
Calcarea capital, there is also Sulphur.
But strange, after 1/2 or 1 hour, he has to put the hot water-bottle away, because his feet are
too warm in bed. "Heat foot, night in bed" (p. 1012): Sulphur is there, you see Silicea, Sepia,
Calcarea; and in the rubric "heat, foot in bed" (p. 1013) you see Calcarea and Fagopyrum who knows Fagopyrum ? For what is Fagopyrum ? Prurigo in old women - further "heat foot,
night in bed": Hepar, Hura, Mercurius, Mezereum, Sanguinaria, Silicea, Strontium
carbonicum and Sulphur. There is also Sulphur, but normally Sulphur has cold feet and once
in bed it ameliorates, you see the rubric "coldness, foot, evening in bed amel." (p. 963).
Sulphur can have very cold feet, but when they are in bed, they immediately warm up.
Calcarea has cold feet, when he goes to bed he has to take a hot water-bottle and after 1/2
hour he has to put it away, that is typical for Calcarea.
But we still can not make a prescription.
A: So, I gave the remedy in 10 M.
She says that he is a soft, easy child. Which remedy can we give him ?
49
Proposal: "Pulsatilla pratensis"
A: Pulsatilla ? Pulsatilla ?
We did not talk about the sun, we did not say anything about the symptoms of Pulsatilla. This
is a feedback consultation and with this information you can not talk about Pulsatilla at all,
because we did not underline aversion to fat, he eats everything.
Remark: "He has an aversion to fat."
A: "Aversion fat" (p. 480), do you see which remedies there are; there is Calcarea, also
Sulphur and Sulphur is even stronger than Calcarea.
In the rubric "horrible things affect profoundly" there is not Pulsatilla; in the rubric "fear high
places" there is Pulsatilla, and also in the rubric "vertigo high places".
But we do not find a real intolerance of the sun, and strange, a Pulsatilla who takes a hot
water-bottle to bed ? Mostly, Pulsatilla has warm feet in bed and puts them out of the covers.
Which is the strongest remedy that puts the feet out of bed ? Sulphur. And the second ?
Medorrhinum. And then we have Pulsatilla. But this boy takes a hot water-bottle to bed.
I gave him which remedy ? Calcarea. Why not Sulphur ? You see, Calcarea is not in the
rubric "asthma from suppressed eruptions. This is a clinical rubric, not a homoeopathic one.
In homoeopathic rubrics, especially in key-notes, you may accept that there are no other
remedies with the same symptom, but when you are dealing with a clinical rubric, there are
certainly much more remedies. I added Calcarea in the rubric "asthma from suppressed
eruptions".
Most rubrics are based upon proofs, but the clinical rubric come from the clinical
experiences. That is why Tuberculinum has chest symptoms. Tuberculinum has to be added in
a lot of rubrics, because at that time the clinical experience was not developed enough to take
all the Tuberculinum symptoms in the Repertory.
Be careful, clinical rubrics are dangerous !
We have to start from particular, peculiar symptoms. In this case "horrible things" is peculiar,
also "vertigo high places".
A: Two months later he came back. There wasn't an aggravation. The mother says that he
seems to have gained strength. That was in May 1986. The shortage of breath has
disappeared. Then you got Foliata squalosa.
For people who do not know: Foliata squalosa is not a remedy. It is a name of a plant and we
use it for Sac-lac. We give Pleurotis ostriarum, Foliata squalosa, we have 4 names for Sac-lac.
If you write Saccharinum lactosum the patients will notice that it does not contain energy.
A: In August you came back, because he was suffering from shortness of breath again. You
were really concerned.
MP: Yes, if you have been through so many things, you are always anxious.
A: In September you saw a colleague, again a little allergy with sneezing, some yellow
rhinorrhea.
He has given Calcarea 10 M in solution.
In October '86 once again Foliata squalosa.
50
I saw you again in March, a month and a half ago, and you told me that he has felt well the
whole winter, he hasn't suffered from shortness of breath. He has never gone through the
winter so well. He had a sore throat, an obstructed nose and he was coughing. I repeated the
remedy in 10 M. How did he react ?
MP: Very well. And he was immediately cured. He has been at home for only two days. He
went back to school and it is peculiar, he was feeling very well.
A: This means that we have repeated the remedy in 10 M four times in a period of one year.
What is your general impression about your child ? He doesn't take medicines anymore ?
MP: No, nothing, absolutely nothing. I think he has changed completely. His constitution,
everything has changed.
A: In what way ?
MP: He eats better. At night, he isn't afraid anymore. He doesn't walk in his sleep, and
doesn't come to us at night anymore.
The fear has gone since the remedy.
A: Previously, he was anxious and came to you ?
MP: Oh my God, that was terrible. At night, he was screaming, and was really seized by
panic. It is the first time I pass the winter through this way. Previously, I was always scared.
One week he was healthy and then the other week he needed the little pump and all the other
medicines. That was incredible. Now, he goes to school by bicycle, every day 14 km on the
bicycle to school. He goes swimming and returns home with wet hair. Everything is all right.
And previously, he was a real problem child. I was always very concerned about him.
A: When the mother is concerned as well ...
MP: Previously, I went to see several specialists and had to clean everything, every day for
the house dust and all that rubbish. And now I don't have those problems anymore.
A: You went with him to see a specialist ?
MP: Yes, several. They sent you from pillar to post. You try everything with your child, don't
you ? For several months he has slept on the sofa, he couldn't get air. He was like a fish. And
if someone came on a visit they told us, "How bad looks this child. Like a coal miner !" That
was very sad to see. You wanted to help your child, but you couldn't. And because of all those
medicines the child became worse instead of better. He didn't want to eat anymore, and
sometimes he vomited. That was incredible.
A: Did you have to make your house dust-free ?
MP: Yes, allergy for house dust, dust mites and so on.
Does everybody know the history ? I had a patient who came from the University Hospital
and was allergic to 3,000 things. You have to shoot those people to the moon, but maybe they
are also allergic to the moon.
3 or 4 days ago I had a patient with hay fever, a very beautiful case. His mother said, that he
was allergic to 12 to 15 different things, dust and all kinds of trees. The doctor said that he
needed a treatment with injections of 12 months to cure the allergy against one thing. I said,
"12 times 15, this means you need several years, maybe 50 years." If it was so, she would
rather try with Homoeopathy, but she has not believed in it at all. She was Sepia, and when
Sepia comes and is not in a good balance, you are suffering very much as a homoeopath. At
51
the end the case became clear, but she still does not believe that Homoeopathy works. It was a
beautiful Sabadilla case, this child. It had a Sepia appearance and Sabadilla is complementary
to Sepia. Anyhow, these allergies does not exist because of the flowers or the trees, but
because of us. We have to be cured, not the trees have to disappear. We have too much
"hygiene", we wash ourselves too much, we have too little resistance.
MP: Once, we went to see a specialist, our doctor had sent us to him, he did several tests;
riding on a bicycle and we have sat there at least for 3 hours, and he said that nothing could be
done about that. He has to be injected for three years. Every week he would get a little of that
substance. We can not do anything else for him, because he is in a very bad condition. Then
he also had to do the respiratory test, always with the computer. And then he said, "Well
madam, your child is one fourth beneath the normal lung volume, that is very low. Normal it
is 90, but he has 75. "
They do respiratory test, and he only had 50 or 60 % of the normal rate and they say, "He is
incurable, he will never have healthy lungs again." And then you go home, believe all this and
you are worried the rest of your life.
A: A diminished lung volume. He said that nothing could be done about it, and that the child
is in a very bad way. You better go to the doctor every week for three years long and then he
gets an injection.
MP: Then I went to see my doctor. He received the results. I went there and he said, "Well,
there is something wrong. The specialist has sent all the injections to me. But if it was my
child, he didn't get those injections. Try with Dr. Geukens." And I am very satisfied and I can
let him go everywhere. Previously, he couldn't do anything; you will get a cold, or this or that.
He couldn't run, because he would perspire so much.
A: Did he easily perspire when he was running ?
MP: No, now he perspires more than previously.
FP: Because of playing football.
A: Didn't he play football before ?
MP: Yes, he also pursued sport. He has played football for quite a long time, but he could
hold it no longer. He was easily tired. Now, he is doing very well. He can run and pursue
sport. Previously, you saw that he had to breathe deeply while exerting himself. Before, he
was easily tired, but he isn't now anymore.
Which remedy ? Calcarea carbonica.
Remark: "In the rubric 'asthma from suppressed eruptions' there is not Calcarea."
A: Of course, you can add it there. But you have to start from the total picture of the child.
This is a calm child, who sits there quietly, quickly exhausted, can not tolerate exertions; this
together with the anxiety "broad spectrum anxiety" ! This child is also anxious in school. He
wants to do his best. He is anxious of other children. He would do everything, so that the
others would say, "You are a sweet boy." Sulphur would not be worried about what other
people would say about him; Sulphur is strong-minded and what somebody else says about
52
him is not important. For Calcarea it is important what other people think about him. You feel
that it can not be Sulphur. That is Calcarea.
Question: "Did he still get eruptions ?"
A: He did not get eruptions anymore. We see this often. There is an amelioration after
suppressed eruptions, if you give the right remedy, and the eruptions will not come back.
Sometimes they appear very little, but disappear afterwards.
Question: " ... aggravation ?" (not understandable)
A: It depends. If the aggravation is expectoration, it is all right. You see this often in asthma
cases, that the patients start to cough and bring up a lot of expectoration, this means that they
are capable to produce expectoration and bring it up, this means that they are stronger than
before.
So in an asthma case the loose coughing with expectoration means an amelioration. But if the
asthma occurs after the remedy, then the remedy is wrong ! High fever, eruptions, colds,
every reaction with secretion means that the patient has become stronger.
This patient got 4 times Calcarea 10 M.
Recidivistic ulcers
Apium graveolens
BOY, 10 YEARS OLD
This patient had nightly growing pains all the time - "extremities, pain, leg, growing pains"
(p. 1075). Second, urticaria and recidivistic ulcers with a lot of pus at different places. He got
Graphites and all other possible remedies, but never with a good reaction.
A: Tell me, what is the problem.
MP: I think that he has an ulcer in his ear.
A: At the back of his ear it is swollen and red. Do you have pain ?
P: Yes, when you touch it. Also on pulling or pressing it.
MP: At night when you happen to touch it he cries for pain.
A: The slightest, little touch hurts ?
P: A little touch like this hurts.
A: When did it start ?
MP: On Thursday.
A: It has developed very slowly. Today, it is Monday.
Mercurius is the first remedy you think of in the combination of these two symptoms: "Slight
touch agg." and "night agg.". Mercurius has also the slow appearance and the slow
disappearance of the pain, the way he describes it. Look at the Repertory: "Pain appear
gradually and disappear gradually" (p. 1377).
MP: Yesterday evening he only had a little earache. And yesterday it was already thick.
A: So, 4 days.
53
MP: This morning we saw that it was swollen.
A: A slow development. What else do you feel ?
P: Only here, this part hurts.
MP: You say that sometimes you get a kind of a stitching pain in your head. Yesterday, for
example, here on this side.
P: No.
MP: Yes. Isn't that right ?
A: Something else ? At night ?
MP: Sometimes he weeps for pain while sleeping.
A: Do you have pain in your ear then ?
MP: Yes, I think so.
P: I can't sleep on it.
A: Did he have growing pains lately ?
MP: No.
A: How long ago ?
MP: That's already a while ago.
A: One month ?
MP: No, longer ago.
P: When I come home from football ...
A: Normally, you have pain in the legs then ?
MP: Yes, that's quite a long time ago he had this. After the last ulcer he hasn't suffered much
from that.
MP: You haven't had so much pain in your legs. You haven't wept anymore ?
You often have different aspects of diseases, for example, pain in the right knee at the
beginning of a movement. You give Lycopodium and the pain disappears. Later he has pain in
the left knee. Afterwards you can argue: from right to left and repeat Lycopodium. Then he
gets pain in his right ankle, again Lycopodium. And this goes on. And then he cuts his thumb
and then again pain at another place. At last you know it: this is a wandering pain.
Sometimes this patient has urticaria - Apis. Then he has growing pains at night. Therefore he
got Calcarea phosphorica, Guaiacum, Phosphoricum acidum. Then he comes with an
inflammation of the ear. You can give Calcarea silicata, Mercurius or Graphites - but he will
always return. So it has to be a remedy that covers all his symptoms: urticaria, growing pains
and inflammations, ulcers.
When you first treat one symptom, then another, then the next and so on, he will never get
cured properly, and that is the problem here. At the moment he doesn't have growing pains,
but a month ago he did; now he doesn't have urticaria, but maybe 2 months ago he did and
when he doesn't get the right remedy, he would get the urticaria again next month.
A: He still likes to eat the same things ?
MP: He also likes eggs, I don't know, whether I told you this. Besides he likes fruits, apples.
Yes, all kinds of fruit, but in general he prefers apples; he likes them very much.
P: Yes.
We have to believe what the patient says, and he says that he likes eggs. Which remedy do
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we think of ? Calcarea. I know this boy very well, I saw him playing on a roof, he did not
have fear of high places at all. Therefore I doubted at Calcarea.
Every time she repeats that he likes apples - "desire apples" (p. 484).
A: Regularly, he also had a kind of eruptions of allergic reactions. Did he have this lately ?
MP: That's also a long time ago. Since the last ulcer he hasn't had anything. Previously, he
had those eruptions with red spots regularly.
A: Put out your tongue, please ! Didn't he have saliva in his mouth ?
MP: I don't think so.
A: Neither at night ?
MP: I don't think so. Is your cushion wet sometimes ?
For which remedy do I ask this ? Mercurius.
P: The whole week I told you about my earache.
MP: From Wednesday to Thursday.
A: Have you played football lately ?
MP: He hasn't played football lately, that's why he doesn't have pain in his legs anymore.
A: Usually, when he has played football he has pain in his legs.
MP: Yes, or when he has run the whole day or has really played, then he has pain in his legs
at night.
A: And there are also those ulcers that return regularly. Until now, we haven't really cured an
ulcer in a short time. It always took a long time. Once, it was so thick, that I had to cut it open.
According to me we haven't given the right remedy up to now.
So, growing pains, desire apples, urticarias, allergy and ulcers that return. These 4 symptoms
have to be found in one remedy.
A: I have to see him again within a few days. You solve this remedy in water, and give him 3
times a spoon.
MP: Now, it has been quite a long time ago. But not so long, because ...
A: The fact that he relapses, means, that he needs a remedy ...
Here, we have to look in the Materia Medica. I think that the remedy in this case was not
correct, and therefore I look for another remedy. When you are not sure of your prescription,
this will happen. Do you remember the Phosphorus case I showed in Bad Brckenau ? If the
prescription is right the patient has to react. First he didn't react, but I was sure that he was
Phosphorus and therefore I gave him a 50 M - and everything was all right.
FEEDBACK
P: ... worked well.
A: Did you feel anything, when you took the remedy ?
P: No.
MP: Yes, you did. What did you say when you took this remedy ? You said that it was very
good, that it worked. He took it 3 times a day. When he has taken it, it worked well.
A: The pain disappeared. You had to give it for a long time before everything was all right ?
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MP: We gave him one tablet and waited for a while and then it came back. Afterwards we
gave him the solution.
A: Do you still have problems with your ear ?
P: Not now anymore.
A: Do you feel anything at all ?
P: No, I feel nothing.
A: Last time it has become a very large abscess with a lot of pus, a very thick swelling.
MP: Yes, before and behind the ear.
A: We had to cut it open, that was very annoying. Now, it has disappeared. But it is peculiar,
that you felt the complaints disappearing when you took one spoon and they returned
afterwards.
MP: Yes, because when the first complaint had disappeared, we have waited for a short time
and then he felt clearly that it came back.
A: I gave a M potency; I didn't have 10 M, so I couldn't give a higher potency. That's why I
had to repeat the same potency.
MP: It worked well, when you took that remedy. "I feel clearly that it is the right remedy,"
you said.
I found the remedy and read out of Boericke, p. 64, the following of Apium graveolens
(common Celery): "... Rheumatic pain in muscles also in sacrum. Growing pains. Hungry for
apples ..." Further at skin: "... Profuse discharge from granulating ulcers. Urticaria with
shuddering."
Here you find all the complaints of the boy: urticaria, ulcers, hungry for apples and growing
pains.
Up to now he has not had urticaria, ulcers nor growing pains since the consultation in June.
He still likes apples very much.
According to Boericke you have to add Apium graveolens in the following rubrics: "Growing
pains" (p. 1075), "desire apples" (p. 484) and "urticaria" (p. 1321).
Trauma with consequences

