Revisiting: It’s The Flu, And New Job Starts Tomorrow!

Mom, it’s time for another exciting Hpathy Quiz!

Shana, I don’t know if we can top last month’s quiz, broadcasting from the Hpathy Observatory from high atop Mount Everest.

I know.  I was there.  Chuckie Finster would’ve been too scared, I’m sure, what with his fear of heights.  Then again, he’s only 2.  Even I have to admit, it was kinda scary.

Shana, do you have any reason to believe that anyone here, besides you, knows who Chuckie Finster is?

Mom, people can’t seriously have forgotten our “Rugrats” quiz on Tommy and Chuckie.  Remember?  The episode where Tommy slept over at Chuckie’s house while Stu and Didi were at a cheese-tasting weekend?  It was “The Odd Couple” all over again.  In fact, “The Odd Couple” (The Rugrats version) will be 30 years old in December.

Right, I’m sure everyone cares!  Can we possibly move on to the Hpathy Quiz now?????

Mom, we’ll get to that later!  I have very important announcements to make.  This month is a little crazy:  Lisa Marie Presley died!

The only child of Elvis, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll?  She died at the young age of 54.  In fact, her mother, Priscilla Presley, is still alive!

Apparently, Lisa Marie went to the hospital because of cardiac arrest.  She had a singing career, but she only had three albums.

Yes, Lisa Marie had star quality.  Her manager really dropped the ball.

Maybe we should start a new Quiz segment called:  “Really-Bad-Manager of the Month!”

I think that could really catch on!  Can we start the Quiz now? 

I wish we could, Mom, so that I wouldn’t have to announce that David Crosby died after a long illness at 81.

David Crosby of Crosby, Stills and Nash died?  OMG!

Don’t forget that David Crosby was in The Byrds too!

The Byrds did a great version of Bob Dylan’s 

“Hey Mr. Tambourine Man”.

Mom!  It’s just “Mr. Tambourine Man”!

Well excuuuuse me!  Either way, it’s great!  Best intro ever!  Are you going to play it?  It’s the best Shana, the best!

I’m not done saying things yet!

Oy vey!  When is it going to end?

In doing my research for this article….

You did “research”?  We’ll never get outta here!

…The Byrds’ version of “Mr. Tambourine Man” was produced by Doris Day’s son, Terry Melcher!  Pretty cool, huh?

Oh yes, it would be, if ANYONE knew who Doris Day was!!!!

Mom!!!  She was a singer and movie star from the ’50’s and ’60’s.  Her most famous co-star was Rock Hudson!  They were in three romantic comedies together.

Shana, don’t look now, but no one knows who Rock Hudson is either!

Hello???  “Pillow Talk”?  “Send Me No Flowers”????  These are classic movies!

That no one’s ever heard of!

All people need to know is that they were cute together on screen, they were good friends in real life and unlike his on-screen characters, Rock Hudson was a closeted homosexual.

Is there any end to this story?

Now as I was saying… he was the first major celebrity to die from AIDS at the age of 59 in 1985.  Everyone knows about Freddie Mercury…

Actually, Shana, no one knows who Freddie Mercury is.

He’s the lead singer of Queen!

Everyone thinks you mean Queen Elizabeth.

They do not!  Now as I was saying… Rock Hudson was an AIDS victim when it was headline news in the 80s.  If they still don’t know who Doris Day is, they can re-read our quiz where we memorialized her:

Revisiting: A Case of Autism in a 5-year-old

She died in 2019 at 97, making her the last surviving cast member of her romantic comedies with Rock Hudson.  Oh, and what’s weird is, Doris Day had no funeral and apparently has no headstone either.

That’s the way she wanted it!

Now as I was saying… The Byrds.   Anyway, Terry Melcher, son of the aforementioned Doris Day also produced another song the Byrds are famous for, none other than Pete Seeger’s “Turn! Turn! Turn!”, but I believe you wanted me to play “Mr. Tambourine Man.”

Yes, that was hours ago!!!!!

Crosby, Stills & Nash formed in 1969.  There’s actually an interesting story about their first album cover.

