Perfect Harmony

Jillie was born in 1991. She was spayed when young. She is a Border Collie. She lives with her owner and a few other dogs. The whole pack is trained with great patience and respect to do obedience work. Jillie has won several competitions. She is calm but strong minded.

She was never much ill. Her only trouble is pain and stiffness in the hind legs for which she had been taken anti-inflammatory drops for more then a year. She had a chip fracture of the cranial aspect of the left acetabulum in 1997.

Beginning January 2005 she developed a vestibular syndrome*.

At first, this episode is treated conventionally by colleagues with sedatives, antibiotics and Millophylline. She also received a steroid injection the following day.

The episode was accompanied by occasional crying and a panicky state.

She ‘recovers’ from the worse part but after the episode she lacks in appetite, doesn’t want to drink and suffers a severe aggravation of her hind leg lameness. The anti-inflammatory drugs had been stopped during the crisis.

She is taken on for 4 acupuncture sessions by my colleague and at the same time a first homeopathic consultation takes place.

Beginning February I am told the following during this consultation:

‘She has lost her hearing and some of her sight since the crisis (this would indicate that the crisis was likely more than just a vestibular syndrome). Together with the normal ataxic symptoms she also had a convulsion. She cried during this fit and afterwards came up running to me, frightened. Her pupils were very dilated. She crashed out in the garden in the undergrowth and was absolutely terrified.

She had been on the painkillers for a long time. Her legs were bad, it was as if she had given up. She used to be very active.

After the crisis she was baking hot and freezing cold at the same time: her head was hot and her body and feet were cold.

Normally she is totally comfortable and calm. Since the crisis she is pacing and restless and terrified to come in the surgery.

Half of her mouth was paralyzed for a few days.

She will do anything for me. She was full of life but now it seems that she couldn’t care less. It is as if she thinks: ‘I couldn’t be bothered now that I am going to be handicapped.’

You never have to tell her off. She knows how much she can push you. She is very choosy in the people she likes. At other people she will bark or just ignore them. She generally likes people I quite like.

It was difficult to train her to walk away from me. She didn’t see the point. She is happy with her own company and prefers the cold floors. She hates getting wet.

She was an exceptional puppy: she soaked up everything during training classes, wanted to learn everything and was very good at everything. She won her first qualifications when very young.

She will play with other dogs but on her terms’.

I repertorize on the symptoms of the acute episode:

-Face, hot, body cold

-Stomach, Thirstless (even after having received a steroid injection)

-Eyes, pupils dilated.

I obtain the following grid.

Because of the violence of the attack and the amount of fright Jillie displayed I gave her Stramonium 30, liquid solution, three doses in 2 days.

The remedy together with the acupuncture deliver a very good result. Three weeks later Jillie found her youth again. All her faculties had returned but her hind legs were not perfect. The owner started giving the painkillers again.

Beginning March she came to the surgery completely lame on her Left hind leg. This happened after rushing up the stairs. A few drops of Stramonium 30 reduced the pain but she still couldn’t use the leg.

There is no improvement a few days later. A quick prescription of Ruta 5C once per day did not make much difference.

A month later I see her again. At this time, the left hind leg is pulled up and stiffly held against her side. The hip is very painful and she finds it difficult to hop on the right leg although she still goes everywhere. ‘You cannot stop her.’

I check in the rubric ‘Extremities, flexed, leg upon thigh‘ and prescribe Plumbum metallicum 30 four times in two days on the notion that Jillie is unstoppable regardless her handicap.

Ten days later the leg has come down a little but I find the improvement insufficient to be satisfied with the remedy. The leg is still held pulled up. It is impossible to extend the leg due to the pain and contraction of the muscles.

There is need to be more serious and spend some more time.

I review my previous notes and allow the owner to talk freely for a while.

‘She cries for help when she lies on the left side and can’t get up. The leg is very atrophied now. She rushes from one easy surface to another to facilitate the hopping on one leg although outside she falls over quite frequently when she is rushing around.

She is a peacemaker. She will not allow the others to quibble and teaches them to behave without showing any signs of aggression herself.’

I repertories using two rubrics:

-Mind, harmony, desire

-Extremities, contraction of muscles, tights, hamstrings.

