Case Quizes Clinical Cases

Revisiting: From Really Weird to Shockingly Great!

What’s wrong with this patient? Did you figure it out?

Mom, it’s time for the quiz!!

Wow!  Again?  So soon?

I’m not sure how many announcements I have to make this month, so we may as well go straight to the Death Report.

Well, if we have to….

I am sad to announce that Valerie Harper (“Rhoda” on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”) passed away in August at 80.

Oh no!  Not Rhoda!

I believe she was fighting cancer.

I know, brain cancer, for years.

At one point there was a gofundme set up for her as apparently insurance didn’t cover all of her medication, and she must’ve been on a lot of it.

That is terrible!  What an indictment of our so-called “health care” system!  So Shana, get me an episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”!

Mom, if you’ll remember, we did a “It’s A Mary Tyler Moore Show” quiz where we asked our readers to find the remedies of Mary, Rhoda and Rhoda’s mother, Mrs. Morgenstern:

Revisiting: It’s A Mary Tyler Moore Show Quiz!

Thanks for reminding me of that, Shana!

 

Bye Rhoda, thanks for being a part of our lives.  

 

The next death is kind of sad too but maybe less traumatic?  I learned a lot when reading about a producer, engineer and session guitarist who just died named Jimmy Johnson.  He is seated below next to Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones.

Turns out he co-founded Muscle Shoals Sound Studio located in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, although it seems like he was also involved with FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals.

He was a session guitarist at Fame.  You can hear his guitar on songs by Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Clarence Carter and others.

Anyway, Muscle Shoals gave birth to songs like “I’ll Take You There” by the Staple Singers, “Careless Whisper” by George Michael, “When You’re In Love With a Beautiful Woman” by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show….

I know you’re probably gonna say, “Who’s Dr. Hook?”

No, Shana, that’s what everyone else is saying!!!!

Dr. Hook sang “On the Cover of the Rolling Stone”.  By the way, I’m starting to think that FAME Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio are one and the same.

That’s understandable.  They all started at Fame; then, in 1969, Jimmy Johnson and three others–the rhythm section at Fame– left to start their own studio, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.

The list of Jimmy Johnson’s accomplishments in music is never ending.

I was afraid of that….

But it includes, though not limited to, engineering three songs on the Rolling Stones “Sticky Fingers” album.  (One of which is “Wild Horses”, though “Brown Sugar” was the famous one.)

The Rolling Stones again???  Have you noticed that no matter what we’re talking about, we’re talking about the Rolling Stones?

Apparently three of Glenn Frey’s solo albums…

And Glenn Frey?

….were also recorded at Muscle Shoals: “No Fun Aloud”, “The Allnighter”, and “Soul Searchin”.  Also, guess what?  Turns out there was a documentary about Muscle Shoals/FAME in 2013 which I just ordered from ebay.  Wilson Pickett was in it, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards too.  Obviously the presence of Mick and Keith means I have to see it!

Good grief!

I can’t wait until it comes.

Oh well, I suppose we should play a song recorded at Muscle Shoals/FAME.

Let’s play it at the end.  Right now, we have to start:

The Quiz!!!!!

 

Who is it this time?

A Mrs. Eleanor Rosie Velt.

Mom!  That sounds an awful lot like Eleanor Roosevelt!

Who’s she?

Uh, Mom?  The late president’s wife?

Well, whoever she was, I asked her to fill out the questionnaire:

*******

Questionnaire

Name: “Eleanor Rosie Velt”

Age: 60

Male or Female: female

Weight: 173

Height: 5.5 ft.

Date: 8/26/19

Email Address:

 

  1. Describe the complaint

I feel really sick

Like im getting a bad cold in my chest

So tired

My voice is all deep and raspy

I feel like I’m going to throw up

I feel so strange

So tired, so really weird

 

  1. Etiology–

Saturday lip swelled up like it did last week. I’m thinking its detoxing parasites maybe.

Then Sunday I had rapid heartbeat, 120 beats, felt weird, thought I was having a heart issue but when i took a big glass of water and Dr. Schulze’s heart liquid herbs I felt way better.

