Bearing down pains, must sit close and cross her legs to keep something from coming down out of the vagina.
Sense of fullness in the pelvic organs, and pressure down into the anus, as if a ball or weight; oozing of moisture.
Flushes of heat and perspiration at the climacteric.
Painful sense of emptiness or goneness at the pit of the stomach.
General relaxation, weak, faints while kneeling at church; falling womb and pelvic organs; drooping eyelids, weak back worse on walking.
Cachetic, yellow saddle across face nose;moth patches; ringworms.
Modalities: worse standing, mental labor, sexual excess, jar, after sleep, laundry work; milk (diarrhoea), climacteric, kneeling at church, better sitting with legs crossed, loosening clothes, open air.
Sensation of a ball in inner parts; during menses, pregnancy, lactation, great sadness and weeping. Dread of being alone; of meeting friends, indifferent, even to one’s family, to one’s occupation; to those whom she loves.
Headache: in terrific shocks; pressing, bursting worse motion, stooping, mental labor, better by pressure, continued fast motion.
Urine: deposits a reddish clay sediment, which adheres to the vessel; foetid, offensive, must be removed from room.
Enuresis: bed wet almost as soon as the child goes to sleep; during first sleep, violent stitches upward in the vagina.
Dyspnoea; worse sitting, after sleep, in room, better dancing or walking rapidly.
This is another of our wonderful remedies of which the dominant school knows nothing, except they have learned it from us. Its chief sphere of action seems to be in the abdomen and pelvis, especially in women. No remedy produces stronger symptoms here. We quote from different but equally good observers.
“Sensation of bearing down in the pelvic region, with dragging pains from sacrum; or feeling of bearing down of all pelvic organs.” (Hahnemann).
“Labor like pains accompanied with a feeling as though she must cross her legs and sit close to keep something from coming out through the vagina.” (Guernsey.)
“Pain in uterus, bearing down, comes from back to abdomen, causing oppression of breathing; crosses limbs to prevent protrusion of parts.” (Hering).
“Prolapsus of the uterus, of the vagina, with pressure a if every thing would protrude.” (Lippe.)
“Experience has shown its value in cases of ulceration and congestion of the os and cervix uteri. Its use supercedes all local applications.(Dunham.)
No higher authority then the united testimony of these five of the best observers could be brought to show the action of SEPIA upon the pelvic organs.
Now when we come to examine the provings in Allen’s ENCYCLOPAEDIA., We find these symptoms produced by Hahnemann and his provers, some by 30th and some by 200th, especially those most strongly verified by black faced type.
We confess that we cannot understand how so many question the value of potencies for proving or curing, and most of all do we wonder at Dr. T.F. Allen himself “Going back ” on potencies above the 12th. Such a course looks very much to us like “Kicking against the pricks ” or, in other words, trying to fight the truth. But we must be charitable.
SEPIA like SULPH., affects the general circulation in a very marked manner. FLASHES OF HEAT with PERSPIRATION and FAINTNESS is almost as characteristic of this remedy as of SULPH.,But there are, with SEPIA, more apt to be associated with them the pelvic symptoms already given, and they are also more apt to occur in connection with the CLIMACTERIC. Indeed, these flashes often seem with SEPIA to start in the pelvic organs and from thence to spread over the body.
But this irregularity of circulation extends as far as that of SULPH., The hands and feet are hot alternately, that is, if the feet are hot, the hands are cold, and vice-versa. There is not so much SENSATION of burning with SEPIA as with SULPH better, but there is actual heat, and the venous congestion, which seems to be the real state of the organs where the pressive bearing down is felt, is also accompanied with much throbbing and beating.
This local congestion to the organs is not simply sensational. There are actual displacements in consequence of it, and the long continued congestion results in inflammations, ulcerations, leucorrhoeas and even malignant disorganizations. Induration with a painful SENSE of stiffness in the uterine region is Characteristic.
This pelvic congestion also affects the rectum in a marked Degree. The rectum prolapses, there is a sensation of fullness, or of a foreign substance as of a BALL OR WEIGHT, and oozing of moisture from the rectum. Indeed, the rectal and anal symptoms are almost as strong as the uterine and vaginal. It is impossible to enumerate all the symptoms connected with the circulatory disturbances of SEPIA in such a work as this, only a general study of Materia Medica can do it.
