Homeopathy Papers

Questions Patients Ask – 12

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Written by Elaine Lewis

Elaine continues her series on Questions Patients Ask and guides us in her own unique fun manner!

Elaine, if a person receives a dose of a given remedy which helped the first time, and receives 5 more doses of the same remedy of same potency without succussing each dose, and the patient becomes sicker than he was as Hahnemann observed, and then after two years he is still suffering…. how is one to reverse this proving?  I could not find a process to reverse this remedy disease which is more harmful than natural disease.  Please shed more light on this issue.  I have used the “Aggravation Zapper” but it is not working at all.  I think the remedy has knocked out the vital force like a punch from Muhammad Ali.  And the remedy was a true similimum and matched all the symptoms!  How to overcome this aggravation?  Another point is local homeopaths do not give a remedy in a minute dose, they are saying take 6 pellets everyday.  Are they not harming the illiterates and making them more sick than they were?  It is not wise to use homeopathy like this.–Faheem

My goodness!  People really do not understand Hahnemann at all–maybe because nobody reads The Organon!  Here’s the problem.  Everyone is so taken by the dominant medical model (modern medicine) that it infects our practice!  We think you have to give the medicine on a regular basis just like “real” doctors do, it’s as if we have nothing else to go on, no other health model to imitate, and you can see what the disastrous result is.  This is not the way to practice homeopathy.  And it’s right in our foundational book, The Organon; but, apparently, no one wants to read it, maybe because it’s “old”?  Written in 1810?  (Last edition in 1843?)  I don’t know.  Here is Aphorism 246 from Hahnemann’s Organon of The Medical Art:

aph. 246, 6th ed.:

Every perceptibly progressive and strikingly increasing amelioration during treatment is a condition which, as long as it lasts, completely precludes every repetition of the administration of any medicine whatsoever,

Translation: If you’re clearly getting better, stop dosing!  But now, what do doctors say? Don’t stop dosing!!!!!  Finish the bottle!!!!  And that’s what we go by!  But is this what Hahnemann says to do?  No!!!

So, the sad part of this is, the remedy worked for this patient and all the patient had to do was stop dosing; but, he kept on repeating it because the practitioner’s “dosing schedule” had to be followed, and he wound up “proving” the remedy or aggravating from it and now he’s sicker than ever!

Our remedies are double-edged swords!  If you HAVE the complaint, the remedy cures it.  If you DON’T have the complaint, the remedy CAUSES it!  That’s why when the complaint is gone or improving noticeably, you have to stop dosing!  In fact, any striking improvement precludes further dosing, as Hahnemann said.  Dosing should be like this, as one of my clients once described it:  “If you’re kicking a ball uphill, no need to kick it again unless it starts rolling back to you.”  Well said!

So now the patient has a remedy disease; but, two years have gone by!  It is now resisting treatment, like all chronic disease does!  Which brings me to another pet peeve of mine: homeoapths who say, “Oh, I don’t treat acutes!”  What?  Why???  It’s the only thing that really works!  The one thing you can count on!  Chronics are not easily cured, the body adjusts and makes room for them, accomodates them and let’s them be!  You’ll know what I mean if you can remember what happened the last time you got a splinter.  It really hurt in the beginning, right?  But the longer it sits there without getting removed, the less it hurts.  Eventually, it stops hurting completely!  Your body just gave up.  It said, “Well, I guess nobody’s gonna do anything about this, so… the heck with it!”

So, at best, let this be a warning to homeopaths and others using homeopathy out there to practice responsibly according to The Organon by Samuel Hahnemann, and my first suggestion along these lines is to read Dr. Luc De Schepper’s Hahnemann Revisited.  It’s a text book in homeopathy, so well written, so easy to read, I get nothing but positive feedback about it!  It’s a great place to start learning how to do it right.

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Dear Ms. Elaine Lewis,

I have 2 years old child, she can’t digest fatty & heavy food.  whenever eats those food she loose weight.  no problem was found in her lab test.  She hates being alone and can’t sleep in her bed.  I started pulsatilla 30 c 1 drop 3 times a day. after 2 days she took all the drops accidently! so i gave her 1 cup of mint water as an antidote.  Her digestion get a bit better (her stool smell get better and she sweat less than before). shall i continue pulsatilla 30c?