I was afraid of that.

It was photographed by Henry Diltz.

He’s a folk musician turned Photographer who took pictures of The Eagles for their debut album (which turned 50 last year.)

No one cares, Shana!

…as well as the “Desperado” cover.  He even photographed James Taylor …

Aaaaah!  I knew it!  How is it that James Taylor turns up in every issue of The Hpathy Ezine??!!!

… because James Taylor is relevant to our topic right now.  Anyway, Henry also shot The Doors album cover, “Morrison Hotel”; he’s taken so many pictures of Rock Stars that the list is endless.

Can we start The Quiz now?

Perhaps the most famous thing he was involved with was Woodstock.

 

On the famous cover he shot of the Crosby, Stills & Nash album, the guys are seated in the wrong order because they hadn’t come up with a name for their group yet!  When they realized they were seated out of order, and went back to reshoot the album cover, the abandoned house they posed in front of was gone!  Hence, we see them pictured below as:

Nash, Stills & Crosby!

That is pretty funny.

James Taylor was the one to induct them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so I think we should watch that right now.

Oh geez!!!!!

But Mom, this is actually related because firstly, both are folk singers, and secondly, turns out David Crosby and Graham Nash sang background on James Taylor’s “Mexico” and “Lighthouse” — did you know that???

Uh…….no.  I’m not a musical encyclopedia as some of us are.

They also sang harmony on “Nothing Like a Hundred Miles” from the “In the Pocket” album.

Did you ever consider the possibility that you know entirely too much?

Maybe, but, why else would I be called “Shanapedia”?  Now as I was saying… Crosby and Nash even sang harmony on an Elton John song…

I knew it!  I suppose now we’re into the “Elton John Segment” of the Hpathy Quiz!  Rick!!!!!

Do you have to call Daddy for everything?  And besides, I’m trying to be interesting and educate people about music.

Oy vey!!!!

It was called “Cage the Songbird.”  It was on an album that apparently flopped.

So naturally we’re bringing it to everyone’s attention!

Mom, it has one song on it that people know, “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word.”

I hate that song!!!!

Ok, now for James Taylor’s induction speech:

OK, Shana, OK, I must admit, you picked a good video.

Did you know there are so many CSN songs to pick from?  If it weren’t for your vintage-mix tapes in the living room, I never would’ve heard “Wasted on the Way” or “Southern Cross.”

Well, what’s a parent for?  Fascinating as this is….

Actually, I have an idea.  Let’s play “Wooden Ships.”  Which reminds me, James Taylor…

Aaaaah!!!!!!

…was on “Anderson Cooper 360” last month sharing his memories of David Crosby.  Anderson asked him if he could play just one CSN song, what would it be and he said “Wooden Ships”.

So now that we all agree that we should be playing “Wooden Ships”….

Another interesting fact I recently came across….

Oh no.  Shana, this isn’t the Paul Kanter story, is it?  Let me sum it up for you: Paul Kanter of Jefferson Airplane is a co-writer of “Wooden Ships” but was never credited.  It’s another “Bad Manager” story.

So uh… yeah, I’ll play “Wooden Ships” now.

If you can, please do!

Last but not least we sadly lost the most important Radio DJ in the history of Philadelphia.

Shana!  You waited this long to say that Jerry Blavat died?  Shouldn’t you have said that first? 

You wasted so much time talking about James Taylor, Doris Day, Terry Melcher and Chuckie Finster, that we’re completely out of time! 

But Mom, March is filled up already!  I’ll see what I can do.

Good, you do that!  Whew!  And now for the Quiz!

Who’s in the Quiz this month?

I suppose I have to come up with a fictitious name.  How about “Melvin Cowznofsky”?

Isn’t that the generic character from MAD Magazine?

OK, then Melvin Kowsnofsky!  Is that better?

Fine!

Ok, So anyway, picture poor Melvin Kowsnofsky: he’s got an unbelievably bad cold, possibly even the flu, AND…he starts a new job in one day!  Is that a tall order for a homeopath, or what?!