Calcarea carbonica
WOMAN, 18 YEARS OLD
This is my daughter and first I want to tell you that you should not treat your children
yourself when you have problems with them. Try to find another homoeopath. But when the
difficulties are too big, so that you do not find a homoeopath who is able to treat them you
have to do it yourself.
In this case I had to make a choice: I could send her to the hospital where she would have
died or I could let her stay at home and try to get her alive again. Also in this case there is a
certain constitution and at the end you always come to the constitution in a good treatment. If
you give the right remedy in an acute case, afterwards you will see that the symptoms of the
constitutional remedy show up.
Acute cases are often caused by external influences. If someone knocks on his thumb with a
hammer you do not need to ask what kind of fears they have, whether they sleep well, on
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which side they sleep and so on, you can forget about that. You only have to ask why he has
this pain and if he says, "I knocked on my finger", which remedy do you give then ?
Hypericum. Hypericum, not Arnica, Hypericum for injuries of small nerves. When someone
goes to the dentist to have his teeth cleaned or have a filling inserted in his teeth - when
someone goes without pain to the dentist and afterwards gets a terrible pain, you do not have
to ask about the relationship with her husband, nor about her dreams. You only have to know
since when the pain exists. And if she says that she has the pain since the visit to the dentist,
which remedy do you give her ? Hypericum.
In this case it concerns somebody who was in a rather good situation, but she already had
symptoms before the accident. It was a deadly accident. She was walking with a girl-friend
along the street and a car of someone who was drunk ran into them from behind. Her girlfriend was flung away for 60 m and was dead; my daughter was also flung away for about 20
m. It was 11. OO p.m. and a few minutes after the accident they phoned me, they came to my
house and they said that she had an accident. I went immediately with the car of my
neighbour who had seen the accident to the place where she was lying. There I knew
immediately the first remedy I had to give. She had broken everything, but we will tell you
this in the video.
Now, we will try to get through this acute state, until we arrive at the constitutional
complaints - anxieties.
A: I want to put you on video for several reasons. Because of philosophically- homoeopathic
reasons. The day before yesterday you came to me with a very touching complaint, which I
don't want to deal with yet. First, I want to treat your case history. Until the age of 18 years
you didn't have any problems with your health, did you ?
P: No.
A: As a child your tonsils have been removed, because regularly you had tonsilitis. Then, you
were very anxious. But you had a very bad accident, how old were you then ?
P: 14 years. On February 5, 1983.
A: You were run into by a car when you returned with your girl-friend from a party of the
youth-movement at 11.00 p.m. The car ran into you from behind. The driver was drunk. Your
girl-friend was killed and you were flung away, by which you sustained a fracture of the
pelvis. The acetabulum in your right hip was broken and there was a diastasis of the pubis.
There was a fracture of the tibia and the fibula left. There was a deep wound in the inguinalis.
I was called and you were in coma at that moment. There comes the homoeopathic remedy
number 1, which I gave you in a very high potency, because you were in coma. This remedy
has awaken you from coma within 48 hours.
I am talking about the second remedy, but immediately after the accident I gave a first
remedy to which she reacted very well. She was comatose and had a snoring respiration "respiration, snoring, while insensible" (p. 776). You see in that rubric only one remedy. You
can touch them, they do not react and the respiration is very, very slow and snoring - very,
very deep and very slow; suddenly it stops and then they start respiring again, as I told you of
the child whose mother had been injected with DOLANTIN. This is the first remedy you
always have to take with in cases of accidents, or in cases of cerebral hemorrhages.
A year ago they came to me and said that a neighbour, a single woman, she was divorced and
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she was living on the first floor, it was on old house, the old house where I was practising in
1982 or 1983; the first floor was an apartment where this woman was living; she was about 45
years old - they came and said, "She is almost dead." She had fallen, because she had a
hypertension. Immediately, I put Aconitum and Opium in my pocket and went to her. She was
lying there and had a very deep, snoring respiration - I waited and waited, almost 30, 35
seconds, I thought, "Oh my God !" and then she had a very long expiration, stopped, again a
very, very long deep inspiration and stopped again. She was lying with open eyes, and there
was blood coming out of the nose and the mouth. She did not have a corneal reflex. Where do
we find this ? "Eyes insensible" (p. 244). Another peculiar thing for Opium is painlessness of
complaints usually painful - "painlessness of complaints usually painful" (p. 1390): Opium
and Stramonium. "Slow respiration during sleep" (p. 775). It is typical for Opium that they are
completely insensitive, this means that they are in coma. Together with this kind of deep,
slow, snoring respiration you have to give Opium.
Another patient whom I cured with Opium had been hospitalized for an apoplexy. They
thought, he was dying. His family came to the centre and I gave the woman a tube Opium LM
6 without the knowing of the doctors. Why LM 6 ? Because of the convulsions in high fever he was comatose the whole time and got cortisone and antibiotics. That is why I gave Opium
LM 6 continuously. In the meantime he is at home. He can walk with supports, but can not
talk yet. He had an aphasia after an apoplexy. Which is the most important remedy ? Baryta
carbonica, there is also Nux vomica. (Baryta carbonica is an addition)
So, do not forget: the first remedy in these cases is Opium, you can save lives. Here, you are
dealing with several things together. We know from Hahnemann, that in chronic diseases - he
wrote in his "Organon" - you need only one remedy at a certain moment in a certain situation.
That is important, but the situation can change from minute to minute, in this minute you need
a certain remedy, in another minute you need another remedy and so on. That is possible. In a
big accident there are so many aspects: first anxiety - this can be Opium because of anxiety,
ailments from fright: a car comes and suddenly he drives into you from behind. That is a
fright. And if you look at "unconsciousness from fright", for example, "unconsciousness", I
do not know whether this is in the Repertory or not. No, it is not; then we look, for example,
at "trembling from fright" or "faintness after fright" (p. 1360). A fright, that is something
suddenly. Do you know what "fright" is ? That is a very sudden anxiety, very sudden. You see
on page 1360 "faintness after fright". Then on page 1408 "trembling from fright"; then you
also see that someone has stool in his pants after a fright. Where can you find this ? In
Belgium there is an expression: ... So, "rectum, involuntary stool after fright" (p. 621).
You see: the most near dead remedy because of accidents is Opium, because an accident has
always to do with a fright, a sudden anxiety, an accident happens suddenly.
First, she got Opium and then the remedy that we have to give in an accident, which is this
remedy ? Arnica. Afterwards, I gave her Arnica in a very high potency, I think Opium 10 M
and Arnica M. Then she came out of coma and after 3 hours she aggravated again. I gave her
Arnica again, she improved - for 6 hours, then 12 hours, 24 hours and then she came totally
out of coma. But then she came into another state.
A: A second point was that during the night of the accident you were paralysed in both your
lower limbs, as I noticed then. The hamstring reflex and the pain reflex were totally absent in
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both legs. Then you got a second remedy, taking into account the cause and the cause of the
symptomatology at that moment.
That was the third remedy. Which remedy ? At 3.00 a.m. I saw suddenly - the accident
happened at 11.00 p.m. - that she did not move her legs, they were paralysed. She did not feel
anything and the reflexes were absent. Which remedy is this ? Hypericum. Hypericum
because of the injury of the spine. Look at "back, injury of the spine" (p. 892).
You know that Hypericum acts, where there are a lot of nerves. And do you know, where are
the most nerves ? In the spine, and in the cervical region, because all the nerves go to the
head. That is why the most nerves are at this place. I am only theorizing, but that is important.
This is the most dangerous place for injury. You know that Hypericum is the first remedy for
whiplash injury. Hypericum is also the first remedy after a blow in the back with broken
vertebraes. Hypericum is the remedy for neurologists. If all the University Hospitals would
know Hypericum, they would save more patients with medulla oblongata contusions. Before I
started my medical studies I was a nurse and in Haiti, I had a lot of clinical experience and
during my studies of medical doctor I worked in the University Hospital on the neurologic
department and there I saw so many people who had an accident with a motorcycle. They
were lying there with their feet turned inwards and were jerking. They said, "They will die,
forget it." The reason was a bleeding of the medulla oblongata, because of the injury. Look at
the rubric "injuries of the spine", underneath "lies on back, jerking head backward" (p. 892).
You see how important it is to have seen things in clinical training, in experience in clinics, so
that you remember this state and you will never forget. It is very important to have clinical
experience in Homoeopathy, because every picture relates to a homoeopathical remedy.
Hypericum is a very important remedy in elongations of the nerves. And it acts very, very
quickly. We had a stove with coals and inside there was something broken. I had to take the
broken thing out and put a new one in it. It fell upon my two small fingers and it was very
painful and blue. Immediately, I went downstairs, took Hypericum 10 M and 5 minutes later
the pain had gone. Another time I knocked a nail in the wall and I knocked on my finger, I
took immediately Hypericum and everything was all right. Do not forget Hypericum in very
dangerous, serious cases. Also when someone has been lying this way (...) with an operation,
so that the nerves are elongated and afterwards he is complaining of numbness and pain, that
is Hypericum. Also when a joint has been displaced and after the displacement there is
numbness, paresthesia, that is Hypericum.
Question: "Is this also possible in chronic diseases with a carpal tunnel syndrome ?"
A: No, usually, that is constitutional. In general, the cause of Hypericum is an accident. If
this stays very long, it is not Hypericum anymore, but constitutional. In the rubric "injuries of
the spine" there is also Calcarea, Natrum sulphuricum, Fagopyrum - that is not constitutional
under certain circumstances - Nitricum acidum, Thuja, Silicea. If you have given Hypericum
in such a case and it does not act, this means, that you have to give the constitutional remedy
and this will solve the problem.
That night I gave her Hypericum in a very high potency, because she was paralysed, and I
can tell you that she was cured after 1/2 hour. She felt again.
Afterwards my colleague, who is an orthopedist, said that this happens often, and called it a
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transient medullar ischemia. It passed away with Hypericum, it was transient. Everything - the
coma also - was transient.
A: In 1 or 2 hours' time the sensitiveness and the hamstring reflex were present again. That
was the homoeopathic remedy number 3.
In the meantime there was also a deep wound in your inguinalis with quasi black blood. I
didn't stitch the wound the night of the accident, but the day after. I also gave a remedy for
that, after which the bleeding stopped soon.
Which remedy ? (It was black, stinging blood, oozing, passive) Elaps is a good proposal, but
we do not know Elaps in these cases. Elaps has internal bleedings, for example, the lungs. The
blood of Elaps is really black, even without a bandage.
Question: "Crotalus ?"
A: Crotalus is one of the important remedies for oozing blood, but not for coagulation. It is a
very, very important remedy for oozing blood from the nose, from the mouth. But for oozing
black blood from injuries, it is Hamamelis. Hamamelis is not well indicated in the Repertory.
It is good for venous bleeding, bleeding from varicose veins and hemorrhoids. In Boericke
there is a very good description of the remedy. I gave Hamamelis for this bleeding. You see in
this case you can give Opium, Arnica, Hypericum, Hamamelis, one after each other, because
of the many different external influences. But even then the most important and life dangerous
state has to be treated first. What is the first remedy in near dead situations ? That is Opium
and then you have to give Arnica, and then, after 3 hours you detect Hypericum and then
comes the bleeding: Hamamelis. The most important symptom has to be treated first, and then
the next one and so on. You may not mix it up, that is not good, afterwards you do not know
anymore what you are doing.
A: I have let you be taken care of at home and let an orthopedist come. I have taken
radiographs myself of your pelvis and legs. My colleague told me you should go to the
hospital for safety to take radiographs of your spinal column. And so they did.
When they came to take her for the radiographs there were 3 nurses and a driver. When I
took her home, I had to sign, that I took the responsibility and they only sent the driver, no
nurses. The doctors did not want let her go. I had to say, "That is my daughter and I decide
what is going on here."
At 3.00 a.m. they asked me to come to insert a catheter. They could not insert a catheter
because of the swelling. Then it was better to let her be taken care of at home. I have nothing
against hospitals - but three of my older patients, who could not be taken care of at home, had
been hospitalized and they all have broken the head of the thigh-bone.
A: Because there was a diastasis of the pubis, there was a peripubic bleeding, which has
increased in the meantime. There was a strong swelling of the vulvar soft parts. It was very
difficult for you to urinate. At night they called me, because the nursing couldn't catheterize
you. I did it then and I inserted a delay-catheter. Two days later I have let you be taken home.
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On the radiographs there were no other fractures present. Then you got a bladder
inflammation, because of the catheterization and the 4th remedy followed.
Because of the catheterization she had an inflammation of the bladder and pain while
urinating. Which remedy is this ? Staphisagria. Look at the Repertory. That is very important.
You have to know this. Give me the rubrics where you can find difficulties while urinating,
"pain in the bladder" and "inflammation of the bladder after injury of the urethra". This is a
remedy for what kind of women ? For newly married women, because there is also a kind of
dilatation at the beginning, the first night. Where do you find this rubric ? On page 646
"bladder, pain after lithotomy". Lithotomy means that they go with a catheter into the bladder,
and take the stone out. There is another rubric on page 646, "bladder, inflammation after
injury": Arnica, Staphisagria. Arnica injuries are mostly injuries after a blow. For pain with
bleeding after a blow in the hypogastrium you can give Arnica; after a blow in the abdomen, a
very deep blow: Bellis perennis. Bellis perennis is a remedy for injuries of the abdomen. Our
cleaning woman has been in a Bellis perennis state. You know there are garages which are
going downstairs. The car was standing uphill, she drove the care backwards, got out and
closed the door. The car was coming down and she tried to withhold it with her hands. She
had to go to the hospital and afterwards I gave her Bellis perennis and the pain disappeared.
Very deep contusions of the abdomen, also after abdominal operations, very deep abdominal
operations where the pain remains, you have to think about Bellis perennis.
She has an inflammation of the bladder, pain in the bladder and in the urethra. Look at
"bladder, urination, dysuria, in newly married women" (p. 656). If you marry and you want to
do your woman a favour, you take Staphisagria with you. This was Staphisagria, now you
know Staphisagria with the discoloration of the teeth, and the hypersensitivity. You have to
handle Staphisagria women with gloves, you have to be very careful with them during coition.
A: The homoeopathic remedy number 5. Following the catheterization you had a burning
pain while urinating. I gave you the remedy and it disappeared very quickly. Then we have
laid you in traction, in a hammock, the orthopedist recommended it. We have treated you at
home. You had a very low blood pressure. First, 7.4 then 7.2 and I gave you two times half a
litre blood.
Following that anemic condition I came to the fifth homoeopathic remedy.
We can not give a homoeopathic remedy, because of this or that, but we can give a remedy,
because of this or that AND homoeopathic indications.
She had lost quite a lot of blood, here, in the inguinal region and also the subcutaneous
bleeding means a hemorrhage. The bleeding inside, under the skin is also a bleeding and then
the broken hip and the broken tibia and fibula are bleedings as well. She had so much pain
here, so that we could not lift her up while cleaning the bed, she could not even tolerate the
slightest touch. But when she had so much pain she wanted somebody to press her hand, very
hard. That is strange, very strange, that she is so sensitive to touch and at the same time so
tolerant of pain, when I took her hand and pressed it very hard. That did her good. Which
remedy is this ? ...
... (changing of the cassette)
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A: Oh yes, I understand the problem. But I can not press at a broken place, do you understand
? But the general sense of China is sense, also psychologically, I do not know whether you
have read "The Essence" of Vithoulkas - psychologically China is hypersensitive and very
difficult to approach; only with a very deep psychological pressure, that is good for China.
We have a lot of experiences in China cases, in malaria cases, in neuralgia cases, stomach
pain, headache, they are so painful, and then you press very hard and the pain disappears.
Also psychologically, this is important for this remedy.
The most important indication was that she had lost a lot of fluid. "Lost of fluids": China is
capital. That is also the reason why China is so important in malaria - because you have
hemolysis - a lot of blood is lost.
So China was the next remedy.
A: Everything turned out rather well. In the meantime, you heard that your girl-friend had
died. At that moment it gave you a rather severe shock. Then I gave you the homoeopathic
remedy number 7.
When she knew - a few days or a week later - that her girl-friend had died, she had a break
down, psychologically. Which remedy is this ? Ignatia.
Almost every one in this world looses his wife or his child or someone who was very near,
and when this comes suddenly, he gets into an Ignatia state. The external influence is so
typical for Ignatia, that almost everyone needs it at that time. We can replace Valium by
Ignatia and in very high potencies you have wonderful reactions. All these remedies have
been given, because of the cause AND certain homoeopathic indications - and the cause is
very important: fright, injury, cutting, injury of the bladder, lost of fluids, grief. These are all
indications for the homoeopathic remedy, but we still need modalities, clear modalities.
A: You reacted rather fast. In the meantime, you have been put in plaster, the wounds have
been stitched. Peripubarly, there was an incision of that accumulated blood. A litre and a half
blood and purulent came out of there. Everything turned out all right slowly.
There is one thing I forgot to tell you and I did not give the remedy. I discovered the remedy
later. That was, when she was lying in the hospital, she started to talk English. She speaks
Flemish and I am sure she said words she never learned before. At this moment she would
have needed another remedy, because of the interstitial bleeding in the brain, oedema of the
brain. She was talking in a foreign language. Which remedy is this ? Stramonium. Look in the
Repertory. She was - how do you call this state of being away ? Delirium. "Delirium, talks in
a foreign language" (p. 19). There is another rubric "speech in a foreign tongue" (p. 81): there
are Stramonium and Lachesis. I did not give her a remedy. I did not look in the Repertory, I
did not know it at that moment.
A: I do not think so. She was not so loquacious, but Stramonium - it is difficult. Stramonium
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is one of the most important remedies in psychiatry, together with Hyoscyamus, Veratrum
album and so on. Every remedy has psychiatric cases, but ...
A: And then in August 1983, six months later, you took examinations of your school year
and passed them. Everybody took it ill of me, that I took care of you at home, but I had my
reasons. You were able to take your exams. That was in the third year, and you finished the
next years without problems. Now you follow the first year of higher education for social
assistance.
After this history one injury has remained, a paralysing of the femoral n. left. The fracture on
tibia and fibula consisted of different little pieces and by which you got a shortened leg.
Consequently, we were obliged to lengthen it and put it straight. There was a slight angle and
this has been put straight and then a sheet of iron has been put on it so that the leg is straight
and equal. You can lift and bend your leg with your muscles. You are in rehabilitation for the
only reason that you can not bend your knee hundred per cent. You can ride on a bicycle and
run, but you have to do some exercises for a while before you are completely recovered. After
the accident you arrived in a situation in which I was obliged to give you the homoeopathic
remedy number 8.
You are someone who is a little artistically-minded, especially in writing.
When I read this poem that was tacked to the wall in your room together with a photograph
of your dead girl-friend and a suicide attempt I decided to give you a remedy.
Once I loved the life
Everything was beautiful
The fluting birds
The rustling trees
A person came and went
Everything seemed so logically
I was young and without knowing
Everything seemed understandable
To realize was a strange word
How was it possible
Never anything happened to me
Friends stayed
Everything went smoothly
Then I payed the debt, as a bursting bomb
Pain took possession of me and a friend has been taken away
My leg did not work anymore, everything went wrong
And a great disillusion always showed up
Now I am older and I have learned to understand
The realization has entered, of course
Besides, I have seen both sides
And there is one thing I may not forget:
Life is a way full of disappointments and dangers,
And yet one has to go on
Waiting for what will be next.
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A: You wrote this poem in a very depressive period, in which you painted your room purple.
P: At that time a boy had just been killed in an accident.
A: But you still were under the influence of the loss of your girl-friend, by which you felt
alone in the world.
But anyway, you were wearing purple clothes, dark clothes. You saw everything very dark.
In your room there were only dark photographs, purple bed-spread and sheets. It was very
melancholic. Then I gave you the remedy number 8.
Which remedy ? Aurum. I gave her Aurum, because everything was so black in her life.
When she was not at home I went to her room and switched on the music. I noticed that it was
very, very heavy music. I felt this very heavy situation. I felt Aurum. She became better, but I
doubted, I am still doubting, whether the remedy was correct, whether I should have given her
constitutional remedy, until now I do not know. But anyhow, she reacted very well, and I
want to say: do not forget Aurum. Do not forget Aurum in suicidal dispositions. Aurum is the
first remedy. If you do not clearly see the remedy and there is a very, very deep sadness, when
they feel good while thinking of being dead and things like that - the deepest sadness is
Aurum; that is a very, very dangerous situation. So first, even when your remedy is wrong and
you are doubting, first you have to give Aurum.
It was about 1985, I worked very hard and suddenly in February I became hoarse, I could not
speak anymore. And progressively I became very irritated, I did not want to talk to anyone, I
was studying the whole time, but I could not remember anything. I was praying all the time,
"My God, help me !" I was so depressed and I was very difficult towards my wife, my
children, the doctors, to everybody. I was very, very depressed and I thought if this would
continue like this I would rather be dead. And the doctors told me that I should take Nux
vomica. I took it - nothing. I took Sulphur - nothing. I do not know what they all prescribed
me, and I took and I took - no reaction. I could not stay in the centre and I decided to go to
Spain, alone. There I was walking at the seaside the whole time. I took a newspaper and my
Boericke behind it so that nobody could see, that I was studying. And I was thinking,
thinking, thinking and my life meant really nothing to me. I wanted to die, I did see no light.
In the hotel where I was staying I had a room on the 4th floor and I was looking out of the
window and suddenly I noticed that I wanted to jump. "My God, that is Aurum !" and I
studied all my symptoms, I studied all the symptoms of the mind - and really: praying and so
on, 150 symptoms of Aurum. I had my box with remedies there, I went and looked - but there
was not Aurum. But 2 days later I went back home and even on the night I arrived I took
Aurum 10 M. The next day I felt better, 2 days later everything was gone. I went from the rain
into the sunshine, within two days, my life had completely changed, the hoarseness had
completely gone.
That was for me a situation near to death, I woke up with the idea, "If I had a gun, I would
kill myself." Why, I do not know. And I have prayed the whole night, the whole time,
constantly praying. Now, I know that when I am not praying I feel well. Now, I am creative,
working, studying and things like that and I feel well. But when I start praying at night I say,
"Alf be careful, do not go to sleep too late, do not waist too much energy, do not drink too
much beer, because you will start praying and that is not good." That is what a homoeopathic
remedy can do and nobody else. You can go to psychotherapy and all other kinds of therapies
64
- nothing can be better than what happened to me after Aurum. That was a miracle; within 2
days I changed from the most negative to a normal, positive man.
That is why my daughter also got Aurum and Aurum really cheered her up.
Until now I did not know that she tried to kill herself with a knife. My wife told me that later.
"Suicidal disposition with knife" (p. 85).
There you see Alumina, Arsenicum, Belladonna, Calcarea, Mercurius, Stramonium. Do you
remember the Stramonium state ? Here also, in suicidal disposition with a knife, there is
Stramonium again. You see, in suicidal disposition there are 3 capital remedies: Aurum,
Aurum muriaticum and Natrum sulphuricum. There is also Psorinum in the rubric, Ignatia,
Rhus toxicodendron; do not forget Rhus toxicodendron in suicidal disposition, it is very
important. In her poem she wishes to go away from the life and that is typical. Aurum feels
well at these thoughts, all the sufferings are over - "cheerful while thinking of the death" (p.
11). Aurum is anxious of death, but he feels happy, because he thinks that everything goes
better. The tendency to jump means to jump into freedom.
A: Then you got a more positive look of the world. Until the day before yesterday. And now
we arrive to where we wanted to come.
Until now we are not dealing with the real history yet. She told me this history a few days
ago in the living room. After all these remedies - Opium, Arnica, and so on her real picture
shows up, so that I think it is her constitutional remedy. So many wonderful symptoms. Now I
understand why she does not show her eyes, I did not notice it previously.
A: Philosophically-homoeopathically, I only want to say that until now the eight remedies
you had were only remedies of layers. Layers which have been spread over you by different
circumstances, causations. Now, your real nature showed up, as you were as a child.
That is very important. Because of certain circumstances we can come into different
situations, we call that layers, which are put upon because of certain causations. After a death
you probably need Ignatia, no matter whether you are constitutional Calcarea or Natrum
muriaticum. When you have an accident and you show Hypericum symptoms, you need
Hypericum. That is what I mean with flexibility. You have to follow the evolution of the
patient, give the remedy which he needs at a certain time.
A: As a young child you had the same characteristics. Also your look, your way of living, the
fact you had inflammations of the tonsils pointed to the remedy you needed the day before
yesterday. As a child and a young girl you were regularly depressed.
We can start from the rubric "sadness, children" (p. 76). Also when somebody says that the
tonsils have been removed is a very important remedy. Which is the most important remedy
for swollen tonsils ? Baryta carbonica.
A: Do you remember you were easily depressed when you were very young ?
P: Well, I always thought they laughed at me.
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A: I won't tell your appearance as a young child, otherwise I betray the remedy.
A: You thought they were laughing at you. You thought you were making a fool of yourself.
As a child she was thick, a real "little ball", and very obstinate. Also today she still is
obstinate. She does not listen to us. The day before yesterday she came home at 4.00 a.m. , on
her socks upstairs. There is another rubric "delusions, laughed at, imagines she is" (p. 28):
Baryta carbonica.
P: Yes.
A: Because they told you you had Chinese eyes. Put that hair away, then we can see whether
this is really so. It's far from that. You became shy and you always covered your eyes with
your hair.
Yes, but before, when she was a young child, they said that she had Chinese eyes. That is the
reason why she puts her hair before her eyes, so that nobody can see her Chinese eyes. Which
remedy is this ? And where can you find it in the Repertory ? You have to understand. You
have to go deep into the understanding. Why does she put her hair before the eyes ? Because
she does not want that people see her Chinese eyes. She has fear that people will see - "fear
her condition will be observed" - how she really is. You see, "fear, observed of her condition
being" (p. 46).
All the time she said - she limped a little, because her leg has become shorter because of the
multiple fractures ... all the time she was discussing with me that she would like to have been
operated on her leg, so that her leg got the same length. She wanted strongly that nobody
could see that she had an accident, that she had a kind of invalidity. And so she had her
operation. And that was also her constitutional nucleus.
A: The evening before yesterday you told me spontaneously your complaints in a panic. That
was a beautiful story. At that moment I didn't want to put it on video. Tell us how long this is
going on and what are the complaints ?
P: It started with Joke and all these problems.
A: Joke is a friend of yours ?
P: Yes, she had problems with her boy-friend, that was very annoying, she couldn't take it
anymore and became ill. I was very worried about her.
A: You were concerned about your girl-friend ?
P: Yes. At night I couldn't sleep anymore. That was not so bad.
A: Why couldn't you sleep ?
P: I dreamt about spiders.
A: You dreamt about spiders. Did they have a particular colour ?
P: Yes, black.
She says she could not sleep and dreamt about spiders. What does it mean ? She could not
sleep and nevertheless she dreamt. That is what we mean with "delusion". "Dream" means
"during the sleep", "delusion" means "images while being awake", - "delusions of animals"
(p. 20).
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P: It became better for a while, but afterwards I dreamt about our cat, that it was dying, that I
had to loose her.
A: You saw your cat, which one ?
P: The black cat.
A: Did you dream about it or did you see it before your eyes ?
P: I saw it in a dream.
A: And what happened to it ?
P: It got accidents and was torn to pieces. And then those spiders that want to kill me.
"Delusion, sees cats" (p. 22).
"Fancies at night, frightful" (p. 42).
P: And I dreamt about my friend that he had to be hanged.
"Delusion, sees someone murdered" (p. 29).
Here there is a development of a very beautiful mental picture of Calcarea, which goes in the
direction of delusion; also the anxiety.
P: I couldn't do anything. And also the fact that I was rejected. That he was going out with
other girls and that I wasn't important anymore.
A: The evening before yesterday you told me, "I dreamt that he was murdered". Was that
only by hanging or also in another way ?
P: By hanging.
A: Was that only once ?
P: Yes, but the fact that he rejected me happened many times. And I saw it clearly before my
eyes.
A: You saw it very clearly before your eyes, you saw everything clearly happening before
your eyes.
P: Yes, very clearly.
A: Was that only while you were dreaming or while you were lying with your eyes closed ?
P: At the beginning, while I was lying in bed, I started to think. But I had those fancies while
I was sleeping.
A: When you went to bed and you closed your eyes, there were no fancies.
P: No, I was thinking for a long time.
A: Always ?
P: Yes, always thinking.
She saw it clearly before her eyes, vividly - "delusion vivid" (p. 34), also persistent, anxious
thoughts - "persistent thoughts" (p. 87), "frightful thoughts" (p. 87).
A: Does the darkness play a role ?
P: I don't think so.
A: Did you ever wish that the light was on ?
P: Yes, with those spiders. I thought I heard them buzzing in my room.
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A: Where did the noise come from ?
P: From a corner behind the bed.
"Delusion, hears noise, knocking under bed": Calcarea, Cantharis. Then there is that fear of
dark, at that moment she had to put on the light. And we can say the same thing as yesterday:
"Delusions, frightful".
All this is Calcarea.
A: You had persistent thoughts, especially when you went to bed, your mind was constantly
busy. It didn't leave you in peace. Were there other complaints ?
P: Well, at school, while walking, I'm anxious that it won't improve much and what they will
think about me. I'm anxious that they will reject me.
A: Anxious to be renounced.
P: Also when I talk to someone, afterwards I ask myself whether I didn't say anything wrong.
I'm also anxious that I have done something wrong. I'm immediately angry or suspicious
about everything.
What is behind this ? She says that she is anxious of saying something wrong, she is afraid
that people will get a bad impression about her - she is very concerned about what other
people think of her (her eyes, her leg). Where can you find this in the Repertory ? After
having talked to someone she is wandering whether she has not said anything stupid, whether
this person thinks she is a little crazy. You see, "delusion, that people think her a little bit
insane" (p. 28). This is the real, very deep nucleus of Calcarea. What other people think about
them is very important. When someone has told her that her legs are too thin she will never
wear a skirt again, but pants, so that nobody can see her legs. She covers her eyes, she tries to
walk correctly.
When they drive a car, the car of a married Calcarea woman with a few children is very well
cleaned. "What would other people think about me ? That we are dirty people ?" When they
have a garden before the house, the husband has to clean everything on Saturday evening,
because on Sunday people will pass the garden and look at it when they go to church. That is
Calcarea. On Saturday they have to clean the whole house, because somebody might come in
and what will they think about this mess here. These are Calcarea people, very catholic,
religious people. And you rather find them in the north, in very catholic areas ... (changing of
cassette).
Which remedy is complementary to Calcarea ? Rhus toxicodendron. Calcarea goes into a
Rhus toxicodendron state, because of the mind. They are working, working, and working;
they get wet and come into a Rhus toxicodendron state. Rhus toxicodendron is
complementary to Calcarea.
A: Were there other complaints, at night for instance ? At last you couldn't sleep anymore,
you were afraid to go to bed ?
P: At last I was. I was afraid, because I was lying there, and those dreams ... And I kept
thinking about it and I doubted whether those dreams have effect. Whether this is real, or this
wants to say something to you.
A: Whether those dreams mean something ?
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P: Yes.
A: So, you became afraid ?
P: Yes, also in the car, that was terrible.
A: What else did you feel ? In general.
P: Anxious about everything. Anxious that you don't have any future.
Calcarea is a - in the allopathy there is "broad spectrum antibiotics" - and Calcarea is a broad
spectrum anxiolyticum. If you have somebody who is afraid of everything, first you have to
think of Calcarea. She said, "I have fear of everything, of everything, when I'm driving a car,
when I'm walking, what other people will think about me and fear of dark." All kinds of fears:
fear of high places, fear in narrow places, fear of birds, fear of animals, fear of spiders, fear of
the future, all kinds of fears. That is Calcarea.
A: You were very anxious concerning your future. Your problem is still that people can see
that you limp while walking, because you can't bend your knee hundred percent. Objectively,
you are very well, but you have the impression that you can't walk properly. The least thing
that people notice at you, you can't bear that thought. That is what keeps you busy most.
P: Yes.
A: Are there other things ?
P: Generally, it seems as if I lost my pride. That I react differently.
A: What do you mean ?
P: Well, that I am not normal anymore, that I talk at random.
Very important "fear of insanity" (S. 46), "delusion that she will become insane" (p. 28) and
typical for Calcarea "delusion, insane, that people think her" (p. 28).
Then, she also has fear she looses her mind - "fear of loosing senses" (p. 46).
A: Anxious you will become insane.
P: Yes. I don't feel the same as when I am normal. I reacted very differently. As if I can't
control it anymore.
A: No control over your feelings, what do you mean ?
P: For instance, offended easily, and admitting fast, I'm not like that.
A: You were offended easily, and easily indulgent ? What was the reason for that indulgence,
why were you easily indulgent ?
P: For fear maybe they would say other things.
A: Gradually, you were afraid of being yourself. You didn't dare to sustain your obstinacy,
which you have by nature. You are a person, who is by nature very obstinate, very
headstrong, extremely sensitive.
She is very obstinate. Calcarea is very, very obstinate, but in Calcarea you can feel an
internal softness, like boiled eggs.
On the outside Calcarea can be hard like an egg, but when you approach him, you feel a
softness in him. Calcarea is like a nucleus of a soft boiled egg and the outer part is hard like
the shell of an egg. You get this feeling with Calcarea, and that is very close to Pulsatilla, but
Calcarea has a strong will and that is her problem. She feels that her inner force, her
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haughtiness - it is not haughtiness, but her strength and force of being independent of
everyone, is going away. She has the feeling as if she is loosing her strength and is becoming
crazy.
A: We can say that as a child you were very sensitive. And also sensitive in the sense of
feeling something easily. Further, you have characteristics of a kind of a sixth sense, or how
do you call it ?
P: I'm interested in parapsychology.
A: But you also have another characteristic, another knowledge ?
P: Yes, those dreams that come true, not always, but ...
I went to school and that night I dreamt I would meet my teacher. And I did. I asked the
questions in his place and answered them.
How do you call that ? Clairvoyence. Look at "clairvoyance" (p. 11). Do you see Calcarea
there ? There is also Medorrhinum, that is very important when we talk about Medorrhinum,
besides there is Cannabis indica and Phosphorus. Carcinosinum and Ptelea are additions.
A: Are there other things you were troubled with lately ?
P: Easily tired, while walking a certain distance, I start panting and so on.
When she goes upstairs, she has a panting respiration. Look in the Repertory "respiration,
panting, ascending stairs" (p. 774). We have also seen this in the child, "panting respiration".
A: What else ? That is the main thing. What about your appetite ?
P: At the moment I have a good appetite.
A: What do you prefer to eat ?
P: Chicken in puff pastry. And cutlets and eggs.
A: How do you prefer eggs ?
P: Fried eggs.
When we eat meat, she is frying 2 eggs and puts the fried potatoes in the yolk. That is the
way she eats fried potatoes and fried eggs. She eats eggs every day, every day ! We have 10
chicken, especially for her !
P: I also eat boiled eggs, but I don't like them very much when they are slimy.
Calcarea does not like slimy food. The eggs have to be boiled to the point - "aversion slimy
food", like Natrum muriaticum.
P: I like to dip my chips in the yolk of the fried egg.
A: What else ?
P: Croquettes.
A: What about sweet things ?
P: I don't like them very much. It makes me feel faint. Sometimes I want some, but when I
have to eat much of that I feel faint. Like cream too.
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A: And fat, does it make you feel faint as well ?
P: No.
A: Are there other things which you can not tolerate easily ?
P: Ice-cream, I'm not fond of ice-cream either. Sometimes I am, but sometimes I am not.
A: Do you like beer ?
P: Yes.
I have had troubles with her; drinking, drinking and discussing. She has to be careful not to
drink too much. Look in your Repertory "dipsomania" (p. 36). Not only Sulphur is a drinker,
but also other remedies can be drinkers. And do not forget Bufo. There is also Bufo, Calcarea
is two, Lachesis, Nux vomica, every one knows - and Sulphur; and drinking secretly means
that they drink and nobody knows it. They go away from home, take a bottle of whisky or
brandy somewhere to, and in an eating-place or so, behind the grilled chicken they drink ...
they put the bottle away, go back home, and continue their work. Or the real Sulphurs in the
Oxford street in London, with long hair and rather dirty, they have a small bottle of whisky in
their pocket, and they are talking the whole night while standing around a small fire. Then
they go a little bit further, take a pull at their bottle, come back and go on discussing. That is
the kind of Sulphur, they drink secretly. They will never admit they are alcoholic. You ask
them, "Do you drink alcohol?" - "No, I don't drink alcohol." And even when you smell his
alcohol breath he will say that he doesn't drink alcohol.
A: And do you smoke a cigarette anytime ?
P: Yes.
A: Why do you think you smoke ?
P: I don't know.
A: Because of the same reasons you do everything.
There is one reason why Calcarea smokes: she does not want to be an exception. Young
people in a group wear the same kind of pants: these jeans. If one wears jeans, everyone wears
jeans; if one smokes, everyone smokes.
Because she does not want that the other people think that she is not normal, she wears the
same jeans. Now she is wearing jeans, new jeans, where she has cut out a piece and has sewed
another piece of an old jeans on it. It has nothing to do with being untidy or dirty, but she
wants to be dressed like the others, she does not want to be someone else.
A: The evening before yesterday you got Calcarea 10 M. Tell me what happened afterwards.
P: Previously, I had the feeling as if I had been awake the whole night. And now I slept well.
I woke up earlier, but not at night.
That is what they say when they have delusions. They have the impression as if they were
awake the whole night, as if they did not sleep the whole night. When they express it that
way, you have to take the rubric "delusion".
A: The first night you slept earlier, didn't you ?
P: Yes, I have been awake only for a while. The next day I felt as if I had to vomit and I had
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headache. This has lasted for about three hours. It was better in the afternoon.
A: The tendency to vomit had gone ?
P: I only had a little headache.
A: How did you sleep the night before yesterday ?
P: Very well.
A: Did you still dream ?
P: No.
A: Did you have headache today ?
P: Yes, in the forenoon.
A: How is your anxiety in the car, if you compare it to last week ?
P: Much better, sometimes I was a little afraid, but it is much better. Otherwise I would hold
myself to the belt and went completely with the car, I hoped that the car would hit nothing,
but that is better now.
A: Although you went to a party last night, you feel well.
P: I have slept only for four hours, but I feel well.
A: You look less depressed and that is your remedy number 9, which is your constitutional
remedy.
I also remarked that she was very, very anxious when she was telling her problems that night.
It was as if she was going through these anxieties again, when she was telling her story.
Where can you find this in the Repertory ? When they are telling their symptoms, it
aggravates, - "narrating her symptoms agg." (p. 68).
After I have given her a wrong remedy for 3 years long, at last I found the right remedy.
Before, she did not tell me this way. Maybe it was also my fault, because I did not ask for it.
Many people think that you should not ask many questions, but let the patient tell his
symptoms. That is not right, you always have to ask questions. Why, for example, someone is
anxious in this or that situation, what is behind this. So you can find out the cause of mental
problems ...
It should not concern an aggravation, it can deal with the question to the right remedy. When
it concerns an aggravation, the symptoms have to be covered by the prescribed remedy. You
always have to control whether the appeared symptoms, for example, after Lachesis, really
are Lachesis symptoms or whether the prescription was wrong.
Then there is another thing. You know that this muscle was paralysed, the muscle extensor of
the thigh. Two tendon flexors have been put to the tuberosities tibiae, so that she is able to lift
the lower limb. In an EMG examination there were no potentials in the muscle extensors of
the thigh, and after the remedy, a few months later, you could notice potentials in the muscle.
So this muscle starts to live again. Look in the Repertory "paralysis, thigh extensors" (p.
1180); only one remedy: Calcarea.
After Calcarea 10 M she could sleep better the same night. You see, if your remedy is correct
you see a clear reaction, even in very heavy diseases, in heavy mental pathology, anxieties
and psychosis.
And that is something I am personally fighting with. I am fighting with the fact that I see
immediately a reaction in very heavy pathology, when the remedy is right. The other cases
where you give a remedy and the reaction is very slow make Homoeopathy so difficult. It is
very important to be sure of your remedy.
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If you have, for example, a Mercurius case with trembling and paralysis and so on you have
to wait at least one year before you see the real improvement of the neurological symptoms.
But mentally he is already better and the salivation also has already gone. Or when you have
an Alumina case with paralyses or multiple sklerose, everything goes very, very slowly, but
there is one symptom in Alumina that disappears very quickly, and that is constipation. I want
to tell you that you have to find one symptom that is not so deep, and disappears if the remedy
is correct, so that it makes you sure of your prescription. If nothing changes how can you
know that your remedy is correct ? I always try to find one symptom of which I think that it is
not so deep and therefore has to improve relatively fast. If this has clearly improved and the
patient feels well in general, then I can say that the remedy is correct and it can go on
working. That is a very great difficulty in Homoeopathy and therefore I say, "Please give high
potencies, so that you have a clear reaction. The more you doubt about your prescription, the
easier you give another remedy. If you are sure you can say, "All right, I gave Phosphorus", I
do not know if I have already told you the story. I gave a boy Phosphorus M for his
involuntary stool, and it did nothing. But in his character something has changed. I was
absolutely sure about my prescription, that Phosphorus was the right remedy and I gave a 10
M and one day later he was cured. Yes, there were already changes and if I had waited longer,
maybe he would have been cured without.
But now there is something else. There are people who say that you may not repeat the
remedy too soon. In this Phosphorus child with the involuntary stool there was a clear
amelioration on the mental level. In this amelioration I gave Phosphorus 10 M and he was
cured. What does it mean ? It is no problem to repeat the remedy if the remedy is still
indicated. I told you about Medorrhinum, I gave Medorrhinum, there was a big aggravation,
then I gave Medorrhinum 10 M and everything became better, because Medorrhinum was still
indicated and I gave the higher potencies to help him a little bit. That is the reason why I say
that it is no problem to repeat the remedy if it is still indicated. If the remedy is not indicated
anymore, there is an aggravation and then the original complaints appear again.
People come and say that they have been better, but at the moment they are worse again. You
wait, and give Sac-lac. Month after month you let your patients suffer, because you do not
dare to repeat the remedy. That is stupid. Who will tell us when a patient relapses or not ?
That is not up to us, but to the patient who relapses. When he relapses and the remedy is
correct, you repeat the remedy and he is cured. You have to be careful in repeating, but if the
symptoms appear again, you can repeat the remedy, that is no problem. Up to now, maybe in
10 years I will change my mind, I told you the story of Phosphorus, and I have seen this in
Medorrhinum and Sulphur.
Question: "We have learned that there is no reason to repeat the remedy, when there is an
improvement, especially on the internal levels, but only when they get symptoms that indicate
that it is worse. If you repeat the remedy in an amelioration can you stop the process of
healing ?"
A: Who can tell us that the remedy which has been given up to now is correct ? The fact that
he had an aggravation, means that the remedy was wrong at that moment. How can a correct
remedy be wrong ? Do you understand what I mean ? How can a correct remedy be wrong ?
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Remark: "But you know that it can be wrong to repeat the remedy too often."
A: Yes, when you repeat the remedy too often you will have a proving. I have seen this in a
wrong remedy, when I took Nux vomica. I took Nux vomica because I had vertigo when I
drank a few beers. But after Nux vomica I could drink only one beer; then I got already this
vertigo the next morning. Then I took Nux vomica once again and then I even could not smell
beer anymore, or I would get this vertigo. I was sitting at my desk and suddenly I had this
vertigo and said that I had done a proving of Nux vomica. Then I did not take Nux vomica
anymore, until I discovered Aurum and up to now I have taken Aurum about 10 times, and
until now it has not made me ill yet, not once. So I am really doubting whether our theory is
correct, also because of the story of the Phosphorus child. What I tell you here is practice, and
I do not say that it is the same for every one. How often did I repeat the remedy in
Lycopodium cases ! Maybe 10 times and each time he was very well. Even when they relapse
I repeat the remedy and everything is all right. How often did I repeat the remedy in the
Calcarea child ! 20 times. That is why I doubt about those theories. If you give someone the
right remedy, the right energy, the energy he needs, how can this remedy be wrong ?
Let us not talk too much about it, that is philosophy, but when you see that your patients feel
well, why should you give them a remedy ? And when you see that they relapse, you repeat
the remedy. Also when you see that your patient does not react too fast, you can repeat the
remedy and you will see that it acts.
If I can repeat a remedy 3, 4 or 6 times in 2 days in acute cases, why should I not repeat a few
times in chronic cases, if I see that the patient is not doing well enough ?
Hyperventilation
Calcarea carbonica
WOMAN, 36 YEARS OLD
Sometimes you can be sure of your remedy and you prescribe it and say, "But the patient has
to react" - but he does not. And when you are very haughty you say that the patient antidotes
the remedy, that you are right, that your prescription is right and it is because of the patient
that the remedy does not react. Yes, in allopathy they do not believe the symptoms of the
patient, they say that he is crazy; but we know that peculiar symptoms are very important.
There are also homoeopaths who do not believe their patients when they say that they are n o
t better. I was one of those. I said, "This is the right remedy !" and I repeated it, but then,
maybe after one year, I admitted that the remedy was wrong and that I had to find out why the
remedy was wrong.
A: You were here the first time in June 1984. For three years long I have been mistaken,
because I was so sure. I say it, because it was not so easy. You came for hyperventilation. It
started 6 years after the birth of your child. That's what you told me at that time.
P: That's not right. I think it started when I was 8 months pregnant. I think, I had already a
kind of hyperventilation at that time.
A: When you were 8 months pregnant ?
P: Yes.
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A: I wrote it down wrong. Did the delivery take place under hypnosis ?
P: Yes.
A: "I am afraid to walk on the street, especially when I am alone, when someone is with me it
is all right." That's what you told me the first time.
What kind of fear does she have ? Fear to go on the road.
How can we translate this in the language of the Repertory ?
Proposal: "Fear of public places."
A: No, it means the same as "fear in a crowd" and a subrubric is "on public places". Which
are the remedies? Argentum nitricum, Gelsemium, Arnica, Aconitum. So she says, "My
problem is that I am afraid when I walk alone on the street."
A: "When I have to wait, I have no patience. Then I become nervous."
When she has to wait, she has no patience. Which rubric is this ? "Impatience." Argentum
nitricum and Graphites have to be added here. You can also take the rubric "hurriedness".
A: "Then I have the inclination to faint." You are afraid to faint, to get a fit.
Fear of what ? Having a fit. Look at "fear of having a fit" (p. 45): Argentum nitricum is
capital.
A: "I don't see well and become aggressive because of the anxiety."
P: Yes.
A: "But I'm not afraid of dying." You are not afraid of that.
P: No.
A: But you are afraid of having a fit, of fainting. "I'm very hurried." Even while walking very
hurried.
P: Yes.
She is a very hurried woman and when she walks, she is very hurried (p. 54): Argentum
nitricum is capital.
A: You can't walk slowly. "I have a fear of the dark, an enormous fear of height."
"Fear of dark": there is not Argentum nitricum, but it is the most important remedy in the
rubric "fear of high places".
A: "I'm always cold."
She is chilly, but Argentum nitricum is very warm-blooded - but wait !
A: "But when I have a fit of hyperventilation, then I am warm. I can't do anything peacefully.
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When she has those attacks, she is too warm. But I tell you: forget the warm-bloodedness of
Argentum nitricum, forget it with the mental symptomatology !
A: "I never have attacks when I drive the car." And there is a reason for. Then I understood.
That is very peculiar.
That is very strange. She has fear of having a fit when she walks on the street, then she is
hurried, she walks in a hurry, but there is no problem when she drives the car. I gave her
Argentum nitricum 10 M, 50 M. Her reaction was "so la, la", a little bit better, but not really,
not into the deepness.
A: I will tell you the reason in a minute. Someone who is inclined to faint and has fear of
having fits, normally he also gets this in the car. But strange enough, you didn't have it in the
car. All right, your desires were fat, sweets, biscuits, soft boiled eggs; but not sour things.
"Desire sweets", Argentum nitricum is capital. Besides "desire soft boiled eggs, cookies,
cakes ... "
A: "Sometimes I am sad."
"A kind of a ribbon around the chest." Dizziness on high places. Not only fear while standing
on high places, but also dizziness. And then again fear of having a fit. The fear of fainting has
also Lac caninum, but she has no fear for snakes.
There is an aversion to sex.
Impulsive concerning the children.
Very impulsive, Argentum nitricum is capital.
A: Sleeps on the left side.
During the menstruation there is nothing special.
Because of the hurriedness, the fear of having a fit, the fear of high places, the dizziness of
high places and because she is warm during the fits, I gave you Argentum nitricum, in M
potency.
A fortnight after the remedy: muscle pain, headache, feeling of anxiety like influenza. Got
pimples everywhere, you didn't have them previously. One day better, the other day worse. A
week ago you got headache with anxieties and so on, tired. Then you got Foliata squalosa.
And I wrote down, probably there has been an amelioration. And you say, "When I have to
wait, I am afraid. I can't wait in a shop." But you still feel that you are nervous. While walking
you have the impression to sway to the left.
P: Yes.
Where do we find this in the Repertory ? "Vertigo, swaying toward left" (p. 100). There is
Argentum nitricum, but there are other remedies like Aurum, Sulphur, Zincum and others.
A: Then I saw you again in October and still impatient, still fear while waiting, still fear in a
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crowd. "When I have to talk I have a peculiar feeling in my head. It is all right when I ride on
a bike or drive a car." Very peculiar.
Do you understand ? When she is riding on a bicycle there is no problem; when she is driving
a car, there is no problem. We know from Argentum nitricum that they have fear in a crowd,
and when they are driving a car they are pushing on the accelerator to be there in time. When
she drives a car, she has no problems - very strange.
If you repertorize this with a computer, you get Argentum nitricum. In 1984 I still was a
computer. Now, I try to be a human being.
A: And then still the inclination to sway toward left and persistent thoughts. Thoughts which
don't leave you at peace. Always thoughts concerning yourself ?
P: Yes, always occupied with the fears. You think: all those fits again, those faints and so on.
Fear of people. I didn't know that, but they told me. Because I didn't know that I had fear of
people. I couldn't imagine it.
What happened ? The consultation where this came out was a real homoeopathic height for
me. I had everything on video, but afterwards I noticed that I forgot to switch on the
microphone. This consultation was so beautiful, the development, where she realized that in
fact she has fear for people. But why did she have fear for people ? She will explain it.
A: It is not important what I said, but what you feel.
P: Yes.
A: What were your recurrent thoughts dealing with ? Always occupied with yourself ?
P: Yes, with the faints. I feel dizzy, I don't feel well. Always the same.
Here, you surely prescribe Argentum nitricum, so 10 M. But always the same: hurried,
always cold.
A: "I want to go outside, to get fresh air, when I get the attack."
P: Yes, in the garden. When nobody is around, or when I see nobody, then I feel sure.
A: Do you have a large garden ?
P: No, 300 sq m.
A: Tell me, you feel well when nobody is around, do you also mean outside in the nature ?
P: Yes, of course. I would rather die outside in the nature than with people.
A: Do you feel well, when you walk alone in your garden ?
P: Yes, I don't feel bad.
A: You told this previously, but you live in a small city. There aren't so many fields. Have
you already been walking alone ?
P: At the moment I dare to walk a little distance alone. Previously ? No, not at all.
A: Not even walking alone through the fields ?
P: No.
A: All right. We don't have to pull out what's not there. But you prefer fresh air, or isn't that
right ? Is it because of the fresh air, or because you are alone then and don't see people ?
P: Yes, when I am inside the house I am also alone. That also plays a role. Or maybe the idea
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that fresh air is good when I faint. They told me that it might help.
A: So, it is not really the fresh air ?
P: No. Maybe rather the idea - if someone fainted in church, they carried him outside.
A: All right, that is not so bad, that is a detail. "I have very often colds and I am sneezing
when I wake up." And obstinate as I was, I still gave Argentum nitricum, 50 M. So, the same
symptoms always returned.
P: Yes.
A: You were also hoarse once. At that time you didn't smoke anymore. Very changing mood.
Then angry, then glad. And then an enormous increased appetite - "appetite increased",
"appetite insatiable". There we also see Argentum nitricum.
Then something else: "I feel lazy, I am sad, I feel alone. I have fear of everything."
"I want to stand on my own legs. I am going crazy." That was the first time that you used this
expression.
"I smoke very much. I am very hot-tempered. I could often bite the children whom I take care
of. I am very impulsive."
"Impulsive", Argentum nitricum is capital.
A: Then: You theorize, you like to discuss. I will let you talk afterwards, then it will turn out
that you can talk well.
"Theorizing": Argentum nitricum.
A: "When I have something in my mind, it has to happen."
P: Yes.
A: Anxious about your health. You had an uterus bleeding. I gave you Phosphorus and it
stopped quickly.
P: Yes.
A: At that time I made a video of you, but there was no sound on it.
Then you came back on September 15, and you said, "I still have so much complaints
concerning dizziness and anxieties." Everything started during or after the birth of your child.
"At the moment I am anxious, dizzy, forgetful and confused four days before my
menstruation. Before the menses I also stare quite a lot", you told me. "And I feel so weak
before my menstruation" -"weakness before menses". Then you are also nervous, excited "nervous excitement", "excitement while talking". And there is a nervous excitement. The
fear of dark is very strong. When you pass for instance a cornfield - tell me, what happens
then ?
P: When I was little ? Yes, when I passed a cornfield I was pulled in it and I thought that
somebody was in the field. I was afraid of that. I still feel it at this moment.
A: You still feel it at this moment ? That there was someone in the cornfield or that you saw
someone in the dark ?
P: No, I mean during the day. I thought that someone was in the field, but I have never seen
him. During the day I have never seen something imaginary.
A: But in the evening ?
P: Yes, in the evening.
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Do you understand ? When she goes walking in the evening and there is a tree or a cornfield
she imagines that there is somebody. How can you find this ? "Delusions, inanimate objects
are persons" (p. 28). When she walks in the darkness, it seems as if there are persons. Is there
another rubric that indicates the same thing ? "Delusion, that something hanging over chair is
a person, sitting there" (p. 30).
P: When I go downstairs, for example, I have a peep-hole in the front door - and when I look
through it someone is standing in front of me.
She has the delusion that someone is standing before the door, that she sees someone
standing through the glass of the door.
A: As a child you were in an orphanage. Once a man with his pants down was standing
behind you.
P: Yes.
A: That struck you very much ?
P: As a child it is terrible. You don't know, what you will do. Then you are anxious. I got
quite a lot of symptoms, also as a child at that time; a frog in the neck, whatever you want,
everything at the same time. In fact, these are previous symptoms which I get back at the
moment. I feel it; in fact I experience my youth again.
A: At this moment ?
P: Yes.
A: Since the last remedy ?
P: No, not now anymore. That is much better.
A: You also told me then, that you faint from hunger - "fainting from hunger".
P: Yes.
A: So a kind of fear of anticipation. You sleep on the left side. And now we arrive at the most
important thing: when you go somewhere, you become anxious. You told me this yourself at
that time.
P: Yes.
A: What kind of fear is or was that ?
P: I can't say that I have fear of people. But still, when I see people, then I feel a kind of
dizziness.
When she is telling this you see how the anxiety comes again; you see it in her eyes.
P: As if people see it, notice it.
A: People must have seen it. Where was the essence of the case ? That you couldn't bear that
other people could see it.
P: I didn't want that someone else sees that I have something like that, that I faint, that I am
dizzy and ill the whole time. I didn't want that other people saw it.
You see, this is what happens there !
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P: People could think that I am insane.
Now, we are at the point !
A: Do you understand why you don't get it in the car ?
P: There I don't have to be afraid that other people could see me.
A: Do you also know why you don't get it on the bicycle ?
P: That goes too fast. I knew this already. I thought about that when I was driving to the
centre. I asked myself, "Why do I sit so quietly in the car, why can I do this ? That is so
deep."
A: You also said, that you thought that people were laughing at you.
P: Yes, of course.
Do you understand why she does not have those fits when she is driving a car ? Because
people can not see her there. Also while riding on a bicycle she is too quick, people can not
observe her. That is the nucleus of the story that I found out - and I have not seen it for so
many years !
A: So that was the nucleus and it explains the whole problem. Then I gave you a remedy in
10 M on September 15. Tell me, how did you react ?
P: I took the remedy and already the second day I had good results. I was much more quiet. I
could go swimming, I could go walking and leave the car and the bicycle; I was much lively.
And before the menses I was not sitting there and staring. I was still a little afraid, but not so
much. And until now it is all right. Neither do I have thoughts like, "Well, she is drunk, or
what else people could think about me."
A: Have these thoughts disappeared ?
P: Yes, partly, it has gone.
A: You even put the doctor in his proper place.
P: Yes, but that is not sufficient. I take care of a child of a doctor. That is from half past 8
until midday 1.00 p.m. and therefore he gives me 3,5 . I told him that I wanted 1 . more or
that he has to pay the assurance for 1 year. He said he wouldn't do that and I had to assure
myself behind his back. I told him, "I will do it !" And yesterday he paid me and it still isn't
there. He put the money in an envelope, and I wasn't so sly to count it in his presence. And
apparently, he hasn't paid it yet. So, on Monday there is a fight again.
A: Where is the doctor from ?
P: He is a Dutchman.
You see, how she has changed: "Yes, you are the doctor, but I don't care. You have to pay
more for what I do for your child."
A: So, he pays you 1 . a hour.
P: Yes, but I also have to buy food, a banana, an apple, an orange, curd, and something to
drink.
A: So, you lose a great deal of money over it.
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P: Yes, but I don't agree anymore.
A: Previously, you didn't dare to do things like that.
P: No.
A: But you do since I have given you the remedy !
P: Yes, now I do. I must say I am concerned about that. I have to work it out. But I notice that
it goes better slowly. I also tell my husband everything when it is necessary.
A: When it is necessary ? Such a good husband ?
P: Yes, but he is also much ... At the moment I am more or less active. I do all kinds of
things, which I couldn't do previously.
A: Are you very active ?
P: At the moment, yes. I like to do something else beside my household.
A: So, you also had a little fever after the remedy ?
P: Yes. When I took the second remedy. I forgot to tell you.
A: Wait, I repeated the remedy. I gave it in 10 M on September 15, and repeated it on
October 13.
P: Yes. I took it and 3 days later I got a terrible cold and cough and was ill again. And then
you told me, "Yes, that is because of the remedy." Now, it has disappeared.
A: It has completely disappeared ?
P: Yes.
So this is what happened. Two times Calcarea within 1 month and she has reacted
wonderfully to it. You see that you often have to fight to discover Calcarea. Everyone says
that he knows Calcarea, but often it is difficult to find the remedy.
Question: "What was the first symptom you got for Calcarea ?"
A: I also showed Calcarea in the Netherlands and in this course and in the case of my
daughter I understood the symptom "what other people think about me" correctly. That is why
I am very sensitive to this symptom. Previously, I was not.
When she came back and said that she did not have problems while driving a car or while
riding on a bicycle, I asked myself why she exactly did not have problems with that. And then
- when you compare her appearance and that of my daughter, it is about the same: dark hair;
these are Calcarea people, whom you can confound with Sepia. A year later I learned this
kind of Calcarea people. They usually have a small neck, but they are dark and have also dark
eyes. They bear a great resemblance to Sepia and you often confound them. Because of the
appearance and the sensitiveness to what other people think about them, I asked myself,
"Couldn't that be Calcarea ? Why is she afraid ? And why doesn't she have this fear when she
drives a car or rides on a bicycle ?" That is why I thought that it could be Calcarea and then I
kept asking until it came out. It was very difficult, but it was beautiful how she told this !
Question: "According to your experience is it peculiar for Calcarea that they are concerned
about what other people think about them ?"
A: Yes, that is very specific, but I think, everyone has this symptom more or less. But it has
to be strong for Calcarea, like my daughter who has constantly her hair before her eyes, all the
time. And this means that she is occupied with that all the time, that people will not see her
eyes. And when this is very, very strong, you can forget all the other remedies and give
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Calcarea - this together with the symptom "fear of dark". This is a mental picture, but I also
had the desire for eggs, fear of dark, very strong fear; so I had something else to base my
prescription upon. This together with the mental picture I got a complete picture.
Phobia
Calcarea carbonica
WOMAN, 55 YEARS OLD
In this case I had a real fight with a gynecologist. We were fighting on the telephone and he
tried to summon me, because I did not push the patient to let her treat with chemotherapy.
In 1979 I treated this patient for the first time for an acute influenza. This influenza came
very suddenly, she was very chilly, had stitching headache, was very anxious and feared she
would die. This influenza came very suddenly, in the afternoon, about 6 o'clock. She had been
outside and suddenly she got very high fever, 39 C, bursting, stitching headache, very
anxious - and then I gave her which remedy ? Aconitum. At that time I gave her the remedy in
C 12, a few drops in her mouth and after 5 or 6 minutes she started to perspire all over her
body. And she had very big breasts. That is typical for a certain remedy, big breasts and thin
legs, which remedy ? Calcarea. So at that time I gave her Aconitum and after 6 minutes she
started to perspire, the perspiration was running between the big breasts and within 6 minutes
the fever decreased to 37,5 C. That was a real miracle for me. I studied Homoeopathy the
whole time, but I was to scared to use it - I used it the first time in this woman and I have seen
a real miracle. I knew, when you inject NOVALGIN in high fever you have to wait at least
half an hour before the fever goes down, and often there is no reaction at all to NOVALGIN.
Previously, I worked in surgery and had quite a lot of experience with high fever, so that I
could really say that this fever came down very quickly. This was for me a reason to say that
homoeopathy really works.
This woman had been taken TRYPTISOL for about 20 years, an antidepressant. She had
been in a psychiatric centre, and I could not stop this TRYPTISOL, because the anxieties
would return immediately. That is why I was scared to treat her homoeopathically. A long
time ago her doctor told her that she could never stop TRYPTISOL, because otherwise she
would end up in an asylum.
I often treated her acute. One day she came with bleedings; she got Phosphorus and another
time Arsenicum and every time she reacted well. Suddenly, she came and said that her
abdomen was so thick. I did not want to treat her homoeopathically, because she had been
taken TRYPTISOL for quite a long time and it works suppressively. If you suppress
something for such a long time, you may be sure that something will happen later. You can
expect with people who take such medicines for a long time they will get cancer in the future.
I have seen people who took antibiotics for an inflammation of the bladder, then for a teeth
abscess, then for something else and so on and at the end you may be sure they get cancer,
because of all the suppressions.
Anyhow, I sent her to a gynecologist and I called him, "My friend" - at that time he still was
my friend - "be careful with this woman, she is very anxious. Try to approach her in a
diplomatic way." He said, "All right, that is no problem." So I sent her to him. He examined
her and felt a big cyst; this cyst exploded during the examination and he had to operate
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immediately.
It was a very serious operation and during the histological examination they found cancer
cells in the ovary, but nowhere metastases. It was a cyst with adhesions to the uterus, the
intestines and the omentum. It was a very big operation to separate everything. The liquid in
the cyst was normal, only in the ovary cells of an adenoid carcinoma were found. Nothing
was found in the glands, everything was negative, only the ovary was positive.
She had a very bad time, she will tell it later on video, the way they treated her in the hospital
- it was terrible.
Afterwards she came back from the hospital and still took sleeping tablets. She was
completely exhausted, near dead and had headache and flushes of heat. I looked at the
medicines and I noticed that it was a medicine against migraine. First, she did not have
headache, but flushes of heat; she only got headache after this remedy. Why all this ? So, I
stopped everything. Afterwards, they tried to cure her with chemotherapy and there starts the
big problem.
She left the hospital, because she is not that stupid; she did not want this therapy. She asked
me and the cancer-specialist what will happen to her in this therapy, and he said that her hair
will fall out. "If my hair will fall out, I would rather die. I can not tolerate this." I was between
the patient and the specialist. He said that this was a good case for chemotherapy and he
blamed me for not sending her to the hospital. But I said that I told her to go back to the
hospital. Then the gynecologist called me and said that I had to push her to go to the
chemotherapy in the hospital, and even threatened to summon me. "I have to write a letter to
the medical board, so that I will not be responsible if she dies afterwards. That is the
responsibility of I don't know who, but surely not mine." "So, that is the reason why you want
to write to the board. And when I send her to the chemotherapy and she dies afterwards,
whose responsibility is it then ? He could not answer. Then I asked him what he would do
when her hair falls out after chemotherapy. "I will give her tranquilizer". "And where do you
send her then ?" "To the psychiatrist." "And that is your responsibility ? You treat her with
chemotherapy and then after this therapy she becomes insane and you send her to the
psychiatrist. Then you are released from your responsibility. What's all this ? Do you take the
responsibility if she dies or kills herself, because her hair falls out ?"
Since then this gynecologist was very small, he did not dare to speak anymore. I was in a
very difficult situation. This therapy would be her death, I knew it before, but on the other
hand it was necessary to know the homoeopathic remedy to cure her. Without a clear picture
of the remedy I could do nothing at all. When someone comes with metastases and the
remedy is clear, there is no problem; but when the remedy is not clear, it is a very big
problem. One day after the operation we sat there and she talked and talked and I let her talk.
Suddenly, I recognized the remedy. I gave it her and she reacted beautifully. Because this or
that she relapsed- but now we will hear the complete story.
This patient came for anxieties and got a remedy on November 23, 1987. This is a feedback
with a description of the previous anxieties.
FEEDBACK (December 17, 1987)
P: I could sit nowhere, I couldn't sit in the waiting room, I had to go.
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So she says that she had to go, that she could not wait. When she phoned me the first time
after her operation I told her that she should come to my office. I do not like to do home
visits, only in very acute cases, we have too much work to do. I told her to come, but she said,
"No, I can't, I can't wait." And the reason why she could not wait ...
P: The whole time I thought that people would see it.
A: See what ?
P: That I have all kinds of things. When I went somewhere and people looked at me from
head to foot, I thought, "I must be ill." Or when they said, "You lost a lot of weight." I
couldn't talk to anyone. Then I had to go, just go away, as if I am shy. I don't know what it is.
Maybe it has to do with the nerves.
A: It is strange that you ...
P: And that little pill has helped me. I can't say what I can not do at the moment. You see
yourself, that I sit here much more quietly.
A: Yes, of course. You couldn't wait previously ?
P: No, and now I sit here very quietly. And I don't care whether there are people here or at
my home. Now, I can tolerate that.
A: You couldn't previously ?
P: No. How do I look ?
A: You look very well.
P: I cut my hair myself.
A: Oh, did you ?
P: And I don't have this fat abdomen anymore, do I ?
A: According to me it is much better.
P: Yes, better as previously.
A: Yes. It is also less fat.
P: Will it become fat again ?
A: I don't think so. What about your clothes, skirts and so on.
P: Well, I bought a skirt. One size smaller as before.
A: Well, a smaller size.
P: First, I had size 50, now 48, and size 50 is too large. When I came back from the hospital, I
lost quite a lot of weight. Then I was a real invalid.
A: Yes, that's right, an invalid.
P: And now ?
A: Well, I think you look very well. And what does other people say when they see you ?
P: Oh, nothing to see. You can't see anything. "And how are you doing ?" "Well, operated", I
say. What shall I say ?
A: Yes, that's right.
P: "You can't see anything."
A: But you also took ...
P: TRYPTISOL. I don't take it anymore.
A: TRYPTISOL. Since when ?
P: Oh, since quite a long time. Well, since when ?
A: Since a month.
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P: More than a month. Well, at least 2 months, it might also be 3 months.
A: That you don't take TRYPTISOL ?
P: No.
A: And previously ...
P: But sometimes I take TEMESTA in the evening. And you know I also take it in the
morning. But you feel it yourself. Now I can work much better, I can even work very much.
Previously, I was a little lazy in the mornings. I just couldn't start.
A: Previously not, in the mornings not.
P: Before, when I got up, I had to sit at the table for a little while. A little lazy. But not now
anymore. I get up immediately. And I am ready with my household in a minute.
A: You are much fresher in the mornings. You feel well.
P: Well, sometimes. Then I'm thinking about the gossip of ... (whispering).
A: About what ?
P: About what the doctor told me. Then I often think, "Will I die now ?"
A: Yes, what doctors can do to someone ?
P: But, wouldn't you ...
A: Yes, you can tell that in a minute. First, I want to tell your history. I sent you to the
hospital, because your abdomen became fat. That was a cyst in the ovary. During the
gynecological examination the cyst exploded and you were operated immediately.
P: Yes.
A: It concerned a cyst with adhesions to the omentum, that is the skin that lies over the
intestines. Here it says, "Histologically, it concerns a macroscopic normal omentum and an
ovarian cyst of about 340 g and a section of 13 cm."
P: So big.
A: Yes. And attached to that an oviduct of 7 cm. The cyst is multilocular, partly containing a
clear, colourless, watery, partly bloody liquid. A normal uterus, a little increased in size to
7,5; 3,5; 5 cm. A leiomyoma has been noticed, so a muscle tumor.
P: A cyst ?
A: Yes, a cyst.
P: Or what ? Is that right ?
A: Yes. A leiomyoma of O,8 cm. A small leiomyoma. The endometrium is normal and so on.
Histologically, the omentum is normal.
P: I don't know anything about that. That's the first time you tell me.
A: The cystic tumor seems to be an infiltrated papillary serum cystadenocarcinoma. Quite a
lot of mitoses. The nucleus is prominent.
P: What does this mean ?
A: Local (tumor)necrosis. I say this for the doctors. Further in the text, "The examination of
the tissues was benign. And the report of the operation says that it concerns a papillary serum
cystadenocarcinoma of the right ovary, stage 1 B, so very limited, no ascites."
I read this for the future. I put this on video for the future. You will live for 20 years and so I
have a proof.
P: That's quite a lot, I think.
A: Yes, but of course it describes the complete operation. All right. Then, they proposed you
to follow a therapy with chemotherapy, and they told you that your hair would fall out and so
on.
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P: That I would be very ill.
A: Yes, very ill. You asked me what you should do. And what did I say ?
A: "I can't say, you have to do what you think it will be best."
A: That's what I answered.
P: Yes, "What you think it is best."
I gave the responsibility back to the patient. You can not take the responsibility of the patient
on your shoulders. You have to tell the patients that they have to do what they think it is best
for them. That is the only thing you can do.
A: What you think it is best for you. I can't say anything against it. And then you went to the
hospital and they persuaded you to do this therapy. What happened then ?
P: I went to the hospital and thought, "I want to know what is going on here." When I arrived
there a nurse told me to lie down on the bed to take blood.
A: Yes, to take blood.
P: I said, "I will not lie down on the bed." "Yes, but it is necessary", the nurse said. I said, "I
will not go in bed. Then you have to take blood this way." And then she started. Then I had to
wait for the specialist. It was morning, and the specialist only came at 4.00 p.m. I had to wait
quite a long time. Then he arrived and said, "We will start immediately with the treatment." I
said, "Yes, and what do you mean with that ?" He said, "I told you already, very heavy
medicines, you will be ill for a few days." I asked him, "And will my hair fall out ?" "Yes, of
course. But they will grow within a few months." I said, "And how often do I have to ... "
"Well, then you have to come back for about 4 times." I said, "That is a five-year plan."
A: A five-year plan.
P: "And besides," I said, "I can't tolerate it. I can't tolerate those bottles with red label. And
besides, I always have to vomit. I will not do it." He said, "Well, if you don't want to, then we
can't start." I said, "I just won't do it. I take my suitcase and go !" "Well, then we don't do it."
He already tried when I was just operated, when I couldn't defend myself. If I had started at
that moment, I would still be in the hospital now. And thanks to God, I came out of there.
A: Then you went home ?
P: Then I went home and called you.
A: I came to you and said that I let you decide yourself. You are satisfied that you took this
decision, aren't you ?
P: Yes.
A: Although I didn't influence you.
P: No.
A: Well, all right. But the most logic solution was not to start with this treatment. Especially,
because you say, "I couldn't tolerate that my hair would fall out."
P: Oh no, I would get crazy. And then always lying ill on the sofa. I would have died, without
any other complaints. Morally.
A: You couldn't tolerate that.
P: I couldn't. Wearing a wig during the day, a wig at night, oh my God, no. I already get
crazy when I feel something. It is different from person to person !
A: From person to person.
P: There are people who can tolerate it.
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A: Why do you think that you can't tolerate that your hair falls out ?
P: Well, I don't know. That you can't go outside anymore.
A: You can't go outside anymore ?
P: If somebody would come in, then I run upstairs and don't dare to show me anymore.
A: You don't dare to show you anymore ?
P: I like to do my hair and so on.
A: Oh yes, you had to come this afternoon and you told me, all right, but I need some time to
get ready.
P: First, I have to do my hair, or I won't go outside.
A: You won't go outside ?
P: I can't.
A: You can't.
P: No, I don't feel well. I can't go anywhere without being washed. Other people only put on
their jacket, or a scarf and go into a shop. But I can't. I rather stay at home and go nowhere.
That is a habit. In the mornings I can walk around with my hair as they are. But when I have
to get, for example, a beefsteak, first, I have to comb my hair. I always did.
A: You can't tolerate that.
P: I have always combed my hair, since I was a child. I always had to.
A: And you couldn't go to other people without your hair combed ?
P: No.
A: All right.
P: It is a sign that I am really ill. I mean, that you don't take care of yourself. When I returned
from the hospital in such a condition, like an invalid. I was really exhausted, I couldn't even
comb my hair, because I lost 6 kilo in 12 days. That was quite a lot.
A: All right. Then the specialist insisted on the treatment. He didn't write to me (although I
received a report of the operation), but called another doctor, the family doctor and now tell
us, what happened.
After the operation she came home, went back to the cancer-specialist in the hospital, refused
the chemotherapy treatment and went back home. Then the gynecologist called another doctor
and asked him to go to her and tell her that she has to be treated with chemotherapy. Now you
hear what this doctor told her.
P: Suddenly, the telephone rang and my husband answered it - no, I did and with a priestly
voice he said, "You have to go back to the hospital, or it will be fatal ! Why didn't you go
back ?" I said, "I didn't want to." "Yes, but you definitely have to go. It is necessary," he said.
I said, "Can you explain it here, because I don't understand." I was a little bit astonished,
because he called so suddenly. I said again, "You can come and explain it to me here, because
I don't understand that." And ten minutes later Sir Doctor came in and was sitting next to me.
"I have bad news", that is the way he said it when he came in. "You have to start immediately
with chemotherapy", he said. "When I don't go there, will it be fatal ?" I asked him. "Indeed,"
he said, "or it will be fatal."
Can you imagine that ? A doctor, a young doctor, without any experience, says such things like a priest ! He came to her and said (with a priestly voice), "You urgently have to go back
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to the hospital, or it will be fatal !" Imagine what this means to such a woman ! He came and
said, "You have cancer. You have to go to the hospital immediately. If you don't, you will die.
This is the way how trained medical doctors behave after 7 years. They are no human beings,
they are machines.
P: "So, I have to go," I said, "nothing can't be done about that." And he said, "Yes, indeed." I
said, "That's rather rude." But then I became weak in my legs.
A: Then you were seized by panic ?
P: Not in his presence. I thought, I won't panic now. I said, "That's rather rude." "I come to
tell you that you have to start with the treatment, because you are ... " he said. And I said,
"But you become very ill of that." "Yes, very ill, but afterwards you will be better," he said.
"Four, or five years later, maybe. That is a five-year plan. I saw quite a lot of people who
went to the hospital and every time they were worse. And every time they were thinner and
more miserable." I said, "I won't do that." And he insisted that I should do it. My husband was
sitting next to him, pale as death. He said, that he had to tell me. I said, "How much do I have
to pay ? Double tariff and there is the door."
A: How much did you pay ?
P: Well, how much was it ? 700 BF. I showed you. Double tariff and he went. I called you
immediately and asked you to come, because I couldn't put one foot before the other. For that
reason, I have been ill for quite a long time.
A: Because of the fact that he told you this.
P: Afterwards I was eating something in a coffee shop and then Sir Doctor came in. I left my
plate and ran immediately outside. I left everything ! I really couldn't sit on my chair
anymore. I also told you that. And then you gave me a little pill.
A: Just a moment. I talked to you and it was obvious that you are a person who is ...
P: Did you record all this on the video ?
A: That is necessary to show people the reality.
Then I have talked to you for quite a long time and it was obvious, that previously you were a
very anxious person, the whole family was anxious. Your father couldn't see ...
P: A funeral car.
A: A funeral car.
P: Then he ran off.
A: Into the garden. Your brother is very anxious when he sees something horrible, he can't
tolerate that, a very small heart, and also your sister, well, in fact the whole family. And you
also, you were very restless, got up at night, out of bed, in bed again, you couldn't sleep.
P: Every night I was downstairs sitting at the stove.
A: Every night. But it was peculiar that you said you were scared to go outside when they
started the treatment, what would other people say ?
P: I couldn't tolerate that.
A: You couldn't tolerate that people saw that you were ill.
P: No I couldn't tolerate. I must be deadly ill, so that I can't defend myself. Then I couldn't
hide it anymore.
A: But that was a very important symptom, the nucleus of your character.
P: Oh no, I couldn't tolerate that.
A: That is the most important reason, so that I said, "Well damned, that is the remedy she
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needs."
P: I reacted very well to that remedy.
A: I gave you that little pill in M potency.
P: I have been ill for two days.
A: For two days.
P: And very ill.
A: What did you feel then ?
P: I had to sit down on the couch, and I just couldn't do anything, not even take off the dust. I
only had to lie down and thought, "Now I am really ill." And I perspired very much.
A: Perspired. Where ?
P: All over. I perspired very much. And had headache, but I could tolerate it. And I was also
very tired, as if I had worked in the garden the whole day. And the next day I felt better. The
third day I didn't feel anything. And now I'm not so anxious anymore.
A: At the beginning you said you couldn't sit anywhere. Now you have been waiting for one
hour.
P: Yes, I don't care about that.
A: I thought I should pick you up.
P: Yes. At three o'clock I called and your secretary said that I had to come on my own.
A: Well yes, I was too late. You have been waiting here for one hour. I came in and saw you
sitting very quietly there. Previously, you couldn't.
P: No, I would have run away. I couldn't previously.
A: All right. Then we gave you a remedy and you got an aggravation. But now you feel well.
P: Yes.
A: It is much better with your anxieties. What about your sleep ?
P: That is also better. This morning I got up at seven o'clock. That is normal. And yesterday I
got up at half past six. But that is already quite a long time for me, from 11.00 o'clock until
6.00 o'clock. I couldn't previously.
A: You couldn't sleep.
P: Oh no. I had to get up. A few times at night, walking around, annoying oneself. It is very
annoying when you can't stay in bed. You have to get up.
A: Yes. It was also notable that you were very anxious, especially when something was
wrong with your family ?
This is a very important differential diagnosis to which remedy ? Phosphorus. When she
hears someone moaning or sees someone sitting there, pale and with a cancer appearance, she
is gone. There are different reasons why people can not go into the hospital; one can not
because of the smell, the other because of the horrible things. It is the same with her. To see
someone who looks pale, very thin and cachectic, that is horrible. That is why she ran away.
P: Then I am very anxious, when I hear someone moaning. I ran away a few times.
A: Ran away.
P: Yes, yes, then I run away. When I hear someone moaning at home, I run away. It was the
same in the hospital. I lost weight just because of the anxiety.
A: Yes, that is possible.
P: Yes, but in the hospital it was something awkward.
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A: The hospital ?
P: There is quite a lot of misery.
A: You can't tolerate that ? It is not the hospital, but the misery that you can't see ?
P: I can't see the misery.
A: So the thin people, who look like invalids.
P: They are always moaning, and then I think about that. All of them are sitting together.
A: And you can't see that ?
P: If I had to stay there for another 8 days, I would have run away. I can't help it.
A: Can you see something horrible on television ?
P: I don't care. Everything happens behind the screen.
A: But a horror film ?
P: No, I don't like that. Then I switch off the television.
A: Can you sleep when you have seen something like that ?
P: Yes. A film is not real life, but when you see a person, that is real life. I think, the film
takes place behind the screen. I can't identify myself with it.
A: You are anxious of quite a lot of things ? Of the dark, for example.
P: No, I'm anxious in the car.
A: You are anxious in the car ?
P: Yes, when I sit in the front, not behind. When I sit in the front, everything comes towards
me.
A: But you are not afraid of the dark ?
P: No.
A: Thunder-storm, lightning ?
P: Neither.
A: Fear of height ?
P: Yes. I can't tolerate going on high places; when it is a little bit high, I already get dizzy.
A: Then you already get dizzy ?
P: Yes, that's the anxiety. I can't tolerate it. I don't dare go on this roof. Previously, neither.
That was a very big roof, and when I was standing in the middle of the roof, I didn't dare to go
at the sides.
"Even when I was standing in the middle of a roof, I was scared to do one step." That is what
she says - a very, very, very big fear of high places. That is a very important symptom.
A: You have this fear of height since you were a little girl.
P: Yes, I was scared to stand at the sides of a roof. We had a flat roof at our house. When I
was standing in the middle of it, I was scared to go to the sides. My brother wasn't, but I was.
A: And your other brother ?
P: Also a bit slow, but he wasn't scared either.
A: He dared to do it ?
P: He is violent.
A: You are very anxious, we know, but on the other hand are you easily angry ?
P: No, I think it is stupid.
A: Are you hot-tempered ?
P: No, I always wait very long.
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You see the differential diagnosis to Phosphorus again. With her anxiety seeing someone
suffering you can think of "anxiety about others". "Anxiety about others": Arsenicum,
Phosphorus, Baryta carbonica, Cocculus and Sulphur.
You could also think about Phosphorus, because of her previous bleedings. But her way of
reacting is not Phosphorus. Phosphorus reacts suddenly, is suddenly angry, expresses his
feelings in a sudden way, but she does not. She is almost never angry and in general she also
reacts rather slowly, not so suddenly as Phosphorus.
P: I seldom get angry. And when I get angry - it only happens once in one or two years - then
I smash things up.
A: So you are not hot-tempered ?
P: No, I only want to say, then I am so angry, only once, ... No.
A: Mild-tempered. Do you like to drink beer ? Do you like to enjoy yourself ?
P: I don't make it too difficult for other people. Why look for trouble ? That is not necessary.
Many difficulties are blamed to yourself. I don't want that. I try to avoid this.
A: All right. Do you dream at night ?
P: No.
A: You dream seldom.
P: No.
A: Are you easily chilly ?
P: That's all right.
A: Are you easily warm ?
P: Well ...
A: Rather.
P : Sometimes I have, you know, ...
A: Flushes of heat.
P: It has improved now.
A: So after the operation you had quite a lot of flushes of heat. I have stopped all your
medicines. I don't understand. Those medicines were meant for ...
P: I had nearly gone crazy. And I got headache, because of those medicines.
A: But no. Those medicines were meant for ...
P: For those flushes of heat.
A: For those flushes of heat and for migraine. That's right.
P: I got quite a lot of headache from those medicines. One morning I called my sister,
because I couldn't anymore. I held my head this way. You were also at my home at that time.
I couldn't hold it any longer.
A: Yes, and I stopped those medicines.
P: I ran my head against the wall, because of the pain.
A: All right. In the meantime those flushes of heat have improved.
P: Yes, they have improved. I think it's not so bad to have flushes of heat now and then.
A: Yes.
P: I mean, when those flushes of heat ...
A: You think it is good to have them.
P: I think it is good. Only now and then. These are nerves, aren't they ?
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A: Yes.
P: Much more.
A: Do you think everything came from the nerves ? Now, you have them less ?
P: Yes. Now it is normal, isn't it ? In the hospital I have been lying with wet hands and knees
for 12 days.
A: Did you perspire much ?
P: Yes, I was lying this way, I couldn't turn around, not to the right nor to the left, only on my
back.
A: And you were wet all over your back ?
P: My back. Here I have two spots, like eczema. Now, they have gone. But I had to lie on my
back.
A: At which place did you feel the perspiration most ?
P: At my neck.
A: Yes. All right.
P: And here (shows on her breast). But that is normal. The perspiration ran between my
breasts. Especially, here in my neck. And then I always had to vomit.
A: Apparently, you haven't slept there for a fortnight ?
P: Nothing. My eyes open. The whole night. Then they controlled it, they opened the door
and I said, "You don't have to come in, I'm awake." They didn't have to come in, they didn't
believe me, I was always awake.
A: How is your appetite ?
P: I can eat very well. I have to eat less, because I become too fat.
A: Otherwise you become too fat. You put on weight easily.
P: Yes, in fact I have to eat less. But if I had stayed another month in the hospital, I wouldn't
sit here. Nowhere. Maybe in my couch, and I wouldn't have come out.
A: Yes, all right. What do you like to eat ? What do you prefer to eat ?
P: I eat everything, but great dinners. Do you know what I prefer to eat ? One shouldn't say.
Carrots and cabbages mixed with potatoes.
Forward on this video she says that a physiotherapist came to her when she was still lying in
her bed after the operation. He asked her to stand near the bed and then she stood there,
naked. In this situation he said to her, "Now you see where you are with all your smoking,
eating and drinking ! Full of cancer !" That is the way of approaching a sick human being !
First, I wanted to write to the director of the hospital, so that this man was immediately
released, but then I didn't; it is not my business, I don't have to judge.
But you see, hospitals often are like big factories, a gigantic machinery. Those people work
like assembly line production, one person does this grip, another person something else, but
they never think of the patients. The patient is an instrument to make money, that is the
greatest problem in the hospitals. Everyone gets the same treatment and when he dies, it is all
right, when he does not die, there is no difference. Now she is doing well. The question you
can ask is whether you can be sure that you can cure this ovary cancer. I am quite sure about
this question. It does not matter what a patient has, when he does not have symptoms, he is
healthy even when you find cancer cells.
Before I worked on a department where I had to make sternal punctures and so on. We were
so happy every time we found a cell with 2 nuclei or when we saw vacuoles or things like
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that. With every abnormal cell we said, "Well, that is the cancer." We were happy when we
found an aplastic anemia, a chronic-lymphatic or a myeloid leukemia.
In this patient they found some abnormal cells, without metastases, that was the first point. I
am not afraid of such things, unless I can not find the homoeopathic remedy.
The second point is that a patient who needs a certain energy, also produces symptoms. She
has very clear Calcarea symptoms and reacts beautifully to Calcarea. She has changed
completely. Previously, she could not wait in the waiting room, was anxious, could not sleep
and so on. Now, everything is better. The flushes of heat have disappeared or have diminished
at least. Afterwards she said that the little flushes of heat which she still had, are good for her,
that she feels well. Everything is better, just everything !
If every symptom is better, then the cancer is cured as well, that is sure. And I am also sure,
because she needs Calcarea and Calcarea is one of the remedies that cures cancer. She is in
equilibrium, because of the homoeopathic remedy and will be so for 10 or 20 years if she does
not relapse.
Cancer is not a problem. You have to give people enough energy, so that they remain in
equilibrium, so that they are more resistant and the cancer will not eat them.
A: Old-fashioned food, but that is healthy.
P: Carrots mixed with potatoes. Just everything.
A: Do you like eggs ?
P: I don't eat much eggs.
A: Why not ?
P: Previously, I ate more eggs than now. Not now anymore.
A: How do you eat them ?
P: Scrambled in a bowl.
A: And then fried.
P: And then I put pieces of bacon in between.
A: You never eat boiled eggs ?
P: Yes, sometimes in the mornings. But not often.
A: And how are they boiled ?
P: Soft.
A: Soft boiled. Do you sop your bread in the egg ?
P: No. I put a little salt on it and then I pour it.
A: Salt and then you pour it.
P: I never sop my bread in it.
A: Did you also like eggs as a child ?
P: Yes.
A: Always ? Also biscuits and so on ?
P: No, I don't like that. Nothing sweet.
A: Nothing sweet.
P: Neither custard. Well yes, sometimes I eat a little piece when it is on the table, just like
everybody else. But I prefer something hearty.
A: On which side do you sleep ?
P: Wait. I have to think. On both sides. But I turn around. On this side. On the right side.
A: The right side to fall asleep.
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P: No, the other side. Then I turn around and then on the right side. That's the way I sleep
(shows that she sleeps on the left side).
A: On the left side to fall asleep.
P: Yes. And then I turn around. And then I sleep. Normally, I sleep on this side (right).
A: But you can even sleep on the other side.
P: Yes, but normally, I do not remain on this side.
A: All right. That is everything I wanted to know. And the doctor said that you shouldn't live
long ?
P: Oh yes, that it was fatal.
A: That is was fatal.
P: I wouldn't ...it had to, had to, had to happen.
A: All right. I have you on video, and I especially put the datum on it, December 17, 1987.
We will make another video of you in December 1997. After 10 years.
P: Yes, then we will see this again.
A: We will see this again.
P: When I am still alive then.
A: I will take care of that, that you are still sitting here, unless you get a car accident.
P: Yes, a car accident.
A: But I told you that you wouldn't die because of this disease.
P: Yes.
A: I told you. We will take care of that. Because it is very clear which remedy you need and
this remedy can cure everything.
P: Can this remedy cure everything ?
A: Yes, this remedy can cure everything.
P: Well ...
A: Except a car accident.
P: Yes, yes. An accident with the car.
A: An accident, that is something else, but this remedy, you even feel yourself that your
anxieties ...
P: Yes, that is much better. But I just think about it that I have to go to a party in Eindhoven
tomorrow. There they drink tea. On Sunday I have to go to another party, and I will drink
coffee without thinking.
A: Yes, but I want you not to drink any coffee.
P: I shouldn't, and I don't care about it.
A: You have to do what I say and I take care of that, you told me that I should keep an eye on
you.
P: Yes.
A: Yes, I will. But you must do, what I tell you. This means that you may not drink coffee.
P: But it is dangerous with ...
A: Then you drink for instance tea or something like that.
P: May I drink tea ?
A: Yes, you may drink tea.
P: How long does this little pill work ?
A: It depends on you. This little pill gives you energy. As long as you feel well you don't get
another pill. The moment you feel worse ...
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P: And how should I know ?
A: You feel it.
P: At this moment I feel very well. At this moment I could dig a complete street.
A: So, you feel well. But you are also much more quiet. That is important.
P: I'm anxious I will relapse.
A: All right. They can say what they want. But I will prove that it is not true.
P: That I will not relapse.
A: That you will not relapse. I will prove that. But therefore I need time, I need about 20
years. Do you understand ? You can only prove something after 10 or 20 years.
P: Well yes.
A: It has no sense, next year, or within two years. No, we have to wait long enough. That's
why I make a video, as a proof. After 10 years I make another video and then we can see how
you look then ?
P: That would be nice if you could make another video after 10 years.
A: That's why I had let you come, because I ...
P: Tell me, I have improved since I returned from the hospital.
A: Yes, of course. It is much better. Are there other complaints ?
P: No, you have to prescribe TEMESTA. And my husband, THENEROTIK or something
like that.
A: THENEROTIK ?
P: He asked me.
A: Anyhow, you must try to stop this TEMESTA ...
P: Yes, I should stop this.
A: You must try. You only take TEMESTA when it is absolutely necessary. You must
believe me, you do not need it.
P: Yes, I should try without TEMESTA.
A: You don't need it. And I advice you only to take one when you are nervous.
P: You know, I have problems to fall asleep. Well yes, you often think about that. For
instance when the priest came in, well, I call him so. I often think about what he said. At this
moment not so much, because it is already quite a long time ago.
A: I forgot to say something. When I was at your home and put you at your ease ...
P: Then it is much better.
A: Yes.
P: Then I feel well.
A: Then you feel well.
P: Yes, when he comes in and says, "I have bad news." Try to imagine it.
A: Yes, you feel as if nailed to the ground.
P: But I couldn't put one foot before the other. I was nailed to the ground.
A: You can be very ill after an operation.
P: I was scared to go outside. At home I have mirrors everywhere. And I looked into the
mirror for at least thousand times a day.
A: To see how you look.
P: Yes, and every time worse, because he told me that. I felt all over, everything was flabby,
the muscles, they were so ... Is that because of the operation ?
A: No, no.
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P: It only hangs there.
A: But it will become flesh. That is no problem.
P: Because I lost weight. Now, I have been put on weight.
A: Yes, that is because you lost weight. And now you have been put on weight ?
P: Yes, 3 kilo. But now, I may not grow fatter.
A: Well, may not. It is better to keep your weight.
P: Now, it is all right.
A: Well, looking often in the mirror and when I visited you at home you were easily put at
your ease, but I had to talk to you.
P: Then I feel well. Then I feel ten times better. And then I think, I was really scared for the
doctors. They do not take account of people. Only of the disease, but not of the people. They
treat all alike. Then you could be better a horse of 20 million.
A: They consider a human being only as a machine, not as a human being.
P: No, that doesn't count anymore. They only take account of the disease, give this or that
injection, but the human being doesn't count anymore. They don't know him anymore.
A: The disease doesn't exist for me, only the human being who is ill.
P: It has to be like that. Then the concerned person will feel as a human being. But when you
eliminate the people, I don't know how they can work. Then I would rather be a horse of 20
million, and then I have myself operated in Gent. I think, that is better.
A: Yes, you are right.
P: Don't you agree that they do everything for a horse of 20 million. And the horse can't even
talk. But according to me, in the hospital you are better off to be a horse of 20 million. It is a
scandal.
A: Yes, all right.
P: And then that nurse who gave me a blow.
A: The nurse, oh no, it was a physiotherapist, tell me.
P: He gave me a real blow.
A: Yes, tell me.
P: I was operated, very bad, and then someone came to me and said, "I'm the physiotherapist,
the doctor has sent me to you to do some exercises." I said, "But I didn't ask anybody." And I
really didn't ask anybody. "Yes, but the doctor has sent me to exercise. Then you will get a
beautiful shape and your husband will like you very much. Do you want to get out of bed." I
got up, stood near the bed, he looked at me like a farmer and said, "Now you see where you
are with all your drinking, eating and smoking ! Full of cancer." I was nailed to the ground.
And he said, "Do you want to come to the corridor ?" I said, "I will do nothing, nothing." But
I couldn't. I didn't have to say, I do nothing, but I just couldn't, but I was to scared to say that.
"So you do nothing." "No, nothing," I said, "and please go away, so that I won't see you here
anymore."
A: He talked this way.
P: "I do nothing." But I couldn't anymore. I was nailed to the ground.
A: Yes, he looked at me this way (looks from top to toe).
P: "Well, now you see where you are with all your drinking, eating and smoking. Full of
cancer." It is impossible to cure this way. I'm sure they want my death. Try to imagine this.
And when I was back home the other evangelist came. He also wanted my death.
A: The doctor belongs to an evangelistic organisation.
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P: I don't know, what it is. And when I am not dead yet, I could come to you. I was glad, that
I was dismissed from the hospital. When I started this treatment I was still there. In fact, it is
not justified.
A: It is not that bad. You have survived it.
P: But, there shouldn't be many people like those, they can kill someone, whether they want it
or not.
I told my husband I would rather be a horse of 20 million. Then I had myself operated in
Gent. Switch off the video. How do I look ?
A: Your hand is all right, the little fingers also.
P: Yes, what did I do today ? Oh yes, yesterday I made a long journey with the car, I
shouldn't do it. Then I tremble so.
A: You tremble.
P: For the rest I feel well. Yes, very well. You can see it yourself. And it depends on the
things I do. In that ramshackle car, I wish I had another.
A: All right. Another short story. Previously, that was in 1979, or 1980. At that time I gave
you drops, a teaspoon. At that time you had 39 C fever, in how many time did the fever
disappear?
P: Oh, that influenza. The next day, fresh and healthy.
A: But in how many time did the fever disappear ?
P: A quarter of an hour. Just a quarter of an hour.
A: Then it had disappeared ?
P: I came home, I had been away with the car, and said that I got influenza. I got it suddenly.
A: Suddenly.
P: I had high fever. A teaspoon with drops and after a quarter of an hour the fever had
disappeared. In the evening I went to bed, perspired at night, the hair pell-mell because of the
perspiration, and in the morning fresh and healthy.
A: But in ...
P: Oh, after a quarter of an hour the fever had disappeared.
A: But after 5 minutes you started to perspire. You had stitching headache.
P: Immediately.
A: Anxious and so on. Then I gave you a teaspoon of ...
P: Disappeared immediately. Then I started to perspire. And a quarter of an hour later I didn't
have fever anymore. Nothing, and I had high fever ...
A: 39 C. I still know it very well.
P: I drove home with the car from X. I said, "I must go immediately, because I have
influenza." "Is it true ?" said the man. You can feel it.
A: Appeared suddenly.
P: Suddenly.
A: All right. After 10 years we make another video of you. All right.
FEEDBACK (March 13, 1988)
A: Just tell me.
P: I lie in bed and want to sleep, I close my eyes and then I see - it is because I have been too
long in the hospital. That's the reason, because previously I didn't have it. Well, those thin
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people and below they have so swollen feet, you know, those cancer patients. I was on that
department the whole time. And then I think, one of these days ... then I examine whether I
already have swollen feet.
A: So you lie in bed, close your eyes and at that moment those pictures appear.
P: Then I see those cancer-patients before my eyes, with their thick feet.
A: And everything was caused, because previously you also had anxieties, I gave you a
remedy for that and you reacted very well to that.
P: Very well.
A: And everything was caused ...
P: By this event. Doctor X told my sister in a shop that I should follow the treatment, or I
would get problems or something like that. I didn't want to hear the rest, because I was
completely lost, I was nailed to the ground. And then I couldn't put one foot before the other.
The doctor, who went to her the first time, told her sister in a shop that she urgently had to go
back into the hospital, or she would get big problems. Her sister told her that and she had a
break down again. Do you see what happens here ? The medical confidentiality ...
A: And what did your sister say ?
P: She said that she had nothing to do with it, that he should tell me himself. I heard how she
said it. Well, that gossip, then I ran away. I was glad when I got outside. Or I would have
cried. But I didn't want to. I was too scared. I went home, and has cried the whole day. Then I
felt very bad. But my husband was not at home, I couldn't find him; I didn't know where he
was. In the evening he immediately took the telephone ...
A: And called Doctor X ?
P: Yes, probably I had incited him very much: Did Doctor X want my death ? I said that I
had enough of it, I couldn't take it no more. Yesterday I visited a baby in our neighbour, with
difficulty. Now, I am scared to go somewhere else and things like that. I think it is a scandal.
But he doesn't know with what kind of a person he is dealing with.
A: Yes, that is not serious. That is a violation of the medical confidentiality. Something has
to be done against that. If it didn't have consequences for you, if you weren't so sensitive, then
it was no problem, but you are too sensitive. This gives you other symptoms.
P: I just can't take it anymore.
A: But it is typical that you see those pictures of ill people on closing your eyes in bed at
night.
P: Previously, I didn't have that.
A: Before not anymore ?
P: Oh no ! And now it starts again, those pictures of the hospital before my eyes. It has
returned again. I had just survived it. I will conquer it, but not in this way.
A: I will help you to survive. You wait and see.
P: I can't. I will never call you. I am scared to call you, I imagine that you are angry with me.
A: No, no you have to understand that. Yesterday I had so much work to do, and a
consultation with you only lasts 2 minutes. Then, I need time to talk to you and talk quietly
with you.
P: I know, but then I hope that you are not angry with me.
A: Do you think that I am angry with you ?
98
P: Yes, I think so. I was so shocked.
A: Do you think that everybody is angry with you ?
P: Yes.
Here you see that she relapses, because of external circumstances and the cause was a
Calcarea cause. Then she saw all those pictures again, those frightful pictures of the hospital,
those emaciated people with their swollen feet. She saw it when she closed her eyes, she did
not have it before, she had other mental symptoms of Calcarea, but now she has those
delusions, those anxious delusions.
Question: "Did you repeat the remedy ?"
A: Yes, I repeated Calcarea 10 M.
A: Well.
P: Have you ever experienced this in your life ?
A: No, I haven't.
P: If I hadn't been in the shop with my sister, I didn't know. Probably, I looked very pale and
terrible, and so it started again. Then they sent my sister to my home. She has to inspect
whether I'm doing something and she says to my husband, "She's busy the whole time and
does something." And my husband answers, "But leave her alone." They thought that I was
lying on my bed the whole time, but I think that my sister lies more on her bed than I do. In
the meantime I am very bad.
A: Did you stop TEMESTA in the meantime ?
P: Yes. Only now and then I took one. I had some at home. I still had your prescription at
home. I thought I wouldn't need this dirtiness. But then I couldn't start with my work, you
understand. It begins ...
A: Then those pictures arise again. Do you have other pictures except for those cancer
pictures ?
P: I also have dreams.
P: When I dream and remember those dreams. Everything is so insane. There is no sense,
incoherent. Lets say I dreamt about a donkey or a mountain, but I can't find any sense in it.
Everything is so muddle ...
A: Confused ?
P: Yes, that's right. I can't differ the pictures. Then I wake up and last week I wet the bed. I
got up. I couldn't hold it any longer. I don't know how it happened. Is something pushing
against my bladder ?
A: No. It might be from exertion, from anxiety.
P: That's the reason.
A: These are anxious dreams, those incoherent dreams. What about your anxieties, are these
anxious dreams ?
P: No, just dreams. And then I think, "Am I insane, are those strange things ?"
A: Confused. Confused dreams.
P: Rubbish ! How shall I tell you ?
A: Mixed up.
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P: You can't find a sense.
A: Confused.
P: Do confused dreams exist ?
A: Yes, yes.
P: So a muddle. Then I don't know what I have dreamt. I can't say it. I don't know.
A: Do you watch television presently ?
P: Yes, often. But no films ... Neither the programme "Higher, Lower". I don't watch such
stupid programmes. But something about the world.
A: Yes, such things.
P: I like documentaries.
A: But no horror films ?
P: No, neither films. Computer programmes, what's his name, the man from Maastricht, I like
such programmes.
A: You don't watch films neither horror films, do you ?
P: I'm not interested in such things. The man with his beard from Maastricht, what's his name
again, the one with his computer, do you know him ?
A: No, I don't.
P: "Wonderworld", or so.
A: Are you easily chilly presently ?
P: I was this week. So feverish shivers.
A: Feverish shivers ?
P: Yes, then warm, then cold. Now, I have taken off my under bodice, because I perspire so
easily.
A: Are you anxious while talking about those things now ?
P: No, not at all. It is over. But I have to shut up the whole time.
A: You have to shut up the whole time ? Because you are scared of telling it ?
P: I will tell nobody.
A: Nobody needs to know it.
P: No, that's nobody's business. When I tell it to someone, he says this and the other says that.
And you know then there is gossip, and usually it is very senseless.
A: Yes.
P: You can't tell it to anybody. I can to you. You understand. But you don't have to tell it to a
normal person. He says immediately you have to go to the hospital in Leuven. I know it, so ...
A: Between brackets: your last blood examination was perfect: sediment rate 5.
P: Is that all right ?
A: The liver rates are perfect. The CA 125 and the alpha-foeto-proteins are normal.
Everything is all right. I will prove that I am right at last, that you at last ...; but yes, we need
some years to prove that.
P: But I don't want to be reminded to the case constantly. It must stop now. What is your life
worth ? Yes, now it was a little bit over with this talk. Only now and then, but everybody has
such periods. But as bad as I am now ...
A: All right. We take care that everything comes all right. Tell me, in the meantime you
could do your work and so on ?
P: But yes. And I do it with pleasure. And you know, my neighbour has been separated from
his wife.
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A: They are divorced ?
P: No, not yet, but it takes quite a long time.
A: He lived next to you ?
P: He still is. Now, I take care of his daughter the whole time. Do you know her ? She keeps
me busy the whole time. But now, the school starts again. I said to my neighbour, "You don't
have to do the household. I can clean the windows and do your washings." On Sunday I make
a casserole soup. Previously, I was with my aunt the whole day. I was scolded the whole day,
but I was busy. And now I work for my neighbour, he is working the whole day. So he is also
alone the whole time. His mother already said that I should do the household. But he doesn't
want to. I told him that I don't want money for it. Yesterday, I made another casserole soup
for him. On Saturday evening he goes dancing. I told him, "I will cook for you and your
daughter."
A: So, his wife isn't there anymore ?
P: No, she lives in X. With an Italian or so. There is nothing to do.
A: Well no, that's their business.
P: Did you put all this on video ?
A: That is no problem. It is only shown to doctors. But this is a proof. That's why I put it all
on video. It is a proof, and that they dare ...
P: And there are no cancer cells in my blood ?
A: No, nothing. Don't worry. I will give you a remedy, and I want to see you again. When is
the next consultation ?
P: That's in April.
A: Now, it is March. Then I make another video and you will notice immediately the
difference concerning the sleep. Call me next week again.
P: Will I be more quiet ?
A: Yes, you will be more quiet. Those pictures will disappear and you can sleep again. You
will see. I experienced it.
P: Do I have something in my abdomen ?
A: No, there was another examination of the abdomen and everything was normal.
P: I don't have anything. And did I wet the bed because of the anxiety ?
A: Most probably, because of an anxious dream. It happened only once.
P: Two times. It happened again, I think, three weeks ago. And you know, I was also
coughing and had a cold. But I'm not now anymore.
A: You will get rid of those anxious dreams ! Don't worry.
A: Here it says March 13, 1988.
P: At least 2 months ago.
A: 5 weeks ago.
P: Oh yes.
A: At that time you came here with confused dreams. Frightful pictures before the eyes,
when you closed your eyes and so on. How did it go ?
P: I didn't have them anymore.
A: You haven't seen anything ?
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P: I don't fall asleep immediately, but those strange pictures have disappeared.
A: Very good. So, you didn't have those anxieties and confused dreams anymore ?
P: Have disappeared.
A: The last time you were very sad.
P: Yes.
A: What about it now ?
P: It goes up and down. Sometimes it is all right, sometimes it is less. I think everybody has
such periods.
A: Do you still have the feeling that everyone is angry with you ?
P: No. That is also much better.
Who can explain why Calcarea can not tolerate the idea that someone else is angry with them
?
Remark: "It is very important for them what other people think about them."
A: Yes, that they can not tolerate that someone else is angry with them and that it is very
important what other people think about them, those two symptoms have the same origin, the
same reason. Calcarea people are the most peaceful people in the world.
Personally I think - but maybe within 10 years I think differently - that we all will develop to
Calcarea people and then we will be peaceful, mild people, who do not tolerate fights.
Magnesia muriatica also wants peace, but they are fighters, they fight for their rights.
Calcarea is also a fighter, but they fight for a better future. They work very hard, but internal
they are very mild, they are very peaceful people. I hope that one day we all come in a
Calcarea situation and become peaceful people.
A: You also had feverish shivers.
P: Not at the moment. I had this previously, but now less.
The fact that this woman could stop TRYPTISOL and those sleeping tablets after 20 years
and that her anxieties also have disappeared, means that this remedy works very, very deep,
much deeper than the cancer was. The cancer is a more peripheral problem than the anxieties.
You know that in the triangle of health the most important thing is the mental
symptomatology and then the emotional and then the physical. When you suppress the disease
on the level of the skin, it goes inside, to the lungs, then they become depressive and then
crazy. When someone is crazy, gets a remedy and develops a skin disease, it is all right, then
the direction is all right.
(Drawing) This is the dermatologist, this is the pneumologist and here is the psychiatrist. The
dermatologist cures the eczema and sends the patients to the pneumologist, because he got
asthma in the meantime. The pneumologist cures the asthma and sends the patient to the
psychiatrist and he sends him to God. He can not do anything else. The psychiatrist is the
most difficult job, because he gets the most difficult cases, all the suppressed ones. That's why
we need so many psychiatrist, that is the reason.
A: All right, this has been solved. It was because of the event at X, oh no, because of doctor
X.
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P: Yes.
A: All right. That is a good reaction to the remedy.
P: So, last week I was on the market in X, then I ran over the market, nobody could follow
me. Then I am very quick, and sometimes I have troubles to reach the pathway at the other
side of the street. I have to exert myself to reach it, I have no force anymore; then I am worse.
A: Yes, when you went to Scherpenheuvel you couldn't go up the mountain.
P: No, I could go up a little mountain. But when I only saw the mountain, I was anxious that I
couldn't go up that mountain. I think that I can't do it. Then I went up the mountain and had to
stay and gasp for air.
A: To gasp for air when you went up the mountain.
P: Not always.
A: Sometimes.
P: Some days I can't go up a mountain. Then I can't do anything at all.
A: Some days.
P: I think I has to do with this (points to her head).
A: Panting respiration. And then you are excited.
P: I can't do anything.
A: You are anxious again and you think, damned ...
P: Then I don't have any force.
A: "I can't go up this mountain, so there must be something wrong with me."
P: Yes. I can't go up. Then I can't do anything. At the moment I can drive a car very well. I
left, and wham, I thought, "If I had to go to Brussels, I would be there in no time."
A: Don't you agree that it goes up and down very strongly. You have periods in which you
feel well and periods in which you feel less well. The periods in which you feel less well are
bad for you, because other people have something to say about you and therefore you come
into a situation which gives you the opportunity to say, "Damned, I can't go up the mountain,
what's the matter with me ?" Isn't that right ? You are anxious, because you can't anymore.
P: Yes, and then I think I must have something.
A: (Points to his head)
P: (Laughs) Would it be that again ?
A: It is in your head, you understand. There are days you feel well and days you feel less
well. But because of the reasons I told you before.
P: But then I think I don't have any force. I don't know, what's all this.
A: But at what time did you got up this morning ?
P: Well, I took the curtains off. But then it is just the opposite, then I sit there this way
(thickset), or it is this way, hop ...
A: Or sad or active. But haven't you been this way all your life ?
P: Always a little anxious.
A: Yes, anxious, but that you have moments where you ...
P: Well, previously, it was as if someone was behind me. It has always been. When I see
someone else doing something then I think, "They can do it so quietly, it is a pleasure to
watch them. But I don't even have to try it, I can't. When I take off the dust, the duster is
flying in a way of speaking. The other people can do it more quietly. I can't.
A: All right. Concerning ...
P: But I can't stop TEMESTA.
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A: No, you can't. Do you take TEMESTA every day ?
P: Yes, with me it has the opposite effect. Another person becomes quietly, I become active.
A: Because you are less nervous.
P: It might be. When I take TEMESTA, I don't take it at night, because I prefer to be active
during the day, when I am not so active at night, it bothers nobody.
A: But you can't come the day through without TEMESTA ?
P: But yes. Now and then. I want to. But when I want to go with my husband ...
A: Then you have to be quiet.
P: Then I feel fine. Or I couldn't go with my husband.
A: But when you were here the last time, did the anxieties disappear because of TEMESTA,
you took TEMESTA at that time ?
P: No, they didn't. Then I had strange dreams.
A: Yes, they disappeared because of the remedy.
P: But don't you think I'm thin ? I have lost about 3 kg.
A: But isn't that good ? Do you prefer to be fat ?
P: Am I still ?
A: Don't you agree that you are too fat ?
P: Well. Still ?
A: Are you trying to convince me that you are not too fat ?
P: Still now ?
A: Yes, still now.
P: At the moment I'm only a handle with a head on it.
A: And what is this (points to her chin).
P: It only hangs there.
A: What is it ?
P: It's not fat.
A: What is it then ?
P: It is skin hanging there.
A: What do you mean with skin hanging there ? What's underneath ?
P: That is only loose skin.
A: (Goes to the patient and feels under the chin) What is this ?
P: Loose skin.
(A gets a report) Are the results negative again ?
A: At that time you were anxious, at night lost of urine. You were anxious and I have you
taken an echography of your bladder. The result was normal, no pathological deviations. We
wrote everything on your medical card.
P: But I should smoke a little less, those dirty cigarettes. Do you think it is because of those
cigarettes that I can't go up the mountain.
A: According to me you never could go up a mountain.
P: But I could previously.
A: When ?
P: Before I was operated. At the sea, in the dunes.
A: There are no mountains at the sea.
P: But as the word says, "Duinbergen" (dune mountains).
A: How high are they ?
104
P: Aren't there mountains at the sea where you stay ?
A: But how high are they ?
P: Not mountains, but it goes always up and down (shows with her hand in the air). The
whole day so, "Duinbergen".
A: Well, a few dunes.
P: No. The streets are a little steep. Then a valley and then they are steep again. And this the
whole day. But I can't do it now anymore. At Whitsuntide I go back. I noticed it in Monschau,
that I couldn't do it anymore.
A: In Monschau there are indeed mountains.
P: But previously, I could go up the mountains without any trouble.
A: Yes, but in the meantime you grew a few years older. When was the last time you were in
Monschau ?
P: Well, when was it ?
A: The time before the last time ? That's already a few years ago. How many years ?
P: About 2, 3 years ago. But at that time I could easily go up the mountain. But I had to gasp
for air.
A: Everything points to the remedy you need.
P: Worn out.
A: No, no, you only had to breath hard. That is not so bad.
P: But it is annoying.
A: Well, yes, further. You eat well ?
P: Yes, but I become a little thin. So thin arms.
A: They are not thin.
P: No ? But everything is so flabby (points to her face).
A: But now.
P: Sometimes I have it here.
A: According to me you are too fat.
P: Yesterday they said I must have lost about 10 kilo.
A: I would be satisfied if they say it to me.
P: But then I become anxious. Then I remember the old village policeman. Then I think I will
be like the old village police man in no time.
A: The fact that your anxieties disappear so fast with the homoeopathic remedy means that
the rest of your body also reacts well to the remedy. It concerns the whole person. Then it is
logic that you loose some weight. Besides, I told you that you would loose some weight.
P: Yes, but now it should stop.
A: But here, the double chin must disappear.
P: It doesn't go away.
A: What do you mean, "It doesn't go away." ?
P: My brother laughed at my chin. He said that he hoped that he would not get such a chin. I
said, "Maybe much worse than I have." First, it was round, but now - I don't know. I can't
recognize it. But that double chin will not go away.
A: It will. When it pulls together, then it will go away.
P: Yes, but what kind of figure will I get then ? The fat will not only disappear here, but
everywhere.
A: Yes, yes, of course, it will. You don't have to worry.
105
P: Then I know how it will go.
A: No, no, absolutely not.
P: Then slowly it goes downhill.
A: That's not right. We took blood. We will examine it. What about your sleep ?
P: Tonight I slept very little, because I had to be here at half past seven. No, no, then I can't
sleep. When I have to be here at half past seven, I can't sleep at night.
Persistent cough
Rhus toxicodendron
WOMAN, 55 YEARS OLD
A: You have a very strong cough. And it started suddenly ?
P: But not so strong as it is now. It started on Thursday. But then you're never here. I thought,
"I will wait until Friday and go then."
A: But you say that it started suddenly.
P: Yes. I got it all of a sudden. I started coughing, eh, eh ..., (she is coughing) but less than
now. And so this cough aggravated. And sneezing. I need tissues the whole day. (She's
coughing again) But at the moment it is very bad. It is bronchitis. What do you think about
Belga ?
A: But you always smoke Belga cigarettes and you do not always cough ?
P: My husband is also coughing at this moment. (She's coughing again) Now it is all right,
but in the mornings ...
A: In the mornings it is worse ?
P: I have to close the door, or the neighbour will hear it. I'm sure that the neighbours will hear
me coughing, because it is so bad.
A: A bad cough.
P: Yes, my father also had a bad cough. When he started coughing you could hear him a long
distance away.
A: Was it so bad ?
P: Oh yes, you could hear him from very far.
A: Where do you have complaints ?
P: I don't have them, and it doesn't wheeze either. I think it is mucus.
A: It was a very sore cough, wasn't it ?
P: Yes, it had to come out. It seemed as if everything was obstructed. I don't know.
A: What about at night ?
P: Also coughing.
A: Also coughing.
P: With quite a lot of noise.
A: But you say that it started suddenly, without any cause.
P: I had a little cold, not as bad as at the moment. If I would have taken care of that cold from
the beginning, I wouldn't have got a cold. I stood somewhere outside and the next day I felt I
had a cold.
Now, I know how it started: with a sore throat and a little pain in my ear.
A: Your right ear.
106
P: Again the same ear. That's how it started.
A: Did you have eruptions on your mouth ?
P: No. When I swallow I have a sore throat, and I also have a little pain in my ear. But it
started with the sore throat.
A: Do you remember standing in a draft of air ?
P: Yes.
A: When was it ?
P: Last week, just opposite to our home we talked a little to a friend with his bicycle (she
curls up her body). You know, I thought, I must go inside, because ...
A: And did you perspire a little ?
P: No, I was only standing in the draft of air.
A: Draft of air.
P: We stood at the corner of our house, and I started to curl up my shoulders.
A: You stood in the draft of air !
P: I thought, I must go inside, but we were still talking and talking. And we often had a
barbecue, here and there. You sit there together in the evening, I quite enjoy it, but in the
evening it is too cold. I'm like a hot house plant. When you are sitting together at a barbecue
there is some draft of air. I'm wearing a jacket, but no coat. Well, I don't take my coat with
me. And feet cold as ice. In the wet grass.
A: Then you had quite a lot of parties lately ?
P: Nearly nothing else.
A: Do you sleep well at night with your cold ? Or do you also cough at night ?
P: I have never slept well, I mean, the whole night through.
A: Turn around a little ?
P: No, not tossing.
A: Neither the previous night ?
P: I go sleeping, (she's coughing) and cough very much. I put the tissues behind my head and
tear off little pieces and throw them on the floor. Sneezing, coughing and spitting, everything.
A: When you get up in the morning your cough is better. You said it was worse this morning.
P: Then I start coughing very strongly. (She's coughing) and it goes on this way the whole
time. Terrible. My husband says then "Belga". I think he's right.
A: All right. Do you have other complaints ?
P: No.
A: Muscle pain or so ?
P: No, I don't have influenza. How do I look ?
A: You look well.
P: Am I not becoming fat again ?
A: It is good when you are putting on weight. Because previously you said that you were
anxious to become thin.
P: I think I get a thick head again.
A: Well yes, you have been eating very well lately. That's because of all those parties. All
right. You take three times a spoon.
P: Look, I have something peculiar here. My mother also had it. She got a bad leg of that.
A: Yes, it is nothing at all. Don't you worry. It is a little pimple.
P: And it stitches as if you put needles in it. Do you think I will become fat again ?
107
A: I don't know.
P: And now I'm wet all over because of the perspiration. Do you think there is something
wrong with my lungs ?
FEEDBACK (May 18, 1988)
A: On May 9, 1988 you got a little pill. Tell me, how did it go ?
P: Well, previously, I had been coughing very strongly for eight days long, so that the
neighbour could hear it. Coughing, spitting, sneezing, everything.
A: And then ?
P: Then I got that little pill and dissolved it in a little water, I didn't take a large glass. About
six spoons. I took three spoons, but not with the spoon. I valued it myself ...
A: With small swallows.
P: Yes, so that I think it is about a spoon. So, I took three spoons. The next morning I got up
as usual, prepared breakfast and walked around a little. I thought, "Don't I have to cough
anymore ?" I waited a little while: no coughing. I waited for another time. And then I tried
whether I had to cough; but when you don't have a cough, you can't cough. And I waited
again: nothing. But then I saw those other three spoons and thought,
"That is too good to throw away. I can't do that." I took one spoon, two spoons. Then there
was still a small swallow and I took it also. I didn't cough anymore.
A: Didn't cough anymore.
P: But I didn't after the first three spoons. And I was still waiting. Then I tried to cough. But I
couldn't. I didn't cough anymore. And previously ! It was not a small cough. I had such a
strong cough, so that I was shy for the neighbour.
A: All right.
P: It is peculiar. And then I waited again a little while. Then I thought, "Don't I have to cough
?" Nothing. That is strange. I can't nearly believe it. But I didn't dare to throw away the rest of
the little pill. That was too good. I thought, "I will take the rest also." It is unbelievable.
A: That was one day later.
P: At the beginning I thought it was because of the cigarettes, but I also smoked a cigarette at
that time and didn't cough. I was still waiting. I waited in the forenoon, and thought, "I don't
understand, how is it possible ? I haven't coughed up to now ?" But you are waiting for the
cough. And still waiting. Nothing. I couldn't believe it myself.
P: All right.
P: But I didn't throw away the rest. That was too expensive. But I don't take it with a spoon. I
take a little bit. It is about the same.
A: All right.
Facial neuralgia
Hypericum perforatum
WOMAN, 30 YEARS OLD
P: I got toothache after the dentist has drilled into my tooth.
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Toothache after tooth treatment. Many symptoms arise because of medicines, medical or
dental treatment.
A: Since when do you have pain ? When did it begin ?
P: I had it done and a few days later it began.
A: Did you have problems with your tooth ?
P: No.
A: You just went for a check up to the dentist ?
P: Yes.
A: Then he saw a cavity ?
P: Yes, and he inserted a temporary filling. No treatment of the nerves.
A: First, he has drilled into it and then he has inserted a filling ?
P: Yes.
A: You didn't have toothache before you went to the dentist.
P: No.
A: And what happened then ?
P: Then I had to wait for one week, but it ached very much and then I went back. That was
two days later. It began aching immediately afterwards, but I have waited for a few days.
A: What kind of pain was it ?
P: Toothache.
A: No other pain ?
P: No.
A: Then you went back to the dentist. What happened then ?
P: He has inserted another filling, but it didn't help much. Then, he said he had to take away a
part of the gum, but I haven't done it. The second filling was the permanent filling.
The dentist proposed to cut away a part of the gum. Do you know why the allopathy can not
cure migraine ? Because they can not cut off the head. They try to cut away every symptom. I
even got a patient whom they took out his eyes, a long story, which started with a
hemorrhoidal operation.
A: Since then you have a toothache, don't you ?
P: Yes, then he took a radiograph, but there could nothing be detected.
A: What happened then ?
P: Then there came another pain. It was a stitching pain extending to my ear and upwards.
And now, since a week it has hurt here above and since two days it has hurt very much here.
A: Also around your eyes. Does this mean that you have pain in your face on the left side
now and then ?
P: Yes, and very much here.
A: At the articulation joint. How does the pain arise ?
P: At one time, stitching.
A: Does the pain disappear suddenly or slowly ?
P: It disappears slowly.
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The pain arises suddenly and disappears slowly.
A: Do you think you are a little bit sad during the pain ?
P: Yes.
A: When does the pain increase and when does it decrease ?
P: When it is dark the pain disappears. And during the day it aches very much here, and then
I have headache.
A: Does moving, biting or speaking do something ?
P: Biting and yawning hurt very much. It was very bad on Sunday, then I yawned very much.
And then it keeps hurting.
A: Are there other things hurting ? For instance movement of the eyes ?
P: When I look aside and above, I also have pain.
A: That seems to be a trauma. A neuralgia by a trauma. Pain of the nerve because of the fact
that it was affected.
P: Sometimes when I breathe cold air, and it touches that tooth ... it also hurts. That happens
when riding on a bike.
A: Does the heat do good ?
P: Yes.
A: Does the pain improve when pushing hard on that tooth ?
P: No, it aggravates.
Although it hurts when you touch a certain place we can not use the rubric "pain on small
spots", because it is an extending pain.
A: Does the weather play a role ?
P: No.
A: Is there a numbness in that jaw and the forehead ?
P: Sometimes.
A: Does it feel the same as anesthesia ?
P: No. It seems as if it is a very severe toothache, it extends upward and then it hurts
everywhere.
A: Because of that you have pain nearly the whole day ?
P: Yes. And I can't tolerate noise, when the children are screaming, or the radio is on. That
gives a terrible headache. But that doesn't cause that toothache.
A: That filling seems to have quite a lot of consequences.
P: At the beginning you have it few times, but then you think this will go away, but then ... I
can't tolerate the smell when the stove is burning and it is hot. Nor the radiator in the car,
when it is blowing. I get terrible headache of that.
A: So you also get headache of smells ? Are there other things ? Noise, smell, you can't
tolerate that.
P: Otherwise, I can tolerate that very well. The radio is always playing very loudly.
A: Are there other things, because that seems rather extensive.
P: I don't have pain while sleeping.
A: And what does movement do about it ?
P: When I have headache, jumping and so, that is terrible. Otherwise, I play very often with
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the children, but now ... I can't.
A: Do you have cold chills ?
P: Yes, one time I have a very warm head and I am cold.
A: Do you have palpitations of the heart ?
P: No.
A: Does it improve when you drink warm drinks ?
P: I don't know.
A: Do you have to lie on that side, or do you lie on the other side ?
P: I lie on this side. First, I warm my cushion and then I lie down on it.
A: The heat does good.
P: Yes.
A: Is it sometimes attended with tingles ?
P: No. But my ear also hurts. My earlobe at this side also ulcerates. I don't know whether this
has something to do with it. I don't have it at the right side.
A: Does the pain extend to the back of your head ?
P: No, only upwards.
A: Does the pain extend to your eye ?
P: No, the eye doesn't hurt.
A: Does the pain start from your tooth ?
P: No. Now, I have pain here too. It seems a constant toothache. Otherwise, I'm never
troubled with headache.
A: Are you afraid of needles at this moment ?
P: I have always been afraid of that at the dentist. That's the reason why I don't want to go
back.
A: Where are you afraid of then ?
P: Of that needle. I think it hurts very much. He has to do that very slowly.
A: Do you have often palpations of the heart ?
P: No.
A: You don't feel anything at your eye, do you ?
P: No. When I look this way the little muscles ache here, and when I look the other way they
ache there. But they ache most above the eyes.
A: First, I must check something and then I give you the remedy.
"Stitching pain in the left eye " - which remedy ? Spigelia. In Clarke you find the cause for
Spigelia I am looking for: "Artificial complaints". There are symptoms for this acute cause,
but there are also symptoms which point to the constitutional remedy. It concerns a hysterical
woman.
A: It must disappear quickly. I want you to call me this afternoon. Do you smoke much ?
P: No, when I'm in a smoky room, I have very much pain. Last Thursday when I was
following a course, nearly everybody was smoking, and then I got very much pain. My eyes
become very watery. Sometimes, I also have that during the day. Then my eyes are itching,
they are watering and then it is over. Maybe, it is because of the smell I get headache.
A: And also because of tobacco ?
P: Yes.
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A: The differential diagnosis is not so easy. I give the remedy taking into account the cause
of the affection. There are some modalities which refer to another remedy, but we will know
that soon. You take this remedy and call me at four o'clock to tell me how the pain is. Then, I
have to see you again this week.
Which remedy ? Hypericum.
Which rubric ? "Nerves, injuries to dental nerves" (p. 423): Hypericum - "injuries nerves with
great pain" (p. 1369). So the cause is very important. In Belgium I showed this case to 25
experienced homoeopaths, no one found the remedy. They reproached me for not asking for
psychical or mental symptoms, but the symptoms clearly arose after the tooth treatment so
that I do not have to ask questions about the sexuality. Living Homoeopathy often goes
quickly. When somebody has knocked on his finger I do not need information about his sexdrive. Then you can quickly give the remedy and take care about the next patient. It does not
play a role how long you exercise Homoeopathy. In a centre where the patients are treated
homoeopathically from the morning until the evening you learn more in one year than maybe
in 10 years when working alone. Some Italians do not even need a Repertory. They know
Homoeopathy by heart and can give the remedy immediately. It is the question how fast you
work, how good you are trained.
FEEDBACK
A: You were here this morning at a quarter to eight. You came for that toothache that has
existed for about three or four months. I gave you a remedy. Tell me what has it done ?
P: I took it at half past eight a.m. and have it melt under my tongue.
A: Had you eaten ?
P: I haven't eaten anything until noon. I did my usual housework and at half past eleven a.m.
I got terrible headache. Then I lay down on my bed, but in fact I couldn't hold it there.
Afterwards it has been better.
A: And what time is it now ? It is half past seven p.m. You called me and I asked you to
come. And then ?
P: In the afternoon the headache disappeared.
A: It disappeared.
P: Yes, only my tooth still hurts and here also a little.
A: The pain has improved. May I ask you to call me the day after tomorrow ? To say how
you are doing. I have to be certain that it cures completely. And it will, but maybe it might
return slightly, so that I have to give a higher potency, although I have given a high potency
already.
P: And the headache has disappeared. I couldn't bear the sunlight, but it has disappeared now.
A: All right. And then they say that Homoeopathy doesn't work quickly.
NEXT DAY
A: I don't know when I saw you the last time, but that was a few days ago. When you came
back the pain in your head had disappeared, but you still had a little toothache. The
sensitiveness to the sunlight had disappeared. Afterwards you didn't get anything, only that
one remedy. What about your toothache ?
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P: It has also disappeared.
A: You don't have any pain at the moment.
P: No, sometimes I get a stitch now and then, but not often. After eating sugar containing
food. But I don't have pain in my ear anymore, neither here. On Friday the toothache had
disappeared, I was here on Thursday.
A: How was it on Saturday ?
P: No pain.
A: Did you have pain yet ?
P: At noon.
A: What was the reason ?
P: Because I cried.
A: We don't know why, but at that moment it arose again.
P: Yes, I had a very severe toothache and pain here, and above my eyes. Only for a while.
A: Did you have problems ?
P: Yes.
A: Are they solved now ?
P: Yes, and I don't have pain anymore.
A: All right. So one little tablet has solved the case. Thanks.
Dislocation of the elbow joint
WOMAN, 55 YEARS OLD
A: It happened four months ago. What happened then ?
P: I fell and the arm was out of joint, the elbow at least. It was completely out of place. He
has pushed it back to its place and the next day he has put it in plaster, but had to cut it,
because my arm was swelling. Then, they sent a nurse and a masseur for the medical
attendance in the morning and in the evening. And finally, I went to Hasselt.
A: To see the specialist.
P: And with that letter I came to you and got a little pill. I can't say which, but it has helped a
little. Then I got another one, and everything started to improve quickly.
A: Tell me what you felt.
P: I couldn't do anything with my hand. I couldn't bend my thumb, my forefinger nor my
middle finger. I couldn't bring my hand to my head, nothing.
A: And did you have a peculiar feeling there ?
P: It was numb. And there were tingles extending to the fingers, but they didn't go back. And
everything pressed upon those fingers. And the pressure didn't disappear. How do you call
that ? Impulses. Electric shocks, exactly.
A: And that was from your elbow extending to your hand.
P: When I pushed here above my shoulder, it began to tingle.
A: At what side of your arm especially ?
P: At both sides. And at the inside the arm was very thin.
A: When I saw you there was a typical symptom, namely, that you felt something especially
at the inside, that there was something pushing downward. And that gave the hands a swollen
feeling.
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P: Yes, there was a real pressure. And the specialist said it would decrease at last, but it
didn't. And with two little pills it has disappeared definitely. Afterwards, it appeared again for
a little while and you repeated the remedy and it has definitely disappeared.
A: First, there was the accident, in fact it happened because of the stretching of the nerve.
And it was especially a tingling, tickling feeling ...
P: And pushing.
A: And numbness and sleepiness.
P: Yes, a sleepy feeling.
A: In fact, you didn't have pain in it, did you ?
P: No, not really. No, it was heavy, heavy as lead.
A: All right.
P: But that little pill was something terrific, I don't know what it was.
A: I'm not going to tell you.
P: No, no, that was something terrific. The first one also did something, but the second did a
miracle, because I couldn't bend my thumb, and suddenly it bent. And I couldn't bend the
forefinger and all the other fingers either, and then suddenly I could bend all of them.
Previously, I couldn't do anything. I was completely handicapped with that injury, until I got
this remedy.
She got a dislocation of the elbow with paresthesia. You know what I mean with paresthesia
? There is a kind of numbness, pricking, a feeling of swelling and so on.
She called me first, because she had fallen. She was standing somewhere on a ladder and was
doing something - and she had drunk ! She smokes, she drinks and enjoys the life. And then
she fell. But she didn't tell anybody that she had drunk and fell afterwards. I knew it only a
few months later.
I was not at home at that time, and because she had a dislocation, she went to another doctor
and he put the elbow to its place again. But afterwards she got this paresthesia, because of the
stretching of the nerves. With such a dislocation the nerves are injured, stretched and the
consequences are paresthesias. Which remedy did I give her when she called ? Because it was
an injury and she did not give more explanation I gave her Arnica. But Arnica did not work.
Although she has had massage for several weeks, it did not improve. The specialist tried to
explain it in many different ways, but nothing worked, until I gave her the second remedy and
it did work.
I show you this case to give you an example to sharpen your reflexes. Now you have this
reflex: someone comes with paresthesia after an injection and you think immediately of
Hypericum. Then comes the next thing: injury, contusion of the spinal column: Hypericum.
Stretching of the nerves: Hypericum. You have to have this reflex immediately and give the
remedy after 1 or 2 minutes. That is what I mean with reflexibility.
The case of this woman is very interesting. You see, that she has a lot of energy. The first
time, in 1978 - at the beginning of my homoeopathic practice - I gave her - she had 39 C
fever, it was 7.00 p.m. , she was very anxious, was sitting there, was very chilly and said, "I
will die." She was sitting there, with a great anxiety and high fever - which remedy is this ?
Aconitum. It is never Aconitum without anxiety. Well, sometimes it is, but mostly it has this
death anxiety in acute cases. She got those symptoms suddenly in the evening, after she had
been outside in a draft of air. Then I gave her Aconitum D 12 in 1978, when I started with
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Homoeopathy and it really worked. I never believed in Homoeopathy, not even in the
complex remedies. But then I discovered Kent and saw, that all those pictures where complete
pictures. Why is everything mixed up ?
So, I started to study Kent at night, I studied, studied, and studied, to know those pictures of
the remedies. First, I read the picture of Aconitum, then I saw this woman and said, "That's
exactly the same what Kent describes." So, I gave her Aconitum.
I have a lot of experience with severe diseases and know that when you give NOVALGIN
i.v. , that you have to wait for at least half an hour until the fever goes down.
So, what did I do ? I gave her a spoon of the solution of Aconitum and I swear that within 6
minutes she started to perspire. The fever came down from 39 C to about 37,4 C. I said,
"My God, that is a miracle, I have never seen that in my life, and I knew how difficult it is to
let the fever go down with any remedy - Valium or I don't know what. You always have to
wait.
Look at the Repertory - "complaints after waiting", it is a nervous feeling. There is not only
fever in inflammations. Which remedy is there ? Nux vomica. This means that in several
cases Valium can decrease the fever on the basis of the cause. In Nux vomica it is excitement.
That was a proof for me that Homoeopathy really works and that the patient can also be
cured in local diseases when you give the right remedy.
Painful fingertips
GIRL, 15 YEARS OLD
A: How long is it ago ? Two months ?
P: Yes, the first time. The last time about a month ago.
A: Tell me your problem.
P: My finger and often the fingertips were aching.
A: How did it happen ?
P: During the holidays I drove a pile in the ground and knocked on my finger. It had to be put
in plaster. When it happened my finger became swollen and blue and I had to take
radiographs. It was broken, and first I got a splint and then a plaster.
A: When did it happen ?
P: At the end of August 1984.
A: And now it is the beginning of 1985. How long has the finger been in plaster ?
P: 3 to 4 weeks.
A: Did your finger ache when it was still in plaster ?
P: No.
A: And how did it feel when it came out of the plaster ?
P: Then I have been walking around with a splint for 3 weeks.
A: So 4 weeks plaster and 3 weeks splint. And then ?
P: Then I could write again, not so well. And at the end of the 6th school year it ached more.
A: So the pain has been away.
P: Yes.
A: Was the finger all right when it came out of the plaster ?
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P: Yes.
A: How long did you have pain ?
P: I don't know.
A: Had the pain disappeared completely in everything you did ?
P: Yes.
A: And then the pain returned. How long ago ?
P: In the 6th year, around Carnival.
A: So the pain has been away for about 2 or 3 months ?
P: Yes.
A: And what did you do then ?
MP: We told the doctor and he gave an ointment, but it didn't go away. I was with one of my
children here. And after the holidays it was so bad, so that we made an appointment for her.
She couldn't write anymore.
A: How long did it take until the pain disappeared after the remedy ?
MP: The first ...
A: No, that wasn't correct.
MP: Well, after the other within a week.
P: Yes.
A: But after the second remedy she got this pain in the neck again.
MP: Then we came here and the doctor said that it shouldn't last longer than 8 days, or we
had to come back.
Do you remember the case with the teeth ? It was about 4 months ago, that she went to the
dentist. Also in this case she is suffering quite a long time with her finger. It is a neuralgia
after an injury of the finger.
The first time she got which remedy because of the stitching pain and the pain by motion ?
Bryonia. Yes. A colleague gave her Bryonia and I agreed, because the pain was very strong
by motion and it was a stitching pain. And she did not have a reaction. Then she got another
remedy, and got the pain she had before in the cervical region. Maybe this pain of the cervical
region has been caused by an accident.
MP: But then it has completely disappeared.
A: But after the remedy she got a pain she had before.
MP: Yes.
A: Strange. And then the pain has disappeared, also the pain in the finger.
P: Yes.
A: Can you describe the pain you had in your finger ?
P: Stitching, although very strong palpitating.
A: Worse by movement ?
P: Yes.
MP: And when I cut her nails.
P: Yes, a kind of feeling as if the knuckle was pushed forwards.
A: Was the tip aching then ?
MP: It was pushed forwards. That's the way she described it.
A: So the pain was pushed forward ?
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P: Yes.
A: Was the finger tickling ?
P: No.
A: Itching ?
P: Sometimes.
The pain was pushed to the tip of the fingers, this means that it was a nerve pain.
A bone pain is staying at the same place. Therefore, we need remedies like Calcarea,
Calcarea phosphorica, Ruta graveolens and Symphytum. In an injury of the bone we have to
see whether there is an injury of the nerves at the same time.
P: When it was cold, the finger was warm at the same time.
A: So, the finger was never cold ! The fact that the pain was pushed forwards while cutting
the nails means that it must have been a pain of the nerves, not a pain of the bones. Did the
finger sleep ?
P: No.
A: You are sure that the finger was tickling only now and then.
P: Yes.
A: In the meantime it has completely disappeared ?
You see, Hypericum worked wonderfully again. Also think of Hypericum after operations,
when the people have been lying there with overstretched arms or when there is a pressure on
the ulnar nerve. Then they have this numbness feeling and paresthesias in the hand. In
abscesses caused by injections you also have to think of Ledum, but mostly it is Hypericum.
We had such cases, usually with herpes and we solved this problem with Hypericum.
Hypericum is also a very important remedy.
Paresthesias, left arm

