Mom, it’s time for the quiz!
You mean the famous Hpathy Quiz?
Yes, that one! And sadly I have a death to announce.
Oh dear, who is it this time….
John Gary Williams of the Mad Lads died at 73. He’s at the top of the picture below.
OMG! The Mad Lads? I love The Mad Lads! I saw them at the Uptown Theater numerous times!
I know, Mom, pretty much all you talk about is Bandstand and the Uptown Theater!!!!! Now, to get back to John Gary Williams, I think he was a founding member of The Mad Lads. I had no clue there were even any Mad Lads left, and I guess he was the last one.
Robert Phillips might still be alive.
Here we have their big hit, “Come Closer To Me”, even though he may not be in this video because he was drafted into the Army to fight in Vietnam when this record came out…
Don’t get me started!
Yes, I know, Mom, a stupid, pointless war.
Stupid, pointless, insane, outrageous…. Here are, as we used to call them,
the Tennessee Mad Lads; oh, and I’m sorry that someone cut the end of this off!
And now for this month’s quiz! Who’s the star in the quiz this month?
Me!
You’re the star????
Shana, haven’t you noticed I’ve been sick? I’ve been coughing and sneezing…
I was wondering what that racket was.
It was me! I was the racket!
Oh. Well, go ahead then with your tale of woe. I’ll just be leaving….
It’s been an unmitigated horror!
Right, that’s good; go with that!
It started on Tuesday. I had been missing a lot of sleep for one reason and another, finally I just fell apart. It started with a sore throat, then came the cough. Then my eyes started running. I felt like my face was full of water. I was dull and besotted looking. There was a tickle in the left side of my throat and my left lung that made me cough in an unending fashion, a wheezy, whistling-sounding, tight cough.
It felt like water was pooling in my throat and I kept having to clear my throat over and over again. Ahem! Ahem! Ahem!!!! My throat was scratchy. I was worse lying down, which meant I couldn’t sleep at night, so, more sleep-loss! I’d lie down and start coughing almost right away! Last night was the final straw! I felt I had to find a remedy, I couldn’t go on this way with so little sleep! Usually taking Ferrum phos. right away stops a cold in its tracks, but, no such luck this time.
So, I thought that the water pooling in my throat and the constant throat clearing might be a clue. So with that in mind, I took a dose of ________10M, and guess what? It worked!!!! I finally was able to go to sleep, and the next day, which was today, I was actually able to go out and do things. Now why a 10M? Because it was the first remedy I saw, and when you’re that sick, you’re just not that fussy!
OK, so, if you know the remedy, write to me at [email protected]. The answer will be in next month’s ezine.
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VOTES:
Lachesis-2
Hepar sulph.-2
Corallium rubrum
Nat-mur
Drosera-2
Antimonium tart.
Phosphorus
Conium or Rumex
_____________________
Who wants to be first to come up and give the quiz answer?
Hi Elaine…
It’s Neil from England! Hi Neil.
Great description of Tarentula by the way.
Thank you! You’re referring to last month’s autism quiz, I guess.
Learned such a lot. On to this month’s quiz, I think throat remedy is bit like Belladonna or Lachesis.
Etiology could be lack of sleep which suggests Cocculus but I’m not sure because may have just gotten low.
Worse lying down points to Belladonna and it’s good for bad throats and is under clearing of throat but usually very dry throats and right-sided.
Left-sidedness may point to Lachesis and couldn’t find pooling sensation under throat…
The rubric is “Throat: mucus, in”.
…but sensation of fullness could be the same and is under pain on lying. So, I’m going for Lachesis.
Neil
Lachesis is a reasonable choice since everything seemed to be on the left side. However, sometimes you have to ask yourself, “What’s the worst thing?” or “What’s the most striking thing in the case?” or, “Where is the ‘center of gravity’ in the case?” and for me, it was the constant throat clearing, it just wouldn’t stop! And I know what remedy that is very well because I’ve had many occasions where I’ve had to take it, and it’s Antimonium tart!