I prescribe Nat-c 30 4 times in 2 days. I remember a few veterinary cases where animals have displayed this behaviour of calmly but decisively intervening to curb others’ quarrelling behaviour**.

This time the change is more consistent and holistic.

Ten days later the remedy is repeated in 30c once per day for 7 days followed by an LM6 dilution once per day for 7 days.

(I do not always repeat my remedies that much but in this case because of the severe physical nature of the problems and the age of the patient, it seemed justified.)

One month after the start of Nat-c she can walk normally again. Painkillers were stopped in March 2005 and Jillie is still perfectly pain-free at the time of the write up (June 2006).

In August 2005 she catches kennel cough from one of the other dogs that came back from a competition. A dose of Phos 200 based on the other dog’s symptoms clears the cough in 2 days.

Beginning January 2006, she became very restless one morning at 5 am. She was not anxious but ‘needed to go, wanted to go’ told me the owner.

Out of curiosity, I check in the general rubric, generals, midnight after, 5 am. Nat-c is one of the remedies. One dose of Nat-c 30 and this episode is forgotten the same day.

The 22nd of May in the morning Jillie comes in again. She was of her legs this morning and could not get up. The owner gave a dose of Nat-c 30 before coming. 1,5 hrs later in the surgery, Jillie is completely normal. The examination of her hind legs shows no abnormalities.

A few notes on Natrum Carb.

The entry in the repertory Mind, harmony, desire for, is from Elizalde Masi. He indicates that the crystal forms a perfect octahedral. 8 is the number of the cosmic equilibrium (8 electrons is the perfect match on each atomic shell). Nat-c thinks that perfect harmony is within him/her.

Nat-c is generous, discreet, unselfish but does not want too many people around. They prefer their own company although they don’t like to be alone. They perceive quite some hostility from the people around. There is sweet suffering in this remedy (DD Ignatia).

Nat-c is sensitive to atmospheres, noise, music, thunderstorm, milk and diet errors.

-The patient’s vibration is not in harmony with the surroundings. (G. Loutan).

-After they have helped, they retreat gracefully (G. Vithoulkas).

-They would rather be alone in dignity than feel denied by others. (J. Scholten).

Patients are sensitive to cold but worse for the heat of the sun.

The remedy has weak joints (ankles) and a weak digestive system (sensitive to small food errors).

And Jillie?

The following phrases show that in the first consultation there was already much circumstantial evidence that pointed to Nat-c.

-Her legs were bad, it was as if she had given up.

-She seemed to express: ‘I couldn’t be bothered now that I am going to be handicapped’.

-You never have to tell her off. She knows how much she can push you. She is very choosy in the people she likes. At others she will bark or ignores them. It was difficult to train her to walk away from me. She didn’t see the point. She is happy with her own company.

-She was an exceptional puppy: she soaked up everything during training classes, wanted to learn everything and was very good at everything. She won her first qualifications when very young.

-She will play with other dogs but on her terms’. She generally likes people I quite like.

The question is would this remedy have helped Tillie initially. It is my opinion and experience that this would have been the case. Where a remedy can take away the pain out of an old arthritic hip in an old dog for such a long time and prove to help in consecutive small relapses, this remedy must be a near perfect similimum.

Stramonium did help and so may have done the acupuncture sessions. But afterwards, Tillie still had a sensitive hip. Regardless the acute character of the vestibular episode, this syndrome is part of the chronic disease of Tillie.

References:

-Répertoire de themes et de matière médicale dynamique. Dr G. Loutan. ELH Belgium (Fax ++ 3243801780)

-Homeopathy and minerals. Jan Scholten.

-Radar, version 9.2.

-** the original cases can be found in French in the magazine of the CLH, Esneux, Belgium (Fax ++ 3243801780). There are two cases condensed and translated in ‘Homeopathy. What to expect?’ E. De Beukelaer, ISBN 1-41204509-6.

* Vestibular Syndrome is a relatively common occurrence in older dogs. The attacks usually develop in 1-2 days and cause circular walking, head tilt, horizontal nystachmus, imbalance and inappetance. The origin of the problem is usually related to the semicircular canals in the middle ear and/or the afferent nervous paths. Most animals recover without treatment in a few days to two weeks but nearly all retain some degree of continuous head tilt and occasional lack of balance afterwards. Relapses months or years later are very common.