Dd calc., hyper., rhus-t.
MAN, 60 YEARS OLD
A: I see that your head has been stitched. You have been hospitalized, haven't you ?
P: And subjected to an EEG.
A: I received a report of it. It was a concussion of the brain. I gave your wife Arnica and you
took it.
P: Yes.
A: Since when are you home ?
P: Since yesterday.
A: And now you called me urgently. Tell me what's wrong.
P: I was eating and suddenly my arm dropped and it was tingling all over. And when I do like
that ... it tingles. It extends towards my ear.
A: Do you feel anything at the back of your neck ?
P: I don't feel it there, but I can still feel the shock.
A: Is the back of your neck troubling you ? Does it hurt ?
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P: I think it is a muscular pain. When I move, it hurts.
A: Don't do anything (examination of the patient). What does it do ?
P: That is good.
A: Do you feel anything when I push in your hand ?
P: No.
A: Does the tingle extend upwards when I touch it here ?
P: Also here, I feel it everywhere. And a kind of heaviness.
A: Does it still tingle when you touch your hand ?
P: No.
A: Has it completely disappeared ?
P: No, I feel where it has been.
A: And you were sitting at the table ?
P: Yes, eating at the table.
A: Does the neck still hurt much ?
P: While moving. I think it is a muscular pain because of the blow.
A: You were run into, oh, you don't know what happened, do you ?
P: It is very peculiar, there are some things that I remember. I was driving the car. I was
quiet, I had plenty of time. And suddenly, I saw the truck in front of me.
A: Were you a little absent ? You run into the truck, didn't you ?
P: I braked and run into the trailer and got a blow.
A: And your neck is troubling you ?
P: Yes.
A: They call it a whiplash. I give you a remedy now. We already made an appointment that
you should come at seven o'clock in the evening. Now, it is one o'clock p.m. Have this little
pill melt in your mouth. I see you at seven o'clock p.m. again.
FEEDBACK
P: I took the remedy and have rested for a little while and then it had improved. Then while I
was eating I got it back for a little while, and I continued my meal. But my neck has really
improved compared to this morning. Then, I couldn't bend it.
A: First, your neck was stiffer.
P: Yes, I don't know whether this has something to do with it ?
A: Yes, of course.
P: Yes, I can still feel it, but I can bend it much more easily. It isn't normal yet, but it is much,
much better.
A: Have you felt anything in your hand afterwards ?
P: At noon once, before I came here. Then I felt just the same while I was eating. I was eating
in this position and then it came back.
A: And it disappeared quickly, didn't it ?
P: Oh yes, very quickly.
A: And the neck is much looser ?
P: Oh yes, wonderfully looser.
A: We will let it work, and see how it will develop and which complaint comes forward
strongest to give the next remedy.
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P: Besides, may I drive the car ?
A: It depends on how you are feeling.
P: I just wanted to ask you.
A: You had Arnica and now this remedy. I don't think there will be much problems. Do you
have black outs ?
P: No.
A: Dizziness ?
P: Yes, a while ago I had a dizzy feeling. Would that be a black out ?
A: It might be, but it might be as well that you weren't attentive.
P: Yes, but I can't remember quite a lot of things.
A: It often happens with a concussion of the brain, that you don't remember that part of the
accident. I don't believe it was a real black out. You felt nothing special.
P: That safety belt I have to wear in the car ...
A: Is oppressing you ?
P: In the summertime it is a little better, but in the winter, when I am very thickly dressed ...
A: Fill in the paper and send it to Brussels as a proof that you don't have to wear it.
Paresthesias, brachialgia left

WOMAN, 50 YEARS OLD
A: After the accident you had dizziness and I don't know what else more, and everything is
all right now. You also had tubercles in the breasts, that is relatively good. The pain has
disappeared. But now, there is still one complaint. Tell me about it.
She has been in treatment for a long time, and before she had a serious accident. Since then
she has vertigo and other complaints. Which remedy has vertigo ? Natrum sulphuricum.
Therefore I gave her Natrum sulphuricum. The aggravation from wet weather is very strong in
Natrum sulphuricum; sadness after injuries, depressions, suicidal disposition after injuries.
Natrum sulphuricum is a very interesting remedy. It has the aggravation from wet weather
such as Hypericum.
P: It is the left arm, until the fingertips and the little finger. The pain starts in the upper arm
extending to the little finger. And at the side I have a numb feeling.
A: How did that accident exactly happen ?
P: That was in the dodg'em cars and someone knocked into me in front and at the back at the
same time. I was hospitalized, because of a burst in the cervical vertebra. I have been lying
there for nearly three months. When I was discharged from the hospital I could hardly move
my left arm and my left leg. Probably, because of the shock. I didn't suffer much from my left
leg, but I did from my right arm. I managed well until now, where the pain arises again.
A: When you were discharged from the hospital you had other complaints.
P: Then I had much more pain, because I have been lying in bed for three months and
everything had to be started again by doing exercises. In the meantime, everything has
improved. I can do my housework again.
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A: You became better, because you were treated here.
P: Yes, I thought so.
A: You also had headache.
P: I was always very satisfied, because you could always give me what I needed.
A: The other complaints are good now, but one complaint appears again, namely, the right
arm. The rest is relatively good. Has the dizziness disappeared ?
P: Well yes, it is a little less. Lately, I can't remember well. My memory fails now and then. I
have had that before.
A: Although it is not so bad, isn't it ?
P: No, but I think it has to do with the season, the falling of the leaves. I noticed that October
is a very bad month for me.
She says that she comes because of her arm, and that the vertigo has not disappeared
completely. Also the forgetfulness is still there. This means that besides the main problem
there are other symptoms which are not so prominent, so that maybe the strong complaints
disappear with the first remedy. Later we have to give other remedies to cure this woman
completely. But you notice already that you can resolve the whole problem with one remedy.
The symptoms of the future remedies are present in a low degree. That is what I mean when I
am talking about "layers". The layers are there, but they can not be dissociated from each
other. You see the symptoms of the upper layer, and those of the second and the third layer
are there as well, but not so strong. We make an artificial dissociation between those layers,
but in fact it is not there; it goes from one to the other. I do not mean that you have to give 3
remedies at one time. The first remedy will cure the strongest symptoms and afterwards you
treat the other symptoms. Do not think that everything is so clearly divided into parts. No !
We are living and dynamic human beings. We are trying to make it straight-line, but it is
dynamic.
A: We can say that the pain starts in your neck and extends to your hand.
P: Yes.
A: There is a numbness, a kind of sleepy feeling of your little finger, extending to your hand.
P: Yes.
A: To the basis of your hand. It doesn't extend to your arm, does it ?
P: No.
A: Only a sleepy feeling. It never gives the feeling as if that side of the hand is swelling.
P: No. But a glowing feeling.
A: A kind of burning ?
P: Yes.
A: When do you suffer most ?
P: In the morning, when I get up.
A: Does it improve when you move ?
P: When I move it improves.
A: What does the warmth do to it ?
P: It is agreeable, but I can't say that the pain disappears or improves.
A: The pain does not improve by warmth. Do you think that the numbness disappears
completely when you are working ?
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P: No, it remains the whole day.
A: The numbness is not influenced by movement ?
P: The last two weeks it has increased.
A: How do you feel psychologically ?
P: I feel well. I have some difficulties with my memory.
A: With what kind of things ? What kind of mistakes do you make ? While speaking, writing
or ... ?
P: No, while working.
A: Do you write regularly ?
P: Yes, I have difficulties with that as well...
A: Tell me exactly about those difficulties.
P: Writing down something, and afterwards saying that I haven't written it down. And then I
look and indeed, I have. Putting it away and not find it again, while a minute ago I had it in
my hands.
A: Do you make mistakes while writing ?
P: No, I can't say that.
A: Do you think this is influenced by the weather ?
P: Yes, I always get it in October when the leaves are falling from the trees.
A: We can say it aggravates with cold and wet weather. Do you tolerate draft of air ?
P: No.
A: Do you lie still in bed ?
P: Yes.
A: You are not turning around in bed. When you are in bed you fall asleep.
P: I have difficulties with my arm, before it lies well. I can lie only for a while on the left
side, but then I have to turn around and I have to lay that arm in a position so that it can rest.
A: Your husband does not say, "Lie still !"
P: No. Why those questions ? For Rhus toxicodendron, but the symptoms for Rhus
toxicodendron are not strong enough. You see that I am differentiating between Hypericum
and Rhus toxicodendron. Hypericum is sensitive to coldness and dampness, Rhus
toxicodendron also, but she is not restless at night. On the other hand, she says that she has a
numbness in her hand in the mornings. Rhus toxicodendron is left-sided, we know, but it is
better when she is working. That is very strong for Rhus toxicodendron, but on the other hand
the restlessness fails. That is a negative symptom, but it is very typical for Rhus
toxicodendron and it fails here.
A: Can you sit for a long time ?
P: Yes, but then I have difficulties with my arm. I have to put it on table height and then it is
better.
A: But it is not so good when you let it hang down ?
P: No.
Where do we find this in the Repertory ? When the arm is hanging down it is not so good.
"Extremities, letting limbs hang down, agg." (p. 1009).
A: Do you think you are a cheerful person or rather a sad person ?
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P: I can't say a sad person.
A: Although, you don't look cheerful, but maybe I don't see that quite right. Are you easily
depressed ?
P: Yes.
A: Since when ?
P: It might be since four months.
A: Indeed, you give me that impression, but I might be wrong. Is there a reason for ?
P: Maybe there is. I had some difficulties with my husband.
A: Did this happen often ?
P: Not so regularly. He became difficult in the presence of the children.
A: Do you think you are more sad, melancholic since the last fortnight ? Since you have that
pain ?
P: Yes.
A: How is your head ?
P: I don't have headache anymore.
A: Do you have pain in your face ?
P: No.
A: What about your hair ? Do you have increased hair loss ?
P: No.
P: I still have a good appetite.
P: No.
A: Neither wine ?
A: No.
A: Show me your tongue. All right. How is your stool ?
P: Very good. Previously, I had difficulties with that.
A: Do you have troubles with hemorrhoids ?
P: No.
A: Do you think that your respiration is good ?
P: Yes.
A: No shortage of breath. All right, that is rather clear. I'll give you a remedy and within a
month all those complaints, the pain in the left arm, that numbness have to be disappeared.
Probably, they will disappear after a few days. But I want to make another appointment
concerning the feedback.
What will we prescribe ? We know the history: the accident, she has been in the hospital,
there she still has the pain, the numbness of the fingers extending upwards. This is typical for
which remedy ? Hypericum. I can not prescribe Rhus toxicodendron in this situation. Because
of the accident - Rhus toxicodendron has also the injury of the spine - and the numbness of
the fingers extending upward, I gave Hypericum M first.
A: It is October 16, 1986. You were here ten days ago. You took the remedy and tell me what
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did you feel after the remedy ? How was the reaction ?
P: I was terrible ill after two days. I got a lot of pain, from the fingertips until the neck,
headache, pain in the neck and in the arm. I have suffered quite a lot for two days. Then the
headache disappeared, and the numbness in the little finger to the wrist has disappeared. But
the pain from the arm until the neck has increased very much. And it remains very strongly.
At 1 o'clock at night I'm cleaning the house.
Do you hear ? The numbness has disappeared and now she has more pain in her arm, she has
to get up at night to clean - "restlessness driving out of bed at night".
P: And I wake up every three hours, because of the pain.
A: When you are in movement you have less pain ?
P: Yes.
A: What does the cold do ?
P: Nothing. Warm or cold, it doesn't matter. I have been lying on our sunbench, because I
thought it might do good, but is isn't better at all.
A: How is the intensity of pain now compared to the aggravation. You had headache and pain
in the neck and in the arm. Has the intensity of pain decreased ?
P: No, it has increased.
A: Did you have very much pain at a certain moment ?
P: Yes, the first two days, then I was really ill.
A: When you toss your head, does this do something to the pain ?
P: Yes, it aggravates.
A: But the tingling, the sleepy feeling has disappeared ?
P: Yes, it has disappeared completely.
A: Now there is a pain that is still aggravating.
P: When I have to sit still for two hours, I can't carry on, because of the pain (starts to cry).
A: Is there still a glowing feeling of the left side ?
P: No.
A: Then we have to give another remedy and then the pain has to ... The last time you told
me that the pain does not improve by movement.
P: Yes, and now it is the opposite.
A: You see, something has changed.
P: Yes. I have to move if I want to get rid of the pain. It doesn't disappear completely, but it
is tolerable.
A: I give you a remedy now, and you dissolve it. You take it immediately when you get
home, then every two hours. Do you want to call me at five o'clock to say how the pain is ?
P: Every two hours a spoonful ?
A: Yes, every two hours a spoonful. It is a very interesting reaction. Do you see how it
changes ?
P: I hope I can sleep better tonight. When do I have to come back ?
A: Next week.
Now she is able to give the symptoms so strongly, because she got Hypericum. Hypericum
gives her the energy to push the next layer upwards.
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Now she has to move, has to get up at night. Which is this remedy ? Rhus toxicodendron. If
you have time, please read what Kent writes and then you will see, what I am teaching is
reality or not. In his "Lectures" he gives the same description of Hypericum, what you see
here in video, exactly the same sequence of remedies: Hypericum, Rhus toxicodendron and
then another remedy.
A: Did you take the solution ?
P: Yes, yesterday morning. Then every 2 or 3 hours. Then nothing. About half past seven I
came home and took some before I went to bed. It didn't improve yesterday noon. I sat in the
car, again that hanging down. Neither in the evening. I was glad I could go to bed. But I slept
very well until seven o'clock this morning. Otherwise, I had to get up at night and walk about,
taking of dust, cleaning the house, because the pain decreased by movement. The pain didn't
disappear, but it was tolerable. Miserably, I went back to bed, because I was so tired. A
cushion here, a cushion there and a cushion in the neck. Then I have closed my eyes for a few
hours and at half past four or five o'clock in the morning I was walking with the dogs outside.
And then back to bed until half past seven a.m. And when this was going on, I thought this
could really last no longer this way.
A: And the previous night ?
P: The previous night I slept very well. I fell asleep and I didn't wake up until the morning. I
got up and had less pain in my left arm. It hasn't disappeared, but it is tolerable. In the
meantime, I got headache, which I didn't have before. And the pain in the neck has also
decreased a little, but it hasn't gone.
A: So, you got headache. Has it increased now ?
P: No, it has decreased. By the evening it has decreased.
A: Yesterday it was bad. Now, you feel clearly better.
P: Much better.
A: That was all I had to know. Thanks for coming here.
P: Yes, you are welcome.
A: You only wait, this will improve further. But call me when there are problems.
You see, when you give a remedy in a high potency in an acute case, everything is finished
very quickly. Do not believe it was the right remedy when you gave a high potency in an
acute case and there is no reaction at all after 24 hours. Then the remedy is wrong. The more
acute the case, the faster they react in very acute cases, even within some minutes.
This is the third consultation and now she will tell a long story, her life-story.
There is something else you have to be careful for: people come with an ischias, they get for
instance Rhus toxicodendron and they react very well. But afterwards so many previous
problems come back that you have to deal with and that is a problem. That is why it is so easy
to cure headache or any other problem. You give a small remedy, the pain disappears, but
then the patients come back with all kinds of other complaints. And then you think, "My God,
what have I done ?" That is a big problem. For instance, you gave Pulsatilla for a cough and
then the acute rheumatism they had before starts again.
When you start treating homoeopathically you have to go through the whole life of the
patient, and that is what we will do in this case. We cannot stop the treatment here. This
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patient gives symptoms, wants to be cured, and therefore we have to go further from
Hypericum to Rhus toxicodendron and then to the next remedy. And that is what we call a
constitutional remedy after the acute remedies. She comes back after Rhus toxicodendron and
we will see, what she has to tell us.
A: I saw you the last time on October 16, 1986. Today it is October 24, 1986, so eight days
later. The last time you still had some headache and pain in the arm. Tell me how it has
developed.
P: The arm has improved, the pain in the neck also. The headache has completely
disappeared. The pain in the neck has improved, but it hasn't disappeared completely. The
pain in my arm has improved very much, it doesn't hurt more than the rest of the year.
A: Does it hurt the whole day long ?
P: Yes, the whole day, also when I move.
A: There are no moments at which you feel absolutely nothing in your arm.
P: No, I can't say that and it has been there since the accident. But the pain is tolerable, and
you get used to it.
A: Is that pain now as bad as a few months ago ?
P: No, I think it is better now.
A: You took the remedy on October 16, 1986, so I expect that the pain disappears slowly. In
the neck as well as in the arm. My question is now, when you come to think of it, is the pain
better now than before you came here in that acute situation. Do you understand ? That acute
situation was another kind of pain. But before that severe disturbance you had a pain, a latent
pain with a certain intensity. Is the intensity of that pain, compared to the pain before the
acute disturbance better now ?
P: Absolutely. Not when I move. Then I think that I have as much pain compared to
previously. At that time, I felt better when I moved.
A: Then I see something. Probably, only your constitutional remedy can solve your problem.
Do you understand the problem ? She already had pain before the accident. I do not know
where the pain comes from. She will tell us later. After the accident she had Hypericum and
Rhus toxicodendron, and the acute pain has disappeared, but nevertheless, she still has pain in
her back. If we are doubting we can say that she has to live with this pain, because she also
did previously. But it is not normal to live with pain. Every pain is curable with
Homoeopathy. There are a few exceptions, for instance strong arthrosis in hip and knee. The
pain may improve when you give the right remedy, but people who do manual work will get
their pain back. Even with this arthrosis, if those people work carefully, they will have no
pain. But people who have arthrosis are people who usually work a lot, and it is very difficult
to change that. That is why you have to let them operate in these cases. But normally, you
have to be able to cure every pain, if they do what you ask. She still has the pain, and we have
to find the remedy.
A: We often give a remedy taking into account the cause of the complaint, second, taking
into account the kind of the complaint, for instance when you have more pain. The previous
time you had more pain while sitting still. You had to get out of bed. But now, there seems to
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be a kind of latent pain that obviously doesn't disappear, but it is tolerable. I'm not satisfied
with that, I will search which remedy is necessary to eliminate the pain completely. Because
you say that the pain is present in the same way as previously ... There hasn't been a real
improvement of the pain.
P: Not really, you can't say that everything has disappeared.
A: All right, then, we will go further into the matter.
Did you have problems with your health before your accident ?
P: At that time I had terrible headache. You searched and found the right remedy. At that
time I was sleepy, tired and had headache.
A: And a feeling of heaviness.
P: Yes.
A: At the time of your headache you became very tired. You had a feeling of heaviness and
couldn't keep your eyes open.
Previously, she came for headache. With the headache she was very tired, very sleepy, the
eyes were closing, and she didn't hear well. This is a picture of Gelsemium. Gelsemium is an
influenza remedy, where people are very, very tired. They can not keep their eyes open, and
there is something else concerning the urination in Gelsemium. What happens to the headache
while urinating ? In Gelsemium the headache ameliorates while urinating.
(Drawing) This is a layer with the pain of the last accident, but underneath there is another
layer, also with pain. We treated the first layer with Hypericum and Rhus toxicodendron.
She had a period with headache, but where did this headache come from ? A headache does
not appear without any reason. This headache disappeared with Gelsemium - but there must
have been a reason, or Gelsemium is her constitutional remedy, but that is not possible,
because if it is her constitutional remedy the pain in the back also should have been
disappeared. Gelsemium only took away the headache. This means that there must be a
causation.
A: We didn't know the cause of the headache. Since when did you have this headache ? At
what age did the headache begin ?
P: It began after my operation, after everything was removed. At that time I was 33 years old.
A: It began after hysterectomy, probably, because of the suppression of your periods, but
Gelsemium is not known for that. Maybe, because of the anesthesia, that could have been the
reason for that headache. I'm only guessing. Anyway, the headache has been solved by
Gelsemium. Did you have problems before that age ?
Now, we know surely that the operation, the hysterectomy or maybe the anesthesia is the
reason for this Gelsemium headache. We do not know exactly whether this is the reason why
she does not have menses anymore - suppressed menses -, the anesthesia or something else,
but it is sure that she got headache after this operation.
And now we go back and ask if she had some complaints before.
P: Not particularly.
A: Never.
P: Pain in the back (after long thinking).
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A: Do you remember since when you had this pain in the back ?
P: Also because of an accident.
A: That is something new again. Do you still have pain in the back now ?
P: I still have it, but I don't mention it. I have had that for several years and I have learnt to
live with it.
People often say that, "Oh, I don't talk about this pain. I have this pain for 20 years and I have
to live with it."
P: For instance, I will avoid lifting heavy things as much as possible.
A: Do you have for instance pain in the back while lifting something ?
P: Yes.
When you consider her history, their has been an accident in the past: Hypericum, Rhus
toxicodendron. Before that, there was the hysterectomy: Gelsemium. And before that, many
years before she had an accident and since that accident she has pain in the back. This pain in
the back is a constitutional symptom. If this was not so, the pain should have been
disappeared with Rhus toxicodendron, but Rhus toxicodendron did not cure it. Therefore we
have to find a constitutional remedy, because she has this pain for 20 or 30 years. And you
can also say, that all the other complaints have to improve with the constitutional remedy.
And she gives us a beautiful modality, "I have pain in the back when I am lifting something."
We look in the Repertory "pain in the back from lifting" (p. 896). The capital remedies here
are: Calcarea, Graphites - do not forget Graphites, that is a very important remedy here Lycopodium, Rhus toxicodendron and so on. Sulphur has to be added here.
That is what she said and then we have to look in the Repertory, "injury of the back" (p. 892)
or "injury of the spine". The remedies here are: Apis, Arnica, Calcarea, Conium, Hypericum,
Natrum sulphuricum, Kali carbonicum, Rhus toxicodendron and so on.
After the injury of which part of the body do we need Conium ? The breast.
As a student I saw such a case. A woman with breast carcinoma said to the professor that this
tumor was due to an injury, but the professor did not believe it, a tumor can not be caused by
an injury. But the first remedy of breast cancer due to injury is Conium. You can have
beautiful cures in breast cancer with Conium - maybe it is not cancer, we do not know
exactly, because we do not do biopsies. When someone comes with a tumor we do not touch
it, we give a remedy, and when the tumor disappears, it is all right. But we can not say
whether this was cancer or not, but it is important that the patient has been cured.
A: Pain in the back especially when lifting something. All right, the remedy becomes clear.
Did you have the pain in your left arm at that time ?
P: No, then I had strong arms and wrists.
A: Apparently, the remedy that has been given after the causality hasn't been strong enough
to cure you completely. That could be. Did you have other complaints previously ? Before the
accident ?
P: Yes, I have my ears operated two times, because of otitis.
A: How old were you then ?
P: I was seven years old when I had the first operation, and twelve years old with the second.
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A: Why ?
P: Because of a severe inflammation.
A: You got it at the age of seven.
P: Yes, it arose suddenly when I was seven years old, and I was immediately operated, at the
age of 12 I had it for quite a long time before they operated me. And it was exactly the same
operation, if you look at the scars. Since then, I have had a very weak memory.
A: Since the operation ?
P: Yes. I got fear of height, I didn't have it previously.
That is a very important information. Before the accident, probably as a young girl, she had
this otitis media; first at one ear, than at the other, and up to now she still has problems with
her ear. What does it mean ? This means that the remedy she needs for the consequences of
the injury of the accident is the same remedy she needs for the complaints of her ear. Because
from her childhood up to now she has had these complaints, and second the pain in the back
and those symptoms which she had as a young child exist at the same time, this means that
those symptoms indicate the same remedy.
Question: "Why did she had this hysterectomy ? It is a very important symptom."
A: Yes, I know, but the hysterectomy was not so important for me. If I had asked more
questions about that hysterectomy, and also about the menses, probably I would have had
more symptoms for this remedy, but I had other good symptoms. She says that she has pain in
her back from lifting. There are only a few remedies and therefore I didn't ask more questions
about the reason for this hysterectomy. The remedy she needs for the pain in her back is the
same remedy she needs for her ear. But after the operation of her ear she developed another
symptom - nobody can develop a symptom unless he is susceptible for it. After the operation
the energy decreased, and she becomes dizzy while standing on high places. This vertigo on
high places indicates a certain remedy, a remedy that has pain in the back when lifting, a
remedy which has recurrent ear inflammations and probably is complementary to Rhus
toxicodendron, because she reacts very well to that and when you read what Kent writes about
Hypericum, you will clearly recognize this case.
A: Did the fear of height arise after the operation ?
P: I still have it.
A: Do you feel dizzy while standing on a high place ?
P: Yes.
A: Do you have other complaints because of the operation ? Things that you didn't notice
before the operation ? What about your sleep for instance ?
P: I always slept very well.
A: Other anxieties ?
P: No, I haven't.
A: After the operation, which you didn't have before the operation.
P: After the accident two years ago, I had anxieties.
A: What kind of anxieties ?
P: Someone who came to me, who drove me into a corner, so that you can't get away.
Oppressing.
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A: Were you also anxious while sitting on a toilet, or in a small place ?
P: No.
A: When someone came to you, no matter who, that was an impression ...
P: No. It was a dream. Those were dreams that someone came to me and drove me into a
corner, so that I couldn't get away.
A: Was that an anxious dream ?
P: Yes.
A: Do you still have these kind of dreams ?
P: No.
A: That was the only kind of dreams you had ?
P: Yes. And I remember when I was very little, I can hardly put into words, it was always a
kind of zig-zag before my eyes. I have had this for several years.
A: You had certain figures ... ?
P: When I fell asleep they came before my eyes. I had this again.
A: "Delusions of spectres", a kind of figures. Was that before the operation ?
P: Yes, yes, before.
"On closing eyes", do you remember this rubric ? "Delusions, anxious, sees visions, on
closing eyes." We saw those rubrics yesterday.
A: In fact, it happened this way. Until the operation you were relatively good, although you
had certain constitutional complaints. Your otitis was an expression of your constitutional
weakness. You should have had your constitutional remedy at that time. And what has the
operation done ? It has pushed forward a complaint, to which you are sensitive as a person,
namely, fear of high places. I am convinced you had trouble with the fear of high places
before the operation, I am sure, but since the operation those complaints have become more
prominent. You only get a complaint to which you are susceptible.
The operation requires a lot of energy, she has become weaker and had more constitutional
symptoms. Normally, every operation makes a patient weaker - not always, but often - and
therefore more constitutional symptoms arise.
A: Then you had those accidents, these are also things which called forth complaints to which
you are susceptible as a person. That is the reason why I can never solve your complaint
completely with remedies that only cover the cause. Here I have to give your congenital
constitutional remedy.
Let's talk about your feelings as a child, you had certain imaginations at that time. You
describe them as dreams, I doubt about that, because the definitions of dream hasn't been
described well yet. Some people say, "I sleep, I wake up and I have dreamt." Other people
say, "I have certain dreams and it seems as if I haven't slept the whole night." Then, I doubt
whether these are dreams, or imaginations. I ask myself the question whether the rubric of
"dreams" can be classified under the rubric of "imaginations". I can go on with this for a long
time, but anyway, you had certain imaginations during the sleep.
P: I must say, when I was a young girl, I was four years old at that time. I was the eldest of
the girls. And when I was five years old, I had to wash up, clean the house and do other
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housework. My mother went out working at that time. But she has gone too much from the
household, the neighbours cried shame, that such a young child had to do all this. And I think
it has caused a great tension in my childhood. My father did not help to change the situation
when he came back. In the meantime I had become a slave of the house. And in this way, I
have always been dominated, I had to do this and that and that. At that time my father was in
a concentration camp. The children were allowed to play outside, but I wasn't. First, I had to
polish the shoes, or scrub the floor, or chop the wood. I have always been more oppressed
than the other children. And I think it has caused something inside me. With regard to my
children I see when there is something wrong, I ask them what is wrong, but my own parents
never asked me when I was a child. I could never express myself at that time. And I think that
is the reason why my dreams were bewildered, puzzled. I don't know. I can't say what I saw, it
was so a muddle. I also had an anxious feeling.
A: Can you describe that anxious feeling you had as a child ?
Second, do you think you had sad periods as a child ?
P: Yes.
A: What do you mean with that ?
P: Sad. That you were completely thrown on your own lot.
A: And did you feel sad ?
P: Yes, I did as a child. But I was full of life, I handled everything in a different way, I didn't
want anybody to know it.
Do you know the remedy ?
A: Very interesting. "I didn't want anybody to know it." In fact, you were anxious that other
people would see you were sad for instance.
P: Exactly.
Fear that other people will notice her situation.
A: Very interesting, that is the essence of your constitutional being. Now something else, you
can go on talking about your youth in a minute. Does it impress you when someone points out
your bodily ugly characteristics ?
P: No, it doesn't. They can't hurt me in saying that.
Why not ? She's a beautiful woman, isn't she ? She is about 50 years old, but as a young girl
she must have had difficulties - the nose is too long, the eyes are not so beautiful. With this
constitutional remedy people see here and there something that is not correct, but what can
you say in this case ?
A: And as a child ?
P: No, not concerning this point.
A: They haven't hurt you in this way, but did they in some other way ?
P: Well, as a child I was very chubby, but I didn't mind. They called me "our plumpy", and
"our chubby", but I didn't mind much.
A: As a child you were very chubby. You were rather shy. You tried not to show your
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neighbourhood that you were sad now and then for instance. Were you also obstinate, were
you someone who had a very strong will ?
P: Yes, I had.
A: You had, as I can deduce from your behaviour. Very obstinate, maybe even a little
headstrong. "Obstinate in fat growing children." Does everyone know this rubric ? Which
other remedies are there ? "Obstinate, inclined to grow fat" (p. 69).
Now, you also know the reason for the hysterectomy.
P: Yes, I was obstinate, but I could immediately forget.
A: You could be headstrong, although you were an easy and sympathetic child, you were
rather sensitive.
P: Yes, that is right.
A: Sensitive.
P: Yes, I still am.
Do you feel this softness in this woman ? Is this a hard woman ? No, she is soft, internally.
You feel this softness, the softness of a soft-boiled egg. The hard shell and the internal
softness, that is the obstinateness.
A: I see at your eyes that you are rather sensitive, I don't know why. And that you are
someone who is rather easy to live with.
P: Yes, in fact, I don't have difficulties with that.
A: Now, we go back to your child-age. You were a chubby child, obstinate and you couldn't
tolerate that other people saw that you were sad now and then for instance. What else can you
tell me as a child ? Do you remember for instance what you liked to eat ?
P: I ate everything. I can't say.
A: Your father came back from the concentration camp ?
P: After 5 years he came back, and in the meantime my mother went out working; she
worked for the Englishmen. At home we were four children and I, as the eldest, took over the
household, because our mother went out working. There was a neighbour who dropped by
now and then to look if everything was all right. And then she said to my mother, that it was
not fair the way she took advantage of her children, to go alone in the evening to have a drink
and leave the children to their fate. And I think, there has remained quite a lot of that. That
responsibility I had to take, I was too little to understand this. I think it was too much for me
to process. I had to get up at seven o'clock to do this and that before we could go to school. I
think it is too much for the nerves. When I see my own children, they were seven or eight
years old when I said that they had to make their bed themselves. When I was that age they
didn't have to tell me anymore, because by that time it was all in my mind. I think it has gone
too fast, and in this way I didn't enjoy my youth, because I took everything seriously.
A: You are someone who takes the matter seriously ?
P: Yes.
A: That is completely right. Are you someone who prays sometimes ?
P: I pray when I feel like praying.
A: That is what I mean. The church doesn't interest me.
P: I pray for instance, when one of our family is in a very bad condition. Then, I will pray,
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but without the presence of someone else.
A: You pray especially when you are alone.
She only prays, when she is alone, because she does not want to show, that she is in
difficulties. Therefore she does not pray in church in the presence of other people, because she
has the feeling that people will notice what is going on.
This is not in the Repertory, but I am sure that the remedy has to be added.
In the Repertory you see "religious affections in children" (p. 71): Arsenicum, Calcarea,
Lachesis and Sulphur - below you see "fanaticism": Robinia, Selenium, Sulphur and Thuja.
Thuja and Sulphur are religious fanatics. If you abolish all the religions we will have peace. I
mean that we should abolish the differences between the religions. Do you know the origin of
war - in North Ireland, in North Africa fanaticism is the cause. That is very important. All this
praying is a homoeopathic symptom - but there is not Calcarea. Aurum and Pulsatilla are
capital. The nuns, the soft nuns, who are sitting on the chair and are praying the whole time,
these are Pulsatilla nuns.
Then we have Veratrum album. They are crazy, they stand at a corner of a street and say,
"Let's pray !" And they pray, and pray in their insanity. There is also Stramonium and
Hyoscyamus. You see, most of the crazy remedies are praying remedies.
There is also Arsenicum. Arsenicum prays, "My God, give me some more money." Platinum
prays, "My God, I am so good and the other is so bad, make him better !"
This patient was very religious as a child and Calcarea is very religious...
A: In fact, I mean that essentially you are religious. There is a mystical thing that you
believed in.
P: Yes. According to me there must be something that has power, but not as they deluded us
with false hope.
A: May I ask you another question ? Because this is politics, religion is politics, do you
understand ? All kinds of belief with fanaticism as well. But there is a characteristic that you
call religious, that has a form of affection, a feeling that is aimed at the spiritual, at something
that is beyond us, something behind the curtains, let's say. Did you have this as a child ?
P: As a child they have drilled it into our heads. That's the way.
A: But there are children who go to church from habit. But you didn't ?
P: No.
A: As a child you were religious-minded. In the sense of having a feeling for that kind of
things, because you say, I went to church. But I'm sure that many people went to church from
habit and didn't believe in it. But you did as a child, you believed in it. Do you remember ?
P: Yes, that's right.
In church there are a lot of Calcarea people. In the North of Belgium you often see that
people go to church, because they think, "What will other people say about me, when I don't
go to church ?" And the houses of the Calcarea people are completely clean and tidy, inside
and outside - "What will other people think when it is not tidy ?" Calcarea women are
constantly cleaning and therefore they are working, working, and working, so that other
people will say that she works very hard and is a tidy woman. And what are the consequences
of this hard working ? Rhus toxicodendron complaints. Therefore Calcarea and Rhus
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toxicodendron are complementary remedies. Calcarea works and works and works because
she likes to be a good woman in the eyes of other women - because they work too hard and
live in the North, they get Rhus toxicodendron symptoms. Therefore they are complementary.
What I have just said, does not count for the constitutional Rhus toxicodendron.
P: I thought it was not fair what happened in the church and I couldn't tolerate that it was
really so. Then I went further into the matter and I thought, "There must be something. But
nobody will ever tell us, we will never know." But when I have a very difficult period I call
that person, I don't know him, I don't know who he is. Then I ask him if he can help me that
day. But he is unknown to me, I don't call him pope or God.
A: Do you remember you had that as a child ?
P: Yes, I had that as a child.
A: Did it ever happen to you that you - because you didn't have an easy time - were looking
for the loneliness as a child, that you wanted to be alone ? For instance that you wanted to go
into the field ?
P: Yes, I have done this many times.
A: Yes, Staphisagria is the second remedy in anxieties, what other people will say about
them, but Calcarea is the first remedy.
Now, do you understand why ?
Aversion to company, wants to go alone into the fields; that is Calcarea. Where can we find
this rubric in the Repertory ? "Company, avoids the sight of people, wants to get into the
country away from people" (p. 12).
P: When I was really tired and had to go to sleep, and had finished my work. My mother told
me to read a book. But I didn't like reading, I couldn't concentrate on a book. I relaxed by
going outside, and going into the field or into the bushes behind our house and then walk and
think only about what you see around you.
A: You wanted to go alone into the fields and walk about. But at that moment you were in a
kind of a sad condition.
P: Yes, not happy.
A: A kind of serious, sad condition. By which you eventually thought, what will my life be ?
P: Yes, yes.
A: You thought about that very much, also as a child ? A kind of anxiety for the future. What
will become of my life ?
P: Yes, it went that way. That's right.
A: Very exciting.
"Anxiety about the future" (p. 7). That is very important in children. Children who are talking
the whole time about what there will be in the future. You know the song, "When I was just a
little girl, I asked my mother, What will I be ?" This is a Calcarea song - "will I be happy, will
I be rich ?" - anxiety about the future.
P: At the moment there is another reason for going outside. Every morning, noon, and
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evening I go outside. I go walking with the dogs. Then I have to go out to relax, to dismiss
everything from my mind for a while, to look at the surroundings for a while, to see my
animals. That is something for myself. And when I go inside, everything looks differently.
A: I take up the thread of the conversation concerning your food. At home you had chickens
and pigs.
P: Yes, and rabbits and so on.
You can say now, that is suggestive, but I did not ask for chickens, but for chickens and pigs.
Now she has to choose, what she will eat, there are different possibilities.
A: Did you eat eggs at home regularly ?
P: Yes.
A: How did you eat them ?
P: Usually boiled.
A: And how did they have to be boiled ?
P: For the one hard and for the other medium.
A: And what about you ?
P: For me medium. Not soft, I didn't like that.
A: But not hard-boiled ?
P: No.
A: They may not be slimy ?
P: No.
A: They had to be soft-boiled.
P: Yes, because I am rather dainty about my food.
A: You still are at the moment, aren't you ?
P: Yes.
A: You still like them that way ?
P: Yes. It has to be right, or I won't touch it.
A: What else do I want, I can go on for another two hours to make the remedy clearer. But
what really is interesting, is that this remedy follows after the previous remedy that you have
had. This remedy is complementary, namely, it has to complement your curing. This is also
the remedy you needed as a child to cure your otitis.
P: In the meanwhile, I still have to go for a check up. A week ago I had a severe disturbance,
so that an examination was hardly possible.
A: This is a risky thing, in the sense that it is the energy that you need to become a complete
human being. This means that the pain has to disappear, your ear has to cure. This means that
the complaint has been suppressed previously. I warn you beforehand what will happen. The
complaint has been suppressed, probably there will be a discharge of the ear. This is an
expulsion and will stop spontaneously. It will cure spontaneously. Consequently, you might
get headache again for a short period, because you have had those accidents. This is a kind of
an atom bomb, but I can't do otherwise. I have to cure you, I have to make you the same as
you were as a child. It is incomprehensible for you.
I am afraid, because this has been suppressed for a long time. Every time she went to the eardoctor and he puts something in her ear, I do not know what, she might get a strong
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aggravation after the remedy - I do not know. But I like to warn you that maybe she gets a
strong aggravation, maybe not, we do not know beforehand.
A: So whether you say, "I quit, I don't feel up to it". But it will go fast, you are a strong
woman, I know. Or you say, "All right, let's go on", and we will solve everything with this
remedy at one time. Do you agree ?
P: Yes.
A: This means that you don't call another doctor if there is an aggravation. Not even the
specialist, when there is something wrong with your ears.
P: Here, it seems as if it tightens. This side hurts completely, also while swallowing.
A: In the modern society there is a doctor for the ears, the nerves, the stomach, but there is
none for the human being and that is the homoeopath.
P: Then you have to cure my left kidney as well, because I suffer from that very much.
A: Your complaint about your kidney will be solved too, there is no doubt about it.
P: The former time I have forgotten to tell you something else. During the day when I am
busy I don't suffer from it, but when I have sat and I get off the chair in the evening, then my
left kidney hurts.
A: That's right according to the remedy. Second, you are sensitive to the changing of the
weather, generally.
P: Yes.
A: You feel that.
P: Yes, I feel that. But I can't say that I have more pain because of that.
A: But you feel the weather in general.
P: Yes, yes, that's right.
A: Probably, you are sensitive to draft of air ?
P: Yes.
Not only Rhus toxicodendron is sensitive to change of weather, Calcarea also is sensitive to
change of weather and draft of air.
A: Do you often have cold feet in bed ?
P: Yes, always.
A: Now, I'm going to push the remedy further very fast. Do you put on socks in bed ? Hot
water bottle ?
P: No.
A: When you have been lying for a while, do they become warm ?
P: Yes, they become warm.
A: Do you lay your feet bare, do you put the blankets away ?
P: Not easily.
A: Do you sometimes search a cold place ?
P: No.
A: On which side do you sleep ?
P: On the right side.
A: Your husband lies at the other side, you want to have fresh air. You don't want to breathe
the breath of your husband.
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P: Yes.
A: You can't sleep on your left side. When you are alone in bed do you sleep on the left side
?
P: I usually do.
A: You are not sure of it.
P: I'm not completely sure.
A: Do you think you are afraid of the dark ?
P: No.
A: Thunder ?
P: No, not at all. But I'm afraid of the lightning.
A: Are you afraid of certain noises ? In the evenings ?
P: No, I'm not the kind of person who is listening and worrying. I would rather go and have a
look if there is something wrong.
A: Generally, you are a rather economical person, I think. I don't think you spent much
money.
P: I can give when I have to, but ...
Avarice - which is the most avarice remedy ? Arsenicum. Psorinum has to be there also, but
Psorinum has more fear of poverty, it is not real avarice. There is also Calcarea.
A: You are also a very hard worker ?
P: Yes, I am.
A: A very hard worker, always busy.
So avarice, and she is always industrious ... When Calcarea should have been given earlier,
nothing would have happened.
When Calcarea had been given in a Hypericum state, nothing would have happened. When
Calcarea had been given in a Rhus toxicodendron state, nothing would have happened. You
have to wait. You can not cut a tree, if there is no tree. We don't have the right to say: that is
Calcarea, that is Phosphorus. We have to ask for the complaints, look at the complaints and
give the remedy she needs.
P: I think I have been educated in this way as a child. So, you have less time to think about
things, because you are always busy.
A: How is your stool ?
P: I had difficulties, about four or five days ago.
A: Constipation.
P: Yes.
Do you remember what she said ? Before she was in this layer, she did not have difficulties
with the stool, but now she does. Because now the next layer appears, the Calcarea layer, that
is the reason why she has this constipation.
A: Do you have it now and then ?
P: Now and then, but now it was a long time ago.
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A: This requires your constitutional remedy.
P: As a child I always had difficulties with it.
Which remedy do we give ? Calcarea.
Remark: "I think, if you would have asked other questions, you might get Natrum
muriaticum as well."
A: No. I asked those questions for teaching purposes. I could have given her Calcarea after 2
minutes. I asked those questions because of you, not because of me, because you don't know
the Repertory. I want to show you the rubrics.
Remark: "My problem is to make an anamnesis in your way."
A: Yes, that is indeed suggestive. When I sit there and I ask questions, how many hours do I
need to indicate the remedy ? And that is the problem in Homoeopathy. You take 3, 4 hours
for an anamnesis and even then you can not prescribe the remedy. And because you take 4
hours for one anamnesis, you have to ask about 10 for one consultation. Who can permit
this ? Only the very rich people. But Homoeopathy is not only for rich people. That is the
reason why I teach - to try to find the remedy quickly, and not by studying the whole time, but
to see and to feel the patients, and to prescribe quickly. That is the reason why I teach with
video.
Remark: " ... looks very depressive."
A: Do you think that this is the suffering of Natrum muriaticum ? No. I think that this is not a
real grief for her as a child. We all suffer, but the reaction of Natrum muriaticum to this
suffering is different from hers. We must not deform her information, we must take the
information like she tells us. Natrum muriaticum is a complete different picture. Later, you
will see Natrum muriaticum. She has one symptom of Natrum muriaticum, namely, the crack
in the lip. Now, you will see the feedback. We will see what happened after Calcarea M.
Question about the reason for hysterectomy.
A: The uterus has been removed because of a fibroma. It wouldn't have been necessary, if we
could have treated her at that time.
FEEDBACK (November 20, 1986)
A: Now, it is November 20, 1986. You were here nearly a month ago. I gave you a remedy
and tell me what the reaction was.
P: The first two weeks the reaction was good. I felt well. I felt clearer in my head. I could
think well forward. I haven't become ill of it.
A: And your arm ?
P: Tolerable pain. Yet, improved after those two weeks.
A: Has the pain increased ?
P: No, not increased, on the contrary improved.
A: Not aggravated.
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P: No, and my head was much clearer the first two weeks and I could think far forward. Yes,
I could think more forward. Otherwise I had difficulties with that.
If the patient says that he feels clearer in his head, that his mind is clearer, you can be sure
that the remedy works very deeply.
P: And now, the last week I don't feel well. I have that pain in my left arm again. I'm
forgetful and I have headache.
A: Did you feel something in your ears ?
P: Yes, at the moment I have had pain in my left ear for two days. Previously, the doctor
always told me I had a kind of eczema in my ear, and I had to go for a check up two or three
times a year. And then he cleaned it and I didn't feel anything for a while. But now, I saw him
only a month, or a month and a half ago, and I have it again.
A: Has the pain in your arm completely been away ?
P: Not completely, but improved anyway.
A: Better as previously ?
P: Yes, it is.
A: But, a week or two after the administration of the remedy the pain has aggravated and you
can think less clear. What is the reason ? Has something happened ?
P: No, nothing has happened. There is nothing I can say that is worth mentioning. And I am
very tired. I was wondering whether I was getting the influenza, because I was blowing my
nose and sneezing. The last week it seems as if I have never my sleep out. I am just as tired
after eight, or nine, or six hours' sleep.
A: And that remains ? Or is it better today ?
P : No, I am troubled with it today as well. I was at the post office to pay something. And I
didn't know it anymore. I thought, well, how terrible it is today.
A: You have been better for a fortnight.
P: Yes, even very well.
A: And then a relapse.
P: Yes.
A: When you had taken the remedy you didn't have any headache ?
P: No, nothing.
A: With the other remedies you always had an aggravation.
P: Yes, often about three or four days. And now nothing. Immediately better. I said, these are
pills to pull me up completely. But it was only for two weeks. While thinking and making
plans, I was much clearer in my head. And rise fresh. It was completely different. Now, there
is an aggravation.
A: All right, I repeat the remedy in a high potency.
Is this good ? What is going on here ? How can we manage this case now ? A direct
amelioration, no aggravation, immediately very clear, now the ear hurts again where normally
she goes to the otolaryngologist every three or four months, but now, after one month she has
pain already. This means that she is pushing everything out now. What do we have to do here
? I put one tablet Calcarea 10 M in a tube and said to wait for one week. If she is not better
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after one week, she has to take the remedy. That was 4 weeks after the Calcarea M, the first
fortnight she was doing very well.
A: I think the remedy you got wasn't strong enough. And was the pain in your arm better ?
P: Yes, it was much better than it ever has been.
A: And now your ear begins to discharge ?
P: Yes, there is otorrhea.
A: Do you have this regularly ?
P: No, normally not. I have to go for a check up three times a year. I don't have to, but I do
this automatically, because I know I am troubled with it by that time. Then left, then right.
A: How many times do you have troubles with it ?
P: Every three or four months.
A: And now ?
P: Now, it was sooner. I was there in September. But you also told me I would get difficulties
with my ears. I was thinking about an influenza state. I am not chilly. I am just tired. I can't
remember things and I have headache, in the front, not in the neck. Usually, my headache
comes from the cervical vertebra. Now, it really comes from the forehead.
A: All right, 10 M. Do you want to call me next week ?
FEEDBACK (DECEMBER 1986)
A: Now it is December 1986. You were here on November 20, 1986 and I gave you the
remedy in 10 M. You had to call me a week afterwards to see whether it has become better or
worse. It was improving and you didn't take the remedy. How did it go on ?
P: It has improved. My arm has improved. Those things with my finger have disappeared.
The pain in my neck has improved. That is very good, because I don't wake up at night
anymore. Neither in the morning, I also had difficulties with that. The headache has nearly
disappeared. Concerning my ears, I still have otorrhea. I don't have pain in my ears, there is
only otorrhea, it is sticky. And that obstructs my hearing.
A: Do you have more otorrhea now ?
P: Yes, more than previously.
A: It is sticky and I hear less. How do you feel generally ?
P: Well.
A: Do you feel better psychologically ?
P: Yes.
A: Do you feel very well ?
P: Not yet, I can't say that. But I feel better compared to the previous time I was here.
A: Are there new symptoms ?
P: Yes, the last four days I have difficulties with the perspiration. There is a perspiration
smell around me, which I can't identify. My husband says, it seems as if you have been
cooking soup the whole day, such a sour smell.
A: A sour smell. Very interesting. The specific sour smell of that remedy. When do you
perspire sourly ?
P: During the day, not at night.
A: Have there other characteristics appeared ?
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P: Well, I have difficulties with the sight. Does it have something to do with that ? I always
have to put on my glasses. When I forget to put on my glasses I always have watering eyes.
Previously, I had problems with that as well. But I might need other glasses.
A: Did you always have troubles with your eyes ?
P: Yes.
A: Wait a minute. The glasses you used the last time are stronger than the last but one ?
P: Yes.
A: Do you have the last but one ?
P: Yes.
A: Do you want to put on the last but one, instead of those glasses.
P: They are at home, do I have to put on these glasses ?
A: Normally, I expect, if the treatment is correct, that your sight has to improve. Of course,
you will see less if you put on the last spectacles. It would not be logical that your sight will
aggravate if the rest improves.
Do you understand what is going on ? After the remedy the eyes become better. When she
had strong glasses before, she will need weaker glasses now.
A: What happens now, we are in a phase of expulsion. You have more otorrhea. Your skin
begins to expel, sour perspiration, but in the meantime your eyes have to improve, they may
not aggravate.
P: Does those tears play a role ?
A: Yes. I suppose, anyway. I am not sure, but logically you should see better with your
previous glasses. Because you say you have to get other glasses. Now, you are improving
very much. That perspiration is good for you, it is an elimination. I don't know how long this
will go on. Further, there has to be an improvement of the headache and the pain in the neck
and the arm.
Has the pain disappeared for hundred per cent ?
P: No, not hundred per cent. But I must say, it has improved very much. It hasn't ever been so
good. But I still don't have a clear memory.
A: Is that improving now ?
P: It is improving, but still it is not as it was at the beginning.
A: You are slowly climbing the mountain again. Maybe, I would have helped you more by
repeating the remedy, but I didn't because I wanted to see if you would improve
spontaneously. And that has happened. It is better that your memory improves slowly and
remains definitely all right, instead of improving suddenly and ...
People with experience in homoeopathic reactions have surely seen this - you give a remedy
and afterwards they are very good for a period and then they feel less good. This kind of
sycotic reaction, this "hyper-good feeling" - why ? And afterwards they feel somewhere in
between.
Remark: "It is because of the difference."
A: Yes, it is the difference. Previously, they feel bad, and immediately after the remedy they
feel a strong difference, but after two weeks they forgot how strong the difference was. And
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then they feel well, but it is not that beautiful sensation of levitation or so as they immediately
had after the remedy. When your remedy works deeply, you have this kind of reactions.
A: Do you understand ? And also your other complaints have to disappear. Your pain in the
back, where you have always suffered from ...
P: I'm not suffering anymore. I have suffered from it for many years, but I'm not suffering
anymore.
A: You were used to living with it ?
P: Yes, but lately I had so much trouble with it, so that I mentioned it. But I don't have
troubles with it anymore.
A: You are improving very well, my prediction was right, wasn't it ? Thanks for coming.
P: I still have that little pill.
A: You may keep it, but don't take it.
Question: "Is this a sign of suppression, that the amelioration comes so suddenly ?"
A: You can not say it after two weeks. It takes a little time, to be sure that the remedy is right.
But I never had a case, where they were mentally so much better.
In the section about the reactions of the remedies in his book "The scientific Homoeopathy"
Vithoulkas writes that it is a good reaction when there is first an aggravation and then a
disappearing of the symptoms. When there is an improvement first, and an aggravation
afterwards, this is a bad reaction and normally incurable. That is what you are thinking here in
this case, aren't you ? In this case all the symptoms disappeared and came back, but not as
strong as previous, and that is the difference. When it is worse afterwards than previous, then
it is a bad reaction, but this is all right.
Now, she relapses and we do not know the reason for this aggravation. Maybe she has a kind
of influenza, a coryza or something like that.
A: It has been a while ago. Now, it is April 12, and the last time you were here in January or
February, I think.
P: Yes, I think so.
A: I have you on video, but I don't know exactly. You had influenza. You took the remedy
and you have been good for two weeks. Then you relapsed and I repeated the remedy. And
afterwards ? Have you had complaints ever since ?
P: No, everything went smoothly and I can't say I have problems; because everything is all
right.
A: At that time you had also problems with your memory.
P: Yes, but that is all right now.
A: You couldn't think clearly, is that all right now ?
P: Yes, everything is all right. I can do my job well, I have a fresh memory again. I have no
pain. I do my job very well, I don't know what to say, because I feel very well.
A: You have never felt so well ?
P: No, I can manage well.
A: Previously, you had quite a lot of problems with your ears. Normally, you had to go back
to see the doctor every four months. When I have given you the remedy it already appeared
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after three weeks. What happened afterwards ?
P: I don't feel anything. That is very well cured. After a fortnight I didn't have any otorrhea.
And then the pain disappeared suddenly. Lately, I have suddenly pain in my ears, but
according to me it is because of the stress. I had it this week, and then I can't touch my ears.
Even the earlobes hurt. When I try to concentrate a little the pain disappears. According to
me, these are nerves accumulating there.
A: But you do not have otorrhea anymore ?
P: No, and no itches in the ears. I feel well.
A: Then, my theory was right.
P: Only a severe cold, I'm bothered with it for about three weeks.
A: Anyway, thanks for coming for the video. I didn't hear anything and I was wondering how
you were doing.
P: Yes, you told me not to drink coffee, but once I started with quite a lot of water. And then
one of our family came to you and told you this and you were angry and said I shouldn't have
done it. And then I said, we will stop together and we succeeded. At the beginning I had
difficulties with that.
I forgot it. I did not remember she drank coffee before.
P: And now, when I go on visit and drink normal coffee I stay awake at night. You become
nervous. We were somewhere and drank coffee, because they thought, well a few cups won't
do any harm. But at night we have been talking both of us. I said, we won't do this the next
time. I has its influence.
A: All right, I give you the remedy, because you have your cold for about three weeks.
P: It is loose, but it won't get over.
A: But we can say, that since I have been treated you intensively in October '86, the
complaints you were bothered with have disappeared.
P: Yes.
A: All right.
Yes, with the coffee it is a big problem, even now. On a symposium of American
homoeopaths in San Francisco they said, they should allow coffee, or the patients will go
away. I say that the coffee is not the problem, but we are the problem, the therapeutist. We see
and work, and then give a remedy. If we let them drink coffee, and they antidote the remedy,
where are we ? I mean, what is going on in your mind ? You loose your way, because we
think that the remedy is wrong and we look for another one. In our centre we work as follows:
if the patient is not better the first time he does not have to pay the second time - but if we
find out that he drank coffee, although we have forbidden it, they have to pay.
This is a great difficulty. You give a remedy and see that there is no reaction. "My God, the
remedy is wrong. Why was it wrong ? You didn't drink coffee ?" "No." So, he didn't antidote
the remedy, and then you can look for the next remedy and the mistake in your first
prescription. When you do not forbid coffee the first time and the remedy is antidoted, you
will never know whether it was the right remedy. Where are you as a homoeopath ? With this
patient you stay in the dark for the rest of your life. Maybe the remedy was right, but is
antidoted and you start to look for other remedies, and give him all possible remedies. It is up
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to you, but I forbid coffee and afterwards when I see that it is indeed their constitutional
remedy and they reacted well to the remedy, it is no problem when they drink a cup of coffee.
If they relapse I know the remedy, that is no problem.
Second: When you have Lycopodium patients with liver problems you have to forbid sugar
and chocolate. They will be better after the remedy, but if you let them eat chocolate and
sugar they will surely relapse. Also Lycopodium patients with skin diseases you have to
forbid sugar and chocolate until they have been cured - or they will relapse.
When you have someone who drinks a lot of alcohol and therefore has liver problems, you
have to forbid alcohol completely. With remedies such as Nux vomica, Aurum, Sulphur, you
have to forbid alcohol completely. They may not drink alcohol for three, four, five months, or
they will relapse.
Also the quantity of coffee is important. One cup of coffee is no problem, one glass of beer is
no problem; but when you drink too much, so that there is a reaction, that you become
nervous from the coffee, then it is too much. If you let them drink alcohol and the moment
they feel the reaction, so that they feel good with alcohol, it is too late. But it depends on the
quantity of alcohol and coffee you drink. But I warn you that you will get difficulties if you
let them drink coffee. When you let your patients drink coffee, you will stop doing
Homoeopathy, because you will not be happy, you will not have good results.
Question: "What do you do with women who take the pill ?"
A: It depends on the case. If you have to do with, where you can take the rubric "ailments
from suppressed menses", if for instance there is a headache and it came since her menses
were suppressed, and you have to give Pulsatilla for instance, then you have to stop the pill.
Also with Sepia you surely have to stop the pill. It depends on the case and the remedy. There
are women who are suffering long before they took the pill and there has nothing changed
since they take the pill. Then we let them take the pill and give the remedy and usually it is no
problem. But if it is a real hormonal problem as we usually see in Sepia, you must stop the pill
in Sepia.
The difficulty with layers is that we saw for instance in this case she already had Calcarea
symptoms when the other layers were above it. From the book of Vithoulkas we learned that
there is a layer on top of another layer, and that you first have to put away the first layer,
before you can reach the second layer. That is a fact we see in practice. But the difficulty is
that you already see Calcarea symptoms in the Rhus toxicodendron layer, and then you don't
know which remedy you have to take. Then you have to work as follow: first you give the
remedy for the strongest symptoms; in this case for instance the amelioration of motion, the
restlessness driving out of bed. So, you take the strongest symptoms, the strongest complaints,
that is the upper layer and in this case it was Rhus toxicodendron. After Rhus toxicodendron
you can give Calcarea and then you can reach the essence of the problem.
We had a Guillain-Barr case - I showed it in Switzerland - where I gave Calcarea, it was
clearly Calcarea - but there was no reaction. Then she got Sepia and then she felt well. After
Sepia she needed acute Nux vomica, afterwards acute Bryonia - you know, Sepia and Nux
vomica are complementary - she got Bryonia, afterwards Alumina - Bryonia and Alumina are
also complementary - and now she is very well, the paralysis has nearly disappeared. And
now we have to wait, all the Calcarea symptoms will appear. But she had all the Calcarea
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fears, but did not react to Calcarea. She was clearly Calcarea, also the appearance, everything,
but she did not react. She reacted well to Sepia, then to Nux vomica, Bryonia and wonderfully
to Alumina. After Bryonia she could produce Alumina symptoms and then the paralysis
became better and better and after Alumina 10 M there was a big amelioration in a short time,
but before, at the beginning she did not have Alumina symptoms, therefore she had to go
through all these remedies, also Sepia - and Alumina is the chronic Sepia, it is written in
Clarke.
And now we have to wait, maybe one year, maybe two years. The first remedy I gave was
wrong at that time, but is the right remedy after maybe 5 years. I promise you and I will show
you on the video.
This is the same with cancer. A cancer patient comes and she talks and talks and talks and
gets Lachesis - nothing, no reaction. Because of cracks in her lips and the pain under the left
scapula, which is going to the right side, she gets Condurango - and, beautifully, the anxieties
disappear. Then she gets a metrorrhagia and nothing helps - she gets Lachesis and everything
is over. Now she is cured. First, I had to give Condurango and afterwards Lachesis, because
Lachesis does not have those strong cracks, pain in the left scapula, wandering to the right
side. There is only remedy in the Repertory: Condurango. That is the way we have to work,
that is very difficult, and in cancer sometimes we have to deal with small remedies. For
instance a patient who has been treated with radiotherapy got a lot of pain after the
radiotherapy. And then they took X-ray and the pain became worse and worse - and Radium
bromatum took away this pain. After Radium bromatum she developed Lachesis.
When patients who have been treated with chemotherapy come and are weak, completely
weak, near dead for weakness, you can try to find the constitutional remedy, but it will do
nothing. First you have to give Kali phosphoricum. Kali phosphoricum has this weakness
after cancer operations, it has this weakness in the body and in the mind, diarrhoea from
eating, that is a key-note for Kali phosphoricum, also for Ferrum. Kali phosphoricum pushes
you out of this weakness and then comes the constitutional remedy.
That is how to manipulate this; but to be able you have to know these small remedies.
... when you add a remedy in a rubric, you must be sure that this is a very important symptom
of the remedy. Who is not weak during fever ? I mean strong weakness during fever. I took
my Repertory and saw that Sepia was not there and I did not feel like giving it, but I did not
have other indications. So, what did I do ?
I prescribed Sepia M. The next day it was better, but then the fever raised again. Suddenly,
she had diarrhoea, watery diarrhoea, was very weak, a septicaemial situation. Then I noticed
that it was Baptisia. I gave her Baptisia and the next day she was cured. Constitutionally, she
was Sepia and when she came she had high fever, was very weak, a bad smell from the
mouth, and later there was the diarrhoea; this was clearly Baptisia and the constitutional
remedy did not do anything. The strongest symptom was the weakness, so I had to take that.
This was an ordinary influenza. There is no direct relation between Sepia and Phosphorus in
acute cases. There were no symptoms for Phosphorus, no symptoms for Muriaticum acidum.
Muriaticum acidum has these aphthae in the mouth, and is very sensitive. It is not known well
as a remedy for influenza, but Baptisia is one of the most important remedies for influenza in
serious cases.
So, I made a wrong prescription with Sepia, because I did not believe what I saw. I saw this
weakness and Sepia was not in this rubric, so I had to go further and find the remedy, that has
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this weakness and Baptisia did. The differential diagnosis to Baptisia was Pyrogenium,
because it was a septicaemia, because of the suppression of the inflammation of the bladder.
You can suppress with a wrong homoeopathic remedy, you can push the disease inward.
Question: "What do you do with hay-fever ? Do you take the acute symptoms and give a
small remedy ?"
A: Last Sunday a mother with her child came and the mother looked Sepia, as well as the
child. But I can not give Sepia, because of the appearance. I asked and asked and then
Sabadilla appeared. Her hay-fever had very strong Sabadilla symptoms and Sabadilla is
complementary to Sepia. In this case there were two strong symptoms for Sabadilla, two
desires, which are rather Sabadilla than Sepia. Afterwards when the desire and the character
of Sepia appears, you can give Sepia. You can see that she will need it later, but for this hayfever she needs Sabadilla. For instance someone else probably needs Sepia for his hay-fever
according to the desires and the mental picture.
Question: "What can you do, when a disease has been suppressed with homoeopathical
remedies ?"
A: If something happens like that, you have given a very similar remedy, this means, it has a
great influence, but it was only a local remedy. The local symptoms have been disappeared,
they have been wandering inwards and the pictures of the remedy will appear stronger, in a
different way, probably on another level.
Question: " ... is it dangerous if the symptoms have been suppressed with a homoeopathical
remedy ?"
A: The first remedy, to clear up the case, when someone has taken all kinds of homoeopathic
remedies mixed up, is Sepia. But I do not understand your question quite right.
Question: "I mean, when someone got the wrong remedy and there has been a suppression you said that in such cases new symptoms will arise. And when you try to give a new remedy,
this means that the suppression ... ?" (not understandable)
A: No, you see, there is for instance someone with eczema. He gets a homoeopathic remedy,
probably Sulphur, and then he gets asthma; then you have to take the rubric "asthma from
suppressed eruptions," because you made him more ill with the homoeopathic remedy. That is
all, and you have to look for another remedy. But usually - I had a Phosphorus case - before I
gave Phosphorus, I gave Lycopodium, Sulphur and Calcarea and after this remedy the patient
got asthma and after Phosphorus he was cured. You feel, you see it, if you suppress with a
remedy, but you wait for a while, it will disappear again. Anyway, this asthma went away
after a short time.
Question: "Is there a residual damage ?"
A: No, no, there is no residual damage, do not be afraid of this. But when you give high
potencies and those patients are very sensitive you will touch them; when they are not
sensitive, it will not touch them.
Very high potencies are very good, but it must be the right remedy, other remedies will not
work. When you give low potencies, when we all take Sulphur C 30 today, 50 % will start
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itching or I do not know what.
Six years ago I took Psorinum and I started itching, but I am not avaricious, that is no
problem, it was a proof. Also after Nux vomica I got proving symptoms.
Pain in heel after fall

