More submissions are coming in for J’s remedy; click below if you haven’t read the case:
(https://hpathy.com/clinical-cases/theyre-coming-for-mom-in-a-spaceship/)
Now, having said that, you should know that Michael, J’s dad, read all your suggestions, and as NO ONE agreed on what the child’s remedy was? Michael didn’t know what to do! However, we can all still learn a lot about the remedies our readers have carefully and thoughtfully written about; so, I urge you to please continue and read below. Thank you.
–Elaine
Hi Elaine,
I’m a homeopath in England and was just browsing online when I came across J’s story. I do most of my work by email and over the phone these days and so the amount of information on J’s condition was a bit of a draw for me. Normally I’d think about what I was given and then have a chat over the phone.
Given the early intolerance of milk and the excoriation around the anus, and then the appearance of cradle cap/eczema, I’d be very tempted to consider a bowel nosode. I read (again online) that we Brits are very fond of bowel nosodes, so it may be an area that isn’t so well documented in the States.
Morgan Pure has separation anxiety in its symptom picture but without reading up I couldn’t say whether being slow to speak and having hypotonic muscles is also an indication that this is the bowel nosode required. I would make a bet that he needs one simply because of the detailed description of his digestion in his early years. Morgan gaertner has nail-biting and also claustrophobia. I suppose if we were speaking on the phone I’d want to know whether ‘J’ screams when the door is closed on him because he’s scared of the dark, scared of being alone, or if he feels trapped, and how much of it is now habit at getting you to do what you’ve all become used to. (That’s not a judgement call, by the way).
I know a lot of people would take this trauma back to pre-birth but I would be asking questions around the time when ‘J’ was 18 months old because this was when the separation anxiety worsened. There’s a lot of evidence to support the view that inefficient bowels (especially leaky guts) leach various waste products into the bloodstream and that these do affect behaviour. I’m sure you know this so I’m telling you nothing new. And since dietary change is common to all growing children it could be that something that was changed or introduced at that time exacerbated an existing condition.
I suppose what I’m saying is that since the presenting problem is a behavioural one it’s tempting for a homeopath to focus on the Mentals. I work a lot with digestion and so for me it’s the obvious way to go, but I’d be asking food and bowel questions.
Do look into the bowel nosodes if you get the time. Morgan, Morgan Pure and Morgan Gaertner need some comparative analysis for you to get the right one. If bowel function is restored it can turn around a person’s mental and emotional state.
Another remedy I would look at is Saccharum Officinale which is all about fear of abandonment by the mother, especially when breastfeeding was impossible. There’s quite a succinct explanation of the remedy on this website:-
http://www.tinussmits.nl/
OK, gotta go, I’m supposed to be working.
Good luck with ‘J’.
Jane Kibbler LHom MARH
_______________________________________
Hello !
This case seems to be a case of baryta mur. In my repertory , and taking into account the symptoms posted, it has a lot of baryta carb and natrum mur is not far off either. So I would try baryta mur.
_______________________________________
I have just been to a weekend seminar by Patricia Hatherly, and would like to suggest the remedies Borax and Lac Maternum. Apparently they are complementary and both are about being present in your body. The clinging may relate to Borax. Lac Maternum contains colostrum and is like Lac Humanum, but is more intense. It has issues around spaceships and aliens, and also separation issues. She thinks it is usually a layer remedy, one from which many of us would benefit. Another remedy worth considering could be Lachesis to help him sleep – He sleeps into the aggravation of fearing the loss of the mother. I am watching this work at the moment in a child with a similar picture to J’s (not my prescription, someone else’s pick-up on a case that I missed the centre on).
Gail Allen
________________________________________
Dear Michael,
I was going through Murphy’s 3rd ed. of his Repertory today and came across–Mind: fear, aliens. I thought, J’s afraid aliens are coming for his mother to take her away in a spaceship! There was only one remedy listed–Mancinella! I’ve successfully used this remedy on two clients with fears. I don’t expect this to be J’s constitutional remedy, but it may be the fear remedy that keeps him from falling asleep alone at night.
Elaine Lewis
elainelewis.hpathy.com
________________________________________
Michael,
I’m a patient of a classical homeopath–my first attempt to get help in this way. After almost three months (I know…not long)I can empathize with failed remedies.
So I’m not writng to offer homeopathic advice. In your writing somewhere you were understandably unhappy with a homeopath who neither prescribed a new remedy nor offered any other support. That emboldened me to suggest a family dynamic approach that was suggested to us many years ago and was extraordinarily successful.
Our son was 9 at the time and would not go to sleep upstairs without his dad or me on that floor with him. That was not as disruptive as your situation, but it was getting old. Our family therapist gave us exact instructions: 1) Explain to him we were doing bedtime differently. We were putting him to bed in his bed, and we were both going to be downstairs. 2) When he cried and/or got up to argue his case,we were to firmly and kindly take him back to his bed.