Have had major bad indigestion for a month now with my voice getting deep and raspy and my throat hurts and it feels like im going to lose my voice. When I swallow it feels like a lump way down in my throat.

 

  1. Sensation–

Tired

My temp was 99.6 at doctors office today.

I asked doc if i could get ultra sound or MRI for indigestion pain and she said only endoscopy could be the test for that.

Super anxiety over my son who has opiod addiction . Terrifying situation.

Super stressful. It hurts to speak

I feel nauseous

Want to lay down but indigestion

I want to cry and I am scared.

Hate being alone when sick.

 

  1. Appearance–

Tired

WELTS ALL OVER ESPECIALLY IN THE MORNING

 

  1. Location–where on the body is your complaint located?

INDIGESTION

CHEST

THROAT

WELTS ON LEGS AND ARMS SPORADICALLY

 

  1. Modalities–

[no answer]

 

  1. Concomitants

Burping

Ears ringing

Chills a little today

Dizzy a little

Feel need to lie down and not talk

Feel like i am losing my voice

This afternoon I felt like I couldn’t catch breath hard to breathe.

I felt like i used to feel when I was getting a cold in my chest and I woukd wind up in hospital with asthma attack .. scary feeling.

 

  1. Discharges–

Right now i feel like i want to throw up

And burping

And feel like stuff is stuck in my esophagus

Diarrhea too.

 

  1. Generals–

I’m scared; weak.

I’m tired.

 

  1. The mentals:

Freaked out over my son possibly dying from doing Fentanyl.

Anxiety awful.

 

  1. What have you been saying?

Trying to stay positive.

I can do all things thru God who strengthens me.

I hate being alone.

 

  1. What are you doing?

Lying down and going to bathroom.

 

  1. Describe your thirst and appetite–

Taking Juices

Want cold water

Don’t feel like eating

Ears ringing

 

  1. Fever?

Very hot outside

Doc said my temp was 99.6

And I did feel hot today.

 

  1. Sweating?

Sweating when outside or inside when in a warm room.

 

  1. Odors?

No

 

  1. What is most striking, peculiar or identifying about your condition?

It’s just WEIRD!

SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS!

VOICE CHANGING, DEEP HUSKY MAKING ME NERVOUS

INDIGESTION

TIRED

 

  1. Is there a diagnosis?

STUPID DOCTOR TOLD ME TO TAKE TUMS OR PRILOSEC WHICH I AM ALLERGIC TO

 

  1. Describe your energy–

TIRED

QUIET

WANT TO LAY DOWN THROAT HURTS

 

  1. What does your tongue look like?

Tongue is coated with white stuff

Cracked in places

 

  1. If you have a cough…

NO COUGH

 

  1. If you haven’t already said if you’re hotter or colder than usual, say it now.

Felt hot then cold

Want to put sweater on then get hot

Just want all this to GO AWAY !

She the doc said my right ear full of wax

 

  1. What are you eating?

Had grassfed GRASS-FED MILK, YOGURT

SALMON

Green tea

Steamed clams and shrimp

Green beans

Rice noodles

 

GREEN JUICES

PINEAPPLE JUICE

ROLL WITH BUTTER

_______________________________

 

OK Eleanor, I think you need a dose of ______________ 200C.  Let me know what happens.

***

Thank you so much, I was sooooo sick.

Wow, it worked. I’m amazed.

It was like I became a new person!

I went from awful sick to very well!!

It was shockingly great!

_______________________________

So, everybody, what do you think the remedy was, and what do you think was wrong with her?  Write to me and let me know.

My email address is [email protected].  The answer will be in next month’s ezine.  (Actually, the answer is below.)

And now!  What kind of music is associated with Muscle Shoals, Alabama?  Here we go.  “I’ll Take You There!”  The Staple Singers.

Votes:

Arsenicum-4

Phosphorus

*************************

Did this quiz scare people away for some reason?  Only a few courageous people voted.  OK, who’s up first?  Oh look, it’s our friend Linda!