So, here’s what Melvin writes:

****

Hello, Elaine; I’ve had a very bad headache assuming from sinus pressure and I can’t sleep or get comfortable.  Sides of head hurt and behind eyes/nose, any type of pressure or exertion is very painful.  I got up out of bed and within a few minutes threw up, mostly liquid (had some bran for breakfast and ice/water throughout the day).  I’m definitely worse when I move around so I’m trying not to!

Today is definitely worse :/

I had chills most of the day but no fever as far as I know despite my head being really warm.  Still achy and entire face is uncomfortable so hope I can sleep.  I have to drive to my new job tomorrow now that the roads are cleared and I’m not looking forward to it feeling miserable.

 Melvin, try _________ 200C and let me know what happens.

 Hi Elaine.  So, lots of good news but to put it short, I’m about 80% better.

I have hardly any body aches, much lessened headache and sinus pressure, no nausea and currently no chills.

____________________________

OK, everybody, that’s it!  I’ve followed up with Melvin and he now says he’s 95% better.  If you know the remedy, write to me at [email protected].  The answer will be in the March ezine.  See you then!

Mom, P.S., one more announcement!  Happy Birthday to Smokey Robinson of The Miracles, who is 83 today!

    Smokey Robinson and the Miracles:

————————————–

Votes:

Bryonia-7

Calc-carb

Belladonna

 

Who wants to go first?

Hi Elaine, it’s Neil from the UK.

Hi, Neil!

This months quiz answer I think is Bryonia but I can see elements of other remedies too.  Its mainly the feeling of so much worse for movement that I picked up on.

However the thirst for ice water suggested Phosphorous as there are not many remedies with that and Bryonia has a thirst but just a general one not for ice cold.  I can also see belladonna with the hot feeling in head and it can also be worse moving and worse pressure also.  So without much confidence, I’m going for Bryonia.

Regards

UK Neil

Neil, it is Bryonia!  Below is my repertorization.

Color-coding:

gray=1 (remedies in plain type)

dark blue=2 (remedies in italics)

red=3 (remedies in bold)

light blue=4 (remedies in bold/underlined)

The higher the number, the more the remedy is known for that particular symptom; so 1 means remedy is very weak, 4 means very strong.

We can rule out Belladonna because Belladonna is thirstless.  Phosphorus is very strong for the desire for ice cold drinks; BUT, we’re not given much information about the thirst: how often is he drinking, is he drinking in gulps or in sips, is he drinking only because he thinks he has to keep hydrated?  He doesn’t say.  What he is sure about is that he can hardly move without being in pain so he is trying not to move at all.  That certainly fits for Bryonia.

How about the rest of you?  Is anybody else here today?

 

Hello Elaine,

Oh look, it’s Dr. Mukesh Gadhesariya.

I’m thinking the remedy is Calc-carb, here is my chart:

Dr. Mukesh Gadhesariya

OK, before I begin, let me point out that in the blue, hi-lighted space next to “Ars” in the chart above, is the word “Calc” shown in white letters, but you can’t really see it.  It’s showing that Calc-carb is #1 in this repertorization.

OK, now, let me show you how simple this case is.  Melvin Kowsnofsky has the flu.  How do I know that?  Because he has chills, nausea, vomiting and muscle aches.  So we can’t just say he’s got sinusitis and leave it at that, I don’t think that tells the whole story.  And by the way, rather than taking the rubric “Sinusitis”, better to take the subrubric, “Nose: sinusitis, headache, from sinus catarrh”.  It’s more accurate, more to the point.  But, you would also want to take the rubric “Influenza”.  I don’t know what Repertory you’re using, so, I don’t know what chapter it would be in.  In Murphy’s 3rd ed., it’s in the “Clinical” chapter: “Clinical: influenza”.

Your rubric “Localization, forehead, behind eyes”.  We don’t need that.  Are you trying to say this is where the headache is?  It’s on the sides of his head too.  The fact is, everyone with the flu has a headache, it’s a common symptom and there are 170 remedies in that rubric; we could keep it in, but it’s not going to change the outcome or bring us closer to finding a remedy.