Our therapist explained that to continue in the old way was reinforcing his fear that the upstairs of our house was a dangerous place. She knew it would be a challenge, but she stressed the importance of the change and “firm and kind.”
That first night it was about three hours before he fell asleep from exhaustion, and prior to that he was about as pitiful as you can imagine (“I cannot live my life through this night”). He did not waken in the night, and he mentioned nothing the next morning. When he came home from school, he asked me, “Are we doing bedtime the same way tonight?” I replied, “Yes, we are.”
That night I put him to bed, kissed him, and went downstairs. And he was asleep within a few minutes–no crying or arguing. It was never an issue again.
I’m not suggesting it would go that easily for your family, but maybe it’s worth a try. Every time he gets up from his bed when he should be in it (both before sleep and later in the night), he is put back to bed with firmness and kind reassurance.
You and I both understand your initial goal with him would be more modest: get him sleeping alone, without interruption.
Do you remember J’s case from last month? Please click here if you don’t:
https://hpathy.com/clinical-cases/theyre-coming-for-mom-in-a-spaceship/.
We asked our readers to try and come up with a remedy for this child. So far, the following suggestions have come in. Michael, J’s father, has seen most of our remedy recommendations. He says that making a choice is not going to be easy because he’s not familiar with many of the remedy suggestions that have been made. I’m sure he’ll let us know the minute he decides:
1. Hi Michael,
Regarding your sons attachment issues:
I am a classically trained Homoeopath and have been involved in homoeopathy for about the last 7 years. I have seen quite a lot of these difficult and complex cases which don’t seem to respond to well-indicated remedies. They are extremely frustrating for both the families and practitioners alike (not to mention the actual patients).
At times it seems hopeless and I am sure you have experienced these times, I know that I have. I do not believe however that any case is beyond solution and that the Good Lord gives us answers to everything. I have found with these types of cases that there is an underlying facet that inhibits any remedies from actually having their desired effect and until these are removed the remedies will aggravate, prove or have little noticable effect at all (which sounds like where you are at the moment).
In my experience these cases do not respond to a single remedy from start to finish but will require a different remedy as the case unfolds and the symptoms change.
Often the underlying factor has something to do with trauma, as you have identified, and can lock them into a certain stage of development that they will be restricted to until it is cleared.
Jan Schoulten describes this in his study of the elements of the periodic table. He relates it to people not entering this world or incarnating properly. It is like they are not grounded and can not experience the world normally as the are not entirely “here”. It results often in anxiety based problems as you can relate to.
I know this sounds a bit “new-age-y”; however, as Homeopaths we are dealing in the persons energy and in cases like this their energy is not grounded properly and can’t be realigned until it is grounded.
I apologise for the lengthy explaination but I hope you find it interesting as I’m sure it will make some sense to you with the experiences you have had with your son and answer some of the unexplainable.
If you are interested I am more than happy to help. I am not interested in any reward but would appreciate any treatment costs covered. Feel free to contact me c/o this magazine. All the best for you and your family. Eugene
———————————————-
2. I have just moved house and can’t lay my hands on the necessary books but two remedies came to mind… Medorrhinum and Hydrogen.. of course its just a guess…potency? I’d probably use Medorrhinum intercurrently, no more than 1M and Hydrogen, I’ve no experience with, but probably high for the extreme fear and clingyness.–Anonymous
———————————————-
3. Hi,
I just read the case of the clinging 8-year-old. I have a remedy suggestion.
Stop spoiling the kid!
Sarah
———————————————-
4. Dear Elaine,
Here I feel Nat Phos 6x will help him. I know many people with the same problem and the Nat has helped them immensely.
Am i right??
Regards,
Jayashree Kanoi
———————————————-
5. Hi Michael and Elaine Here is my take on the case: I often use numerology to help pin down core issues, especially when dealing with children, and this is what the numbers describe: ‘J’ is conscientious about details, he is oversensitive, has lack of confidence and fears humiliation. Above all, he resists change. This issue showed up in several of the numbers. There is a definite fixed quality about him, fixed ideas, stubbornness, and a tendency to confront, especially if anyone tries to implement change. He also tends to procrastinate.
Looking at the case description we see the same issues there: He seems very reserved and cautious, he is oversensitive and has a certain lack of confidence. He keeps to himself and tends to keep things inside (the numerology also shows issues of poor communication). He is passive, obstinate and resists change. In addition to this, there is the fear of separation, especially at night and after 3am, and fear of dogs and animals. I think the most unusual thing about his food habits is his desire for very spicy food, since most kids his age would probably avoid spicy food.
