Case Quizes Clinical Cases

Revisiting: Stewardess Flies the Unfriendly Skies!

Revisiting: Stewardess Flies the Unfriendly Skies!

Just what a flight attendant needs is a bladder infection! What homeopathic remedy did she take? Answer is at the bottom.

Shana, it’s time for another brilliant and exciting Hpathy Quiz!  You don’t have any of your usual “announcements”, do you?  Good!

Mom!!!!  Excuse me, but I am just getting ready with my announcements now!

Ahem!  I’m very excited to announce that the 1998 Cartoon Network series, “The Powerpuff Girls” turned 20 this month.

Shana, don’t look now, but…No one cares!!!!!

I’m pretty sure Krista does….

Great!  So we’re writing for one person now!

Maria probably cares…

Yes, and where IS Maria?  She’s got a lot of ‘splaining to do!

And as I’ve mentioned many times before, this show was the best part of my childhood.

It wasn’t much of a childhood, was it?  But then again, what is?

So, the fact that it’s now 20 years old makes me feel kind of old.

Shana, you ARE old!  When are you going to grow up????

I’m all verklempt.  I was probably 8 or 9 years old when I started watching it.

You were 8.  But who’s counting?

Also, in November, “The Rugrats Movie” turned 20.  Did you know that E.G. Daily (the voice of Tommy Pickles) was also the voice of Buttercup on “The Powerpuff Girls”?

No way!  Somebody alert the press!!!!

Mom, we ARE the press!  Also Tara Strong (the voice of Bubbles) was Baby Dil in “The Rugrats”, so its funny how my childhood intertwined with these two shows.

Yes, it’s fascinating!  I’m sure we’ve given our readers (or should I say, “reader”) a lot to think about!  Can we start the Quiz now?

Just a minute, Mom, “Meet the Raisins” just turned 30!

Now this was a clever show!

Its a spoof on musical documentaries.

Very cleverly written.

“Meet the Raisins” is literally the greatest claymation project prior to “Wallace and Gromit”.  When I was little (maybe 5 years old) we used to have the soundtrack on CD and we have half a recording of it from the Disney Channel (its missing the beginning).  Also, random fact: a rendition of Daddy’s song, “Get a Job”, is on the soundtrack!

Yes, I seem to remember that.

For those of you who have no idea what we’re talking about…

And that would be pretty much everyone…

…here’s a clip from the show. The “California Raisins” sing a wonderful rendition of “Signed, Sealed and Delivered” by Stevie Wonder.

 

Also I learned something very interesting.

What, pray tell, is it?

Guess who the producer of “Meet the Raisins” was?

OK, don’t tell me, don’t tell me… I’m usually very good at this. Burt Reynolds?

No, Mom!  You’re way off!  It was Atlantic Records co-founder, Ahmet Ertegun!

Oh.  I was so close!  But, did you say Ahmet Ertegun?  No wonder this spoof on musical documentaries is so clued-in!  Speaking of The Quiz….

Wait, Mom, I have a death to announce!  Randy Safuto (whose name is really Dominick Safuto) of Randy and the Rainbows, died last month.

He apparently suffered a heart attack in May.  So sad.  Here’s his blockbuster hit, “Denise”, from 1963.

So sad that Randy Safuto died.  But his great late-era Doo-Wop song will live forever!

Now it’s time for the Quiz!!!  Who is it this time?

It’s…um…  uh…. Shana, go to FictitiousNames.com and find me a name!

Here’s one: Beth Truman.

Isn’t that President Harry Truman’s wife?

No, Mom, you’re thinking of Bess Truman!  

Ohhhhhhhh….. Well, that’s different.  Never mind!

***

 

Dear Elaine,

Hi “Beth”!

my friend “Eleanor” recommended I consult with you.  I just started a job as a flight attendant…

Oh!  Congratulations!

…and came home with what I think was a bladder infection.

Oh!  Well, that’s not so great is it!

No fever, just burning sensation while urinating and pain in my bladder.  I treated it with herbs and rest for a few days and got quite a bit better, but I’ve had to go on another flight and although I don’t have pain anymore, I have very frequent and uncomfortable urges to urinate, and it wakes me every two hours at night.

Not good!

I started trying Cantharis based on what I read on the internet but I don’t know if it’s right.  I’m in a hotel away from home between flights, and I have three remedies with me.  I might be able to run out to a store and pick up something else if time permits.  Have to go to the airport at 6pm PST. Any chance you can help me today?

I will need you to fill out the acute case questionnaire, which is on my website:

https://ElaineLewis.hpathy.com.