Now, you got a big boost for Calc-carb when you picked “Generals: exertion, physical, agg.”  Calc-carb is a 4 for that!  And there aren’t too many 4’s in the Repertory!

But why is Calc-carb so much worse for physical exertion?  It’s because fat, flabby, awkward Calc-carb is usually too out of breath or too slow when he tries to do anything physical, like run, climb the stairs, engage in sports, etc.  If I can quote Dr. Luc De Schepper, from his book Homeopathic Portraits, he says this about Calc-carb:

“Speaking of inertia!  The idea of inertness…is part of [Calc-carb’s] innate character…. dependent on others….lost when alone, even frightened…he feels he cannot do anything without help.” 

Wow.  So, in summation, Calc-carb does not exert!  He waits.  He waits for someone to tell him what to do, or to do it for him.  He lays back, he procrastinates until the last minute.  If he had all weekend to do his homework for Monday, he might finally get started Sunday night or Monday morning.

You see, you picked the wrong rubric.  But I can understand why, because Melvin clearly said, “Any type of pressure or exertion aggravates.”  So naturally, you picked “Generals: exertion agg.”  After all, it seemed so perfect!  But, the rubric you wanted was “Generals: motion agg.”  I know those two rubrics sound an awful lot alike!  But look at what happens if you pick “Generals: motion agg.”  Calc-carb goes down from a 4 down to a 1.  Wow!  And is Calc-carb in the Influenza rubric?  It’s only a 1, meaning poorly indicated.

Finally, you left out his thirst for ice cold drinks.  Thirst or lack of it is a very important clue in any repertorization.

So, let’s ask ourselves, what is the most striking aspect of this case?  It’s “worse motion”!  He is very clear that he cannot move, his pain is so much worse if he moves that he is trying to stay perfectly still!  So what do we do?  We say, “We need a flu remedy that’s worse motion and has a thirst for ice cold drinks.”  Well, what’s our famous “worse motion” remedy?  It’s Bryonia!  And is Bryonia thirsty?  Yes!  And is it in the Influenza rubric?  Yes, it’s a 3!  Does it also have headaches from sinus catarrh?  Yes!  Is Bryonia worse pressure?  Yes!  And some people are going to say, “I thought Bryonia was better for pressure!”  Bryonia is better for HARD pressure, but a 2 under “Generals: pressure agg.”

So, there you have it.  Bryonia.

Aha….so nicely explained…..you are right….we are lost when so many symptoms…… thanks for those two similar rubrics and their differences….. will try again next time….

Yes, please do!  Thanks for voting!  Oh look, it’s Maria from Greece!

 

Hi Elaine and Shana!

Hi Maria!!!

For this month’s quiz I vote for Bryonia.  I am not sure though, so If my vote is wrong I will try again.

You’re not wrong, so don’t try again!

 

Hey everybody, Vamsi’s in the house!!!!

Hi Elaine,

Hi Vamsi, nice to see you again!

Quiz time, yahoo 🙂

An interesting quiz and a very common occurrence, for professionals.  My take for the quiz:

Generals

Bad headache, congestive

The actual rubric is, “Nose: sinusitis, headache, from sinus catarrh”.

Sides of Head hurt

That’s irrelevant.  “Headaches: sides of head”.  There are almost 200 remedies in that rubric; meaning, practically every remedy has headaches on the sides of their head.  It’s just not going to help us, not characteristic.

Cannot sleep

Not going to help us.  If you had a bad headache, you wouldn’t be able to sleep either!

Exertion increased headache

He said “exertion”, but, what he MEANS is, “worse motion”.

Body aches and …

Body aches are a common symptom if you have the flu.  And why do we think he has the flu?  He has chills, vomiting, and muscle aches.  So, it would have been good if you had taken the “Influenza” rubric; but, there’s also this rubric we could take: “Muscles: aching, influenza, during”.