Thank you in advance

Don’t repeat it as long as she’s improving!  Repeat only if she starts to relapse.

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Elaine, my son catches a new cold before the old one is even finished!

There’s a rubric, “Tendency to Catch Colds”.  Unfortunately, it has 146 remedies in it!  However, Silica is one of them!  It’s in BOLD.  So, I’m thinking Silica 6X three times a day.  As she gets better, give less and less often.  Sometimes, by giving a remedy in low potency, you can get results even though it may not be the “simillimum” (the exact right remedy), per se.  It’s like, the lower the potency, the less “on target” a remedy has to be.  Think of low potencies as a spray, like water from a spray bottle that covers a wide area, and think of high potency remedies like laser beams.  In the latter, there’s no room for error!  If the laser beam is off by only one inch, it might as well be off by a mile; whereas, the mist or spray can be considerably “off” and still hit the target!  So, that’s what I’m hoping for here by suggesting Silica 6X.  As usual, if it makes him worse, stop dosing.  If he gets significantly better, stop dosing.  Start again if he relapses.

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Elaine, is there any way you can point me in the direction of some informative books I can purchase to help me with homeopathy?  My only need for it right now is to heal our family and use it for our personal use.  I’d like to get to the point where anything that comes up, I can take care of it.  Basically, I’d like to become the family doctor!  I have been thinking about purchasing my own Materia Medica/Repertory but there are so many out there that I really don’t know which one’s best.  At some point, I might take a few classes, but that’s a whole other conversation.  For now, I’m learning by consulting with you 🙂

Such a big topic!  Well, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step.  Yes, a Materia Medica and a Repertory, which reminds me that this can start getting expensive real fast!  But there’s only one Repertory I could possibly recommend and that’s Murphy’s Repertory, 3rd or 4th ed.:

You know, people complain constantly about one thing and another, but very few actually DO anything to make a difference!  Robin Murphy is one of those rare people.  He saw a lot wrong with the Repertory and actually took the trouble to fix it!  Of course, it took years!

Robin Murphy

He put the whole thing in alphabetical order, not just the chapters but the material within the chapters as well.  Plus he added new rubrics and new chapters to make finding things a lot easier.  For example:  Where do you find “desires milk”?  It’s in the “Food” chapter!  Where do you find “midnight agg.”  It’s in the “Time” chapter!  Where do you find “faints during menses”?  It’s in the “Fainting” chapter!  Do you see what I mean?  There’s no mystery about where things are anymore!  I don’t know why everyone doesn’t have this book; where is the common sense?  (“Well, I had to learn Kent’s Repertory, so, it’s a ‘tradition’; so, the rest of you have to learn it too!”)  Is that what this is all about? Frankly, I think it’s embarrassing to have to say to a doctor who might be interested in homeopathy, “Here is our most important book, the Repertory; but, it’s not self-explanatory, so, you’re going to have to take a course in how to use it.”  What??? What are we trying to do, shoot ourselves in the foot?  So, thank God for Murphy’s Repertory, is all I gotta say.

So, the companion book to the Repertory is the Materia Medica.  Again, there’s Murphy’s Materia Medica, called Nature’s Materia Medica:

Unlike the Repertory, there are MANY materia medicas, and I don’t really know of anybody who has just one.  I also have Morrison’s Desktop Guide:

Materia Medicas are books that give descriptions of remedies in detail.

Another book you’re going to want to buy is Homeopathic Medicine in the Home by Jonathan Breslow:

Breslow teaches us how to take an acute case, and I can’t think of anything more important than that!  Breslow will be asking you to buy

Homeopathic Medicine at Home

Breslow calls this his “Text”.  He will also ask you to buy Boericke’s MM with Repertory; but, if you’ve already got Murphy’s, you won’t need to buy Boericke’s too.  Finally, I wish that everyone would read Hahnemann Revisited by Dr. Luc De Schepper as I mentioned above.  This is a text book.  Dr. Luc explains homeopathy so simply, in such a conversational way, it’s an absolute joy to read!  Well, that oughta get you started!  And P.S.  You might want to take Robin Murphy’s course!  It’s on CD and most likely, you can get it here: www.homeopathic.com.