As a matter of fact, I remembered there was an Antimonium tart Quiz once where I explained the following:
“There you have it, the essence of Antimonium tart: lots of mucus, can’t cough it out!
Or, the mucus just keeps coming! You’re never done!”
https://hpathy.com/clinical-cases/revisiting-baby-demonstrates-herings-law/
So, I looked back at the rest of my case to see if anything else went for Antimonium tart and what I saw was an image that looks a lot like Gelsemium — besotted appearance, dullness, drowsiness — but what people don’t realize is that Antimonium tart has that look too! But unlike Gelsemium, which is better for lying down, Antimonium tart is worse for lying down! And I was certainly worse for lying down. But after taking the remedy, I slept right away, for the first time in days! Any remedy that puts you to sleep or allows you to sleep is a good remedy, stay with it.
So, maybe not a “perfect” Antimonium tart case (no rattling cough, no rattling respiration) but every case isn’t going to be handed to you “textbook-perfect” either.
Is anybody else here?
Hi Elaine and Shana!
Hey everybody, Vamsi’s in the house!!!!!
The symptoms of the case are as below:
- sore throat first.
- cough then
- eyes running , face full with water (sensation)
- dull and besotted look
- tickle in left side throat + left lung cough (wheezing, whistling sound, tight cough )
- water pooling in throat + need to clear always
- throat scratchy
- worse lying down, so less sleep
- the water “pooling in my throat” and the “constant throat clearing” might be a clue
- “when you’re that sick, you’re just not that fussy”
Just ignore that last one, Vamsi, it’s a common symptom. Anyone’s who’s sick is bound to be less fussy–except for maybe Arsenicum!
Elaine , picking up the predominant symptoms of the case…
- Throat problems rule the case
- Left sided ailments
- Worse on sleeping, i.e. Cough aggravated on sleeping.
No, no, worse LYING DOWN, which prevents sleep.
- Constant throat clearing
Based on the above, sore throat and left sided ailments, I would go for LACHESIS. Please suggest and guide.
Well, Vamsi, left-sided complaints do suggest Lachesis; however, the constant throat clearing is a keynote of what remedy? Antimonium tart! And does anything else in the case support this remedy? The dull, besotted appearance (which reminds us of Gelsemium) and the worse lying down. But, as Robin Murphy always says, “If you see a keynote of a remedy, give the remedy!”
Yes !! I do know Antimonium tart works on clearing of throat, but was carried away by the left sided symptoms in your case.
Well, it’s interesting you should bring that up. There are roughly 150 remedies listed under “left-sided complaints”, and guess what? Antimonium tart is one of them! In fact, it’s in BOLD! I know we tend to think only of Lachesis for left-sided complaints, but, other remedies in that rubric include: Argent-nit., Spigelia, Phosphorus, Nitric acid, Thuja, Antimonium tart and Sepia among others.
Thanks Elaine, simple one, missed altogether …
Oops…I don’t have Murphy’s. I did order one and it will take a while..
Meanwhile I have another question. Why was 10M taken when 200 potency could have solved the case, as its an acute symptom and not a chronic one. Please let me know.
Only because I found the 10M right away, I would have had to check my index of remedies to find the 200C; and furthermore, it’s been my experience that often the 10M turns out to be the perfect potency in an acute, as was clearly the case this time. But I’m a little confused about your question. You seem to be suggesting that 10M’s are for chronic cases? And 200C’s are for acutes? Is that what you’re saying? Actually, Vamsi, for chronic cases, we should most likely be starting at 6C three times a day, and if it’s not strong enough, we can always raise the potency. However, acutes are generally very intense and often come on suddenly and therefore, you need something very powerful to knock them out! However, I’ve seen 30C’s work too, I don’t want to discourage the use of any potency, just as long as you’re weighing all the factors involved with the patient: is the patient allergic and immune-compromised (hyper-sensitive to remedies)? Is he a healthy person other than the acute he’s having? Is the acute intense or mild? Did it come on suddenly or gradually? Is it a life-threatening case like pneumonia? Is it a chronic case with pathological tissue change? These are all factors you’re weighing when deciding on a low potency or a high potency.
