Retching, Vomiting and Emotional Issues- HFA Case

Female, age 4

Consultation date – Feb. 26, 2011

 

CASE

L. has dark blonde hair, slim build and average height for her age. Her father is concerned about her physical and mental/emotional health. She gets frequent stomach-aches, colds, leg pains, and eczema and has some behavioral issues. She has never lived with both parents because their relationship ended before she was born. Both parents were only 19 at the time and her father did not want to marry her mother. Her birth was normal and full term. She has always lived with her mother. She has one younger sister and a baby brother that are her mom’s children by other fathers and her mom’s current boyfriend lives with them as well. Her father lives with his girlfriend and L. stays with them on weekends, some holidays and vacations. Other than some normal sibling rivalry, she gets along well in her mother and father’s large extended family. In her first years after birth, there was a lot of friction between her parents because her mother was jealous of her father’s girlfriend. Ongoing quarrels between her mom and her male friends contributed to an unstable household, with issues about lack of money, joblessness, frequent moves, domestic and alcohol abuse. L.’s mother also has fights and relationship issues with her own parents that cause a lot of drama. Her father thinks an unhealthy, high stress atmosphere created by her mother’s unstable lifestyle is big cause of L.’s physical and emotional ailments. Her father and his girlfriend hope to have custody of L. someday but it seems unlikely at present.

She has frequent colds that sometimes become bronchitis which her dad blames on her poor diet of junk food and sweets at her mom’s. At night she wakes frequently with a cough or stomach aches and has leg pains in her bones. The cough is loud and usually dry unless the cold turns into bronchitis. It wakes her in the wee hours and she must have a drink of water which does not help and the cough keeps everyone awake for hours. Sometimes she vomits from coughing fits or when she gets a 24 hour bug and a stomach ache. She coughs mainly at night. Sometimes her eyes are itchy. Her eczema is worse in the summer with heat, perspiration and humidity and itches behind her ears, on the back of her head and between her shoulder blades. It is white, dry and a bit scaly in appearance. The eczema does not seem to be a major problem and is more of an annoyance. Her mom treats it with topical cortisone as needed.

She is a picky eater and dawdles at the table long after everyone else is finished because she eats slowly, talks a lot, and has a hard time sitting still. She must be constantly redirected to eat and remain seated. If forced to try a bite of a new food or one she does not like, she will either spit it out or hold it in her mouth, refusing to swallow until made to, which leads to tears, retching and vomiting during the meal. She loves fruit which is never refused and asks for it daily – banana, strawberry, blueberry, apple, and grapes. Other favorites are pepperoni pizza, macaroni and cheese, ice cream, yogurt, cheese and especially candy. At Christmas one year she took all the blueberry candy canes off the tree, hid them in her room and ate them in one sitting. She is not very thirsty and must be reminded to drink water. She will drink milk but prefers fruit juice, especially orange, but drinks apple and grape too. Once, after eating fresh pineapple, she got hives while riding in the car. She gets carsick easily and can vomit especially on longer drives whether she has eaten or not.

She tends to be warm with hot feet. She always takes off her socks and shoes in the house, preferring to go barefoot. At night she kicks off the covers while sleeping. She hates to take a bath, screams in the tub and is afraid of getting her face and head wet, but will play in the sprinkler and a shallow wading pool outside.

She loves to go shopping and needs to touch everything she sees. She loves to dance and sing but when asked if she’d like to take dance lessons she says no because she already knows how. She enjoys being the center of attention, always wanting her father’s cuddles and often interrupts him while he is talking to either add something, correct what he has said, or to ask a question to get his attention. She is very chatty – only a little shy at first when she wants to be held by her dad- but once she feels comfortable she will explore her surroundings. She is affectionate – giving kisses and hugs to relatives and family friends when greeting and saying goodbye. She is kind and thoughtful and always asks to bring home a gift or snack for her siblings and mom. She tends to worry that there won’t be enough food to eat at her mother’s house and wants to help out by sharing her food. She is sensitive and loving towards all animals, makes friends easily, and gets along with other children and adults. She is very smart and mature for her age, perhaps somewhat precocious. She is not shy about telling the good and bad things about her siblings, mom, and mom’s boyfriend; even though she confides that her mom has told her not to tell anyone these things. She gets homesick for her mother at bedtime and whimpers after her bedtime story until she falls asleep. Her dad must hold her until she nods off. She is also homesick sleeping at other relative’s homes when her mom is not present. If she does not get what she wants, such as candy or a toy, she whines, cries and pouts which can end in a timeout if she carries on for too long. She is overly sensitive to reprimands and cries easily. Sometimes she vomits during these episodes if she gets emotionally upset.

RUBRICS CHOSEN – Complete Dynamics software

• 339 Stomach; retching, gagging
• 322 Cough; night; agg.
• 259 Extremities; heat; feet
• 246 Extremities; pain; legs; bones
• 399 Skin; eruptions; eczema
• 221 Generalities; bathing, washing; agg.
• 192 Generalities; riding on cars or wagons; during

FACIAL ANALYSIS

YELLOW (psora) 1	RED (sycosis) 4-5	BLUE (syphilis) 4
        Ears angle	        Gums show         Teeth gaps? age         Ears         Hairline shape         Mouth size	        Forehead shape         Chin defined         Eyes position         Teeth angle

 

Miasm- Purple (Syco-Syphilitic miasm)

Red and blue facial features are dominant indicating she needs a remedy from the purple or syco-syphilitic group.