Calcarea phosphorica
MAN, 25 YEARS OLD
A: I'm talking about the consultation of December 9. Tell me what happened.
P: I sustained a heel fracture. I jumped and I came on my left heel. After three weeks, when
they had examined me, it appeared to be a heel fracture. It has lasted for nine weeks and it is
troubling me ever since, especially when the weather is changing, with foggy and wet
weather. It is at the right side of my foot. There, I have very much pain, I can do very little
with it, for instance not going upstairs or downstairs.
He gives us a first modality and says, "It is very painful with the changing of the weather."
Second, we already know that this pain has a causation. Which causation ? An injury. Where
can we look in the Repertory to solve this problem ? In "generalities, injury of the bones" (p.
1369), because he says that you see a fracture of the heel on the radiograph. So, we try to start
with this rubric. The remedies here are: Calcarea, Calcarea phosphorica, Ruta graveolens,
Sulphuricum acidum and Symphytum officinale. Second, we know there is an aggravation
from the change of the weather, so we have to look in the rubric "change of weather agg." (p.
1347). We can also take the rubric "pain in the extremities from change of weather".
On which side are the complaints ? On the right side. Compared to Rhus toxicodendron Rhus toxicodendron prefers the left side - but it is not always on the left side.
Rhododendron prefers the right side - and, when does Rhododendron has its pain concerning
the modalities ? Rhododendron has a certain modality. When does the pain come ? At rest,
when he is resting, usually at night, when he is doing nothing, then this pain arises. I had a
beautiful case of someone who has had a heart-infarct with pain, arising at night, on the right
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side and extended to right arm. We only know one remedy, when - especially with heartdiseases - the pain extends to the right arm, and that is Lilium tigrinum; but Rhododendron
has this also, as well as the pain arising at night and ameliorates in motion.
Here we have Calcarea phosphorica, Rhododendron and Silicea, but we can not take this
rubric, because the rubric "change of weather agg." under "generalities" is a larger rubric. You
have to be careful with these little, very specific rubrics. But I am sure about the cause: an
injury of the bone and it aggravates from change of the weather. Now we have to see
whether we can find other modalities.
A: Was the bone of the heel broken ?
P: Underneath the foot-sole there was inward ...
A: An indentation fracture. Did you have this for quite a long time ?
P: For three weeks before it was treated, then nine weeks in plaster.
A: Did you still have pain in that plaster ?
P: Yes, the pain remained. Afterwards, that pain lasted. I have waited for about one month,
but then I came to you.
A: Your heel was locally aching.
P: I could indicate it exactly.
A: How large was the surface ?
P: Not larger than about two centimetres section.
A: And where did you have pain ?
P: Right underneath my heel.
A: You told me that it seemed as if it was a bruise.
Now we have two other modalities. First, there is a pain in a small spot, and second it feels
like a bruise. How can we translate this ? Sore - where do we find this ? "Pain, sore, in small
spots." That is what he says, a sore pain in small spots. In the English Kent there are 2 rubrics
under "generalities", namely, "pain on small spots" and "sore pain in small spots" (p. 1385).
If we take those three rubrics together - "injury of the bones", "change of weather agg." and
"sore pain in small spots" - which remedy do you get ? Calcarea phosphorica.
P: Yes. Also a feeling as if I was walking on needles. And when it was all going well, then I
had the feeling as if I was walking on a bruise.
A: And the pain aggravated when the weather was changing.
P: Yes, there was an aggravation and it was a kind of stitching pain.
Which weather is worse for Calcarea phosphorica ? Snow air. When you look at the air, and
sees the snow flying, that is very bad for Calcarea phosphorica.
A: The fracture was the cause of your pain. Did you have the feeling as if it was broken ?
P: Not at the moment I was jumping. I rather thought it was a dislocation or a rupture of the
muscle.
A colleague in our centre, an elder one, he was 53 years old, had a lot of troubles with his
wife. He got divorced and his wife had taken money of the bank, at the end of the whole story
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he had a deficiency of 13 million BF. Because of this story he was very depressed. On his
way home he got a car accident and broke some rips. He was sitting there at home for two
weeks long, and nothing helped. After 2 weeks I said, I have to see him. When I entered his
house I felt the enormous sadness in the house. There was a real mess, he was sitting there,
unshaved, and then all those books - he was studying the whole time - this gave me the
impression of a situation I once experienced myself, I felt this Aurum atmosphere. This man
was in great difficulties, so that he would kill himself, if he did not get a remedy.
Then he said, "Alfons, I broke my rips two weeks ago." And I asked him what kind of feeling
he had. "It feels as if it is broken." I took my Repertory and looked at "pain, as if bones
broken" (p. 1378). He was sitting at home the whole day and did not want to go to work;
probably he would still sit there if I had not given him Aurum. You see, that it is very
important what the patient feels, the way he describes his feeling.
A: Did you have the impression that one foot became cold more easily than the other ?
P: I can't say.
A: All right. I gave you a remedy on December 9, and I had you come back after one week,
but then I didn't have time to put it on video. Then, you told me it had improved very much
within one week. There were only complaints as if there were bruises. There were no other
complaints. But for three nights together you have had a nosebleed.
P: Indeed.
A: What is troubling you now ?
P: At this moment my foot isn't troubling me at all. And after those 3 nights I didn't have
nosebleeds. And the perspiration I was troubled with very much previously, has completely
disappeared.
A: That was another problem, very interesting. Previously, you were very much troubled with
perspiration. Previously, I gave you Sulphur for several reasons. You had for instance fear of
height, you were anxious when looking downward. That was in October and when you can
back you told me that the perspiration had improved very much, but one foot is still
perspiring.
P: The right foot.
A: The foot that has been injured by the accident is still perspiring ?
P: No, it is the other foot.
A: But, before you took Sulphur both feet were perspiring ...
P: Yes, all over my body. I was like a drowned rat at night. I even had to buy another
mattress.
A: Then I gave you this remedy and afterwards the healthy foot didn't perspire either.
P: No, now it has completely disappeared.
A: You are without any complaints.
P: At this moment I am without any complaints on that level.
This is a very big problem. He got Sulphur for the perspiration when he was still in plaster.
The theory says that if you have an upper layer and you give the remedy of the layer
underneath, your remedy will not act. That is the theory. Previously, I showed you the case:
she needed Hypericum before Rhus toxicodendron and only then she could get Calcarea.
This man with the profuse perspiration. He was in plaster. I did not give him a remedy for his
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broken heel, because he came for the perspiration.
He was in the Calcarea phosphorica layer, because his heel was broken as well - at the same
time he was perspiring so much. What could I do ? If the theory is right - and you see that the
theory is not right, at least not always - we have to be careful with theories. So, if the theory is
right, Sulphur could not work in this case, because he had already broken his heel. So, I had to
give Calcarea phosphorica from the beginning.
I gave Sulphur and the perspiration was better. Only the foot that was not broken, continued
perspiring.
So, our theory is not always right. That is what I want to show you. Although Calcarea
phosphorica was the remedy he needed, I gave him Sulphur, the underneath remedy and it
worked. Then I gave him Calcarea phosphorica and it also worked.
He perspired very much before the accident, but after the accident he was still perspiring
much. When he came with his broken heel, he came with a Calcarea phosphorica layer, but he
was still perspiring, the layer upon his Sulphur layer was Calcarea phosphorica. Although he
was in the Calcarea phosphorica layer, I gave him Sulphur and Sulphur worked, the
perspiration disappeared.
We say that, if you are in a certain layer, the underneath remedy does not work, but that is not
right and I try to show you this. You can not clearly separate the layers. The 2 layers are
mixed.
Question: "But if Sulphur works, why did you give Calcarea phosphorica ?"
A: I gave him Calcarea phosphorica after the plaster, because he still had pain in his heel.
That is the reason why he came back and said, "The heel is not cured yet", and then I gave
him Calcarea phosphorica. I did not want to interfere at the time he was in plaster, and if you
give the remedy during this plaster you can always say that the plaster cured the heel. I do not
want that. I like him suffering and see what happens when the plaster is removed. If he still
has pain then, I give him the remedy and then I can prove that it was cured by the remedy.
Remark: "The plaster is of no sense in such a case."
A: I don't know.
Remark: "You are not allowed walking for 12 weeks and have to lay the leg upwards, but
without plaster."
A: Yes, I agree. Even when he is lying upwards with his foot, he will still have pain until he
gets Calcarea phosphorica.
I try to show you that you do not have to be so strictly. Be flexible and be careful in
theorizing, it is different in the practice.
Paresthesias, right arm
Arnica montana
MAN, 50 YEARS OLD
I was in Austria 4 years ago - but I can not ski - and a woman who was with us, fell on her
elbow. On the X-ray you saw a crack in the head of the humerus. And I gave her Arnica, I
gave her Symphytum, I gave her Hypericum, but she still has had pain for the next two years
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...
This is the woman where I said you have to differentiate between Calcarea and Sepia. I
asked Vassilis Ghegas and he did a consultation and said, "That is Sepia." I asked G.
Vithoulkas, because this woman is the woman of my friend and I had to cure her. Vithoulkas
said, "Maybe she needs Lycopodium." I gave her Sepia, Lycopodium and every other possible
remedy, but nothing helped. Then I did a consultation for 1 1/2 hour and then the Calcarea
nucleus appeared. When she was in the house she closed the door, not because she was
anxious, but because she did not want that other people saw the disorder in her house. So, I
discovered Calcarea. She got Calcarea 10 M and since then everything is all right. It took 2 or
3 years before I discovered Calcarea.
A: I saw you once, on December 19, 1986. That's exactly four months ago. You had
problems in your right arm, from top to bottom.
P: It was here, the lower muscles and then it extended to the whole arm, even until the
fingertips.
A: Since when did you have that complaint ? What was the cause ?
P: It began suddenly.
A: You told me it arose because of an accident.
P: Yes, previously I had something and that remained in my neck. And I think it has
something to do with it.
A: With an accident. And since then your arm is troubling you ?
P: Yes, first I could bear the pain, but then I got it constantly, so that I couldn't sleep at night.
A: When ?
P: When I came to you.
A: But originally, everything has arisen since the accident in 1972.
P: I suppose so.
A: Because previously you didn't have troubles with it.
P: No.
A: And since the accident your arm was regularly troubling you. Your wife told me you
were suffering from your arm quite a long time.
This man is the husband of the Hypericum-Rhus toxicodendron-Calcarea woman.
P: Yes, sleepy fingers and so on, it all started with that.
A: You had an accident. Do you think that the pain in your arm is related to the accident ?
P: I suppose so, because I don't see any other cause.
A: Tell me what you felt in your right arm ?
P: First, the fingers were sleeping. Then a severe pain in the lower muscles, as if they were
squeezed here, and then I couldn't sleep at night. I woke up because of the pain.
A: A pain attended with a kind of sleepiness and numbness.
P: Yes.
A: And the upper-arm hurt very much.
P: Yes, it really did.
A: Was it a stitching pain ?
P: No, it was as if someone knocked on it.
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What kind of pain ? Sore pain.
A: Sometimes you had cramps in your fingers.
P: Yes, when I was painting or just holding a cup. I couldn't hold it. I had cramps in my both
hands now and then.
We know already that this is a sore pain. In the rubric "cramps in fingers" (p. 973) there are a
lot of remedies. Which remedies with a sore pain are there ? Not Calcarea phosphorica, or
Ruta graveolens.
Remark: "There is another rubric with Ruta graveolens."
A: Yes, that is right, but I looked in the other rubric, and there is not Calcarea phosphorica,
Ruta graveolens, Sylphuricum acidum, or Symphytum.
A: You also told me you couldn't lie on that side because it hurt.
Which rubric ? He says that he has a sore feeling when lying on that side - "pain, sore, parts
lying on" (p. 1385). Why can Baptisia not lie on one side ? Because of the pain ? What kind
of feeling has Baptisia ? The bed is too hard. Then he tries to lie on the other side and again
the bed is too hard - but in this case it is not so, the bed is too hard only on the side which is
painful. Baptisia feels this soreness on every side - on the right side, on the left side, in
whichever position he lies. He lies on this side for a while, and then he has to turn over. But
he has this sore pain only on the side he is lying on. When you take those rubrics together,
"ailments from injuries," "cramps in the fingers", "pain, sore, parts lying on", there is only one
remedy.
P: Yes, I couldn't tolerate the arm of my wife upon it. I couldn't tolerate anything upon it.
A: Did your arm sleep when you lay on it ?
P: Yes.
A: These were the complaints you were troubled with. You also told me you liked whisky.
P: In order to sleep.
He says, "When I lie on this arm, this painful arm, it starts sleeping." "Numbness of bruised
parts" (p. 1376), there is only one remedy: Arnica.
We will see if there are other Arnica symptoms. He likes whisky - "desire whisky" (p. 484),
there is Arnica.
A: Then I gave the remedy in 10 M on December 19, 1986.
And then ?
P: After 3, 4 days there was an improvement. And after a week it had completely
disappeared. I didn't have that pain anymore, or in the finger.
A: So, the pain has disappeared, the sleepiness has disappeared.
P: I had to be careful with cold water, because it seems as if I am in icy-cold water.
A: Oh yes, but otherwise you don't have troubles with it anymore. You sleep well at night.
Can you lie on that side ?
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P: Yes, I can sleep on it.
A: All right. And you stated that there was nothing that could be done about it. Good. Have
you become ill from the remedy ?
P: No, the first days it seems as if I hadn't taken it at all.
I showed you this video to say that we have to think homoeopathically, and not
allopathically. We have also seen cases of Hypericum after injuries, but it depends on the
modalities which remedies we choose. Maybe it is Calcarea, or Calcarea phosphorica, Ruta
graveolens, Sulphuricum acidum, Symphytum or Arnica or maybe Silicea. It depends on the
modalities which remedy we need.
In the last case Calcarea phosphorica was clearly indicated, now it is Arnica. Treat in a
homoeopathical way.
Arthrosis, left shoulder
Rhus toxicodendron
MAN, 40 YEARS OLD
A: You come from Canada and you are visiting your uncle and your nephew. You drive to
Italy and come back within 4 weeks. Do you always have those swellings around your eyes ?
P: Normally, I don't.
Is it normal to have swellings around the eyes ? It is normal when you do not sleep enough.
Many people have that when they do not sleep enough, other do not have that. People who
need a certain remedy have those swellings around the eyes when they do not sleep enough.
When you see this you have to think about a certain remedy. In the Repertory we can look
under "face, swelling around the eyes" and "swelling under the eyes".
A: What is your main problem ?
P: Pain in the shoulder (points to his left shoulder), extending to my hand.
A: Since when do you have this ?
P: Since 4 weeks.
A: Did you have this previously ?
P: Not in this shoulder.
A: At other places ?
P: Yes, in my right leg, because of pain in my back.
A: Did you lift something ?
P: Yes, that's the reason of the pain in my back and the pain is extending towards my leg.
That was 5 years ago.
A: Ischias.
P: Yes, that's how they called it.
He says he has pain in the left shoulder, but before he had pain in the right leg. So it means if
he needed the same remedy as he does now it has to be found in the rubric "side, crosswise,
left upper and right lower" under "generalities" (p. 1400). If this remedy is his constitutional
remedy it has to be in this rubric. Which are the capital remedies here ? Agaricus, Ledum,
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Rhus toxicodendron, Taraxacum. There is another remedy: Kali carbonicum; and how is the
swelling of Kali carbonicum ? Here ... (shows where). In Kali carbonicum you do not see
those eye lashes and the eyelids are like sacks hanging over them. He also has a swelling all
around his eyes.
A: Do you often strain yourself in lifting ?
P: No, only 5 years ago.
A: Otherwise no pain in the back ?
P: Yes, but not extending towards my leg, that was only 5 years ago.
A: Also in your right leg ?
P: I can't remember that.
A: I see you are moving your thumbs. Are you restless ?
The patient sat there and he was constantly moving his thumbs. Which is the most important
remedy in restlessness of the hands ? Kali bromatum, there is also Tarentula and some other
remedies. But he was sitting there like that the whole time, so that I thought he must be very
restless.
P: No.
A: Are you a quiet person ?
P: Yes, I am a very quiet person.
A: Tell me about your pain. Is it still there ?
P: Yes, only when I take a hot shower the pain will be gone for a few hours.
A: Warm applications are good.
P: Yes.
The warmth ameliorates. Where can we find this ? "Pain in the extremities, warmth amel."
(p. 1046). There is also Kali carbonicum, Kali phosphoricum and Kali bichromicum. And in
which shoulder did he have the pain ? In the left. Look in the Repertory under "pain in the left
shoulder" (p. 1052). There is Ledum, Sulphur, Kalmia, Agaricus - Kalmia also has this pain
and the pain extending even to the finger. In what kind of diseases do you need Kalmia ? For
instance in cardiac diseases together with rheumatic complaints.
A: How is the pain at night ?
P: Very bad. I have to get up and take a hot shower.
He has to get up at night because of the pain, so "restlessness driving him out of bed".
A: Does the pain improve when you are busy during the day ?
P: Yes, it is tolerable. Sometimes I don't feel anything at all.
That is very important. The pain ameliorates by motion - "motion amel." and "continued
motion amel." (p. 1045): Agaricus, Chamomilla, Rhus toxicodendron and Radium bromatum.
Radium bromatum has the same modalities in pain as Rhus toxicodendron.
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You see the swelling around the eyes, the pain left upper and right lower, pain left shoulder,
pain ameliorates by warmth, aggravated in the morning by beginning motion, ameliorated by
continued motion, worse at night, restlessness driving out of bed - a clear picture.
A: The pain is better when you are busy, in motion.
Occupation in general improves. Under "mind" you see "occupation amel." and in the
"generalities" you see "exertion amel." (p. 1358). Look at those two rubrics.
This man has to be busy, he can not do nothing. The remedy he needs is not in the rubric
"mind, exertion amel.", it is an addition, but I think it is in the rubric "exertion amel.". Rhus
toxicodendron and Sepia are capital remedies.
Rhus toxicodendron is not in the rubric "occupation amel.", because Rhus toxicodendron
needs physical exertion, watching TV is no occupation according to them.
You also see Sepia in the rubric. Sepia is feeling better when they are running or dancing,
this kind of very strenuous physical dancing. Nowadays, when you watch young people
dancing, you see about 1,000 people dancing, but none of them touches each other. That is
very strange, it seems to be an evolution of our time. If Sepia has diarrhoea for instance,
disease of M. Crohn or something like that, he/she does not have diarrhoea when he/she is
running. It is the same with asthma: the more he runs, the less he has asthma. Generally,
physical exertion ameliorates for this person. Even when he is working during the daytime, he
often feels nothing.
A: But in bed you have to turn around constantly, this means that you are very restless in bed,
aren't you ?
P: Yes, my wife is complaining about that.
A: Do you think that the pain is influenced by the weather ?
P: I got the pain because of my job, out of Toronto, where I have to fly for 2 weeks and then
go back. I have constantly worked, 90 hours a week. As relaxation I watched TV at home and
leaned on my arm. I don't know if that is the cause of the pain, but the next morning I got the
pain. At the beginning it was less, but it gradually got worse.
A: Could the pain be caused by overworking, because you worked for 90 hours a week ?
P: Could be. There wasn't anything else to do...
A: Was it a wet place ?
P: In fact, it is a dry country, but it was winter and we had been working outside.
A: Are you sensitive to dampness ?
P: Yes, I often feel that it will rain.
"I can feel if it's going to rain" - those people do not need a barometer, they are barometers.
They feel when it is going to rain; "soreness, pain, before the rain comes."
A: You are a barometer.
P: Yes. I get headache before it starts raining.
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"Headache from change of weather" (p. 151), one capital remedy: Rhus toxicodendron.
A: That is a second point. You get headache from change of weather.
P: I often have. It begins before the rain and it stops after the rain.
A: You say, you are a quiet person. I think you are someone who is very busy.
P: Yes, I'm always occupied with my work.
A: Are you someone who can sit still for a long time and do nothing ?
P: No. I must always have something to do. I mean, I'm not "hyper".
A: You are not sensitive in the sense of hot-tempered, easily offended.
P: Oh yes, I'm easily offended. I keep it to myself, but if someone ...
A: But you are not easily excited ? Has your wife complained for a long time that you are so
restless in bed ?
P: Usually, she's complaining about the snoring, but now, she's very much complaining
because of this problem.
Look in the Repertory, "snoring respiration" (p. 776), there is the remedy, this means that he
will not be snoring anymore after the remedy.
A: Can you keep your feet quiet in bed ?
P: Yes, I think so.
A: Also while sitting ?
P: Well yes, I have to move them a little.
A: I noticed that you are always moving your legs.
P: Because of the pain.
A: This means that you move your legs because of the pain.
A: Tell me, what do you like to eat ?
P: I almost eat everything. Seldom, I don't like something.
A: What do you like to drink ?
P: I don't drink much, but I like a glass of wine.
A: You come from Italy. Do you like milk ?
P: Not really, but I drink milk.
A: In your coffee ?
P: Yes, in my coffee, but also from the bottle.
A: Do you prefer cold or warm milk ?
P: Normally cold.
You do not agree that he has a desire for cold milk ?
He drinks milk from the bottle, that is all I wanted to know. We can discuss about it, but it is
not important to me. I only wanted to know whether he is constitutionally Rhus
toxicodendron, then he must like cold milk. It is difficult to know whether you have to deal
with a constitutional Rhus toxicodendron or it is a layer above the Calcarea. Previously, he
had pain on the right side, this might be constitutional Rhus toxicodendron, and when he has a
desire for cold milk, you can be sure that Rhus toxicodendron is his constitutional remedy. So
he can take 10 or 20 tablets Rhus toxicodendron to Canada and the next 5 years he does not
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have to pay a doctor, because he can treat himself, unless he cuts his finger or things like that.
I think when people say that they do not like milk, they will never drink milk; they eat
pudding or take milk in their coffee, but they will never drink milk from the bottle.
At least you can say that he has no strong aversion to milk, and when he drinks milk, he
drinks it cold.
But do not forget that Rhus toxicodendron desires cold milk.
A: That is all I have to know. I give you a remedy and 2 tablets in a tube as a reserve. I'm
sure that the pain will disappear in a few days. You drive to Italy now, there it is warm. When
you come back I would like you to come for a feedback.
P: Promised.
A: And I promise you, that the pain will disappear. Did you have fever eruptions ?
P: No, never.
How long did the anamnesis last ? 15 minutes. Many people say that an anamnesis has to last
for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It depends from case to case. If I know the remedy after 10 minutes why
should I not give it ? What else could I ask him ?
FEEDBACK
A: You were here on August 7, 1986. You got 3 tablets.
P: I took a tablet and the pain disappeared slowly.
A: Without headache or something else ? Without an aggravation ?
P: No.
Do you notice that his nose is clear ? Before he had a cold. You can say that it disappeared by
itself, but if you have a cold together with pain in the arm, this means that the same remedy
will solve both problems. The eyes are more open and less swollen.
P: After a fortnight I took another tablet.
A: Why ?
P: I drank coffee and I thought that it was bad.
A: Had the pain completely disappeared at that time ?
P: No, I still had a little pain.
A: Then you took the second tablet, because you drank coffee.
P: Yes, afterwards the pain disappeared.
He took Rhus toxicodendron M. The pain improved, maybe he still had a little pain. Then he
took the second tablet - he thought he should take it, because he drank coffee, and the pain
disappeared completely. What about the theory ? I gave him the remedy, the pain improved
and during the improvement he took again one tablet, because he thought that the coffee had
antidoted the remedy. There was no aggravation, on the contrary, the pain that was still there
disappeared completely after the remedy was repeated.
I want to tell you that you can repeat the remedy when it is the correct remedy without doing
any harm.
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A: You didn't have to take the other remedy ?
P: No.
A: How do you feel now ?
P: Good. I must say that I'm recovered for 99,9 %. Sometimes I still feel a little.
A: You also had headache with the change of the weather. Did you ever have this again ?
P: No.
A: You don't have any other complaints ?
P: No.
A: You give the impression as if you didn't have slept enough.
P: Yes, I have been driving for 2, 3 days. We arrived yesterday night. Now, I'm flying back to
Canada.
A: I will give you a few tablets, in case you might have problems. They preserve for years.
Do you sleep well at the moment ?
P: Yes.
That is very easy, isn't it ? And yet, you often do not see the Rhus toxicodendron picture in
coughs.
Question: "Did you ever have an aggravation, because you repeated the remedy too early ?"
A: I had an aggravation, but because I gave a patient a remedy which she did not need at that
time. I will tell you.
I had a patient with an ovarian cyst and she was cured with Sepia, there was no cyst with the
gynecological examination. Then she went to Italy on holiday and got a car accident. Since
then she complains about a kind of a lump in her ear, and I gave her Sepia, because I thought
that Sepia was right, because it was her constitutional remedy. After the remedy she got all
the complaints she had before again - headache, pain in the abdomen, menstrual problems,
irritability - everything came back and disappeared after 2 weeks again. She has been really ill
for 2 weeks long. Then all the complaints disappeared again, but she still had a lot of
problems with the lump in her ear. When she called me I asked her on which ear she had the
phone and said, "On the ear where I feel the lump." She heard better with the ear where she
felt the lump - and then which remedy did I gave her ?
She got a car accident and on page 323 in the Repertory you see "impaired hearing after
mortification". After the accident she was fighting and discussing with the policeman - the
policemen in Italy are very slow, they are only quick when you give them money. And then
she was very angry. It was very strange, she could not hear very well, but she took the
telephone on this ear, you see "impaired hearing of the human voice, except for" (p. 323), she
could hear it very well. Before she had a mortification, I gave her Ignatia and she was cured.
First, I gave her Sepia, but Sepia was no longer indicated. And I told you the story of the
Phosphorus child, where Phosphorus worked, but according to me not quickly enough. Then I
gave Phosphorus 10 M and he reacted very quickly, very well..
I see that when you give the right remedy when it is still indicated you will not have an
aggravation; but when you repeat the remedy you gave before and the patient has developed
to another remedy you will get a strong aggravation of the previous complaints, which will
disappear again and the complaints for which he comes are still there and then you must give
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the right remedy.
If someone can prove the opposite, all right. But in this case you see that there is no
aggravation, although he repeated Rhus toxicodendron too early.
Arthritis, left shoulder

Rhus toxicodendron
WOMAN, 45 YEARS OLD
P: It started here (points to the left shoulder).
A: Do you have pain there ?
P: Yes. Now, the pain has extended to my back and down the arm to the elbow. And the pain
radiates slowly towards my fingers.
A: Is your whole arm hurting ?
P: Yes, my whole arm.
A: Your arm lies in a towel.
P: Yes, otherwise I have a lot of pain.
A: Does movements hurt ?
P: Yes, very much. I absolutely can't lift it. I had to ask someone to comb my hair.
P: I don't know, I can't say. Three weeks ago I had a strange feeling in my shoulder joint. I
thought I made a wrong movement. I put ointment on it. You should get a warm feeling of
that, but I got a cold feeling and then I stopped it.
A: How does the pain feel ?
P: A gnawing pain, and in my arm a pressing pain.
A: Is that a constant pain ?
P: Yes.
A: Does it disappear ?
P: No, but now and then I get a stitching pain.
A: Are those stitches sharp ?
P: Yes, sharp stitches, as if someone puts needles into it.
A: It stitches and does it stop then ?
P: Yes.
She has a stitching pain, that disappears again, and I thought, "A pain appearing suddenly,
and a pain disappearing suddenly." That was my way of thinking. And now, look at the
examination.
A: (Pushes against the elbow) Does it hurt ?
P: Yes, it hurts here. (Points to the left shoulder)
Why do I do this ? To exclude which remedy ? I push against her elbow to see if she is
sensitive to jarring. I am thinking about a certain remedy, because it is a very acute pain, she
is suffering very much, because she says it is a stitching pain appearing suddenly and
disappearing suddenly, and it is very painful.
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A:(Pushes against the pointed place of the shoulder)
P: ow.
A: (Pushes against the right shoulder) Does it hurt ?
P: No.
(Also by pushing against the left scapula she feels pain in front of her shoulder)
A: How is it in the car ?
P: I have to hold my arm.
Which remedy has an aggravation by jarring most ? Belladonna. Look in the Repertory, "jar
agg." (p. 1369). The most important modalities are that it was very painful and that every
motion hurts.
P: At the moment I'm perspiring, because of the pain; for 3 days long already; even while
walking. When I came here on Saturday I didn't have that.
A: You have been seen by a colleague. You have pain in the left shoulder, extending to the
fingers and the slightest motion causes pain, there is also an aggravation by motion and
coldness.
She has been seen by a colleague and has given her Nux vomica, because of aggravation by
motion, amelioration by warmth and so on - but nothing changed.
Do you know why I thought about Nux vomica with this woman ? She has the appearance of
a Sepia woman and therefore my colleague thought she might need Nux vomica, because Nux
vomica is complementary to Sepia.
But this remedy was wrong ! Constitutionally, she is not Sepia, you will see !
A: He gave you Nux vomica, probably also, because you reacted well to Sepia previously.
P: Yes.
A: But it didn't do anything, on the contrary.
P: I got more pain. I was here on Sunday. With my son, because I can't drive, and it was all
right. But now, I have to hold my hand the whole time and have to move constantly.
A: Do you have the tendency to keep your hand warm ?
P: Yes, I do it constantly. For 3 days I have wrapped it in a woollen scarf.
She puts her hand constantly on her shoulder. You see "hand, laying on, part amel." (p.
1365): Belladonna, but there is also another remedy. There is Sepia and also Rhus
toxicodendron.
... (not understandable) ameliorates, there is Belladonna and Rhus toxicodendron; and we
know of Rhus toxicodendron that the pain can be very strong, so that they can not move, for
instance in lumbago the pain can be very strong, so that they can not move and have to lie on
their back, "lying on a hard surface amel.".
P: Now, I took off the scarf, because I thought, that it has caused a problem, because it was
stitching. That was good. Now, I'm not wearing the scarf anymore, but I have the tendency to
hold my arm.
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A: Because it has to be warm ?
P: Yes.
A: That is beautiful.
A: Are you thirsty ?
P: Yes, I drink very much.
A: What ?
P: Water with mulcosan or grape-fruit juice.
She likes lemons and you can say that it is a kind of lemonade.
P: Also to keep my figure. I want to loose a little weight.
A: Do you drink grape-fruit juice because you like it very much ?
P: Yes, I like every juice.
A: Sour juices ?
P: Not particularly the sour juices, but all kind of juices.
A: But mulcosan is sour, as well as grape-fruit juice.
P: But not so sour.
A: Do you also drink lemonade ?
P: No, never, no sweet things.
That is no indication for the remedy, but it is an indication for her constitutional remedy.
A: Are you more thirsty now than usually ?
P: Yes, I think so.
A: Do you take long draughts ?
P: No.
A: Cold drinks ?
P: No, not icy-cold, rather at room temperature.
A: Anyway, more thirsty.
P: Yes, more thirsty.
A: Did you sleep well ?
P: Less. I wake up every 2 hours.
A: Have you sat down ?
P: No, only put my arm right. I have been lying on my right side, because I can't lie on my
back. But then I got pain in my right arm.
A: Did you have saliva last night ?
P: No.
A: Did you perspire last night ?
P: Yes.
A: Show me your tongue. It is not coated. Did you dream last night ?
P: Not that I know.
A: No anxious dreams ?
P: No.
A: If you put your pain to 100 % today, they have to be reduced by 50 % tomorrow.
P: Yes ?
A: I will give you a remedy that you have to let it melt under your tongue. I will give you the
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same remedy to take home. If the pain does not ameliorate, you dissolve it in water and take a
spoonful every 1/2 hour, until 10.00 o'clock. If the pain has improved, you don't take
anything, otherwise a few spoonfuls. Anyway, I have to see you tomorrow. If the pain is so
bad, you have to be better very quickly, because the pain has appeared quickly and you are
suffering very much.
P: Yes.
Two days before I gave her a remedy in M potency and it did nothing. Which remedy did I
give her ? Belladonna, but it was the wrong remedy.
At the beginning of the video she said, "From time to time I have to put my arm in a different
position." And I did not notice it. She could not let her arm hang down, she had to put it like
this, but from time to time she had to put the arm in another position. I did not remark it and I
gave her Belladonna 10 M - without any result.
Later we will see the story of the goat. It was a left sided swelling of the mammae, that is
why I did not trust the right side of Belladonna anymore. With this story in my head I thought
that it might be an acute inflammation in this case and the woman needs Belladonna.
FEEDBACK (August 12, 1987)
A: You were here the day before yesterday. Yesterday you came back and I gave you a
remedy in 10 M potency, but it didn't work. You weren't better yesterday.
P: No, the little pill I got on Monday didn't work.
A: Then I went on with the anamnesis and you told me, "I have to keep it quiet, but I can't
keep it quiet." You didn't say that previously. I thought that the slightest motion was painful,
that you had to keep your arm still to get rid of the pain.
P: But it wasn't possible.
A: Yes, and I didn't notice it in the first consultation and it became remarkable in the second
consultation. You said, "I have to keep it still, but I can't keep it still. I have to ... "
P: ... put it in another position.
A: "Then it is better for a while and then I have to put the arm in another position again."
P: Yes, this went on the whole day. Today it is a little better.
A: Then I asked a few other questions and you said, that it might be caused by draft of air.
P: Yes, I think so.
A: Because of draft of air in the car.
She says that it might be caused by draft of air - and draft of air is one of the most important
reasons for a Rhus toxicodendron disease.
If this happens you can look in the Repertory "pain, sore, heated walk and rapid cooling,
after" (p. 1385): Rhus toxicodendron and Bryonia. Do not forget this rubric, you will often
need it.
Rhus toxicodendron people are often very busy, very industrious; also Bryonia is very busy,
they can never sit still - Rhus toxicodendron and Bryonia, those two remedies.
When they are perspiring while working, and come into the cold air afterwards, they get
those Rhus toxicodendron complaints.
In the veterinary you often see this with dogs and horses. They are running and running, and
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afterwards they have to stand still and they get this pain in the hip, pain in the knee, so that
they can not walk properly anymore - that is Rhus toxicodendron, capital.
Do not forget this rubric. Draft of air is a well-known cause for Rhus toxicodendron
complaints.
P: Yes, according to me, because 3 months ago I had a crick in my neck at the same side. I
don't have another explanation.
A: All right. Then I gave you another remedy in 10 M potency yesterday and let you take it in
solution.
P: I took 3 spoonfuls yesterday and today also 3 spoonfuls.
A: You couldn't sleep at night. How did you sleep last night ?
P: Last night I slept very well. It took a while before I found the correct position. But I slept
the whole night through until 8.00 o'clock, without waking up.
A: What about the intensity of your pain ?
P: The worst pain has disappeared. Now, it seems as if there is a weight upon my shoulder
when I lift my arm.
A: Does it push on your shoulder ?
P: Yes, I can't do all the movements yet.
A: Is it a kind of a lame feeling ?
P: Yes.
Look in the Repertory "lameness, left arm" (p. 1031). Underneath you see "cold weather
agg." and "rheumatic lameness": Rhus toxicodendron and Calcarea phosphorica. Rhus
toxicodendron has often a lameness in the arm on the left side.
Remark: " ... " (not understandable)
A: Yes, right, she was perspiring during the pain - "perspiration from pains" (p. 1299).
A: You also said, we didn't notice it before, that you had a lame feeling in your arm.
P: Yes, my arm feels very tired. I can't move it yet without help. I don't feel the pain while
supporting it, but it seems a weight that is pushing here above on my shoulder.
A: I gave you M potency, not 10 M.
P: Sometimes I get a stitch at the back of my shoulder, otherwise I don't have that pain
anymore.
A: Previously, you had to take sleeping tablets.
P: Yes, the night before last night 1/2 TEMESTA of 1 mg.
A: Did you have to take a sleeping tablet last night ?
P: No, I could sleep without. I don't like to take tablets either.
A: All right, then I give you Foliata squalosa and I want to see you on Friday again.
P: Do the muscles remain so stiff when my arm is cured ?
A: No, everything will be all right, if you get the right remedy. Massage isn't necessary
anymore.
P: I don't like that either.
A: Maybe you have to get your constitutional remedy afterwards, if other complaints appear.
But we don't know it yet. How is it this evening compared to this morning ?
P: Much better.
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A: There has been an amelioration during the day.
P: Yes, it improves slowly. The pain is less. The pressing, knocking, stitching feeling
becomes less the whole time.
A: Then I see you on Friday again.
P: All right.
A: The day before yesterday you were here. How were you doing ?
P: It is much better. I only have that tired feeling. But it is also better, there is no longer that
heavy tiredness in my arm. And I can move it a lot better.
A: If you move your arm...
P: ... I feel something in my upper-arm. Not in my shoulder anymore.
A: Not so much pain.
P: No.
A: You also had a heavy feeling.
P: Yes, there is still the weight on my shoulder when I lift my arm.
A: How do you sleep at night ?
P: Very well.
A: No restlessness at night anymore ?
P: Now and then I have to put my arm in another position.
A: Do you still keep it warm ?
P: Yes, I even put THERMOGEL on it, with a bandage.
A: Can you say you still have pain ?
P: No, I only have an ill feeling in my arm, that my arm is so tired. And I can't make
movements with my arm.
A: If you hold your arm and lift it ...
P: ... it hurts at a certain point of height.
A: Passive movement causes pain, only when you exert the muscles actively. Let me feel
your hand.
P: I'm perspiring very much. I also feel very weak. Yesterday I sat with my girl-friend on a
terrace for 2 hours and drank something. Afterwards she took me home and we talked a little
at home. And then I said that I had to lie down for a while, because I felt so empty. I also lost
a lot of weight.
A: Since you have this pain. Since when is this ?
P: Since Friday evening. I felt it a little and thought, it will go over and then I called you on
Saturday.
A: Now we have to wait. It should be better every day. Keep quiet and keep your arm warm.
I think massage has no sense.
P: I don't like that.
A: You don't do anything that is painful. I would like to see you again next week on Friday
for a check up. You don't get any tablets now.
P: And when it starts again ?
A: Then you call me. I give you a tablet in reserve home.
"Weakness from pain" (p. 1418). You see, there is also Rhus toxicodendron. Usually, Rhus
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toxicodendron is left sided, but not always. But in Homoeopathy nothing is "always".
Therefore we have to be flexible.
Arthritis, right shoulder

Rhus toxicodendron
WOMAN, 55 YEARS OLD
A: Yesterday you came with a lot of pain in your right shoulder. Do you know how it
happened ?
P: I think it is because of the coldness and the wet weather and maybe - I thought about it
afterwards - we have visited our mother on Sunday and on the way back home it was as hot as
in a oven in the car, very warm. Our daughter opened the window.
She said that she came back from the hospital where she visited her mother. In the car it was
as hot as in a conservatory house, her daughter opened the window and there was a draft of
air. That was the cause of her complaints.
Always ask for the cause, nothing comes itself.
P: And so we drove on. Then I asked her to close the window, because I couldn't tolerate it.
Too much working might also be one of the causes. I think a little of everything.
A: Was the pain on the right side ?
P: Here, in the joint.
A: Was the pain strong ?
P: Yes, very strong.
A: You couldn't ... - even when you moved - you couldn't move ?
P: No, I couldn't.
A: Did you have to get out of bed when you had been lying for a while ?
P: Yes, and they had to help me, because I couldn't get up alone.
A: During the day you had to keep your arm still. You had to support it, but you couldn't
keep your arm that way for a long time, then you had to lie it in another position.
P: Yes.
A: Warmth does good.
P: Yes, very good.
A: Further, there are no special symptoms. You couldn't move your arm, because it was
painful, but when you kept it still, you had to lie it in another position after a while. The
warmth did good, caused by draft of air, by cooling. Are you very busy ?
P: Yes, and hyper-sensitive to change of weather, to wet weather. I can feel it immediately.
A: Then I gave you the tablet yesterday. How were you doing ?
P: I took 3 times a spoonful and went to sleep. The first time I woke up at 1.00 o'clock. I got
up for a little while, but then I didn't notice anything. Then I slept very well. I got up with
great difficulties. It was a little difficult, but I felt that my arm was better. My arm is better,
but I can't do everything with it.
A: Yes, yes, that would be too quickly. Did you sleep the night before the last ?
P: No, because of the pain.
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A: And now you slept very quietly, and the pain has decreased.
P: Yes, absolutely. When I touch it, I don't feel anything there, but this part isn't all right yet at least with some movements.
A: Do you have the impression that your arm is too heavy ?
P: I did yesterday, not today.
A: You had a heavy feeling yesterday.
P: Yes, heavy as lead.
A: Yesterday it was strong. Has it disappeared yet ?
P: It has disappeared.
Sometimes I do not have time to put the patient on video the first time. But I recorded this
woman afterwards to show you that you can have Rhus toxicodendron symptoms on the right
side, not only on the left side.
Pain left shoulder
Rhus toxicodendron
WOMAN, 55 YEARS OLD
A: What is your problem ?
P: Last year I got pain in my shoulder joint. I had radiographs made. Should I have brought
them with me ?
A: That is not necessary.
P: I always got pain. My doctor said, "You have arthrosis, the head is injured, that will
remain a problem." A month ago I got very strong pain, so I thought, there must be something
happening. The doctor wanted to give me an injection. I got 5 injections. I asked him if there
was CORTISONE in it, because I am against side-effects. He assured me there was not
CORTISONE in it. Then I thought, I have to do something, because I might get it again.
10 days after the last injection, on Saturday, I got a strong pain. Somebody told me he got rid
of the pain in his shoulder with your treatment, that's the reason why I'm here.
A: That's of no importance. When is the pain strongest in your shoulder ?
P: Always.
A: When most ?
P: When I have worked, in the evening, and then at night. During the day it stitches and is
painful, but I don't notice it very much, but it is worst in the evening and at night. At the
moment it is better, but I got another injection on Saturday.
A: Do you know what it was ?
P: There was CORTISONE in it. The doctor said that locally there is no problem.
A: Did the pain disappear completely after the injection ?
P: No. On Monday I worked very much and on Tuesday I got a very strong pain.
A: When did you get the injection ?
P: On Saturday.
A: How is the pain in the morning when you get up ?
P: The arm feels stiff. Then I have to move it a little.
A: The first movement hurts and when you moved it a little it is better and after much
movement it aggravates.
P: Yes.
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A: Do you have a lame feeling in your arm ?
P: Yes. At the moment I can only lift it with support, otherwise I can't.
"Lameness, upper limbs, left" (p. 1031) - it is as if the arm was lame. A little lower you see
"cold weather agg." and then "rheumatic": Rhus toxicodendron.
A: I see something on your lips. You had a herpetic eruption. Do you have this often ?
P: No.
"Herpetic eruptions around the lips." Where can we find this, when someone says that he gets
herpetic eruptions on the lips every time when he gets fever. "Herpetic eruptions in fever" (p.
1313), there are three remedies: Carbo vegetabilis, Natrum muriaticum capital and Rhus
toxicodendron. When you look at the local rubric under "face", "eruptions, herpes around the
lips" (p. 369) there are 3 capital remedies: Natrum muriaticum, Sepia and Rhus
toxicodendron.
A: Did you have fever ?
P: I don't think so.
A: Did it come all of sudden ?
P: Yes.
A: What kind of influence does the weather have on the pain ?
P: I can't answer that.
A: You don't know.
P: But I must say we have laid stones on the entrance at our house. I helped from my chair.
The first days I sat on my knees. My legs were swollen and torn open. After that heavy work I
got the pain in my shoulder. Those stones weighed 2.5 kg a piece.
A: All right, that is very clear. Do you lie still in bed at night ?
P: Yes, I'm not tossing and turning.
A: Also when you have pain ?
P: Yes, even then.
A: Can you stay in bed when you have this pain ?
P: Yes, I can.
A: Did you get up ?
P: Yes, only to get to the toilet.
A: You can stay in bed. Which night did you have pain ?
P: From Saturday to Sunday and from Tuesday to Wednesday.
A: How often did you get up ?
P: On Saturday night once, and on Tuesday night two times.
A: To urinate.
P: Yes, it is bothering me.
A: Do you often have to urinate ?
P: Yes.
Look at "frequent urination at night" (laughter, mumbling) - which of you gets up 2 times to
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urinate at night ? Nobody. Yes, maybe one time, but it is not normal to get up at night to
urinate.
A: What does local coldness or warmth on your shoulder do ?
P: Warmth does good.
A: All right. Do you drink something when you get up at night ?
P: No.
A: Do you drink much ?
P: No, not especially.
A: What do you prefer to drink ?
P: Water, from the watertap.
A: What do you drink less ?
P: Coffee.
A: Something else ?
P: No.
A: Do you drink milk in your coffee ?
P: Yes.
A: Do you like that ?
P: Yes.
A: Do you like milk ?
P: Yes, I don't like black coffee.
A: You like milk in your coffee, but do you like milk from the bottle ?
P: Yes, I like that.
A: Do you like to drink warm or cold milk ?
P: It is all the same. But I prefer it a little warm, lukewarm.
A: Do you have other complaints, besides your shoulder ?
P: I have the tendency to pull my hair when I am nervous. What do you think about that ?
A: You have the tendency to pull your hair.
P: Yes, then I pull it. I want to be rid of that. I am glad I told you this. I don't know if you can
do something about it.
A: Other complaints ?
P: No, I can't think about something immediately.
A: No other complaints ?
P: No.
A: What do you do when you watch TV in the evening ?
P: I don't watch much TV, sometimes a documentary or a talk show. Then I can concentrate
on it.
A: Do you knit then ?
P: No.
A: Crochet ?
P: No. When I want to watch TV I don't do anything.
A: Then you can sit quietly.
P: Yes, I can.
A: Can you keep your feet still while sitting ?
P: What do you mean ? Yes, in fact I can.
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A: Can you do nothing ?
P: No, I prefer to have an occupation.
"Occupation amel.", under "mind". One remedy has to be added there: Helonias. You know
that Helonias has the same symptoms of the uterus and the back as Sepia. Helonias feels the
uterus the whole time, is conscious of the uterus. The differential diagnosis between Sepia and
Helonias is very difficult.
I know the mental picture of Rhus toxicodendron very well and I had a patient who was very
depressive and sad, so that you could think of Sepia or Aurum, but this patient has been cured
with Rhus toxicodendron. Rhus toxicodendron can be very sad, can have suicidal thoughts - it
is also in the Repertory.
And you will see that the mind of this patient changes. But she doubts that Rhus
toxicodendron has done it - maybe it was the last injection her doctor gave her.
A: All right. Do you like to drink coffee ?
P: Yes, now and then a cup, but not one after the other.
P: No, not much. You know, sometimes with this pain I drank a schnapps in the evening to
fall asleep easier.
A: What kind of schnapps was it ?
P: Sherry, just a little, in case of need. Sometimes I didn't.
A: To drink the pain away.
P: Yes, I could also take a DISPRIL.
A: All right. At the beginning there might be an aggravation after the remedy for a few days.
I give you a higher potency. The more diluted, the stronger the remedy. But then I'm sure that
it works completely. I think that you will get rid of your pain within one week. In fact, the
pain was caused after an excessive burden on your shoulders. Which arm did you burden ?
P: Both.
A: You have the the rheumatic complaints especially on the left side. That will always be so.
P: Yes.
A: But now it has been caused by an excessive burden. You know that you are sensitive to it
and you have to take care of that, and work a little less.
P: Yes.
FEEDBACK (November 23, 1987)
Now, you will see how she has changed. For this woman Rhus toxicodendron is a deep
constitutional remedy.
A: I saw you on October 1. Now it is November 23, so 6 weeks later. How did you react to
the the remedy ?
P: I think well. I feel well.
A: And at the the beginning after the remedy ?
P: I expected to get strong pain, but I didn't.
A: No aggravation ?
P: No. I got another injection from the doctor.
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A: Why ?
P: I asked you if I could see my doctor again and you told me to go on as usually. I went
there. I really needed it. The day I called you, I was really under pressure. Then I went to see
my doctor.
A: Did the pain improve immediately after the remedy ?
P: Yes. You see, I had to see Dr. X. I went there and he gave me another injection.
A: Did you have pain at that time ?
P: Yes, I had.
A: Just as strong ?
P: No, less. But I did get an injection.
A: Well yes, all right. My question is only related to the reaction of the remedy. Was the pain
less after the remedy ?
They bought a hard mattress and now she sleeps beautifully on it - "pain back, while lying on
something hard, amel." (p. 896): Rhus toxicodendron. A hard bed is only good for Natrum
muriaticum, Sepia, Pulsatilla, Rhus toxicodendron and some other remedies, but not for
Arnica, Baptisia, Silicea and so on.
Now she sleeps very well, because she got Rhus toxicodendron, but maybe also because she
sleeps on a hard mattress. You see how Rhus toxicodendron can really change the mind. This
woman feels better, she is more quiet, not so nervous anymore and she does not have any
pain.
P: Yes, before I came here the pain was already better.
A: But has it improved further after the remedy ?
P: Yes, absolutely. I don't know what I shall add to it, but I feel much better.
A: For how long were you in treatment with Dr. X ?
P: I have the pain since the end of August.
A: So, you have been in treatment for months ?
P: Maybe one month.
A: You have had your complaints for 2 months. Now, you took a remedy and it has improved
immediately.
P: Yes.
A: All right.
P: But after the remedy I got another injection, but I shouldn't say that.
A: All right. But generally, you feel better, which you didn't after the injection.
P: Yes, that's right. I only thought, it is better to mention that I got another injection
afterwards.
A: Now, do you still have pain ?
P: I still feel it a little, but well, I have it for a long time. It seems that I have arthrosis, but I
feel better than previously.
A: Better than previously !
P: Yes. I wanted to say this. There are other things that have improved. I was depressive.
A: And has it disappeared now ?
P: Yes.
A: That might have disappeared after the injection. It is strange.
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P: I think so. Now I have something to which I can hold myself.
A: Now, I know how it works. For you it is difficult to follow. When you feel better in
general, so that even the depressiveness disappears after one tablet, then it is logic that the
remedy has worked; because the depressiveness didn't disappear after the injection.
P: Yes.
A: We have to think logically. Besides, I will prove it to you. You will get it again, because
you can't do nothing. You will get those complaints again.
P: Which complaints ?
A: The pain in your arm. But I will give you a tablet to take home. When the pain appears
again you take the tablet. And then I guarantee you that the pain will disappear. Now, you
don't need a doctor anymore.
P: Fine.
A: Did other complaints improve ?
P: Yes, I told you, with my hair, I was so nervous. It has disappeared. I was always pulling
my hair. I don't do it anymore.
A: You look differently.
P: Oh yes, do I ?
A: You can't look very well from a CORTISONE injection, on the contrary.
P: I say, I feel very well.
A: All right.
P: I'm very satisfied.
In Clarke you can read that Rhus toxicodendron can be very depressive, with a lot of
anxieties. Anxieties about their children, anxieties about their wife, but you always see that
those people work very hard. They work day and night and are always very restless. That is
something you can hold on to. But they can have very deep depressions with suicidal
tendencies.
A: I will give you a tablet in a tube to take home. You don't have to come anymore. When
you have problems, you only call me. Now, we have a medical card of you. And don't drink
coffee.
P: They asked me how it is possible. I said, you will not persuade me. I don't drink it.
A: You have suffered enough.
P: Yes. But now and then I drink black tea. May I drink that ?
A: Now and then. That is no problem.
P: I drink very much lime-tree blossom tea. And decaffeinated coffee ?
A: There is also caffeine in.
P: I thought, I asked him.
A: You are a person who has to be busy the whole time. If you drink coffee it will activate
you more. You can't sit still, although you are more quiet now.
P: Yes. In the meantime we have bought a hard mattress. We slept so badly. We had to do
something. Now, we sleep much better. All together played a role. Previously, I had cramps in
my legs, but it has disappeared since then.
A: Since the injection !
P: No, not after the injection, you shouldn't say that.
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A: I think it is very strange. When you give people a remedy and they feel better, psychically,
in general, they come back and say it is because they don't drink coffee anymore or take
vitamins. That is always difficult for us, when they reacted beautifully to a remedy they will
always think it is due to something else. Do you understand ?
P: Yes.
A: But it is not bad. I tell you again. I will convince you of the working of the remedy. In
fact, you are at the moment.
P: Yes, absolutely.
A: So, when you become nervous, or depressed again you take one tablet. That is for you the
cheapest treatment you ever had.
P: May I ask you something ? I have circulatory difficulties. I have taken medicines for
several years.
A: You can stop it. If you have problems you can call me. If you get clearly swollen arms and
legs you may take one medicine, otherwise not. You didn't tell me the last time.
P: No.
A: You came with your arm. But the rest of your body is also important for us.
P: Well yes. That's why I say it now.
Herpes labialis and arthrotic pain

Rhus toxicodendron
WOMAN, 60 YEARS OLD
A: You got fever blisters suddenly. Do you have this often ?
As I already told you the observation is very important. The first thing I saw when she came
in, was those herpetic eruptions. And everyone knows that the symptom "herpes in the face,
around the lips" is very important. "Face, eruptions, herpes, about the lips" (p. 369). There is
not only Calcarea, but also Calcarea fluorata, Graphites, Dulcamara, Hepar, Medorrhinum.
The herpes of Medorrhinum is very small, very small vesicles. Rhus toxicodendron, Sepia and
Natrum muriaticum can have big eruptions. Do not forget Tuberculinum. We often change
Rhus toxicodendron and Tuberculinum, but Tuberculinum often follows Rhus toxicodendron.
Both have the same modalities.
In Homoeopathy it is often strange. You give a remedy and the patient feels well for a short
time, but then he has a relapse and he needs a remedy that follows, but with the same
modalities. You see for instance that Calcarea follows Rhus toxicodendron. Calcarea has
nearly the same modalities as Rhus toxicodendron in pain, namely, amelioration by motion.
Or Tuberculinum; Rhus toxicodendron - Tuberculinum. Tuberculinum has the same
modalities as Rhus toxicodendron. There is another important thing. When you look at "pain,
sore" - "extremities, pain sore, during chill" (p. 1126) - this is the beginning of an influenza.
They have sore pain in the extremities during chill. There you see Arnica, Baptisia, Nux
vomica, Rhus toxicodendron and Tuberculinum. A little lower you see "extremities, pain sore,
during heat": again Tuberculinum. Do not forget it in a seemingly influenza, developing to a
cough and later to a real pulmonary inflammation. It starts with this sore pain all over the
body and motion ameliorates. Then they start coughing and go towards a serious pulmonary
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inflammation. That is Tuberculinum. Here we often make mistakes. We think it is an
influenza with cough and give Bryonia, but Bryonia does not do anything. Be careful.
We had a case where a colleague gave a wrong remedy. I was not there, but maybe I would
not have found the remedy either. The patient gets in the hospital. And a year later the same
thing happened again. He came to me, I saw him and I thought, "That's Tuberculinum." He
got Tuberculinum and was cured. Tuberculinum has that also, and also the herpes. Do not
forget, Tuberculinum is a very important remedy.
P: When I have a cold, I get it. When my nose is watering, it grows thicker and afterwards it
is torn open.
A: But I see there are eruptions.
P: Yes, there is moisture coming out.
A: It doesn't come from the nose.
P: No, but it comes from there.
A: But not everything what comes out of the nose makes it red. There appears some eruptions
and then there is moisture coming out from there.
P: Yes.
Every time when those people have coryza they have herpetic eruptions as well. You see,
"herpetic eruptions during fever" (p. 1313): Carbo vegetabilis, Natrum muriaticum and Rhus
toxicodendron.
A: Do you have other complaints ?
P: At the inside of my left knee.
A: Tell me, what is it ?
P: Yes, at the inside there is a tightness and when I stand erect it is like a gnawing. And when
I want to sit down it doesn't want to bend. Then I have to keep it stiff and it cracks.
A: Further ?
P: I can't stand still while washing up or ironing. When I move it is better. And I can't bend
my knee anymore.
It is impossible to stand while washing up, she has to move. That is very important.
"Standing agg." - which remedy has this ? Sulphur.
A: It is strange that it is the left knee.
P: Yes, but it also starts in my other knee. I burden it too much. It goes out of place easily.
A: This means that your knee easily dislocates. Do you have this at other places ?
P: No.
A: Does it feel as if dislocated ?
P: Yes, normally it hurts. And when I have it in my right leg, then the knee remains crooked.
Then I move a little and it is put right again.
A: How is it in the mornings ?
P: Then it is rather good. Something else: when I lie in bed and I lie on my side, then my
knee lies on the other knee, but I can't tolerate it long. I have to put something in between. I
can't tolerate the left knee on the right knee.
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When someone has rheumatism and can not tolerate the finger touch each other and have to
spread them - that is Lac caninum.
Mercurius has this symptom especially at night: "Extremities, pain at night, driving out of
bed" (p. 1044): 3 remedies: Mercurius, Chamomilla and Ferrum. But in this case I want to
know whether it is really the touch or something else.
A: It is not typical for this remedy, but for another. Do you have pain when one knee touches
the other knee ?
P: Yes, but not at the beginning. First, I can lie on my right side well.
A: Is it because one knee lies on the other ?
P: No, because one knee sags.
A: Not because one knee touches the other knee ?
P: No, no. I think that the knee-cap goes up and that's the reason why I get this pain.
That is very important with the differential diagnosis to Mercurius. We have to differentiate
if slight touch of both knees to each other, this means slight touch at night aggravates, and this
would be Mercurius. But in this case she says it is not because of a touch of the knee, but
because of the sagging of the joints, therefore it is painful, and not because of the touch of the
knees. Mercurius has the aggravation by slight touch, but especially at night. That was the
differential diagnosis and you have to be very sensitive to both symptoms, especially with
pain in the knee. Pain in the knee at night: Mercurius. But here it is not Mecurius.
A: Do you also have salivation ?
P: No, I don't.
A: How is it with your knee at night ?
P: Then I put something underneath.
A: Can you lie still in bed ?
P: Yes, very well.
Concerning the tongue the differential diagnosis between Rhus toxicodendron and Mercurius
is often difficult: "indented tongue" (p. 406), 4 capital remedies: Arsenicum, Chelidonium,
Mercurius and Rhus toxicodendron.
Rhus toxicodendron has also a coated tongue at the base. What is the typical tongue of Rhus
toxicodendron ? A red triangle at the tip (p. 402).
Do not forget that Rhus toxicodendron also has an indented tongue ! And look in the
Repertory "salivation night" (p. 418), Rhus toxicodendron is second degree and in "salivation
during sleep" Rhus toxicodendron is one degree, together with Mercurius. The differential
diagnosis is not so easy. Besides, she perspires very much during the pain.
A: Does she lie still ? Does she wake you up ?
HP: She can sleep very well.
A: Do you have complaints when you have sat for a while and get up ?
P: Yes, and when I start walking.
A: And when you start walking it is better.
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P: Yes, but not completely.
A: What does warmth do to your knee ?
P: It improves. In the evening I put a bandage around it, it does good.
P: Yes, my fracture. Previously, I have had an operation for a lump in my navel and now
there is a scar. Will it go away without doing something ?
A: I don't know, but I think so.
P: Well, it was 13 years ago.
Hernia umbilicalis. Let us see if the remedy is there. The remedy is not there. What do you
expect ? An evolution to Calcarea carbonica.
A: It might be, even a strangulated hernia disappears with this remedy. The previous time
you had acute pain in the abdomen that disappeared with Bryonia.
She called me for acute pain in the abdomen with vomiting. This was the beginning of an
incarcerated hernia. I gave her Bryonia and the next day she was cured. Bryonia is
complementary to Rhus toxicodendron and it is the first remedy we have to think of with
problems with the peritoneum and pleura. The first remedy in pleurisy is Bryonia, besides
Phosphorus, Kali carbonicum, Sulphur and Tuberculinum: Bryonia is also the most important
remedy in appendicitis. Do you know where it is in the Repertory ? "Abdomen, inflammation,
appendicitis" (p. 552). Bryonia is capital. It has the typical rebound tenderness. You push and
it does not hurt, but when you loose it, it is painful, that is Bryonia. Bryonia ameliorates by
pressure. Usually, 80 % of all the acute appendicitis are Bryonia. They are very pale and they
are vomiting at the least motion, they even vomit drinks. You know, vomiting after small
quantities of drinking; Phosphorus, Arsenicum, Bryonia and Cadmium sulphuratum"stomach, vomiting, after drinking, smallest quantity" (p. 532). There is also Bismuthum.
How do you recognize Bismuthum ? Pain in the stomach. The pain of Bismuthum is usually
on small spots. But what do patients do ? They faint. The pain is so strong that they faint.
Calcarea sulphurica is a cancer remedy, for cancer of the stomach. Their vomiting is like
coffee.
You see "stomach pain with fainting" (p. 513): Bismuthum is capital. Do you know what
kind of examination you have to do to make sure you are dealing with Bismuthum ? The pain
disappears when you rub the back hard. And how is the position of their sleep ? They have to
lie backward, because of the pain. Which other remedy indicates that ? Dioscorea.
For which disease do you need Apocynum cannabinum ? For Crohn disease, that has
developed very slowly. You often see cases with edemas of the stomach, the legs and the
hands - "dropsy of the abdomen" (p. 546). It is a very interesting remedy in very serious
cases.
Question: "Would you send a patient with appendicitis to the surgery ?"
A: No. We give him Bryonia 10 M or 50 M and then he has to stay in the centre for 3 hours.
If he is better, he can go home, if he is not, he has to go to the hospital, because there might be
a perforation already. You can even cure a perforation, but do not take risks in Homoeopathy.
It is not a risk for us. If you are sure, it is not a risk at all.
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Question: "Did you say that the pain in the stomach is better by rubbing in Bismuthum ?"
A: Yes, not above, but below, you have to rub in the lumbar region, not at another place.
You see in appendicitis there is also Phosphorus, Mercurius and in a Mercurius appendicitis
the pain usually appears at night.
A: Tell me, what about your food ?
P: I eat very well, but at the moment I eat more vegetables and fruit.
A: And milk ?
P: I don't drink it much.
A: You don't like it very much, do you ?
P: Yes, but what about it, isn't it possible that it contains too much calcium ?
A: No, I don't think so. You work too much, don't you ?
P: Yes, but I can't very well.
A: Can you easily sit still ?
HP: Yes, and with her liking of being busy ...
P: Nurse with the red cross, sewing ...
A: Do you like hand work ?
P: Yes, I do.
A: Can you watch TV without hand work ?
P: Yes, then I have my handwork and put my legs upwards.
A: This means that you always have to be busy.
P: Yes, always be busy, but I can't do the heavy housework.
These people usually have to do something - not always, nothing is "always" in
Homoeopathy. When she is watching TV, they are usually knitting or sewing. They can not
sit there and do nothing, they always have to be busy.
A: So, you can't do nothing ?
P: No ...
A: And do you like milk ?
P: Yes, but I don't drink it much.
A: But at the time you didn't think you had too much calcium did you drink milk regularly ?
Rhus toxicodendron has a superstitious fear. Look in the Repertory "fear, superstitious" (p.
47). There is another important remedy that has this superstitious fear. When they pass the
church they have to make the sign of a cross. There is one remedy that has burning pain after
stool for a very long time: Ratanhia. Ratanhia has this very strong superstitious fear and this
compulsiveness. They have to do this or that, they feel for instance they have to clean
everything at 5.00 o'clock in the morning.
P: Yes, then I drank a glass of milk every day, instead of a slice of bread. Previously, they
said that milk contained everything. But I thought, it was not good.
A: Yes, that's all right. Did you drink milk from the refrigerator.
P: No, it shouldn't be too cold.
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A: Did you have to warm the milk ?
P: No, it shouldn't be warm either. No, it was normal on the cupboard in the kitchen.
A: Do you tolerate draft of air ?
P: No, I feel it immediately.
These people are very sensitive to draft of air. Many remedies are sensitive, but they feel
really if this door is closed or open, they are so sensitive to draft of air. Which other remedy is
so sensitive to draft of air ? Calcarea phosphorica and Cimicifuga. When someone has a crick
in his neck from draft of air -"Back, cervical region, draft of air" (p. 947). There are 3
remedies: Calcarea phosphorica, Cimicifuga and Rhus toxicodendron.
Cimicifuga has the same quality as Lachesis. In which kind ? Concerning the speech,
loquaciousness, going from one subject to another. They are very difficult patients in
simultaneous translations, they talk too fast and too much.
A: Do you have a barometer at home ?
P: Yes, outside; although I am the barometer. When the central heating starts, first there is a
cold draft and I feel that.
A: Are you the barometer ? Do you feel when the weather is changing ?
P: Yes, I feel that.
When the rain is coming they have very strong pain and therefore I asked if they have a
barometer at home.
A: Then we will take care that it will change.
P: Yes, yes, I had it in my knees sometimes and it has become very well.
A: It is important that there is a relation between the eruptions around the lips, pain in the
knee and pain in the umbilical hernia. These three things are the same.
P: Oh yes ? Do you think that I don't have to be operated ?
A: No, let the tablet melt under your tongue and you will see, that it will be all right very
quickly. Do you weep easily ?
P: No, not so easily.
HP: Only when she is ill.
P: Yes, I think I haven't worked, I can't do it anymore.
HP: If she is ill, she is really ill.
A: Then you weep, because you can't work anymore.
P: Yes, the idea.
A: Then you are helpless, desperate, therefore ...
P: Yes, I can't get away.
Do not forget that not only Pulsatilla weeps. You see "weeping, involuntary" (p. 93). There
are a lot of weeping remedies. There is also Rhus toxicodendron, Ignatia, also Natrum
muriaticum and Sepia. In "causeless weeping" Sulphur is capital, this means there is no
reason, he does not know why. And you know, Sulphur weeps when he wants to weep. When
Sulphur is weeping, he is playing theatre. He starts weeping and when you give him a
handkerchief to dash away the tears and start talking about a new subject, they talk
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immediately with you and they forget everything. It is very important to remark from how
deep the weeping comes, the way of weeping. The weeping of Ignatia is a hysterical weeping,
the weeping of Medorrhinum is completely different. They can say nothing, they have to
weep constantly and they can not say a word. The remedy that weeps most during the
consultation is Medorrhinum, they can not stop anymore.
FEEDBACK
A: Tell me what happened after the tablet ?
P: I got more pain in my legs, especially while standing, while ironing and so on. When I was
in motion, it was better, but not always.
She has more pain now. I gave her 10 M.
A: Did you feel something immediately after the remedy ?
P: No, nothing else.
A: Further ?
P: I have had more pain for one week, then the pain disappeared and I could sleep better and
so.
A: And how is the pain in your left knee at the moment ?
P: It is tolerable. But when I stand still, it comes back. But not so strong as at the beginning.
A: But is the pain less while standing still ?
P: Compared to previously, yes. Because when I sat down at that time, there was a drilling in
my knee. I don't have it anymore now. I have pain only for a short time, when I am very tired
and sit down, but then it disappears immediately.
A: So, first an aggravation and then better while standing. At the moment it is too early to
judge, but do you feel that there is an amelioration ?
P: Yes, because in the morning it is all right, when I get up.
A: And the eruption has disappeared.
P: Completely disappeared.
A: Do you feel well ?
P: Yes.
A: Did you drink coffee ?
P: No, I don't drink it.
A: You got a 10 M, that is a rather high potency.
P: Yes, I thought, the tablet is working, it will go over.
Those patients who have come to the centre for a long time know that there is an aggravation,
because of the "pilleken". They have very much confidence, I mean, they do not worry about
it.
A: It is a little too strong, therefore you got some more complaints at the beginning.
P: Yes, it might be.
A: But be careful, you feel yourself that it is improving.
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P: Absolutely.
A: All right. That was everything I wanted to know.
This was a case to indicate this herpes, so that you are sensitive to this symptom.
Dysplasia left hip