Cheers,
Vamsi.
I think I see Krista from Nebraska coming up the road!
HI Elaine,
How are you doing ? Sometimes these throat/ cough remedies can be challenging for me because many of the remedies are so similar. So I considered all the symptoms and several remedies but decided to pay close attention to anything that made your situation stand out to me. Please let me know if I focused on the right things or need to keep thinking / looking at it differently .
Cough-
worse left side
worse lying down
whistling – only 3 listed in my repertory: Spongia, Sang, and Hep.
Throat-
scratchy
tickling
left sided
water -as if full of…..only 1 Hepar S.
A lot of people might have said mucous draining down throat, but you didn’t. You said water pooling which I thought was interesting.
Have a great weekend!
Are you voting for Hepar sulph?
Oh Yes! ha ha Sorry, Hepar sulph.
I see….. Well, when I look at your list of symptoms, what I see are the local complaints–cough and throat complaints. But, more important was my statement about the Mentals–my mental/emotional state (which, as you probably know, is at-or-near the top of the Hierarchy Of Symptoms):
“I was dull and besotted looking.”
Now, “dull and besotted” should probably make you think of Gelsemium right away. But, there is another remedy that can look like Gelsemium–the droopy, drowsy, sleepy, dull appearance–but it’s not in the Repertory for that! It’s not listed under, “Face: expressions, besotted” or “Mind: torpor” or “Mind: dull” and yet, in Allen’s Keynotes under this remedy, it states: “Adapted to torpid, phlegmatic persons.” Torpid and phlegmatic mean “apathetic, sluggish, dull.” What remedy are we talking about?
Antimonium tart!
And what is Antimonium tart so famous for? The inability to bring up mucus, or, the mucus comes up but it’s never done, it just keeps coming! Hence, the constant throat-clearing: Ahem! Ahem! Ahem!!!!
You can find the “water pooling in my throat” under “Throat: mucus” where you will find Ant-t. as a 2.
You could really help a lot of old people with this remedy because they seem to have this mucus in the throat a lot. And again, as I’ve said before in other articles, this is our drowning remedy, and the remedy for when you “swallow wrong”, you know what I mean? Saliva goes down the wrong pipe, or water goes down the wrong pipe? It’s a very painful feeling!
People with ALS who fear choking from inability to swallow could probably use this remedy.
Anyway, make a note of it: Mucus in the throat, can’t clear it–Antimonium tart!
Thanks, Krista!
Dr. Veeraragavan Narayanan wrote to me and said the remedy was Drosera and “Antimonium tart is advisable”. So I wrote back, saying, “Which one is it?” but I never got a reply! However, I think he (or she) has to get credit for a right answer!
The gang from Slovakia is here!
Hello Elaine and Shana,
Hello Miroslav and Jitka!
Like every month, we’re going to try to have our luck in your regular quiz. If our answers are not correct, take this as a result of the unusually hot weather in our climate zone…:)
It’s unusually hot here too!
Miroslav votes: Corallium rubrum
The 1st mail:
So this quiz is really “a landing”
I don’t know what that means.
It means a “burden”; one symptom refutes the other … At first the favorite was Phos., Nat-m. and also Euphr, but it would be improved in lying position.
Yes, the remedy I took was definitely worse lying down.
But there is a lot of water as a guide (I suppose that’s mucus) in the throat and pain in the left chest,
There was tickling leading to coughing; I don’t think I said there was pain.
Cough aggravated in the evening: Rumex
Are you sure there was evening aggravation? I don’t think I mentioned that.
