Revisiting: Child Has Scary Virus, Hears Voices!

Mom, I hope you’re ready for the March Quiz because I have some announcements to make.

So I’ve heard!  But you know, our biggest and most important announcement is my brother Robin’s 80th birthday celebration which was held last Sunday in Maryland!

That’s me on the right.

Everybody knows that, Mom!  Where is the picture of me and my cousin Jon?

Oh, there we are!  And as I think I may have mentioned previously, Jon is much cooler than you are!

He is not!

A good time was had by all!

The cake was excellent!  Oh, and let’s not forget our other big announcement!

What was that?

The Lego Contest at Christopher Columbus Charter School–where you work.  I was chosen to be a judge!

Mom, you asked to be a judge!

Every class was supposed to build a city with Legos.  Here are all the judges:

That’s me in the center.

Everybody knows that, Mom!

I voted for “Snoopyville”.  Who won?

They announced it over the loud-speaker but, I forgot.

Well that’s just great!

Can we possibly move along to my announcements?

If we have to.

Apparently NBC has ordered a pilot for an unnecessary reboot of our favorite movie, “What About Bob?”  The Bob Wiley and Dr. Marvin characters are now female!  I don’t know why Hollywood feels the need to reboot literally everything!  Now, I’m not a sexist…

(Gasp!)

… but this whole reboot idea is completely unoriginal!

Hear, hear!

This movie is a classic!  You can’t just recreate brilliance!

Probably not.

The original is hilarious and in my opinion the performances by Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfus are untouchable.

I can hear Dr. Marvin now, saying, “Gone?  He’s not gone!  That’s the whole point!  He’s never gone!  Ya see?!?” And Bob saying, “Is this some radical new therapy?” 

There just aren’t that many classic movies in the world.  It’s like when Chubby Checker tried to do Hank Ballard’s “The Twist” over, and made a complete fool out of himself!

Mom, FYI, no one under 70 knows what you’re talking about!  But, as I was trying to say, I would rather the movie had gotten a sequel than a do-over but I guess it’s too late now.

If only someone had listened to you!

I would have wanted to see Bob Wiley and Dr. Leo Marvin in court fighting over the rights to the “Death Therapy” book.  I also would have wanted to see the family that Bob and his wife Lily (Dr. Marvin’s sister) created and all the ways that would have driven Dr. Marvin crazy.  My idea would have been that Bob and Lily Marvin-Wiley would have two children and they would have named them Leo and Leah after Dr. Leo Marvin.

Good idea, Shana!  Shouldn’t you be on your way to Hollywood with your movie treatment?

Here’s a trailer.  If our readers have never seen “What About Bob”, this would be a good time to rent it or buy it!

Now, if we can possibly move on to the Muppets…

The Muppets??????

You may be interested to know that Frank Oz (voice of Bert and Miss Piggy) has directed a documentary about them!

It’s apparently a behind-the-scenes at the Muppet Show.  I need to see this documentary!

Oy vey.  Rick!!!!!

Do you have to call Daddy for everything?  Also speaking of the Muppet Show, I just found this.  I never knew they did this.

Did what?

This:

Oh! You mean they did “Mr. Bass Man”?  Well, that’s great, but, they didn’t do it very well, I’m sorry to say.  Maybe you better play the original.

Mom, you’re entirely too judgmental!  Now, before we start the quiz, I have an unfortunate death to announce.  I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Valerie Carter…

Nope, sorry, haven’t heard.  Well, moving right along….

She used to sing backup for James Taylor.

I knew it, I knew it!  I should have known you’d find a way to insert James Taylor into the quiz!  Alright, RIP, Valerie.  And now it’s time for the…..

Hpathy Quiz!!!!

 

So, now it appears that not only do I take online cases but also, apparently, Text Message Cases as well!  I got the following text message yesterday:

“Elaine, have you ever heard of someone, after having been sick with a fever, start to hear voices?  I am scared to death as “Mary” was sick with some virus last week.  She did well and recovered quickly with the remedies, she only had a fever one night.  That night she was restless, had dreams and was waking feeling they were still going on!  She told me tonight, while crying, that she has been hearing voices.  They are yelling at her and she can’t stop thinking about them!

Do you have _________________there?  If so, give that and let me know what happens.

Yes, I have it, will give it when we get home.

***

Any news yet?

She slept well last night.  No voices so far.  She has also been much happier.  I gave her 30C, couldn’t find the 200.  No coughing today.

____________________________

Alright!  Do you know what the remedy is?  Write to me at [email protected] and let me know, the answer will be in next month’s ezine.