Hi Elaine!

Hi Linda!

Here’s my take on Eleanor:  I think the most important part of the case is the “mentals.”

I agree!

Mainly, she feels so much anxiety over her son’s drug use that it’s making her feel sick in various ways.  Arsenicum is a commonly used remedy for anxiety and it is the first remedy I think of when my friends and family members feel anxious.  I know too, though, that bird remedies can also have this anxiety over their children’s well-being because that’s what my homeopath prescribed for me many years ago.  So maybe what Eleanor needs is a bird remedy but for now, I’m going to stick with Arsenicum.

Good idea cuz that’s what I gave her!  BUT, you missed the OBVIOUS clues!  She said she was scared over and over again; and what was she scared of?  Being alone while sick!!!!!  That’s how we know it’s Arsenicum!  Arsenicum has a terrible fear of being alone when they’re sick–a desperate need for company! 

Now, what was wrong with her?  She was having an allergic reaction to shellfish!  All her references to “welts” (that means hives) and her lip swelling?  And when a person uses words like, “These symptoms are really weird!” you have to think of allergic reactions right away.  And when you see they’ve eaten shrimp?  Shrimp is famous for causing allergic reactions!  So, what I often say in cases like this?  “Make a remedy out of the shrimp!”  But I didn’t.  You know why?  This case has mentals!  And when a case has mentals, you have to match them.  And in this case, the mentals were crystal clear — Arsenicum!

Is anybody else here today?

Hello, Elaine and Shana….

Hello Miroslav and Jitka!

Here are our solutions for the September quiz:

Miroslav says: Arsenicum alb.

Anxiety, fear, restlessness goes through the whole case ….

From rubrics  I choose: Mind, anxiety, family, for his own.

But also other symptoms: nausea, goes from bed to bathroom and back (restlesness?),

Hives/urticaria, alternating fever with chills, she were hospitalized in the past

for asthma … I opted for Ars. album.

Jitka says: Phosphorus

Since in the case there was an etiology –  anxiety about her son’s fate, I tried to name this symptom and find the appropriate rubrics.

I chose these three rubrics and only remedies that were in all three rubrics.

Mind, anxiety,  ailments from anxiety:  ars carc phosp

Mind, anxiety, due others, to:  ars  CARC PHOSP

Mind, fear, solitude from: ARS, carc PHOSP

Due to chest problems, hoarseness, and indigestion problems, Phosphorus  seems to be most similar to the Eleanor case.  So my solution for this case is Phosphorus.

Miroslav is right–it’s Arsenicum!  She kept saying over and over again, “I’m scared.  I hate to be alone when I’m sick.”  This is the essence of Arsenicum.  You made the mistake of thinking the etiology was anxiety over her son’s drug addiction.  The etiology and the diagnosis is Ailments from shellfish!  She was having an allergic reaction to shrimp!  Shrimp is a notorious allergen!  The hives she mentioned and the swelling of her lip and the fact that she kept saying her symptoms were “weird”, all reflect an allergy.  If she didn’t have such clear “mentals”, I would have said, “Make a remedy out of the shrimp!” 

https://elainelewis.hpathy.com/how-to-make-your-own-remedy/

But when a case has such clear mentals, you have to go with that.  I think she also had diarrhea, didn’t she?  Yes, she did; and she also said she wanted to throw up numerous times, all of which leads us away from Phosphorus.  The first thing she said was, “I feel really sick.”  That’s actually in the Repertory: Murphy’s 3rd ed., “Clinical: sick, feeling”.  Arsenicum is a 3.  Phosphorus isn’t there.

So there you have it!  Is anybody else here today?

 

Hi Elaine and Shana!  For this month’s quiz a little help would be appreciated.  I thought about Arsenicum, the anxiety is there, with the desire for company and cold water but I don’t see the typical Arsenicum restlessness and chilliness.  For now I will stick with Arsenicum.