From my experience with my own kids not sleeping at night, there are just too many remedies that cover separation anxiety, and fear of the dark, or fear at night, so I decided to use several physical and general symptoms in addition to the mentals to help narrow the options. The most characteristic mental symptom is his tendency to be reserved, so I started with this:
1) Mind/reserved
2) Mind/talk/slow, learning to
3) Teeth/caries
4) Vertigo/motion, from
5) Generalities/food/spices, desires
6) Generalities/milk agg
7) Mind/ideas fixed
8) Mind/fear, night
9) Mind/fear/dogs, of
The three remedies that come up on top is Nat mur, Pulsatilla and China. Since he has already tried Nat mur and Pulsatilla, I decided to take a look at China.
One of the things about China is that they have a very rich inner life, but very little to show for it on the outside. This could account for his tendency to be reserved, holding things in, and not expressing himself very well.
Under generals we find: weak, oversensitive, nervous, aversion to mental and physical effort or exercise, extreme sensitivity to light touch (clothing?), which all fits the case.
Mind: anxiety, especially in the morning on waking, excessively anxious about trifles, inconsolable anxiety, fearful, apprehensive, excessive excitability, weeping about fancied need, lack of confidence, sensitive to hearing about horrible things, tendency to reproach others, fear of dogs and animals, fixed ideas, stubborn, restless all night in children (this all fits)
Vertigo: when walking or waking at night, motion<, tendency to fall backward
Teeth: toothache, decayed teeth, black Food: milk<, likes sour things and highly seasoned food (fits, too), rumbling, colic, flatulence, fermentation, aversion to milk,
Rectum: constipation
Sleep: protracted sleeplessness, waking from slight noises, sleep too short, unrefreshing, wakes too early, worst sleep after 3am (which also fits the case)
Dreams: anxious, frightful, confused when waking, can’t get rid of the dream, the fear remains after waking from the dream (this could be why he is so afraid to sleep alone)
Skin: extreme sensitivity to touch Worse: cold, wind, open air, milk, night, motion <vertigo
Causation: anger (quarrels?)
Sankaran: China has feeling of weakness and fear of persecution. There is lack of confidence and a feeling of not being good enough. Either acute fear and anxiety with a sense of danger, or a fixed mind set. Fear of dogs and animals. Lives in a fantasy, not interested in doing things. Physical weakness.
As far as I can see, China fits the case very well, and might be worth trying.
Mati Fuller
Mati, for the sake of our readers who may not be familiar with numerology, can you explain how you use this method with regard to homeopathy and this case in particular?
Thanks,
Elaine
Hi Elaine, sure I can try to do that. First of all, about myself, I was born and raised in Norway, but became a US citizen a few years ago. I live in Crestone Colorado, have 2 children and my homeopathy education is from the British Institute of Homeopathy.
After I got my diplomas from British Institute I learned case taking from Karen Allen, and I am currently taking Dr. S.K. Banerjea’s postgraduate training course, and also writing a book about relationships from a homeopathic point of view.
Crestone is a small place where people aren’t very open to homeopathy. It is definitely the “last thing on their list” in the process of healing, so I find myself mostly getting clients with extremely difficult cases. These clients had seen everyone else and tried everything before they come to see me, I being their “last straw” before they would just give up the chance of ever getting well.
I wanted to help these people, but I felt like I was fumbling in the dark, trying to look at the case from many different angles, and feeling very frustrated. It was out of this frustration, or maybe divine inspiration, that I one day picked up a small numerology book that sat on my shelf, wondering if I could find any useful information in it.
The book was called: “Identify Anyone’s Negative Behavior Patterns in Less Than a Minute” by Michael Brill. (I want to stress that my use of numerology has nothing to do with the British Institute, Karen Allen or Dr. S.K. Banerjea)
Michael Brill has created a super easy system of numerology to help pinpoint anyone’s core issues or negative behavior patterns in only minutes!
I tried the system first on family members, friends, and even on the local real estate agents, to get an idea of how accurate the system was, and I found it very accurate. I was also wondering, since the numbers only go from 1-9, if I was going to be able to identify more than 9 remedies, but I had no reason to worry. The combination of the numbers from the birthday information together with the name-numbers creates a very clear picture of someone’s core issues.
What Michael Brill describes in his book is what I call “someone’s most negative potential”, which is exactly what we need to know as homeopaths.
These are all the things that nobody is ever going to tell you in a session! When did you last hear a person say: ” I am a very controlling. I have to have everything my own way or I will argue with everyone and criticize everything. I hate people who offend me, I hold on to things forever, and I postpone everything to the next day!”
Most people aren’t that honest, and that is the main reason why our job as homeopaths is almost impossible! However, with this little numerology book, you can instantly see “the red line” going through the case, and you will know what is essential and what is not.
