Introduction
The patient is a 41year old female who is experiencing a loss of taste and smell, chronic cough and has been trying to cope with stress and sleep issues. She really highlights that the loss of taste and smell is a big issue for her now. It comes on quite suddenly and happens pretty much every night and doesn’t return till morning. At its worst she has lost it for a couple days. She does note she sees a connection between her symptoms and her mental state, how the stress of the separation from her partner has impacted her health and wellness.
Medications:
Salbutamol 100cg since 2020 (side effects, changes in taste and cough)
March 12, 2021
Ok, so what would you like to talk about first?
Patient: Probably my loss of taste and smell, it’s a big deal for me and it’s been ongoing for me. It happens pretty much every evening, and it doesn’t return until morning, sometimes late morning.
It’s pretty sudden, will just happen, its there one minute, gone the next. Sometimes it will be like stuffy or congestion with it, quite often I may get stuffy, and sneeze then gone. Sometimes it doesn’t happen till late, because there’s no particular time it happens.
I don’t know what’s triggering it. Right now, it’s happening as I sit here. I didn’t taste the last sip of coffee, and getting kind of a stuffy feeling in my nose higher up in my sinuses. I have been diagnosed with sinusitis. Doctor had me take Nasonex but didn’t seem to correct it.
What was going on in life when you first noticed the loss of taste and smell?
It was close to the time when stuff was going on in my marriage, unfaithfulness, and trust issues. It is just so weird it happens at night and not during the day.
So, at its worst how long has smell and taste been gone?
Patient: A couple days or 80% of the day. There were those few days that it was gone. It is hard to remember if the loss, smell, and taste occurred around the time of trust issues in marriage. That is so different, when I had my separation happen and had the cough and wheezing, I see now how that was connected to stress.
Observation
The cough, wheezing and loss of taste and smell have been impacting her significantly and she has seen a correlation between her mental/emotional states and these physical symptoms. She has been trying to figure out what triggers the loss of smell and taste but cannot seem to put her finger on it. She does know alcohol, emotional upset or stress will aggravate both the cough and loss of tase and smell.
She discussed her high energy levels, sayng “I have too much energy to sit around a be depressed.” When she is going through a lot of mental/emotional stress she will also feel a vibrating feeling in her body. She says, “I feel a lot of energy when I’m feeling the vibration. It feels like hunger, but it’s all related and it’s always pumping and vibrating.”
Her appetite has really increased. She notes that she feels her body is working it off so fast because her body is vibrating with so much energy and she also comments that when she is stressed, she eats more. She feels this vibrating feeling sucks the life out of her.
Patient: I never had many issues health wise. I’ve come to realize that it has done more damage to me than I thought.
What affected you most over those last 5 years for you?
Patient: Anger towards people you thought you could trust but clearly you cannot trust anyone one.
Case Analysis
After going through the case with the support of my supervisor it became apparent that Rhus Tox was the leading remedy in this case. Her restlessness was so striking and characteristic as well as her loss of smell and taste, ravenous hunger and better from physical exertion, which Rhus Tox covers well along with the totality of the case.
I differentiated this with Anacardium Orientale as they are both in the Anacardiaceae family and have a relationship with each other but Rhus tox covered the totality better.
First prescription: Rhus Tox 200c (dry dose) one dose every 8-12hrs for a total of 3 doses March 12th2021
First follow up: June 15th, 2021
Her taste and smell is much better. She is thinking deeper and doing much better mentally and emotionally. She had thoughts and feelings of her dad come up and the time they did not get together. She also felt the remedy made her more emotional but comments that she felt that was a good feeling and that she is allowing herself to let go more and this process has been easeful and not overwhelming.
She has been having more deep, meaningful, and symbolic dreams that she remembers, which is new for her. She felt the dreams were bringing up things from the past that she may have forgot about or things she had not allowed herself to process.