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So, Elaine, I don’t know what may be happening with the Gaertner 12C you recommended for my 9 year old with colitis.  I gave her a water dose today, as it had been a few days; what we have noticed, interestingly, is a shift in her tastes.

“Mabel”, I just assumed you’d be giving the remedy once a day until a striking improvement occurred?  Or has that already happened?

She asked for pineapple (unheard of).

Wow!  Well, as you know, anything that happens after a remedy that was previously “unheard of” is really a big deal, and pretty much all we need to know!

She wanted garlicky things; picked up some garlic Indian bread today at the store and she found it delicious.  She also lost her taste for eating chunks of salt…

OMG!  Mabel, that was one of the biggest symptoms in the case!!!!

…but still wants salty things like chips.

Well, hey, who doesn’t?

What was funny was that she was all forlorn when she realized she didn’t want chunks of sea salt. “What is wrong with me??”

Ha-ha!  Oh dear!  Talk about good news and bad news!  Be that as it may, I love this report, love it!!!!!  Now, I know that there’s only one change in the case that you wanted, you wanted the colitis to go away; but, when a remedy acts, it doesn’t really care what you wanted.  So the fact that your “favorite” symptom hasn’t gone away yet doesn’t mean it’s the wrong remedy; in fact, all we really care about, all we want when we give a remedy, is some sign that it’s acting!  Because in truth, we don’t know how the patient’s body is going to pick up the ball and run with it!  We think that because we would pick up the ball and run with it that everyone else should be able to do the same or else they’re playing wrong!  So, we’re disappointed.  Instead, we have to recalibrate our thinking.  If the patient’s immune system picks up the ball at all, rejoice!  It’s most likely the right remedy!

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Hi Elaine,

I came across your website recently and wanted to email you with a question if I may.

I recently bought some Nux Vomica 200c for my partner online.

My attending homeopath is away on holidays so I am unable to contact her for the next two weeks.

I am taking the following remedies to treat Candida that presents me with: constipation, brain fog and shortness of breath.

I am taking the following remedies prescribed by her:

1. Carcinosin – 10M (taken every two weeks)

2. Lycopodium – 10M (taken every alternate two weeks)

3. Morgan Gaertner – 200c (taken 2 – 3 times per week)

Late last night I accidentally took some of my partner’s Nux Vomica in the dark, thinking it was the Morgan Gaertner.

My bowels feel out of sorts today and I was wondering whether it would be advisable to take the Morgan Gaertner today to offset any effect or conflict the Nux Vomica may have had?

Regards

“Tom”

Hi, Tom, this is Elaine, nice to meet you; just “zap” the nux vomica 200C by putting 1 nux v. pellet into a medium disposable cup of water, stand at the sink, turn on the cold water full blast (unless doing so will get water all over the kitchen), dump out your cup (yes, the pellet will be dumped out too), refill with water, dump out, refill, dump out, refill, stop at 12, then take a sip of the 12th cup.  That should antidote the nux vomica aggravation, if it doesn’t let me know.  This is what we call “The Aggravation Zapper”.

By the way, I have to tell you, first of all, that I am horrified that you were left alone for two weeks with no back-up person to contact?  I have no vacation from my clients ever—period.  I couldn’t imagine it—for the simple reason that I want to stay on top of what’s going on, I don’t want to get lost and become more clueless than I already am!  In two weeks, anything can change, I see things change in one day all the time!  Secondly, this kind of treatment you’re describing is not homeopathy.  It’s up to you, of course, especially if you like the results you’re getting.  But the high-potency, rote prescribing “method” she’s practicing is arbitrary, reckless, causes patients a lot of harm because of aggravations and provings, and you won’t find it anywhere in our classical writings.

Hi Elaine,

Thank you for your reply.  I will try your antidoting method immediately and report back to you if it does not work.

In relation to my homeopath, I have complete trust in her.  She is a mature woman with 30 years of experience as a homeopath.

She may have 30 years of experience, but in what I don’t know!  Prescribing remedies doesn’t make you a homeopath, just like if I recommended drugs for you to take, that doesn’t make me a doctor; and it’s even possible that I could get lucky and say you needed Aspirin when you really do need aspirin and it still wouldn’t make me a doctor.  Does it sound to you like she’s prescribing as per The Organon?  No, she’s not.  It doesn’t mean she can’t “help” you but it’s clear to me she’s not familiar with the writings of Hahnemann.  What about our laws?  The minimum dose?  One remedy at a time?  But there are a lot of these types around.  They make their own rules, they’re enamored with the high potencies, and their model is allopathic prescribing!  So, good luck is all I can say.