However, case taking is still important. Repping numerology issues gives you a small list of possible remedies to look at, and a good idea of what someone’s core issues are, but to pinpoint the best remedy, it is essential to cross reference with specific physical and general symptoms from the case, as well as Strange, Rare and Peculiars and characteristic mental symptoms. The purpose of using numerology is just to help you pinpoint what the essence of the case is.
In J’s case his birthday information is 5/26/1998, and his full name is ‘J’ Adam Dym. The first thing we do is add up his birthday and month (not the year). 5+26 is 31. This gets further reduced like this: 3+1=4. This number is what Michael Brill calls the achievement number, or the person’s main life challenge. If someone can master their achievement number it can become their greatest strength.
Under number 4 it says: Likes order, system and structure (interesting, since J’s dad described him as not being orderly at all. However, it is possible that his like for order has to do with order in his environment, and not necessarily with keeping his things neat. This will become obvious when looking at the rest of the numbers).
Further, it says: Very logical, analytical, tends to get stuck in details (‘J’ likes doing video games and explains them to his father in great detail). Goes “by the book” (rigid, fixed ideas?) Can be confrontational with authority, may desire to be the boss (dictatorial?) Can procrastinate or be judgmental, stubborn or have preconceived ideas (definitely likes things his own way).
First name, ‘J’. We only use the first two letters of the name, J=1 and O=6. First we add the letters, 1+6=7. Then we subtract the smallest from the biggest, 6-1=5. Then we write them like this: 7/5. When we look this number up in the book we find: Issues of flexibility and moderation (we have already seen that he has a tendency to be rigid and have fixed ideas, so this issue is an important clue in the case). Concern over being embarrassed, humiliated or making a mistake – hesitant to change (again, he resists change).
Middle name, Adam. A=1 D=4, 1+4=5, 4-1=3, final number: 5/3 Here we find issues of confidence and communication, also reflected in his achievement number above, as well as in the case details. Doesn’t like change – makes things unpleasant for anyone who will try to implement change (he argues, poor mom!).
Last name, Dym. D=4 Y=7, 4+7=11, which reduces to 2. 7-4=3, so the final number is: 2/3 More issues of confidence/communication. Difficulty in relationships from a combination of oversensitivity (also reflected throughout the case in different areas), poor communication skills and feelings of inadequacy. (This confirms his father’s observations about him being reserved and somewhat withdrawn, and not expressing himself or his feelings to anyone, possibly from a lack of confidence.)
Summary: Here we see a child who has low confidence and is afraid to make mistakes for fear of humiliation. He has poor communication skills, and prefers to keep his feelings to himself. He is intelligent and analytical and tends to get almost too conscientious about details. His mindset is rigid, fixed. He has preconceived ideas of what he wants. He wants things to be a certain way, he resists or argues against any kind of change, and he feels safe when there is a certain order, system or structure in his environment that he can count on (he doesn’t like change in his environment, either). He tends to postpone anything that he doesn’t want to do. This is basically the essence of the case. Looking at this, it also occurred to me that his speech issue might not have been a developmental issue at all. Reserved, withdrawn, lack of confidence, poor communication skills, likes to keep his feelings to himself … Is it possible that he knew how to speak long before he actually started expressing himself? Maybe he just didn’t feel like it, since that totally goes with his personality?
Anyway, you get the idea of how the use of numerology helped me in this case. The book that I am referring to can be found on Michael Brill’s website www.awakener.com . It is very user friendly and can be used by people who have no knowledge of numerology whatsoever. I hope this helps clarify how I used numerology in this case. (With Michael’s book anyone can do it!)
Mati H Fuller, DI Hom (pract) [email protected] http://www.homeopathyonline.biz
———————————————-
6. I think the remedy that will give him the best support is Saccharum.
give it in a 200c potency for 4 evenings in a row.
Rational: – need for cuddling – fears, dark, losing beloved person – want ot self confidence – biting nails – oversenstive to reprimand – averse, veg., milk
Paula Alto
———————————————-
7. Dear Elaine,
Based on the email sent to me by the father responding to futher info on the case, I would like to change the prescription for ‘J’ from Causticum to
GELSEMIUM
and i suggest the ascending potencies (Kent) as i was horrified at the high potencies prescribed before for the child, so Gelsemium 30c +200C + 1M; one dose of each at 2 hrs interval, and to go higher depending on the followup after one month. Thank you.
Tony.
Tony, can you explain how you came up with Gelsemium?