***

Name: “Beth Truman”

 

Age: 53

 

Female

 

117 lbs

 

5’ 1”

 

Oct 27, 2018

 

 

  1. describe complaint

 

Frequent urge to urinate.  Every 10-15 minutes.  Feels like it should gush out but the stream is very narrow, as if constricted.

This is following a possible bladder infection which started on Tuesday and which was treated with high doses of vitamin c, d-mannose, echinacea, and goldenseal, FIR sauna sessions, as well as lots of water and bed rest.

After two to three days, I no longer felt burning while peeing or any pain in my bladder; however I am left with this frequent urge to urinate.

The original infection came on the day after I got back from my trip.  Woke up in the morning with burning feeling while urinating and pain in lower abdomen.

 

  1. I believe the problem was caused by not drinking enough water while working in the airplane combined with few opportunities to go to the bathroom.  Also I ate more sugar and chocolate in the preceding days than I normally do.  I usually avoid sugar, chocolate and caffeine.

 

  1. Sensation: A sensation of pressure in my bladder and constriction.

 

  1. Concomitants: Droopy eyelids.  Also I have been gradually losing weight the last two months — a month of very stressful and intense training with little sleep, and then this first month of work.  Eating a lot less.  I was overweight though and had been trying to lose weight prior.

 

  1. Location: Bladder and urethra

 

  1. Worse: Being on my feet a lot, being very busy, walking.  Pushing on my lower abdomen.  Stress.

 

Better: lying on my side, rest, eating a meal.  Sitting.

 

  1. I did have a little slightly wet cough start on the same day this all started, but it went away

 

 

  1. I’ve been feeling cold in general the last week, except for occasional hot flashes.  Was uncharacteristically irritable and rude the night before it started.  Better now though.

 

I feel sort of agitated and anxious about my new job.  Found myself pacing around the room today.

 

  1. What I’ve been saying: “I need help”.  “I need advice.”

 

  1. Pacing a bit

 

  1. Thirsty all the time.  Want gulps of cold water.  Not hungry but craving sweets and crunchy things.

 

  1. No fever

 

  1. No sweating except for during occasional hot flashes.  Only mild sweat.

 

  1. No odors

 

  1. When I have to urinate, it’s very urgent and feels almost painful.

 

  1. No official diagnosis.  Did not go to an MD

 

  1. I am both tired/ sleepy and nervous.  Feel sleep deprived.  But also cheerful and energetic around people.

 

  1. Tongue: Pink with a light greyish coating, especially toward the back of my tongue, rough or jagged line down the middle.

 

  1. ——

 

  1. Body temperature: Colder than normal

 

  1. N/A

________________________________

 

Beth, can you see the repertory chart I sent you?  It says _______________ is in 1st place.  Try to buy the 30C potency.  Drop two pellets into half a bottle of water (small bottle).  Succuss the bottle 5 times before each dose.  A dose is a sip.  Take a dose every half hour until you’ve got the case under control, then move to once an hour, ultimately 3 times a day, then twice a day…in other words, as you get better, take less and less often.

I had to leave for the airport, but started trying the ______________ 30C in the water as you instructed.  I think I got an hour of that before I had to board my flight and start working.  I tried to take a sip every half hour after that, but I don’t think I managed to take it in such regular increments. By the time I got home, I still had not finished the bottle.  Went to bed very late and am recovering and just getting going.  I felt much better this morning, no burning, not so frequent urination, but the urging is starting up again.  I meant to contact you earlier, but this flight attendant life is very new to me and I’m still adjusting and don’t have my act together.  Usually after a trip, all I can do is lay around all day the first day back!

I’m pretty sure the ______________ 30C helped me during the flight and at least until mid-morning.

I now have access to the 200C.

You won’t need it unless the 30C stops working.  Start taking it again as per yesterday.

***

November 1st:

Beth, how are you doing, are you OK now?

Hi Elaine!  Thanks for checking up on me.  I am much better now.  Was able to work a trip the last 3 days without having to dose.  Nearly 100% now.

______________________

 

OK, everybody, that’s it!  What was the remedy?  If you know, write to me at [email protected], the answer will be in next month’s ezine.

And for now, since I previously mentioned the great, pioneering record label, Atlantic Records and its president, Ahmet Ertegun, here’s one of Atlantic Records’ biggest stars. 

They say he invented Soul Music (by combining gospel—the music of the black church—with the blues, and the rest is history!  Here he is in a very rare video from, I’m guessing, 1960.  Ray Charles and the Raelettes at the Newport Jazz Festival, “I Believe To My Soul”:

 

Bye, see you again next time!

————————————-

VOTES:

Argent-nit-2

Phosphorus

Arsenicum

Belladonna

Nux vomica-2

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

Hello everybody!  Is the caller there?  You’re on the air at hpathy.com!