And now, literally, this just in!  Very sad news.  Chuck Berry, the Grandfather of Rock ‘n’ Roll,  just died at age 90.

He was an act unto himself, he copied no one but MANY copied him!  Here he is on Bandstand from 1958 (Cuz they’ll be rockin’ on Bandstand, Philadelphia, PA!)

Hey, that’s where we live!

No kidding!  By the way, did I mention I was on Bandstand 3 times?

You may have mentioned it once, or 50 million times!

I was half-watching the basketball game and half cooking dinner tonight, and all of a sudden I hear “Johnny B. Goode” on the TV and I’m like, “Why are they playing a Chuck Berry song in the middle of a basketball game?” and then I said to myself, “Ya know, we’re really lucky to still have Chuck Berry around.”  Can you believe I said that?  Then, an hour later, I’m innocently checking my email and I see a notice from Soul Tracks that Chuck Berry died, and I SCREAMED, “Oh NO!!!!!!!”  And Shana came running in, “What is it?” and I yelled, “SHANA!!!! CHUCK BERRY DIED!!!” and I immediately went to youtube to put on “Sweet Little 16”, as this is the way to honor him, to remember his music.

Mom, at least he lived a good long life.

I know.  At 90, a person is entitled to die.  It’s enough already!  That’s why I only cried a little bit.  But geez, last month it was Mary Tyler Moore.  This month, Chuck Berry…

…and Valerie Carter.

Oh for heaven’s sake!  That’s it!  We’re outta here!

______________________

Votes:

Stramonium-3

Hyoscyamus

Chamomilla

Aconite

 

OK everybody, first a mea culpa!  I left something out!  It wasn’t part of the info I prescribed on, but, the mother later told me the following:

“Today she told me randomly that sometimes she feels bigger.  Sounded like Alice in Wonderland.  I am not at home, but she said a while ago that her foot feels giant.”

So, I gave this information to everybody who guessed wrong and gave them second chance to change their vote.  Unfortunately, Miroslav must have left for vacation, so, we have to take his vote with a grain of salt, perhaps he would have changed it.  But…who wants to go first?

Hi Elaine and Shana!

Hi, Maria!

For this month’s quiz my vote is for Stramonium.

If I am wrong I will try again!

You’re not wrong, so don’t try again!

 

Hi Elaine,

Hi Dr. Sebastiano Di Salvo from Italy!

the symptoms of the case are…

Boenninghausen

1842 dreams, persistent, continuing after waking [16]

33 illusions (hallucination, obsession) [63]

1076 restlessness bodily [89]

1782 sleep, restless [121]

I have to say, for me, I would take the rubric Mind: restlessness, fever, during.  I think it’s more significant that she had a fever during sleep and that’s when she was restless–during fever.

2082 < temperature, fever, during [90]

1968 < night [120]

 

Complete Repertory 2011

mind; DELUSIONS, imaginations; voices; hears (80)

mind; DREAMS; persistent (30)/mind; THOUGHTS; persistent (294)

I took the rubric, “Dreams, awake, while”.

mind; DELUSIONS, imaginations; voices; hears; scolding her, seems sometimes to be under bed, night agg. (1)

 

Murphy, 3rd ed.

M; Mind; DELUSIONS, general, hallucinations, visions; voices, hears (37)

F; Fevers; AGGRAVATED., during fever (89)

D; Dreams; CONTINUED, waking, after (28)

M; Mind; THOUGHTS, general; persistent (97)

 

RadarOpus

DREAMS – CONTINUATION – dreams, of – waking, after

MIND – THOUGHTS – persistent

MIND – DELUSIONS – voices – hearing

GENERALS – FEVER – during – agg.

Peculiars are hearing voices (without fever) and (less) dreams persistent/thought persistent (during the one night fever).  It will be interesting to know the remedy used by the family (belladonna too?)

The differential diagnosis is Anacardium, Belladonna, Stramonium

My choice is Stramonium

You’re right!

Terrors, night, sleep/waking, hears voices scolding her, dreams/thoughts persistent

The symptom she has been hearing voices.  They are yelling at her and she can’t stop thinking about them!

is of Stramonium

Knerr: DELUSION: HEARING, OF: VOICE, AS IF NEAR RIGHT MASTOID PROCESS A, WERE SCOLDING HER, WORSE NIGHT, VOICE SEEMS SOMETIMES TO BE UNDER BED.

Hering: Hallucinations, as if near right mastoid process a voice were scolding her, worse at night, sometimes voice seemed to be under bed.

Vermeulen Concordant: Heard continually, on right side of occiput, a loud voice, scolding, vituperating and accusing him………..