Rhus toxicodendron
WOMAN, 20 YEARS
A: When I saw you the first time the diagnosis was a dysplasia in the left hip and then you
had pain in the left inguinal area. And there was a second complaint: cracks of the joints.
MP: Yes, she could let her joints crack.
A: All your joints ?
MP: No, in her hip.
A: Was the pain much stronger while standing.
P: Yes, and also when I had been seated down for a long time and had to get up again. And at
night I woke up because of the pain.
A: When did you also have pain ?
P: While doing gymnastics.
A: During gymnastics ?
P: Yes usually, but normally afterwards.
A: Did you also have to get out of bed, because of the pain ?
P: Yes.
A: You also said that you couldn't sit still, because of the pain ?
P: Yes.
A: The complaints were strongest in the morning.
P: Yes, and when I got up my leg often sagged.
A: Did you have this as a child ?
MP: She has had it for 3, 4 years.
A: Did you take medicines ?
MP: Yes, and massage and laser-treatment.
A: On your hip ?
MP: Yes.
P: Yes, the doctors advised it. I tried everything, but I still had pain.
MP: She's complaining constantly.
A: Did it disappear with tablets ?
MP: No, but she didn't trust them.
A: Did she tolerate them ?
MP: No.
A: Did she have freckles ?
MP: No.
A: Here it says, she has fear for lightning, great spiders.
MP: Yes.
A: Is she superstitious ?
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MP: Sometimes.
A: How do you mean ?
MP: During exams. She thinks it will bring her luck when she takes something.
A: And when she sees a black cat before the examinations ?
Fear, when she sees a black cat. Why did I ask it ? For which anxiety ? Because of
"superstitious fear" (p. 74), one remedy: Rhus toxicodendron.
On this fear Vithoulkas prescribed a remedy in London. But unfortunately, she did not have
this fear.
MP: Not really.
A: It doesn't make her anxious, but you have to have something with you, a kind of talisman.
Is there something else ?
MP: No, only that, before the examinations.
A: You said that she is a rather closed person.
MP: Yes.
A: Does she tolerate the sun ?
MP: No.
A: Is she easily warm ?
MP: Yes, we were in Spain, but ...
A: Does the weather play a role for your hip ?
P: No, not that I know.
MP: No, but she was always complaining.
A: Do you get headache in the sun ?
MP: Yes, headache in the sun.
A: She perspires easily, but no eruptions of the sun.
MP: But now she has eruptions.
A: You are easily too warm.
A: Can you tolerate the draft of air ?
P: No problem.
A: Here it says, that you like leek, also spicy food and fat. What do you like to drink ?
P: In fact, I drink everything.
A: Is there something else what you don't like ?
P: No.
A: Do you like milk ?
P: Yes.
MP: She likes chocolate milk, but normal milk not so much.
A: Cold or warm ?
MP: That's the same.
FEEDBACK
A: I gave you on May 5, 1986 a remedy in M potency. Then I saw you again in June 1986. It
was much better then. You had three times complaints while swimming, but not in the
mornings when you got up, you didn't have to get up at night either. How did it go afterwards
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?
MP: Very well.
P: Very well.
MP: She nearly doesn't have any pain now. Only when she has eaten something wrong, when
she did a wrong movement, then she says she has complaints, but otherwise she doesn't have
anything.
A: I gave you a remedy in a tube, so that I don't chase money out of your pocket. When was
the last time you took it ?
MP: It is about 2, 3 months ago, last year.
A: But now it is May.
FP: 1 or 2 months ago she did a march of 20 km with her school. No problem.
A: That's great.
MP: Yes, because in fact she should take a cure.
A: Why should she ?
MP: We don't know either. They didn't tell us. She should go there, but then we came to you.
A: Then you took your cure here, didn't you ?
MP: Yes, yes she has no complaints anymore.
Angina pectoris
Rhus toxicodendron
MAN, 65 YEARS OLD
This is a case of angina pectoris with pain in the heart, a serious case. What do we see ? A
swelling around the eyes.
A: Two months ago you came with a very great problem. What happened then ?
P: We were in Spain.
WP: Yes, we sat in a cafe and he started to tremble and it was so strange. He said, that he had
pain in his left arm, also a sore throat. The doctor thought it wasn't normal and when he didn't
feel better the next morning, he had a cardiogram made.
A: What did you feel exactly ?
P: It was as if the arm was paralysed. I couldn't move it.
A: Did you have pain somewhere else ?
P: Yes, in my neck and heart.
A: Show me. Did the pain extend to somewhere ?
P: It was at the same time.
A: Was there a numb feeling in your arm ?
P: Yes.
His arm was numb - where can you find this rubric ? "Numbness in left arm in heart disease"
(p. 1036). Do you see the remedies ? The first remedy is Aconitum, do not forget Aconitum.
And how can you differentiate Aconitum from Rhus toxicodendron ? The anxieties of
Aconitum. Aconitum thinks he will die, but he will not tell you, you see the fear in his eyes. I
had a patient, a man, it was about 11.00 o'clock in the evening and we had a meeting, drank
beer and suddenly a man who was sitting in front of me, took his heart. The others started to
laugh and said, "Well, he has something on his heart." He was a great plethoric man, but I had
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just finished my work and thought, "My God, I have to work again within a few minutes."
And it was so. He went outside and two minutes later they called me that I should go to him,
because he had problems. I saw that he tried to put his arm in the sleeve of his coat, but he
couldn't, because his arm was asleep. It was 500 m from our centre and I went with him there
and talked to him about everything else, because I was afraid and thought, that he would die
with a homoeopath next to him; that is not good for the papers: "Sudden heart-attack while
walking with a homoeopath !"
I was praying to God to reach the centre, so that I could give him a remedy. We arrived there
and I called immediately an ambulance, so that they could bring him into the hospital. In the
meantime he sat there and said, that the pain radiated here (shows it). I ran to get Naja, gave it
to him - nothing. No, before I gave him Cactus - nothing either, and then Naja. He was sitting
there and breathing very heavily. I gave him oxygen and 5 minutes later his wife came in. He
said to her, "Do you know where the money is ? It is there, and the key there." When I heard
that, I gave him immediately Aconitum. A little while later the ambulance came to take him to
the hospital. He was still alive and I thank God for that.
The next day they called me from the hospital and said there was nothing with his heart. He
only had a slight bronchitis, but he smokes very much, there were no other symptoms. So I
made the wrong diagnosis - or I gave him the right remedy.
That is Aconitum. When you notice they have fear to die - they will not say it, but you see the
anxiety in their eyes - that is Aconitum.
Naja has this extension to the neck. There is also Cactus. Cactus has a contraction feeling as
if an iron string. The differential diagnosis between Aconitum and Cactus is difficult, because
Cactus has also the feeling, as if there is a congestion in the head and is also anxious.
So, extending pain to the left arm: Lachesis, Latrodectus mactans - heart region with
extension to the left arm, without anxiety, and then there is also Sumbulus. Sumbulus is a very
important remedy in arteriosclerosis, in heart diseases and has numbness while lying on the
side; and Magnolia has to be added in this rubric. Magnolia has heart diseases alternatively
with pain in the spleen, together with wandering pain. It is a very important remedy for this
kind of diseases. You find this in Boericke. And then the feeling as if the heart ceases to beat.
In the Repertory you find this under "chest, sensation as if the heart had ceased" (p. 824).
Magnolia is not there, it has to be added, Convallaria also.
Magnolia is a very interesting remedy, and the change of the heart- and pain in the spleen is
strange in Magnolia, that is a key-note for Magnolia.
Convallaria is also an important heart remedy, in venous stasis and so on. It is a remedy for
the tobacco heart, for people who have smoked too much "tobacco". Because of the tobacco
heart they have an extremely fast and irregular pulse. Think of this remedy for old people who
have smoked too much.
A: Did you have tablets from the doctor ?
WP: Yes, but he didn't take them immediately. He still got pain, but later, in the evening he
has taken them and then it was better.
P: Then I had to run to the toilet ... (not understandable).
WP: The next day it was better, then we wanted to go home and now we are here.
A: You have an EKG made and there you see that there is ischemia. A problem of shortage
of oxygen, so that the blood vessels at the heart are a little hardened.
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When you work in a centre it is good when one of the doctors does the technical
examinations. This doctor made the EKG. An EKG is very objective and the last EKG has
been taken a week ago. He writes, "There is a big amelioration of the oxygenation of the
heart."
A: Do you cough much ?
WP: Especially at night.
A: Not during the day ?
P: Not so much.
WP: No, but when he smokes a cigarette. Especially at night. I already slept on the sofa,
because it was so bad.
A: Did you have pain in the heart region after eating ?
P: Yes, then I got it.
A: Did you have pain in the evening ?
P: Yes, also.
A: It was strange, that you didn't feel anything when you were working in the garden.
P: No, when I was busy, I felt nothing.
WP: The whole day nothing. And he did quite a lot of heavy work. I said, "Have you gone
crazy, to do such things !" He fetched wood out of the forest and came home with it. And then
he fetched 2 sacks of coal at the coal establishment.
When you tell this a cardiologist he will not believe you. Normally, in 80 % of the cases we
can not cure angina pectoris, only when there are peculiarities, and here there is something
peculiar: when he is busy he does not feel anything; very strange. He works in the garden, he
does everything and feels nothing. That is strange, so it has to be curable. But normally you
can forget it when someone has pain in the heart after the slightest exertion; let those patients
be operated on, it is nothing for Homoeopathy.
This is very strange, this is against the normal heart diseases, so it must be curable. He also
says that it aggravates after eating. We do not know this symptom for Rhus toxicodendron. It
is not in the rubric "heart pain, after eating", but in the general rubric "agg. after eating".
Second, he coughs only at night. During the day when he is busy he does not cough, that is
strange.
P: When I am busy, I feel nothing.
A: Second: why did you take TEGRETOL ?
WP: Because he fainted now and then. He was really unconscious for 5 minutes and then he
trembled.
A: Did he have a kind of epilepsy ?
WP: Yes, they told us. He has been taking these tablets for about one year.
A: I told you that I did not like TEGRETOL and we talked already about that. I said that
probably my remedy wouldn't work well when you took these medicines and you stopped
them.
P: Yes.
A: What was the result ?
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WP: Much better. With TEGRETOL he was always gulping and it was as if he wasn't
conscious. Now, it isn't anymore. And previously, when I asked him something, he looked
astonished at me.
A: Did he still have attacks ?
P: No.
"Convulsions after injury" (p. 1354): there is not only Hypericum.
You see, it is not dangerous to stop TEGRETOL, because the convulsions have been cured
by the same remedy. If you can change it by something else, you do not have to be afraid to
stop TEGRETOL. Rhus toxicodendron will also cure the convulsions which have been caused
by the coal-mine - and this means that probably this person is constitutionally Rhus
toxicodendron. But it is dangerous to speak about "constitutional remedy", I do not like it.
A: He had another complaint, he often had a crick in the neck when he has been sitting
backwards for a long time ?
P: Yes, when I have been watching TV or so. When I sat on the chair, I got a crick in the
neck and I became dizzy.
A: Then I gave you a tablet and the result was that the pain in your arm and the numbness of
your arm have disappeared.
WP: Yes.
A: The pain in the heart after eating is less.
WP: He says nothing about it anymore.
A: In general better, no negative reactions after you stopped TEGRETOL, no blackouts
anymore. Often a crick in the neck when he has been sitting backwards for a long time.
WP: He doesn't have it either.
A: And now you have complaints with your heart ?
WP: A little oppressions.
A: Then you take the tablets from Spain, a nitro-preparation, then it disappears immediately.
WP: Yes, it stops immediately.
P: Immediately.
He took this medicine, I think it was a nitro-preparation and I have let him take it. Do not be
fanatic ! His cough is better, his cervical stiffness is better and the attacks have disappeared.
He has arteriosclerosis as before and why should I not let him take this medicine ? And now
he says that he has forgotten to take it. That was 1986 and now it is 1988. Maybe I saw him 2
weeks ago and he is very, very well. The EKG shows that the ischemia has decreased and in
the meantime he even forgot to take this medicine.
I have never changed the remedy, he only got Rhus toxicodendron and when he starts
coughing I give him Rhus toxicodendron 10 M or 50 M. I repeat it when there are symptoms,
and when there are no symptoms I do nothing. And he never had an aggravation, he was
immediately better - very strange.
A: So, he takes a nitro-preparation. Does the pain still radiate to the arm ?
P: No, it has disappeared. I feel when it comes, but I don't wait until it is bad, I take a tablet
immediately and then it is all right. With the heart-attack ...
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A: You still smoke much.
WP: No, not much. About 10 to 12.
A: You have to stop definitely in the future; from time to time you have to smoke less, do not
stop at once. When you feel better, it is easier to stop; but it is necessary, because the nicotine
hardens the blood vessels at the heart. You don't have to argue about it.
WP: We won't, we are too old for it.
A: Didn't you have the impression that previously he had swellings above and under his eyes
? He still has it a little.
WP: He always had.
A: And the bags under the eyes are a little wrinkled.
You see, the swelling is around the eyes, not only under the eyes. You can not see his eye
lashes. And also these wrinkles, he has wrinkles under his eyes; Rhus toxicodendron has those
wrinkles under the eyes, like Lycopodium - he has wrinkles on his forehead with complaints
of the breast.
A: All right, then we will go a little higher. You may only take that nitro-preparation at the
moment you have complaints.
P: Yes, I do.
A: Does he still get up at night ?
WP: No.
A: And what about sitting still ? He is a man who can not sit still.
WP: I often say, "Sit down for half an hour", but he likes to work outside. Sometimes he can
sit for half an hour. When he is inside, he smokes too much. When he is outside, he doesn't
smoke.
A: He smokes a cigarette, because he is bored.
WP: That's right.
A: Does he take other tablets ?
WP: He has taken tablets for the circulation for a long time, but then ... we stopped it, already
long before we stopped with TEGRETOL. I was anxious when we stopped it, but nothing has
happened for two months. And now he is much better, because otherwise he was always
gulping, he wasn't conscious at all. Many people said, "Well, Michel is going downhill", when
he wanted to play billiard - with that cough. But now he doesn't cough anymore.
A: If you can stop smoking, you would be a completely new person. But, don't argue about it
with him.
WP: But he should try (discussion about smoking).
Do not tell your patient, "You must do this or that." You have to give them the right remedy,
then you will be able to do for the patient what is necessary. If you tell me I have to lift 300
kg, and I can not, then I can not do it. If I tell the patient he should stop smoking and he can
not do it, then he can not, then he lacks the energy to do so. We can not force the patient to do
something like that. We can give him advice when they ask for it and if we are sure that we
have to give this advice. I asked him to stop smoking, but I can not command him.
A: Is he anxious about anything ?
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WP: No, I am more anxious than he is. When he stays too long away with his bicycle, I'm
anxious that something might have happened (discussion about her anxiety at great length).
But his eyes look like before. They were so pitiful and now it is gone. But I think he walks
better. He didn't walk properly anymore, but now it has also disappeared.
A: Then we know what we have to do.
WP: An EKG and prescribe me the tablets again.
FEEDBACK
A: You are feeling well for quite a long time.
P: Yes, very well.
A: But you told me something, therefore I want to put you on video. Namely, there are some
moments that you have pain. When especially ?
P: In the evening when I watched TV, when I was leaning with my head backwards, and then
when I got up then, I felt it.
A: The weather seems to play a role.
P: It makes a great difference. It is worse, when the weather is wet.
A: Then you have more complaints with pain ?
P: In fact, I don't have so much pain, but ... (not understandable).
A: But you take often that nitro-preparation and when it is wetter, you have to take it more
often ?
P: Yes, more often.
A: And does it have to be cold ?
P: No, when it is wet.
WP: And also with mist.
A: But otherwise you feel well ?
WP: Yes, he works the whole day outside ... (describes his occupations precisely).
P: From time to time I have to rest, when I have dug a ditch, I have to sit down on a chair and
rest.
WP: And then he still smokes his cigarette at ease.
A: Still a cigarette ?
WP: He can't stop, one day he will die. If he really felt bad, he would stop it.
A: And your sleep ?
WP: He sleeps very well.
A: And your cough ?
WP: He doesn't cough anymore. Before he was coughing when he got up until breakfast,
until he went to the toilet.
At the beginning of the motion it is worse. From the moment he gets up until he starts eating
he is coughing, this means there is an aggravation at the beginning of the motion in the
morning and there is an amelioration with continuous motion, also the cough.
A: Do you have other particular complaints ?
WP: No.
A: Your left arm for instance ?
WP: He didn't say anything about it. He can work very well with it, so he won't have much
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problems with it. He has become a new person, I don't recognize him anymore. He is very
well.
A: How much does he smoke a day ?
WP: He only gets 12 cigarettes. If he is alone at home I hide the cigarettes, but he will find
them.
P: So 15 cigarettes a day.
A: You smoke them especially outside ?
P: Yes.
WP: When he is digging he sits down and smokes a cigarette. In the evening he doesn't need
so many.
P: In the evening I don't smoke any.
WP: But when he goes playing billiard or so. Then they sit there and the cigarettes have to be
there as well.
A: What does he drink at breakfast ?
WP: Soluble cereals coffee. When we have visitors he drinks a cup of normal coffee now and
then. Is that allowed ?
A: That is no problem. And milk ?
WP: In his coffee, otherwise not.
A: Not milk from the bottle.
WP: No.
P: When I get up at night, I take the bottle sometimes.
A: Where is the bottle ?
P: In the refrigerator. I do it at night, when I have to urinate.
WP: But you are not a real milk-drinker.
P: No, not with litres.
A: But you like it, a little cold milk. Does the milk have to be cold ?
P: That makes no difference.
A: But you drink it from the refrigerator ?
P: Yes, when I have to get up at night to urinate, I drink some, I like that.
A: What else does he like ?
WP: He likes to have a small bottle, he takes a drop now and then. Not much, in the morning
only a sip.
P: No, I don't.
WP: But the bottle is empty from time to time.
A: Do you also like beer ?
P: Yes, I do, but I don't drink it much anymore.
WP: He doesn't make a habit of it nowadays, but he did previously.
A: A good worker has to drink well.
WP: Yes, the dust has to be rinsed away.
P: But the more I drink the more I have to go to the toilet.
A: Do you have to urinate frequently ?
P: 5 to 6 times.
WP: That's not right, Michel. 1 to 2 times ... (discussion).
A: And during the day ?
P: Yes, also often. And previously, I had to get up, I could not stay in bed. Now, I can even
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stay in bed.
A: And during the day ?
P: No, that is the same.
A: Did you have some problems with the skin in the meantime ? Itching or eruptions ?
P: No.
A: All right.
Herpes zoster
Rhus toxicodendron
MAN, 66 YEARS OLD
You see a swelling, the eye is closed and in this case you will see a homoeopathic law: if the
disease can be pushed outward, to the surface, then it is all right. You will see a herpetic
eruption, but it is not there yet, it is still internally. We have to try to push the disease
outward, so that there appears a real big skin eruption.
That is the reason why it is so senseless to give vaccinations against measles. That is the
worst thing you can do, because the measles present an episode in our life where we can push
the heredity outward. This is again a theory, but it comes from Voegeli. He had this idea and I
agree with him, because you often see that the diseases children had before, coughing and
everything else, disappear after the measles. That is the reason why we let children have
measles.
I saw two children of the same family, the eldest one was vaccinated against measles and the
second one not, and both got measles. The measles in the child who has been vaccinated were
bloody, necrotic and it has lasted for 2 weeks, and the measles in the other child disappeared
after 1 week. You see you can do bad things by vaccinating. It is different in poor countries
where they have nothing to eat, maybe it is better to vaccinate or they will die. 20 % of the
people in Zaire and in poor countries die because of the measles, but here we have enough
food and normally all the children who have not been treated with cortisone or antibiotics can
be cured very fast with homoeopathic remedies. Measles are never a problem, never !
Do you know where you can find this rubric ? "Skin, eruptions, measles" (p. 1314). There are
all the remedies you need and there is one remedy you need mostly in necrotic, black, bloody
measles - Crotalus horridus. Crotalus horridus is the most important remedy, when you are
dealing with necrotic, bloody, black measles. Be careful ! With Crotalus horridus it concerns
measles with complications.
In the rubric there are also Apis and Belladonna. Apis for meningitis and encephalitis from
measles. Euphrasia is peripheral, Ipecacuanha for the cough with measles. The remedies we
need mostly with measles are Kali bichromicum, Phosphorus, Phytolacca, Pulsatilla and
Sulphur. Tuberculinum has to be added here.
Anyhow, in general, measles are a benign disease, but when they become malignant you have
to think of Crotalus horridus. You know that Lachesis has the sensitivity of the skin on the left
side, and Crotalus horridus has it on the right side. Crotalus horridus has the sensitiveness and
all other complaints mainly on the right side. Crotalus horridus is a remedy we need for
leukemia, because of the leukocytosis and the purpura hemorrhages, and the bleedings from
the nose. The bleeding of Crotalus horridus has a special appearance. It is black and the blood
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does not coagulate. We give this remedy in hemophilia. Usually, we give Phosphorus, but
when Phosphorus does not work or Phosphorus works and there is a relapse or the bleedings
aggravate after Phosphorus, then you have to think of Crotalus horridus.
In this case it concerns a zoster ophthalmia and we will try to find the right remedy and to
cure the man.
A: What's the matter ?
P: I have herpes zoster and that's the reason why my eye is closed. This morning I went to the
oculist, but there is nothing inside my eye. My eye is closed. And as soon as it becomes red or
strongly hurts, with stitches and so on, I have to go back, that's what he said; because I can't
take any risk.
A: So, it is herpes zoster. Where did it start ? On your head ?
P: Here. First, I thought it was because of the sun. Last Saturday I went to the motocross. I
stood in the sun and thought that I might got it there. On Sunday, it started to stitch. Also on
Monday, but I didn't see anything. When I touched it slightly, I felt something, little vesicles,
swellings.
He says, slight touch aggravates (p. 1407): there you see remedies like Arsenicum,
Belladonna, China, Cochicum; in rheumatism Ignatia, Lachesis, Magnesia muriatica ...;
Mezereum.
Mezereum is one of the most important remedies in herpes and it has especially this
aggravation by slight touch. Mezereum has a peculiar symptom in his stomach:
"Apprehension in stomach" (p. 480).
P: But it was stitching. And it really started after my work on Tuesday, and on Wednesday I
couldn't tolerate it anymore. On Thursday my eye was closed. Now, it starts wandering
upwards. Now, I feel it here, it is already that high.
A: A stitching pain.
P: Terrible. As if my head lies on a glowing stove.
A: It burns.
P: Yes. Burning.
A: How is it when you touch it ?
P: It hurts, when I touch it.
A: By pushing or by the slightest touch ?
P: By the slightest touch. I can't wash myself - and not sleep. You can't imagine ! I haven't
slept for 2 nights.
Did you hear, he has not slept for 2 nights ? For me, the name of the disease is not important,
but what I see. He has a strong swelling around the left eye, and we have to take the
symptoms we see and not the name of the disease. The name is not important, only the
symptoms. The name is made by people.
We see a swelling around the eyes. Look at "face, swelling around the eyes" (p. 393). Apis,
Kali carbonicum and Rhus toxicodendron are there, also Phosphorus, but Apis, Kali
carbonicum and Rhus toxicodendron are the three important remedies. If it would be Apis, on
which side would it probably be ? On the right side. Apis is mainly on the right side and with
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Apis you almost never see vesicular appearances.
We need one remedy that has this swelling and vesicles.
And the second important symptom is that he has not slept for 2 nights. He is so restless at
night, that he can not sleep and he is suffering, because he can not sleep because of the pain.
What do we expect as a first amelioration after giving the remedy ? That he sleeps better. The
sleep is an important symptom, as well as the stool. When you give a remedy and the
constipation ameliorates, then the remedy has worked deeply. When the patient sleeps well
after a remedy, sleeps in peace, it is a good reaction.
A: Do you have pain at night ?
P: I don't know how I should lie; then so, then so. I don't know what to do, because of the
pain.
Look at "restlessness, driving out of bed" (p. 73). Those people get up, go downstairs, lie
down in another bed, go from this bed to another place where they can lie down.
"Restlessness, tossing about in": Arsenicum is capital again, but in this patient do you have
the feeling he is anxious ? No.
P: They also told me that herpes zoster on the head, in the face, around the eyes is the worst
thing you can get, it causes the most pain.
A: Are you chilly ?
P: No, not chilly. Certainly not at the moment.
A: But now you are warm. And when you lie in bed at night ?
P: Neither.
Arsenicum is very chilly, but he is not so chilly.
A: It burns, you say.
P: Yes, burning.
A: When you put warm or cold compressions upon it, what does it do ?
P: I haven't tried it yet. My son said ...
A: Is it better when you put something warm on it ?
P: No, that doesn't make any difference.
A: Can you lie still in bed ?
P: No, I can't.
A: Always getting out of bed ?
P: I got up very early this morning and I can't sleep during the day. I just can't sleep.
A: You can't sleep. You are constantly tossing about in bed ?
P: Then I have pain, as if beaten.
P: I go from one chair to the other.
P: I always drink much.
A: What do you drink ?
P: Water. At least 1 1/2 litre a day. I always did, not only now.
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A: Only water ?
P: Yes, and coffee, that particular coffee, because I don't drink real coffee. You have
forbidden it. I drink homoeopathic coffee or so.
A: Yes, homoeopathic coffee. Were you standing in the sun or in a draught at the motocross ?
P: It was a plain and the sun shone right in my face.
A: And was there also wind ?
P: There was wind, but not so much.
When there is something wrong you have to ask for the causation. There have to be a
causation in acute diseases, without a causation there is no acute disease.
He was standing in the sun, watched the motocross and then there was a cold wind. I can
imagine that he was perspiring a little and then there was wind. That is the causation, I am
sure; and the causation indicates the same remedy as the symptoms: draft of air after standing
in the sun, that is the causation of Rhus toxicodendron. Then it is left sided, he has swellings
around the eyes, restlessness driving out of bed. All these symptoms indicate Rhus
toxicodendron.
A: I want to see you every morning. You come every day, until it is completely cured.
Now, he has enormous pain, but he has not the energy to push it outward. We will see what
happens after the remedy.
Do not let your patients go. See them every day until they are cured. If someone else visits
him, he might say that he also had that disease and sends him to this or that specialist and you
will loose your case. That is the reason why we have observation rooms in our centre. If we
have very serious cases we keep our patients 4, 5 hours in those observation rooms, until the
evening, and then send them home. The next day they can come back, if it is necessary. If
someone comes with an appendicitis, he gets a remedy and stays a few hours in the centre.
After one hour he is examined again and when he is better, he can go home and you are quiet
yourself - or you can say, it has not changed enough and you send him to the hospital for an
operation. Usually, it is too late with an appendicitis, when there is a perforation. But even
then you can cure it - but please do not do it, send him to the hospital.
In acute cases keep your patients in the centre, do not let them go and do not let them pay. He
only paid this time and afterwards he does not have to pay anymore. You will see that
Homoeopathy is the cheapest treatment.
A: What kind of injection does the doctor give you ?
P: These are vitamins.
A: You still get them ?
P: Yes, I already got three and I have to get ten. They come from America.
A: Did those injections work ?
P: No, but I have to finish the cure.
A: The pain is not better yet ?
P: At the present, not.
A: At the moment, you have to stop those injections a few days.
P: Could I ?
A: When you come here to get rid of your herpes in the face, then I decide about the
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treatment. When I can give you a remedy, by which you feel better tomorrow, would you do
what I say ?
P: Yes.
A: When do you get this injection ?
P: Tomorrow morning.
A: Ask if you could omit one time. Afterwards, he can give you the rest of the injections, but
now you have to omit one day and you come back tomorrow.
I do not tolerate that they come to my practice, I give them a remedy and afterwards they say,
that they have been cured by the injections of someone else. It is not because of me, but
because of Homoeopathy.
Question: "Are these painkillers ?"
A: No, these are vitamins. Usually, they do not give painkillers in zona, but vitamin B1, B2
and B12, sometimes together with anti-viral medicines - I do not know exactly what it is, it is
something expensive from America. At the end we will make a count, how much he payed for
the injections, which did not work at all and how much he payed to get cured with
Homoeopathy. You will see the difference.
FEEDBACK
You see that his whole face is more swollen and there is an aggravation of the eruptions. But
we do not know yet, if he is better. We only know that by asking him about the pain, if he is
still suffering and how he slept.
Because he has more energy now, he can push this herpes outwards. Yesterday, he only had
one swelling, today there are more. This kind of eruption of Rhus toxicodendron is bluish,
such as Lachesis, bluish black. You always see this colour with Rhus toxicodendron herpes.
A: Yesterday you couldn't sit still. You were miserable, because of the pain. You went from
one chair to the other. The previous night you didn't sleep.
P: 2 nights. And now I slept from 9.00 p.m. until 3.00 a.m. Yesterday evening I took 3
spoonfuls.
A: What did you feel immediately afterwards ? Because you had a lot of pain ?
P: Yes, I was exhausted. I went upstairs and fell asleep.
A: Today you were awake at 3.00 a.m. What did you do then ?
P: Then I walked about.
A: You couldn't sleep anymore ?
P: No, it was over.
A: Not this morning ?
P: Nothing. I was still lying in bed, but I couldn't sleep anymore.
A: What about the intensity of the pain ?
P: It is decreasing. And here there are some crusts.
A: That's fast. What do you think about the swelling around the eyes compared to yesterday ?
P: I don't know. I think, it has become worse. I don't see quite right with my right eye.
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Do you see how difficult the differential diagnosis with Apis is ? Put in your mind: the
swellings around the eyes: Apis, Rhus toxicodendron and Lycopodium have the same kind of
swelling.
Later, when we are dealing with Lycopodium you will see.
I did not recognize Lycopodium in a patient, I gave him Apis and later I saw that it was
Lycopodium. It is the same kind of swelling.
A: How is the pain now ?
P: It is tolerable. I have a severe headache.
A: Where ?
P: Every where.
Maybe these are proving symptoms. You can not say it exactly, but maybe he has some,
because of the high potency.
Anyhow, he slept better and the pain is better. Previously, only the left side was swollen, now
the right side as well. Look at the Repertory "side, left, then right" (p. 1401). Lachesis is
capital, but there is also Rhus toxicodendron, and another very important remedy: Phytolacca.
Who knows the target organ of Phytolacca ? It is a remedy for breast inflammation, for the
ear- and throat glands and for which kind of ischemia ? Where is the pain of the ischemia in
Phytolacca ? On the outside and the pain of Phytolacca appears and disappears suddenly - as
well as in which remedy ? Belladonna, Nitricum acidum, Kali bichromicum, Phytolacca and
some other remedies.
A: When did you get headache ?
P: This morning, when I got up.
A: Are you more quiet ?
P: I slept well.
A: When did you go to bed ?
P: From 9.00 p.m. until 3.00 a.m. , then everything was over.
A: Are you always awake so early ?
P: Yes, I'm always awake so early.
A: What did your wife say ? That you turned around quite a lot in bed ?
P: I don't sleep with my wife. She has fear she might get it as well. That is infectious.
Which remedy does she need ? Fear of infection ? Calcarea. It is not certain, but it is a strong
symptom for Calcarea.
A: No, it isn't.
P: But it is. She can get chicken pox or so.
A: No, that's not right. But anyway. What percentage has the pain improved ?
P: Well, it is difficult to say. I have pain everywhere. I feel miserable, tired.
A: Do you still have this miserable, tired feeling ?
P: I feel miserable, really miserable.
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A: But you have less pain ?
P: I have less pain, but I feel miserable, as if I have been beaten.
"I had pain as if someone had beaten me", this means, that he has pain everywhere, as if a
sore pain.
"Pain, sore, bruised, after heated walk and rapid cooling" (p. 1385). This cause with this kind
of pain, what else do we need ?
A: Everywhere ?
P: Everywhere. My neck, here, everywhere.
A: Are you also stiff ?
P: I have difficulties in getting up after I have sat.
A: Stiff in the back ?
P: Everywhere, in my legs, in my back.
A: Probably, this points to a slight aggravation, in the sense that the worse pain has
disappeared immediately, but there is a slight aggravation of the rest of the body. You took 3
spoonfuls. I let you take a few spoons again and I would like to see you tomorrow.
It is difficult to know what to do - not which remedy, that is clear, but what will we do ? He
said that he slept well until 3.00 a.m. , so 6 hours, but he had again strong pain in the morning
and also the whole forenoon.
In acute cases you have to repeat the remedy. We have seen it clearly in pneumonia and other
serious cases. Repeat the remedy until you see that it is gone. "Gone" means that they are
really better. Then you can wait. And when they relapse you can repeat the remedy
immediately ! The worse it is, the more often you have to repeat it.
A: But you see, you took the remedy, and while you couldn't sleep previously - you haven't
slept the whole night - you were here, took 3 spoonfuls and went to bed.
P: Yes, I slept.
A: You couldn't previously. You were miserable and restless. Now you can sleep. That is
very positive. But in some days your eye has to be cured. At the beginning there might be a
slight aggravation, but it is very important that the pain is better now.
P: It is not only my eye, it is also until here.
A: Has the pain decreased ?
P: Yes, it has. Yesterday, the pain wasn't so strong anymore. And then it extended upwards.
Then I had such vesicles in my hair. But not now anymore.
A: All right, today again 2 times a spoonful and then stop it.
Do you see, how the swelling has wandered to the right side and that there is an aggravation
of the eruption ? The left eye is more open and there is much, much more eruption.
FEEDBACK
A: Your eye is completely open. What about the pain ?
P: Disappeared.
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A: Completely disappeared ?
P: I can see again. I am like a person who has been risen from a severe disease.
You see that he has become much more vivid, that he has more energy.
A: Much more energy.
P: Yes.
A: What are those bags here ?
P: I don't know.
A: Is the pain better ?
P: Very tolerable, nearly gone.
Do you see those eyes ? He gets back energy in his eyes.
A: How did you sleep this night ?
P: Very well. I slept the whole afternoon. Yesterday from 9.00 p.m. until this morning 6.00
a.m.
And what did I do ? The first day I let him take 3 spoonfuls and the next day I repeated it.
You see that I let him take the remedy further and from yesterday until today it is much better.
What about the theory ? I am right, because the energy is the right energy and we can let him
take it further. But when he is feeling well, why should we give him another remedy ? It is not
necessary anymore.
P: I have pain at the side.
A: When did you wake up ?
P: At 3.00 o'clock and then I fell asleep again.
A: Are you more quiet ?
P: Yes.
A: Please, come back tomorrow. Your eyes are bright again.
Which are the diagnoses ? Varicella, herpes virus. The first remedy in varicella, in herpes is
Rhus toxicodendron. You see clearly now what I mean with the swelling of Rhus
toxicodendron. Video is the way to learn more deeply what Kent means with this or that
symptom. You see clearly now, there is a bigger swelling under the eye than above the eye.
That is why I said that you have to add Rhus toxicodendron at "swelling under the eye".
FEEDBACK
P: I feel like a new person who has been ill very much. Not yet completely cured, but ...
A: You see that the swelling has decreased.
P: Yes, my son and my wife also said.
A: What about the pain ?
P: Tolerable. Still a little pain.
A: And your sleep ?
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P: Today I woke up at 3.00 o'clock , dozed a little and fell asleep again at 4.00 o'clock, until
7.00 o'clock.
A: You sleep much better than previously ?
P: Yes.
Do you see now why you never may suppress eruptions ? There is the law of Hering: "From
inwards to outwards ..., this means when the eruptions appear, the patient feels well, if you
suppress the eruption, you make the patient more ill."
A: And itching ? Isn't it itching yet ?
P: Slowly, it starts here, where the crusts are.
A: Your eyes are less swollen. That has improved. Do you have other complaints ?
P: No.
P: You know, with pressing air I have troubles with my respiration. Therefore, I have to
come back in September.
A: But your eyes have enormously improved. All right.
P: Yes, indeed.
A: Has the nurse been around ?
P: Yes, yesterday morning.
A: What did she say ?
P: Well, she also had something like that and she had been walking around with it for several
weeks. She could not understand, that the pain was gone in so little time.
A: The pain had already disappeared the day after you were here the first time.
P: Yes, the next day the pain was better.
A: Great. Now we will omit another day. You don't take anything now.
FEEDBACK
A: You look well.
P: Absolutely.
A: The swelling has disappeared.
P: Only at the back of my hair. That's all.
A: The crusts ?
P: Oh yes, the crusts.
A: What does people say ?
P: It is a miracle, it is unbelievable. Well, 2 of my sisters came to visit me. My wife called
them last week, and said that I had zona on my head. And the father of my brother in law also.
He has had it for about 6 months. He had thick, purulent swellings. He lost his hair because of
this disease. That's why they thought it would be very bad. And they didn't believe it.
P: Nothing. Only a little pulling at my eyes. Probably, the crusts.
A: It is pulling a little, but the pain has disappeared.
P: Yes, the pain has disappeared.
A: And your eyes look well, you know. They become younger by the time. Do you sleep well
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?
P: Last night until 3.00 o'clock, then I got up, read a little, until my eyes hurt and then I dosed
on my chair for half an hour.
A: You are someone, who does not ...
P: No, I have nearly never lain in my bed after 4.00 o'clock.
A: What kind of work did you do previously ?
P: I was at the military service.
A: I'm satisfied. The crusts also begin to come off.
P: Yes, they come off slowly.
A: I would like to see you again the day after tomorrow and then after one week - so that it
can develop further.
P: Doctor, I must thank you very much. You helped me very much.
A: Not me, but the Homoeopathy.
P: But there must be a doctor as well, or it won't work.
A: We have to find the remedy. But it is the Homoeopathy which can solve the case. I can't. I
can only find the right remedy.
P: That's right.
A: But you see, that Homoeopathy is not only talk.
P: Yes, I have known it already for a long time.
A: Until Friday.
A: It is peeling off.
P: Yes.
A: Do you still have pain ?
P: It pulls a little, but it is because of the crusts, that's normal.
A: Do you sleep well ?
P: Yes, very well.
A: What about your respiration ?
P: This week I had quite a lot of problems with it in the evening.
A: And in the morning ?
P: All right. You know, I must still cough at night.
A: But in general, your respiration isn't worse ?
P: No, it's quite all right. I should ride on my bicycle again.
A: But be careful for the cold.
P: I don't ride on my bicycle.
A: You have to wait, until it is completely cured. When you get a cold, you might get
complaints again.
P: Oh !
A: When you have to ride on your bicycle you have to make sure you are wearing something
on your head. Do you always have something on your head ?
P: No, but I will wait until it has disappeared. Well, the school starts again and my grandchild has to go back to school. But this week I had them both at home. My wife is working
and I did nothing. Only making noise and run around the whole day.
A: These are your grand-children ? Do you have to take care of them ?
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P: I take care of them.
A: Has the doctor already been around ?
P: He will come today.
A: And what will you tell him ?
P: I will tell him the truth, what happened. He will not believe it himself.
A: Probably not. You can tell him the truth. And the injections ...
P: Not necessary anymore.
A: You can sell them.
P: Yes, they cost also 25 . I already got a letter from the sick-fund that I will get them paid
back. And eye-ointment for 15 , also new.
A: Did you get the ointment ?
P: Yes.
A: And did you use it ?
P: I put it on my eyes a few times at the beginning.
A: That is 40 .
P: That's quite a lot of money, isn't it ?
A: Do you know what the tablets I gave you cost ? 0.05 cent.
P: Unbelievable !
A: Say it to your doctor. Does he know that you are here in treatment for your lungs ?
P: No, he doesn't know it yet. I haven't told it him yet.
A: I see you within one week.
FEEDBACK (September 2, 1987)
A: There isn't much to see anymore.
P: Crusts at all sides.
A: Pain ?
P: It has disappeared. But itching, doctor, itching. You will not believe it. That is a sign it is
curing, isn't it ? You may not scratch it, or you will get scars.
A: When does it itch ?
P: The whole day, always.
A: And at night ?
P: At night I don't sleep long, but I can sleep a little.
A: When did this itching start ?
P: On Saturday.
A: Only on your head ?
P: From my eye where the spot was, until the back of my head. Only there, nowhere else.
A: And when does it become worse ?
P: It remains so. Yesterday evening I put some wet clothes on my head.
A: Does it help ?
P: More or less, but it comes back.
A: Does it itch somewhere else ?
P: No.
A: What about your sleep ?
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P: I sleep better. Today until 5.00 o'clock. It has never happened. And I went to bed about
22.30 o'clock. Usually, I got up about 4.00 o'clock or even earlier.
Now his problem is the itching. Now, we have to give him something to get rid of the itching,
we have to give him a remedy. He has put water on it and it was better, warm water. Which
remedy has an aggravation after bathing ? An aggravation of the itching ? Sulphur. But which
remedy has an amelioration of warm and hot water ? Rhus venenata, Rhus toxicodendron and
Arsenicum.
A: We will try something else. Do you lie still in bed ?
P: Usually I lie still.
P: I still sleep in another bed. I may not yet sleep with my wife, because she is afraid she
might get it as well.
A: Does your wife have fear of height ?
P: My wife ? She has no fear at all !
A: Is the itching better when you are busy during the day ?
P: I have worked in the field and then it was a little better.
A: You have less pain when you are busy ?
P: The air outside was cooler today and it hurt more.
A: The cold air.
P: I still feel that the cold air is not good.
A: So the itching is better when you are busy and the pain tends to appear when you are
standing in the draft of air. Do you have to get up to urinate at night ?
P: No.
In Rhus toxicodendron patients I am sure that they have to get up 2, 3, 4 times at night to
urinate. You will see.
A: During the day you are inside, because it is too cold outside ?
P: Yes, I only read, nothing else. Reading, washing up, hoovering, busy the whole time.
A: For how many hours do you read ?
P: For three hours. Then I have to stop, because my eyes start hurting.
What kind of feeling do you have with this man ? Is he a hard man ? What could he be
constitutionally ? Calcarea, a real Calcarea man.
P: Yes, now I can, but not previously - I couldn't sit still, but now I can.
A: Do you often watch TV in the evening ?
P: Previously, I rode quite a lot on my bicycle. If I would have sat before the TV, I would
have fallen asleep.
A: Show me your tongue.
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What can you see in a Rhus toxicodendron tongue ? Look at "discoloration, tongue, red, tip,
triangular" (p. 402). One remedy: Rhus toxicodendron.
P: I drink 1 1/2 l water a day. Not because I'm thirsty, but from a habit.
A: Now, we will give you something for the itching. Do you have other complaints ?
P: No.
A: Do you feel something in your legs ?
P: Pain while walking, you know that.
A: Always when you walk a long distance ?
P: Yes, when I walk a long distance.
"Pain in the calves while walking" (p. 1077) ... Calcarea. The second remedy we have a lot of
success with is Nux vomica.
What would you propose ?
Proposal: "Ruta, Rhus toxicodendron, Croton tiglium ..."
A: Why Croton tiglium ?
Answer: "Because it was a very strong itching, it is an itching after herpes zoster."
A: No, you mean another rubric, you can not take this rubric here. Where is the itching of
Croton tiglium most ? "Has elective affinity for skin of face and external genitals." (Boericke
p. 242). And there is another target organ of Croton tiglium. Which ? I mean, in which other
disease is Croton tiglium an important remedy ? In shoot-like, forcible diarrhoea.
And when they itch, they have to take something and scratch carefully, because real
scratching is very painful.
Croton tiglium has also this itching in the face, at the genitals and then this diarrhoea. So,
which remedy did I give him ?
Answer: "Calcarea."
A: No.
Answer: "Sac-lac."
A: No.
Answer: "Dolichos."
A: No, no. Dolichos has this itching with liver problems, with an obstruction of the bile or
gall-stones, when there is an amelioration while rubbing with vinegar. It is a very intense
itching in Dolichos, but not in this case.
Answer: "Rhus toxicodendron."
A: Yes, Rhus toxicodendron, because it is better when he has worked in the garden; he is still
sensitive to draft of air, it was still painful. That is the reason why I repeated Rhus
toxicodendron.
The whole treatment cost 0.13 cent, only the remedy. Homoeopathy is the cheapest medicine,
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it only depends on how much the doctor asks. Do you understand ?
A friend of mine is a mechanic and he told me the next story: one day some priests came
along, very haughty men. The car of one of the priest was broken and he wanted to have it
mended. The mechanic asked him how much they would pay for the repair - "How much do
you ask ?" - "67O ." That is not much and a priest can afford it. All right, he mended the car
and when the priest had to pay he said, "Well, you only worked a few minutes and I should
pay you 670 ?" "Yes, it is not important how long you work, but to know where I have to
knock to mend your car."
The knowledge which remedy you have to give has to be paid, and not the time you spend for
the anamnesis. That is the reason why I do not agree to ask so much money when you need 4
or 5 hours to find the remedy. When we need 4 or 5 hours to find a remedy, it is our problem,
and not the patient's.
So, I repeated Rhus toxicodendron and the itching became better. He was already better and I
repeated Rhus toxicodendron.
A: But not when you go for a walk normally ?
P: I can' t go walking. I can't go walking for a long distance. Then my legs are hurting.
Therefore, I have been in Leuven at the radiography of the vessels. First, they cut here and
then they put something in it. They couldn't get through and they had to cut here and got
through it.
A: Did you say that your blood-vessels are hardened ?
P: Yes. The doctor, who treated me, didn't want to stitch in my blood-vessels, because they
were thick in one place and thin in the other place. Do you understand ? He prescribed
SIBELIUM and CYCLOSPASMOL, and I took it the whole time, until it started with my
lungs. You can't take 2 things together, that is too much; then I stopped taking those two
medicines and took only a medicine for my lungs.
A: What did you take then ?
P : For my lungs THEODUR 300 and BRICANYL, and MEDROL, which you have
forbidden and I stopped it.
A: Do you still take the other medicines ?
P: Yes. You told me I could take them. I still take them.
A: How are your lungs at the moment ?
P: One time good, the other time worse.
When you have a patient with asthma who has been taken cortisone for a long time, send him
home, and do not start a treatment. You put too much energy in it. We have treated a lot of
people who have been taken cortisone for a long time and we suffered very much. I warn you:
if the patients have been taken cortisone for 10, 15 years long, they are incurable. Maybe you
can cure them, but then you put 50 % of your complete energy in the patient, because you
have to deal with the consequences of stopping the cortisone. The cortisol level in blood will
go very low, because of the suppression of the adrenocorticoids. I had a patient whom I took
blood after I stopped the cortisone. The cortisol level was very low and it increased again only
after one year. We have seen this in 3 cases. In the meantime there were suddenly big
hemorrhages and things like that, because I stopped the cortisone. If they will survive, but
they can die, because the cortisone can injure the blood vessels, atrophy the muscles,
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everyone knows the side-effects of cortisone. If you stop the cortisone you might have all
kinds of stories, for example, bleedings in the eyes. Once I had a patient who had a very big
bleeding because of that. I gave him Carbo vegetabilis. He came for asthma, stones in the
kidneys and so on. At the moment the cortisol level is normal again and he is doing very well.
To save yourself, it is difficult to do, but send those people away.
A: And lately ?
P: That's all right. But I feel it. I think that the little pill has to be renewed every 3 months.
Don't you think so ?
A: I don't know. You should feel it.
P: I feel it is about time. On September 22, I have to come back.
A: But now the itching is the main problem ?
A: As usually, you put the little pill under your tongue. And then it should be better every
day. Do you have other complaints ?
P: Can you give me new lungs, Doctor ? But you can make them better.
A: Your colour is very good, much better as usually. Don't people say that ?
P: Everybody says I look well.
A: Your doctor has been around. What did he say about the zona ?
P: He was really astonished. That my eyes are open and that it cured beautifully. I told him, I
went to see a homoeopath. Then he tossed his head, he can not believe it. "These are other
results", I told him.
His doctor said that he should learn Homoeopathy as well, and then I told him that he should
tell his doctor he could come to the centre anytime to learn Homoeopathy.
But before I came here, I took gasoline and the mechanic told me that this doctor also has
zona. In the meantime he has had pain for about 3 weeks, but he refuses to come to the centre.
I told the mechanic he should tell the doctor he does not have to come to the centre. He only
needs to send me the symptoms and I will send him a remedy.
A: But the most spectacular thing was that your pain had disappeared.
P: Yes, indeed. I couldn't understand it myself. Even because they said it will last for 7 or 8
weeks. But the pain was much less after one day.
A: Even the same evening.
P: Yes, indeed. Slept well and the next day the pain was a little better. My eye was still
closed. And since Saturday evening my eye would open slowly. It was still swollen here, but
then it disappeared slowly.
A: And because of such a little pill. So let this tablet melt under your tongue and then the
itching will become better slowly. Because the itching is too bad.
P: Sometimes, it is unbearable. I can't scratch. And yesterday I washed my head three times,
so that the itching became better. Then it was better for a while, but then it came again.
A: Do you have to wash your hair with cold water ?
P: No, with warm water.
A: Should it be hot ?
P: No, no, lukewarm.
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A: And for how long did it help ?
P: A few minutes.
A: Yes, yes, it still itches, because it is curing. All right. Keep it still warm. Draught is too
dangerous.
P: Yes.
A: So the doctor is studying Homoeopathy ?
P: I think so, he says so.
A: Tell him he's always welcome at the centre. Every doctor is welcome.
... Here in the North, where it is often cold and raining, we often need Rhus toxicodendron,
but we do not appreciate it very much. Rhus toxicodendron is also a very deep acting remedy
in very serious diseases. Often, we immediately think of the so-called psoric great remedies,
like Sulphur, Calcarea, Lycopodium and others, but also Rhus toxicodendron is a very deep
acting remedy.
Postherpetic neuralgia
Rhus toxicodendron
MAN, 66 YEARS OLD
A: So, the herpes has been cured and the last time you were here on September 2. You had
quite a lot of itching.
P: The itching has disappeared. At that time you gave me something for that.
A: I repeated the remedy and the itching has disappeared. Then everything was all right.
P: Until Saturday, the 5th. On Saturday I had a strong stitching in my head and during the
night of Sunday to Monday I got this stitching again. I had to get out of bed. It was terrible ...
(not understandable) didn't feel anything. And on Friday my eye started to pull. And then on
Monday, I had to lie down again.
A: You couldn't anymore. Do you still have pain regularly ?
P: Yes.
A: And you told me that this pain often appears suddenly.
P: Yes, the stitching comes suddenly, here, and it extends towards my eye, and goes down
my temples here.
A: Suddenly appearing pain. What do you have to do when you have this pain ?
P: To put a warm, wet cloth on it. Then the pain decreases.
A: What happens when you push on it ?
P: Sometimes I have to push there, then the pain disappears more or less.
A: The warmth does good. The pain appears suddenly and disappears suddenly.
P: Yes, it's almost the whole day through.
A: What does cold air do ?
P: It is bad, I can't tolerate it.
A: You can not tolerate draft of air ? And what happens when you touch it ?
P: That is a funny feeling.
A: Does it hurt ?
P: Yes, it hurts, when you touch it.
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A: When you push hard ...
P: Yes, and also here. First, it was until here and now it has lowered until here and to my
temples.
A: What about your sleep during the pain ?
P: Yes, I have to get out of bed. Then I have to take a bath, put warm applications on it and
then the pain becomes better more or less.
A: A postherpetic neuralgia. Did you have stitches last night ?
P: Yes.
A: Do you feel stitches regularly ?
P: Regularly stitches.
A: Then I give you a remedy of which you take 3 times a spoonful today. Today is
Wednesday and I see you on Friday again, then the pain has to be disappeared completely by
then.
FEEDBACK
A: What about the stitches ?
P: I don't have those stitches anymore. But here, there is something wrong in the corner of
my eye. And my eye is pricking, it is burning.
A: No stitches anymore. You couldn't sleep because of that.
P: Today I slept for 5 hours. I had to get up 2 times, to put warm water on it for the itching.
A: Itching ?
P: I think it is curing.
A: So, the stitching pain has completely disappeared. But now, what do you feel exactly at
your eye ?
P: My eye hurts here and it pulls inside and in the eyeball.
A: Your eyeball hurts. Does it hurt at the moment ?
P: Yes, it hurts the whole time and there is something wrong. There is something wrong with
my bones.
A: Does your eye itch ?
P: No, it hurts.
A: How does the pain feel in your eye ?
P: A stitching pain. In my eye and on my eyelids. There are some swellings.
A: But did you sleep well ?
P: I slept rather well.
A: Do you feel the pain in your eye the whole time ?
P: ... (not understandable), because I went to see the oculist and there was nothing to see.
A: Has the stitching pain completely disappeared around the eye ?
P: The pain has gone. It only hurts in the corner. But the pain here, of course, when you touch
it, it is still leathery, but the stitching pain has disappeared.
A: Does your left eye hurt the whole time ?
P: Always here, around the eyes.
A: Around the eye and in the eyeball.
P: From time to time I have a stitch in the eyeball.
Differential diagnosis: Spigelia.
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A: Do you have stitches in the eyeball at the moment ?
P: No, only around, it is pricking.
A: How is that pricking feeling ?
P: A pricking feeling as if it is burned.
A: A kind of burning pain at your eyelids. Does it itch ?
P: My eye itches sometimes, then I have to rub it.
A: Is there pus coming out ?
P: No.
A: Do you think you are chilly as quickly lately or are you easily warm ?
P: No, normal. I can't tolerate when it is pulling. And this morning ... (not understandable)
and that was in the sun and I had to go inside, because I got pain.
A: Because of the draft of air ?
P: I couldn't bear the little wind.
A: What else do you feel ?
P: It is in my body, the herpes ... You feel that you have had something, like a person who is
recovering from a severe disease.
A: Do you still have problems with your eye at the moment ?
P: That is the greatest problem.
A: Do you easily perspire ?
P: No.
A: Are you easily chilly ?
P: Neither.
A: It is a kind of itching. What does warmth do ?
P: It disappears more or less when I put warm water on it. Also the itching. When it becomes
very bad I take a bath and dab everything with warm water. It helps for a while.
A: When do you have this feeling around the eyes ?
P: The second time it started with a stitching pain around the eye. I sat with my neighbour
and he said, "What's the matter ?" I said, "I think that my eyes become too cold." And so I got
it again. That's how it started the second time.
A: It hasn't developed further yet. So, it has improved.
P: It has improved more or less.
A: Then we have to wait now.
"Skin, itching, burning" (p. 1327). Croton tiglium and Radium bromatum have to be added.
A: The stitching pain has disappeared. It is only a few days ago you got the tablet and it
hasn't developed further yet. Now, we won't do anything and wait.
FEEDBACK (September 30, 1987)
A: Tell me, how is it ?
P: Good. Only a little itching. When I am busy, I don't think so much of it. But today there is
much wind and I haven't been outside yet. At night I had to get up a few times, because of the
itching. That's all. The pain has completely disappeared. Do those things on my head
disappear completely ?
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A: Those crusts ? Yes. Does your eye still hurt ?
P: Not my eye. It is only a little stiff. My forehead is also a little stiff. That's all. But it will
disappear slowly.
A: No pain anymore, only itching ?
P: Only itching.
A: All right. I wouldn't do anything for the itching.
P: Does it have to disappear of itself ?
A: Yes. I think so, it isn't as bad, it has been worse.
P: Yes, it has been worse.
A: Now, it is much less, so I won't give you anything. What about your respiration ?
P: At night I have to cough from time to time. I will make an appointment for my lungs next
month.
A: No other problems.
P: No.
Herpes zoster
Rhus toxicodendron
WOMAN, 25 YEARS OLD
A few months ago she came with a very swollen vagina and painful leucorrhoea.
Which remedy cured her ? With swollen vagina ? Nitricum acidum.
For this video she came with pain in her right leg and the pain appeared and disappeared
suddenly - but without eruptions. I could not know that it would develop in this direction.
What could I do ? There were no peculiar symptoms indicating a certain remedy. That is the
reason why I repeated Nitricum acidum - without result.
And now she comes with this pain and this kind of herpetic eruption.
Sometimes, I think it occurs often, patients come with an acute disease and I ask them to
come back the next day, to see how the disease has developed. It is better to wait one day to
be sure of your remedy, instead of giving a remedy without being sure. In this case I had to
wait a few days, but who could know that such a pain could develop to a herpes ? Nobody
could.
Now she comes back and the picture is clear.
A: Really bluish-violet vesicles. Only on the right thigh. Not below the knee ?
P: No. And here also.
A: Here, it isn't clear. May I see the outside of your leg ? Yes, bluish little vesicles. It started
on June 28, with stitching pain. Today it is July 13. You were here on July 10, with pain that
wasn't clearly yet.
P: A burning pain inside.
A: With stitching.
P: Yes.
A: But there was little to see.
P: Yes, only a few swellings.
A: Then the picture hasn't clearly developed. Then I gave you a remedy, but there wasn't an
improvement. But then there appeared clearly vesicles.
P: Yes, in groups.
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A: Groups of vesicles containing moisture. Does the moisture come out often ?
P: Yes, because my pants touched them, they opened and some watery liquid came out.
A: Was it still burning ?
P: Yes.
A: Burning pain. And the warmth ?
P: Aggravated the burning pain.
Which is the first remedy we think of when someone tells something about burning ?
Arsenicum. Arsenicum for burning pain, but the modality of Arsenicum is an amelioration by
warmth. When you see this very strong burning pain, whatever it may be, also in panaritium
or another inflammation and it improves by warmth, for example, in necrosis after burn
wounds, it is only one remedy: Arsenicum.
A: You could not tolerate your pants against it ?
P: No.
A: With the slightest touch ...
P: Of material or so.
A: Does it hurt ?
P: Yes.
A: An additional problem was the dizziness. How was it exactly ?
P: When I got up after lying or when I turned around while lying, I became dizzy.
The dizziness came together with these eruptions. That is very interesting.
Before the Nitricum acidum period she had a bad accident. And now, I do not know why
exactly now, after Nitricum acidum has cured the inflammation of the vagina, the symptom
she had as a consequence of the accident returns. Now she says that she gets dizzy when she
rises from her bed - "vertigo from rising from bed" (p. 103). There is also Rhus
toxicodendron.
She also says that she becomes dizzy when she turns around in bed - "vertigo on turning in
bed" (p. 105), there is also Rhus toxicodendron. The dizziness was the consequence of an
injury - "injury of the head" - there is not Rhus toxicodendron. I will give you the additions
for this rubric: "Injury of head" (p. 128): Calendula, China, Cocculus, Helleborus, Kali
phosphoricum, Cedron, Lobelia, Menyanthes, Rhus toxicodendron, Teucrium marum,
Zincum, Carcinosinum.
I will tell you another Natrum muriaticum story (because it is also a remedy after injury of
the head).
It is not allowed to go with a portable camera into the hospital. I had a Cicuta case on the
video which I made in the hospital, but it is not easy to get a permission for it.
One of my female patients got an accident, a 12 year old girl. She was in coma. She had a car
accident and was hospitalized. She was lying there for a few days, I think for 4 days already,
and the second day her father called me and said that his daughter was in coma, if I could not
give her anything. I gave him Arnica - no reaction.
The next day he called me again and said that nothing had changed and asked me to come in
the hospital. I agreed, but asked him to ask the permission from the surgeons who were taking
care of her. He asked them and they said it was all right, I should call before. So, I called the
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surgeon and asked if they agreed I should come. He asked me what I wanted to do. I told him
I would probably give her a remedy of a certain material, but dissolved and very, very diluted.
He started laughing and said, "Well, well, why not, you may come as you like."
I went with H. in the hospital. The patient was lying there, and she was connected with the
monitor. When she moved, the pulse frequency increased very much, from 90 to 150 and
when she was lying still, it decreased again. That was the only symptom we had. Then we saw
the very, very dry mouth. The lips were dry and a little chapped. I also looked in the
Repertory under "pulse, accelerated, motion agg." (p. 1394). You see a capital remedy:
Natrum muriaticum. And we know, that Natrum muriaticum is one of the most important
remedies with coma and unconsciousness. You see it in "black fever", in malaria. The first
remedy in malaria is ... - there are 2 remedies. You have not seen it, but I saw it in Zaire. This
is typical for China and Natrum muriaticum, these are the two most appropriate remedies in
malaria attacks, in malaria attacks with unconsciousness.
Natrum muriaticum cured this child in 24 hours. After 24 hours she came out of coma and 2
days later she was back home. This case was easy, because I made the anamnesis before and
so I knew it was Natrum muriaticum.
You see, you have to get a certain constitution to get this or that consequence of an accident.
If she did not have a Natrum muriaticum constitution, she would not go so easy in coma.
Every one comes into an Arnica situation, but not everyone comes into a Natrum muriaticum
situation. Therefore you have to produce easily Natrum muriaticum symptoms, easier than
someone who has a Calcarea constitution.
In injuries of the head: Arnica, Natrum muriaticum, but also Rhus toxicodendron. And I told
you yesterday, that Rhus toxicodendron has also convulsions after injuries. We do not only
cure the herpes, but also the consequences of the accident.
A: Did you have this when you had your car accident ?
P: Yes.
A: Previously, you had a car accident and afterwards you also became dizzy. Then there
appeared many vesicles and I made the diagnosis herpes zoster. There was nothing to see at
the other leg, it was only on the right thigh, not at other places. Burning vesicles, sometimes
with stitches, very sensitive to the slightest touch. Then you also became dizzy and very tired.
P: Also weak and forceless.
A: And restless.
P: Yes, I could not sit or stand in a certain position for a long time. Then I had to lie down,
but also not for a long time.
A: And at night ?
P: I could not sleep well.
A: The last few nights you didn't sleep well. I gave you the remedy yesterday and the night
before you didn't sleep well.
P: Very bad and I had quite a lot of pain.
As if she had been working the whole day, she felt so tired, that is the way Rhus
toxicodendron describes it.
I would like to show you what she said, "Burning pain" - "internal burning stitching pain" (p.
1386): Arsenicum, Aurum, Mezereum, Oleum animale, Spigelia. You see, Rhus
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toxicodendron is not there. Also in the other case we saw the patient had burning stitching
pain and it was Rhus toxicodendron even when Rhus toxicodendron was not in the rubric.
There is Mezereum. But together with this restlessness, the sleeplessness, the bluish
appearance of the eruptions, the vesicles, together with this dizziness there is no doubt at all. I
gave her Rhus toxicodendron M.
A: Yesterday you took the remedy in solution. How did it develop further ?
P: Last night I still woke up, but I didn't have much pain anymore.
A: What about the dizziness ?
P: It is still there.
A: Is it still as strong or is it less ?
P: I don't have to lie down so often anymore. I feel it less while standing. I think it hasn't
changed much.
A: Did you still become dizzy while standing up after lying down ?
P: Yes.
A: Did the pain improve in general ?
P: Yes.
A: Improved much ?
P: Yes, much.
A: Have you become more quiet ?
P: Yes, that's better.
A: Well, it seems to develop into the right direction. Now, you don't take anything, but I
would like to see you again tomorrow. With herpes zoster we have to be careful. So, on
Friday, if you can manage it with your work.
P: Yes, I called and told them I was ill, as you told me. Someone had to replace me. But now,
there is nobody and I wanted to ask you, if it wouldn't be possible. Then I have to sit down
very much ...
A: Until when do you work in the evening ?
P: Usually until 7.00 o'clock ...
FEEDBACK
P: It has improved. The vesicles are drying up. When I touch it I have the feeling as if there
are bruises. When touching it still burns now and then, but less.
A: Does it do good when you touch it with something cold ?
P: I haven't tried. I haven't put anything on it yet.
A: All right, your pain has almost gone.
P: Yes.
A: What about the dizziness ?
P: It remained until Saturday, but then it has disappeared.
A: Is the dizziness you had since the accident better as well ?
P: Yes, it was the same feeling of dizziness after the accident. On Saturday it was as strong,
but on Sunday it has disappeared.
A: You don't even have problems when you turn around in bed.
P: No.
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A: Let's have a look at your leg. Has there something appeared at other places ?
P: No. It has become smaller and it is drying up. The vesicles have nearly disappeared.
A: They still look bluish. Now, you don't have to do anything else, it will cure of itself.
Herpes zoster, right knee