Particulars

Worse from eating

No, no, no.  He has the flu.  So of course, he can’t eat anything.  He says he’s nauseous.  Didn’t he say, that after he took the remedy, his nausea went away?  So, if you’re nauseous, of course you’re going to be worse eating.  Listen, if something makes sense, it’s not a symptom.  If it’s something all of us would have under the circumstances, then it’s not characteristic, and if it’s not characteristic, then it doesn’t really interest us.

Worse on Movement **

Yes, as I said earlier, “worse motion”, or, “Generals: motion agg.”  Even better might be, “Generals: motion agg, slightest”.  When we take that rubric, which is very small, the answer to the quiz becomes quite clear.

Taking the Generals and Particulars, I go for BRYONIA.

Yes, it is Bryonia, but my goodness, you went all over the place getting to it!  If I said to you, “Vamsi, Flu, worse motion”, what would you say ?

It would be straightforward to answer as BRYONIA, Flu and Worse from motion.  Am I right ??

Yes, that is right!  Also, you forgot the thirst.  Remember he reported drinking ice cold drinks?  So, that would eliminate all the thirstless flu remedies like Gelsemium and Belladonna.  So, we would say: We need a flu remedy that’s thirsty and worse least motion.

Remember the Hierarchy Of Symptoms and the “chest of drawers” I posted to help people visualize the hierarchy?  And that if you had symptoms in the top drawer—the Etiology Drawer—you didn’t have to open any of the other drawers unless your top-drawer rubric contained too many remedies to choose from?  And if so, you’d only need to open the NEXT drawer!  And if there were still too many remedies to choose from, you would, again, only need to open the drawer underneath that one and so on.  The point is, we’re not going to solve this case by opening the bottom drawer where the Particulars are and saying, “I’ve got it!” while ignoring what’s at the top!  The whole idea is, that what’s at the top of the Hierarchy holds sway!  As soon as you’ve reached a drawer (starting from the top) that narrows down the choices to one remedy, you’re finished!  Stop opening drawers!

So, for instance, when the top drawer (Etiology) is “ailments from blunt trauma”, we don’t have to look any lower in the Hierarchy; we don’t have to concern ourselves with all the particulars in the case, we just give Arnica!  Isn’t that right?  Is anyone NOT giving Arnica for blunt trauma?

So we say, “What’s the etiology in Melvin’s case?”  There is none.  So that means we have to open the next drawer, the drawer labeled “Diagnosis”.  What’s the diagnosis?  The flu.  There are too many flu remedies, so we have to open the next drawer, labeled “Sudden Onset”.  Is there a sudden onset?”  No.  Now we’re at drawer #4, which is labeled: “Striking/Strange/Rare/Peculiar”.  Is there anything striking about this case?  Yes!  He’s so much worse for motion that he’s trying not to move!  What remedy is that?  It’s Bryonia!  Is Bryonia in the Influenza rubric?  Yes!  Do we need to keep opening “drawers” now?  No!  That’s it!

Whatever information is at the top of the hierarchy over-rules what’s underneath.  If we’re still not 100% sure, we can add Thirst.  But that’s it!  We don’t have to clutter up our case with, oh, let’s say, “Stomach: vomiting, liquids” or “Muscles: aching” or “Sleep: insomnia” or “Nose: sinusitis” or “Headaches: sides” or any other number of things we could conceivably add, and why don’t we want to do that?  Because the more rubrics you add, the more uncertain your remedy choice becomes.  All that really matters?  Flu with thirst, and worse least motion.  That’s it!  That’s how to perceive this case because that’s how to use the hierarchy of symptoms!

Most of us are ignoring the Hierarchy of Symptoms, repertorizing everything in the case, and even though sometimes that does work out, it’s just dumb luck when it does!  Why?  Because the Repertory is “incomplete” and every remedy that should be in a rubric is not there, and every remedy that should be in a rubric is not necessarily in the “grade” that it should be in!

For instance, can you believe that Rhus tox is only a 2 under “bathing, hot bathing amel.”?  That’s is a keynote of Rhus tox!  And how about this?  Apis is only a 2 under “cold applications amel.”  That’s is a keynote of Apis!

So you can’t make the assumption that, “I will just repertorize every symptom in the case and the right remedy will surely be the one on top.”

