Hi Mom!
Hi Shana! And welcome, everyone, to another exciting and informative Hpathy Quiz!
I have a lot of announcements to make.
I was afraid of that….
Sadly for Motown lovers, we lost a co-founder of the Velvelettes in December.
Bertha (“Bert”) Barbee McNeal was 82 and apparently she had colon cancer. The Velvelettes are known for the hits “Needle in a Haystack” and “(He Was) Really Saying Something.”
I love both of those songs!
Also sadly last month we lost Bobby Caldwell, R&B singer best known for the song “What You Won’t Do For Love”.
Apparently his health had been failing for the past five years because of antibiotics.
What a weird thing to say. Of course I believe it, but no one ever says it!
Bobby Caldwell had a following in Japan just like Bob McGrath (from Sesame Street). Isn’t that funny?
Shana, let’s not forget that we lost J.J. Barnes at 79!
And Huey “Piano” Smith
of Huey Smith and the Clowns, at 89.
We have to report on our outings on April 11th and 13th. I was on the internet and discovered there was a new Little Richard documentary at the Ritz-5
called “I am Everything.” For those of you who don’t know, Little
Richard was the real King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and sadly died in 2020. I can’t remember if it went into that year’s Death Report though.
You can be sure it did.
Here’s the official trailer:
Then a few days later I discovered there was another interesting documentary playing at the same theater. It’s known for screening independent, foreign and documentary movies. There used to be two more of them…
Shana, too much information that no one cares about….
Anyway the other documentary we saw was about John Lennon and his personal assistant May Pang (or his “Linda” as I call her since she took pictures too).
Shana, that sailed right over everyone’s head! By “Linda”, Shana means Linda McCartney. OK, go on.
So, yes, May Pang, that was his assistant who he dated while separated from Yoko.
John and May Pang
It was told in her own words. This period is referred to in his history as the “Lost Weekend” (it comes from a 1945 movie I’ve never seen) but I had never heard the full story before.
This was the period when John Lennon recorded “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” with Elton John.
OMG! I should have known that Elton John would find his way into the April Quiz!
In his book, Me, Elton writes about how he famously made a bet with Lennon that if the song went to # 1 he would perform it on stage with him. They were friends back in the day and Elton’s lyricist Bernie Taupin even wrote a song in 1982 called “Empty Garden” as a tribute to Lennon after he was murdered. The “Empty Garden” refers to Madison Square Garden, a famous venue where they performed on Thanksgiving in 1974 after the song went to # 1.
Shana, you are really getting bogged down in trivia and not even explaining what the movie was all about!
OK, OK! During the “Lost Weekend” period with May, a lot of stuff happened that probably never would’ve otherwise; John spent more time with his son Julian, he reconnected with the Beatles (apparently there was talk of a reunion), hanging out with Mick Jagger, hanging out with Elton John, etc. It’s just funny to me to think of John and Mick hanging out because the Rolling Stones were intended to be the anti-Beatles and were somewhat rivals, but there were also moments where they didn’t seem completely antagonistic towards each other. Mick Jagger inducting the Beatles into the Rock N Roll Hall of fame is just one example.
Another interesting thing I learned… May is credited as “production coordinator” on the “Walls and Bridges” album. She also is credited for background vocals on “#9 Dream”. There’s a part of the song where a female voice is saying John’s name. That’s May Pang.
Is that it? That’s your “report”?
Yes.
You know, you’ve talked about everything except what the movie was about! It was the most disturbing movie I’ve ever seen! The whole John and Yoko love story thing is nothing but a myth! A slice of insanity! She must have been a Lachesis! She was deceitful, cunning, a liar…she had some sort of spell over John…she kept him away from his son, Julian; she kept him away from Paul McCartney, and, no one will believe this but, she threw John out of the house because the 2 of them weren’t getting along apparently, and she ordered May Pang to have an affair with him! Where’s the trailer? Of course May said no, John was her boss and she was only 21 but Yoko said, “You can and you will.” What the heck????
So, May Pang is beautiful, and she’s very sensible and fun-loving and down-to-earth, so of course, she gets John and his son Julian back together, and she gets John and Paul and Ringo back together, and I’m quite sure that if May and John had stayed together that John never would have been assassinated, because Yoko attracted nothing but trouble to John; but, one day, out of nowhere, Yoko calls and says to John, “Be here Saturday, I hired a hypnotist to help you stop smoking.” Well, that’s a big red flag right there if you ask me! So, after that, John never saw May again! He just said, “Yoko has allowed me to come home.” It was a very surprising and disturbing ending. At least May Pang, Cynthia Lennon and Julian Lennon became life-long friends.