Dear Elaine;
The chief complaint of Gelsemium is weakness on all levels-mental/emotioal/physical. This weakness could develop into paralysis …(lax weak hypotonic muscles …remember his early-intervention physical therapy). On the mental level there is a cowardice and ‘J’ is unable to face any challenge. Also Gelsemium is one of main remedies for anxiety and fright, plus forgetfulness and dullness of thoughts, aversion to mental work, signs of weakness and weariness…The father said he is timid, quiet, reserved…fear of the crowd …anticipation …Fear of falling (‘J’ stays away from rides..) Fright bordering on terror …Overpowering fear…Nervous dread of appearing in public…in the crowds …stra ngers. (he is only happy in the presence of mom and dad and cries in the presence of grandfather and grandmother and close relatives)
Gelsemium does not want to talk or speak or have anyone near him. He clings to the parents only and mainly the mother (child starts and grasps the nurse).
Gels has dread of ordeals, death, any anticipatory or unusual ordeal…also anxiety about the present and future. Gels thinks himself at the grave.
Upon reading the case the father says that the child hardly drinks water and is not thirsty …also the digestive system tells the course of his general state, the child does not deviate from eating the simplest food …and that is in keeping with his general state.
Although i do not have a homeopathic software i found his case to comprise some nonsense symptoms and that is due to the fact that the child had received some very high potencies to start with, and maybe this has contributed to the imprinting of some unwanted desires or aversions.
I must confess that upon reading and rereading the case i was compelled to tilt toward Causticum, because of the strong fear to be alone at night, and because the child came to the parents bedroom…crying upon waking at night when the mother is not in bed with the child. But the father answered me saying that the child desires salty things, chocolate and sweets and is not keen on smoked meat except for smoked turkey. I asked about enuresis, but the father said it is not there…also biting the inside cheeks while chewing or eating is not there…The suppression of the diaper rash and tenia capitis are both in favour of Causticum The rethinking of the whole case…the thirstlessness…the pathology centers on the nervous system causing muscular disturbences, lack of muscular co-ordination …muscles will not obey the will …dullnes (late learning to talk)and especially the mental apathy made me decide on Gelsemium. But having said all that i would remain with an open mind about Causticum, should we fail with the Gelsemium. I am in favour of the ascending potency in this case (kent): Gels 30C, 200C, 1M, at 2 hrs interval. Elaine thank you for giving me the oportunity to discuss the case.
Tony
You’re welcome, Tony. I’m not sure that I understand the dosing schedule exactly, but, I think remedy ideas may be more important to Michael right now. Thanks again for your hard work. I think we’ve all learned a lot about Gelsemium today!
———————————————-
8. Dear Elaine, My suggestion for treatment of ‘J’ is Arsenicum album. I am attaching an analysis [my computer was unable to open the analysis–Elaine], but confirmation of the remedy was by reading in Hering’s Guiding Symptoms which details most of the symptoms that he shows. It does not appear that he has received this remedy to date. As for potency, I would start with a single dose of 10M though I think there would be some response from 200c and up.
Regards, Rebecca Anticles Homeopathic practitioner
—————————————-
9. Dear Michael,
‘J’ has the developmental delay, dependency, timidity, tendency to be a loner in groups and fear of strangers of Baryta carb. Also going for Baryta is paralysis–‘J’ was described as hypotonic in his early years–his muscles lacked tone and he needed physical therapy, so, perhaps this matches up with baryta carb. as well.
From Murphy’s Materia Medica on Baryta carb.:
A paralytic condition runs throughout the pathogenesis. There is paralysis of mind and body. Mistrust, want of self-confidence, aversion to strangers. The child does not want to play.
‘J’ also has an affinity for the computer and computer games which makes me think of Sulphur, along with the fire-red diaper rash he had as a baby, the aversion to bathing, the untidiness, the desire for spicy food and a quarrelsome nature. Sulphur has a bent toward the technical and the mechanical–‘J”s only joy seems to be the computerized electronic games he seems preoccupied with; hence, I have chosen Baryta sulph. as his remedy. I prefer LM’s. I’ve been using them more and more, even in children. Results come quickly, without aggravations, in less than a week. If you’re interested, I can share details at an appropriate time.
Elaine Lewis, DHom, CHom
———————————————-
10. hi, pls check attachment after deeper connection with the case,you may now use some eliminating symptoms but it seems to get closer to Sepia in totality. at times in chronic cases hahnemann himself says you may have to zig zag towards cure,due to over dosing,mixing up of symptoms,partially similar remedies,etc.
SEPIA IN THIS CASE
KENT: central core here seems closing off to others as a child refuses to play with other children. milk allergy,stomach,vomitting,milk curdled all desires and aversion match constipation history of skin,cradle cap and diaper rash(character of ailment matches when u see the rubrics) neonatal jaundice motion sickness,nausea,riding in a carriage dentition delayed cavities ,early/premature indolent(no sports,home person) sleep,waking,frequent midnight after clothes,intolerant of nervousness anxiety sensitive
BETH COLEMAN: emotionally stifled scared of being alone, dislike to be handled dull, locked up child slow developing afraid of the dark cannot bear fixed position in a closed environment(<closed door) depressed,moody disinclined for work dislikes party but once there enjoys himself
if still in doubt,let me know i can give u more rubrics
also,consider the birth history,moms uterine inertia and artificial induction with oxytocin
Dr.Samata.Vasisht
M.D (Hom.Materia Medica) R.S Hom(U.K) lICENSED AND PRACTISING IN UAE Hon.