Remedies – the following remedies appear in the repertorisation. Only the purple remedies (bold) are considered for the case

Sulph, sep, phos, arn, rhus-t, ars, lyc, nit-ac, bell, calc, graph, lach, petr, sil, bry, kali-c, carb-v, zinc, bar-c, hep, nat-c, nat-m, con, mag-c, psor, am-c, caust, coloc, ign, nux-v, thuj, acon, kreos, cupr, ferr, spig, cycl, kali-I, kali-n, verat, nat-s, ars-s-f, brom, sul-ac

REMEDY AND DOSE

Because she is so young and food preferences are not always reliable, I chose not to include the rubrics desires sweets or fruit, or worse from fruit, but consider this information in the remedy differential. Her desire for fruit and sweets may just be a liking for these foods and not a true craving. Because there was only one incident of an aggravation from fruit- only pineapple – this is questionable as well. Lachesis, Belladonna and Veratrum album all crave fruit and are worse from fruit. Lachesis is known for being warm but can be chilly. Lachesis is my first choice of syco-syphilitic remedies/purple miasm remedies. If Lachesis fails I will consider Belladonna as backup. A single dry dose of 200C is chosen because she lives in two households. The ‘wait and watch’ method associated with a single high potency dose is not the best protocol. I prefer giving a daily dose of 30c potency to build the body up gradually but not all patients are in a position to follow this way of taking their remedy.

RX: Lachesis 200C, one dry dose

FOLLOW UP

March 26, 2011 (one month later)

She is doing well – sleeping better with no cough or crying at bedtime, less food issues and restlessness at table while eating. No retching/ vomiting after eating, while riding in the car or at night. Skin may not be as itchy with less eczema, but it is not yet summertime which is when it bothers her the most. Wait.

June 7, 2011 (two month)

She is happy and no behavior issues or eczema or vomiting. Recovered well from cold and occasional 24 hour sickness over past 3 months. Wait.

Oct. 15, 2011 (eight months)

When she is overtired or anxious, she licks her fingers and arms, puts her hands in her mouth, and sticks out her tongue which oscillates back and forth. I do a new repertorization with aliments from anxiety and tongue movement. I recheck her facial analysis to check my original analysis. Four purple remedies come up in the top ten remedy list- Cuprum, Lachesis, Belladonna and Hyoscyamus. I decide to repeat Lachesis because it still covers the case well.

RX: Lachesis 200C, one dry dose

Nov. 20, 2011 (nine months)

Her dad has not observed any tongue motion or lapping but now she has a loose cough and a cold with some coughing at night. He intends to travel out of state in a week with her and his girlfriend to visit relatives so he is anxious to have her healthy. I decide to repeat Lachesis since it resolves her acutes quickly and appears to be working well in a constitutional way.

RX: Lachesis 200C, one dry dose

Nov. 27, 2011 (nine and a half months)

Her cold and cough improved after the last dose. They went out of state to visit relatives last week and she had a great time with her cousins, aunts and uncles for a 3 day visit. No homesickness at bedtime while away from her mom. Her dad reports she has been well with less tongue motion during upsets and seems better overall. She is eating more foods, can sit at the table and eat without emotional upsets, and no longer needs constant attention from her dad. She can play quietly, is less hyperactive and can wait without interrupting when he is in conversation with other adults. Wait.

Dec. 24, 2011 (ten months)

Her night cough is back with leg pains. I decide to continue with the same remedy but to increase the potency.

RX: Lachesis 1M, one dry dose

Jan. 22, 2012 (eleven months)

Her dad says she “pitched a huge fit” about a week after taking the higher potency of 1M, but she is fine now and all else is well. Wait.

July 28, 2012 (seventeen months)

She has been fine with no behavior issues. Slight eczema behind ears, on back of head and spine during the summer. Next month she begins kindergarten. Wait.

Dec. 2, 2012 (twenty-two months)

She has been pouting, cries easily and is moody. Refuses to cooperate with her mom at times. She tells me her mom put cortisone cream on her eczema during the summer. I decide to drop back to 200c.

RX: Lachesis 200C, one dry dose

Jan. 20, 2013 (twenty-three months)

She has been calm and less talkative. Only one spot of eczema on her back. One day later her dad calls and says she has head lice from her younger sister. Two nits were found.

RX: Lachesis 200C, one dry dose

September 18, 2013 (two and half years)

The head lice cleared soon after the last dose of Lachesis. She has been fine all spring and summer with only a couple minor colds or stomach aches. She is back in school in first grade but she is sneezing and stuffed up.

RX: Lachesis 200C, one dry dose

March 7, 2014 (three years)

She has a little itchy eczema behind her left ear and has had a few minor colds since September. I decide to try 1M potency again to help resolve the eczema.

RX: Lachesis 1M, one dry dose

July 12, 2014

She has been fine with no more behavioral issues, eczema, or leg pains. She no longer gets carsick or homesick. Her dad and his girlfriend say she is a much healthier and happy 8 yr old child in spite of the family stress of living in two different households. The ongoing strife between her parents and their partners does not seem to affect her as much. She seems more resilient and able to adjust to the ups and downs of life. Lachesis has worked well as a constitutional remedy and bolstered her immune system – she gets less acute episodes of colds, coughs, and stomach aches. If she has any more mental/emotional problems, eczema, or strong acute ailments, Lachesis will be repeated as needed to help her handle the daily stresses of life.