Who’s in our Quiz this month?
You remember Mary Queen of Scots, right?
Vaguely.
Well, she’s back and probably has the flu. Here she is now!
Feb. 16, 2023
Elaine, I took a second dose of Antimonium Tart at 1:45 AM but it was not effective.
My eyes don’t burn anymore – they just ache.
I took a dose of Belladonna 30C today at 12:45 PM because I kept wanting to get rid of the headache by bending my head backwards.
That feeling is gone now.
Biggest symptoms now are:
Constant Headache – forehead
Eyes ache, especially when moving them
Occasional cough (every 20 minutes or so) which hurts my head
Scanty clear mucus
Feeling like I am in molasses, i.e., I can’t move, don’t want to move, even thinking of moving is too hard. It’s taken me all day to get to the computer to write to you.
No thirst
No appetite
Asked my daughter to get some watermelon chunks for me
Asked my daughter to get some popsicles for me
Please take ________________30C and let me know what happens.
Feb. 17, 2023
Queen Mary, did you ever try _________________30C?
Yes, and it is helping! Thanks for asking. Took a dose at 7:30 PM. Took a second water dose at 9:15 PM. Took a third water dose at 1:45 AM. The headache is almost gone. The eyeball aching is almost gone. Still coughing occasionally. Still low energy but the feeling of not being able to move is gone. There was a tickle in my throat last night at 9 PM and then this morning at 1:30 AM which made me get up each time because I knew it wouldn’t immediately stop unless I took a sip of water or had a cough drop.
Waiting until things stop improving before another dose or until symptoms change.
Thanks again!
_________________________
OK, gang, that’s it! Do you know what the remedy is? Write to me at [email protected] and let me know. The answer will be in next month’s ezine.
Let’s go out with “He Was Really Saying Something” by the Velvelettes!
Good luck solving the case! See you back here in a month!
________________
VOTES:
Pulsatilla-2
Gelsemium-2
Bryonia-3
Phosphorus
___________________
Hi everybody! How did we do this time? Who wants to go first?
Hi Elaine,
Hi Edina!
I vote for Pulsatilla.
Looking for Cold/flu remedy with strange/peculiar desire for popsicles (cold food/ice cream, ice) and melons, without thirst and hunger. The rest of the case are lower in hierarchy of symptoms.
Edina
Edina, you are so right! This was a hard quiz, I wasn’t sure if anyone would know the answer! But yes, Pulsatilla asks for popsicles! And, of course, the thirstlessness should have us thinking about Pulsatilla anyway! Here’s the repertorization I did. There are only 2 remedies under “desires melon” and Pulsatilla is one of them! Phosphorus is very close in the number-2 position, but it would be very hard to give Phosphorus to a thirstless patient!
Hi Elaine 👋
Oh look, it’s Pam!
My answer is GELSEMIUM!, —– but…..
My thought process was a bit all over the place because I was concentrating on the title of your quiz. Is the April Quiz a trick question? 🤔
No, not at all.
She says she is neither thirsty nor hungry, BUT she asked for watermelon and popscicles! Both are foods and liquids! 🤔
I don’t think so. I think if you have an appetite, asking for watermelon and popsicles is not the way to express it. She seems to be asking for cold things, she wants COLD.
This is contradictory, so I am going to ignore it and move on.
I think this title was a red herring.
It can’t be a red herring if the patient said it.
I found nothing of much help under melons, nor ice in the Repertory.
Did you go to “Food: melons, desires”?
The desire for COLD drinks pointed to PHOS, but…..the rest of her case doesn’t fit Phos…I don’t think.
So you’re saying she’s “thirsty” because she wants, basically, ice; and when ice melts, it becomes water; therefore, she wants water; but, clearly, she does not want to drink anything; and Phosphorus so clearly does want to drink.
There’s a rubric, “Food: refreshing things, desires”. I think that’s what she’s after, refreshing things, things that are cold and fruity.
I decided to concentrate on the heavy, exhaustion, tiredness….not even enough energy to think, etc.
Gelsemium has those keynotes! And I know MY Gelsemium headaches always involve eyeball strain, so…..my final answer is GELSEMIUM…..though I found nothing tying Gels to fruits or ice in the Murphy’s Repertory.
Yes, and that is a problem for sure. In fact, Pam, Gelsemium asks for nothing! They’re apathetic, indifferent; and mostly, they just want to sleep.
How did I do?
It’s really a very easy case, Pam, if you’ll just go to
“Food: melons, desires”.
Desires Melons only lists:
puls, staph, tell ???
And of the 3? Which one is thirstless?
Tell. is the answer? It’s in bold. What the heck is Tell??
