Who remembers last month’s bizarre and exciting quiz? Here it is again:
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Elaine, you’re not going to believe this,
but, I have a really bizarre pain in my foot.
What???? No way!!! This is deja vu all over again! Didn’t you have a really bizarre foot pain last month?
Yes, Elaine, but if you’ll remember, that case was over a year old; so, technically, I haven’t had a really bizarre foot pain for over a year!
Alright, alright, but just be careful, Kelly! Dr. B might have a foot-pain limit in my contract! (It’s a standard clause.)
I did not know that, I will try to keep the number down to a minimum! So, I awoke in the middle of the night with a pain in my right ankle. As far as I knew, I didn’t injure it–yes, I know, that’s what I said the last time!–and I don’t think I was bitten by an insect either.
It’s outside and below the ankle bone. It’s a little swollen and reddish. My usually high pain tolerance was depleting fast. It hurt big time! I could walk on the ball of my foot but couldn’t put a lot of weight on it.
I took Arnica 200c first thing this morning but then immediately drank a very strong cup of coffee (!#&^%!) which was really stupid, so I repeated the Arnica later on and there was no improvement, though it wasn’t any worse either.
It hurt to move my foot. It hurts to even touch it, BUT after I lightly press/rub it, it feels better for a few seconds. Isn’t that odd?
Seemed a little numb too, and it was also throbbing. What the heck could I have done to it? I did drop a tree-limb cutter on the same foot the day before yesterday though….
You did what??? Oh for heaven’s sake! Kellyyyyyy!!!!!!!!
Any thoughts?
Well, obviously you dropped a tree-limb cutter on your foot!
Really weird but the darn thing hurts and I have to get some relief as I have to be able to walk!
Take a dose of ________________ 30C and call me in the morning!
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So, who got the answer right this time? Actually, three of you weren’t fooled and picked–yes–Bryonia!
Our Miss Brooks wrote the following:
I think it’s Bryonia. From Kent’s rep – Cause can be an injury, including blows. Slow onset, very painful, right-sided. Swollen, reddish joints in the extremities. Numbness in the affected parts. Averse to motion (she worked through the Arnica pain of the prior foot injury, but not this one). I would have expected the light pressure to be more like a touch and therefore aggravating, but I see from Kent’s rep that although Bry is associated with < touch (3), it could be > touch (2). Similarly, > pressure (3), but could be < pressure (2). I don’t see throbbing listed in Kent, but Boger indicates the bry pain can be throbbing.
Thanks for the entertaining quiz.
Brooks
Brooks, I looked up Generals, throbbing pain in Murphy’s Repertory; Bryonia is a 2.
Yes, the first thing that caught my eye was “It hurts to move my foot.” Immediately I thought of Bryonia’s famous modality, “worse motion”. Then, “worse touch”, as you pointed out, has Bryonia as a 3! And I thought there was enough of the Bryonia keynote “better pressure” in the case to go all the way with Bryonia; plus, Bryonia pains are really striking! Note that Kelly used the phrase “It hurt Big-Time!”
Let me just say to all the people who voted for Belladonna…Belladonna would NOT be better for pressure! Oh my goodness! Belladonna cannot bear pressure! I know, you saw the throbbing and worse motion and thought immediately of Belladonna, but, you cannot press on a Belladonna patient! This may be one of the reasons it’s so well indicated in appendicitis–you know how the appendicitis patient usually cannot bear pressure on the lower right abdomen.
To the Ledum voter: Ledum wounds are generally cold, not hot, and are generally dark and purplish, not red. That’s another reason our Belladonna voters probably picked Belladonna.
To our Rhus tox voter: Rhus tox would have been much better form motion, not worse as Kelly was.
So, here’s what Kelly had to say after taking Bryonia:
It took forever to get the first dose of Bryonia in me. By the time I did take it, I was hobbling around, I could put no pressure on my right foot and was literally hopping down the stairs on my left foot. My daughter, the soccer player, who was behind me on the stairs said, “Geesh, grandma, get a move on!” Such a sweet child.
So anyway, I sat down for a few minutes, elevated the foot (which was absolutely pounding by then) and took a 30c dose of Bryonia. I sat looking through the repertory for maybe half an hour and realized that the pounding had stopped. Awhile after that I got up and could put the foot flat on the floor! At this point, I can walk (gingerly) with the whole foot flat on the floor. It’s still swollen and warm to the touch but it hurts A LOT less.
I haven’t repeated the Bryonia yet- isn’t that amazing?! I expect I’ll have to though. I intend to put it in water and take it upstairs in case i have another middle-of-the-night episode!
I asked Kelly for an update the next day:
No pain in the middle of the night. Swelling decreased, skin feels less tight from the swelling. Skin not hot or even warmish. Still hurts but much decreased. I can walk with both feet flat on the floor.
And now for our winners. First, an apology: One of our winners wrote in and didn’t sign his or her name. I wrote back and asked for the name. When the person responded, my computer announced that it was shutting down because of an automatic update! The email disappeared! If you voted for Bryonia and do not see your name below, send me a letter — again.
The winners: Brooks and Elsy. Congratulations gang!
Well, Kelly, you know what Gladys Knight and The Pips always say? “Just Walk In My Shoes”!
Very clever, Elaine!
I walked all over Jamaica Queens, Long Island in 1967 looking for that record! And finally found it!
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Elaine Lewis, DHom, CHom. Elaine takes online cases. Visit her website at: www.elainelewis.hpathy.com
