A Case of Anxiety with Panic Disorder and Depression

This is a case of a 37-years old female suffering from anxiety with panic attacks and depression.  She had been on Fluoxetine during adulthood in the past, twice, for six months and twelve months, respectively. At the age of 14 years, she started experiencing symptoms of depression.

She sought homeopathic treatment by the end of January 2022 upon having been prescribed a third course of fluoxetine. However, she decided to try “something natural” as a last resort. She said: “If the homeopathic treatment does not produce a rapid effect I’ll have to start taking Fluoxetine as my mental emotional symptoms are deeply affecting my daily routine and I’ve been feeling to be at my very limit at the moment.”

In the previous month, in December 2021, following an emergency appendicectomy, while still recovering from surgery at the hospital, she contracted Covid-19, presenting high fever of over 38.5 ⁰C, and suffered hallucinations. This event, which she described as deeply traumatic, triggered the recurrence of mental emotional states of anxiety and panic attacks.

During her tenure at the hospital, she experienced the following: mental/emotional states:

anxiety about health

fear of death

awakening with fright from sleep

hallucinations as of seeing old friends

After leaving the hospital, while attempting to resume a normal daily life, she would experience the following symptoms, which could be triggered by random circumstances, such as when hearing the phone ring, riding in a train or when undertaking medical check-up examinations:

Anxiety about health with delusions, imagining herself suffering from many possible diseases

Heart palpitation with anxiety

Aversion to company

Coldness of hands and feet

Coldness of hands with dripping and clammy perspiration

Thirst for large quantities of cold drinks

Desire for sweets

Diarrhoea after anxiety (leading her to run to the bathroom)

In addition, she had gained 6kg after her remission from Covid-19. She also had anxiety that would trigger symptoms of gastric acidity with oesophageal reflux, migraines, and increased teeth grinding; conditions which had kept her on Esomeprazole (antiacid) and over-the-counter painkillers regularly for the past many years. Since age 14, she has also been on Levothyroxine (1125 to 50mg/day) after being diagnosed with hypothyroidism.

The patient described herself as independent but caring towards her family and others in general, feeling deeply affected when watching the news (or hearing stories) about people facing tragedies and homelessness.

Repertorisation:

Result of repertorisation:

Prescription January 28^th 2022:

In spite of the patient’s level of health being classified as high (acute with high fever experienced in the previous month before consultation), I chose to prescribe ascending potencies of a dose of 30C followed by a dose of Calc-carb 200C followed by a dose of 1M, to be taken subsequently within 12h each, in order to counterbalance the possible suppression of the organism (including of the mental sphere) caused by the steady history of allopathic medicines intake by the patient throughout most of her life, while being cautious to not go exceedingly high on the potency.

Follow-up March 3^rd 2022:

She reported that after 30C and 200C on February 2^nd and 3^rd 2022 respectively, she developed flu symptoms including coryza with yellow catarrh and throat pain with scratchy sensation. She therefore did not take the next advised potency of 1M. By one week, on February 15^th 2022, these symptoms resolved without any intervention. She did not develop any fever.

Remedy reaction:

Main complaint was of anxiety with panic attacks: changed from 9-10 (out of 10 both in intensity and frequency) to 0 (out of 10). Other symptoms: coldness of hands and feet with perspiration of hands, and  palpitations resolved. Symptoms of headache/migraines with teeth grinding and stomach acidity with oesophageal reflux also ceased, which resulted in the suspension of allopathic medicines regularly used for both these conditions).

Main complaint and the other symptoms relapsed a few days previous to follow-up appointment but at a slight lower level of intensity and frequency, at 6-7 (out of 10). During consultation, patient reported having taken dypirone-based analgesic Dorflex, which is not approved in the UK, but she had used it in her home country, for lumbar pain.

Concomitantly, it was around this time that the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out, and patient reported this fact to have affected her mental emotional states negatively.

Prescription March 4^th 2022: Calc-carb 200C was repeated once.

Follow-up April 22^rd 2022:

Upon return we measured her anxiety and panic disorder levels and patient rated them as close to null (0-1 out of 10). Her main complaint shifted to a new layer of symptoms which started to appear more clearly.  She reported feelings of profound sadness, in the form of a silent grief with which she could not cry.

During consultation she shared about the loss of her grandparents at the age of 14 years, but also about a deep-rooted anger, with feelings of having been rejected by her mother for having been absent since childhood.

She also reported that the visual images from the hospital scene from December 2021, as she remained hospitalised due to Covid-19 infection following an emergency appendicectomy, had been reoccurring in her mind in the form of flashes.

Returning symptoms from the past included: cystitis (with urethra pain with burning sensation < after urination); pityriasis (scaly skin eruptions) on chest/arms/back < sun exposure, experienced since the age of 16 and 14-15 years, respectively. Other symptoms were: constipation on alternate days with stools like balls; nose discharge (clear); sensation of constant catarrh in throat; diminished sexual desire; desire to be alone; desire for fish/salt/lemon/sweets; thirstlessness; desire to lie down; feeling of general coldness.

Repertorization:

Result of repertorization:

Prescription April 22^nd 2022:

Natrum-mur 1M once.

Follow-up May 27^th 2022:

Patient reported to have experienced intense physical weakness (flu-like) following the remedy, which lasted a week. On the main mental/emotional complaints, she reported intensity and frequency at 3-4 out of 10 and 0 out of 10 for sadness/depression/grief and flashes of images from hospitalization scenes respectively.

At the physical level, the skin eruptions increased (aggravation at the physical level) and now it had the quality similar to when it started back at the age of 14-15 years; white discoloration (with redness after scratching), becoming worse from sun exposure, but especially in warm and wet weather.

Generalities: thirst levels increased, resuming to “normal levels” (rather than excessive thirst), as described by patient; stools have no more peculiar shape of balls; constipation still present but alleviated by patient’s use of probiotics.

At this point, patient’s main complaint shifted from being mental/emotional to the local physical levels. For instance, she presented another set of returning symptoms from the past, related to pains and discomfort around the pelvic organs, including a persistent leucorrhoea of burning nature, which she developed after the parturition of her first son and being submitted to an episiotomy (grade 4), ten years previously, at age of 27.

Since receiving homeopathic treatment, patient reports to have been able to return to a normal daily life, free from the previous chronic states of pathological anxiety, panic disorder and depression which accompanied her since she was 14-years old.

During the year of her treatment, she was also able to seek new professional challenges, enjoy social engagements and fulfil her role as a mother of two, a wife and a daughter, feeling more in touch with her own emotions. She also reports feeling more resilient and in control of her mental emotional states when adverse life circumstances present.