Hi, Maria!  She did mention chills, though she mentioned being hot also.  And regarding “restlessness”,  just because you don’t see the words, “I’m restless” in a case, doesn’t mean the patient isn’t restless.

Unless I pin her down and say, “Are you lying still or tossing and turning?” or, “Are you pacing around the house or keeping to one spot?” she may not mention that she’s doing those things! 
She may not think it’s note-worthy compared to all the other things that are wrong with her. 

Also, if she’s a restless person in general?  It may seem normal to her that she’s going from one place to the other.  We just don’t know these things cuz I didn’t ask her.  And the reason I didn’t bother asking was because the mentals were so obvious, I didn’t need to know anything else! 

Remember “Repertory Round-Up Part 4”?  When I talked about the Hierarchy Of Symptoms?  Remember that whatever is at the top of the hierarchy over-shadows everything that falls underneath it?  So, if we know the mentals, and if the mentals are CHARACTERISTIC and not common, then we don’t have to bother with the symptoms that fall underneath.  So…thanks for voting as always! 

 

Hey everybody, Vamsi’s in the house!!!!!

Elaine,

I guess I am the last one to write for this quiz.

As long as you got here, that’s the important thing!

No matter I would answer this quiz. 

This quiz seems to be Really Weird.

Eleanor thought so too.

Too many symptoms.  But I would go for the Etiology which is prominent here.

1.  Swelling of lips  Detoxing parasites   – Arsenicum

Let’s talk about that.  Swelling of lip should make you immediately suspect an allergy, the question is an allergy to what?  Something she ate?  We find out at the end of the questionnaire.  Her remark about parasites?  That should make us think about Arsenicum right away.  Why?  Arsenicum’s obsession with their health and their never-ending theories about what could be wrong with them and their never-ending visits to doctors and healers too.

 

2. Indigestion for a month. ( She is very anxious about her sons’s addiction – may be the main cause of her indigestion )  – Anxiety – 
3. Losing voice  and chest problem- Respiratory problem – Arsenicum
4. Nausea, Indigestion , Fear of being alone ,white coating on tongue– Arsenicum

Elaine, I would vote for Arsenicum.  Please let me know your thoughts.

You’re right, it is Arsenicum!  But how do we know?  The mentals!  Remember “Repertory Round-Up, part 4”?  The Hierarchy of Symptoms?

https://hpathy.com/homeopathy-papers/tidbits-50-repertory-round-part-4/

If we know the mentals, the rest of the case doesn’t matter!  (Unless the mentals are uncharacteristic/common.)  She must have said a dozen times that she’s scared and hates to be alone when she’s sick.  That’s all we needed to know!  We know she has an allergy because of the swelling of the lip and her description of her symptoms as “weird”.  When we get to the bottom of the page, we see that she has eaten shrimp–a notorious allergen!  Normally when a food has caused a problem, I say, “Make a remedy out of the food!” but because the case had MENTALS, we prefer then to go with that and give the remedy that matches them.  Luckily, there are a lot of Arsenicum symptoms in this case–the anxiety over her son, indigestion, diarrhea, a history of asthma…there are so many ways you can arrive at Arsenicum here, but the easiest are the notorious Arsenicum mentals.  Thanks for voting!

cheers,
Vamsi.

Looks like our 4 big winners this month are Maria, Linda, Vamsi and Miroslav!  Congratulations, you guys!  Don’t forget to try again with this month’s quiz!

See you in November!

About the author

Elaine Lewis

Elaine Lewis, D.Hom., C.Hom.
Elaine is a passionate homeopath, helping people offline as well as online. Contact her at [email protected]
Elaine is a graduate of Robin Murphy's Hahnemann Academy of North America and author of many articles on homeopathy including her monthly feature in the Hpathy ezine, "The Quiz". Visit her website at:
https://elainelewis.hpathy.com/ and TheSilhouettes.org

About the author

Shana Lewis

Shana spices up the Hpathy Quiz with her timely announcements and reviews on the latest in pop culture. Her vast knowledge of music before her time has inspired the nickname: "Shanapedia"!

Leave a Comment