Tellurium is in bold? That must be an addition. I have the 3rd ed. of Murphy’s Repertory and Tellurium in plain type.
Tellurium Metallicum? Uhm…..it is in bold.
But now my guess is PULSATILLA.
I know Puls is thirstless.
Exactly!
But….? hmmmmmm. Really?
Pam, Pulsatilla wants everything cold! They are better for cold temperatures and cold applications. Even when they are chilly, they still want the window open. Worse warm stuffy rooms, worse warm bathing. It’s in Bold for “Generals: warm temperature agg”, “Food: warm food agg.”, “Food: warm food, aversion to”, “Food: cold food amel.”
I found this Gelsemium poem on Miranda Castro’s site.
materia medica in verse:
“Bubble, bubble, Bronchial trouble.
Misty eyes and seeing double.
Throat feels tight and head feels light.
Almost paralysed with fright.
Don’t want food, don’t want drink,
Hardly feel inclined to think.
Wobbly legs and queezy ‘tum’
It’s clear you need Gelsemium.”
-A Song of Symptoms by Patersimilias —
Great poem! So true!
So, what is the answer?? TELL.? or Puls?? And if it is Puls, why is it not in bold?
I don’t know, maybe it should be. We were lucky to land on a small rubric to make our remedy choice easier. We know we want a thirstless remedy. When we think of thirstless remedies, what do we think of? Belladonna, Pulsatilla, Gelsemium, Apis, Antimonium tart…. Belladonna is not better for cold. Apis is not a remedy we give for viruses. (Go to your “Influenza” rubric in the “Clinical” chapter, Apis is not there. Staphysagria is not there.) Gelsemium asks for nothing. Antimonium tart has the tell-tale rattling respiration and rattling cough; only Pulsatilla fits! So, does it matter that it’s in plain type? It’s there, isn’t it? Tellurium may be in bold for Desires Melons, but, does it fit our case? Is it thirstless? No. In fact, it’s thirsty. Is it in the Influenza rubric? No. Tellurium is our remedy for ringworm.
I see Neil from London is here:
Hi Elaine,
Hi Neil!
I’m going for Bryonia this week.
Eyes worse moving, head worse coughing which is movement, and generally reluctant to move.
Likes juicy cold things like watermelon and popsicles yet says no thirst, so rules out phosphorous which crossed my mind.
But Neil, it also rules out Bryonia, which is very thirsty. Also, “reluctant to move” is not the same as “worse motion”. Did you look up “Melons, desires”?
OK I think the remedy is Pulsatilla after your not-so-subtle hint.
Yes! You could phrase it as, “I need a thirstless flu remedy that desires melons,” and you’d be right at Pulsatilla! Watermelon and popsicles are practically the same thing.
It appears under desire for melons. Arsenicum I think scores a little higher if you consider desire for melons and ice together but there is no thirst and patient doesn’t want to move, the opposite of Arsenicum.
Yes, good observation!
The thing I interpreted was that although the patient denies a thirst, the things desired (i.e watermelon and popsicles) are 99% water, so i thought the body has desires for a reason. Maybe it wanted water in some form.
Or COLD! What about that? What Puls. wants is COLD! They are better for cold: cold applications, cold temperatures, cold food; worse heat, worse warmth.
Bryonia thirst, I think, is intermittent rather than constant.
It’s not intermittent, it’s constant, but their unwillingness to move causes them to drink only intermittently; but when they do, they drink it all down.
I guess if you had a proper thirst you’d drink!
If you could move; but, Bryonia is worse for motion, so, they just lie there, not drinking, until it becomes absolutely necessary.
I see Kalyanee is back…
Hi Elaine.
Attempting the April acute case. I don’t know if I need to know about Mary Queen of Scots from earlier issues to solve this case.
No, not at all.
I am using the description given in this case for my analysis.
Feeling like I am in molasses, i.e., I can’t move, don’t want to move, even thinking of moving is too hard. It’s taken me all day to get to the computer to write to you.
This made me think of Bryonia.
You’re not the only one who thought that, but, there’s a subtle difference. Bryonia is worse motion, meaning that whatever pain they have is even worse with motion. But Mary Queen of Scots is not suffering a pain that’s worse with movement; she simply feels too heavy to move.
Also eye pain worse motion makes it a general symptom. So, since she’s not really “worse motion”, it’s, therefore, not a “general”. “Eyes: pain, motion agg.” Yes, Bryonia is there, but, so are 63 other remedies. Why can’t it be Bryonia? Bryonia is thirsty! Our patient is not thirsty.
No thirst, no appetite. I am thinking Bryonia has dryness and thirst for large quantities of water/fluids.