The urinary organs come in for their share of symptoms. The same pressure and fullness consequent upon the portal congestion reaches here. Let us see the valuable symptoms under the various organs in this region.”Pressure on bladder and frequent micturition with tension in lower abdomen.” “Sediment in the urine like clay;as if clay was burnt on the bottom of the vessel;urine VERY OFFENSIVE (INDIUM), can’t endure to have it in the room, it is reddish or may be bloody.” This is found mostly with women. with children there is one peculiar symptom. “The child always wets the bed during its FIRST SLEEP.”
Upon the male organs I have found it particularly useful in chronic gleet. There is not much discharge, but a few drops, perhaps, which glue up the orifice of the urethra in the morn., in my early practice I used a weak injection of SULPHATE OF ZINC, but it used to annoy me that I could not do it without local measures. SEPIA does it in majority of the cases and KALI-I., will do it in the rest. I have, where there was a thick discharge of long standing and the smarting and burning on urinating continued, several times finished the case with CAPSICUM.
As a rule, this long continued slight, passive gleety discharge is a result of weakness of the male genitals, as is shown by a flaccidity of the organs and frequent seminal emissions. The emissions are thin and watery. SEPIA covers all of this and often sets all to rights in a short time.
The mind symptoms are like PULS., in that she is sad and cries frequently without knowing the reason why. So if in a tearful mind with uterine disturbances PULS., should fail you, the next remedy to be studied is SEPIA. But there is another condition of mind not found under PULS., or any other remedy in the same degree, and that is, that, notwithstanding there is no sign of dementia from actual brain lesion, the patient, contrary to her house work, her family or their comfort, EVEN TO THOSE WHOM SHE LOVES BEST. This is a very peculiar symptom and a genuine keynote for the exhibition of SEPIA.
Upon the head SEPIA is one of our best remedies in hemicrania of women of the SEPIA temperament, and who are suffering from uterine trouble which we have already described. Another peculiar headache is, that the pain comes in TERRIFIC SHOCKS, so as to JERK the HEAD in spite of the patient.
There are 3 remedies that have prominently drooping eyelid (CAUST., gELS., and SEPIA.) Of course, the other symptoms must decide which is the one indicated in the case at hand. So far as the NOSE is concerned SEPIA is often of use in chronic catarrh. I had a case in which the discharge was thick, bland and in large quantities. PULSATILLA., would relieve the catarrhal trouble but would, at the same time, increase the menstrual flow too much, but SEPIA cured both. The choice will sometimes have to be made between KALI-BICH., and SEPIA, but it is generally easy, although the local symptoms are much alike.
“YELLOW SADDLE ACROSS UPPER PART OF CHEEKS and NOSE, and YELLOW SPOTS ON THE FACE,” is a characteristic of great value, but the yellowness and yellow spots do not always stop here. You may find them in abundance on the abdomen. The whole surface of the body may be yellow like jaundice. The face of the SEPIA patient is the most tell tale face I know, and if you find it upon a woman you may always find her leading symptoms in connection with her menstrual and uterine functions.
There is one symptom of SEPIA upon the stomach that is also very characteristic, viz., a “painful sensation of emptiness goneness or faintness “.The patient will call it an “All -gone” feeling. Of course you remember that IGN., and HYDR., have this symptom very strongly. Other remedies also have it in more or less marked degree but not so strongly in connection with uterine symptoms as SEPIA unless perhaps it be MUREX., and you will not often have much difficulty in choosing between these last two if you carefully examine all the symptoms. I have often thought that this symptom, so persistent and severe, might be due to the actual emptying of the upper abdomen by the prolapsed womb, dragging everything after itself into the pelvic cavity. It is so in STAN., and LIL-T., and the weakness of the natural supports (ligaments) of the uterus being remedied (not supplanted by the pessaries and artificial supports of various kinds ).The distressing symptoms disappear. Vomiting in pregnancy with this “All-gone” feeling is often cured by SEPIA; also the thought or smell (COLCH.,) of food sickens her. I mentioned the ” sense of weight or a ball in the rectum”. When writing of the pelvic congestion of SEPIA. This sensation is not relieved by stool. SEPIA is remedy for constipation, and that of a very obstinate character. Like SELENIUM., it has great straining, but manual aid is necessary to accomplish the stool. This is mostly in children.