We don’t even know the complete uses of every remedy!  Because every remedy does not have a complete proving!  For example, we have what are known as “disease polychrests” because some remedies are only known for diseases or physical symptoms!!!!

A good example of this is Eel’s Blood (Serum ang.) for kidney failure.  Serum ang. would never come up in a strict repertorization; it gets picked because it’s at the top of the hierarchy in a kidney failure case!  The only thing that could supersede  Serum ang. would be if the case had an etiology; and we actually had a case like that in Tidbits!  “Tidbits 89”, a COVID case that ended in kidney failure, and did we give Serum ang.?  No!  Why?  Because there was an etiology!  Ailments from Ibuprofen!  It was a side-effect of Ibuprofen!  So what was the remedy?  Ibuprofen 6C!  Do you see how that works?

Elaine,

That was an amazing explanation.

Yes GOT it… 1) ETIOLOGY 2) DIAGNOSIS 3) SPECIAl/ RARE/PECULIAR goes to 3rd ..in the CHEST OF DRAWERS.

Look again, I believe it’s: 1. Etiology 2. Diagnosis 3. Sudden onset  4. Striking, Strange, Rare and Peculiar…. (Not “special”, you left out “striking”–which is very important since this is what solved our case, as I felt that what was most striking was how he said he was trying so hard not to move.)

And the Golden Rule – Etiology Supersedes Symptomatology …..can never forget it.  You really make the case so simple, and how to perceive it.

You know, Vamsi, it is very hard to get people to break the habit of repertorizing everything in the case, and throwing etiology in as just one more symptom; this despite the fact that everyone knows that if you fall and hit your head, you give Arnica right away; no one asks, “What’s the sensation?  What makes you better or worse?  Any concomitants?”  That’s because everyone knows that it doesn’t matter!  It’s just Arnica!  Everyone knows that for Arnica; but it’s forgotten for anything beyond that.  Are you sick from eating pizza?  That’s Pulsatilla!  (Ailments from fat!)  We don’t have to know anything else!  Are you sobbing from bad news?  That’s Ignatia.  We don’t have to know anything else.  I guess you can’t read “Repertory Round-Up, part 4” enough times, maybe the most important article I’ve ever written.

Thanks for taking time to enunciate the nuances of this case.

Well, someone’s gotta do it.

True Elaine, “Repertory Round-Up Part 4” rates a gold star among your wonderful articles.

I do refer to it once in a while to get back to my roots of understanding, or when I am driven to confusion.

Tidbits 50–Repertory Round-Up, Part-4

Thanks a bunch and much more, for sharing your clarity of thoughts and wisdom with us.

Cheers,

Vamsi.

 

I think I see the gang from Slovakia!

Hello, Elaine and Shana,

Hello, Miroslav and Jitka!

we send our opinion on what remedy you prescribed for poor Melvin.

Miroslav votes: Bryonia

There are two remedies that could be it. There is a hot head with chills and resistance to movement, which aggravates state of patient –  Belladonna and Bryonia.  Both remedies have these symptoms in their pictures, but since the patient drank ice water and movement made him worse, I choose Bryonia.  Also, this remedy is used for flu more often than Belladona.

Jitka votes: Bryonia

In my opinion, among  remedies listed in the rubric “Influenza”, the remedy Bryonia most closely matches Melvin’s condition.

Bryonia :

– frontal headache, frontal sinuses are involved too.

– wants to lie down, worse when he moves

– helps cases of nausea and vomiting.

– has thirst for cool  water.

Well geez, you’re both right!  I got nothin’ to say!  Meanwhile, Krista from Nebraska is here….

 

You know what?  Last month 7 people got the right answer and this month 7 people got the right answer…. I think this is worth celebrating!   

So, time to bring out the gold star for all our winners:

Debra

Neil

Maria

Vamsi

Miroslav

Jitka

Krista

Congratulations everyone!

See you again next time!

_______________________________

Elaine Lewis, DHom, CHom

Elaine takes online cases. Write to her at [email protected]

Visit her website: https://ElaineLewis.hpathy.com