Thank You

Sebastiano Di Salvo, MD, Italy

Great work, Sebastiano, thank you!  I couldn’t find a rubric “hears voices, scolding” but apparently it’s in The Complete Repertory!  Well!  I’ve said a lot of complain-y things about the Complete Repertory in the past and it looks like now I have to eat my words!  Yes, that rubric is not only IN the Complete Repertory but it’s there as a 4, AND, it’s the only remedy!  Well hey, this rubric tells us all we really need to know!  And what’s more, Stramonium is an addition in the Complete Repertory, as a 2, in the rubric “Dreams: continued after waking”.  Wow!  The Complete is showing itself invaluable in this case!

 

Is anybody else here today?

Hi Elaine,

Really happy to see my name in winner’s list of February quiz.
Oh and a belated happy birthday to Robin.

Thanks!

Now for the case I have taken following rubrics from Complete Repertory 2017-
Mind, Delusions, imagination, voices, hears
Mind, Dreams, continued waking, after
Mind, Dreams, true, seems, on waking
Mind, restlessness, fever during

Chamomilla comes on top followed by Phos, Ign, China
I vote for Chamomilla as it strongly covers delusion of hearing voices which was very prominent in the case.
-Dr. ABHISHEK CHOUDHARY

(INDIA)

Oops!  I left out an important symptom!  The child had the delusion that her foot was gigantic–huge!

Oh, if that’s the case I would say that it can be Stramonium.  It covers various delusion, hallucinations that are in this case plus the delusion about enlargement of body parts.

That’s right, you got it!

 

And now I see Jitka from Slovakia is here!

Hi Elaine! According to these two rubrics Hyoscyamus came out in first place :

Hyoscyamus

mind; delusions, imaginations, hallucinations, illusions; hears sounds; voices;

mind; delusions, imaginations, hallucinations, illusions; about self; body; size; parts of body seem too large;

Jitka, I think you are in the right ballpark with Hyoscyamus, but Hysoscyamus has such an unmistakable symptom picture–eccentric behavior, shamelessness, silliness, inappropriate touching, loud laughing, silly laughter, annoying behavior, jealousy, etc. that when we don’t see any of that in the case, it’s hard to go with Hyoscyamus when it can just as easily be a similar remedy, like Stramonium–and that’s what it is, by the way, Stramonium.

Hearing that fever is the etiology, that it involves night terrors and bad dreams and evil-sounding voices should make us think of Stramonium right away!  Stramonium is our remedy for fright involving the “supernatural”–talking to the dead, evil, graveyards, the color black, hearing voices, etc.  It’s just the first thing we should think of in this arena, and as a confirmation, it also has the delusion that body parts are enlarged.  It’s also listed under “restless during fever”.

Even in my first guessing I had Stramonium on my mind and I was looking for rubrics that could have led to this remedy.

Despite the fact that the Phosphorus seemed like a bad choice, I remained stuck on selected rubrics. This happened even a second time, I felt that it is Stramonium, but it came out from rubrics as second after Hyosc, so I prefered rubrics before a common sense again.

Well, you know, there’s nothing that says the top remedy HAS to be the winning remedy, knowing how imperfect the repertory is; that’s why we always have to use our heads and think.  As a matter of fact, Dr. Di Salvo from Italy actually found materia medica on Stramonium from Knerr, Hering and others that said: “Heard continually, on right side of occiput, a loud voice, scolding, vituperating [blaming, insulting] and accusing him”.  OMG!  That matches the case exactly!  And it’s not in Murphy’s Repertory at all!

 

Miroslav says:

After my complete failure with my beloved Pulsatilla in last case, I tried to solve this quiz, but somehow I got lost in it.  I couldn´t find anything substantial, convincing to identify a remedy,

See what I wrote to Jitka above.

with which I´d had some experience … So I decided for a simple repertorization:

Delusions; hearing voices

Delusions, hearing voices; foreigners

Delusions, hearing voices; night

Hearing; hearing voices of absent persons; at night

Chamomila

From the beginning I thought about Stramonium,

Um….did I mention Stramonium’s the remedy?

it has auditory hallucinations.

And then about Belladonna, Anacardium too.  But I didn’t know to do a differential diagnosis between them.

 

Well, I’m starting to fall asleep–not because of you, Miroslav!– but, I think it’s time we called it a day and thanked our winners:

Maria, Dr. Di Salvio and Dr. Choudhary

Congratulations!  You’re number-one!  You’re number-one!

See ya next time for another great and exciting Hpathy Quiz!

———————-
Elaine Lewis, D.Hom., C.Hom.

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

Visit her website: elaineLewis.hpathy.com