A Case of Fibromyalgia

Female 39 years old. CC: Fibromyalgia (Homeopathy for Fibromyalgia) experienced in joints and bones. Onset every morning  for lasts 2 years. Never treated allopathically.

Case Taking

Describe your pain.

I have pains in my knees, my elbows and my shoulders. Mainly on my right side, when I wake up in the morning I have the pain. I usually have no energy I am very tired.  I found it very difficult to keep the normal day routine. I push myself to do what I need to do. I go to sleep if I sit down, like it is lethargy.

Is the pain in the joints or in the muscles?

Both.  In the legs it is a bad ache not sharp.

Bruising?

It is like you constantly have a headache in your knee.  It doesn’t go… it sits with you.  Elbows in the morning are the worst.  Both of the elbows but when I use them it goes away.  In the evening when I stop working and sit down it feels like a bruise. Someone is gripping your elbows very hard.

When are they better?

I think it is the sun. I can tolerate that bruising more in the summer because I spend more time in the garden.

I get dehydrated very easily.  If I don’t drink I get a headache. I had a headache the last 3-4 nights. When I get headache I get tired and grumpy.

Meaning?

No patience.

No patience?

I walk away.

When you are not in a balanced and controlled status what happens?

I don’t get that far. The way I deal with my son husband…. I pull myself together. I never get angry.

How do you express your disagreement?

I talk and when I do my body shuts down.  I talk to myself if I am on my own. I cry. Then I write anything that is in my head.

Shut down?

I don’t feel anything. I don’t feel pain. I don’t feel anything around me only focused on my words because I want them to communicate as clear as I can.

I cut everything out. I pull every energy inside of me and put it in my head and mouth. It is a very focused state.

How is your emotional state?

I am happy. I need some more time for myself but I am happy. There is a lot of stuff I like to do.  I want so many things to do. I enjoy doing this kind of business (training company). I am happy in myself.

Sleep?

Not great. We have different sleeping patterns my husband and I. He goes to bed late I go at 10 pm .When he comes in, that wakes me up and I don’t get balanced sleep.

Energy?

I feel it’s depleted because my body is physically tired so my spirit and energy is trying to get to rest. And because I hadn’t had any me time the past 2 weeks I feel I need to connect and reflect and I don’t get to do that. Because I get so tired I get to sleep till the last minute.

Do you have any issues with any of the relationships?

No.  I find it easier to do things on my own. I find it difficult to explain and focus on my words to explain to others what is needed. I pull my energy from everything else my body and start focus on what I do and say.

Menses?

Every 22 days. 6 days. The day before I start I’m always very tired . Once it starts I feel 1000 times better. The blood in 2 days is red- browner the 3-4 remaining days.

I get strings in it the 1^st couple of days. I take tablets for pregnancy prevention.

Where do you want to be when you want to reflect?

I would go to the sea. White sand blue sea like the Maldives. It’s calm I see the different colors when I go into the water. The water takes you in. It tickles your toes. I like the swimming, the holding and the hugging, the feeling of water around you.

Phobias?

I have no fears.

Food?

Chocolate. It is the thing I go to because I am trying to feel my feelings as a child of being loved, cared for and secured. That is what chocolate represents to me .

Where is unbalance in your life?

Looking after the house. Looking after me me. I do everything for everybody else and not for me. I am a person that gives and doesn’t expect anything in return. I am selfless not selfish.  It gets sometimes frustrating so I am starting to set my own boundaries.

How do you feel towards money?

It is nice, makes life easier. I wish I could have more money to cover all the debts. I want t have a nice life.

What is your job to you?

It is where I get to play. Read and do things that I love, have books about self development.  I help them find the tools that help companies get better.

Why do you think you get sick?

Because I do some much for other people and I don’t do much for myself. Alex, my son is the joy of my life. My sickness is to me a wakeup call to start looking after myself. I do my walking now. It is like God saying:  “Hey stop and take a break “

Perspiration?

Only at night I sweat.  I don’t sweat usually, but my body gets hot. I don’t like heating. I don’t like when it is stuffy. Even in the winter I can sleep with no cover.

Bowl movement?

I get constipation 3-4 days.  The color is chocolate brown sometimes dark

I feel not completely empty. Then I go through a period where there is a sudden rush that happens once or twice a week.

More questions through email:

Do you get twitching?

No

Do you have also aching in your thighs?

No

Does rest make you feel worse or better?

Depends when I rest – morning it makes me feel worse, evenings better.

How do thunderstorms make you feel?

Fine

Describe your headache?

Usually behind my eyes and if I haven’t drunk enough

How does full/ new moon make you feel?

Don’t know never monitor it.

How is your vision? Do you get blurred vision??

Sometimes after I have been lying down

Do you get dizzy?

No

Do you tremble ?

No

Do you feel heaviness in your muscles? Do your eyes drop?

No

Do you have pain in small spots?

No whole of my knees and elbows

Do you like to eat eggs? How do you like them?

Yes most days – usually 2 in an omlet for breakfast as I find having protein for breakfast makes me feel better.