Professor at Century training Centre,Hom affiliated to HMA,U.K and Pebble Hills University,Calif
———————————————-
11. Dear Michael,
Since ‘J’ has already been through the Materia Medica of polycrests prescribed by good homeopaths, I thought we needed to look for something different here while still making use of the obvious characteristics of the case. My method is to choose the characteristic physical symptoms first, that are concomitant to the start of the chief complaint. I had requested some more information from you, which I always tend to do, especially in unclear parts of the history. I thought the point that you did not elaborate on was the possible effect on ‘J’ following quarrels between you and your wife (during pregnancy) and again an obvious regression after quarrels later on. I felt that held a key to the remedy. In the history, you said:
“I think much of his insecurities/anxieties might revolve around much quarreling between my wife and I, that we did while he was in utero, which also occurred around the time he went backwards with his sleep.”
Below is my analysis:
Based on your answers, these important points were elicited: Quarrels centered around the need to be financially secure, which required that Elise work or else you had to work insane hours. Though Elsie worked through ‘J”s pregnancy she did not feel inclined to do so. After his birth she was to resume work, but did not want to and circumstances resulted in her quitting work. This increased the financial stress during that period. These are important issues to consider as they fueled the quarrelling which may have affected ‘J’ in-utero as well as later on – as you observed.
The other point that emerged was that while you were very expressive about this anxiety, your wife actually tends to show NO external expression of anxiety whatsoever. In your words here are some relevant points:
“Mostly between she and I however as with other things Elise blanks things out of her mind and subconsciously buries and actually does not communicate “the reality” of certain things even now….. (I often have to) get her to see what is going on around us or what I perceive as the reality of our (various) situations.
(During the pregnancy), I as husband have had to work up to 14 or 15 hours daily having both a full time allopathic vet employee commitment, while at the same time trying to build a holistic/homeopathic practice in the evening. Because of financial pressures of being the only bread winner in the house, and credit/financial issues, I was unable to start my own practice, go out on my own, or cut down on above insane hours.
As for her anxiety, Elise will usually manifest it internally through insomnia, biting her nails, but I have to say that Elise is generally not an anxious person on the outside.”
I thought this difference between the two of you was interesting, one expressive of anxiety the other suppressing anxiety – and this seems to combine in the child in a peculiar way. Could ‘J’ be in a peculiar combination of these various expressions, suppressed or otherwise, from his parents in that state of specific anxiety? This may seem like a stretch, but it’s a very interesting one, especially when it all comes together in one remedy!
MIND; CARES, worries; full of; money, about: bamb-a., ozone
MIND; DELUSIONS, imaginations; work; works too much, all work comes to him: ozone
MIND; UNOBSERVING: alum., am-c., ang., asar., bar-c., bar-m., bell., bov., carc., caust., cham., gels., hell., ictod., kali-c., merc., nat-c., nat-m., nux-v., olnd., ozone, petr., ph-ac., plat., puls., sep., sulph., thuj.
In the initial history, these were the obvious characteristics you stated as this problem was from birth:
“He is quite sensitive to reprimand and will vehemently argue back, cry, or refuse to do what you are trying to get him to do, unless he perceives a threat, like being put in his room with the door closed.
He also had an early fire-red diaper rash around his anus, which was initially suppressed with ointments and has occasionally returned from time to time in mild form and this area is now described as a brownish black discoloration.
Also, in the first year of life he would “cheese up” or regurgitate quite frequently due to these various milk products, and he also had a BAD case of cradle cap on top of his head, at one point almost looking like snake scales. He also had eczematous-like eruptions behind his ears at various points.”
I started repertorization with the obvious in the history; I looked at the following rubrics first:
MIND; SENSITIVE, oversensitive; reprimands, criticism, reproaches, to: ars., bamb-a., calc., calc-sil., cand-a., caps., carc., cina, foll., ign., lap-mar-c., med., nat-m., nat-s., nux-v., ozone, puls., sac-alb., staph.
RECTUM; DISCOLORATION; red; anus of, congested: aesc., aloe, alumn., ars., bac., cham., coll., ham., hyper., med., merc-cy., nat-m., nit-ac., ozone, paeon., petr., sabad., sep., Sulphur, valer., zing.
