Case Quizes Clinical Cases

Revisiting: The Pain Has Stopped Me Completely!

Shana on her way to Chatham
Written by Elaine Lewis

Elaine gives the answer to last month’s quiz. Revisiting: The Pain Has Stopped Me Completely!

Hello everybody!  It’s time to revisit last month’s quiz, does anybody remember it?  Here it is again with the answer to follow:

***

Mom!  Look what time it is!

Shana on her way to Chatham

March?

No, it’s February!

It’s only February?  I’m going back to bed!

No, Mom, get up!

Just five more minutes?  Or months?

Mom, Dr. B’s on the phone and I’m running out of excuses! 

Have you tried: The dog ate our Quiz?

I’m going to count to three and then I’m going to start pushing and poking!  Push, push, push…..

OK, OK!  Where’s our patient?

Our patient is Gabi, Mom…enjoy!

***************************

Hi Elaine, I have a severe injury from a fall on my shoulder that I can’t fix!

Hi Gabi, I’m sure I can help you with that!

I also don’t have any money.

I’m sure I can’t help you with that.

I have been on Symphytum.  I think it has helped.  Just now I took Acid phosphoricum because I realize how many symptoms I have that match.

The pain is so intense it has stopped me completely!  It also scares me.  Let me know if you have a minute to suggest anything.

Yes, that’s a good idea, try anything!

I went to the doctor.

And let me guess, he gave you an anti-inflammatory!

He gave me an anti-inflammatory.

Is there an echo in here?

but I don’t want to take it.

There’s no point, really; when it wears off, the pain will come back even worse.

I told him I didn’t want it and he got mad and grumpy.

You’re outside his universe, Gabi.

I think he might have needed healing himself!

It’s a reasonable assumption.

One more reason why we don’t go there anymore.

In any case.  You are my only hope.

Well, in that case, you’ve come to the right place!  Just fill out my questionnaire and make yourself at home while I run around the block.  I’ll be back as soon as I’ve lost 20 pounds.

***

 

Acute Case Questionnaire

 

1. What happened?

I fell on my right arm almost a year and half ago while walking the dog. No broken bones but shoulder has become increasingly hard to move and more and more painful. Pain is so intense it forces me to lie down or run and hide to cry, paroxysmal pain, only subsides after a while of quiet resting. If I move in certain ways especially very painful. Very sensitive to touch.

2. Etiology

It came back after I stopped doing yoga and did not exercise, perhaps a session of weights with a friend forced ligaments too much. Wakes me up at night, the pain. Slightest movement in wrong direction makes me cry.

3. Sensation

The pain is like shooting, it doesn’t extend anywhere although it is worse on the outside and back side of the bone.

 

4. Appearance

I have bags under my eyes, my hands swell, sometimes the pain goes all the way down to my hand. Lots of very sour sweating. No desire to move.

 

5. Location-where on the body?

Right shoulder

6. Modalities-what makes the complaint better or worse?

Heat makes it worse, touch doesn’t, motion aggravates, worst in the morning but movement does not improve, can’t even put on my bra or clothes without help, noise aggravates, pressure too, massage no, company no, consolation no but better company. Depondency, hopeless of recovery, depression.

7. Concomitants (additional symptoms that came with the main complaint)

Pain with crying, nausea this morning, hate certain smells, feeling of giving up and going to sleep.

8. Discharges

No discharges but I am having my period now so it is worse. Cried uncontraollably for hours yesterday after I stepped on the dog’s tail and moved my shoulders in a certain way. The pain was so intense I started crying and could not stop.

9. Generals

I am cold, thirsty for fizzy drinks (Acid phosphoricum?) tired, sad, irritable not hungry at all.

10. The mentals

I don’t want to do anything not even tidy up the house, want to escape and not face what is happening.

11. What does the person say?

The person says, I wish this was not happening, why me??

12. Thirst

I wake up very thirsty and get very thirsty during the day. I am thirsty all the time but don’t drink enough but I only like to drink sweet drinks.

13. Fever?

Warmer than usual

14. Sweating?

Lots

15. Odors?

Sweating is strong metallic odour

16. What is most striking about the condition? What is most peculiar?

Despondency, no energy, no will to improve in any way.

17. Is there a diagnosis?

Injury on the rotator cup.

****************************************

Well….. I thought of two remedies, and I told Gabi to take the first one and if that didn’t work, to move on to the second one. (The first one worked but only slightly.) Does anyone know what this remedy is? Write to me at [email protected] and let me know. The answer will be in next month’s ezine.

_____________________________________________

Votes

Bryonia-6

Calc-carb.

Ledum

Kali carb.

****

Maryam from Pakistan writes:

Hi Elaine!

Hope you are fine!

So far, so good.

How is Shana?

She’s still an expensive baby!

Your “Hot Seat” interview from February was very interesting!

I liked it a lot. And after reading it, I wished that I could take your interview and ask soooooooo many questions…

Feel free to ask!

Anyways!!

I must come to the point.

Well…if you must…..

 

I think the very first remedy in this case would be Arnica. Because of injury by a fall and very painful site and very sensitive to touch.

But the case did not get treated at that time with arnica so now other symptoms are developed which do not signal towards arnica. Am I right or wrong?

Right.

 

Now some very striking symptoms are:

1. Very painful shoulder, increasingly hard to move. (Means aggravation by motion, right?)

Right.