Do you have soreness in your head and neck?

No

How are you in damp weather?

Just cold in my body but I keep warm

Is your bruising pain accompanied with stiffness?

No just cracking of my bones in my legs but not in my arms.

Do you get easily fatigue?

I get tired when I haven’t had enough sleep – if I have one night which is bad it will take about 2 or 3 nights to feel completely back to normal.

Case Analysis

The patient’s physical appearance is very much Calcarea carbonica “Fair – Flabby – Fat” , however the mental emotional picture doesn’t reflect her need for protection. She is also a very active person and likes to expend a lot of effort.  She also doesn’t feel weak.

Sepia reflects very much the business worries of that patient and her desire to maintain her own business. But in our patient’s case she has a free will to pursue her goals.  The patient shows a lot of self control and self reservation in her mental emotional picture. She is British and her expressing “I am selfless” reflects the Nat-mur essence as well as the amelioration by walking when upset. Despite that, the mistrust picture is not very clear in this case.  I will go for the Nat- mur as it fits all symptoms best when using the prioritization of the rubrics as shown in the analysis above.

REMEDY: Nat-m 30 C once a week

Cell Salts:  Combination G: Calcarea fluoricalour; Calc-Phos; Kali-Mur; Nat-m (3 drops three times daily)

Cell salts were given to support the patient to heal at a cellular level, not on the vital force level, which will reflect directly on the physical level and generate faster relief, while the remedy will deal with underlying disturbance or dis-ease in the vital force.

Follow up (through 6 months)

• After 4 weeks: Elbows do not hurt as much anymore, yet still knees are in pain. Elbows are better by 80% and knees by 35%. Patient stopped sweating at night. Energy level is better. The patient is showing improvement in the main complaints. Increase the Nat-m dose by adding 2 more times a week. Nat-m 30 C three times a week instead of once a week and cell salts remain as is. Salts:  Combination G: Calcarea fluoricalour; Calc-Phos; Kali-Mur; Nat-m (3 drops three times a day)

• After 6 weeks: Getting slightly better but no big difference. Increasing the frequency of the Nat-m 30 C is not very effective. Therefore I need to move to a higher potency. Nat-m 200 C split dose once.

• After 8 weeks: No more, pain. Patient feels very good and has much more energy than before. Patient states she feels good. A couple of days later the patient caught a cold and was having a running nose and watery eyes. This is a good sign for healing inside out and for resolving the disturbance. I asked her not to take any medicine or remedy and let it resolve.

• After 12 weeks: Patient has no pain at all. She is full of energy and gets a lot of work accomplished. Patient states that people want to hire her, as her mental status now is attracting that new work situation. No pain at all reported in elbows, knees, shoulders. No night sweats. Concerning sleep, she reports that because of her increasing work demands, she does not get enough sleep and when that affects her energy, she increased the intake of the daily supplements (cell salts). The patient is showing good improvement and her system has been responding well so far. However, I asked her to  take a dose of Nat-m 30 C once in case any old symptoms occur as she travels a lot to do her work.

• After 16 weeks: It wasn’t a scheduled follow up however I have received a phone call from the patient. She feels drained from work and financial stress. As sepia was a remedy on the repertorization results, I asked her to take Sep 30 C and see what will happen .  Sep 30 C  (once )

• After 24 weeks:Patient has developed hay fever again. It is something I used to have when I was a kid. Symptoms are violent sneezing on waking or mid-day. I get this heavy attack of 5-6 times sneezing and then I am alright, yet the symptoms are not fading away. I needed to give her a remedy to resolve the hay fever and that it has not just been a passing old symptom that would have been resolved by itself. Gels 30 C (taken as needed).  During that follow up I decided to take the patient through all the complaints she came with on 25.1.2011 when we first took the case.

• Patient reports she is fine but her knees started hurting again. Not like before and she has been doing a lot with her knees lately. She has been sitting all the time and not exercising. She is very aware that it is pretty much her life style lately and she knows how to get out of this. When I asked her about the supplements she answered that she has stopped them. Other than that, no other pain in the arms and shoulders is detected.  When I asked the patient about her mental emotional state she mentioned the following:

“I am really very good. I now get work. Like I have work all next week and this makes me feel wanted and in the flow. I do not have any more business worries. What I am currently facing is being physically tired from work and when I do that, I tend to overeat chocolate. But as I mentioned earlier I know how to break the cycle. I start planning my day. Take my son for a walk. I then eat right and get my body back to movement  I really feel good, really feel positive. I can see many good things for our future. Work is being interesting. I have an  “I can do attitude”. I started doing one to one life coaching. .Part of being tired is because my grandfather is very ill.  I had to take care of him that is the reason why I am physically very exhausted.”

Closure Comment:

The patient is showing improvement on mental, emotional and physical symptoms. The return of old symptoms since childhood is for me a clear indication that the patient is heading towards cure. I will still follow up with the patient about the part related to her hay fever and the situation of work as well as her knees’ response to the supplement.