Rhus toxicodendron
MAN, 67 YEARS OLD
A: You have pain at your right knee (points to the inside). For how long do you have this
pain ?
P: For six weeks already. When I pushed it I had pain, otherwise it didn't trouble me.
A: You have it examined by the orthopedist. Your knee was normal.
P: Yes.
A: But now there is an eruption, here on the right side and on the knee also; only on the right
side. It has a bluish colour. Not under the knee ?
P: No. A little upwards.
A: We are dealing with herpes zoster at the right leg.
P: At the moment I have to urinate more than usually.
A: What do you mean more ?
P: More often.
A: When ?
P: During the day, and at night I had to get up three times, one time too much. I couldn't
sleep, I was thinking about it and I got up automatically.
A: Could you sleep last night ?
P: No.
A: Does it hurt while urinating ?
P: No, it is normal.
A: So, it does not hurt while urinating ?
P: No.
A: Did you sleep the whole night ?
P: I have been tossing about, laid my knee here and there. I woke up again. I got up a few
times.
A: Got up, out of bed ?
P: Yes, walking about, then back to bed. Then at last, it was too warm. I woke up every hour.
Then I got up and sat in the couch.
A: You couldn't sleep because of the pain.
P: No.
A: How does the pain feel ?
P: It strains, not too much pain. It is bearable. When I lower my knee, it lasts half a minute,
and then it is there again.
A: How does the pain feel exactly ?
P: It strains as if it is bursting.
A: As if bursting ?
P: Yes, because of the tension.
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A: Does it sting ?
P: Yes, it does.
A: Does it burn ?
P: No, but I'm too warm. When I put my cold hand on it, it is better. But also for half a
minute. Then it is warm again.
A: You have a kind of a warm feeling in your leg ?
P: Yes.
A: Can you sit still during the day ?
P: Yes. I lied down on the couch, put my leg upward, so that it lay comfortable.
A: How long could you lie this way ?
P: One, two hours, then I had to get up again and run about a little. After lunch I slept very
little.
P: Not that I know.
A: How long did you sleep last night ?
P: Not at all.
A: Then we will take care that you will sleep this night.
P: A person tries everything.
A: Now, you don't take anything else. During the day you take 4 times a spoonful of the
remedy I give. Tomorrow 3 times, unless the pain is much better, then you don't take
anything. On Friday in the forenoon I will see you again. But don't take anything !
P: Of course not.
A: You were here two days ago. How is the skin eruption at the moment ?
P: It has increased a little (shows the thigh). It becomes black here.
A: Yes, bluish black.
P: Does it burst ?
A: No, no.
P: You told me I could sleep and that was right.
A: The first night after you took the remedy - the night before you didn't sleep - did you sleep
then ?
P: Yes, slept well.
P: I didn't wake up.
A: You didn't wake up.
P: Well yes, every two hours, to urinate. But then I could sleep again.
A: This means that you have less pain.
P: I didn't have pain.
A: But you had to get up every 2 hours to urinate.
P: Yes, every 2 hours. I took 4 spoonfuls.
A: The day before yesterday, on September 30, 1987 4 spoonfuls. And how much yesterday ?
P: Again 3. In the afternoon I thought the pain had disappeared but at night the pain returned.
A: All right, then I have to give it further. The first night you slept well and this night less.
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P: You said that I could take it further when I have pain. I waited until yesterday 7.00 o'clock
until I took something.
A: At what time did it start at night ?
P: I went to bed about 11.00, half past 11.00 and lay down on my bed, but I could hardly stay
in bed. After a little while I slept. Then it pulled quite a lot. At half past two I was awake.
Then I urinated and slept again until 6.00 o'clock, but with difficulties. At 7.00 o'clock I got
up.
The night after the remedy he slept very well, the next day the pain was better and in the
afternoon, about 7.00 p.m. he thought that the pain had disappeared, but the next night it
started again. Do you see the relapse ? In acute cases I say that they do not have to take the
remedy again, when you notice that it has become better. He did not take it anymore and in
the afternoon it was better, but it returned the next night, so that you have to repeat the
remedy.
Let the patients come often until you clearly see that your patients are really healthy. The
night before and during the day he slept well. At night he slept until 3.00 o'clock, then he had
to urinate again and has become restless. He stood there, wanted to urinate, but he could not.
That is strange. Rhus toxicodendron people feel the pressure on their bladder when they lie in
bed; then they become restless and they have to get up. I have seen this especially in old
people with Rhus toxicodendron complaints. They often get up to urinate. When they got
Rhus toxicodendron they could stay in bed for a longer time. Rhus toxicodendron has many
"prostate" problems. Look at the Repertory under "prostate", there you see many pains, which
have Rhus toxicodendron.
A: Then we give a higher potency. I think it was too low. The pain has to disappear.
Probably, you will get a little more eruption and crusts will be formed. Today, you take 3
spoonfuls of this higher potency. Tomorrow according to your condition. When you don't
have pain, you don't take anything. When the pain returns you take again one spoon. And
that's the way you proceed during the weekend. I give you 2 tablets to take home. You
dissolve one right now and the other on Sunday, if it is necessary. On Monday I see you
again.
P: Yesterday afternoon I thought I got rid of it.
A: Yes. It is important that you keep it warm.
P: Oh yes. May I put a cushion on it ?
A: Yes. Keep it very warm.
P: Or go to Spain for the warmth. I can hardly stand while urinating. But also otherwise it is
difficult to stand.
A: You have always to move.
P: Alternatively, I stand on my right and left leg until I'm finished with urinating. Yesterday
afternoon, it was better.
A: Then you were more quiet. You have to move especially while standing.
P: Apparently.
Eczema
211
Rhus toxicodendron
BOY, 4 YEARS OLD
This is the brother of the OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA child. I gave him his remedy and
by the appearance you will recognize which remedy I gave him.
A: This child has (below the back and at his bottom) everywhere red stains. Are those
vesicles ?
MP: Yes.
A: Take him on your lap again. He has also vesicles around his lips.
MP: Here he has fallen. But these are vesicles (shows his mouth).
A: Also in his hair ?
MP: He's scratching there now and then.
A: Previously, he was constitutionally Calcarea. How is it now ? Was it itching because of
the remedy ?
MP: Yes.
A: When ?
MP: Always, also at night.
A: He's always scratching.
MP: Yes.
A: Can he easily sit still ?
MP: Not at the moment.
A: At the moment can he sit still less than before ?
MP: I don't know.
A: Was he more quiet previously ?
MP: He can play and so on.
A: But now, is he very restless ?
MP: (Shrugs her shoulders)
A: What about at night ?
MP: I have to get up every hour.
A: Why ?
MP : Because it itches. He can not sleep.
A: Did he have chicken pox already ?
MP: Yes, not long ago.
A: When you have to get up at night - then he calls and wakes up - are his blankets all
muddled up ?
FP: He lies bare.
A: Well ! Is he thirsty ?
MP: No. During the day he drinks a lot.
A: What ?
MP: Lemonade.
A: Also milk ?
MP : In the morning and in the evening.
A: Warm ?
MP: Yes.
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A: Only warm ?
MP: Also cold milk with his slice of bread.
A: Does he like it ?
MP: Yes.
A: He likes also cold milk. All right. The last few nights you had to get up for him regularly.
You give him today and tomorrow 3 spoonfuls of the dissolved remedy. On Friday I would
like to see you again.
Skin eruption with vesicles, eczema, vesicular eczema. Then we think about psoric remedies.
We only think about Psorinum, Sulphur, Sepia, Phosphorus, Pulsatilla and all these other
remedies, but we always forget this remedy here with eczema and psoriasis. Look in the
Repertory under "eruptions, psoriasis" (p. 1316). Until now I did not cure a patient with
Arsenicum iodatum. Until today we did not have such a case.
In Rhus toxicodendron we have to think especially about vesicular eczema, also about
neurodermatitis. This pain together with the eruptions of vesicles is a strong symptom for
Rhus toxicodendron.
In the rubric "psoriasis" the following remedies have to be added: Radium bromatum, X-ray,
Staphisagria (capital), Natrum muriaticum and also Cicuta virosa.
FEEDBACK (3 DAYS LATER)
A: Steven was here on December 1, for skin eruption and vesicles, very restless at night, with
itching day and night. Drinks a lot of lemonade, cold and warm milk. I gave him a remedy.
How was the reaction ?
MP: Last night he slept the night through, the itching is over.
... Sulphur also itches at night, Psorinum itches at night, many remedies are there, but the
restlessness is so strong for Rhus toxicodendron. The vesicles, drinking cold milk and the
relation to Calcarea.
A: Much better. In 3 days. How long does he have this already ?
MP: For a few weeks.
A: No complaints anymore ? Have the vesicles disappeared ?
MP: No, they are still there.
A: Let's have a look. Have they become less ?
MP: No.
A: They have dried up.
MP: But they haven't increased.
A: So, not increased, the itching is less and the vesicles are drying up.
MP: Yes.
A: All right.
We can say that this is a kind of herpes. But where is the limit between herpes and herpetic
eczema ? It is difficult. Therefore it is important what we see, and not how we call it. In the
Repertory there are medical names and of course we have to know these names. We have to
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know the anatomy, the medical names, to be good homoeopaths, because there are many
symptoms which have a medical name. When you see dark, black toes I do not know if you
would find the right rubric, if you are not a doctor. When the toes are black in an old man
without injury we have to look for which rubric ? Gangrene.
So you have to know that it is gangrene, and when you know this you can find the remedy in
the right rubric. There is Secale, Carbo vegetabilis, Arsenicum and so on. We have to be a
doctor. Real Homoeopathy means it is important what we see, not the name of the disease.
Gangrene
Secale cornutum
MAN, 70 YEARS OLD
This is the case of my father in law. He is dying at this moment, but we are treating him with
homoeopathical remedies the whole time and he is at home.
Homoeopathy is not only for birth, but also for dying people. Or the old people will be taken
care of in the hospital during their last days. This man will die soon, this week or next week
and everything started with the following. It was a small stain, everything started with that
and I will tell you the rest of the story.
What do they do in allopathic medicine when someone has a gangrene of the toe ? They
amputate the toe. And what happens after 3 months ? They amputate the lower leg. And then,
3 months later they amputate above the knee, and then, a month later, the patient has a
decubitus ulcer. And they amputate and amputate, and that is the reason why the allopaths
find nothing against migraine: they can not amputate the head.
A: When did your problem start and what is the problem ?
P: Well, my toe is hurting.
A: When did it start ?
P: It might be a fortnight ago, it was warm and my feet were swollen and I couldn't get my
shoes on. They were too small. I thought I had knocked somewhere and I put less pressing
shoes on. I also cut the nails of my toes, because I thought they were too long. Then, it was all
right for one, two days and then it returned again. And now, look yourself what it is.
He has pain in his toes and he thought his shoes might be too small and his feet were swollen
while working, or that he would have injured his toes somewhere, he was not sure. He thought
he had injured his toes and came to me at home and said, "Alfons, I have pain in this toe, a
stone fell upon it. The toe is blue." I look at the toe and gave him Arnica. I could also have
given Hypericum, but because the toe was blue, I gave him Arnica. I did not realise what was
the matter.
A: So it started a fortnight ago, you got pain in the big toe.
P: Yes, now and then.
A: And you thought a stone fell upon your toe ?
P: Yes, I thought so.
A: And then, two, three days ago you got pain at night, tell me.
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P: I woke up and my toe was hurting very much and I put the blanket away, because I
thought it would help. Then the pain was over and it did not come back.
He takes the blanket away - "extremities, pain, warmth agg." (p. 1046): Secale. If you touch
the toe it hurts. And especially the warmth of the bed is painful for Secale, not the warmth of
hot water. Another particular thing was that the toe was very cold. They do not tolerate the
warmth of the bed, but if you touch the toe it is very cold. Where do you find this ? "Coldness
of the toe" (p. 964). This man had a stomach bleeding with black blood 3 years ago. This
stomach bleeding started suddenly at home, much blood, coagulated blood. At that moment
he was perspiring very much, he was nearly unconscious and I took him from the toilet to
another room. He was vomiting blood, the stool was bloody, black and he was perspiring very
much, but he was cold. And in the other room he wanted the window to be opened, he needed
fresh air. Which remedy ? Carbo vegetabilis. I gave it him and subsequently a blood
transfusion. I did not send him to the hospital for a diagnosis, because I knew it was a gastric
carcinoma.
Half a year later he spend his holiday in South-Africa to visit his children. He felt very well
the whole time - sometimes he had pain in his stomach.
The reason why he got this stomach bleeding - he is a very sensitive person - was that he has
been vexed and had to suppress his anger. And because of this suppressed anger he got a
stomach bleeding. Which remedy did I give him ? Staphisagria - "ailments from suppressed
anger". But at the moment of the bleeding it was not Staphisagria, in the acute situation it was
Carbo vegetabilis, and afterwards I gave him Staphisagria.
A: At what time ?
P: Maybe about 4.00 o'clock.
A: And what do you have to do then ?
P: Then I had to urinate and went back to bed and didn't put the blanket upon my leg, because
it was unbearable under the blanket.
He had to put his toes outside of the bed, because of the warmth, but also because of the
touch which is so painful.
A: You couldn't keep your toe under the blanket ?
P: No, it was pushing very much.
A: How was the pain in your toe at night ?
P: Very bad, like toothache. Very painful. It came and went away.
A: I saw you yesterday and gave you a remedy, but I didn't have my camera with me. During
the examination the toe was cold compared to the other toes. But yesterday it was colder than
today. It was bluish, but today less than yesterday. At the other side we also see the blue nail.
And here it is a little red.
P: At the beginning it was very red. Then I put it in water and then it was red until here.
A: You had to stretch it out of the blankets and yesterday you also told me that you had to let
your foot hang down.
P: Yes.
A: What does it do when you put it in warm water ?
P: It was as if the skin was straining, like with fever or with an ulcer ...
215
A: Was it warm or cold water ?
P: It was rather warm water.
A: It does good, but not the warmth of the bed.
P: No, but the blankets were pushing on it and it is loose when you sit in cold water. That is
the difference.
A: Well yes. And when you have the blankets above it with a dome or something like that ?
P: Yes, it might be better. I had already a blanket above, but ...
A: Then something else - put your hand on my knee - it is notable, that the skin at the back of
your hand is shrivelled. Yesterday, I gave you a tablet in solution, in M potency. And you
took three times a spoonful.
P: Yes, and also today.
A: How was the last night compared to the previous nights ?
P: Last night was the best since three, four days.
A: Also during the examination I noticed that the toe was less blue and less cold than
yesterday. You woke up last night, but you had less pain.
P: Yes, it didn't take too long before I fell asleep again. I took the blankets away again,
because they pushed so ...
A: Yes. You have the feeling as if your socks are too small. That's all.
P: (Not understandable).
A: Is the pain more tolerable during the day compared to yesterday ?
P: Yes, ... I have moved little at least. I thought it was bad.
He will die very slowly, but he is still very, very clear in his mind.
Now he will go from Arsenicum to Carbo vegetabilis, then Arsenicum again, then Carbo
vegetabilis again and then slowly he will pass off. He only weighs 37 kg, but his children
from South-Africa have visited him and he could arrange all his affairs. He talks to everyone
and he knows that he has to die, but he is quiet, has no pain and is not suffering. Last Sunday,
before I came here, we were watching TV together. It was a very funny film and he started
laughing about it. A man who is dying, started laughing, that is something beautiful. It is very
important to give people the opportunity to die at home. When I showed this video in the
Netherlands, they were appalled at it, that I could do something like that, I should take him to
the hospital.
It is dangerous to bring your patients to the hospital, this means, that you only think about
money and not about the patient. The patient needs you when it becomes very serious, and not
for a little eczema. Homoeopathy is important for real problems and not only for small things.
We have to prove that Homoeopathy works and you can in real dangerous cases, not with
herpes or things like that.
Influenza
Rhus toxicodendron
MAN, 69 YEARS OLD
This man is at home and his wife is calling that I should come, because her husband has very
high fever. She is weeping the whole time. We will see what this man needs.
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A: Tell me, since when are you ill ?
P: Since last night, since yesterday evening.
A: What did you do yesterday ?
P: Planted leek.
A: What did you feel yesterday evening ?
P: I was cold, as if I was drunk. While walking in the room I swayed to and fro.
A: Dizzy ?
P: Yes.
A: Did you perspire while working yesterday ?
P: No, I don't think so.
A: Not cold either ?
P: No.
A: And yesterday evening you became dizzy suddenly. Did you have fever yesterday ?
P: Yes. At the moment I am warm.
A: How much fever do you have at the moment ?
P: I don't know.
A: Then take your fever.
WP: It goes quickly, because it is an electronic thermometer.
A: At the moment you are warm.
P: Yes, everywhere, and my head is hurting, here in the front. I have also pain in the stomach.
P: It is as if I'm hungry. I haven't eaten anything yet.
P: No, but I drank a little a few times.
A: Can you bear stretching your arms out of the blankets ?
P: Not always.
A: What do you feel then ?
P: Then I am too cold.
A: Then you have to put your arms ...
P: ... under the blankets.
A: You are too warm, but you want to stay under the blankets.
Which is the remedy ? Hepar sulphuris.
He is chilly, cold when he puts his arms out of the blankets - "uncovering single parts agg."
(p. 1410): Bryonia, Hepar sulphuris, Sulphur, Natrum muriaticum, Rhus toxicodendron,
Silicea, Thuja.
Then there is another rubric "chill, shaking on putting hand out of bed" (p. 1271).
Who knows other appropriate rubrics ?
"Chill, putting hand out of bed" (p. 1263).
And there is another rubric "cold, becoming, after, agg. hand out of bed" (p. 1349).
Every time nearly the same remedies.
What do you notice at the face of the patient ?
It is very red - "face, discoloration, red, during fever" (p. 362). There is the remedy in a one
only.
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Hepar sulphuris was a good proposal, but here we are dealing with an influenza, and in Hepar
sulphuris it is which acute disease in 90 % ? A purulent tonsilitis. And then you see them
sitting close to the heat and with the slightest draft of air the pain becomes worse. They
perspire the whole night, like which other remedy ? Look at "perspiration night, lasting all
night without relief" (p. 1294), there are 2 capital remedies: Hepar sulphuris and Mercurius.
Hepar sulphuris perspires as much as Mercurius, but the big difference is that Hepar sulphuris
is covering himself up to the tip of the nose. He just can't put one little finger out of the
blankets, he just can not bear it.
But here we are dealing with an influenza. Besides he has vertigo
and says, "When I came out of bed, I needed the whole room." He had a vertigo on rising
from bed. You see "vertigo from rising bed" (p. 103). There has to be Rhus toxicodendron in
the rubric "rising from lying" as well in "rising from a seat".
In this influenza he had a lot of vertigo. The day before he worked in the garden, but he says,
that he has not perspired. I do not know exactly, but surely, he has worked until late in the
afternoon, so that he got this influenza.
P: Yes.
A: Did you sleep well last night ?
P: No, bad.
P: I have been up for 10 times, always slept a little and then got up again.
Restlessness driving him out of bed; last night he had to get up about 10 times. That is very
important - "restlessness driving out of bed" (p. 73); there are 4 capital remedies: Arsenicum,
Bismuthum, Ferrum and Rhus toxicodendron; usually Ferrum because of pain in the back,
ischias; Bismuthum because of pain in the stomach; Arsenicum because of fear and Rhus
toxicodendron because of internal restlessness. Every remedy has its own reason for the
restlessness.
P: I had to get up to urinate.
A: To urinate ?
P: Yes. And then, there isn't much urine.
You often see there is an urgency to urinate. In the Repertory you also find Rhus
toxicodendron, also in symptoms of inflammation of the bladder and in frequent urinating,
day and night.
A: Tell me how high is the fever.
WP: 37,5 C. That is not much.
In such cases I do not need a Repertory anymore. I go there, look what is the matter and give
the remedy then, it only lasts a few minutes. But nevertheless you have to be careful; a year
later he got influenza again, but then it was Baptisia, because he had a totally different
appearance of this face than this time. And after the Baptisia influenza he was totally weak
and which remedy did I have to give him ? An old man, who has become completely weak
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after high fever ? "Weakness following prolonged fever" (p. 1417): Selenium. I gave him
Selenium, because he did not recover quickly enough. Selenium is a remedy for which part of
the body ?
Answer: "The upper part."
Question: "Where at the upper part ?"
Answer: "In the middle of the upper part." (Laughing)
A: I did not think about that. Yes, you are right with this indication, but it does not occur so
much. There is another indication. Look at "head, hair, painful when touched" (p. 120) ...
FEEDBACK
A: Now, it is a day later. Yesterday I came to you at half past two and I gave you a remedy in
solution.
P: Yesterday, I took 4 times a spoonful. The last time it was about 9.00 o'clock p.m.
A: The night before you didn't sleep ?
P: Very little. Last night I slept rather well. Not so well as I do usually, but still better.
A: You also have complaints about urinating so often. What about it now ?
P: Not so often anymore. Since I got up I didn't have to go yet. I got up about half past nine.
A: You also had pain while urinating ?
P: A little. It's not unbearable. Today I still feel it a little, but less.
A: Where was the pain ?
P: At the tip.
A: At the tip of the penis ?
P: Yes.
A: When was the pain worst ?
P: Before I have to urinate.
A: Yesterday, you were also very dizzy.
P: Yes.
A: What about today ?
P: Today, it is much better. Now, I can walk properly. Yesterday, I was swaying from here to
there.
A: What other complaints did you have yesterday ? Well yes, you had pain everywhere.
P: Yes, everywhere. It hasn't disappeared completely yet, but it is much better.
A: Everything was hurting ?
P: Yes, but it was bearable.
That is very important. "It is hurting": you have to take the description as given by the
patient, and look in the Repertory. When they say, "It is hurting", you have to look at "sore"
or you will never find the right remedy. He also says, "I can tolerate the pain", this means, it is
no real pain, but something between pain and no real pain, sore. Look at those rubrics. It is
important, that you know these rubrics. "Extremities, pain sore" (p. 1126) and further below
"during chill", and he has exactly this sore pain during chill. There is Rhus toxicodendron. Do
not forget that Rhus toxicodendron has an intensive, burning heat internally. If you look at
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"fever" - a very, very strong internal heat. And you feel the heat in the blood vessels. You can
repertorize all this: "Fever, burning, internal mostly, blood seems to burn in the veins" (p.
1282). Rhus toxicodendron is capital. Or "internal heat, burning, in the blood vessels" (p.
1288).
So, do not forget Rhus toxicodendron with influenza. Another remedy in influenza is Bryonia
and Eupatorium perfoliatum. Eupatorium perfoliatum with which symptom ? With the feeling
as if the bones are broken.
And then there is another very important remedy in influenza, we all forget and that is
Baptisia. Gelsemium also, but Baptisia is more important, it saves our practice. Maybe you
think that Homoeopathy can cure everything - yes, Homoeopathy can, but maybe we can not,
we can not find the right remedy. Baptisia has a mixing of the symptoms of Rhus
toxicodendron and Bryonia; it has the restlessness at night of Rhus toxicodendron, the busy
dreams of Bryonia, the thirst of Bryonia - "dryness mouth with thirst" - and it has the bad taste
and a bad odour from mouth of Mercurius. If you have difficulties to find a remedy - as many
people say - that lies between Rhus toxicodendron, Bryonia and Mercurius, you think about
Baptisia. Often it is said, "It has to be a remedy between Sulphur and Lycopodium." Then, it
is neither Sulphur nor Lycopodium, but a complete different remedy. You often see that.
A: But you always had to turn around. Are you more quiet at the moment ?
P: Yes, now I can lie quietly in bed.
A: Thirsty ?
P: Not very much.
A: Did you eat yet ?
P: No, not yet. Not yesterday either. I tried, but it didn't taste.
A: What would you like to eat at the moment ?
P: Something hearty.
A: And milk ?
P: Yes, maybe chocolate milk, if it is ready. But I also drink white milk.
A: Do you drink much milk ?
P: No.
A: Normally, you don't like milk ?
P: But yes, I do.
A: Does the milk has to be cold or warm ?
P: I prefer warm milk, but I also drink cold milk.
A: From the refrigerator ?
P: Yes, from the bottle.
WP: He means chocolate milk. He never drinks white milk, he doesn't like it.
P: But yes, I do. I don't drink it, but I like it.
WP: May he drink milk when he gets a tablet ?
A: That is no problem. I let you take one spoonful. Stay inside for a while and be careful with
the draft of air.
P: Yes. My head is not so obstructed anymore. The cold is loosening.
Acute bronchopneumonia
Bryonia alba
BOY, 12 YEARS OLD
220
This is a case of bronchopneumonia. It started with a pleurisy. In this case I did not make
radiographs, because I send the patient to the hospital to have radiographs made - previously I
did it myself, but it takes too much time, so that I do not do it anymore. I only send the
patients to have radiographs in the hospital, if they are healthy. I had a very interesting case,
where I heard the amphoric respiration. Here, you do not find it anymore, I saw it in Zaire
where you often find tuberculosis. In this case a colleague already gave Bryonia and
Phosphorus, but it did not work. He had constantly fever and when he came I listened and
heard the amphoric respiration. I knew it was tuberculosis. I asked him if he liked milk, is
grinding teeth at night and other things and I gave him Tuberculinum 10 M; 2 days later
Tuberculinum 50 M and after 3 days he was cured from a tuberculous bronchopneumonia.
Then we send him to the hospital to have radiographs made and they noticed symptoms of a
just finished pneumonia. After 40 days there was nothing else to see. If I would have send this
patient in this acute situation for radiographs to the hospital, they would have kept him there.
If the radiologist had seen the radiograph, he would have said, "Well, it is a dangerous
disease, the boy has to stay here", and when the mother is Calcarea she starts crying and is
very worried and the child stays for a fortnight in the hospital.
Now we will see what Homoeopathy can do in a bronchopneumonia.
Look at the boy.
What kind of expression of the face is that ? Baptisia.
It is a drunken expression, it is not the colour of the face. Although he looks very pale, and it
is not because of the paleness, but because of the drunken expression that you think of
Baptisia.
A: Tell me, what is the problem ?
P: Pain here, while inhaling.
A: Get up and pull your shirt up. Where do you have pain ?
P: (Points to the left side of the chest)
A: Does this whole side hurt ?
P: Yes.
A: (Pushes on the chest) Less painful now ?
P: Yes.
You can make the diagnosis within one minute. You see the patient, he has this pain, you
push and ask the patient to inhale, and the pain is better.
In Bryonia cases, when they say they can not breath because of the pain, how is it expressed
in the Repertory ? "Impeded respiration" (p. 773). That is typical for Bryonia. It is very
painful while breathing, they stop breathing.
Everyone knows that Bryonia aggravates by motion and the respiration is a motion. Second,
there is an amelioration by pressure and third, a stitching pain. When you have a combination
of those three modalities, you may be sure you are dealing with Bryonia.
The appearance of Bryonia in pneumonia is pale, in rheumatic cases it is red, that is a clear
difference. Every pneumonia case we saw up to now was very pale, on the other hand every
neuralgia case and also the cases with arthritic pain we saw up to now was very red in the
face. I do not know why.
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A: Crepitations, indeed. On the other side, nothing. Crepitation with wheezing and crackling
sounds. Pneumonia left with pleurisy tendency.
In pneumonia, in very serious cases you often hear nothing at all at the lungs. But here there
were crepitations, that is a symptom for pneumonia. But there are cases where you listen to
the lungs and you hear nothing. Someone might have stitching pain while inhaling deeply like
a pneumonia, we had such a case. A colleague listened to the patient and asked me also to do
it. He said it was a very serious case, because it is a pneumonia and the respiration on one side
was clearly weakened.
I went to the patient, but there was hardly any difference to notice between the respiration on
the left and the right side, but the colleague who listened the patient was very anxious. I
thought about Phosphorus because of the pneumonia, but because of other symptoms I gave
Ignatia. You can also get a pneumonia because of grief and Ignatia will cure it. You do not
believe me, because Ignatia is not known in inflammatory diseases, but Ignatia can also cure a
pneumonia. In this case I do not know, if the grief was the cause, but do not forget that Ignatia
can cure serious inflammation.
MP: How can this happen within two days ?
A: It might happen rather fast. Are you thirsty ?
P: A little. I have a dry throat.
"Dryness with thirst": Bryonia; "dryness without thirst": also Bryonia.
A: Does he want to lie down ?
MP: Yes, after school he slept the whole time. He could barely hold out in the waiting room,
he nearly fell from his chair.
A: At the moment he is paler than usually. You have a dry mouth. Do you want to lie down ?
MP: He has a tendency to vomit.
A: Does he also has the tendency to faint when he is running ?
MP: I haven't noticed it yet.
A: What does the warmth do ? Do you prefer the coldness ?
P: In between.
Bryonia has an aggravation by motion and in warm rooms. Bryonia faints when he has been
running and goes into the house, because of the exertion and the warmth in the room.
A: How is the pain when you breath ? How does the pain feel ?
P: A stitching pain.
A: Does it stitch when you do not breath so deeply ?
P: Less.
A: How is it when you rub on it ? Does it do good ?
P: No.
A: Do you have nose bleedings ?
P: No.
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Why do I ask that ? Because of which remedy ? Phosphorus. Phosphorus wants to be
magnetised. Phosphorus are people who can be cured by laying on hands. They are very
sensitive to that, just like Silicea. They are also sensitive to electricity. These people have an
amelioration by kinetic therapy. Pain in the back, all kinds of pain ameliorate by rubbing. If
Phosphorus children fall, they want to be caressed, a kiss on it and everything is all right.
A: Does he want you to stay with him ?
MP: No, he doesn't want to be talked to.
Bryonia wants to be left alone. Where do we find this in the Repertory ? "Disturbed, don't
want to be" (p. 37). In this rubric there are only two remedies: Bryonia and Gelsemium.
The first two remedies we think of in this case are Phosphorus and Bryonia, so we only have
to differentiate between those two. On the psychical level the difference is that Bryonia wants
to be left alone and Phosphorus normally wants someone near him who is holding his hand.
But we also know of Phosphorus that he often is indifferent to relations (p. 55). Another
difference is that Phosphorus moves the wings of the nose; Bryonia does not do it, "nose,
motion of wings" (p. 340).
A: He has the tendency to sleep ?
MP: After 4.00 o'clock p.m. , yes.
A: On which side does he lie then ?
P: Usually, on this side, sometimes on the other.
A: Can't you lie on the other side ? Can you lie on the painful side ?
P: I haven't lain on that side yet.
On which side does Bryonia lay ? On the painful side. Do not forget Bryonia in lung cancer,
in incurable cases that develop a pleurisy. In those cases the pain can be decreased by giving
those people Bryonia. You can help most people with lung cancer palliatively, but you can not
cure them.
A: Do you also have headache ?
P: Sometimes.
A: When does it hurt ?
P: I have it now and then.
A: Do you have headache while coughing ? Do you cough ?
P: Yes.
MP: A little, not much. It comes very deeply.
A: As if coming from the stomach.
He is coughing as if coming from the stomach (p. 806). And there is an important addition:
Carcinosinum. You know that the headache of Bryonia is diagnosed by letting the patient
cough and pressing the head at the same time; then it is better. They have headache especially
when they put their head forwards, everything falls forward with the pain and then you take
223
the head between your hands, push them forward and press at the same time, and then there is
no pain anymore or it is less. That is the examination to recognize Bryonia.
A: Does he hold his chest while coughing ?
MP: Yes.
He holds his chest while coughing. That is typical for Bryonia. Where do we find this rubric
? - "Cough must hold chest with both hands" (p. 792). They hold the chest, because they have
to press; the pressure ameliorates.
A: I give a remedy, I put it in his mouth. When you come home you dissolve the same
remedy in water and give 3 times a spoonful today. Tomorrow morning you call me to tell me
how he's doing. The general tiredness and the appearance are very important. At the moment
he looks completely exhausted, he is ready to drop with fatigue. The stitching pain is very
important as a parameter for tomorrow. He does not move, he is sitting still. He only moves
the eyes a little, nothing else. That is important for the differential diagnosis between Bryonia
and Phosphorus.
FEEDBACK
Do you see how he looks. 24 hours have passed. You can only reach this after one month
hospital - a fortnight in the hospital and a fortnight at home.
A: Yesterday you got a remedy. How much did he get of it ?
MP: Last night and this morning still two times.
A: Last night three times 1 spoonful and today two times 1 spoonful. How much fever did he
had yesterday evening ?
MP: 39,20 C. It remained so last night, but by the morning the fever had disappeared.
A: Yesterday, I had the impression he would be ready to drop. You look completely different
today. Do you feel better ?
P: Yes.
P: The pain is less.
A: Do you start coughing ?
P: Yes, I have coughed very much today.
A: Yesterday, you hardly coughed. Did you have pain when you coughed ?
P: Yes, sometimes.
A: Has the pain on the left side disappeared ?
P: Not completely, but it is less.
A: Do you bring something up when you are coughing at the moment ?
P: Yes, mucus.
A: Take off your coat, then we will listen.
"Expectoration" means that the patient is able to bring up bacteria, this means that he has
become stronger.
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MP: This morning he still had a lot of headache. He didn't have it so strongly yesterday.
A: (Listens the patient) Now in- and exhale very deeply. (Patient is coughing). I'm deaf or
he's cured.
MP: He had the tendency of not coughing so deeply. Always this superficial coughing.
A: But not at the moment ?
MP: No, not at the moment.
Which remedy has this superficial coughing ? That is Tuberculinum coughing, a very
chronic, superficial coughing.
MP: We think he drinks too little. Does he not have to drink much ? He hasn't drunk the
whole night and this morning only one cup of tea.
A: No, if he doesn't want to, he doesn't have to drink. Did he eat today ?
MP: Yes, even very well. This morning a little, at noon a little more.
A: How much fever does he have at the moment ?
MP: I haven't taken it yet. This morning it was 36,7 C or so.
Yesterday 39,2 C; today 36,7 C, without aspirin.
A: Do you have the feeling that you have fever ?
P: No.
A: Where do you have pain ?
P: Deep at this side a little, when I breath deeply.
A: You get this remedy to take home again, but you don't take it. The moment he has more
pain you dissolve this remedy in water and give him a little. For me, he looks excellent. You
have to stay inside, until you don't feel anything. Clinically, the boy is all right, yesterday
there were crepitations everywhere.
MP: Yesterday he felt really miserable, nearly crying the whole time. And now, he played
beautifully this morning.
A: You see, what Homoeopathy can do.
MP: There must be done something about his nose obstruction.
A: It has nothing to do with the acute situation. Now, we are not dealing with the previous
situation. That is an acute case of a patient of my colleague. I will tell your doctor which acute
remedy he got and then he will take care of it further.
Now she starts talking about this colleague behind his back. When you are working with
several doctors together, never allow patients to talk behind the back of your colleagues.
Prevent this immediately. They are trying to seperate you, especially critical people like
Sulphur, Lycopodium and Nux vomica. They try to talk about other doctors. Never accept this
!
When I had a seminar in the Netherlands, I came back after 4 days and one of my patients
called me because she was coughing and there was something wrong with her ear. In the
meantime she went to a colleague. Because 5 of our doctors also went to the course in the
Netherlands, another doctor was in holiday and so on, he had to stay there for 3 days and 3
225
nights to take care of all the acute cases. He told this woman who called to take an aspirin and
to call later. Then she went to an allopathic doctor and he said, it was very dangerous with her
ear, she had an inflammation of the ear and had to take antibiotics. 3 days later I came back
home and she called me. She said that she was not satisfied with the treatment. I told her that
this doctor had been working for 3 days and 3 nights and then she understood.
All together you have to defend yourself against every possible danger, no matter where it
comes from. You have to love each other, you need your other colleagues. One day you will
become ill or you are in holiday and the other doctors have to take care of your patients. We
need each other and we understand each other very well, we have to work with each other and
we have to celebrate with each other.
She starts talking about this doctor, but I said, "No, this is an acute case, nothing chronic."
Acute mastitis
Dd bell., bry.
WOMAN, 35 YEARS OLD
This case - it was in my first consultation room, the sound is not so good, but it is an
important case, philosophically. That is the reason why I show it here. It is a mastitis, an acute
inflammation of the breast after the birth of her child.
A: Three weeks after the birth of your child you got a breast-abscess on the right side.
P: Yes.
A: This situation started immediately. You had pain with 40 C fever and had a red
appearance. Therefore, I gave you Belladonna and the next day the fever had gone. But then,
you got fever again and the breast was hurting.
P: Yes, that was completely different.
A: Then, you looked very pale.
P: And I was very thirsty.
A: How did you feel emotionally at that moment ?
P: I couldn't tolerate anything, not even the children. I was very irritated. I didn't see well, I
didn't hear well.
A: You wanted to be left alone ?
P: Yes.
A: What about the pain at that moment ?
P: Very strong. Not stitching. Continuously.
A: It was always hurting.
She already had an acute inflammation after the birth a few times. All these inflammations
until now were Belladonna - no, once it was Phytolacca.
This case here, an inflammation on the right side with very high fever, very red - and I gave
her Belladonna. The day, after the fever had gone, she got a completely different kind of
illness. As she said, she felt completely different than previously with Belladonna. Afterwards
she came into a Bryonia phase: dry mouth, thirsty, pale, could not tolerate her children,
wanted to be left alone and was very tired.
Can we now say that our first remedy was wrong ? No, we have to follow the patient. That is
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the reason why it is important that the patient can reach a doctor when he needs one.
You might have to give another remedy after 3 days and probably another remedy after 3
days.
A: I gave you a remedy. When did it improve ?
P: The pain didn't disappear immediately, but the fever went down. During the night the fever
went down.
A: Had the pain completely disappeared ?
P: Yes, but the redness hadn't disappeared yet.
A: And what about the thirst ?
P: It was over.
She was cured with Bryonia. Later she came, and said that she had pain in the left breast and
cracks in the nipple. The pain had wandered from the right to the left side. She got
Lycopodium and afterwards the breast-symptoms disappeared.
Later she had problems with her son who had asthma and eczema. Which remedy did I give
her ? Ignatia ? After Lycopodium ? No, after Lycopodium it is Natrum muriaticum; and then
she was very well.
Mammary gland abscess
Radium bromatum
WOMAN, 50 YEARS OLD
And now another breast problem, a breast carcinoma. This woman has had an operation,
because of breast cancer. It is difficult to say if she has been cured completely or not. I have a
patient with breast cancer who should have been dead since 1980. She had a very big lump in
her breast and I sent her to the hospital. There, they diagnosed a breast carcinoma and the
hospital doctor called me and said, that probably she only had to live 11 months. Then, I gave
her Lachesis and she is still alive.
That is another story.
Until now we have maybe 10 patients with breast carcinoma and they all are well. The
remedy that always appears in such cases is Condurango.
Often, the women come after an operation out of the hospital with a lot of problems, pain,
depressions and so on. We give the appropriate remedy, one is, for example, Carcinosinum, in
other cases it was Condurango or also Conium. In the Conium case I could not say it was
cancer, it was a big tumor. I did not send this patient to the hospital, because I had already
treated her, and she had been cured.
But usually, we let them follow the way of the classical medicines. If they want, we treat
them, but first we say they have to go to the hospital and do what they propose in the hospital.
It also depends on what kind of woman the patient is. When you see clearly the remedy, for
example, Calcarea, first you give Calcarea 10 M and wait, and then she can go to the hospital
after a few months. But when you are not sure you have to send them to the hospital.
I can assure you that in breast cancer there are possibilities of more than 50 % to cure with
homoeopathy. It depends quite a lot of what kind of circumstances the women live in. If there
are many problems in the family, divorces, problems with the children, vexation with the
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parents - let them go and do not start a treatment.
Those patients do not react well, you loose your energy with all these fights.
Question: " ... have to be careful with high potencies ?"
A: Until now I have never given low potencies in these cases, because I think, that high
potencies are not medicines, but energy. And how can energy be bad, if it is chosen well ?
Maybe in Graphites cases, when you have given Graphites 10 M and then you have to give
Apis - but Apis is there to give, it follows after Graphites. After Graphites you might get a
failure of the kidneys, why not ? Then you give Apis and it is all right again. Until today I am
not anxious about that, maybe I have it tomorrow, who knows.
Question: "Do you not have those patients operated first ?"
A: No, I do not send every patient to an operation, it depends on the patient. If I can lead the
patient and he trusts me and I see clearly the remedy, then probably not - but if he is a person
who doubts, whether this treatment is right for him - forget it and send them to the hospital.
What you see in this case is a woman with a breast-operation on the left side. In this case I
have fought, fought very much, to cure her - until she gave me a piece of information ...
A: You were here in July, 1983 with the problem, that you were operated on for breast
cancer. A breast amputation, because of a small lump in the breast. Previously, you had pain
under the left scapula, extending towards the sternum. Then, radiographs have been taken and
there was a malignant tumor. You also had clearly cracks in the corners of the mouth.
The first symptom were the cracks in the corners of the mouth. That was a real indication to
give Condurango. - "Cracks in the corners of the mouth" (p. 357), three remedies are capital:
Condurango, Nitricum acidum and Arum triphyllum. Because of this symptom - and I do not
know, if she had also cracks at the rectum, but Condurango has cracks at the rectum and
typically, pain under the left scapula and then under the right scapula. "Pain, back, scapula
left, then right" (p. 902). That seems to be an important symptom for Condurango. I gave her
Condurango and the cracks in the corners of her mouth disappeared, but besides, she had pain,
very much pain. Because of her loquacity I gave her Lachesis, but it did not work. I had
another case, where I first gave Condurango, and then Lachesis, and each time the reaction
was very good and since 4 years she is doing very well. But here the pain has not improved.
A: The cracks have disappeared after Condurango. But afterwards, the pain where you have
been radiated, has increased very much, especially at the neck and at the back, you had pain
everywhere. Then, a few times I gave you constitutional Lachesis, because you were rather
loquacious and the amputation was on the left side, but the pain did not improve. Until you
had a bone-scan made, for an assessment of the bones and you told me that you had quite a lot
of pain after the scan, everything was swollen.
P: Even my bones ...
A: You got skin eruptions, fever and a lot of pain. But nevertheless, you could move. When
you were in motion, it was better. You also had a lot of pain at night, while resting.
These are the modalities of the remedy: "Motion improves, pain at night."
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A: In fact, results of the radiation. What you see there, all these spots and also the pain, you
have, everything is caused by the radiation.
You were here in December, 1986 again. I gave you the remedy on December 22, 1986. A
week later you were here. After the remedy you had an enormously "empty head", high fever,
38 C. Everything hurts, the joints, the bones and when you came here, the pain was a little bit
better, then I gave you Sac-lac., and I saw you again on February 28, 1987. Then you said,
"The pain is much better." That was the first time, since you come here, that you said
spontaneously, "The pain is much better." At the end of February, you said, "It seems as if I
would get used to the pain."
What does this means ? She tolerates the pain better, because she has more energy.
P: Yes, indeed, to learn to live with it.
A: "You get used to it," you said. That is very important. The place, where you have been
radiated, is the most sensitive place. Now, you say for the first time, that you can move your
arm better.
P: I can move my arm as far as my right arm. I can't lift my right arm very high, because I
had fallen on it.
A: Then the motion became better. After the remedy there was a fantastic improvement, for
the first time ...
... Tell me about it.
P: Yes, first I thought, it was such a small black point, a pimple. It was very little. I didn't feel
it deeply, I felt, it wasn't attached. It can't be caused by exercises ? By particular yogaexercises ?
A: Since when do you have the spot ?
P: Since I called you, on Friday evening. On Thursday evening, when I went to sleep; it was
hard and it felt very hard, the muscle or the artery there. I took off my clothes and said, "It is
very red." In the evening there was a more stitching pain, you feel it.
A: Does it really hurt, when I touch it ?
P: No, I can tolerate it.
A: No, no, when I touch it, does it hurt ?
P: A little.
A: How is the inflammation compared to yesterday and the day before yesterday ?
P: Yesterday evening it was very bad. I said, "In fact, I should go to a doctor." It is
decreasing yet. It was really red. I sat in a warm room, watched a little television. We had
visitors, sat in the warmth and then it became worse.
A: In the warmth it becomes worse ?
P: Here also. When I took off my clothes, the spot had a violet colour. And I said, "You
should take underwear of cotton, this is not good."
A: These are stitching pains, especially in the evening.
P: Yes.
A: How was it Saturday evening, the day before yesterday ?
P: Also more. And here, the pain is stronger at the lymphatic nodules. And here, when I wash
myself and rub it, it seems as if there are lumps. I can compare this with the varices at my leg.
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A: Do you have problems with the varices in the evening ?
P: Yes, I came once with that problem. At the moment it is a line on my leg. And when it
pulls, the dorsal vertebra, then I have the feeling as if those things are inflamed.
A: Do you also have problems with your back ?
P: Yes, very much.
A: At the moment more problems ? Where ? The dorsal vertebra ?
The neck ?
P: Above and here in the neck. It stitches terribly.
A: Do you have more problems now ?
P: On May 2, I had visitors and I had problems with my back, my neck and my head.
Headache to run against the wall.
A: I will give you a remedy. When do you have to come back ?
P: Saturday.
A: I give you a remedy that you let melt under your tongue and then I would like to see the
effect of the remedy on Saturday.
After the bone scan-examination, she got strong pain in the joints, high fever and so on. She
has also been radiated and had a strong reaction to the radiation. So, which remedy is
indicated ?
Radium bromatum. I gave her this remedy and the pain has disappeared. Before, she could
not move her left arm and now she can put her arm on her back again.
This is a very big remedy. It has the same pain-modalities as Rhus toxicodendron, besides the
loquacity of Lachesis and the sympathy of Phosphorus, but it is not examined yet well
enough.
Study Radium bromatum and add all the symptoms in your Repertory, from Boericke. It is an
important remedy for acne, eczema, impetigo, ulcera, hairloss, nephritis, arthritis and others,
also pain at Mc. Burney's point. Which other remedy has this ? Chronic appendicitis ? Ignatia.
After the joints-scan I gave her Radium bromatum, then she got that ulcer and I repeated
Radium bromatum. It cured the ulcer.
FEEDBACK
P: First, I could lift it until here.
A: Before, you couldn't do it, could you ? You can lift it since a few months, since January.
P: Yes ...
... here, on 2 sides. And when I was lying in bed, on both sides.
A: And now it is all right ?
P: No.
A: Yes, yes, but it is much better.
FEEDBACK AFTER THE SECOND RADIUM BROMATUM (XM)
A: So, you got a remedy 5 days ago and now the pain is less.
P: Yes, ...
A: Now, it starts itching. It was very painful the last time, when you were here and the pain is
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decreasing.
P: There is a pimple on it. You could say, an inflamed pimple.
A: But the pain is clearly less ? You have less problems with it.
P: Yes.
A: You said that you have been working outside the whole day yesterday ?
P: Yes, you know how many times you bend down to sow and to plant.
A: And you just said that your pain in the back is better.
P: Yes, but along the vertebrae, when I sit and where the muscles, yes, how shall I explain it,
there it pulls, as if there is still an inflammation.
A: But how do you feel compared to last week ? In general, with the pain ?
P: Better.
A: All right. You see, that the reaction of the inflammation is clearly less. Also less pain. And
you can work well outside ?
P: Yes, I like to do it very much.
FEEDBACK
A: Now, we can say that it is cured completely. There is nothing else to be noticed. Only on
the skin you see the discoloration, but underneath you don't feel anything, do you ?
P: No.
A: Everything is all right.
P: Yes, it is so deep, when I push something against me or when I'm lying, so on this side.
When I sit, it is not so strong, but when I lie on my left side, then it is here and here. So
tubercles. There, yes.
A: Everything is all right.
P: But it feels painful.
A: But not so much as previously.
P: No, but I have those things for quite a long time and the doctor says, that it has to do
something with arthrose. It was last week, but I think, it is inside my breast.
A: Yes.
P: But when the joints rub against each other, it is another pain than this.
A: Yes. But in the mammary gland there is certainly nothing. It is normally elastic, you don't
feel anything inside it.
Did you take other medicines for the ulcer ?
P: No.
Mastitis
Belladonna
GOAT
A: Recently, she has dropped young ?
F: (Farmer) Yes, on Wednesday.
A: Today, it is Sunday. The left udder and the teat are inflamed. Can the young goats drink at
the udder ?
F: No, it hurts.
A: How is her behaviour at the moment ?
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F: Aggressive.
A: Easily angry.
F: Yes.
A: Does she lie in the sun ?
F: No, she wants the shadow.
A: How many young goats does she have ?
F: Three.
A: One is dead, so still two. Does she eat well ?
F: Well, yes.
A: She let the young goats drink on the other side. Now, I will give her something and after a
few days I will record her again and then she has to be healthy again. So, today 3 times a
tablet under the lips and we will examine her tomorrow again.
What did I give her ? Aggravation by the sun, aggravation by touch and a left sided
inflammation of the mamma, and the farmer told me, that she is very jealous. She is jealous
when the other goat - they have 2 goats - comes near to her children. You see, there are 4 little
goats, 2 belongs to this goat and 2 belongs to the other. What did I prescribe ? Lachesis. Why
not Belladonna ? Because of the inflammation on the left side, therefore Lachesis. And the
reaction ? Nothing ! The next day I came back and saw that nothing had changed; very
strange. Then, the farmer told me that she had been very thirsty when the inflammation
started, and I saw, how she drank half a big bucket with water. She was lying there and she
did not move very much, but she was not lying on the painful side, but on the right side. But
she was so thirsty and wanted to be alone, that was my idea about the emotional side. The
farmer told me that goats usually drink quite a lot - I did not know. Then, I prescribed which
remedy ? Bryonia, because of the large thirst, and besides, look at the rubric "chest, swelling,
mammae" (p. 881). That is what I could see. I did not touch the goat, not felt her, if she was
hot and that was my fault. Because I only looked at her, I said, "Oh, she is jealous, does not
tolerate the sun, aggravation from touch, left-sided, so she will get Lachesis." And now comes
the next very important symptom of the remedy we are talking about. Then, I examined the
goat, because there was no reaction on Lachesis and Bryonia. First, I drank 2 beers and then I
examined her. What was the remedy and how fast did it work ?
FEEDBACK (MAY 14, 1987)
(The young goats drink at both sides)
A: I was here on Sunday. Because the udder inflammation was on the left side, did not
tolerate the sun and because she was jealous, we gave a remedy in C 30 potency. The next day
there was no reaction. That was on Monday. I came back in the evening and you told me, that
she was very thirsty when she had the inflammation. She drank half a bucket all at once. You
also said that in general goats drink very much all at once.
F: But this was more than normal.
A: She was also lying in a certain way, she did absolutely not move at all. Then, I gave her a
remedy again and she did not react to that remedy either. Then, I came back on Thursday in
the forenoon and examined her. The udder was hot and red and she could not tolerate that I
touched it and then I gave her a remedy in M potency.
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During the examination I felt the heat before I touched the udder, it was so hot. Then, you
can take the rubric "hot swelling of the mammae". The remedies here are Belladonna,
Bryonia, Calcarea, Mercurius and Phosphorus. Lachesis is not there. Besides "sensitive to
touch": Belladonna, "aggravation in the sun": Belladonna; "thirsty": Belladonna, and the heat
is another symptom of the Belladonna inflammation. The symptoms came suddenly; second,
she is very sensitive to touch; and third, it is very, very hot. Kent writes that you can feel the
heat from a distance of 20 cm. And that was the case here. She was not lying on the painful
side, she was lying on the other side. Because I did not examine the goat I could not feel the
heat and therefore I gave twice the wrong remedy. Here, the local symptoms are the most
important. Lachesis has also the sensitiveness to touch, but this intensive heat and redness,
that is Belladonna, even when it is on the left side. That is a very important lesson ! How
quick did she react ?
A: How many times has it been given ?
F: Once.
A: When ?
F: At half past three and at 7.00 p. m it was already better.
Yes, at 7.00 p.m. we milked her, already after 3 hours.
A: And the next day everything was all right.
F: Yes, unbelievable.
A: And what did the farmer's wife of the neighbour say ?
F: She said, "You have to call the veterinary surgeon, the goat needs penicillin injections."
She has experienced it with her cows. The veterinary surgeon came there three times in three
days.
A: So, that is a proof, because the goat does not know me and it is surely not the colour of the
tablet that plays a role. Second, I only give the right remedy the third time and it was always
the same kind of tablet. The expectation of the goat does certainly not play a role.
You see, the young goats could drink of the udder again after three hours.
Do not forget, when a woman after delivery has an acute inflammation of the breast, with
very high fever, usually on the right side, but also often on the left side, the first remedy is
Belladonna. Normally, the fever goes immediately down after Belladonna and a few days
later the same inflammation starts on the left side - and then it is which remedy ?
Lycopodium. This is a sequence I have seen three times.
A woman called me, after delivery she had suddenly high fever, 39 C. She told the
gynecologist that she does not take antibiotics, but calls me. I told her to take Belladonna and
that the inflammation probably will change from the right to the left side and then has to take
Lycopodium. And indeed, it happened so.
That is a sequence I have seen three times up to now, and you do not see so often mammary
inflammation. So think about this after delivery, especially after delivery - first Belladonna
and after Belladonna follows Lycopodium.
Or in another case there was first Bryonia, then Belladonna and then Lycopodium. She was
very, very pale, very sick, very thirsty with a dry mouth and I gave her Bryonia. After Bryonia
the fever went down and suddenly another fever arose, but it was a complete different fever:
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heat, more sensitive to touch and central congestion - Belladonna. Afterwards she went to
Lycopodium and later on she needed Natrum muriaticum. Lycopodium and Natrum
muriaticum are complementary.
Acute mon-articular arthritis of the knee
Bryonia alba
BOY, 4 YEARS OLD
A: Tell us, what is the matter with your child ?
FP: Last Wednesday at noon, 4 days ago, he went to sleep. He woke up suddenly and
complained about his leg, you could not touch it. It came unexpectedly. First, we didn't pay
attention to it. His grandmother was there. I was not at home myself. After an hour I came
home with my wife. He sat on my mother's lap. I went to him and moved his leg and he pulled
it immediately back. I said, "What's the matter now." My wife said we should have a look at
it. We took off his pants and his left knee was completely swollen, red and warm. He was
afraid you would touch it.
A: Probably, he was afraid that you would move it.
FP: And he was furious that I did it so suddenly.
A: It was an acute arthritis of the knee ?.
FP: Yes, especially on the left side and a little on the right side.
A: Did you notice other symptoms ?
FP: At that moment there were no other symptoms.
His little brother was ill for a few days and had fever. Two days before he also woke up and
had a very red appearance. He was a little weak, shivered and had 39,1 C fever. But further,
he wasn't ill, he ran about normally.
A: Is he an active child ?
FP: Yes, very active. In the mornings, when he wakes up, he starts immediately playing with
this or that.
A: We can not say, that he is restless, but a busy child.
FP: Yes, always.
Where can we find this ? A child, constantly busy ? It is not a restless child, but it has to be
busy: Apis, Bryonia is there. "Industry" is a very important symptom of Bryonia. Bryonia is
one of the first remedies in industry. He also dreams about it. Apis is also there. The
differential diagnosis to Ledum after a wasp-sting is very important. You can differentiate
them by these mental symptoms. Apis is constantly busy, Ledum not. I have seen it so many
times.
A: How did it go on ?
FP: My wife is a nurse, she immediately wanted to go with him to the hospital. But I said, "I
know what they do there, namely from the first moment on they give blindly antibiotics, for
fear it could develop to an osteomyelitis. I will call the centre." And I could come
immediately.
A: Then I saw the child. It was notable, and I prescribed the remedy to that symptom, that the
child had more pain when I touched it. I took him under his armpits and let him hang down,
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then he had more pain at his knee. When he stood, he didn't have pain, but he had when he
was walking.
Be attentive with the observation. We know, that Bryonia has an improvement by pressure.
When someone had an inflammation of the knee and is standing, it is a pressure. Standing
ameliorates because of the pressure. When I lift him up, the pressure left off and he has pain.
That was together with the industry an indication for Bryonia. A very little, but important
symptom, such as the diagnosis of appendicitis - the rebound tenderness. You push (on the
belly), release it and it hurts.
Does everyone know the rubric for appendicitis: "Abdomen, inflammation, appendicitis" (p.
552).
A: Think about the rebound tenderness in appendicitis. The child is standing and the articular
cartilages are pressed against each other. He stands still. So, pressure improves. I lift him and
he has more pain. If the pressure has disappeared, the pain becomes worse. And motion
aggravates, when he goes. A beautiful Bryonia sign.
FP: Yes, indeed.
A: How fast did it improve ?
FP: You gave me the remedy on Wednesday evening. We gave him that evening twice a
spoonful in solution. When he woke up, he got out of bed himself and walked about. His knee
was not red anymore, nor warm, only a little swollen. He did not dare sit on his knees yet. He
could sit on the toilet and was lying on the floor. That day he got a spoonful 3 times. The next
day he came out of bed again and was sitting on his knees. The swelling had disappeared also.
A: So, we can say that he was busy as a bee.
FP: Yes.
I saw him the first time on Wednesday evening, I made the video three days later, on Sunday.
You know, what happens in a children's hospital with an acute mon-articular arthritis of the
knee ? They immediately give antibiotics. With homoeopathy everything was cured within 3
days.
Influenza
Bryonia alba
MAN, 45 YEARS OLD
A: You were here on Thursday, today it is Sunday. You came with a severe influenza, which
you already had for a few days.
P: Yes, since Tuesday, then it started.
P: I think, because I have been walking about outside, without putting on more clothes. And
so I got a cold.
A: Did you feel it ?
P: That I did something wrong, yes. I tried to prevent it with vitamin C. On Monday, I did not
feel much and I thought, that it was all right. I went working, but I was cold the whole day.
When I came home in the evening, I told my wife that I felt very well. I went sleeping and
didn't become warm. I took another blanket and woke up at 3.00 a.m. because of the cold. On
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Tuesday morning I felt rather well again. I went back to my work. On Tuesday evening I had
fever.
A: How was the fever ?
P: I started to fantasize. I had to heap bricks in the desert. And when it wasn't right, I had to
heap them again at another place. That happened 150 times until I wake up again.
That is very interesting. He had a kind of delirium, delusion, dream. He had to heap bricks in
the desert, they fall down again and he has to heap them again. Look in the Repertory: "Sleep,
dreams, busy", "dreams of being busy" (p. 1237). Radium bromatum has to be added here. He
is very busy in his dream, and indeed in the desert. He said that he has heaped bricks in the
desert, he has the delusion, to be away from home - "delusion, thinks he is away from home"
(p. 27) (Laughter).
You can also say, that he has a kind of delirium in this fever. It is difficult to differentiate
between delusion, dream and delirium. Look under "delirium, busy, during fever" (S. 18).
P: ... and immediately, until the morning.
A: So, until the morning heaping bricks in your bed ?
P: Yes, in bed. I was completely exhausted. On Wednesday I couldn't do anything.
A: What else did you feel in your body ?
P: Forceless, no energy.
A: No pain ?
P: No. It came later, only in the evening, also during the night from Wednesday on Thursday.
Pain everywhere. I couldn't lie anymore. I was tossing about, because of the pain. My arms
were swollen and were hurting completely, even my testicles, everything was hurting. It was
terrible.
A: Did you have headache while coughing ?
P: Yes.
A: And pain in the back while coughing ?
P: Pain in the back, headache, until Friday.
A: You were here on Thursday.
P: Friday I still had strong pain.
A: And Saturday ?
P: It had disappeared.
A: So, you had pain aggravated from motion ? But the pain was so bad, that you couldn't lie
still in bed ?
P: Yes, I couldn't lie, because of the pain.
This symptom is very important for the differential diagnosis of Rhus toxicodendron
(restlessness). Often, Rhus toxicodendron is so painful, that he can not move himself, and
often Bryonia is so painful that he can not sit still. So, the differential diagnosis between those
two remedies is not always so easy, unless he heaps bricks in the desert.
A: Did you also have a dry mouth ?
P: Yes, during the fever.
A: Were you thirsty ?
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P: Yes.
A: In the meantime we know that you were busy in your dreams, but you also wanted to be
left alone ?
P: Yes, no noise around my ears, nothing. I didn't want to know anything. My wife may lie
beside me, but she may not do anything.
A: Do you think, that you are easily hot-tempered ?
P: A little aggressive, yes.
A: During your influenza you had also troubles with your stool. How was it ?
P: It was difficult, I had pain, also while urinating.
A: And you had a swollen feeling.
P: Yes, I was swollen up.
A: You got a tablet in dissolution.
P: Yes, I took 3 spoonfuls a day.
A: And today it is Sunday and you feel well, don't you ?
P: Yes, I get a push of energy again.
Question: "What did you give, which remedy was it ?"
A: Bryonia, because of the dry mouth, he wanted to be left alone, had this sore pain
everywhere, he was inside the house, and went outside where it was cold - that is Rhus
toxicodendron and Bryonia, the two important remedies.
The cause was not an east wind. Then, it should be which remedy ? Aconitum. But then, he
also had to be anxious to die and he had to be very restless.
It could also be Gelsemium, but not in this case.
Gelsemium, Aconitum, Rhus toxicodendron and Bryonia are important remedies in
influenza, also Nux vomica, Sulphur and others.
Viral encephalitis
Baptisia tinctoria
MAN, 35 YEARS OLD
Until now we have seen Bryonia and Rhus toxicodendron and I show you this case to
differentiate both remedies. In this case I could diagnose a viral encephalitis, because I was
more than 2 years on night-duty in a neurologic department and there I often saw how those
patients developed a fever, usually become unconscious, afterwards developing a complete
unconsciousness, which often leads to death.
I have seen many people, even young people, dying of this disease. It started with a fever, a
fever like this here and then there came a kind of ... You will see it on video.
When I worked in surgery in Zaire for 2 years, he assisted me. He is a nurse.
One night his wife called me and said, that he gave the impression as if he would become
unconscious, as if he would fall in coma. Because I knew he had worked in Zaire for 6 years
and often had malaria I took Natrum muriaticum. But I did not know that he had been seen by
a colleague in the centre, who chose the remedy very well. The remedy was not right, but he
could not choose another remedy.
I came with Natrum muriaticum in my pocket - but I did not need it. I found him in the
following condition:
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A: You were in the centre yesterday.
WP: The day before yesterday.
A: With pain in the back.
P: Yes.
A: Today it is 27th.
P: With back pain as a band. Pain over my whole back, extending towards my testicles, also
abdominal pain - below - but really as a band.
A: And it was better, while walking ?
P: When I was walking erect, it was better, when I bent down, it hurt, especially while
sleeping.
My colleague made a very good choice. The pain extended to the testicles, to the abdomen.
The remedy was Rhus toxicodendron.
P: Then I couldn't lie anymore.
A: It was a clear indication. And what appeared after the remedy ?
P: I got very strong headache. No amelioration of my back. Because of the strong headache I
couldn't nearly sleep at night, I was busy all the time.
A: What did you do ?
P: I have filled a large box with blocks. Half awake, half asleep, semi-unconscious.
He has worked, like the other man, but it was not in the desert. He said, "I was busy the
whole night." I took the rubric "dreams, busy". Which is the main remedy ? Bryonia. He got
Rhus toxicodendron and Rhus toxicodendron is complementary to Bryonia. The only
available remedy I could agree with, was Bryonia.
He said, "I was between awake and asleep, semi-conscious." Can you say it is a dream ? No.
How can we call it ? "Sleep, semiconscious" (p. 1247) ? Delirium ? It is a confusion with a
kind of excitement, together with a disorientation. This means "delirium". It is not easy to
define what delirium is. But certainly, this is not a healthy sleep; instead of the rubric "busy
dream" I took the rubric "delirium, busy" (p. 18). There are Bryonia, Rhus toxicodendron,
Hyoscyamus, Stramonium, Belladonna, and others.
Proposal: "Delirium with sleepiness."
A: Yes, I agree. You can also take this rubric, but to me it is important that he has worked the
whole night. That is a very peculiar symptom. I had to find a remedy which has this symptom
as well. We know that Bryonia has this also, and Rhus toxicodendron also, but maybe there
are other remedies; for example Hyoscyamus and Stramonium have it also, and we know
Hyoscyamus in unconsciousness and high fever. Hyoscyamus is a very important remedy,
also Helleborus. These are encephalitis remedies, besides Stramonium and Belladonna.
A: You couldn't lie ?
P: No. Then I had 40,5 C fever. By the morning less fever. There was still the sensitiveness.
The headache has also decreased a little by the morning, but the sensitiveness remained. And
today, the headache started again about 4.00 p.m.
A: Where do you have headache ?
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P: On the right side above my eyes. It is a pulsating pain.
A: Is it worse when you are coughing ?
P: Yes.
A: And what about pushing on it ?
P: It ameliorates, but I still feel it.
Headache on this place here. I can not say now which remedy has it, but this pain is a strong
indication for that remedy.
He has headache while coughing and the pain is better by pressure. Taking everything into
account, that he has had Rhus toxicodendron, with this kind of delirium, that he is working which remedy can we prescribe ? Bryonia. Then, I gave Bryonia.
A: Do you also have a dry mouth ?
P: Yes, my lips are dry.
A: And you aren't thirsty ?
P: No.
A: I also understood that you aren't so attentive. Why ?
P: I feel, that I am not so present. I am clear in my head, but then I am completely absent
again.
A: How do you feel when being absent ?
P: With headache.
A: And those dreams ? Those delusions ?
P: Being busy, I have had this the whole time. Even today. It seems as sleeping the whole
day. At noon, I rose. The motion was really good for me.
A: Motion was good ?
P: When I rose. It is all right for a while, but then I have to lie down again. The change does
good.
Do you understand the problem ? He has to move, but when he moves he has to lie down
again. So I thought, "Which remedy is in between Rhus toxicodendron and Bryonia ?"
On the basis of the symptoms I had to prescribe Bryonia, but you feel, when the remedy is
right - in this case I was not satisfied at all, therefore I came back the next day in the
afternoon.
A: Now you are lying.
P: Now I have to lie down, but I don't lie very well. The pain in my back started again. It is
pulling in my leg and feet.
A: You have had malaria for several times.
P: Yes.
How beautiful what Boericke writes about this remedy: "The symptoms of this ... are of an
asthenic type, simulating low fever, septic conditions of the blood. Malarial poisoning and
extrem prostration. Indescribable sick feeling. Great muscular soreness and putride
phenomena ... "
This means with "malarial poisoning" - he has had malaria. You see, how beautifully you
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find it in Boericke.
Some of you have seen this case, they have to be quiet, we want to develop the remedy. We
are standing before a difficult situation, therefore you will never forget this.
There is a difficulty between Rhus toxicodendron and Bryonia, and when you read the case
again, you will be reminded of this difficulty. You will never forget a difficulty in your life therefore we make it a little difficult here.
A: Now, you take 3 spoonfuls of this remedy at night. Again once, when you wake up. Three
times at night and then tomorrow during the day and we have a check up tomorrow.
FEEDBACK
P: Yesterday, I took Bryonia. I have slept well for about 3 hours. Then, the busy dreams
started again. I had dug and couldn't reach the end and so on. I also had pain in the back, so
difficult. And headache. But it is less, it is not so pulsating anymore.
A: What about the fever ?
P: Yesterday it was 38.6 C. Now, it decreased quite a lot. I didn't take it anymore.
A: Do you still have a dry mouth ?
P: Yes, and I drink more now.
A: Do you like fresh air ?
P: Yes, I like to open the window.
A: How do you feel compared to yesterday about this time ?
P: An hour ago, I had the impression that it would start again, that "sinking down", but it is
especially when I lie down and close my eyes, then indeed, I feel less well.
A: Do you have to be busy ?
P: It is all right when I rise, and then I have the need to lie down again, but when I lie down, I
don't feel well. And then it starts again.
A: The fever has disappeared, pain in the back and headache is less.
P: Yes.
A: Then I give you a higher potency.
Now, he got Bryonia 10 M.
NEXT DAY
P: The higher potency has changed nothing. I took it once before I went to sleep and about 3
hours afterwards. But I haven't slept well for one moment.
A: Wait. The fever has disappeared yet.
P: Yes, this morning it was 37 C.
A: The main symptom was being busy during sleep, is it still there or is there something else
?
P: No, I have been busy the whole time. Tonight I have been gluing tubes. I was busy the
whole time. One after the other, unbelievable. Now, I have also quite a lot of problems with
my eyes. But when I got up a minute ago, the symptoms have improved. I took a bath and felt
better afterwards.
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Pay attention to his appearance. You said Bryonia was the remedy, but you saw the last
Bryonia case. Can you say that he has the same appearance ?
P: Tonight it seemed as if there was something before my eyes, really, as if there were hooks
before my eyes, keeping off all the influences.
A: When you closed your eyes ?
P: I had the need to close my eyes, but then I got headache. When I opened my eyes, I felt
well, but then I had the need to close them again. I am indifferent to everything.
A: You don't have pain in your back, but you are indifferent, weak ? You said on the
telephone, "When I close my eyes, I see all possible things."
P: Nothing particular.
A: When you close your eyes, what kind of pictures appear before your eyes ?
P: These are no pictures, these are loose things. It seems as if something is inside my eyes. I
had the impression ...
A: Did you sleep this afternoon ?
P: I have been lying in bed, but I was tossing about; after a while I don't lie very well.
A: Do you have the feeling that it feels hard ?
P: Yes.
At this moment I was thinking of the remedy; now, at this moment I found the remedy and I
asked him, if he had the feeling that his bed was too hard. He said yes. In the Repertory
"sensation as if the bed is too hard" (p. 1365): Arnica, Arsenicum, Baptisia, Bryonia, Rhus
toxicodendron, Pyrogenium and others.
When you think of a remedy in an anamnesis you have to help the patient to express clearly
the symptoms.
P: That it becomes too hard after a while. Besides, yesterday I had less difficulties. I took a
bath and felt better. Afterwards, it started again. But the feelings which I have at the moment,
I have never had before.
P: That I feel sorry for myself.
A: Anxious.
P: Not really anxious, no. I don't see a way out.
P: I don't see the end.
A: Since when have you had the feeling that your bed feels too hard ?
P: Since yesterday. And a very bad taste in my mouth.
A: Show me your tongue. It is not very coated, but dry lips. Are you still thirsty ?
P: I have exerted myself to drink quite a lot, but then I have a tendency to vomit. But I didn't
vomit. Yesterday I wanted to eat something and had to stop suddenly. I didn't have to vomit,
but ...
A: Do you have pain while urinating ?
P: No, not at all. I have concentrated urine.
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A: Is it dark ?
P: Yes.
Why did I ask if he has pain while urinating ? Cantharis has also the feeling that his bed is
too hard.
A: You were busy during your sleep the whole night ?
P: Yes, until this morning.
A: Do you have pain while coughing ?
P: I had a little pulsations above my eyes, but not so much. Yesterday, it was much worse.
A: So, you have a bad taste. Does the urine smell strongly ?
P: No.
A: Those ideas coming into your mind while lying down, are they confused ?
P: Confused and they really concern me.
P: All those things, those impressions, coming into my mind, concerning me.
A: What do you mean ? Try to say it again.
P: It goes as follow, "I don't lie well and I feel so ... Indeed, I think it is too much related to
me."
This is a kind of confusion. How can you translate this in the language of the Repertory ?
"Confusion about his identity" (p. 15). The first remedy is Alumina, but with Alumina it is
another kind of confusion. They look in the mirror and ask, "Is this really me ?" When they
speak, they ask themselves if it is really they who are speaking. And Alumina has also the
feeling, as if they are someone else, that someone else speaks through them. The cause in
Alumina is that he has worked too much. That is what you see with MS in young men, who
work very hard, who work in the coal mine or somewhere else during the day and build their
house at the same time. They work day and night and when the house is ready, they get MS that is Alumina.
A grief, a deep disappointment for a long time, these are important indications for Alumina.
Afterwards, the weakness begins slowly. The first thing you see is the deviation of the eyes
outwards. You also see this in Natrum muriaticum, the divergent strabismus.
It is also typical for Alumina that they have corns at the foot-soles, which are very sensitive,
very painful.
In Guillain-Barr or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis you often mix Alumina with Sepia.
It is also strange that they like rice, but not potatoes. Not all kind of potatoes, they like fried
potatoes, chips, but not boiled potatoes, they like rice.
I had a very severe case. I took him away from the psychiatry. His wife died, and since then
he was very confused. It was terrible, I could not find the remedy. I searched 1 1/2 or 2 years,
until I knew it was Alumina. They all have a strong aggravation in the morning; only at 9.00,
10.00 a.m. it becomes better. When they have to start working early - it is impossible. They
become themselves slowly by 10.00 a.m. In the evening they feel well, together with
Medorrhinum, Sepia and Aurum.
This man always said that he was all right when he could do things he has to do in his own
tempo. When he has to do something quickly, he can not.
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After the remedy he could drive the car again. In Alumina it is very difficult, to cure them
completely; usually it is irreversible, but it is possible to stop the disease.
Until a certain point it is reversible, but usually they can not become completely healthy.
A: Is it possible that as it was you don't have your body ...
P: ... under control. Yes, that's right. As it was it lies away from me. I have no hold over it.
A: And you are tossing about in bed.
P: Yes, to lie quietly.
A: And to get control over your body.
P: And to lie down quietly.
A: The indifference has increased ?
P: Yes.
A: You even have the tendency to fall asleep while I'm talking.
P: I don't feel like that.
A: But you give me the impression.
P: Yes, this morning I had it very strongly.
A: You give me a very sleepy impression. You are also very depressed, melancholic.
P: Yes, yes.
A: You have pain at the nose root ?
P: Yes, now it is not so strong anymore, it is more here. Yesterday it was more central.
A: Do you have to sip while drinking ?
P: I almost don't drink.
A: Do you have pain in the neck ?
P: No, no pain, but much mucus.
A: You have real busy dreams ? Sleepless ...
P: Yes. It is not so that I wake up, but I know that I am always busy with the same thing.
Indeed, the last four nights I almost haven't slept.
A: Do you also think that you are confused in your head ?
Last night ? Do you work the whole time or do you do other things ?
P: The working was the main thing. I know that a number of things came in between, but the
working was continuously. Everything comes together, I try to lie down, then it is hard again.
A: The pulse ?
Why do I have to know that ? Because of Pyrogenium. You know the abuse between pulse
and temperature with Pyrogenium.
A: Regularly, a little fast.
Look at his drunken appearance.
A: Breathing, with open mouth. It looks like an influenza syndrome.
P: But it feels completely different.
A: Yes, I know. You are also anxious. What are you anxious of ?
P: That it doesn't improve.
A: And that you can't keep yourself under control. You didn't perspire ?
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P: I did this morning.
A: All right, call me soon.
It was half past eleven and he came at 7.00 p. m the same day again. It is difficult to make a
connection between what he said and the Repertory.
He is confused, but he tried to keep everything under control. In the Repertory there is a
corresponding rubric: "Delusion, body scattered about bed, tossed about to get the pieces
together" (p. 22): Baptisia. He tries to keep himself under control.
Then, you have this kind of delirium "busy delirium": Baptisia. I should have known this
remedy from the beginning, because his wife called me and said that it seemed as if he would
immediately fall in coma. In the Repertory "answer, stupor returns quickly after answer" (p.
4). And that is what he said. This means, he can answer and he answers correctly, but then he
falls into a kind of unconsciousness again. The first night he said, "Now, I have the feeling of
sinking down again." Look at "unconsciousness, answers correctly when spoken to, but
delirium and unconsciousness return at once" (p. 19): Arnica, Baptisia, Hyoscyamus.
But now, do you see the difficulty and the difference ? He has symptoms of Bryonia and
Rhus toxicodendron, it lies in between. This constantly tossing about, together with the
confusion and the effort to keep himself under control - I hope you will never ever forget this
again.
FEEDBACK
A: What did you feel ? How often did you take it ?
P: I took it three times. First, at half past 12.00, then it was a little better, but quickly
afterwards I felt the same as before: again busy incoherently with all kinds of things. At 3.00
p.m. I took it again. Then it improved; I felt that I had a hold on myself again. First, it only
concerned me, it was discouraging to be busy only with myself. Since then I felt very well.
Besides, at 1.00 p.m. I took also something. About 4.00 p.m. I went to sleep. I slept very
well. Then, the children woke me up and I fell asleep again until the telephone rang. I haven't
been busy with certain things. I slept very well.
The tingling in my body, so that I often didn't feel my hands and fingers, is over. Now, it is
itching everywhere, at the beginning the itching was worse, now it has decreased.
A: What about the headache ?
P: Still the same, but more enlarged. Yesterday evening and this morning I had headache
between my eyes. Still now, when I do something difficult, an exertion, or when I'm busy
with the children, then I feel that numb feeling again. But no pain like yesterday.
A: So, the intensity of the pain is less. What about your back ?
P: It is much better. Still a little pain.
A: What percent has the pain improved in 6 hours ?
P: I can't compare it.
A: You could have died. You thought, "I don't know what happens to me, but ..."
P: I really didn't know anymore what happened to me.
A: You were afraid and thought, "Am I going to be crazy or what is the matter ?" You
couldn't keep yourself under control and within six hours you have become someone else.
P: I feel completely different.
A: Do you have fever ?
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P: No.
A: Now, you don't take anything. The moment you feel it is coming back, you take it again.
You couldn't sleep, constantly busy in your head. Now, you have slept well. All right.
Otitis media, left