 

2. Pain only subsides after a quiet rest. (ameliorated by rest)

3. Slightest movement in wrong direction makes me cry. (Aggravation from slightest motion)

4. Aggravated by heat.

5. Aggravated in the morning.

6. Don’t want to do anything.

7. Does not put on clothes without help because of motion aggravation.

8. Despondency and cry with pain.

AND THE MOST MEANINGFUL IS HER SAYING: “THE PAIN HAS STOPPED ME COMPLETELY”, which means aggravation by motion.

And this strong aggravation from motion points to Bryonia.

Yes, it certainly does! That was the first remedy I gave, and it did some good but not enough.

 

Also Bryonia has inflammatory condition anywhere about the body particularly fibrous tissues and ligaments of joints. All the symptoms are aggravated by motion, every movement is painful. Wants to lie still on bed. Pt is also irritable and very thirsty.

And according to Kent: Bryonia is often indicated in INJURIES OF JOINTS WHERE ARNICA WOULD BE A FAILURE.

So I think the right remedy now is Bryonia.

But one thing bothers me, that she is better in company and Bryonia is not so much.

Aha! You have stumbled onto something that would make us think twice about Bryonia!  What else goes against Bryonia?  She’s worse pressure!!!!  Is Bryonia worse pressure?  Oh no, quite the opposite!  Another thing I wondered about–so much crying!!!!  Does Bryonia cry?  I would think they would be worse crying, because they’re worse for the slightest movement, even talking; that’s why they’re so grumpy and won’t answer questions.  I checked the Bryonia materia medica and couldn’t find a single word about crying.  So, we have mentals here in this case–crying–and when a case has mentals, the remedy has to match that.  Bryonia, apparently, doesn’t cry; so, this makes us really wonder about Bryonia!

Now, a caution.  When I say a remedy has to match the mentals in a case, we have to be careful.  The mentals have to be characteristic!  Now what does that mean?  What is a characteristic symptom?  Do you know?  Let’s see….A characteristic symptom is:

1. Peculiar — unexpected, given what’s wrong.

2. Striking!

3. A keynote of a remedy.  For example, keynotes of Arsenicum:  Pleading with people not to leave!  Pleas for reassurance, Fastidiousness–asking that pictures be straightened or lint be picked up off the floor, or rugs straightened, etc., or Arsenicum’s accusations that people are stealing from him–the nurse is stealing, so-and-so is stealing–should make us consider Arsenicum right away!  These are all Arsenicum keynotes.

So, here, in Gabi’s case, the crying is quite striking, isn’t it?  In fact, it’s quite excessive!  Our remedy would have to have crying with the pain!

So, here’s the thing, this case makes me look very smart; but, I’m not really that smart, because Miranda Castro had this exact same thing happen to her and she presented it at a case conference and I happened to buy the conference tape!  Now, if you want to call me smart for buying a zillion case conference tapes…then I plead guilty!  So Miranda had right shoulder pain that was extreme, couldn’t find relief in any position no matter what!!!  So, she repertorized the only symptoms in the case she could be sure of, namely: Shoulder pain and Pain, worse motion.  She looked up all the top remedies in the materia medica and chose —ta-daRanunculus Bulbosus!

Now, here’s the thing with small remedies–they’re under-represented in the repertory!  You’ll never find them by repertorizing; even though, in this case, you will find Ranunculus in a lot of the rubrics in Gabi’s case, namely:

1. motion agg.

2. touch agg.

3. morning agg.

4. thirst

5. shoulder pain

6. shooting pain

7. desire for company

8. pressure agg.

9. depression

Not bad for a small remedy, right?  But, what did I find in the Materia Medica (Murphy’s) under Ranunculus that I didn’t find in the repertory?  “Pain exhorts tears”!  OMG!  The most characteristic symptom in the case, and I found it!

The first words I read under this remedy were, “Ran-b. is a painful remedy.”  Now that’s an understatement, but there it is; and pain was what this case was all about!  It’s a big remedy in shingles; but, as you can guess, the shingles rash is VERY painful!!!!!!

So, when you think of Ranunculus, think of pain that’s like Bryonia, only worse!

I found this in Murphy’s:

“The Ran-b. pains are stitching, stabbing, shooting, exhort tears with shuddering, cannot rest in any position. Burning, biting, bruised soreness or as of deep ulceration. Sore spots. Neuralgia.  Sudden weakness and fainting. … Sensitive to air and touch.”  So, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, Rancunculus Bulbosus!!!!!!

Thank you Elaine!

You are really a good teacher.

I is?

Surely!

Actually, if you repertorize this case, even using only the rubrics that Ranunculus is in, it still comes out to Bryonia!

So, I think we should give our Bryonia voters a round of applause: Maryam, Faiz, Abeer, Elisabeth, Mahbub and Maria!  Good for you!!!!!

See you back here in April for another exciting Hpathy Quiz!

About the author

Elaine Lewis

Elaine Lewis, D.Hom., C.Hom.
Elaine is a passionate homeopath, helping people offline as well as online. Contact her at [email protected]
Elaine is a graduate of Robin Murphy's Hahnemann Academy of North America and author of many articles on homeopathy including her monthly feature in the Hpathy ezine, "The Quiz". Visit her website at:
https://elainelewis.hpathy.com/ and TheSilhouettes.org

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