The 2nd mail–
A correction to my previous letter:
I read Nash again, who wrote: a very gagging cough at night.
I don’t think I said “gagging cough”, actually.
The night seizures of cough are very intense, one of the best remedies after catarrhal inflamation of nasal mucosa, when a lot of mucus runs into the throat DD: Nat-c.)
I really didn’t have a sense of there being a post-nasal drip.
I also knew, that there is an expectoration of a large amount of foamed mucus in this remedy … Corallium rubrum.
It does say “hawking of profuse mucus” under Corallium rubrum. But here’s what I did. The remedy that saved the day was Antimonium tart, with its famous keynote of being “unable to clear mucus”. BUT, I have to confess that I needed Corallium rubrum to finish the case! Because Antimonium tart, as you probably know, did not match the cough very well. The cough of Antimonium tart is usually loose or rattling, my cough was dry and I guess “spasmodic”. Here is how Murphy’s MM describes the cough of Corallium rubrum: “Dry, spasmodic, suffocative cough, very rapid cough, short, barking.” Anyway, it worked! So, I guess we have to call Miroslav a winner too!
Jitka votes: Natrum muriaticum
I also had “a hockey” in my head from your coughing case.
What is a hockey?
Chaos.
Oh.
You have highlighted the symptom of water pooling in your throat. I found a rubric in Murphy: Throat; as if full of water: hepar (only one remedy).
I think we have to be suspicious of one-remedy-rubrics, and sure enough, the actual rubric for this, with over 200 remedies, is “Throat: mucus”.
Also, especially left side, worse lying down. But you mentioned that besides water in your throat, you also had a face full of water…
It was just a sensation, I don’t think it was actually a fact.
…a lot of tears while coughing and sneezing and a lot of watery mucus in throat, sounds more like Natrum mur.
I gave you a hint in saying that the constant throat clearing might be a clue to the case. Which remedy clears the throat over and over again?
I considered Antimonium tart., but I thought that the chest (bronchi) are more affected in this remedy than the throat…
Yes, but I’ve also said in previous articles when talking about Ant-t. that aside from the usual “can’t raise mucus”, they also can’t “clear” mucus–it just keeps coming and coming, clearing the throat over and over again. A lot of old people have this; Antimonium tart can be very useful in old age.
…and that the mucus is more slimy than watery.
You know, if you can’t raise mucus, and you can’t clear mucus, you’re not really going to know what the mucus looks like. But, you know, the famous Antimonium tart keynote of “rattling respiration”, “rattling cough”, “loose cough”, implies or suggests that the mucus would have to be either watery or slimy or you couldn’t have that effect, right? I’m just guessing….
Anyway, thanks to our friends Miroslav and Jitka for voting. We have time for one more contestant–Maria from Greece!
Hi Maria!
The only remedy I could find in such rubric: Throat/ water/ as is full of.
Hepar is the only remedy in it and I couldn’t find another relative rubric.
Well, Maria, you know the Repertory with all its incomplete rubrics and additions…as if it had many authors who never conferred with each other…. The actual rubric for that is “Throat: mucus”. And there are 200 remedies! So, Maria, which remedy clears the throat over and over again?
I am aware of 2 remedies, Causticum and Staphysagria. (Radar Keynotes)
But i also see that Arum Triphyllum and Phosphorus have this symptom too.
Oh, I really don’t have a clue!
It’s Antimonium tart.
PS Great Tidbits article, loved it, thank you!
You mean, “Which Remedy Is Alvin of the Chipmunks?”
I LOVE the Chipmunks! It’s now one of my favorite shows! Thanks for reading Tidbits 64!
Anyway, we have 2 winners! Congratulations go to…
Dr. Veeraragavan Narayanan
and
Miroslav
See you in August!
__________________
Elaine Lewis, DHom, CHom
Elaine takes online cases, write to her at [email protected]
Visit her website: https://ElaineLewis.hpathy.com