Asked my daughter to get some watermelon chunks for me. Asked my daughter to get some popsicles for me.
Well this brought Phosphorus to mind. As part of researching rubrics for this, used the following two rubrics:
CR21 – Generalities; food and drinks; juicy things; desires(64)
CR21 – Generalities; food and drinks; ice; desires(40)
Along with
CR21 – Mind; motion; agg.(96)
CR21 – Generalities; motion, motions; during(867)
(I have Complete Repertory 2021 as part of the Synergy Homeopathy software. But I sometimes use the printed copy of Kent’s repertory as a first step during acutes analysis. Will explore Robin Murphy’s repertory in the future.)
Good. A much better idea.
Frankly, the Complete Repertory has made so many additions, it’s practically useless! Imagine if every remedy was in every rubric! Would that help you? But that’s what the Complete looks like now! Take a rubric like “Generals: sides, right”. In Murphy’s there are 145 remedies. In the Complete there are over 1,000! Yes, over 1,000! And for left-sided complaints, there are even more, over 1200! And do you know what’s listed for both right and left-sided in the highest degree? Belladonna! Belladonna, commonly known as a right-sided remedy! Same with Arsenicum! Commonly known as a right-sided remedy, the Complete Repertory has it also as left-sided in the highest degree! Same for Crotalus horridus! Commonly known as a right-sided remedy, Crotalus is in the Complete as left-sided in the highest degree! It’s the same thing throughout! Guess what’s listed as “thirstless” in the highest degree? Phosphorus! So is Bryonia! Yes, Bold/underlined! Now, you have to wonder, is this repertory of any value? I have had people get the wrong answer to quizzes, just because they used the Complete Repertory!
Phosphorus, Bryonia and Veratrum album come up prominent.
Yes, they would, IF our patient was thirsty, which she isn’t.
I wish there were some mental symptoms. Hope I did not miss any clues in this regard.
You didn’t look up “desires melons”, which, by the way, is only in Murphy’s Repertory.
Also when the headache ameliorated by bending back is no longer there, not sure what to do with that symptom.
You ignore it because it’s no longer there.
So my best guess is Phosphorus 30C, or Phosphoric acid 30C- given the exhaustion and broken down state during or after flu.
Phos-ac. isn’t in the flu rubric, even in the Complete it isn’t there.
Please let me know, if I should try again, and if so what I am missing.
You should say to yourself, “I need a flu remedy that’s thirstless and desires melons.” Or, you could say, “I need a flu remedy that’s thirstless and desires Refreshing Things.”
Hi Elaine.
Thanks for patiently explaining where I side-tracked.
After your hint, with Complete 2021 repertory I was debating between Gelsemium and Pulsatilla, as they both are well-known thirst-less flu remedies.
Took your advice and got Murphy’s Repertory added to my SHS program. Hence the delay in responding. I definitely can relate to why you are raving about this repertory. Such an ease to find rubrics in the alphabetical organization. Thank you for the suggestion.
You’re welcome!
Found the rubrics, Desires, melons under Food.
Voila, now I can confidently say – Pulsatilla 30C was the remedy you prescribed with success for this case!
Yes. You’re right!!!!
Thank you for all the guidance,
Kalyanee
Is anybody else here today?
Hi Elaine and Shana!
Hi Maria!
For this month’s quiz my vote goes to Bryonia.
I can understand why you voted for Bryonia, because she made such a point of saying how she hated to move; but, Why does she hate to move? Is it because moving makes her symptoms worse? Or is it because she’s just feeling sluggish and heavy? Also, can we give Bryonia to a thirstless patient? She seems to want cold things, “refreshing things”.
If I am wrong I will try again.
I guess you’ll have to try again….
My second vote goes to Gelsemium then. If it is not correct I will try again 😛
I guess you’ll have to try again. Remember, Gelsemium asks for nothing. They’re apathetic. And all they want to do is sleep.
OK, my last vote is Phosphoric acid.
Well, Maria, it’s a good guess, as Phos-ac. does desire “refreshing things”, but, did you look up Food: melons, desires?
I looked for watermelons only but they were not present.
I made the same mistake at first. But actually, I already knew that Pulsatillas ask for popsicles! It’s in at least one quiz of ours, where a child asked for popsicles and the remedy was Pulsatilla. But the thing with Pulsatilla is, they want everything cold! They want cold applications, cold temperatures, cold food; it’s in Bold for “cold food amel” and “desires cold food”; under cold drinks amel., Puls. is a 2.
I looked just now for melons and there was pulsatilla.
Besides being thirstless I don’t see any other keynotes of Puls in the case.