I was going to call the clinic where she works, then I stumbled across your website and thought I might contact you first.  I was impressed by your explanation of homeopathy, hence my enquiry.

Thanks for reading it!

How soon am I likely to experience relief using the antidote you described?

I would say in an hour.  You might want to read “The Aggravation Zapper”:

https://hpathy.com/homeopathy-papers/the-aggravation-zapper/ 

Thanks for writing and best of luck to you.

Elaine

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Dear Elaine,

Thanks for the video.  However, she had a hip replacement (a part of the left hip joint) after a fall ( on 5th oct) and recovering.  Cannot walk fast yet.  I visited a homeo physician for muscular and bone strength and he prescribed Arnica (3 doses on the first two days), and two types of pills (AP and BRY), 8 each thrice a day.  Since she is on these medicines  (a week ago) , her legs are stiffer and painful than before and cannot walk comfortably.  Do you think she should stop them or continue taking?

Thank you

OMG!  More examples of “homeopaths” prescribing like doctors instead of like Hahnemann!  First of all, there’s the usual “if you’ve got this, take that” philosophy, then further, as per allopathy, take X number of pills, three times a day; not in water with succussions before each dose like Hahnemann would say, but dry, the way doctors prescribe!  No warnings like, “Take less often as you get better,” or “If you get worse stop dosing”!  It’s just “Here, take these and goodbye!”  You didn’t even mention the potency and I’m almost afraid to ask!  In other words, everything here was done wrong!  You know what?  If she had taken Arnica 30C or 200C after the fall, and I mean RIGHT after the fall because everyone should have Arnica in their pocket like I do, she would most likely never have needed surgery in the first place (assuming there were no broken bones).  This is the value of homeopathy, you treat things while they’re acute and they never become chronic and messy.  I don’t know what AP is at all.  Apis?  Bryonia is prescribed for a certain type of pain–sharp, which is worse for the least movement, meaning the pain prevents you from moving.  I’m not hearing that this was part of her case.  Arnica is for a sore, bruised feeling.  Arnica after the surgery would have been a really good idea.  And yes, she should stop taking the remedies because now she’s “proving” them (meaning they’re causing what they used to cure!)  Of course, when you’re taking so many different remedies at once, it’s hard to know which one needs the “aggravation zapper”; but, I would start with Bryonia, and read the Aggravation Zapper for directions:

https://hpathy.com/homeopathy-papers/the-aggravation-zapper/

And then, please read my article on convalescence, as this is the way to improve muscle and bone strength:

https://hpathy.com/homeopathy-papers/tidbits-part-8-convalescence/

Dr. B has written many times about homeopathic education in India, how it’s very allopathically oriented, and I guess this is the proof.

Elaine, she also has muscle weakness because she’s on oral anti-diabetic medication.

Did you read my article on diabetes?  You have to read it and do what it says: https://hpathy.com/homeopathy-papers/tidbits-part-9-diabetes/.  

Muscle weakness and numbness is the first side effect listed under the popular anti-diabetic drug, Metformin!  It is a totally improper approach to diabetes which is caused by eating excessive amounts of sweets, white flour products and processed food; but, this is how they approach all disease: don’t advise people on how to correct their life-styles and diet, give them a drug that will “correct” the problem while simultaneously causing another problem that they never had before!  It’s a bogus and irresponsible approach to health but one which makes them money; so, it works out well for them, which seems to be all that matters!

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Elaine, here’s what happened after the Causticum 30C you told me to give my daughter for bedwetting:  After the first dose I gave, she was completely dry during the night!  So, the next day, I gave another dose, and she wet the bed!  What’s going on?

You antidoted Causticum by repeating the remedy while the first dose was still working!

Even though it was a water dose which might gently move the case forward, it still antidoted?  The first dose was dry.

That’s what it looks like, “Carol”.  It must be the reason Hahnemann said, “A striking improvement precludes any further dosing of any medicine at all.”  Look, you gave her Causticum, it was working, you gave it again, similars repel, Causticum gone, end of story.  This is why once you start to noticibly improve?  Stop dosing!!!!!