ANXIETY, WAKING , FEAR ALONE: alum., ant-t., Arg-n., Arsenicum, ars-h., ars-s-f., bell., bism., bry., bufo, calc., calc-ar., carb-v., caust., con., dros., hep., Hyoscyamus, kali-ar., kali-br., Kali-c., kali-p., lac-c., Lycopodium, lyss., med., nat-c., nat-m., nat-s., nit-ac., nux-v., Phosphorus, psor., puls., rat., sep., sil., stram., tab., tub., verat., zinc. (NO OZONE HERE)
HEAD; ERUPTIONS; scales; large: Calcarea, cic., Graphites, led., Lycopodium, merc., olnd., ozone, Sepia, Sulphur
While Nat Mur. and Arsenicum are obvious remedies that could even fit with the rest of the history, my attention was drawn to OZONE. It was there in the most obvious physical characteristics though it did not seem to be in the sleep section of the Materia Medica. I checked Reference Works for the sleep problem of Ozone and found 2 rubrics that could explain his behavior – that ‘J’ probably felt forsaken at night and woke frequently with fright to check whether his mother was there. In addition I found one more interesting rubric relating to the aversion to being hugged:
SLEEP; WAKING; fright, as from: abrot., achy., acon., aesc., agn., alum., am-c., am-m., ambr., anac., ant-c., ant-t., apis, arn., ars., aur., bar-c., bell., bism., Borax, bov., bry., bufo, cact., Calcarea, calc-s., cann-s., canth., caps., carb-ac., carb-an., carb-v., carc., casc., cast., caust., cham., chel., chin., chin-ar., chlol., cic., cimic., cina, cocc., coff., colch., con., corn., cupr-acet., cypr., daph., dicha., dig., dros., dulc., erig., euphr., ferr-ma., gins., graph., guai., hell., hep., hydrog., Hyoscyamus, ign., indg., iodof., ip., kali-bi., kali-br., kali-c., kali-i., kali-n., kali-p., lach., lap-c-b., laur., led., Lycopodium, m-arct., m-aust., mag-c., mag-m., mag-s., med., meny., meph., merc., mez., mit., murx., nat-ar., nat-c., nat-m., nat-p., nat-s., nicc., nit-ac., nux-m., nux-v., op., ozone, paeon., petr., phos., plat., psor., puls., rat., ruta, sabad., sabin., samb., sang., sars., sec., sep., sil., sol-n., spong., stann., staph., stram., stront-c., sul-ac., Sulphur, tell., ter., teucr., thuj., Tuberculinum, verat., xan., Zincum met.
MIND; DELUSIONS, imaginations; deserted, forsaken: Arg-n., aur., bamb-a., bar-c., camph., cann-i., carb-an., carb-v., chin., cycl., hura, hyos., kali-br., lach., lap-c-b., lap-gr-m., lap-mar-c., lil-t., lyss., Mag-c., nat-c., ozone, pall., plat., puls., rhus-t., sac-alb., sanic., stram.
MIND; AVERSION; hugs, with oppressive sensation in chest: ozone (single remedy)
Two other important components of the history needed to be covered if Ozone was the indicated remedy. It was clearly coming through. These components had to be explained by Ozone for it to be a good choice.
1. “He is quite cooperative with adults and teachers and engaging with other children; however, he is not very assertive with them and tends toward being a loner in large groups. I think it is his unwillingness to let others inside emotionally or physically that might be holding him back. There appears to be some sort of insecurity/fear about the outside world, which includes extended family, pets, etc. that creates anxiety and the need to cling to his parents, especially his mom. It is this closing off that makes it hard to discern his passions, other than the computer games on his Game Cube.
2. (First history) Walking was normal but ‘J’ DID NOT SPEAK until he was two and a half to three years old, being very alarmingly delayed in this area, and early speech was quite difficult. He was diagnosed with motor planning issues called developmental apraxia, which also affected his muscular strength as well. He also had sensory integration issues and had very lax, weak hypotonic muscles, for which he received early intervention and special ed physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.
(Further questioning) “By hypotonic I mean low muscle tone, and flaccidity or lack of strength of external skeletal muscle tone, which often comes in children with some developmental issues/delays, or what is known as motor planning issues as the neurologists put it with regards to brain neuro function and synapse firing … As additional example, hypotonic kids sometimes have difficulty participating in long or harder exertion or athletic events due to fatigue and often therefore are not athletic. Using ‘J’, while he runs fine, his muscle strength in terms of ability to throw a ball, etc is certainly weaker than many other children because of this hypotonic state.”
The rubrics I found were:
EXTREMITIES; WEAKNESS; Leg; overwork, as if from (1)
EXTREMITIES; WEAKNESS; Thigh; overwork, as if from (1)
EXTREMITIES; WEAKNESS; Upper Limbs; right (17)
I went through the Materia Medica and rubrics to find confirmation for this as well:
Vermeullen’s Synoptic II says:
LASSITUDE and TIREDNESS. Esp. in the morning. Desire to lie down during the day.
