A young girl, 21 years old, presented with an ovarian
cyst on 19th January 2007.
I had treated this girl for chronic prostration, recurring headaches
and menstrual irregularities and other problems in early 2004. The
two remedies that I found indicated for her at different times were
Natrum-carb and Natrum-mur. She had responded well to the treatment
and was doing well since 2004.
This time around she complained of pain in the abdomen, which was
radiating down her leg. A USG done on 19/02/2007 revealed a
large hemorrhagic cyst (4.4 * 2.7 * 4.1 cm / 27ml) in the left ovary
and PID.
The patient was thirstless and had profuse leucorrhoea.
In the rush of the clinic hours, I did not repertorise the case
and thought - "There is an ovarian cyst and it is left
sided. It is also hemorrhagic, which probably indicates a syphilitic
remedy. There is pain in the left ovarian region and it is extending
downward. The patient is thirstless and also has profuse leucorrhoea.
The remedy should be Argentum-met."
First prescription: On 19th Feb 2007, I prescribed
Argentum-met 30.
Result: No improvement. The pain persisted.
Mistake: The mistake I made was that I did not
take the case properly and relied on my clinical knowledge. Technically
the prescription was not very wrong, because if you repertorize
the symptoms that I chose, Argentum-met does come up strongly. Another
mistake was to use the pathology as eliminative symptom.

Lessons:
1. If you do not take the case properly, your chances of finding
the simillimum are remote. 'A case well taken is a case half cured'
2. Do not use the pathology as eliminative. Focus on the symptoms
first and use the pathology in the end (if needed) to differentiate.
A couple of days later a homeopath in her college noticed that
she had to hold her abdomen while descending stairs because every
little jerk aggravated the pain. On this symptom alone, he suggested
Bryonia. So the girl, a homeopathic student
herself, took a dose of Bryonia 200. Soon the pain subsided totally.
She called me up and told me the happy news. I suggested to her
that she could continue the remedy if the pain came back. ) The
pain did come back after a few hours. Every time she repeated the
remedy, the pain would subside but would come back again after a
few hours. With each repetition the result from Bryonia was getting
less dramatic.
Mistake: The homeopath prescribed on just one
characteristic symptom. There was no respect paid to the totality
of the case. Such single keynote prescribers sometimes do hit the
bull's eye, but in most cases they won't be able to effect a cure.
Lessons: A remedy that covers a few characteristic
symptoms but does not cover the totality can only work as palliative.
When the Bryonia stopped working, she came to me again. I still
felt that my first prescription was OK and probably Bryonia taken
soon after might have interfered with it. I stuck with my prescription
and upped the potency to 200.
12/03/2007 - Argentum-met 200C.
Result: No change.
Mistake: Overconfidence. I should have reviewed
the case here.
Lesson: If your remedy is not working, review
the case thoroughly before repeating. A simillimum usually does
show some action, even if the potency is not perfect.
25/03/2007 - When Argentum-met 200 also did not
give any result, I decided to review the case and took the following
symptoms:
Pain, abdomen
< walking, while
> warmth
> pressure
extending to back
extending to lower extremities
Pain, stitching

Based on this repertorization, I prescribed Colocynth 30.
25/03/2007 - Colocynth 30 in liquid solution for
10 days.
Result - Significant amelioration. Only slight
discomfort left.
03/04/2007 - Colocynth 200C b.d. in liquid solution.
Result: No complaints.
Lesson: Always remember to complete the symptoms
as regards location, sensation, modality and concomitants. A case
well-taken is a case half-cured!
29/04/2007 - A USG showed both ovaries were normal
and there was no evidence of a cyst or PID.
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