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Elaine, just to draw your attention, in India, very often, we give placebo pills 3 times a day or so, and the actual medication in a powder dose… so patients do think they’re getting daily medicine.  So the homeopath may actually be following Hahnemann, despite what it seems!!

If they just get a powder or so, many patients feel they’re not getting their money’s worth!  They may not consider the time the homeopath spends on them… of course, with some patients, the single powder thing only can be done… it’s all a judgement call, what the patient expects and what they need…

F

Very good point, F, about the placebo doses, thank you for reminding me of that.  For the most part, I don’t do this, for the simple reason that the patient goes to the next homeopath and says, “Oh yes, I got Nux vomica 200C three times a day for a month,” and the new homeopath is horrified and says, “Who did this?  Who prescribed so stupidly?” and the patient says, “Oh, that was Elaine Lewis!”  “Really?” says the new homeopath.  “Well, Elaine Lewis must be a complete moron!  I will never send anyone to her!”  Do you see what I mean?  This expedient way of prescribing can blow up in your face!  The false information gets passed on; it may work in the short run but in the long run it can backfire!  

Occasionally, I may feel that I can’t tell a patient what I’m giving them, especially if the patient doesn’t understand homeopathy and I have to give a nosode like Carcinosin!  I have been told by patients emphatically that they will not take Carcinosin even though I say, “But it’s the nicest remedy!”  But it is very rare that I can’t explain what I’m doing and why.  Frequently, homeopaths won’t tell the patient what remedy they’re getting.  That is very common!  Then years later, and I’ve seen this first hand, the patient relapses, goes to another homeopath because the first one has relocated or retired, and says, “My condition that was once cured is acting up again.  My previous homeopath gave me a remedy that worked great!”  “What was it?” the new homeopath says.  “He didn’t tell me.”  Well that’s just great!!!!!  This, of course, is a tragedy!  So you see, not being honest with your patients, not telling them what you’re doing and why, is generally not in their best interests or yours either!

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Elaine Lewis, D.Hom., C.Hom.

Elaine takes online cases! Write to her at [email protected]

Visit her website: elaineLewis.hpathy.com

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

4 Comments

  • DEAR DR,
    YOU ARE RIGHT THAT MOST HOMEOPATHS ARE NOT FOLLOWING THE RULES OF ORGANON. BUT AT THE SAME TIME WE HAVE TO EVOLVE SOME METHODS OF OUR OWN FOR THE BEST TREATMENT OF THE PATIENT. PLACEBO IS ALSO USED TO CONVINCE THE PATIENT THAT HE IS TAKING MEDICINE EVERY DAY. THE REPETION AND POTENCY IS ALSO SELECTED AS PER THE REQUIREMENT. THIS COMES WITH EXPERIENCE ONLY. FOR EXAMPLE I REALISE THAT ARNICA 3 OR 6 IS BETTER FOR FRESH INJURY AND NOT 30/200 AND ACONITE 200 IS BETTER FOR IMMEDIATE DRY COLD AND NOT 6/30
    THANKS
    DR SHEKHAR

  • I have a question. If a person who is healthy takes a substance which has a good effect what would happen if the same substance was potentized. Does it magnify the positive effect?

  • Lynn, that’s a really good question! I wouldn’t make it into a remedy unless it stopped working, and then I would make a low potency like a 6X. I don’t know if there’s any rule that whatever works in mother tincture also works in potency. Take coffee for instance. It keeps you awake. But coffee in potency puts you to sleep. So, I just don’t know…

  • I am using software from Inergetix.com which allows me to add remedies of my own making as well as what is already in the database. By scanning the database with the witness it brings up resonating remedies from all sources. I have added a list of feelings, as potency list, herb list, scriptures which is an ongoing project and about 130 other custom lists. By entering a list of potencies and scanning the list for a witness it usually comes up with very high dilutions. This led me to think that the higher potencies may amplify the good effect of a mother tincture. I also use a touch pad from an earlier system that tells me the answer to my question may be correct. i was just wondering if anyone out there in the world has expirimented with potentizing things that would benefit a healthy person at the mother tincture level. So far my indications are positive.

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