From Allen’s Encyclopedia:
Pain excessive in whole sacral region, apparently in the articulations, especially of tiredness all through the pelvic viscera, even in the perineum.The thighs and legs feel as if overworked; excessively fatigued.
Some more confirmations of the mental state are from Vermeullen’s Synoptic II: (This is an interpretation through its chemical properties – as a doctrine of signature.)
Leading Symptoms: He may exhibit high energy [before decomposition] or low energy [after decomposition], to the point of a complete collapse, with a quick rebound shortly after. These features may be revealed in work or in relationship with people. He may be a loner, independent, introverted, not doing well in a group, individualistic [in a form of O3], until the moment when something drains his energy and he breaks down under the outside stress. He shows low yielding properties; he can be pushed only so much before he does something drastic. Then he forms molecular and atomic oxygen. This is a rare and peculiar symptom of Ozone. In the Oxygen condition, he will try to get attached to almost anything and anybody [process of oxidation]. At this point, he may need to be with people, comapny ameliorates, to the point of clinging to them [when O3 = O + O2]. While clinging to people, some will feel drainage of energy and tiredness [the process of oxidation – aging will be initiated], however, some may feel protected [development of a passive layer on some metals], energized, invigorated.
This state of mind seems to cover the expression of ‘J”s mental state. I also looked up the list of rubrics in Anne Schadde’s Provings and compilation of rubrics (from Clarke and Allen’s Encyclopedia). This contained very interesting dreams. So I asked some more confirmatory questions re: the expression of fatigue, about dreams, about his response to school work based on the above chemistry interpretation and the rubric compilation:
“He does not like to do school work. Elise, my wife, thinks that his attitude is like it is a chore and that he will do it later or tomorrow.
“When asked about dreams, he said he usually dreams about things inside the house. Answers to these are very difficult as my wife Elise asked them and did not expound on his simple answers or ask for examples, etc.
“Fatigue and tiredness are experienced especially when not sleeping well the night before …Last night he reached for my wife 4 or 5 times from his airbed on his floor in his room before jumping into her bed for the first time in a long while… I often notice that he will be in fog at times with literal bags under his eyes from lack of sleep I suppose. I dont find him the most energetic of kids his age in terms of physical activity outside, going out, etc. I sometimes notice a staring off into distance look on his face when fatigued and at these times it is sometimes difficult for him to focus.”
With this additional info I looked at relevant rubrics and found, interestingly that Ozone was in the following rubrics:
MIND; DREAMS; house, houses: mag-c., ozone, pall.
EYE; SWELLING; lids; lower: apis, arg., ars., aur., bamb-a., bell., bry., cahin., calc., cand-a., carb-an., cham., colch., crot-c., dig., euphr., eupi., ferr., glon., guare., hip-ac., kali-ar., kali-p., lach., lyc., mag-c., merc., merc-i-f., nat-ar., op., ozone, ph-ac., phos., raph., rhus-t., rumx-a., sep., vesp., zinc.
Here is a case from Clarke’s Dictionary under Oxygenum (Ozonum)
Korndoerfer (H. R., iii. 189) relates this case illustrating how Ozone inhalations may sometimes assist homeopathy: Miss X., 18, tall, slender, intensely pale, chlorotic, had been two years ill, and neither homeopathy nor allopathy had given any relief. She suffered from great weakness, cold scarcely walk a hundred yards. Prostration and loss of breath and palpitation from least exertion. Frequent violent headache, worse after exertion, especially after going up stairs. Pains along spine, especially aching about small of back. Rheumatic pains in lower limbs. Desires motion, but owing to exhaustion dares not indulge the desire. Stooping gait. Poor appetite. Menses much delayed, and, when appearing, scanty, watery, brownish. All symptoms worse in wet weather, and on change from clear to cloudy weather. Pulsatilla gave slight relief. Rhus caused severe aggravation. It covered the case, but something prevented its acting properly. Korndoerfer though the action of Ozone on the red corpuscles might help. Inhalations, of ten minutes each, three times a week, were given, and then Rhus acted well. The improvement was prompt and continued, and was only interrupted when the experiment was made of trying to do without either of the remedies. Neither was efficacious when given without the other.
Finally, all this analysis will only hold good if there is clinical improvement. Stretches of imagination still require clinical confirmation to support proving evidence. Ozone should clear many problems but he may need a Natrum salt later as constitutional. Thank you for sharing this case. It was fun working on it!
I suggest for ‘J’, a dose of Ozone 200C.
Thank you,
Dr. Leela D’Souza