Her sleep has also improved, and she still has a lot of energy but notes the day or two following the remedy that she felt calmer. “I want to sit and chill, and I don’t normally do that.”
Her cough, taste and sleep have improved, her appetite is still the same and she still has the same vibrating feeling that happens with stress.
Prescription: Re-dosed Rhus Tox 200c but went to water dosing to have a slight change in potency each time. One dose every 8-12hrs for a max of 3 doses
Follow up #2 June15th, 2021
She reports she is feeling much better. Her emotional state improved 50%. Her cough is much better (85-90% better and rarely happens) and she senses a feeling of her symptoms working their way down. Her bladder is way worse now. The bladder is hard to control. She has had this in the past but never this bad. It comes on quickly and she is unable to control it. The bladder had been an issue since childhood as she said she always had a weaker bladder, and she did have symptoms over 5years ago as well.
She says the symptoms of this are 50% worse but says “Whatever is going on is working its way down”. I found this quite striking that she had this awareness and that her body was following Hering’s law of cure, from above to below. So, I just kept this in mind and continued to track this.
Her taste and smell are good, and the vibrating has lessened but still has a lot of energy. Sleep and restlessness are about the same, and still has a big appetite. She again comments at the end of the session, “I really feel like this remedy is working, I just feel like I need more time, I feel like it’s working its way down and out.”
Observation
I questioned whether to re-dose the same potency or go up to 1M since her bladder symptoms were getting worse and that her energy and restlessness were the same. After consulting with my supervisor, we decided on repeating Rhus Tox 200c every 8-12hrs for a max of 3 doses and if there was no change to go up to 1M.
Follow up #3 Aug 17 , 2021
She had just gone through a breakup and was feeling really overwhelmed, emotional and sad. She reports feeling better with stressors from her ex, and she has set some boundaries and this feels good for her. Being with her boyfriend was a good distraction from all that stuff but then the relationship went downhill and they broke up.
She felt emotional after the remedy. She laid down to rest and she started to cough. Just before this remedy she felt she had an itch on her calf and on her foot. The bladder has been better, she noted that her bladder was worse when she started dating her boyfriend and she felt her body was telling her something. Her bladder is at least 80% better and her cough has been so much better, overall, she says it 80% better.
Taste and smell are still better. The vibrating feeling is mostly gone but she has been feeling overwhelmed and has had a hard time focusing. She has lost interest in exercise and has been eating bad food, both changes for her. She notes “I’m in this funk and rut”. She says the restlessness has subsided and has turned into depression. Her sleep has also declined, she is waking frequently.
Observation
After discussion with my supervisor, we decide to stay with Rhus tox 200c and give a dose every 48hrs and to stop as soon as she feels the affects and if that helps, she can take as needed or go to 1M once and then see how she is.
Follow up #4 Oct 3rd, 2021
Patient took just 2 doses of the Rhus Tox 200c ,
She again noticed some more symbolic dreams. Her taste and smell have stayed at bay even though her eating went off track which normally makes it worse. She still loses it in the night but has improved in the day. She is doing better emotionally.
The cough is the same and her bladder is better. She has more control over it now. The vibrating feeling is a lot better; she still gets if she is stressed. She is still restless about 80% of the time. Her apatite is still good, she is eating healthier again.
Observation
We can see the remedy is working deeply, her dreams seem to always be impacted by the remedy and the realization and connection with her ex-boyfriend is interesting. She still has restlessness and some loss of taste and smell through the night, maybe going up in potency we will help bring this into balance for her.
Dec 9th 2021 :So, we went up to Rhus Tox 1M, one dry dose.
Conclusion
I am noting the possibility of the loss of taste and smell being a dissimilar disease. It has improved a lot, but we are still seeing no taste or smell in the late evening until morning. With this we may need to consider a different remedy. We can clearly see here she has made some great progress and I trust that we will continue to see more improvements to come with the ongoing support of homeopathy.