Pulsatilla pratensis
GIRL, 3 YEARS OLD
A: How much fever does she have at the moment ?
MP: I don't know, it went all so quickly, and the shortness of breath.
A: And she weeps easily ?
MP: Yes, yes, because of pain in her ears. This afternoon she hardly slept.
A: Does she want to be carried ?
MP: Yes.
A: Is she weeping much ?
MP: Yes, I just told her we will go to the doctor. Normally, it is no problem at all, but now
she made a real drama of it. Usually, she is very brave.
A: Is she thirsty ?
MP: Not so much, not more than normal.
A: And you noticed that she has tearful eyes ?
Look at those eyes, pay attention to those eyes ! I saw that child weeping and it had to sit on
her mother's lap.
We can start immediately "desire to be carried". The first remedy is Chamomilla, the second
Cina. They have to lie with their belly over their mother's shoulder. Cina is a very important
children remedy with worms. They really get cramps, because of the worms. Therefore, they
toss about in bed. Also Kali carbonicum, Lycopodium, Rhus toxicodendron and others, these
are remedies which have to be carried. Another remedy, that wants to be carried over the
shoulder is Stramonium, also Podophyllum.
That is one thing, besides she was constantly weeping. I do not know if you noticed the tears
in her eyes - "tearful eyes".
MP: I came home from my work and I saw those eyes and said, "She will become ill." And
since 4.00 p.m. she has become more ill.
A: You didn't notice what came out of her nose ?
MP: I can't say. I think, it was something watery.
She can weep and laugh at the same time.
She can weep and laugh at the same time. Everyone knows this remedy ? Pulsatilla.
What do you think, what kind of constitutional remedy does this child need ? You did not see
the whole child, but only the face. The face looks as if it was a fat child, but in fact she is
really very thin - "thin". In the rubric "thin" we see next to Calcarea and others also a remedy
that is complementary to Pulsatilla: Silicea.
We had quite a lot of problems with this child. We gave her Pulsatilla and afterwards she felt
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very well, later she did not react at all to Pulsatilla, then came the constitutional remedy and
cured her from the recurrent coughing and so on.
It is also important to know that the child has been born too early. That is very important in
the anamnesis ! When you are dealing with a child who has been born too early, the first
remedy you have to think of is Silicea. It can also be Thuja, it can be any remedy. We do not
know the reasons why children are born too early. It also depends on the circumstances of the
mother during her pregnancy, if she had, for example, a grief and therefore had an early birth.
I do not think that those children are suffering from that. But when it is a spontaneous early
birth, first we have to think of Silicea, Thuja, Tuberculinum, maybe also other remedies. It is
notable that those children often have a large head, very, very thin hair - you know, there is
"brittleness" in Thuja picture, they also have the feeling as if their legs would break, as if they
were of glass. This soft, fine picture of appearance, that is Silicea and Thuja. You might be
anxious to touch them, because their legs could break, they are so thin.
"Thirstless with fever," Pulsatilla is very important there. Very, very seldom Pulsatilla is
thirsty.
Do you see those tears in her eyes ? Look in the Repertory: "Lacrimation of the eyes during
fever" (p. 246).
MP: It starts with a snotty nose and the next day she has a shortness of breath. She starts
breathing with the wings of the nose.
She says that it starts with a cold. Afterwards she has a shortness of breath and starts
breathing with the wings of the nose. Also Lycopodium is complementary to Pulsatilla.
Someone who is constitutional Lycopodium usually gets a Pulsatilla influenza.
There is a further development of the disease. It can go from Pulsatilla to Lycopodium, and if
you do nothing, maybe Antimonium tartaricum, so when you do nothing it might come near
to death. These near to death remedies are dangerous remedies, such as Antimonium
tartaricum, Carbo vegetabilis, Arsenicum. With these remedies you can get someone out of
these situations and then he will go back to, for example, Lycopodium and then to Sulphur in
a healthy phase.
You saw the case of my daughter; she went from Opium to several other remedies and she
became always healthier, so that she could produce constitutional symptoms, this means she
had enough energy to produce Calcarea symptoms. And then, when you can give Calcarea,
you can be delighted, because it is a very deep working remedy. 70 % of all the children need
Calcarea, this means it is a remedy of early childhood. And when you can prescribe it for an
older person, it means that he is a strong man. Then it works beautifully. It means, that you do
not often find Calcarea with older persons. That is not right. You often will need Calcarea
with older people. But we often forget it; often we only think about Baryta carbonica in
dizziness with older people, but Calcarea has it also.
MP: She lies for half an hour in bed, then I pull her upwards. Then I lay her higher.
A: Is she intolerable when she is ill ?
MP: No, she isn't. When it becomes worse, in fact she isn't very intolerable. She weeps a
little, but if she has seen me, she is satisfied. I pull her a little upwards, and then she tries to
sleep again. No whining. And she likes caressing.
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Everyone knows that Pulsatilla likes company, that she likes consolation. "Consolation
amel." (p. 16): there are two remedies: Phosphorus and Pulsatilla.
But do not forget that Homoeopathy is flexible. If you have 10 times Pulsatilla, you also have
10 different appearances of Pulsatilla. Pulsatilla is not exclusively quiet, does not exclusively
want company. Look in the Repertory: "Aversion company during heat" (p. 12): Conium,
Hyoscyamus and Pulsatilla !
If you have negative symptoms, for example, we know of Pulsatilla that she likes company,
but when you have a child with fever, tears in the eyes and has secretion - you know,
Pulsatilla is a sycotic remedy with many secretions - and this child does not want the mother
to be around, do not say that this can not be Pulsatilla, because she does not want anybody
around. This kind of thinking is wrong. You may only take the positive symptoms, and you
see, "aversion to company during fever": Pulsatilla. So, only the positive symptoms count !
Another very important complementary remedy after Pulsatilla is besides Calcarea, Silicea
and Lycopodium - Tuberculinum. You surely have seen this often: you have often given
Pulsatilla, the reaction was good, and then follows Tuberculinum.
MP: You already had many kisses ? She eats as well as before. Also when she got the tablet,
she liked it.
Strange, but when you have given the children the right tablet, and they become ill again,
they say, "I need a tablet."
She also says that she eats well, in spite of the fever. Which remedy has a very good appetite
during fever ? Phosphorus.
A: Can I see you tomorrow evening again ?
FEEDBACK
A: Tell me, how did it go ?
MP: Fine. At home we let her drink the remedy twice, then she slept until half past eleven.
Then, she had again a little pain. Besides, by 11.00 o'clock the fever had gone. At half past
eleven I gave her again a little and then she slept until the morning. We had to wake her up.
And today she is vivid and didn't complain anymore. Only the breathing goes a little too fast.
A: But it is better ?
MP: Yes, we are very satisfied of course.
A: Before, it always developed to asthma.
MP: Yes, I had to give her antibiotics that day and she would get a shortness of breath. Of
course, we were very happy, that she slept the night through.
A: I give you the remedy to take home, save it. But when you have to give it again, you
dissolve it in water.
MP: How long does it preserve when it is dissolved in water ?
A: Three days. I think, she still have those tears in her eyes.
MP: She isn't healthy yet, but we still have a result.
A: All right, you give the remedy when there are problems. Don't worry.
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Otitis media, right

BOY, 2 YEARS OLD
This case demonstrates clearly how flexible you have to be, that a disease can develop from
Pulsatilla to Calcarea, to Silicea and afterwards, for example, back to Calcarea.
This child is fatter than the other child. With Silicea you find a fine structure, the hair is fine
and so on. The hair is rebellious, such as the character of Silicea. Which is the constitutional
remedy here ? Calcarea, right.
A: You have this child treated here, because he couldn't sleep; according to you he was
terrified. We gave him Silicea.
This child came the first time, because it woke up very often at night. I asked why the child
wakes up so often and the mother said, that he was frightened by a noise. How can we find
this in the Repertory ? "Anxiety from noise" (p. 7), "anxiety after fright": Silicea. Do not
forget that.
I give Silicea with closed eyes when the mother says that the child suddenly starts crying 3 4 times a night and nobody knows why.
But I had some cases, where the parents knew why: because of a sudden noise, because of a
noise in the street everything started. Since that day the child does not sleep the night through.
But, as a mother do you ever know, if there was a noise, if the child has been frightened by
that ? No.
Question: "Why don't you take the rubric 'sleeplessness from noise' ?"
A: No, this is not sleeplessness from noise, because the child slept well, and when there was a
noise, this child did not wake up.
"Sleeplessness from noise" means, that they can not sleep from the slightest noise, but that is
not Silicea. Silicea is frightened by the noise and since then they wake up regularly.
You know, that children are often beaten on their bottom after birth, and that makes a noise,
and even that can be the reason for the waking up of a child.
But other important anxiety-remedies are, for example, Aconitum and Opium.
Aconitum has been frightened very much and since then they are anxious. Opium has been
frightened so much that he has stool in his pants. Look in the Repertory "involuntary stool
from fright" (p. 621).
I had an Opium case. A woman had a car accident and she was trembling the whole time "trembling after fright" (p. 1408) and "shaking" (p. 1189), under "extremities": Kali
bromatum and Opium.
... Another remedy is Kali bromatum, a remedy for people who lost their job, exactly the
same as it often appears with Mercurius, when they are 60 years old and have to retire.
Afterwards the complaints of Kali bromatum and Mercurius begin. Then, they do not have a
job anymore and you see, for example, the restlessness of the hands, at the same time also,
"trembling". Which remedy has this ? Mercurius and Plumbum.
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A: It was all right very fast. A fortnight ago you came with the child. I didn't have time to
record it. He had pain in his ears. Tell me, how did it go.
MP: First, he had problems with the sleep again and got another tablet, 3 days later he had an
inflammation of the ear.
A: Did the problems with the sleep disappear after the tablet ?
MP: No.
A: On which side was the inflammation ?
MP: On the right side.
A: How did it look ?
MP: In the forenoon it wasn't so bad, he touched his ear. Then I took him to bed. In the
afternoon, after he got up it started. He was weeping, clung to me and whining.
A: And he had to sit on your lap and you had to carry him about the whole time. Then, I
repeated Silicea, but it didn't work anymore.
After the first consultation this child was cured immediately. The night after the Silicea he
slept well.
Afterwards he got an otitis on the right side. I thought, "Why not Silicea ?" Indeed, he had
Pulsatilla symptoms, was cured with Silicea so beautifully,, and now the sleeplessness starts
again; but it was another sleeplessness, a sleeplessness because of pain in the ears. That is
another reason.
I repeated Silicea - nothing. And then I gave Pulsatilla. That is a proof that you have to
change the remedy if the symptoms have changed.
A: Then, how did it go after the second remedy ?
MP: I gave it him immediately. That night he slept very well and in the morning it was over,
although I was not allowed to touch his ear. But he didn't weep. He was playing and so on.
Now, Pulsatilla cured this sleeplessness and otitis. Later he got eczema and Calcarea cured it.
A: Since then, no problems ?
MP: No, neither with the sleep.
A: He eats well, drinks well.
MP: And sleeps well.
Acute pain in the abdomen
GIRL, 12 YEARS OLD
A: 3 months ago, in July, you were here with her. This morning you called me. What is the
acute problem ?
MP: From Thursday to Friday, she started to complain about pain in the abdomen. She says
she had cramps in the intestines. She describes it as a stitch, appearing suddenly, disappearing
slowly. After a while everything starts again.
A: Tell me, how it happens.
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P: When I lie in bed I often have cramps in the intestines.
A: What do you feel exactly ? Tell me.
P: Stitches in the abdomen.
A: How does it appear ? Does it appear slowly or how does it go ?
P: Suddenly.
A: Where are the stitches in the abdomen ?
P: (Points to the region of the stomach)
A: So, in the region of the stomach. It appears suddenly. And how long does it last ?
P: A few minutes.
A: Does it disappear suddenly ?
P: No. I have those stitches a few minutes and then it disappears slowly.
We have to be sensible to the prescription of the pain. "The pain appears suddenly and
disappears slowly" (p. 1377). Pulsatilla is two.
A: Since when do you have this ?
P: Since Friday in school.
A: What happened in school on Friday ?
P: Nothing particular.
A: You didn't annoy yourself ?
P: No.
A: Let me feel your hands ... When you have pain, does your mother have to be with you ?
P: I just tell her.
A: But when your mother isn't there, you can't tell her ?
P: Then, I lie down on the couch.
A: So, you don't lie in bed, but on the couch. How do you lie then ?
P: On my abdomen.
Which rubric is this ? "Lying on the abdomen ameliorates" (p. 558). Indeed, she says she has
pain in the stomach, but that is not so important. In the rubric the following remedies have to
be added: Ambra grisea, Calcarea, Kali phosphoricum and Pulsatilla.
In the rubric "pain in the stomach, better from lying on the abdomen" there is one remedy:
Elaps; Magnesia muriatica and Belladonna have to be added.
But we know of Pulsatilla that the pressure ameliorates when they have cramps; look under
"cramping pain".
Here, in this case we have to differentiate between Pulsatilla and Calcarea.
A: And then it is better. And your mother has to be with you.
P: Often.
MP: She likes when I am around.
A: Well, she likes it. Is she such a caressing girl who wants to be taken in your arms ?
MP: She still likes it. She also wants to be a big girl, but now and then she says, "Take me in
your arms." Now and then, she likes it very much.
A: What about the appetite ?
P: Very well.
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A: Tell me, what you don't like much ?
P: Soup.
A: What do you like to eat very much ?
P: I like everything, but soup.
A: Does she tolerate heavy meals ?
MP: I don't know, because we will avoid that. She doesn't like Brussel sprouts, but I don't
cook them, because I don't like them either. I feel it ... and she doesn't like them either,
cabbages and so on ...
A: That is heavy.
MP: Yes.
A: Does she like fruit ?
MP: Yes, she eats it very much. She likes apples. We have an fruit-dish on the table and she
eats regularly several pieces of fruit.
Look at the desires. She likes fruit (p. 485): Carcinosinum, Kali arsenicosum and Magnesia
muriatica. "Desire sour fruit": Ptelea has to be added.
A: And on your slice of bread ?
MP: What do you put on your slice of bread ?
A: Does she like cheese ?
MP: No, she will never take it.
A: Can she tolerate the cold ?
MP: In fact, yes. You can tell it yourself.
P: Yes.
A: Tell me.
P: In winter I wear a short skirt and I am still warm.
MP: She always has warm hands.
A: She can warm you up ?
MP: Yes.
Usually, Calcarea is chilly, Pulsatilla warm. She is really warm, because she is wearing a
short dress.
A: Is she a sweet child ?
MP: Yes.
A: So, a golden child. Is she also a little anxious ?
MP: Yes.
A: Tell me.
MP: For example, she has fear of spiders. She also doesn't like to stay alone at home, when I
have to do some shopping. Unless, it is during the day, then she goes playing outside. She
wouldn't stay long inside. She doesn't like to be alone.
One side of her face is red, the other side is pale. Look in the Repertory under "discoloration
face, red, one sided".
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A: That is since 3 days, today it is the fourth day.
MP: Yes, she has so much pain in the abdomen. First, I thought it would go over from itself,
but then I preferred to call you.
A: It will be over soon. But I would like to see you again on Saturday.
Question: "Can it be an intussusception in this case ?"
A: That is not important. Why do you want to know it is an intussusception ? It is a pain
appearing and disappearing. She has no fever, so it is nothing dangerous. I think it has an
emotional background. We will see the reaction.
But an intussusception is a serious problem. Which is the first remedy ? Belladonna.
FEEDBACK (OCTOBER 10, 1987)
A: You were here on October 19 and now it is October 24, because of pain in the region of
the stomach. You had to lie down and so on. How did it go after the remedy ?
P: I took the tablet. The next day I still had pain in the abdomen, the next day still a little.
Then it was better, and afterwards I didn't have pain in the abdomen anymore.
A: You haven't been ill anymore ?
P: No.
A: Not after you took the tablet ?
P: No.
A: You don't feel anything ?
P: No.
P: Yes.
A: Maybe, it is interesting to hear the cause . Tell me.
MP: On Thursday evening, before the pain in the abdomen started, the boys in her school had
locked her bicycle with a safety-lock. She couldn't unlock it and she had to drag the bicycle
home with a few girl-friends. Of course, she was completely upset, because of what happened
with her bicycle, also a little panic of what will happen next. They might do it again. In the
meantime we have found a solution for that. I think, that might be the reason.
As often, it is also here difficult to know what the reason was. Only with a real organic
problem it is important to know, what the matter is, if it is reversible or not. For the prognosis
it is not important to know, if real pathologic changes exist or not. With a perforation of the
intestines, for example, with a Crohn's disease, you may be sure that you will never cure it, it
has to be operated on.
I had a case, I have fought with it for 4 months. I made a wrong diagnosis and a colleague
whom I sent this patient to for an examination also made a wrong diagnosis. We did not
notice it was a perforation, a hard abdomen, a peritonitis. I did not see it and tried to cure her.
I gave her constantly Arsenicum, after 4 months she still had the diarrhoea, I had to give her
Belladonna and then Laurocerasus. That was a situation near to death. Then, we sent her to
the hospital. They removed the colon and she had 15 perforations. With these 15 perforations
she lived 4 months under homoeopathic treatment. It was at the time that Vithoulkas was in
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Belgium and I asked him to see the patient. He did not want to and I said that I will send her
to the hospital. Then, he came and after he has seen her, he said that she had to go to the
hospital - but she did not want to.
Since 1 1/2 years she had diarrhoea and pain in the abdomen, but she did not go to a doctor. It
started, because her neighbours who are hunters, shot her dog. She was looking for him since
1 1/2 years, she tried to find her dog. Then, she came to us. We could help her a little, but she
always relapsed. When she came she already had those perforations. It is important to
examine the patients properly, to know if they have a peritonitis or not. It was winter when
she came and we had so much work to do that I did not examine her. I noted the symptoms
and the first remedy I gave her was Colocynthis. But you have to examine your patients
properly.
Because she did not react to the remedy, in the way that I was satisfied, I sent her to a
specialist in the hospital. He wrote that it was Crohn's disease, and when it does not
ameliorate, she has to go back to the hospital. She would refuse to stay in the hospital. But he
did not write anything about peritonitis, so that I thought, I can sleep with a quiet mind,
because he has examined her properly. But you see, you can not sleep with a quiet mind if
you do not do the examination yourself.
Aseptic osteonecrosis (sever's disease)

BOY, 12 YEARS OLD
This disease occurs more often in young people who pursue a lot of sport - an aseptic bone
necrosis. The therapy consists of putting the foot in plaster and forbid him walking for 6
weeks. Afterwards, it is usually better, but later it comes back.
It is a bone problem, therefore we think of remedies like Calcarea, Calcarea phosporica and
so on. But we have to think homoeopathically, and pay attention to the symptoms and not to
whether it is a bone problem or not.
A: You were here on October 20, with the complaint of pain in the heel.
P: Yes.
A: That was the Sever's disease. Which heel was it ?
P: The left one.
A: It was rather aching, especially when you had been walking ?
P: Yes.
A: It was especially in the morning, when you got up and when you had been walking about.
It was better when you had been walking for a while.
P: Yes, then it was a little bit better.
A: And especially, when you had pursued sport, you had a lot of pain in the heel.
Look in the rubric "pain, heel, while walking", but first in the general rubric "pain while
walking" and afterwards in the rubric that describes the kind of pain (stitching). When you
have a modality, first you have to look in the general rubric, here also "extremities, heel" (p.
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1081): two capital remedies: Rhododendron and Pulsatilla. And then you look under "on
beginning to walk": only one remedy: Pulsatilla.
He says that when he starts walking in the morning he has pain in the heel. If you prescribe
Pulsatilla only on the basis of this symptom you are a "key-note" prescriber; that is not good,
you have to have more reasons for Pulsatilla, unless you found a typically particular
symptom, for example, numbness around the eyes and this symptom is very clear, then it
indicates Asafoetida and on the basis of this symptom you can prescribe Asafoetida, even
when you do not have other symptoms for Asafoetida; when someone exactly says,
"Numbness around the eyes." Because Asafoetida is the only remedy that has this symptom,
you can prescribe on the basis of this key-note. But this here is not a typical key-note.
A: Here, it also says that you felt bad in the morning. You had the tendency to vomit.
MP: Still now, but really vomiting, I don't know.
A: Yes, I mean the tendency to vomit, the feeling. Has it probably returned now ?
P: No.
A: You always felt terrible in the morning ?
P: Yes.
A: Has that miserable feeling been away for a while in the morning ?
P: Yes.
Nausea in the morning, Pulsatilla is here capital. But there are other remedies: Calcarea as
differential diagnosis is also capital, further Carbo vegetabilis, Nux vomica and Sepia. Nausea
in the morning, when you drank too much the previous night, everyone knows this. In the
morning when you wake up, you have headache and nausea, but usually only in bed. When
you get up then, it becomes better. It is the same with Nux vomica. Pulsatilla is also capital
with nausea in the morning.
A: And now, the complaints return ?
MP: Yes, since a fortnight.
A: And the tendency to vomit in the morning has also returned a little.
P: No.
A: But your mother - well yes ...
P: Only that miserable feeling, but not the tendency to vomit.
A: At that time you also said that he has a very soft character, sympathetic.
MP: Sensitive, very sensitive, but also easily angry. Often he can't control himself.
A: In what sense sensitive ?
P: When there is, for example, a film about slaves.
MP: When people are being hurt; sympathetic with the suffering of other people.
She says immediately "yes" (to the question if he is sensitive), but he can also be very angry "offended easily". Pulsatilla is two there (p. 69); Carcinosinum has to be added in the rubric.
But then the mother says that he is so sensitive, so sympathetic, when he watches television "sympathetic" (p. 68). There are other additions: Carcinosinum, Calcarea phosphorica,
Tarentula, Dulcamara, Argentum nitricum. In the rubric you see also a remedy about which I
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talked previously: Cicuta with this childish way, the delusions, that he still is a child, that he
wants to go home. Here, you see that Cicuta is also sympathetic.
MP: When people he knows are ill, he inquires how they are doing. Also with injustice, when
someone on television has been done an injustice and you can't do anything, he gets excited.
Also when he has been done an injustice and he can't defend himself, he gets excited, he is
very sensitive to it.
A: Does he weep then ?
MP: Yes, easier than the older.
The other daughter is much older than he and until now he weeps much more than his older
sister.
A: Is he easily warm ?
MP: And also easily cold. Yes, in the morning he would go into the oven. But at night he can
also perspire, then he tramples himself bare, then he is too warm.
A: May it be warm for him inside ?
MP: Not during the day, but in the morning.
When he has to exert himself while playing, he also perspires. Then he looks so pale around
his nose and has red cheeks.
The differential diagnosis between Calcarea and Pulsatilla is often not so easy. He perspires
easily. The mother says, that it is too warm for him in the room, but in the morning he is cold.
But this character, sympathetic, weeping and so on. He is a little too soft to be Calcarea.
Calcarea is also soft, but Pulsatilla has something feminine. We often mix Calcarea and
Pulsatilla, I also did it and I gave him Calcarea previously. That was wrong.
A: Have you ever fainted ? When it was too warm, in church, or in a large supermarket ?
P: No, only once, when I had influenza and stood at the oven. I don't know, what it was.
MP: In fact, it occurs very little. That was the only time, it could happen to everyone.
"Fainting in warm rooms", everyone knows this rubric (p. 1361). There are Natrum
muriaticum, Pulsatilla and Sepia. Also in crowded rooms, when there are many people, there
are a few remedies, there is also Phosphorus, Plumbum and others. Today there are large
supermarkets. Previously, they went into the church and fainted there. Today, they do not go
into the church anymore, now they go into the supermarket and faint there.
A: He is easily warm, except in the mornings, like his mother.
MP: Yes, yes.
And which remedy needs the mother ? Pulsatilla.
I have seen this woman together with Vassilis Ghegas many years ago. We both have
prescribed the wrong remedy. I gave her Belladonna, because of her flushes of heat and he
gave her Calcarea - but no reaction ! She needs Pulsatilla !
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MP: Especially, the change of warm/cold. When you come inside, you start glowing
immediately.
A: Here it says, he takes off his clothes when it is too warm inside.
P: Yes.
A: How old are you now ?
P: 12.
A: Here it also says that he likes eggs, rather fried, not boiled.
MP: No, he will never ask for boiled eggs.
A: He likes ice-cream very much ?
Ice-cream, he likes ice-cream. Pulsatilla is not in the rubric and you should not add it either. I
have seen it several times in Pulsatilla cases, the desire for ice-cream, but nevertheless do not
add it. Tuberculinum is also in the rubric, and also Calcarea.
A: He likes chocolate. Does he also like whipped cream ?
MP: Yes, he likes it very much. He always licks those things.
A: And butter cream ?
P: No, he doesn't.
Pulsatilla likes whipped cream, but has an aversion to buttercream. Typically, Pulsatilla likes
the foamy.
A: Does he like fat ?
MP: I can't tell. The rim of fat has to be removed. But he likes fried bacon.
Pulsatilla often likes bacon, but only fried very long and spiced with pepper, they like that.
A: Does he like creamery butter ?
MP: No.
A: Doesn't he put butter on his bread ?
MP: Becel margarine. I also never used butter, because of the cholesterol. Now we take
becel.
P: I take quite a lot of becel.
Pulsatilla has contradictory and changing symptoms, do not forget that, it might help you.
Pulsatilla has a desire for butter, but occasionally also an aversion to it. When someone says,
"I like butter, but have an aversion to fat," that is a strong argument for Pulsatilla.
A: Do you also have fear of height ?
P: Yes, a little.
A: Tell me, where are you afraid of.
P: Of a dog.
A: Fear of dark ?
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P: Yes.
MP: Yes, in the dark. But now he sleeps in the dark.
A: When you were here the last time, you had quite a lot of complaints with your heel. You
were thinking of putting it in plaster. What percent is the pain less now ?
P: 75 %, I think.
A: Do you still have much complaints with it ?
P: No. Only when I do gymnastics. When I get out of the car after the motor tour from school
to our house.
MP: And when he is jumping.
Pulsatilla has the same modalities with beginning motion like Rhus toxicodendron, like
Lycopodium, Calcarea, Tuberculinum. All these remedies have an aggravation at the
beginning of motion.
The second remedy, that is often prescribed wrongly instead of Pulsatilla, is Rhus
toxicodendron. "Change of weather, wet weather", that is very strong Pulsatilla, as strong as
with Rhus toxicodendron - then we prescribe wrongly.
A: Do you still have so many complaints as before or clearly less ?
P: Clearly less.
A: Was there a period in which he complained very little about it ?
MP: A fortnight later I haven't heard him complaining about it, only when he came back from
gymnastics. Afterwards he could walk.
A: Alright. What complaints do you have now ?
P: I feel miserable when I get up. And also when I go in bed. Yes, headache, and ...
A: When especially ?
P: When I come into the light, in bright light. And also in the evening. And dizzy.
A: When ?
P: The whole day long. When I bend down, it seems as if something large is coming down on
me.
A: Dizzy, especially when bending down. Is it on rising after bending down ?
P: I think, on rising.
A: You are not sure.
P: No.
"Vertigo on rising" (p. 103).
When the patient who was feeling well after Pulsatilla, comes back with other symptoms
which were not indicated at that time, you have to search those symptoms in Kent. He also
says that he has vertigo especially on rising. Pulsatilla is two there, Belladonna and Ferrum
are capital. Never change the remedy as long as you do not have clear indications for another
remedy.
Do not forget Pulsatilla with desires for highly seasoned food. Not only Sulphur has it !
Additions are also: Abies canadensis, Carcinosinum, Veratrum album, Alumina, Crotalus
horridus, Ammonium carbonicum, Natrum muriaticum and an addition of Leers Natrum
phosphoricum.
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A: Other complaints ?
MP: The first weeks he still often had pain in the abdomen while sitting. In fact, it was rather
his stomach. I have to say that he has been eating sweets very much.
I gave him Pulsatilla and he reacted very well, it had a very good result, also for the aseptic
bone necrosis. Now, he comes with the symptom "vertigo on rising". Because it is a Pulsatilla
symptom I repeated Pulsatilla; I did not have reasons to change the remedy.
Influenza
MAN, 30 YEARS OLD
You find people with baldness at the temples in Phosphorus, Lycopodium, Silicea and also in
Baryta carbonica. "Hair, falling, temples" (p. 120).
P: I think, I have influenza in my bones. In fact, I have had it since the day before yesterday.
Influenza remedies are: Gelsemium, Baptisia, Nux vomica, Eupatorium perfoliatum, Rhus
toxicodendron, Bryonia, and others.
P: I went to bed very early, with extra blankets. I felt the coldness in my back, especially.
Also perspiring last night, although, I slept very well. I thought, it would be over this
morning, but I still felt weak.
A: Coldness in the back, what do you mean with that ?
P: Cold shivers, especially in the back.
He feels a coldness very low in the back, this means in the sacral region - "coldness sacral
region" (p. 886): Lycopodium, Pulsatilla, Sulphur.
P: Yes, I am cold there.
A: Especially, during the cold shivers ?
P: Yes. I wanted an extra blanket, but it didn't help. I was still cold. In spite of the warmth,
the perspiring hands, the warm head.
A: Was the rest of the body also warm ?
P: Yes, the feet also.
Although, he takes so many blankets, he still has this coldness and especially here, in the
sacral region.
A: Do you lie completely covered up ?
P: Normally, I'm not completely covered up. But last night, I went as far as possible under
the blankets.
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P: No, I haven't had anything to drink this morning. Last night, I moistened my lips, but
haven't drunk or eaten anything.
A: You moistened your lips, because you had a dry mouth ?
P: Yes, also because I have problems with my sinusitis and I breath through my mouth,
because my nose is obstructed. That's the reason why it becomes dry of course.
A: But last night and still now you had a dry mouth. But you aren't thirsty.
"Dry mouth without thirst" (p. 403). The tongue sticks to the palate - such a dry mouth with
Nux moschata. Pulsatilla is capital in that rubric ...
A: Did you open the window last night ?
P: No.
A: It had to be warm ?
P: Yes.
A: How do you lie while sleeping ?
P: I have the tendency to roll up, usually on the left side.
A: Well yes, you have the influenza now. How do you feel mentally ?
P: At the moment ? Listless.
A: Is that all you can say ?
P: Yes, no motivation to do anything, not liking to do anything.
A: Do you like to be alone ?
P: Normally not. But today, the children were a little noisy, then I wanted to be alone.
"Aversion company during fever": Pulsatilla is there.
A: Because the children were a little noisy. Even in warm room you have cold shivers ?
P: Yes.
Boericke gives a beautiful description of Pulsatilla: "Chilliness, even in a warm room,
without thirst." That is the first that he writes in fever. "Chilliness, even when I am covered
up: even in a warm room I am cold." - "Cold in a warm room" (p. 1276). Do you see the
contradiction of Pulsatilla in normal situation and in fever ? That is the opposite of Pulsatilla
in a normal situation.
Together with the peculiarity of coldness in the sacral region - when you take those 3
symptoms together - thirstless, chilliness in a warm room together with this peculiar
symptom, you can do nothing else but giving him Pulsatilla.
A: Very typically. So, hot on your body, but a cold feeling low in the back.
"Cold in a warm room" (p. 1276), he exactly says this. Warm room aggravates: Apis,
Ipecacuanha, Secale, but also Pulsatilla.
This means "chilliness in spots".
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Boericke writes: "Chilliness with the pain and chilliness in spots." I do not know, if it is in
the Repertory - "chilliness in single parts" (p. 1272).
Question: "What is the difference with Gelsemium ?"
A: Gelsemium is also not thirsty, but Gelsemium is tired, weak, very, very tired, can not keep
his eyes open and does not see well. That is a complete different picture as in this case with
Pulsatilla.
P: I think, that the perspiration was especially at hands, feet and head.
A: At both sides ?
P: Yes.
P: Nothing.
I do not know, if you felt it. I asked him about his appetite. He is a Frenchman and he
answers in English: nothing. This kind of answering means a kind of haughtiness. You will
see this when we talk about Lycopodium. Only the fact that he uses an English expression. He
was doing very well with Lycopodium for a long time. He always got Lycopodium, because
of his sinusitis.
A: That is rather clear. I give you 10 M. Let it melt under your tongue. Tomorrow, I want to
re-examine you.
FEEDBACK
A: Tell me, what did you feel ?
P: I took it immediately after I was here. About an hour later, at home, I was sitting in my
couch and I was shivering from cold. There was only one thing to do, go to bed and cover up
very well. Then I fell asleep and a few hours later I woke up wet through. I felt that apparently
the cold shivers extended from below upwards and between my shoulder-blades and were
expelled from the body at my arms and hands. Very strange.
It seems as if the coldness disappears when it starts here, then goes to the back and from there
to the arms and hands where it disappears.
You often see this in Homoeopathy, that the complaints disappear in the direction of the
periphery. You often see this with pain, numbness, then they say that the pain has
disappeared, and that it has disappeared along the toes. "Back, coldness, extending up the
back" (p. 885).
A: Strange.
P: I lay in bed until about 6.00 o'clock, which probably had to do with the fact that I was so
listless. Then the best thing you can do is lie down. Eyes closed and think about nothing.
Afterwards I ate something. I didn't have appetite yet, but wanted to have some yogurt. I did
and ate a piece of toast and that was it; drank a little soup.
A: 5 hours after you took the remedy you could eat again.
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P: Yes, not much, a little and different things. Still had some complaints with the warmth and
the perspiring. No anxious perspiration, more wet. About half past ten I went to sleep. The
cold feeling had gone, only the perspiration. About 3.00 o'clock I got up, because I was tired
of lying in bed. That's understandable after all those hours I have lain in bed for the last 2
days.
He is constantly theorizing. That is Lycopodium.
P: Then, I sat on the couch, took a book and read something. About 5, half past 5 I went back
to bed and closed my eyes for another few hours. It was notable that I was still perspiring. My
wife changed the sheets, because they were wet.
A: The cold shivers have completely disappeared ?
P: Completely.
A: You didn't have complaints with them last night ?
P: No.
A: You felt exhausted, tired. What about it now ?
P: It is better. Not yet optimal, but I feel clearly better. Probably, I can't run a marathon yet,
but I feel yet ...
A: The coldness in the back has gone ?
P: Yes.
A: You feel now clearly stronger ?
P: Yes, concerning the appetite, I eat more, to strengthen myself.
A: That is very good. Yesterday, you felt weak, tired and listless, and now you feel, that
everything becomes better. That is all. Further, you don't do anything yet, only eat well.
Can you feel here Pulsatilla ? No, here is nothing of the softness of Pulsatilla. Acute, yes, but
never constitutionally.
Gout
MAN, 35 YEARS OLD
A: When did the pain start ?
P: It returns every year and now two times a year. Now, it started on Thursday evening.
A: Now it is Sunday. When did it start exactly ?
P: There was a pain that lasted. And the next day it hurt very, very much.
A: Where do you have pain ?
P: In the right ankle at the outside.
A: There it started. What happened to you ?
P: On Wednesday I was wearing thin shoes and had cold feet. Then, I already had the feeling,
that there was ...
A: Have your feet become cold or wet ?
P: A little wet and cold.
"Wet feet" (p. 1421), that is the cause.
There is another second symptom, but you see this almost in every gout patient, namely, that
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the attack appears when they have drunk too much alcohol. He will tell that he has drunk too
much beer. And also, when they have eaten too much fruit.
A: What about the pain afterwards ?
P: It extended to the inside and further backwards to the achilles tendon. Oh no, first to the
upper side of the foot and to the toes.
A: But only at the right foot ?
P: Yes, only there.
The pain wandered from the external ankle to the inner ankle, then to the back of the foot and
to the achilles tendon. What kind of remedies have these symptoms ? Wandering pain, that is
the first thing we can say about the pain. Where can we find this ? Once in "extremities" and
then in the "generalities". In this patient it is only in the extremities, not in the rest of the
body, so that we can take the rubric "pain in the extremities, wandering" (p. 1046). The
remedies there are: Ammonium muriaticum, Kali sulphuricum, Lac caninum, Pulsatilla, and do not forget it ! Tuberculinum. Pulsatilla is there capital, also Kali sulphuricum and Lac
caninum.
A: Previously, it appeared more as a kind of attack. Did it remain in one joint or did it jump
to other joints ?
P: Last time it started in my left foot, extended to my left knee, then to the right foot, then to
the right knee. I also had it once in the sequence of left knee, left foot, right knee, right foot.
A: That is a kind of gout, pain, that jumps.
People call it "flying gout". The gout is here, and then there and then there and at the end
they get problems with the heart - acute rheumatic fever. When someone had "flying gout" as
a child, first you have to think about Pulsatilla, then about Tuberculinum.
A: That is indeed so. I knew, what I had to give and you called for it yesterday. Before you
tell me about the reaction, first I have to ask some more questions to know which remedy it
has to be. It concerns namely your constitutional remedy. The cause was wet cold. What does
the warmth do ?
P: It does good.
That is very interesting: warmth ameliorates. What would you prescribe now ? A remedy
with wandering pain, that is caused by wet feet and ameliorates by warmth ? Kali
bichromicum ? Yes, Kali bichromicum really ameliorates by warmth, so that we can think
about that remedy. It has also wandering pain, but it is not caused by wet feet, so forget that
remedy.
Which other remedy could it be ?
"Silicea."
Question: "Has Silicea wandering pain ?"
A: No.
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A: No, that is theorizing now.
What is the meaning, the essence of Pulsatilla ? Pulsatilla has contradictory and alternating
symptoms - "generalities; contradictory and alternating states" (p. 1351). This means that you
can expect in Pulsatilla contradictory and alternating symptoms. Normally, Pulsatilla is
aggravated by warmth, but when it is a real Pulsatilla case you can find contradictions. That is
why I accept this as a Pulsatilla symptom, this amelioration by warmth. Pulsatilla can have an
amelioration by warmth as well as by cold.
P: We have been on holidays. And then, I still had it. I was there for only 2 days and it had
disappeared. That was in Spain.
A: What does it do when you lay a hot water-bottle on the painful place ?
P: That is very good.
A: Do you have more pain when you put your feet in cold water ?
P: That causes much more pain.
We often forget that Pulsatilla is better in the south, where it is warm. With people who go to
the south, to Spain in winter, we only think about Rhus toxicodendron and Calcarea, but also
Pulsatilla is ameliorated by warm weather.
A: In any case, moistness and cold water plays a great roll and local warmth does good.
Nevertheless, you are a person who is warm by nature.
P: Yes.
A: In general, you can not tolerate warmth so well ?
P: Yes, I do.
A: I mean, can you tolerate the sun ? Can you lie in the sun ?
He can lie in the sun. If he could really lie in the sun very well, I would think of other
remedies. That is why you have to ask it seriously and very exactly.
You know, Pulsatilla is chilly, but does not tolerate the warmth inside. You see the same in
Silicea. They can not tolerate when they become too warm. But he says that he can lie in the
sun. Now, we have to be careful.
P: Yes, 30 is no problem for me. Then, I perspire very, very much.
A: Can you tolerate a warm room ?
P: No, not so well. Inside it may not be over 20 C, or I am perspiring.
A: Do you stay in one spot in the sun ?
P: No, no, I walk about.
A: You can not hold out longer ?
P: Yes, I can hold out longer, but I prefer to walk about.
A: Do you like to be busy ?
P: Yes.
A: When you are in Spain, do you often go into the water ?
P: Yes, yes, I always do that.
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A: Regularly in the water. And when you have been in the water you lie down again.
P: Yes.
That is exactly the question. Never forget to ask how it is exactly.
He jumps in the cold water and then he lies down in the sun again. Calcarea will never jump
in cold water; neither Rhus toxicodendron; but Pulsatilla will.
50 % of the people working here in the kitchen are Pulsatilla. The director has chosen his
people very well. Pulsatilla people work very much; besides they never contradict you. Third,
they are always friendly when you are a little nice to them. It is very interesting to work with
Pulsatilla people.
A: Until you have dried up.
P: Yes, until I have dried up, then I go back into the water.
A: So, you could not lie in the sun for three hours in a row ? P: Oh no, I can't.
A: I have the impression that you are a person who doesn't have a difficult character. We
talked about it a little last time.
P: Yes.
ML : (Mother in law) ... and never angry.
P: No, never.
That is his mother in law. It is the same woman you saw with the man with angina pectoris.
He brought his mother in law with him. I would never bring my mother in law, this means I
am surely not Pulsatilla. Pulsatilla can do that.
It would neither happen to Sulphur. His mother in law would never sit next to him in the car.
Why ? Because he smells too much.
He comes here with his mother in law and this means something. He must have a "soft"
character, he allows everything. Besides, he lives with his mother in law in the same house.
That is terrible - but not for him. He must have a special character to tolerate all the gossip of
this woman.
The other man was Rhus toxicodendron and you saw how he reacted. This man here is
Pulsatilla and he let her talk.
A: Do you ever get annoyed ?
P: Yes, I do ... But I would not scold. Without a word; I'll teach him in my way.
Do you see those dark lips, those dark, red lips. Be careful, do not mix with Sulphur.
ML: And he easily weeps. A child had been baptized and he cried.
A: Also when you see misery ?
ML: He can not tolerate that.
P: When I see an accident or so, then I am as hard as stone, but I can't tolerate a melancholic
film or so. And I don't read the paper either.
A: Do you sympathize too much with it ?
P: Yes, in a way I sympathize with it; but when I see an accident, I am not seized by panic.
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A: Do you also easily weep for happiness ?
P: Oh yes, also.
Question: "He is sympathetic, but there is no anxiety behind it ?"
A: When Phosphorus sees an accident he becomes anxious immediately. But he, he is not
anxious. That is the difference between Phosphorus and Pulsatilla. Pulsatilla goes
immediately and helps.
And how many Pulsatilla cases have we seen up to now ? And how many of them were men
? Pulsatilla is a remedy for men as well as for women.
A: When you get something from your wife or children, you can not control yourself ?
P: No.
A: You are a kind-hearted, melancholic person. Are you a person who takes a risk, or do you
rather have a little heart ?
ML: A big heart, but in many cases a very little heart.
P: If I hadn't intervened that time, they wouldn't have shot at me (with a bank hold up).
ML: He is afraid in the sea.
P: Yes, for jelly-fishes.
ML: Oh, I can still see him with his legs stilt-walking.
Is this fear of jelly-fishes or what is it ?
No, it is disgust - "disgust" (p. 37): two capital remedies: Pulsatilla and Sulphur.
P: These are so dirty animals, I'm afraid of dirty animals.
A: Are you worried concerning the future ?
P: No. I live today and tomorrow is tomorrow.
A: Do you have fear of height ?
P: No, not at all.
A: Are you afraid of the dark ?
P: No, I have never been.
A: Can you easily see horror films ?
P: Oh, yes.
A: Are you a person who is hurried or rather quiet in your job ?
P: I keep it quiet.
A: Can you easily do nothing or do you have to be busy the whole time ?
P: I can easily do nothing, watch a film on television or so.
A: Imagine, as a postman you are faced with problems in some families. How do you react ?
Do you try to help ?
P: I try to help, by talking to them.
A: Do you think about it afterwards ?
P: No, I don't.
ML: He helps them, stirring the stove and so on. There is an old person who can not get up
from the chair and when the postman arrives he stirs the stove and let him drink.
P: Yes, make coffee and so on.
ML: Yes, always half an hour working, get coals inside.
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Do you understand how helpful he is ? He does not have to do that, but he gets coals for the
old women, makes coffee and all these things.
A: So you have an open character, are sympathetic. Inside it is easily too warm. Also in bed ?
P: There I'm also too warm easily.
A: What do you do then ?
P: Or put the blanket away, or a blanket less, or put on less.
A: Your feet always remain under the blankets ?
P: Yes, they remain under the blankets.
A: You are searching for cold spots with your feet in bed ?
P: Yes, I search them with my feet.
"Hot feet in bed": Pulsatilla, Sulphur. He searches for cold spots in bed and most people
would think that it is Sulphur - but then there is a strong aggravation.
A: Do you go in large supermarkets ?
P: Yes.
A: Can you tolerate it when there are so many people and when it is so warm ?
Why this question ? Because of fainting. They do not feel well in warm rooms.
P: When it is really warm in the shops, not.
A: What do you feel then ?
P: I start perspiring.
A: You have not the tendency to faint ? To even as a child ?
P: No. But when I am in a supermarket and it takes too long, I become excited and annoyed.
A: Do you also think that moist weather is bad ?
P: It is bad.
Do not forget this. Not only Calcarea and Rhus toxicodendron do not tolerate wet weather,
also Pulsatilla is very sensitive to wet weather. They like sunny, clear weather. That is very
important. Pulsatilla is often mixed with Calcarea and Rhus toxicodendron.
A: Do you also feel it when the weather is changing ?
P: No, I don't. Wet and cold is bad.
A: Yesterday, you got a remedy, dissolved in water. You took a spoonful. When you called
me, you said that the pain had increased. I asked you to wait, but the next day it was so bad,
that you absolutely couldn't wait, and I told you to get the remedy. Then you took the remedy
in 10 M. How fast did the pain improve ?
P: After the first spoon it nearly didn't, but a quarter of an hour after the second spoon the
pain became weaker. Then I waited for half an hour, until the pain returned, and then I took
again a spoonful; then the pain became less. About 5.00 p.m. I took some more and the pain
became less. Then I went to sleep.
ML: Normally, he can't do that.
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P: No, because of the pressure of the blankets. I slept, but I was often awake. And today I
haven't taken anything yet.
A: What percent is the pain better compared to yesterday ?
P: For 50 %.
Now, we will talk about the desires and the aversions. He drinks quite a lot of beer. Pulsatilla
likes beer (p. 484). Pulsatilla is there two. You do not expect it there, but you see, Pulsatilla is
there. Besides, Pulsatilla is only one in desires for wine, whisky and brandy, but it is there.
When a beautiful nun who prays very much lives in your village, and she comes to you on a
visit, and you offer her a beer, a whisky or brandy, she will not refuse it, even when she is
very pious.
Pulsatilla has an aversion to fat, we know, but at the same time they have a desire for butter.
When you look under "desire bread and butter", Pulsatilla is there. With "desire butter" you
have to add some remedies: Pulsatilla, China, Carcinosinum and Tuberculinum.
A: Where do you still have pain at the moment ?
P: At the achilles tendon and it is extending towards my toes.
A: And when you do not move you don't have pain ?
P: Yes, I have. I still feel it, so half a glowing feeling.
A: Have you put your feet under the blanket last night ?
P: Yes. I kept on my socks and put my foot flat, not upwards, otherwise there is the pressure
of the blanket.
He puts on socks in bed ! But nevertheless, it can be Pulsatilla.
There is another remedy that has this gout symptoms and that can not tolerate touch at all. A
remedy, that is very sensitive to the touch of clothes, blankets in gout is: Colchicum.
A: I want to give a little push. Today, you take about three spoonfuls. What about your work
?
P: I think I will take a few days off.
ML: I think he stops working, but he doesn't know it yet. Can you fill in this paper ?
A: Please inform me afterwards and come again on Tuesday.
ML: That is very well.
About the vaccinations of the child, where do we have to go ?
His mother in law asks what she should do when the nurse comes for the vaccination.
The first child got a DTP vaccination (threefold vaccination: Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio). The
next day the child got a very high fever and since then it is behind in its development.
Mentally, it is quite a bit backward, got convulsions and such things. It got a lot of allopathic
remedies and then we treated it. Since then it did not have convulsions anymore. And one
morning about 7.00 o'clock it got a little fever and died. Their first child is an example of
what can happen after vaccinations.
Now, they have a second child and it is very healthy. I did not have it vaccinated, only the
Polio drops by mouth.
Another child died 3 days after a vaccination. I think that people who let them vaccinate also
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have to take the responsibility for it. In our society we always try to put the responsibility to
someone else.
We are doctors and we have to take the responsibility for everything we do, even when there
are difficulties. They inject and inject, but do not believe that certain problems may arise,
because of the vaccinations.
Question: "What do you think about the vaccination against hepatitis ?"
A: That is the same. And do not forget that when you dissuade the children from vaccination,
that you are responsible when they get tetanus or polio. You can only do that when you work
with several doctors together in a centre, where day and night, Sunday and every day a doctor
is available. When you work alone, you can not do that, because one day or another you are
not there and when something happens then, you are not there. So, when you dissuade persons
from vaccinations you are responsible for problems that arise because of that; only tell the
people when you are sure that the patients can reach you in any occasion.
A: We will take care of that. The child may not be vaccinated. What happened to you with
the other child is very sad. The vaccination is not mandatory, but the drops by mouth. But
postpone it until the child has developed very well.
P: I like to drink dark beer. It has already become worse two times after I had drunk some.
A: We know from the classical medicines that you get an attack of pain easier when you
drink alcohol.
I forgot: What about your appetite ?
P: Alright.
A: Do you eat everything ?
P: Everything.
A: Do you have a desire for certain things ?
ML: Still highly seasoned food.
P: I like cauliflower very much.
So he likes highly seasoned food. Look at "desire highly seasoned food". There is
Phosphorus, Sulphur, China, but also Pulsatilla is there, do not forget that.
ML: Everything with milk sauce.
A: What about fruit ?
ML: He doesn't like it much.
P: Seldom.
A: Are you a thirsty person, do you drink much ?
P: Yes, much.
ML: Yes, he drinks quite a lot of grenadine water.
That is not indicated for Pulsatilla; normally, Pulsatilla is not thirsty, but he can also be very
thirsty; this means when he is very thirsty he can be Pulsatilla, but normally Pulsatilla is
thirstless.
A: What about salt ? ...
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P: ... Fried eggs or boiled, soft boiled.
A: What about the meat ?
P: Well, I like it very much.
A: Can there be a rim of fat on it ?
P: No, I don't like fat.
He has a strong aversion to fat: It has to be very capital for Pulsatilla. In the rubric you also
see Ptelea. Pulsatilla and Ptelea, both have disorder stomach after fat. When you look at
"disorder stomach after fat", you also see Natrum phosphoricum, Causticum, Sepia, Sulphur,
Pulsatilla and Ptelea. There is one
addition: Carbo vegetabilis. Do not forget Natrum phosphoricum. Natrum phosphoricum
likes eggs in a special way: fried - and has an aversion to fat.
ML: Not chips.
A: Do you become ill from that ?
ML: No, he doesn't like it.
P: No.
A: And cream soup ?
ML: No, he doesn't like cream soup either. I never cook cream soup.
P: No, I don't like that. I don't eat it, or I let it absorb by crackers.
A: Do you also have sometimes a liking for something, but you don't know for what ?
P: No.
Do you see how friendly this man is ? Often you mix Pulsatilla with Phosphorus. While
talking they lean on your desk, Phosphorus children come and sit on your knees. But also
Pulsatilla people are very sympathetic people.
A: And homestead butter ?
P: That doesn't make any difference, no difference between butter and margarine.
ML: I don't buy butter.
P: Well, a little butter on the bread, that's alright.
That is peculiar: they like butter, but they have an aversion to fat, that is strange. That is very
peculiar.
That is for me a key-note for Pulsatilla, a key with which you can open the door for
Pulsatilla.
A: And whipped cream ?
P: No, well no, alright, but no buttercream.
That is a peculiar thing for Pulsatilla: they like whipped cream, but they do not eat
buttercream - and both are fat. It is the same with butter and fat: they like butter, but they do
not eat fat. That is contradictory and therefore you have to think about Pulsatilla.
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A: What is the difference ? I don't know the difference on that level.
ML: Creme frache is the whipped cream, the white thing, you put on tarts.
P: And buttercream is whipped butter with sugar.
ML: That is more fat.
A: So, you don't like fat. But you like butter, on the other hand you also have an aversion to
it, also like whipped cream, but no buttercream.
P: Yes.
In 7 of 10 Pulsatilla cases you find those peculiar desires and aversions. Think about it !
FEEDBACK
A: I gave you the remedy again. What about it now ?
P: Now, it has completely gone, only a little bit stiff, no pain at all.
A: You have had complaints for about one week. Do you think that it disappeared more
quickly this time ?
P: Much more quickly than the other times. It is still stiff, but I can ride on a bicycle now.
The other times it lasted longer.
Arthritis
WOMAN, 32 YEARS OLD
A: You are 32 years old and a nurse by profession. You have 2 children. Previously, you
have been treated here for a chronic cough: a barking cough.
I could not help her for years until she got an acute arthritis.
A: In April 1986, you got rheumatic complaints. You had fever, 38 up to 39.3 and a very
strong pain in the joints.
P: Especially, in the lower limbs, the ankles and the knees.
A: Not in the upper limbs ?
P: Later a little in the upper limbs, in the arms, especially in the joints of the hands, but not so
bad as in the legs.
A: The redness of the joints was striking.
P: And they were swollen. And when I let them hang down, they became completely blue.
Then I also had pain.
A: It was a gouty affection, because of the fact that it was not always at the same place at the
same time.
P: Yes, first here, then there. Not only in the joints, it concerned my whole leg. There
appeared red spots, on my knee, in the middle of my leg, also on the side.
The first thing she said was, "When the legs hang down it is worse." - "limbs, letting hang
down agg." (p. 1009). Besides the pain wandered from one joint to the other.
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A: During the pain you couldn't tolerate pressure, it was very sensitive to pressure; and local
warmth was very good. It improved by cold compressions. The pain was a little better, when
you walked about a little and worse at the beginning of motion.
Slowly walking ameliorates; the same as with which remedy ? Ferrum. The prescription in
this case is not so difficult yet, especially when we know the mental picture.
P: Yes, and when I had to get up, it was very bad. When I walked quietly, it was bearable.
A: These were the symptoms. You were also very anxious.
First, I gave you a remedy on April 1, 1986, in 10 M potency. Three days later I saw you at
home. The symptoms were clearer. You cried spontaneously when we entered. You were also
coughing very much. After the remedy the cough had aggravated a little. It is our habit to
check up the condition of the patient in an acute disease.
She got Pulsatilla 10 M and three days later I visited her at home, and gave her Sac-lac.
A: I saw you again on April 21. You told me spontaneously that you lost a lot of weight in no
time.
... You can say - we have seen the man, he was fat, we have seen the children, most of them
were fat, that is Pulsatilla. This patient here also is very fat. But now she says she is loosing
weight. You could say, "She is loosing weight, that is good." But you always have to be
careful. When they say they are loosing weight, you always have to see what the matter is. It
is not normal that someone who does not work - and lies the whole day - is complaining that
she is loosing weight. That might be good, it also might be dangerous. It is the same when
you have given a remedy and there is an aggravation - that might be a first aggravation, but it
also might be a new disease.
A: You were loosing weight, while coughing you vomited white mucus, which came out in
threads, you had to pull it out. The wandering pain remained but they were of a less intensity.
It was especially in the left elbow. And while you were rather warm before, you were cold at
that time.
You absolutely couldn't bear fat. The coughing is more important at the moment, because the
rheumatism has stopped. Every night you had a little fever, about 37 C.
What happened ? It changed from an acute situation with a very high fever to a fever every
day. This means, it changes into a chronic disease !
A: You were coughing while talking. And at night you were perspiring very much. In the
morning you were exhausted.
That is very important, when you hear that: she perspires at night and in the morning she is
completely exhausted - "weakness from perspiration at night" (p. 1418). Tuberculinum is
there capital.
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A: Then I gave you a remedy in M potency, a remedy that follows.
She has completely the mental Pulsatilla picture: weeping, aversion to fat and so on. You
give Pulsatilla, and then a few weeks later she is loosing weight, is coughing more, is
coughing while talking. In the rubric "coughing while talking" there is not Pulsatilla, and in
the rubric "coughing while talking loudly" there is Tuberculinum capital.
That is what I want to show you: you give a remedy, everything is alright, and then they
develop to another remedy that has the same modalities.
We gave her, for example, Pulsatilla; Pulsatilla has these wandering pains. She reacts very
well in the acute situation, and then she develops the picture of the next remedy, but this
remedy has the same pain modalities, namely wandering pains. I showed you that
Tuberculinum is there. It is rare that one remedy follows after the other that has the same
modalities.
Now, she has the peculiar and important symptom of the emaciation and then the nightly
perspiration with the weakness in the morning. Stannum has that also, but Stannum has not
those rheumatic pains. She still has those pains; they are indeed less, but they are still there,
therefore you have to take them into account to find the right remedy.
A: And on May 26, one month after the remedy, you had a very good reaction to the remedy.
The cough was better, almost disappeared.
This cough that she was suffering from for many months, no, nearly for years, was a "barking
cough" (p. 782). There you have to add Tuberculinum capital, also Mephitis and
Medorrhinum.
When you have someone who is coughing for a very, very long time, and it is always this
barking cough, and he does not react to Spongia and all the other remedies, you have to think
about Medorrhinum. When the patient does not react to well-chosen remedies like Calcarea,
Tuberculinum and so on and you can find a relation with an injection, first you have to think
of Thuja and then give Pertussin. This is one of the little indication for Pertussin. Normally,
we are against it to give remedies without homoeopathic indications, but there are no reliable
provings, no key-notes, no clear picture of Pertussin.
A: Sometimes still a little mucus, no pain during motion. The feet were not blue anymore
while hanging down. You still couldn't work the whole day. You were still coughing a little
while talking and now and then frontal headache. I repeated the remedy on April 21. I saw
you again on May 21. The remedy was still working very well. Therefore we gave you Saclac.
Then I saw you again on June 16, 1986. The pain in the knees was better. The last week,
problems with cold feet. The cough is completely cured. With the rheumatic complaints in
general it is very good, no wandering pain and no cough anymore. But then you got a lot of
condylomas around the anus. Really, an area of 20 cm section, very, very much.
I could not record this on video. It was an area, full of condylomas. I have not seen such
things before in my life.
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Now, you can say, "You gave Tuberculinum and now you see what happened !
But that is very good, so you can find the next remedy.
A: They were also sensitive, appeared after the last remedy. You also said you often woke
up, because of a dream in which you were falling.
What is the first remedy we have to think of with condylomas ? Thuja. Now she tells us that
she wakes up, because of a dream in which she is falling. - "dreams of falling" (p. 1239).
A: You also said that you had headache at the left side, left above the eyes.
"Pain, forehead, left side" (p. 154). There is a capital remedy: Thuja.
That is very interesting. After Pulsatilla she has the energy to perspire, to produce new
symptoms for Tuberculinum. After Tuberculinum everything disappeared and then she
develops new symptoms for Thuja. So, she gets Thuja.
A: And, "I have problems with my nose, it is dry, especially inside."
She says that her nose is so dry and that it ameliorates outside - "dryness nose inside, open air
amel." (p. 335), one remedy: Thuja.
There is an addition: Radium bromatum.
Then she got Thuja, Thuja M.
A: Then I gave you another remedy and saw you again on July 11.
The condylomas have disappeared for 60 %. The headache left is better, but has not
disappeared yet. You could sit on your knees, could work the whole day. The cough has
completely disappeared, but you still were a little tired. I gave Foliata squalosa (Sac-lac.). It
developed further. I repeated the remedy in M potency and in October 1986, the condylomas
have completely disappeared. The cough and the rheumatism were cured.
When have you gone back to work ?
P: At the beginning of September, but before I had 3 weeks holiday.
A: I saw you recently again, on April 19, 1987. In the meantime you went for a check up. I
didn't take blood, on purpose, because I knew that one or other thing would be found and it
only would make you anxious. I was not interested in proving that it was rheumatism, because
then you would be seized by panic. You also considered a few times what you should do.
P: Yes, really. Because they make you so anxious at work. But I trusted you, otherwise I
wouldn't have come back.
A: What did the labour doctor say ?
P: He says that Dr. Geukens was lucky that I am cured. He asked what it was and I said that it
was acute joint rheumatism with fever. Then he immediately asked which medicines I took.
Then, he understood that you treated me and the conversation was immediately finished. He
couldn't say anything to it. When someone has a throat inflammation with fever he would give
antibiotics, because according to him nothing else would help.
A: To say something about the first remedy: you were here on April 19, 1987, now it is May.
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You told me you were feeling well, but now and then you had some complaints. Today here,
tomorrow there a little pain. You still are a very melancholic person.
P: Yes, I have always been. I can't change it. Also at my work, when something happens
there I start crying immediately.
A: You are sympathetic.
P: Yes, I am. When my sister comes back from South Africa or when someone dies at my
service and the people have often been there, I cry.
A: Did you have this as a child ?
Do you see the appearance ? When you look at the woman who pours out the coffee here, she
has the same appearance.
P: Yes, I think so.

A: So sympathetic, soft character. You are also someone who lets yourself be suppressed
easily. When I see it, at your home, your husband may do anything.
P: Yes, he doesn't say anything. I don't know, I think I can stick up for myself.
A: At the moment more than previously ?
She has a husband who drinks very much, he is a little Stramonium. Now, he has bought an
old car and works on the car the whole time, then he goes to drink a beer. He is not malicious,
he does not beat her, but he goes his own way. He is too often away from home, he drinks, he
puts all the money in the old car. She is always alone with the children, but she does not
complain. Sepia could not live with such a husband, Pulsatilla can.
P: Yes, also, although I think it hasn't changed much. But when he has something on his
mind, he will do so. He will go in any case. Why should I make a fuss about it ? I learned to
be satisfied.
A: It was notable that you were weeping at every consultation.
P: Yes, I had bottled up everything. Whom should I talk to ? I couldn't talk to my husband, he
would have said that I had to see another doctor, "Go to a respectable doctor !" Nor can I talk
about that at my service. There, everything is so classical.
A: What do they say now that your rheumatism has been cured ?
P: My husband thinks it is normal, he doesn't say anything about it.
A: It is notable that you easily weep, also when you talk about your complaints. You say,
"Whom can I tell it ?" Is it difficult for you to talk to other people about your situation ?
P: Yes, sometimes. Not now anymore, I'm over it. But at the beginning it was. Yes, I had to
lie flat for one month, my legs upwards. It was very difficult for me to go to the toilet. After a
few weeks I had to vomit as well and I had to get a nap for it. When I got up I thought that my
legs would sink away. I didn't feel my legs anymore. You lie there and you see nobody. It was
Easter holidays, the children were at home and then you sit there - don't ask what it costs !
Father leaves at one o'clock and returns at eleven ! See you later. And there you lie, alone.
A: You couldn't tolerate it ?
P: No. I had some help of my girl-friend. Nothing happened, but at that moment you need
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someone to ...
A: To talk to ?
P: Yes, yes.
A: You need consolation ?
P: Yes, I like that.
A: It was also notable that you couldn't tolerate the warmth very well, especially inside you
are easily too warm.
P: Yes, although, recently, I have so a little ... because I always have to work in the heat.
Previously, I was easily too warm.
We had a farm and I had to help there every day, I was outside the whole day. But later, my
life has changed, I work in the hospital the whole day, there it is warm. And when you come
home, there it is not so warm, and then I'm cold.
A: Do you do your shopping in large supermarkets ? How do you feel then ?
P: I don't care.
A: And when you are too warm ?
P: No difference.
A: Can you tolerate the sun ?
P: Not so well, it is so pressing.
A: I think, you are very anxious in general ? Do you have fear of height ?
P: No, but I'm not brave either.
A: Do you become dizzy when standing on a high place ?
P: No, not.
A: Do you have fear of dark ?
P: No, only when I was pregnant. Then I was very anxious.
A: Also anxious at night when you are alone ?
P: In fact, I'm never alone at night.
A: Did you cry more during your pregnancy ?
P: No, not more, when I had a bad day.
A: You also told me that you couldn't tolerate certain food. You didn't like fat. Didn't you
tolerate that ?
P: I don't know. There was something in the abdomen, a feeling in the abdomen and
afterwards I had diarrhoea.
"Diarrhoea from fat" and "disorder stomach from fat" - do not forget that Sulphur also is in
that rubric; and also a remedy which has "disorder stomach from fat" and "an amelioration by
sour food": Ptelea trifoliata.
P: I never ate bacon.
A: Do you like whipped cream ?
P: I like that.
A: You don't get ill from that ?
P: No.
A: And buttercream ?
P: I don't like it so much. I like it, but I only take a little. When I can choose, I prefer
whipped cream.
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A: Do you like ice-cream ?
P: Yes, I like it very much.
Pulsatilla likes ice-cream, but also Tuberculinum likes ice-cream.
A: And eggs ?
P: Also.
A: How do they have to be prepared ?
P: It makes no difference to me.
A: How do you prefer them ?
P: I prefer them hard-boiled.
Hard-boiled eggs: Pulsatilla; soft-boiled eggs: Calcarea; fried eggs: Natrum phosphoricum.
A: Can you tolerate rainy weather, dampness ?
P: I don't care.
A: It doesn't aggravate the rheumatic complaints ?
P: No, I also thought about it, but it doesn't make any difference. Today, I worked quite a lot,
and now I have more pain in my hand.
A: When I gave you the remedy the last time on April 19, did you feel anything ?
P: The next day I had more headache when I got up and the day before yesterday I had more
pain in my shoulder. I said that it has really aggravated since I got the remedy, I wanted to call
you, but I thought it would go away.
Which remedy did I give her ? Pulsatilla, again Pulsatilla.
We started with Pulsatilla, then came Tuberculinum, then Thuja and now I repeated Pulsatilla
again.
A: There was a push, and then there was a relapse ?
P: Today again in my finger, radiated from my neck; but I have improved very much. And
then there are periods I feel nothing.
Phlebitis
Vipera berus
MAN, 70 YEARS OLD
You see, what happened. After Secale cornutum (case 30) the pain in the toe disappeared, the
toe is not blue anymore.
A: But your toe ?
P: When I knock against something, it still hurts very much, but otherwise not. Maybe the
nail has caused the pain.
A: The toe looks well. It is still a little colder than the others. But the pain has completely
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disappeared ?
P: Normally, yes.
Do you see the difference ? The toe is still blue, but the pain has disappeared. Only when he
knocks against something it hurts, otherwise he can sleep without pain at night.
A: Show me. Yes, it is a swelling of the right ankle.
P: The left also a little.
Diagnosis: phlebothrombosis.
That happens after Secale. After Secale he had to lie the whole time, because of the toe. You
clearly see the swelling.
I visited him the evening before I made this video. I gave him the remedy for the disease; but
you can not know yet which remedy it was. He will tell the modalities now.
A: Yesterday evening we were here ... Show me both legs. Yesterday, the swelling was
stronger here below. Now it isn't so tight anymore.
P: Yes, it has become weaker.
A: You had pain ...
P: Yes, here, it extended upwards and especially when I let my foot hang down, also when I
was supporting on it.
He says he can not sit at the table, only when his foot is in this position: he can not let him
hang down. That is a sign for phlebothrombosis.
A: Also when you bend your foot backwards, it hurts.
P: Yes.
A: You rested because of your toe. That's the reason why you got phlebitis at the right side.
Yesterday, you took a few spoonfuls of the dissolved remedy.
P: Also today.
A: How is the pain compared to yesterday ?
P: It has decreased very much, but it hasn't disappeared completely yet. It has improved for
50 %.
A: Does it still hurt when you let your leg hang down ?
P: Yes, I still feel something here.
A: Yesterday, you absolutely couldn't let your leg hang down ?
P: No, I had to lay it upwards. I couldn't let it rest like today.
A: Also while eating you had to lay your leg upwards.
FEEDBACK
A: The pain in the toe has nearly disappeared.