Maria, here’s the way you phrase this case: “I need a flu remedy that’s thirstless and desires melon.” Or, “I need a flu remedy that’s thirstless and desires refreshing things.” Or, “I need a flu remedy that’s thirstless and desires cold food.” Remember the hierarchy of symptoms? We don’t need “more” symptoms, we need “characteristic” symptoms, and in “Repertory Round-Up, part 4”, I go into what a characteristic symptom is.
Characteristic symptoms are:
- Weird, bizarre, strange
- Weird for the disease, like a fever with no thirst
- Symptom isn’t weird, per se, but excessive
- Symptom should be there but isn’t or only there slightly
- The symptom is a keynote of a remedy
- The symptom is the concomitant
- Two symptoms alternate
- The symptom has modalities, including the time modality (< midnight, < 4-8 PM…)
- The symptom has a sensation
- The symptom is a mental/emotional
I can’t believe it is Pulsatilla! 😛
Let me just say, “thirst” is very important to us in solving a case. If a patient is thirsty, you can eliminate your thirstless remedies, and if she’s thirstless, you can eliminate your thirsty remedies; so, finding this out is very useful. If you’ve got a thirstless patient who desires cold food, look what comes up:
Pulsatilla!
Hey everybody, Vamsi’s in the house!!!!!
Dear Elaine
A Flu Quiz…..wow !!
The following is my take on this quiz.
Flu remedy which is Thirstless
Paralysis of various groups of muscles about the eye and extremities. (Eyes Ache while moving, and she feels like molasses, difficulty in moving.)
Headache
Nothing but our #1 FLU Remedy, GELSEMIUM
Please let me know if I am wrong, I would try again.
But I really do not understand why she was wanting popsicles, when she was feeling thirstless? Please elaborate.
Vamsi, this was the clue to the remedy! What are watermelon and popsicles? They’re COLD! She wants COLD food! There’s a rubric, “Food: cold, desires”. There are 3 remedies in Bold: Pulsatilla, Phosphorus and Veratrum alb. Now, of the 3, which one is thirstless? And P.S., there is a rubric, “Food: desires melons”. Check that one out.
Yes, it’s Pulsatilla. Our Thirstless remedy..wants Cold and also desired Melons..
But I have a doubt. How can Pulsatilla get to be a remedy for FLU. ?
It is in the Influenza rubric.
She did have a desire for Watermelon, but there was also a prominent symptom, she saying she felt like “Molasses” ..
Does it not be a predominant symptom for selection of remedy.. ??
Surely you’ve noticed that there is no Molasses rubric in the Repertory. So we have to think what does “Molasses” mean? What do you think it means?
I assumed it meant she felt heavy. And Pulsatilla is a 3 for that.
Saying Thirstless, and asking for Popsicles is quite strange, and I feel this goes in the Top Drawer.
And we zero it to Pulsatilla. Am I correct ??
The truth is, this isn’t the first time a flu patient has asked for a popsicle. Click below:
https://hpathy.com/clinical-cases/revisiting-has-anybody-seen-kelly/
And I’m starting to think it should be considered a keynote of Pulsatilla. First of all, Pulsatilla is in Bold under “desires cold food”. And what can possibly be colder than a popsicle? Watermelon is practically the same as a popsicle.
Cheers
Vamsi.
I think the gang from Slovakia has landed.
Hello Elaine and Shana,
Hello Miroslav and Jitka!
We send our responses to the Mary Queen of Scots case.
Miroslav votes: Bryonia
I read the new case and it seems to me that remedy could be Bryonia. Severe pains, absolute resistance to movement (even mental…), thirst for cold drinks can be substituted with watermelon and popsicles… Probably it´s about to be flu and symptoms correspond to this remedy.
Jitka votes: Pulsatila
In this case, I was attracted by the symptom that she craves watermelon and also popsicles. I found in the chapter Food, melons, craving for melons: Pulsatila – the only one but small remedy.
I also found Pulsatila, in rubrics that she desires cold food and has frontal headaches. So I vote for this remedy, even if “with a small soul”, because I’m not quite sure in it.
Jitka, you nailed it! Yes, it was Pulsatilla! We got a lot of votes for Bryonia as you can imagine. But, Bryonia being a thirsty remedy, it just doesn’t fit. Also, I’m not sure that she’s worse movement, it’s more of an aversion to movement. She CAN move, she just doesn’t want to. You found the “desires melon” rubric, good for you! And yes, desires cold food, you got it!
OK, time to hand the Gold Star to our winners! Congratulations go to Jitka and Edina, you’re the big winners of the April Quiz!!!
Bye, 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