 

Hi Elaine ,

Hi Neil.

I think the remedy this month is Argent Nitricum.  It is under sensation of constriction in bladder, is in bold under urging and also has a  craving for sugar.  The patient also has a lot of nervous anxiety surrounding her job too with restlessness.

It’s a good thought, you make a good case for Argent-nit; but the rubric you picked (sensation as if bladder is constricted) is a sub-rubric under “bladder, constriction” and only contains 2 remedies–Argent-nit. and Digitalis; whereas, the main rubric (Bladder, constriction) contains 42 remedies!!!! And there’s really no reason to risk losing the correct remedy by opting for the small sub-rubric when it doesn’t really distinguish itself from the main rubric!  “Bladder: constriction”, after all, IS a sensation, for all intents and purposes.  There’s actually no way to determine if the bladder is REALLY constricted unless you do an X-ray of some sort, and what’s the likelihood that that’s gonna to happen?  So to my way of thinking, “Bladder, constriction” is a sensation; so, bypassing that in favor of a sub-rubric with only 2 remedies in it would be very risky.   

Also, here’s a problem.  Argent-nit. is very hot.  Our patient is very cold. 

Like you, I also got that she was craving sugar and had anxiety about her new job.  But what remedy famously has a fear of undertaking anything new, plus has a desire for sweets?

I’d have said lycopodium but the patient wants to “gulp cold drinks” and lyc is better warm drinks.

That is so true and could really throw you off and make you think of Phosphorus, which did come in 2nd in my repertorization.  BUT, if the etiology is her anxiety over her new job, then that would over-ride all the confusing symptoms underneath!  Again, we have a Hierarchy Of Symptoms and Etiology is at the top. 

So, what I did was repertorize everything she told me because I didn’t have confidence in Lycopodium, for some reason.  I never heard of giving Lycopodium for a bladder infection before.  I repertorized the following symptoms:

 

  1. Bladder: urging to urinate, frequent
  2. Bladder: constriction, urethra, urination, during
  3. Bladder: burning, urethra, urination, during
  4. Bladder: constriction, bladder
  5. Bladder: cystitis
  6. Bladder: pressing pain, pressure in bladder
  7. Mind: agitation
  8. Mind: restlessness, pacing
  9. Food: cold drinks, water, desires
  10. Food: cold drinks, water, desires large quantities of cold water
  11. Food: sweets, desires
  12. Chill: chilliness
  13. Mind: company, desires
  14. Generals: constriction sensation
  15. Mind: fear, undertaking anything, new enterprise, a

 

So, here’s the chart.  Lycopodium comes in first.  And then, guess what?  After I had already prescribed Lycopodium and it worked?  She said, “And the gas and bloating went away too.”  The what????  OMG!  That should have gone under “Concomitants”!  It would have made this case so much easier!  Grrr!!!!!  Can you believe she left that out???????  Gas and bloating?  OMG!

 

The patient was nervous about the job but how do we know its the etiology for sure?

She kept bringing it up:  “I feel sort of agitated and anxious about my new job.I meant to contact you earlier, but this flight attendant life is very new to me and I’m still adjusting and don’t have my act together.”  The new job and the bladder infection started at roughly the same time.

It may have been a coincidence that a urinary tract infection happened at around the same time as her new job.

I know, I know!  That’s why I repertorized the whole case!

When do we ignore or overrule a symptom?  For example, Arg-nit was ruled out because the patient was cold instead of hot, but at the same time, we didn’t allow thirst for cold drinks to rule out Lycopodium!

Very good point!  You are so right!  But, again, that’s why I repertorized, because the thirst, desire for sweets and being better for company certainly makes you think of Phosphorus!!!!!  But when the repertorization turned up Lycopodium, suddenly the anxiety over the new job took on new meaning! “This could be the etiology,” I thought!

Thanks,

Neil

 

Is anybody else here today?

 

Hi Elaine and Shana!

Hi Maria!

I loved your “Miss Lascivious Has Left The Building” quiz with that snake remedy I never heard of!  Very interesting!

Thank you!

I am not aware of The Powerpuff Girls.  The first time I saw it was in your article.  If I can find it with subtitles…

Don’t bother!  I think you have to be 8 years old to watch it.  (Or 26.)

I am a huge fan of Shawn the sheep, though!

Me too!  You know, it’s a spin-off from “Wallace And Gromit”.

For this month I vote Phosphorus.

Well, Maria, Phosphorus turned up #2 in my repertorization, so, it’s not a bad guess.  I simply repertorized everything she told me, and when I saw what came up in first place, it made sense with what I thought might be the etiology–her new job!!!!!