P: Only, when I knock against something.
A: As we see, the swelling has completely disappeared now. The pain in the calf has also
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disappeared ?
P: Yes, I still feel it a little, but ...
A: The swelling at the ankle has decreased.
I made the video inside the house and the light is not so good, but you can see: no difference
anymore between the two legs. It is a very important symptom, this bursting feeling, when
this leg is hanging down - this together with the symptoms of a phlebothrombosis or
thrombophlebitis - first you have to think of Vipera. Here you have to be a doctor and be
capable to make the diagnosis. Besides, this helps you to think about Vipera. How many
remedies are there in the rubric "hanging down agg." ? How can you find the remedy, if you
don't know it concerns a thrombophlebitis or a phlebothrombosis ?
Then, Vipera is especially the remedy when the modality, a bursting feeling while hanging
down exists.
He smokes, and he got a phlebothrombosis. It was a very serious situation. Now he is
paralysed on one side. He also had a thrombosis in the brain and now a slight paralysing on
the left side. The left arm was very heavy - before the remedy which comes now.
Hemiplegia, right
Elaps corallinus
MAN, 70 YEARS OLD
A: After the phlebitis was cured you went back to work. A day later you got sciatica in your
left leg. You couldn't sleep at night anymore; pain the whole night, you had to walk about
because of the pain, then it was better.
He was cured, first from gangrene, then from phlebothrombosis.
He came to me, because we started working in the new centre, he wanted to help. He was
working and working and got a sciatica, when he turned around. The next day he should have
come back, but he could not. He called me and said that he did not sleep the whole night and
had to walk about the whole time. I gave him a remedy and he became healthy again. Which
remedy was it ? Rhus toxicodendron. After Rhus toxicodendron he got the following:
P: Yes, that was the left leg.
A: Therefore I gave you Rhus toxicodendron M. Later you developed a kind of paralysis.
P: Yes, a little in my hand.
WP: His foot failed him.
P: Yes, it was very bad.
A: So, you had complaints with your right foot, it failed you, but especially your right hand;
and very tired.
P: Oh, yes.
A: That was a beginning paralysis on the left side, beginning slowly and very tired. Here, it
also says that you got an aversion to sweets. Previously, you liked sweets very much.
P: Yes.
WP: Yes, he can't tolerate sweets anymore.
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This means aversion to sweets and a slowly appearing paralysis. That is which remedy ?
Causticum. No reaction to Causticum.
A: Previously, he liked salt very much and he still does.
P: Yes, he still does, hearty things.
A: Then you stumbled while walking. You were not sure while walking.
"Stumbling while walking," there is also Causticum.
P: I had to be careful 100 % of the time.
A: There was a paralysis of the right hand. Previously, a few years ago, you had a stomach
bleeding. It was caused by vexation.
Previously, he had a stomach bleeding, because of suppressed vexation. Therefore, he got
Carbo vegetabilis, later Staphisagria and now, complementary to Staphisagria, Causticum.
I had many reasons to give Causticum: on the right side, slowly appearing paralysis.
Aversion to sweets now, previously he had desire for sweets. Stumbling while walking,
numbness of the right hand and so on. I had quite a lot of reasons for Causticum, but
Causticum did not work.
You can say: why, you have to wait - in this situation you can wait, yes wait until he dies.
But after Causticum he developed new symptoms, very strange.
A: For all those reasons I gave you Causticum. Then you were a little bit better. You got it 8
days ago. But then, you told me that you were enormously chilly, very chilly. When you
drank something cold, ...
P: It remained there, as if there was a cold see in my stomach.
A: You said as if there was an ice-cube in my stomach.
P: Yes.
Very strange. He drinks and it has to be warm. When he drinks a little bit cold water it
remains like ice in his stomach and causes pain. "Coldness in stomach after cold drinks with
pain like ice" (p. 482) and on page 483 there is the peculiar symptom. Which remedy is there
? Elaps.
Now, look under "paralysis, hemiplegia, right" (p. 1176). There, you see Elaps. And now
look under "paralysis, right hand" (p. 1179), there are 3 remedies: Causticum, Elaps and
Plumbum.
Rhus toxicodendron is also on the right side, has pain in the stomach after cold drinks. But
because he said that it is as if there would be ice which caused the pain, therefore I had to give
him Elaps: because of this peculiar symptom, because of this key-note.
Besides, Elaps is known for a right-sided hemiplegia. I gave him Elaps. Afterwards he said
that he really felt how his right arm became lighter, that it was not so heavy anymore.
A: As cold as ice.
P: It feels like that.
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A: And it is attended with some pain ?
P: Yes, little pain.
A: You said that you absolutely couldn't tolerate cold drinks; second a kind of paralysis in the
right hand. The fine movements fail.
P: I can't grasp.
A: Yes, with rolling cigarettes the fine motor fails.
P: It fails, yes.
A: There was also a kind of heaviness in your arm ?
P: ... (not understandable).
A: Yes, it fell down for weakness. And a third thing: I didn't apply a turnicut and still your
blood was as good as black.
The third, very strange symptom. You know, when you take blood - and I had to take blood so, when you take blood, you have to apply a turnicut, but I did not do it, because his arm was
so thin, and the blood was black, really black. I have not seen this before, such black blood.
That was the fourth indication for Elaps. Elaps has black blood, black bleedings, black lung
bleedings, that is Elaps, black menses: Elaps.
I gave him Elaps and afterwards he was better. But then he had a relapse, he got bronchitis
and therefore he got Rhus toxicodendron, then Carbo vegetabilis ...
... You see, this man is completely arteriosclerotic, because he smokes. He has worked in a
lead and zinc factory.
A: I also noticed that your blood was dark. Nearly as black as soot. Therefore, together with
the chilliness, the feeling in your stomach and the paralysis in your right hand I let you bring a
tablet the day before yesterday. You took three times a spoonful. What was the result ?
WP: He can walk better.
A: First, you walked with a stick. Before, you have been lying in bed and when you could get
up again, you walked about with a stick. What kind of feeling did you have in your arm after
the tablet ?
P: It was about the same. I still don't have force. Although it is a little better, but I can't do
fine work.
A: Do you still feel heavy ?
P: No.
A: Do you feel lighter ?
P: Yes, but I have just said that I have exhausted myself and didn't allow myself enough rest.
A: Yes. You got the tablet the day before yesterday. What is the difference to before ?
P: A big difference ...
Brachialgia, left
MAN, 60 YEARS OLD
This man has pain in his heart. But when people say that they have pain in their heart,
normally the pain does not come from the heart.
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We have to make a differential diagnosis between sternal pain and heart pain. There is a big
difference. Sternal pain is usually which remedy ? Kali bichromicum.
But this man has pain in his heart and pain in his left arm.
And when you observe him, what do you see ?
Answer: "He looks pale."
A: Yes, he has a white skin, but he also has this swelling under his eyes.
A: A few days ago you worked very hard and a few days later you had pain in the region of
the heart. Show me, where.
P: Here, in the region of the heart.
A: Did the pain extend to the arm ?
P: No.
A: But you also had pain in your left arm. When was it ?
P: About the same time as the pain in the heart.
A: Where did you have pain exactly ?
P: In my elbow, or below in my hand joint, or in the region of my shoulder. It went always up
and down.
A: When you had pain in your hand joint, then you didn't have pain in your elbow ?
P: No, not so strong.
A: And when the pain appeared in the region of the shoulder, you didn't have pain in your
elbow anymore ?
P: No, I didn't.
A: A second complaint was that your fingers were asleep. You said, the fingertips, but was it
only the fingertips ?
P: No, the longer it lasts, the further it extends in my finger.
A: When especially do you feel it ?
P: At night, when I wake up, or in the morning, when I sit in my couch or sit in a wrong
position.
A: So, when you sleep and also in bed in the morning ?
P: Yes.
He has pain in the heart and pain in the left arm, and sometimes he has more pain in the hand
joint and sometimes more pain in the elbow and so on. They wander from one place to
another place. Second, he says that his fingers are numb in the morning: "Extremities,
numbness, fingers, morning" (p. 1039). Which remedy can you think of at the moment ? Of
Rhus toxicodendron, but also of Pulsatilla.
Which remedy has this numbness in the fingertips the strongest ? Phosphorus.
A: Your leg has been amputated, because of an accident. You have problems with it. When
especially ?
P: With changing of weather, with rainy and stormy weather. Also with mist and moistness.
A: Especially with changing to moist weather ?
P: Yes.
A: It is also notable that you have teary eyes. You also say that the tears come easily.
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P: Yes.
A: Do you weep easily ?
P: Yes, when something happens, when something is the matter with someone else, I lay it to
heart.
A: When someone else is suffering you sympathize with him ?
P: Yes.
A: You can't help it ?
P: No. I have too much sympathy for other people.
He is the neighbour of my father in law, who has died in the meantime, and he has visited
him very often during his last days. Every time when he was there, he had to cry, he could not
control his tears. He is a very, very soft man. His wife is Platinum and they have a very good
marriage, because he is the wife so to say.
A: Can you easily tolerate the sun ?
P: Yes, rather.
A: Can you sit in the bright sun ?
P: No, of course not too long. Then I have to avoid the sun.
A: Concerning the temperature in the room, are you easily too cold or easily too warm ?
P: I'm easily too warm inside.
A: You want the door to be opened ?
P: Yes, I want everything to be opened.
A: Do you often go shopping in large supermarkets ?
P: Yes, I do with my mother, every 4 or 5 weeks. She is an old woman. Of course, my wife
joins us.
A: How do you feel when there are a lot of people there ?
P: Very well. But elsewhere, when there are a lot of people, at the beach or so ...
A: You don't feel well when there are many people ?
P: No.
I had a case where someone called me for his horse. His horse had asthma, or maybe we
better say a shortness of breath, and it was always knocking with his head against the door
and the window of the barn to open it. When it was open he could put his head outside the
window, then it could breath better. Pulsatilla also needs fresh air, needs open doors and
windows. Warm rooms aggravate, that is Pulsatilla.
A: You don't feel well when there is quite a lot of rush in the supermarket ?
P: That's alright, because there is diversion.
A: Do you regularly go to your mother ?
P: Yes, two times a week.
A: What about your appetite ?
P: That's alright. I can eat normally, not too much.
A: Is there something you don't like ?
P: I like everything, I can eat everything.
A: And what about the rim of fat of meat ?
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P: Well, I usually put it away. I don't like that. I don't eat much meat.
A: Why not ?
P: I have no taste for it.
A: And the fat of meat ?
P: Not at all.
A: Do you like whipped cream ?
P: Yes.
P: Yes.
A: Do you tolerate it ?
P: Yes. I tolerate everything. I don't have problems with it. I can eat everything.
A: Do you like it very much ?
P: What does it mean "very much" ? When there is some on the table I eat it.
A: But you like whipped cream very much ?
P: It has nothing to do with "liking very much". When it is on the table I eat it, but I will not
ask for it or get some.
A: Are you thirsty or do you drink little ?
P: I don't drink much. In the morning, at noon, and in the evening.
A: Do you pray much ?
P: No, I don't pray.
A: When someone makes fun or does something impudently, you are sensitive to things like
that ?
P: It depends on the way they do it. I like to laugh, but when there is an accident and they
make fun about it, then it is difficult for me.
A: When they, for example, make fun about the fact that you lost your leg, you can't tolerate
it.
P: No.
A: Then, you easily weep ?
P: Yes.
When someone shows that he makes fun about the fact that he lost his leg, it hurts him, then
he starts weeping, he is so sensitive.
A: That is clear. Then, we will take care that you get a remedy.
In the rubric "extremities, left arm, heart symptoms" (p. 1049) and "chest, pain heart,
extending to left hand" (p. 850), Pulsatilla is not there.
A: Did you have pain in the heart in the evening ?
P: Also during the day. When I have slept, I didn't feel anything.
He had pain in the region of the heart, but I think, that it was not really the heart, but that it
was muscular pain. But the peculiar thing was that it was a wandering pain.
A: I give you a remedy in 50 M and I would like to see you again within 2 weeks. In the
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meantime I'll have the results of the blood examination. Psychologically, you have to feel
better then and the pain has to be clearly better.
(Explanation for the auditors: Pain in amputated limbs and this sensitiveness makes one think
of Staphisagria, but he becomes angry very seldom.
Which is the most important remedy in pain from amputation ? Staphisagria is the first
remedy, then Allium cepa and also Hypericum. "Extremities, arm, after amputation" (p.
1049). Then, there is another rubric "extremities, injuries, fingers, amputated stump painful"
(p. 1019).
In general, you can take this rubric for phantom pain (information from a 3 monthly course).
And there are the following additions: Allium cepa, Hypericum, Aconitum, Ammonium
muriaticum, Belladonna, Cuprum metallicum, Helleborus, Ignatia, Phosphoricum acidum,
Spigelia, Symphytum, Veratrum album.
You see there are a lot of additions, but Staphisagria is the most important remedy.
There must also be another rubric for pain in the amputated lower limbs, but I do not find it at
the moment.
Remark: "In the other rubric there are some more remedies: Arnica, Asafoetida, Kalmia."
A: Pulsatilla also belongs there.
I think that first you have to think of two remedies in pain in amputated limbs: Staphisagria
and Hypericum, and then also of Allium cepa. Otherwise you have to try with constitutional
remedies, often it is the constitutional remedy.
A: You get angry very seldom ?
P: Very seldom.
A: It is difficult for you to get angry ?
P: Yes, very difficult. Of course, when it goes too far, then I explode, and then ...
A: What happens then ?
P: Then, an accident could happen. But it never gets that far.
A: Seldom ?
P: Seldom. It hardly ever happens.
A: Does the amputated stump hurt, where it has been cut or the inguinalis, or the joint ?
P: Yes, it is a pain in the lymphatic nodules, it goes up and down. But at night, when I take
off the prosthesis, it hurts below, where it has been pressed.
A: Yes, where it has been pressed.
P: Yes, in fact, where it started to break off.
A: Does the amputated stump hurt, or is it pain in the inguinalis.
P: When I take off the prosthesis, it is below in my foot, in the part that has gone. I don't feel
anything above.
A: So phantom pain.
If you do not get the mental picture of this man, you will prescribe Rhus toxicodendron. Pain
in the left arm with heart disease: Rhus toxicodendron; changing of weather aggravates: Rhus
toxicodendron; left-sided: Rhus toxicodendron; everything is Rhus toxicodendron, except his
being, and that makes the case so difficult.
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FEEDBACK (JUNE 1, 1987)
Do you see the change ? Do you see, how much better he is mentally and how much better he
looks ?
A: I saw you a fortnight ago. You had pain in the region of the heart.
P: And in my arm.
A: I gave you a tablet in 50 M potency. How did it go after the remedy ?
P: I felt very well. Immediately, it became better.
A: Since the next day ?
P: Yes, the pain has completely disappeared.
A: In how much time ?
P: In 8 days it has completely disappeared. The pain in the region of the heart disappeared
after 10 days.
A: It still took 10 days ?
P: Until it completely disappeared. It improved gradually.
A: There was also a kind of numbness in your fingertips.
P: It hasn't disappeared completely. Usually, I have it at two fingers at one side. Right or left,
it depends on which side I have lain.
A: It is on the side you have been lying on ?
P: Often, yes.
A: Are there also days on which you don't have complaints with it ?
P: Yes, there are.
A: Do you have less problems with it as before ?
P: I think, it has remained the same.
A: Then, you also had pain, then here, then there, do you still have this kind of pain ?
P: No, I got rid of it. It is only the changing of the weather I still feel in my leg stump. It
hasn't completely disappeared yet, but it is not so bad as before anymore.
A: The pain in your amputated leg, which was influenced by the weather, is also better at the
moment ?
P: Yes, not completely disappeared, but it doesn't last so long anymore. It may appear, but it
also disappears very quickly afterwards.
He says that the numbness is still there when he has been lying on it: "Extremities, numbness
while lying on them" (p. 1035).
A: It is the pain that disappears rather quickly ?
P: Yes, previously it could last for 1 or 2 hours.
A: You also had pain in the leg, phantom pain. Do you still have that ?
P: Not at the moment. I only have it with the changing of the weather. I get it at night, when I
don't wear my prosthesis. At the moment I don't have it at night anymore, because I rest
better.
A: What do you mean ? That you can sleep better at the moment ?
P: Yes, I can sleep better.
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A: And why do you say, "Because I sleep better, I have less pain."
P: Yes, when I sleep, I don't feel anything. Previously, I had pain the moment I took off the
prosthesis and was in bed, and then when the weather was changing or with rainy weather.
Then the pain came immediately.
A: At the moment it is also a changeable weather.
P: Sometimes, I feel stitches, but then they disappear again.
A: There was a numbness in the fingertips especially in the morning.
P: Yes, it also might occur during the day, when I lie in the couch during the afternoon rest,
and when my arm doesn't lie well.
A: But at the moment you have less problems with it in the morning.
P: Yes. It might occur that my whole hand was numb.
A: Did you have headache after the remedy ?
P: Yes, I had, the day I took the remedy.
P: So in between, in the forenoon and the afternoon. The next day it had disappeared.
A: Further you weren't ill ?
P: No.
A: Also, emotionally, you feel better.
P: Much better.
A: You are not so sad anymore.
P: No.
A: Well, you will always remain someone who is sad.
What a change after one dose Pulsatilla 50 M after only 2 weeks. And what does he get now
? Sac-lac.
P: Yes, but I don't care so much. Physically, I also feel better. I can work better compared to
previously.
A: You are like wine ...
P: Yes, the older the better. It has to be that way.
They are like wine, the older the better. You can only reach that by homoeopathy, with
nothing else.
You see, again a Pulsatilla man.
Question: "Do you know a rubric for pain from amputation ?"
A: Yes, "extremities, pain when amputated": Allium cepa, Staphisagria.
Remark: "In the Synthetic Repertory there is a good rubric."
A: No, that is not right. The remedy which you have to think of is Staphisagria. That is the
first remedy in pain from amputation. Indeed, he says he has pain from changing of the
weather, that is more important and his phantom pain will disappear with his constitutional
remedy.
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Stomach pain, depression
MAN, 50 YEARS OLD
His problem is stomach pain and depressions. I have already seen him before. This is a
feedback video.
The last patient we saw is married very well, but I could not stand his wife for 3 hours, only
he can hold out with such a woman. One day she came with terrible toothache. The peculiar
thing was that at the same time with the pain there was a numbness on the right side. Which
remedy is it ? Platinum. She has been cured of a large abscess with Platinum. Beautiful
constitutional Platinum-symptoms appeared at the consultation.
You see that only a Pulsatilla man can be married happily to a Platinum women. This patient
has depressions and stomach pain.
A: You work at the ministry.
P: Yes. They say they don't work there, but that is not case in our department.
A: You came here with complaints in the right hypochondria which have already existed for
a few months.
P: Yes, here under the ribs, also in the abdomen, in the right inguinalis and the right testicle.
A: You also clearly see the swelling under the eyelids. Probably, you could say, "Didn't sleep
well," but that would be theorizing. According to me the remedy has to be found in the rubric
"swelling under the eyes".
With Pulsatilla it is almost the same as in Phosphorus; they bend forward when they are
talking; they are sympathetic, they really bend forward. You know that Phosphorus really
leans on your desk ? And even Phosphorus children sit on your lap.
Also Staphisagria comes, stands besides you and comes very close to you, very close.
A: Previously, you always had pain in the stomach while eating or drinking.
P: Yes, that's right. They told me I had a hernia. It was here, at the entrance of the stomach.
I do not think that the diagnosis of hernia is right. I also do not think that when they tell the
patients that their intestine is too long. I had a patient with Crohn's disease. She had
radiographs taken and the doctor said that the small intestine was too long. She came and said,
that they told her, that her small intestine was one metre too long. She was cured with Sepia
and suddenly her small intestine was not too long anymore, the diarrhoea was over.
So, I do not believe the diagnosis "hernia". Normally, the hernia disappears when they get the
right remedy.
P: I have it especially in the morning, after I have been lying down. A strange feeling comes
in my mouth and disappears, when I have eaten.
A: It appears often, do you have it every morning ?
P: Yes, every morning.
A: What do you feel in the morning ?
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P: Such a bad taste in my mouth.
A: In the morning a bad taste coming from your stomach.
P: Yes, and also often pain. But when I have eaten and sit in the train that takes me to my
work, it is over.
A: So, not comparable with previously ?
P: No, you can't compare. It only seldom comes back. Now, I can eat everything. Only
coffee, I don't drink it of course.
A: You liked to drink a beer.
He likes beer, Pulsatilla is there. Pulsatilla also likes highly seasoned food and - like Ignatia fruit and cheese.
A: You don't smoke anymore and you took ZANTAC and MALOX.
P: Yes, since 3 months.
A: Previously, you had heart-palpitations and a pain in the region of the heart.
P: Yes, here. So, a double heart-beat, that I was often really frightened.
A: You always had an obstructed nose, especially from a draft of air.
P: Yes, from a draft of air or when I ran about in the rain.
A: Walking through the rain was an important situation ...
P: I thought that it might be caused by that. The next day I had a headache. It started from
here. I had the impression, that it was swelling here (points to the root of the nose), and that
the pain was extending to my head and above my eyes and even to the filled teeth.
A: More at the right side and especially when you had walked in the rain.
You find the interpretation of this symptom on page 1421, "problems from getting wet".
A: Then you also had pain.
P: It started in the morning. I could just hold out for a day. When I came home, I didn't have
appetite and took SINUTAP; apparently it helped and then I went to bed.
What kind of headache is this ? They call it catarrhal headache, headache from a cold. There
are a lot of remedies, but I think, it is an important rubric (p. 137). There is a rubric "head,
pain, weather, from getting wet (p. 152): Baryta carbonica, Belladonna, Ledum, Phosphorus,
Pulsatilla, Sepia. That is exactly what he told us.
In the Repertory there is also "coryza after getting wet" on page 329, an incomplete rubric.
We can also look under "headache from getting wet".
A: Every 4 or 5 weeks you had a lot of headaches.
P: Yes. I got such a headache-attack in an inexplicable way.
A: Then, there was also a stiffness of the neck-vertebra.
P: Yes.
A: And you had crusts in the nose.
P: Yes. My nose never runs, it is always dry.
A: Because of an accident you also had complaints with the right knee-cap.
P: Yes, in the meantime I have been operated on, on August 28.
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Now, he says, that he has knee-pain, that he has been operated on his knee, on the right side.
Immediately, we think of Lycopodium, but this man can not be Lycopodium, even when he
has 150 complaints on the right side. That is impossible.
A: You often had problems with the complaints of hemorrhoids, especially when you had
diarrhoea.
A: At that time you told me, "The situation at my work is very difficult for me. There is a lot
of stress at my work. The labour spirit is very good, but there are a lot of problems."
P: Yes. We have to take care of the school staff, which concerns more than 100,000 people,
and they have to be paid on time. We get much more work, many more files than previously
and we have less means at our disposal and less staff. And I am ... I personally feel concerned
about all these complaints.
The problem is that the teachers do not get paid fast enough. They have to wait for their
money. There are state and private schools and the teachers of the state schools are not paid
on time. And he says, that they have to take care that those people get paid on time, and that
he makes a problem out of that, that they do not get their money on time, this means that he is
very sympathetic. This worries him so much that he tries to make everything ready, so that the
people get their money on time. If he were Lycopodium, he would never mind so much about
the fact that people have to wait long for their money.
A: You feel personally concerned ?
P: Yes. I would like it to change. I know that the situation has become worse the last years,
but I am responsible for that.
A: You take it to heart ?
P: Yes. When there are complaints, indeed I know that it is not my fault, but I would rather
not see them, do you understand ?
A: And you take your problems home ?
P: I brood on it at home. I don't want it, but it has its influence at home, I am irritated, shorttempered against my children, often also against my wife. But I must say, it has improved. It
has ameliorated.
He says that he gets easily angry with his wife and children. He notices it. If he were Nux
vomica or something else, he would not notice that he easily gets angry. But it is not his
constitution, to get angry so easily. Therefore, he says that he gets too easily angry with his
wife and his children. He does so, because he is so sensitive, then he explodes and afterwards
he says, "Oh God, why am I so angry ?" Nux vomica would never say that he has been too
angry.
A: The tears appear in your eyes again ?
P: No, not so much, but I am a little touched.
A: Why are you touched ?
P: I can't say.
A: Are you very concerned about your work ?
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P: Yes, I am. It descends upon me. Also in other situations I am very sensitive.
"Weeping in telling about his disease": Pulsatilla, Kali carbonicum, Medorrhinum and Sepia.
Do not forget Medorrhinum in adults who start weeping, when they tell about their
complaints. You easily mix up with Pulsatilla.
P: Externally, I might have a hard appearance, but that is not right. For example, I don't like
to go to funerals, even when I have known these people. Even when I have not known these
people very well, I am touched.
A: Do you weep then ?
P: Yes, the tears come into my eyes. Especially, when the priest tells about his life, that calls
up feelings. Previously, when I was 20 years old, I didn't have it.
But I also might get tears in my eyes for joy. That also happens.
A: So sensitive.
P: Yes.
A: Do you tolerate the sun well ?
P: It depends. I would not lie in the sun, but I like it when the weather is good. When I have
to be in the sun in summer, for example, for cutting the grass, I will always wear a hat for
protection. I don't tolerate it very well when I am exposed to the sun too long.
A: But the weather has to be clear; rainy, cloudy weather is nothing for you ?
P: I can't say it that way. I'm inside the whole day, therefore the weather doesn't interest me
much. But I like the sun when I have a day off, like everyone else.
Look under "cloudy weather agg." (p. 1348). There you see Pulsatilla, Rhus toxicodendron,
there is also Sepia. Pulsatilla likes clear weather, sunny weather.
A: Are you covered up warmly at night ?
P: No. The whole year I sleep with one blanket and when it is cold, I take the bed-spread. We
took a very thick blanket once when it was a very strong winter, and it was too warm.
A: Your wife also ?
P: Yes.
When you do an anamnesis with a husband or wife, afterwards you often know the remedy of
the other. He says that when it was a very strong winter they took an extra blanket, otherwise
they only use one blanket, and in summer only a thin one, and that it was too warm with those
two blankets. And then I asked him if his wife also was as friendly as he is and he said,
"Exactly, like me". She also needs Pulsatilla.
A: Is your wife also a soft person ?
P: Yes, yes. We have the same character. Maybe, we are too concerned about the children.
Maybe, one should try not to pay too much attention to ... But when the children are ill ... She
is a nurse, therefore you will not see it externally at her, but she is as much concerned as I am.
P: Do you tolerate fat ? You don't like that ?
P: I can eat it moderately. But I don't eat gravy and so on.
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A: Also the rim of fat of meat ?
P: Bah, nothing special. A piece of bacon that is more lean than fat, I would eat. But I would
cut a large rim of fat off.
A: You can't tolerate it ?
P: No.
A: Do you think that you get more stomach complaints of that ?
P: No, not exactly, but I don't like it very much.
A: And what about highly seasoned food, very spicy food ?
P: I don't like it very much, for example, pepper. My wife likes it, she has been in Uganda.
A: As a nurse ?
P: Yes.
A: You don't like pepper very much ?
P: No. I would put a little pepper on the tomato-soup.
A: And what about cheese ?
P: I eat it, but not so much. I eat curds, also yellow cheese, but no special cheeses.
A: And fruit ?
P: Yes, in the season. At the moment I regularly take an apple to my work. But when the
season is over and the fruit comes from a cold store, I don't eat it anymore. I don't like
cherries either.
A: In winter you don't eat fruit ?
P: Apples, which we have stored.
A: Nothing else ?
P: No.
A: Then you don't eat fruit at all ?
P: No, only in the picking-season. But I like an apple.
A: All right. You keep your feet always under the blankets ?
P: Yes.
A: They never lay bare ?
P: No. But may I say something else about my feet ? You asked me which complaints and
problems I still have. I forgot to tell you something. I have rather perspiring feet. For
example, I change my shoes every two days.
A: That is very important. You have problems with perspiring feet ?
P: My both sons are also troubled with that. My daughter doesn't have problems with it.
A: How strong is it with your perspiring feet ?
P: So strong, that the socks and even the shoes are moist.
A: Do your feet always perspire ?
P: Yes, indeed.
When he develops to another remedy, which I do not believe, for example from warm to cold
and this perspiration remains, it could be which remedy ? Silicea. Silicea is a remedy
especially for - I have seen Silicea cases, for example, with a woman the perspiration was
running in streams, it was really dripping, she was perspiring very much. It was so bad, that I
thought, "My God, she looses so much moisture, how is that possible !", she was perspiring at
hands and feet, you saw it really dripping - Silicea M and she was cured.
On page 1184 "offensive sweat, foot".
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A: Do you have cracks between the toes, because of the perspiration ?
P: No, but I was thinking about it. You mean, that there is dry perspiration between the toes
after a warm day ?
A: Yes. Do you have a thick nail or so on your toes ?
P: No.
A: Do you have a nail on your toes that is little bit thick ?
P: Yes, indeed. There is one that is in front which has a little yellow under it.
A: Are your nails soft and do not easily break ?
P: No.
A: All right. On July 1, 1987 I gave you a remedy in 10 M potency. You took the remedy in
the afternoon and then couldn't start.
I gave him the remedy and afterwards he got an aggravation. I gave him the remedy in 10 M
potency and the next day he had an aggravation. He will tell it now.
P: Yes, the first time. It was a very sunny day. I worked outside. In the afternoon I couldn't
anymore. I thought, I put on my hat, but I couldn't anymore. I was really paralysed, more than
paralysed.
A: Then, you had to lie down ?
P: Yes.
A: The further reaction to the remedy was that the pain in the hypochondria disappeared after
one month. And the pain in the testicles had also completely disappeared.
You know, an orchitis after measles, that is Pulsatilla.
P: Yes, when the pain in the abdomen disappears, the pain below also disappears.
A: So the pain in the testicles, that is also a very interesting symptom, pointing strongly to the
remedy. The stiffness in the neck was also better. In general, you felt much better. When you
came here you were depressed. You were really sad. I can't reproduce the situation when you
came here. You were really sad and depressive.
P: Yes, especially, because of the strong medicines, because I had taken ZANTAC and so on
for 3 months. I didn't dare to take anything or to eat something.
A: And it didn't improve. On the contrary, you felt better after the homoeopathic remedy you felt the energy - and the pain was also better.
P: Yes.
A: So, a beautiful reaction. How are you doing at the moment ?
P: I took the remedy once again. On August 28, I was operated on for meniscus. Then I
called you. You gave me the remedy to take home. I think a fortnight after the operation I
took the remedy once again.
A: So, about September 14. Then you repeated the 10 M potency. Why did you repeat it ?
P: Because I had the impression that the complaints were coming back.
I gave him the remedy and he was feeling very well. Then he has an operation. Often, when
the meniscus is really broken, they have to have it operated. With this operation he got
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anesthesia and by this anesthesia there was a relapse. It is the same with teeth treatments, after
the local anesthesia there is often a relapse. But we have observed that the toothache is related
to the remedy. You give a remedy and 3 days later the patient has toothache, it has to do with
the remedy. You can not say that he has something else on his teeth and give him a remedy
for that; it has to do with the remedy and when you give him a remedy for that, it is a
suppression and the patient will get a relapse.
When someone gets toothache after the remedy it is a reaction to the remedy and the pain
will go away by itself or it is a symptom for a new remedy. It might also be - but never send a
patient to the dentist !
When it is an abscess, they have to have it treated first and afterwards, maybe when the tooth
is really dead, you can send them to the dentist, but only when the inflammation and the pain
have disappeared. You are the dentist for the patients. Do not send your patients to the dentist
when they have pain in their teeth as a reaction to the remedy. It is something else when they
have bitten or have fallen, and a tooth is ruined. That is something else, that is an external
injury, an accident.
He has been operated on, and after the operation he had a relapse, the pain on the right side
appeared again. I do not know whether this operation was necessary, I can not judge.
A: How was the reaction after you took the remedy ?
P: I didn't become tired.
A: No, I didn't expect it. It is only the first time, when you take the remedy. Has the pain
become better ?
P: Not completely, but it was better. I eat normally, I can not complain.
Naturally, not too much fat, but I eat chips only once a week, essentially. I tried to eat once
mussels and chips when we were at the sea for holidays in August, to eat once mussels and
chips. I ate everything and I didn't get complaints. And then we went back home in the rain. I
didn't have an umbrella or a hat and I was thinking, "Tomorrow you will be ill again," but I
wasn't.
A: Do you see how the remedy works !
P: I have had it only once, once I had a headache.
A: That is very clear. I will give you the remedy once again in reserve. Show me your
tongue.
P: In the morning it is always a little coated.
A: That is also very typical for that remedy.
P: Previously, I always had a coated tongue.
A: In the morning ?
P: Yes.
"Coated tongue in the morning", that is also Pulsatilla.
P: May I ask you something ? With the examination of the stomach they noticed a hernia and
also a little inflammation. Does it also disappear ?
A: Yes, it will disappear. I don't believe the diagnosis "hernia diaphragmatic". That is an
organic change. When this was the cause of your pain, the pain wouldn't have been
disappeared with the homoeopathic remedy.
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P: But they also noticed a slight gastritis.
A: As a consequence of the hernia ?
P: Yes.
A: Anyway, you don't have to worry. The most important thing is that you feel well.
I will give you 2 tablets home in reserve. At the moment there is quite a lot to do in the
ministry. When there are problems, inform me.
The sensitiveness to rain has disappeared after Pulsatilla, also the sensitiveness of the
stomach to fried potatoes.
Depression and arthritic pain

WOMAN, 70 YEARS OLD
Pay attention to the psyche of this woman !
A: You came with pain, everywhere, in the joints, in the stomach, in the large intestine.
P: Yes, yes.
A: You were also sad.
P: Yes, I still am.
You have to get this feeling, she gives exactly the same feeling as Pulsatilla: very great
sadness. She was very, very sad, very, very depressed.
P: When I feel well, I don't have it, no.
A: The pain was then here, then there ?
P: Yes.
A: Not everywhere at the same time ?
P: No, it goes around. It was worse, when the weather changed. When there was snow or
mist, it strongly depends upon it. And once it was snowing, it was over.
A: When it was raining you didn't have complaints ?
P: Yes, also when it was raining. But once it started raining it was better. It is strange, isn't it
?
A: The pain was changing from place ?
P: Yes, then here, then there.
A: Further you were sad.
P: Yes, very much.
A: What do you mean by that ?
P: I was very melancholic, I was thinking about everything and at the same time I was only
thinking the worst. My daughter was on winter-sports and then I was so alone. It was not
good. I sat there and was brooding. Later, I would sit in a wheel-chair and so on.
That is very important, "The children are gone and I am so alone, I feel lonely" - forsaken
feeling.
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A: And you easily wept.
P: Yes.
A: Your daughter was here the last time and said, "When she is with us she is better."
P: Yes, then I am quiet.
A: When your daughter is with you, it is all right.
P: Yes, then I have people around me, then I can speak. Then, I have another cup of coffee,
something like that. You have to be with people.
This is the desire for company. It is very typical for Pulsatilla, the desire to be with other
people.
But do not let deceive you. If you look under company, "aversion to company during heat"
(p. 12), there Pulsatilla is two, with Hyoscyamus and Conium.
Normally, Pulsatilla has desire for company, but Lycopodium, Calcarea, Phosphorus and
others have as stronger desire for company as Pulsatilla.
In the rubric "when alone agg." under "desire for company, when alone" Pulsatilla is not
there. That is strange. She likes to have it very warm. Do not let deceive you here either.
Pulsatilla is chilly, very often chilly, but they do not tolerate the warmth inside. They only
tolerate 20-22 C, although they are chilly. In bed, they often take more blankets.
A: The pain was better by warmth.
P: Yes, I like it very warm.
A: You had also flushes of heat.
P: Yes, terrible. Then I am wet all over and then it disappears.
A: You also said that you get it especially in large shops.
P: Often I am dressed warmly, when I get inside and when the warmth descends upon me, I
get it.
A: So you don't tolerate it well.
P: No, the warmth, the mustiness.
A: You need fresh air.
P: Yes.
A: Are you also sensitive ?
P: Yes, my whole life long.
A: In what sense ?
P: When there is something wrong with my children, and they tell us, then I feel it.
Sometimes I am very weak. Not now anymore, it is better. I have become stronger.
A: Also when you saw a film on television - you couldn't watch it.
P: I don't feel much like watching television.
The depression can be very deep in Pulsatilla, so that they have no more interest in other
people. Look under "sits as if wrapped in deep, sad thoughts, and notices nothing" (p. 81).
These are very bad, deep depressions in which they sit, saying nothing, as if they have no
contact with the world anymore, sit there like a Buddha, completely sad. Do not forget
Pulsatilla in such cases.
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A: When there was something sad on television you easily cried. P: Yes, I did. But that is
better at the moment.
A: When you were here the last time, you also cried.
P: Yes. I had difficulties. I could do my work only very slowly. I tried it again and again. I
like to work. I have to be busy. As soon as I was better I started to clean again. Then, I can
help my daughter again.
A: You were also sighing very much ?
P: Yes.
A: Moaning and sighing.
P: Yes.
Which remedy moans and sighs most ? Calcarea phosphorica. Moaning, dissatisfaction and
sighing, that is Calcarea phosphorica, with Arnica, Pulsatilla and Ignatia, but the most
dissatisfied remedy is Calcarea phosphorica.
P: I can eat very well.
A: Do you eat everything ?
P: I try to avoid fat, because I had those stitches in the large intestine now and then. First, I
ate bacon, but I don't do anymore. And something hearty ...
A: It has to be tasty.
P: Yes.
A: Do you like highly seasoned food ?
P: Yes, I do.
A: But you don't like things that are fat.
P: Yes, I like it, but I don't eat it. I think about my large intestine. And I also had a period in
which my stomach was a little bit slower. But I also have to eat a slice of bread before I go to
sleep.
A: Do you eat whipping cream ?
P: I don't eat it either.
A: But you like it ?
P: Yes.
P: Yes, I like it very much, but I don't eat it, because I can't tolerate it. I don't take butter, but
margarine instead, because of the cholesterol.
A: You had a diverticulum in the intestine. You also liked sweet food. And you couldn't
tolerate the sun.
P: Sitting in the bright sun, no. I like the sun, but I can't sit long in it.
A: Now, you feel very well. Are you satisfied ?
P: Yes. Morally, I'm better and I have more courage.
Do you see the right eye ? That is a symptom for which remedy ? Lycopodium. Lycopodium
and Pulsatilla are complementary. Later, after Pulsatilla she will need Lycopodium. This eye,
the right eye has a triangle over the eyelid, and that is typical for Lycopodium.
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P: I still have that pain in my neck, when I go in the bath, but that is tolerable. It's the joints, I
think. But it doesn't last long. It appears and disappears again.
A: But the frequency of pain is less compared to before ?
P: Oh yes.
A: But especially, you have more courage. You are all right again.
P: Yes.
She says that the pain is much better. And the pain is something subjective; this means when
we have pain, the energy fails. After the remedy the energy increases and stands above the
pain.
Rheumatic pain
WOMAN, 81 YEARS OLD
A: How are you ?
P: Not so good. I have pain in my legs and knees as if there is a bandage.
A: Since when do you have pain in your knees ?
P: Surely, since one month. My son already said, I would have call but at first I thought it
wouldn't be necessary.
A: Where is the pain exactly ?
P: Here, in my knee and my leg.
A: In your right leg.
P: When it is bad, also in my left leg. It extends even to my back.
A: When it is raining, with wet weather ?
P: Then it is very bad. And with mist and wind.
A: Then you also have it in your left leg ?
P: Yes.
A: Do you also feel it in your arms when it is wet ?
P: Sometimes in my shoulder (points to the left shoulder).
A: You can say, the pain is here, then there.
P: Yes, it goes around.
A: That's all concerning the pain. Further, how do you feel ?
P: I shouldn't complain.
P: As long as you can help yourself.
A: You are 81 years old.
P: In April, 82 years, but in the eighties nothing but misery.
A: There are many younger people who are worse.
P: Yes, I always think so. When those people can't get up anymore, only can sit in the couch.
A: Can you easily sit still, or do you have to be in motion ?
P: I always have to be in motion. I'm used to it. I have been this way since my childhood. I
have worked in a slaughter-house for 43 years.
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So again, Pulsatilla has amelioration from occupation. That is another symptom that can be
mixed with Rhus toxicodendron.
A: Could you easily tolerate the cold in the slaughter-house ?
P: Very well. I can better tolerate cold than warm.
A: Because it is cold in a slaughter-house ?
P: Oh yes, previously, it was terribly cold there. I had always provided myself with thick
shoes and so on.
A: You prefer cold to warm ? Especially inside ?
P: Yes, inside. But also outside. When I go outside, I am a completely different person.
A: Fresh air does you good ?
P: Yes.
"In the morning, when I have been outside, I feel better" - Pulsatilla wants to walk outside.
A: You like to be outside.
P: Oh yes.
A: But not in summer, when it is too warm ?
P: When it is very hot at noon, I don't go outside, only on my verandah at the back, or riding
on a bicycle outside in the forest. That is ideal. The forest begins immediately behind our
house. It is easier for me to ride on a bicycle than walking.
A: Yes, of course. With arthrosis it is better to ride on a bicycle than to walk. But you still
can walk ?
P: Not so quickly.
P: It is very good. I shouldn't complain.
A: You eat everything ?
P: In the morning I eat a slice of bread with smoked meat or cheese.
A: Do you like cheese ?
P: Yes, I like cheese very much. Also a beefsteak, or veal or so. I don't eat pork.
A: Why not ?
P: Previously, the doctor said that it was not good for my liver and gallbladder.
A: Oh yes. Don't you tolerate pork ?
P: Well yes, I don't tolerate fat very well.
A: At the gallbladder ?
P: No, they have removed it.
A: Do you notice something when you eat fat ?
P: I don't dare to eat fat. Previously, my husband said, "I can't understand that you sit there
with a slice of bread and smoked meat." Because he always ate bacon and so on.
A: But you don't like heavy food ?
P: No, when you don't feel well with it, I think it has no sense to eat it.
A: Yes, of course. You don't feel well after heavy food ?
P: No, I don't. I'm afraid of fat.
A: It doesn't make you feel well ?
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P: No.
A: And you don't like it ?
P: I like it. I can eat it.
A: I mean fat meat.
P: A little fat ?
A: The rim of fat of meat.
P: There is a rim of fat veal. I like it.
A: Well, anyway, heavy food is nothing for you.
P: No, nothing.
A: And what about fruit ?
P: I eat it, but no stone-fruit. No prunes, no cherries.
A: Why not ?
P: I think, I can't tolerate them very well. I prefer an apple.
A: So you like an apple ?
P: Yes.
A: Do you eat fruit every day ?
P: Yes, every day.
A: And do you like highly seasoned food ?
P: Yes, I like highly seasoned food, but not salty food.
A: So highly seasoned, also spicy ?
P: Yes, hearty.
A: But not too salty ?
P: I don't use much salt.
A: Don't you like salt ?
P: Well yes, they say that salt is not so good. In my age one has to be careful.
A: Yes, that's right.
And what about the sleep ?
P: Sometimes, I can't fall asleep well. But once I fall asleep, I sleep well.
A: How are the children ?
P: They are very well, but there is a lot to do. The eldest son has a slaughter-house, the
youngest son also. I only have two boys and two girls. They all have quite a lot of work to do.
The youngest daughter is children's nurse. She works with invalids. Everyone has something
to do. Her husband comes from a farm and keeps horses and other animals.
How she does worry about her children ! Immediately, she starts telling the whole story of
her children.
She is so sympathetic and she always came to the consultation when there was something
wrong with the children, and always wept and wept.
That is typical for Pulsatilla, that she sympatizes very much with her children.
P: You built a beautiful house, but there was a lot of work to do.
And why does she say that they all have a lot of work ? Because they do not have time
anymore to go to her and talk to her, that is the reason why she emphasizes it so much.
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A: Yes, there is quite a lot of work. Everyone has their own work.
P: Yes, you don't have any children. I always say, how is it possible ?
A: Do you visit your children regularly ?
P: Yes.
A: Every day ?
P: Often. Not every day. I often go riding on a bicycle when the weather is fine.
A: Can you easily be alone ?
P: Yes, that's all right. In the evening my daughter passes by.
She says that she can easily be alone, but her daughter goes to her every evening.
A: Your daughter comes in the evening ?
P: Yes, every evening.
A: That's nice of her, to pass by.
P: Oh, yes. Also for my daughter. She has four children at home. One is married and two are
about twenty years old and then an after-thought child of 14 years old.
A: Then she comes to talk every evening.
P: About what's the matter with the children and so on.
A: You take it to heart when there is something wrong with the children.
P: Yes.
A: You sympatize with the children ?
P: Yes, with all of them.
A: That is your nature.
P: Yes, that is so. I have always worried about the children and that will remain so.
A: I will try so that you will have less complaints.
P: Yes, when it gives relief.
A: I will give you two tablets to take home. You take one immediately, and keep one in
reserve. I would like to see you again within 6 weeks.
This was the last Pulsatilla case. I wanted to give you an impression of the Pulsatilla picture
with all these cases.
Depression
Mancinella
WOMAN, 35 YEARS OLD
This is a very interesting case, where you can prescribe one remedy after the other, without
finding the right remedy. By chance I found this remedy. I was in London and I studied the
remedy there. When I study a remedy, I read about it in Kent, if he has written something
about it, Clarke and Boericke. I read these three authors after each other and I try to
understand it in general. I had just studied this remedy in detail and I had to do a supervision.
There, I saw that this remedy which I had studied was needed. So, I found this remedy in a
supervision. I think the cosmos gives us the right impulse, the right information when we do
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for Homoeopathy what we can. We do not need to work to strenuously, we have to be open,
then the information comes suddenly. That is the best way to do Homoeopathy, not to push
too much forwards.
Second, the discussion about miasma. Someone whom I discussed with yesterday said that
Hahnemann had drawn up the theory of miasma, and that there is a difference between the
classical theory and the South American school.
Whether miasma exists or not, these are ideas which people have made. We have drawn up
many theories and I do not criticize them, but whether you call them miasma or not ... remember the case of yesterday: we gave a woman Pulsatilla, because of an acute rheumatic
inflammation. Then another remedy appeared and we can say, it was a Tuberculinum miasma,
because after Pulsatilla comes Tuberculinum.
But the patient gives us the symptoms and the psora, the sycosis and the syphilis, these are all
theories. The patient gives us the symptoms of the remedy and we can say, "Now I have to
give Tuberculinum, because the patient has Tuberculinum symptoms, not because there exists
a miasma." It is of no assistance for us to find the remedy. Only the symptoms that appear are
important to find the remedy. You see I do not only prescribe acute, but when the patient
produces symptoms of a large remedy, that probably works deeper, then I have to give that.
That is all.
I do not think that there exists differences between all these schools in Classical
Homoeopathy. They all mean the same. We can not waste our time with discussing about
miasma and things like that. We are there to cure the patients.
A: You were here the first time in January 1985.
P: That could be.
A: At that time you had depressions, "I'm tired of my life". A colleague treated you and first,
no straight line could be found. Then we discussed it together and gave you a remedy that
solved the case.
P: Yes, I got through it.
A: That became all right. We want to describe the situation of that time.
P: That would be difficult.
A: Here it says: the left ribs were swollen. That is not an exact expression.
P: Yes, in fact, it started in November, when I came back home from my work. My husband
had prepared dinner. I know it exactly, chips with beefsteak. After dinner I felt bad. I had to
vomit and had diarrhoea. I waited for a while and then I called the doctor - so influenza. I
thought, well yes, then it is clear, but it didn't improve and then I got pain. The whole left
side, up to the face, and I had a gnawing, stitching toothache, from the beginning.
A: Did you only have pain at the ribs ?
P: No, it extended all over. Then I had to be hospitalized in different hospitals. Everywhere
they said I was crazy.
A: They couldn't find anything.
P: They said so. Then I went to a psychic healer, but it didn't solve anything. The pain
remained and you do anything, because of the pain.
P: I drank a bottle of whisky a day and took MORPHINE. Everything, everything, everything
! I only weighed 47 kg and previously I weighed 75 kg. The pain made me crazy. Then I went
to an acupuncturist, he said there was something wrong with the tooth. I said that it couldn't
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be, because I have false teeth. He said I had to go to the dentist. I did. He took radiographs.
Apparently, it concerned a wisdom-tooth that was in the wrong place. He didn't dare extract it.
Then, another dentist extracted this tooth and the pain was gone.
A: Which pain ?
P: The toothache that extended through the whole left side. But what happened then, it was
like a blow. I was so depressive, I couldn't tolerate anything.
A: You had pain everywhere. They said, because of the tooth ?
P: Yes.
A: You had your tooth extracted under anesthesia. But then you became more ill in the sense
of ...
HP: That was more mentally.
A: Tell me, I will help you.
This means that the pain disappeared after the tooth was extracted, but then she became
worse mentally. This means, that when she has pain here and there and we suppress the
symptoms, we come with the symptomatology on a higher level. Mentally, our patient
becomes more ill, and more crazy.
Then this pain disappeared and after a while new symptoms appeared and exactly in this
period she came to our centre. It is important to know, that after this operation or toothextraction all the pain was gone and you see: the pain had disappeared, but the patient has
become more ill.
HP: She was drinking and didn't want to eat anymore. Cognac, whisky, everything and
tranquilizers.
P: Yes, I wanted to sleep.
HP: She had delusions ...
P: Yes, I got a delusion. I saw only bad things in everyone, not good things. Nobody could do
anything good for me. I was not normal, I couldn't tolerate myself anymore.
"I wasn't normal anymore": when someone says this about himself, which rubric can we take
? "Delusions, that she will become insane" (p. 28). When they say it themselves, it means that
they think they are insane.
A: You didn't see good things in anyone ?
P: Yes. Often, I still have such moments. Then it comes up and I see bad things in everyone.
Then I think: is it because of me, or what is the matter ? It descends on me suddenly. I feel
very well, but at certain moments it still descends on me. It seems as if someone is standing
behind me saying, "Do this or that, as bad as possible."
A: It seems as if someone is sitting behind you and says, "Do this or that ?"
P: Yes, that you are not master of yourself, can not control your own ideas, that someone else
stands between it and threatens to do something. And always bad things, no good things.
It is as if someone was standing behind her and forces her to do bad things. That is what she
experiences. It seems as if she has no control over herself and someone else commands her.
She can not resist. She can do nothing.
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A: Give an example.
P: To harm myself. The canal is not far from our house. Then I think, "Jump, then you are
gone." Or: "Take those tablets." Always bad things, nothing good. Sometimes, it is fatal. Then
I am glad when someone is at home, then I am distracted and it is better.
HP: Therefore we made a shop in our home.
A: All right. When you remember other things, just tell them. Just tell them as you want.
But when you were here, you said that the pain had disappeared. You were very depressed.
But there was a very special symptom under your left hypochondria. There you had pain, as
large as a coin.
You will not find this symptom in Kent. When I was at a seminar in London I found this
symptom, "Pain under the left hypochondria, as large as a coin, as a florin." This symptom is
described exactly the same in Clarke: "Pain under the left hypochondria, as large as a florin.
A: This caused a swollen feeling, you couldn't breath and it extended to the back. It was a
strange, sometimes stitching pain. Here it says, it lasted for 2 years. When you could rub on it,
it was better, and when you sat awry it extended downwards. You constantly had to change
the position. Local cold improved. When you pushed a little, it was worse, but hard pressure
improved. When you pushed very hard, ...
P: Then the pain was gone.
It is in Clarke, "Pain in left hypochondria in a spot, as large as a florin, compelling her press
there with her hand" (Clarke, p. 398).
A: And when you were laughing there was something as if it had to come out.
P: Yes, I still know it.
A: It was day and night. It was better, when you were lying in the sun.
P: Yes. I was a real sun worshipper. At the moment I can't tolerate it anymore.
A: You said, that you were easily cold. You liked sour and sweet things, liked to drink milk,
didn't like salt and highly seasoned food. There was also a migraine, a kind of headache
during the menstruation.
P: I still have it.
A: You liked to dance.
P: Still.
A: Here it says, "Emotionally indifferent, very irritated, suicidal thoughts." You smoked very
much.
HP: Less at the moment.
P: Yes.
A: A colleague gave you China - without result.
That was a good prescription in the sense that there were many symptoms indicating China.
There was a rumbling, a flatulence of the abdomen and an amelioration by strong pressure.
But the special sensitiveness in slight touch was missing. When you have a China patient, you
may not touch his abdomen, but he should feel better with strong pressure.
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We had a leukemia patient with an enlarged spleen and liver. He has reacted very well to
China. It was a chronic lymphadenosis. The mentioned symptom was very strongly present.
Besides he also had the desire symptoms of China: desire sweets, highly seasoned food,
aversion to fat ...
A: The pain increased after the first remedy. Then on January 21, you said that you had a
paralysing feeling in the left leg.
P: Yes, I still know it very well.
A: And you had nervous twitches. And there was a small spot, extending to the left. It was
better by pulling the leg upwards. Still a lot of sleeping tablets, painkillers, alcohol. Here it
says: sad, suicidal. Further it says, that the pain changes. The arm tingles while lifting. You
wept very much and liked to be consoled. You preferred older people to younger people.
HP: Yes, I still do.
P: It is still so.
A: Here it also says, "When I don't have pain, I feel better mentally". That is logic, isn't it ?
The depression is stronger when the pain appears.
You had more flatulence and were relieved when the winds came. You got Rhus
toxicodendron. Of course, it didn't do anything. At the third consultation I came and asked
you questions and we gave you the remedy. I payed more attention to the mental side. You
were very anxious to commit suicide, but you were also anxious to become insane.
Often I have seen, that it is difficult when people with a paper-case come to supervision. I
experienced it once when a student came - he had worked out the case and read everything he
wrote down - in our centre the supervisors have to accompany the learning doctor and have a
look at the patients and examine whether the things written down are all right. It has occurred
frequently that the student comes and says that the patient needs this remedy. When we have a
look at the patients the picture changes completely. You see, "No, it can't be that remedy. It is
impossible Pulsatilla, it is impossible Phosphorus", and then we have to see which remedy it
could be. Then you have a conversation with those patients and there appears a completely
different remedy, very strange.
Therefore it is very dangerous to prescribe only on the basis of notes of other people. Please,
do not accuse the supervisor, when his prescription is wrong. This only happens when you did
not make a good anamnesis. You can only pass the information that you have asked from the
patient and someone else can only sustain his prescription on that. That is not good.
So, the anxiety to become insane became her main problem. She was frightened to loose her
mind. "Fear of insanity" (p. 45). Here, there are 4 capital remedies. When a symptom has been
given very strongly by the patient, then you have to find this symptom capital. There we have
Calcarea, Cannabis indica, Mancinella and Pulsatilla. These are the 4 main remedies in this
rubric.
A: I had the impression that is was very strong. Can you tell me something more about it ?
P: Yes. Everyone says that it is mental and that I opposed it.
A: But this does not mean that everyone to whom you say that he is mentally ill he will get a
fear of becoming insane, although you know that 80 % of the things are ruled by the mental
part of our being.
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P: Yes, but at home nearly everyone belongs to the Jehovah's witnesses. I don't belong to it
anymore, not for quite a long time. I'm not the kind of person for that.
A: There is the essence of the whole case.
Do you see the origin of this problem ?
She belongs to a religious sect, the Jehovah's witnesses. Please do not say behind my back
afterwards I am against religion. That is not true. I do not know if you know, but this religion
is very strange. They nearly only talk about the negative side. They say, "You may not do
this, because ... You may not do that, not this ... You may not smoke, you may not eat this
kind of meat, because ... " It might be positive for certain people, but people who are
influenced by this religion, usually are people who are mentally not very vivid.
Look at Iran/Irak. There is a strong, very strong fanaticism, because most people, not all of
them, but a quite a lot of those people do not think about the problem themselves. It is "the
head" who thinks for them and makes them fanatic.
People who can not develop an independent strong mind, to think for themselves, such a
religion can give wrong influences and makes them insane. That happened in this case. In this
case the origin of the disease is that she belongs to such a religion.
But listen to the story.
P: Usually, I don't go there anymore, because I know ...
A: Of course, our purpose is not to criticize any kind of religion.
P: No, no... But I can't take part in it. What they ask, I'm not the kind of person for that. You
may not go there or there, not drink a glass of beer. Everywhere, they have something to say,
when you enjoy yourself. When my husband drinks a glass of beer somewhere, it is none of
their business. Then they don't pay attention to you anymore. Then, I could get crazy. I can't
tolerate it. Also, my father always represented himself this way.
A: I saw it this way, that the origin of all your problems, your pain disappeared after the
remedy and mentally there was a light again - everything was one and the same thing - for me
the cause was that they excluded you from the Jehovah's witnesses.
P: Yes, I wasn't allow to go home, because I smoked.
A: They judged you as a bad person, because you smoked.
P: Yes, they judged me completely, I was no human being, I was a complete bad person. You
don't tolerate things like that. Then, I also am hard. But then you may not go home anymore,
to visit your parents.
A: We do not want to criticize, but only see the facts that developed your disease. You had a
kind of conscientious scruple.
P: Yes, I just can't stop smoking. I just can't. And then there was fight at home, because I am
an irritable person by character.
This means, they say, "You are bad, because you smoke", but she couldn't stop smoking. You
see two things: she can not stop smoking and because she can not stop smoking, she is bad.
There is a kind of complex.
A: The fact that you broke down mentally, exists in the conflict: you like to smoke and you probably by external influences - belonged to a religious group. And there you were told,
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"She smokes, let's throw her out." That was for you a humiliation ?
P: Yes.
That is an offence, a discouragement, because they accused her. Now you can say, we give
her Ignatia. Why not ? Grief, a hysterical woman ...
A: And because you couldn't stop smoking, the consequence was that you were constantly
reproaching yourself and said, "I am a bad person".
P: That's the way one begins to think.
A: So far, that you were forced to ...
P: ... do malicious things.
A: ... by something.
P: Yes.
She could not stop smoking, she just could not. She said, "For me it seems as if I was forced
to do bad things." She already said that at the beginning. Do you remember ? "I was really
forced to smoke, I don't know, but someone forced me to do bad things. I couldn't resist it,
although internally I was accused of that I was bad."
A: By what ?
P: I don't know.
A: At that time you said, "It seems as if I am manipulated by ..."
P: Yes, I still have it often.
A: No, you said the word at that time.
P: Yes, yes.
A: By what ?
P: Oh, by the devil. Yes, I still have it often. I have to be careful.
A: At that time you said, "As if I am forced by the devil."
She said spontaneously, "As if I am manipulated by the devil." Do you understand now ? In
this Jehovah-sect the devil plays a very big role. In this kind of religion they say that the devil
makes things bad. Now, she says that she is anxious that she will become insane and, "I am
forced by the devil to do bad things". Where can we find this in the Repertory ? "Delusion, he
will be taken by the devil" (p. 23). Indeed, in the Repertory it is not exactly reported as she
expresses, but this being taken by the devil, this being manipulated corresponds with what she
says.
P: Yes, he has a hold over me and often still has a hold over me.
A: He has a hold over you and in some moments still has a hold over you.
HP: Not so strong anymore.
P: Not so strong, but I have to be careful.
HP: I see it in her, when it starts again and think, now I have to call the doctor.
A: That was the essence about which it concerns.
P: Yes, I think so.
A: This together with the fear of becoming insane. When I saw you, the symptom of the pain
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under the left hypochondria was still there. But there was also a gnawing pain over the whole
left side.
P: Yes, I can't deny it.
A: And numbness in the left hand. Further weak will-power, fear among many people, very
deficient self-confidence and often, "As if thoughts have completely vanished".
P: Yes.
"Vanishing of thought" (p. 88).
I gave her Mancinella and Mancinella cured her. That was 1987 and 3 months ago she came
back, because she had a relapse. She is the patient of a colleague in the centre. He thought she
had other symptoms. I saw her a few weeks ago, during my Sunday duty. She came with her
son and I talked to her. I felt that she needed Mancinella again, but her doctor gave her
another remedy, I do not know which. A week later she came back and I had to give her
Mancinella again. Now, she is better. But for me - and that is what I want to say to you: do
not prescribe only on the basis of a mental picture. That is very dangerous. In this case you
would have had enough symptoms for Hyoscyamus. Why not ? You can say, probably it is
Hyoscyamus. But the key-note of which I was so sure was the pain under the hypochondria,
in a small spot, extending to the breast. That was for me the key for Mancinella. When you
have this key-note - it is not in Kent, but some key-notes are failing there - when you have
this and the mental picture corresponds, than you can be sure, without doubt.
Question: " ... desire tobacco ... ?" (and other not understandable questions)
A: I don't need to show you all the rubrics in Kent in which Mancinella appears. There are
many, many rubrics. But when you have seen once such a case and afterwards you see
Mancinella in the Repertory, you will say, "Oh, be careful ! I have to ask for a strong
symptom. Maybe it is Mancinella."
A: Often it is very difficult to differentiate the mental, only the mental symptoms, for
example, to differentiate Pulsatilla from Calcarea on the mental level, lets say fear of
becoming insane, only on the basis of mental symptoms, on the basis of thoughts, the kind of
fear, how the fear is expressed and things like that. It is very difficult and very dangerous, to
differentiate only on the mental level, as often happens in America... You know that George
Vithoulkas published his essences - I warn you ... He is my teacher and he showed me the
way. I admire him very much. I would not talk against him. He has published the essences,
but the pictures are too narrow. You can not give a single description of one remedy, one
remedy has many aspects. When we will talk about Phosphorus later - you know the picture
that Vithoulkas gives of Phosphorus ? Nice, open, full of love, a positive picture. I will show
you a very annoying woman and I am sure you will say she is Nux vomica, but it is a clear,
beautiful Phosphorus case. That is what I mean. I warn you, to prescribe only on the basis of
mental symptoms. A mental picture, and it does not matter who has written it, will always be
too narrow; a remedy is much larger than a picture.
I made many mistakes, for a long time I had only prescribed Sepia for a woman and always
again Sepia, because she was so indifferent towards her husband. Aversion to sex, irritated
before menstruation and so on. Later I could box my ears, blockhead !
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Only when she developed a Meniere's disease I saw, "Indifference to loved ones" (p. 55),
Phosphorus is there. Then I understood this complete indifferent Phosphorus picture. There
are different situations, according to the case. Be careful to believe, when someone is not so
open or not so soft, that it can not be Phosphorus. Be careful !
The Americans do not have time anymore in their life. They love the money and so on, they
want to learn Homoeopathy within 2 minutes. They say, "All right, George will explain us
Homoeopathy, also about computer-systems. Well, George is sitting next to us and we will
find the remedy immediately." That is the way that Americans react. They try to make a lot of
money in less time, but without doing anything. Now, they come back and are disappointed
about Vithoulkas. Why ? They say, "We have followed the essences, for example, the essence
of Calcarea with his anxieties, the fear of what other people think about them and so on.
Vithoulkas has given the essence of China, of Mercurius, of Phosphorus, but the essences are
influenced. Let's have a look at the essence of Phosphorus: it is positive. The essence of
Lycopodium is negative. The essence of Nux vomica is also negative, while the essence of
Natrum muriaticum is positive. He has given personal values to the remedies, two negative
remedies, two positive remedies. We may not judge. It is not allowed to say, "This is a good
remedy, that is a bad remedy." There are no good remedies and no bad remedies. Whatever
disease a patient may have, when you find the right remedy you will love him.
That is the reason why they say in America that this system does not work. But the system
works ! Do not act as little children and believe that ONE mental picture corresponds to one
remedy, use your head ! When you have a patient with these mental symptoms, you know
immediately which remedy it concerns. All right !
But the remedy has other sides that gives a completely different aspect. Therefore I say that
you have to be careful in prescribing a remedy only on the basis of a mental picture. Look for
a key-note, look for a mental symptom that you can grasp, on which you can rely. I can not
only support on energy, I need something material, otherwise it will go wrong. Try to find a
strong physical symptom, a strong desire, or another kind of pain; and then, if you find an
appropriate mental picture - all right, then you can give the remedy.
In this case I was sure, because of the kind of pain and not because of her delusion, to be
taken by the devil.
I had a Kali bromatum case. The patient came in my room and did the following: ...
(kneading hands), the whole time. Immediately, I gave him Kali bromatum. Everyone knows
the main remedy in the rubric "restlessness hands" (p. 1187). I asked him, "Whom do you
blame for what happened to you ? What have you done ?" He said, "It comes from God, he
wants to punish me." That is the delusion of Kali bromatum and from that moment on you can
clearly prescribe Kali bromatum. It could be Rhus toxicodendron, it could be Tarentula, but
also Sulphur ... maybe, I do not know. But the restlessness is a clear symptom and then there
is the clear delusion. On the basis of that you can prescribe a remedy.
A: We gave you the remedy in 10 M potency. Three weeks later you said that mentally you
felt much better. The crazy thoughts returned now and then. Then you had a slight relapse.
You also said, "My will has disappeared." You sighed quite a lot. In any case the pain under
the hypochondria has completely disappeared.
P: Yes, it has completely disappeared.
A: And mentally, you were relatively good. You felt a tendency to, but you have become
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stronger.
P: Yes, I am stronger.
A: You are a shop-keeper. The fact that you can do that means that you have more energy,
that you can organize your life yourself and not let it be determined by other people.
P: That was my principle. I couldn't tolerate that.
A: But also the negative element, which has struck you very much: you may not do this or
that, it has caused a conflict in you.
P: Yes, absolutely. Then they reproached me about other things. I educated a niece. She was
not allowed to stay alone with my husband at home, because he could rape her and all that
gossip. Until at last I said, "Mama, there is the door !"
Here you can see what a religion can do to people, when it is a negative religion. Religion is
something beautiful, we need it, but it has to have a positive attitude, it has to give us hope
and does not have to hurt us as happened in this case.
Do not forget that she was sighing, and the numbness indicates Ignatia. Here, we have so
many symptoms of so many other remedies. You could think of Staphisagria, or you could
also give Natrum muriaticum. You could give whatever you want, but only one remedy would
solve this case.
A: Your niece was not allowed to stay with you.
P: No. Everywhere, they saw bad things in me, I couldn't do a good thing. My father said it
would be the death of my mother. She has been very ill for quite a long time. I'm absolutely
sure that she was really ill, but they blamed me for that as well. I could talk very well with my
mother, but not with my father. And I don't ask them to drink a cup of coffee somewhere.
A: Your mother also belongs to the Jehovah's witnesses ? And your father also ?
P: My mother is very stable, but she leaves you in peace. She talks about it, but she does not
say, that is allowed and that isn't. She just says, "That is your life, you have to make
decisions." Recently, it was very bad. I couldn't stomach it anymore. And then you see bad
things everywhere. I couldn't do anything good. I was doubting at myself.
A: You still have that particular feeling that someone forces you to bad things ?
P: Yes, I have to fight strongly against it.
A: What kind of bad things ?
P: There was the Passah-celebration and I can't play hypocrite. I didn't go, I stayed at home,
because otherwise I would feel very bad. I know myself. And on the other hand I have
twinges of conscience that I didn't go and on the other hand - yes, you don't know, if you do it
right or wrong. It is very fatal.
A: Wait, you have the impression that what you do is bad. But objectively, that is the
question I ask you - suppose I have an idea to urinate against a tree outside, would you see
something bad in doing so ?
P: No.
A: I mean, would you get the idea that it is not allowed ?
P: For me you can do what you want.
A: No, no. You don't understand me. You are forced to do something that is bad in your eyes.
Give me an example, what you would do.
P: Only for me, not for someone else. To do bad things for me, although I don't want it.
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A: Like what ?
P: To take piles of tablets.
A: Now I understand. The essence of the feeling - you call it a higher power, the devil forces you to do something to yourself what is not good.
P: Yes, that's it.
A: The second element is the enormous consciousness of guilt.
P: Yes, the feeling of being guilty.
A: That's what it concerns.
P: Yes, in general.
A: Did you have this also before you belonged to the Jehovah's witnesses ?
P: I never had it before.
A: Nor the idea that the devil controls you ?
P: No, never. Only then.
HP: At the Jehovah's witnesses you learn what the devil is.
P: When there is a fortune-teller on the television I want to watch as well, but I also am
anxious, that they can see inside you. And then I'm anxious, that it will fall upon me.
A: A kind of superstitious anxiety.
P: Yes. I don't know why. Under hypnosis, those people I avoid, I don't know why. I don't
know if I am strongly influenced by these thoughts.
A: What did you say they teach you there ?
HP: What the devil in fact means for people.
A: And do you believe it yourself ?
HP: I think so, yes. That is the truth, the bible is the truth. That's what my wife also says.
P: Yes, that is the truth, but I just can't. When you see them standing on the platform, they
can explain it very well, but privately, you can catch them in many things, and I can't tolerate
that. I heard one saying, "I'm sorry, but never topless bathing suit, never !" Then we were at
the sea and whom did we meet there with his wife and child and a large telescope to watch the
beach ? This man ! And then I had to turn around, otherwise I would fly at him.
A: You are sensitive to injustice ?
P: Yes.
A: Not injustice, but hypocrisy.
P: Hypocrisy and do something else behind your back. Why don't they say it just in front of
you, as it is, then I can defend myself. But when they do something behind my back, then I
take him firmly in hand and, "I take him with his tie," I always say.
A: Anyway, if we consider how you were at that time and how you are now ...
P: Yes, sometimes I don't understand. I have become very well. If you hadn't interfered at
that moment, I wouldn't have been here anymore.
A: I think so. If you hadn't gotten the remedy at that time ...
P: I wouldn't be here anymore. I can't deny it.
A: It was a hyper-hysterical situation, I remember very well.
P: Yes. I wasn't my own master.
A: In such situation you can't take your patients on video of course.
P: If you haven't been through that ... I was a few times near to suicide.
310
Acute gastritis
Bismuthum-sn. (+ -o.) (old abbr.)
WOMAN, 50 YEARS OLD
A: You have been treated here for a depression, that has become all right. We will talk about
that later. But now, on Saturday you went riding on a bicycle. You have exerted yourself too
much and then suddenly you got diarrhoea, especially while lying, aggravated by motion,
with constant pressure. You have also troubles with hemorrhoids. It was a pain deep in the
abdomen. The previous remedy which cured you was Natrum muriaticum in 50 M potency.
Now, your nervous complaints are completely all right.
And then, since yesterday you have a pressing pain in your abdomen, as if you would get
your menstruation. And a bearing down pain. You were very tired.
She says that the pain was so bad that she could not tolerate it anymore. Therefore, first we
have to think about this remedy. Every time, when I proposed this remedy, the patients had
said, "Doctor, do something, because I can't tolerate this stomach pain."
A: The last time you had cracks on your hands and the eczema has disappeared in the
meantime. Yesterday, I gave you Sepia, because of the bearing down pain and because of pain
in the hypogastrium, also because it is complementary. The pain in the abdomen is a little bit
better. But now there appears a very typical pain, namely, stomach pain.
P: The whole region, with one spot here.
A: You said, "I couldn't tolerate it anymore."
P: No, sometimes I can't tolerate it anymore.
A: Describe the pain.
P: It is here. Something is pulling and pushing here. It aggravates when I lie down. Then I
push on it, then I lie on it.
A: How does the pain feel exactly ?
P: In fact, they are not cramps in the stomach.
A: But nevertheless, it is a kind of cramp, a contraction ?
P: A kind of contraction, a kind of pressure. I always want to pull here. I have the impression
when I sit erect, it will go away, but that is not right. There is something.
A: Can you tolerate clothes there ?
P: I have problems with it, with my skirt.
A: Can you tolerate that your hand lies on it ?
P: No, I can't tolerate pressure, not the slightest touch on it. When my hand lies on it or
something presses - but I have always had this, not only now - then the pressure moves
upwards, until here. But that is not only now, I always had it. I can't tolerate my own hands on
my body, I never could.
A: It is not only now ?
P: No.
A: Can you tolerate your clothes less well the last days ? Or has this always been so ?
P: I can't tolerate any tight clothes.
A: But now, you can tolerate it less ?
311
P: Yes, now less.
A: I will touch it. Does this hurt more ?
P: No, because it is too high.
A: The pain is a little bit deeper. Yes, it is the stomach. Does it hurt ?
P: No, not so much.
A: So, not so sensitive to touch. But you can not tolerate your clothes.
Which remedy ? China. I try a slight touch, because she says, that she can not tolerate her
clothes. Therefore, first I try with slight touch and then with strong pressure, to see whether
this is a China symptom. But it was negative.
A: How was it last night ?
P: I couldn't lie on my back. When I had lain on my side, I had very much pain in my
stomach. It was better for the stomach, but not long, otherwise my stomach would have hurt
very much. I turned around and at last I got up. When I got up, it disappeared for a while.
She was restless and had to get out of bed. Which remedies have this ? Rhus toxicodendron yes, but there is another remedy, not only Rhus toxicodendron "restlessness, driving out of
bed" - which capital remedies ? Arsenicum, Bismuthum, Ferrum and Rhus toxicodendron.
And now I will examine to make sure whether Bismuthum has to be prescribed.
A: Last night you haven't stayed in bed ?
P: No, I couldn't lie in bed, because of the pain.
A: Strange. You had to go out of bed.
P: Yes, I had to get up, because I thought, it might be better when I get up, and because I
couldn't tolerate the pain anymore.
A: Do you feel something at your throat ?
P: No, not at my throat. But it starts again with the mucus ...
A: We can say that you were very restless last night.
P: Yes.
A: We can describe the pain as a contraction. As if there was a cramp in it ?
P: In fact, yes.
A: Can we describe it as a kind of cramp ?
P: But in fact, constantly.
A: Constantly. And you couldn't stay in bed last night. Do you have pain at the moment ?
P: Yes.
A: Please sit erect. What does the pain do ?
P: It becomes a little less.
A: A little or clearly ?
P: A little. I can't say that it has really disappeared. It goes away, but ...
A: It goes away, but it returns.
She has strong pain. When the symptom is very clear, the pain has to disappear very quickly.
The more acute the case, the faster the curing. We will see. I take the tablet and give it in her
mouth.
312
A: I have just given you the remedy. We will wait a moment and we will see how the pain
behaves.
For these cases we will need our observation rooms. We bring our patients there and they
remain there a few hours.
FEEDBACK (15 MINUTES LATER)
A: You came with terrible pain.
P: Yes.
A: Half an hour ago you got the remedy. What happened in the meantime.
P: It is better. There was an improvement and now, apparently it is gone, only muscular pain.
The internal pain has disappeared. But there remains muscular pain.
So, that is the history. Bismuthum has cured her within 15 minutes. That is Homoeopathy.
A: Would you have come because of the muscular pain ?
P: No.
A: What percent has the pain improved ?
P: I think for 90 %. Strange, isn't it ? I am a good example, I think.
A: Why an example ?
P: Yes, it works. The remedies work. Although, many people state that such a little pill can't
do it. That's why I think I am a good example. Example is the right word, isn't it, Doctor ? I
don't consider Homoeopathy as hocus-pocus. On the contrary. It is just another curing
method.
A: You also know that I gave you a remedy at the beginning, which didn't help anything.
P: Yes, indeed. I came here 3 or 4 times.
A: It didn't do anything, nothing, until we discovered that the cause of the problem was the
school.
P: Yes. I can still hear you asking, "Do you have other problems ?" Because the first time you
assured me that it would be all right. And I left lively, because at that moment I was really
depressed, because it didn't disappear. I was lively and went away and they said, "Girl, you
look very well, so shiny." And I said, "It will be all right, it will be all right." And it was a
great disappointment, when it didn't improve.
A: Only talking and giving a wrong remedy, it doesn't help.
P: But talking helps a little bit, doctor. Because last Monday I came with grief and pain here,
and was a little relieved when I went away. I think it is terrible, when you have to wait for 2
months. I understand it is to give the remedy time to work. But contact always gives me a lift.
Even when you often don't say much, anything, but it gives you a lift ...
A: A lift, that it will be over quickly.
P: Goes over quickly ... No.
A: But you see, with the wrong remedy nothing happens.
P: Of course not.
A: The days after the first consultation you felt that it didn't help anything. And now, you
313
can't say that talking has helped you ?
P: No, not at all. But it is a different conversation, an addressed conversation. In fact, I don't
have the feeling I'm complaining. I dare say I have pain. When I go to another doctor, it was
one word and he already knew what was wrong. And further you may not say anything else.
You are the patient, but you may not say anything. You just may not open your heart. And
when you complain too much there, it isn't right anymore. Then you feel something like, "I
know it better, I know what is wrong with you." What you do or feel, it doesn't matter there.
A: But here it is the contrary. We have to listen, because otherwise we don't know what we
have to give.
P: On the other hand you have to make the right diagnosis from the things you hear.
A: You should say, the right homoeopathic diagnosis, which means: which remedy
corresponds to the picture they offer. One picture consists of different elements, otherwise
you can't get a picture. And you put those pieces together, until you see a picture appearing.
As a homoeopath you see a certain homoeopathic picture. That's what I just did. You spoke
about terrible stomach pain. There must be a remedy which has enormous pain, and indeed
cramping pain, which is so strong that you can't stay in bed at night, so that you have to get
out of bed. And apparently the pain improves when I rub on your back. That is the picture of
an acute inflammation of the stomach mucous membrane. If the picture corresponds, the
remedy has to be right and when I give it the complaints have to disappear.
P: And in fact, immediately.
A: Yes. The more acute the complaints are, the faster the pain disappears, if the complaints
aren't an expression of a deep suffering, emotionally or things like that. Then it might cure
very slowly, with ups and downs. In this case I think it is all right.

Homeopathic Practice

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Alfons Geukens Homeopathic practice 1

Trauma with consequences

Paresthesias, left arm

Paresthesias, brachialgia left

Pain in heel after fall

Arthritis, left shoulder

Arthritis, right shoulder

Herpes labialis and arthrotic pain

Dysplasia left hip

Herpes zoster, right knee

Otitis media, left

Otitis media, right

Aseptic osteonecrosis (sever's disease)

P: Yes, I think so.

A: The pain in the toe has nearly disappeared.

Depression and arthritic pain

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