 

HI ELAINE…

Hi Shifa!

HOW ARE YOU??

I HAVE MISSED SO MANY OF YOUR CASES BUT HAD READ THEM, WAS VERY USEFUL AS ALWAYS.

FOR THIS NEW CASE OF FLIGHT ATTENDANT, ARSENICUM ALBUM IS WHAT I HAVE IN MY MIND.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

 

It was Lycopodium, Shifa.  It seemed to be all about her new job which she didn’t feel prepared for.  So, you know that Lycopodium has a fear of undertaking anything new, right?  But also, I literally repertorized everything she said and Lycopodium came up #1.

 

Hello Elaine and Shana,

Oh look!  It’s the gang from Slovakia!  Hello Miroslav and Jitka!

Here are our brief answers to the November Quiz.

OK.

Miroslav:

I would try to solve it as follows:

cold, thirst for cold water, the first symptoms were coughing at night, irritated and coarse, then at work energetic and cheerful, burning during urination, frequent urge: Belladonna.

Well, Miroslav….you know, Belladonna is a rabies remedy and, as such, is thirstless; so, her thirst makes us not want to give Belladonna.

Jitka:

Overindulgence in chocolate and coffee, chilliness, irritability, better with company,  a constant urge to urinate and a sense that the bladder is full although tiny amounts of urine are passed  – Nux vomica

Jitka, is Nux vomica really better for company?  In fact, it’s in BOLD for “Mind: company, aversion to”.  The truth is, I had no idea what her remedy was!  All I could do was repertorize what she told me; but, when I saw what came up #1—Lycopodium—it made me realize that her mention of how unprepared she felt in her new job was actually, probably, the etiology!  Lycopodium notoriously feels unprepared for anything new, any new undertaking!  So, yes, the remedy was Lycopodium.

May your world be filled with warmth and good cheer this Holiday Season, and throughout the year.

Thanks Miroslav and Jitka, same to you!  I think I see Krista making her way up to the microphone…

 

Hello Elaine and Shana,

And thanks Shana for the compliment- I DO care!

I’ll let Shana know!

I love all your announcements, music news and, of course, adore the quizzes.

You’re one in a million!  (Literally, 1 in a million.)

Your banter is great – always cracks me up.

Wow!  this really is a red-letter day for sure!

Ok, well this quiz had me thinking for a bit.  The two remedies I looked at were Nux Vomica and Merc Cor.  They have a lot of similarities.

They both have

– Frequent urge to urinate

– Urge is painful

-Burning during urination

-Scanty urination

It was more of a narrow stream–I guess the urethra was swollen.  She said “constricted”.

-Both better for rest

 

Mercury has the thirst that Nux doesn’t BUT Nux has the etiology that Merc doesn’t.

She had been overdoing it.  Too much stress.

Too much work – not enough sleep .  Too much junk food.

Nux is also worse in bed in the morning and better lying on side.

So I VOTE FOR NUX VOMICA….am I right ?

Uh………no.  I think you got the etiology wrong.  I saw the etiology as her new job.  She kept talking about how nervous and anxious it was making her, how unprepared she was; “I don’t have my act together,” she said.  So, we have a rubric, “Mind: fear, undertaking anything new, a new enterprise”.  The main remedy is Lycopodium.  And then when you try to confirm it by looking back at the case and saying, “Is anything else about this case Lycopodium?”  Yes:  She’s cold, she desires sweets and chocolate and sweets aggravate, and then, what I learned AFTER I had given the remedy?  She had gas and bloating!  (Would that she had mentioned that sooner!)

So, yeah, that was it.  The case actually did repertorize out to Lycopodium, though.

Thanks for voting!

Thanks,

Krista

 

I think we may have time for 1 more contestant.

 

Hello Elaine and Shana.  How are you doing?

I think Stewardess is Argent nitricum.  I have found another medicine very near which is Digitalis but it has no such relation with craving for sweets.

Definitely the remedy I chose had a craving for sweets.

I shall try again if i am wrong.

Well, here’s the thing, Salma.  What struck me was that she kept talking about how anxious she was about her new job and how she didn’t feel prepared and didn’t have her act together; so, with that in mind….I picked Lycopodium!

Best wishes

Salma

Dhaka, Bangladesh

 

So now it’s time to congratulate our winners.

Mom, we don’t have any winners!

Oh.  Well that’s different.  Never mind!

See ya next year!

___________________________

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

Elaine takes online cases and animal cases too!

Write to her at [email protected]

Visit her website: https://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

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"!

1 Comment

  • Again a wonderful quiz. Thanks dear Dr. Ellaine and Shana to teach us in a interesting manner. Every time I solve the quiz, I learn new things. Love you.

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