Homeopathy Papers

Journey of a Homoeopath The Travelling Homoeopath

Written by Sheetal Bidri

Dr. Sheetal D. Bidri shares her learning experiences under Dr. Sanjeev Dole, Dr. Amarsinha Nikam founder of the Aditya Homoeopathic Hospital and Healing Centre and Dr. Tulpule from Pune who follows the Sehgal’s Present, Persistent and Predominating approach to case taking.

Learning under experienced doctors comes with its own advantages and the main one is their vast knowledge added over the years through their experience and daily practice. I was fortunate enough to learn from a few doctors who have not only boosted my confidence as a Homoeopath but imparted a great deal of their experience during the time I spent with them.

One such experience is when I visited Pune, India and learned under Dr. Sanjeev Dole, who has experience of around 40 years and saw close to 30 to 40 patients in half a day. He would greet every patient with the same smile and enthusiasm. Observing and learning from his vast practice I realized the command he had over Materia Medica. He not only used the common remedies but also some of the rarely used, newly proved remedies, Indian remedies and potentized allopathic drugs.

I remember a depressed lady who complained of migraine, which was accompanied with nausea and vomiting. she also complained of pain in the heels, which was better by rubbing. She desired lime juice that also reduced her complaints to an extent. Dr. Dole without thinking twice, prescribed Cyclamen to the lady. Simultaneously, I read Cyclamen from Boericke’s Materia Medica to find almost all symptoms the lady narrated were exactly given in the book.

 

Similarly, I remember a case of chronic eczema where the patient complained of intense itching, vesicles which were oozing and scratching was painful. He prescribed Croton tig, which matched her symptomology with exactness and she improved very quickly.

 

To be aware of recent remedies and the articles written in various platforms is another thing I learnt from him. One such instance was when he shared a case of infertility for which he prescribed Borax 10M on the 5th day of menses, along with a series of other indicated remedies. I was curious to know why specifically Borax and why on the fifth day? He explained that he had read an article regarding the findings of a homoeopath who had published in a journal. He also shared with me a few cases of ganglion, which weren’t responding in lower potencies. On reading a few articles, he found that many responded to Ruta in 1OM potency, when most of the indicated remedies failed.

The importance of detailed observations of the symptoms was reflected in his accurate prescriptions. For example, if there were a child who was myopic and wore spectacles he would never forget to differentiate Agaricus or Jaborandi. If there was obesity, he would differentiate remedies like Amm brom, Calotropis, Calc carb etc.

Some of the remedies I learnt at his clinic are as follows:

Cinnamonium is a useful remedy in uterine hemorrhages, which is clinically verified. The menses are early, profuse, prolonged and bright red. The uterine hemorrhages come on by over lifting, strain in loins or a false step.

Eugenia in acne which are simple and indurated and are painful for a distance around the lesions.

Chloralum used in the treatment of hives. Erythema especially aggravated by alcoholic drinks, with palpitations and are better by warmth.

Ova tosta in women with leucorrhea and backache.

Xerophyllum seen to be very effective in eczematous disorders, poison-oak like, where the skin has intense itching, stinging, burning. Skin is rough and cracked and feels like leather.

Oxytrophis having an action on the nervous system causing trembling, sensation of emptiness and a staggering gait. The patient desires to be alone and symptoms are worse when thinking of it.

Acetanilidum in cases of DVT with reduced heart rate, pulse rate and temperature.

Some interesting pointers suggested by Dr. Dole:

Spongia was used with great effectiveness in 6c potency in respiratory complaints and 200c in thyroid complaints

Lachesis works well in high potency in hypertension and in low potency in hypotension.

Caulophyllum is given in uteric calculi along with the indicated remedy, as a spasmodic remedy to push out the stone making it easier for expulsion.

Malandrinum works wonders when given as an intercurrent in Psoriasis.

Cistus has an affinity for the naso-pharynx and hence works wonders in adenoids.

My main learning from Dr. Dole was the power of knowledge, which inspired me to learn and read in-depth the literature available to us homoeopaths.

Dr. Sanjeev Dole

I was also fortunate to spend a day at the Aditya Homoeopathic hospital and Healing Centre in Pimpri, Chinchwad, which is owned and run by a homoeopath Dr. Amarsinha Nikam. I was delighted and elated to spend some time with him, and learn about him and homoeopathy. The hospital had several wards of different type and the patients are closely monitored on a day-to-day basis. As I went through each ward and spoke to every patient over the rounds, I observed the array of cases that were admitted there like lumbar disc prolapse, DMD, Ca Oesophagus, scoliosis, CHDs, CKDs and the list would go on. All the cases here are managed solely  by homoeopathic medicines with a good diet plan for all. Most of the cases were administered single doses of 30 potency remedies and of 200 potency, if a nosode.

 

One case I saw during rounds was a lean alcoholic man who had been brought to the hospital earlier with an abdominal girth of 40cms. He had breathing difficulties and was on the verge of developing hepatic encephalopathy. I saw the man after the remedy was administered. He was comfortable on his bed with an abdominal girth of 30cms and with no signs of encephalopathy.

I also remember a follow-up of a case of scoliosis with a disc bulge who was unable to walk due to pain when she first arrived at the hospital. I read her case and learned that she did really well on a few doses of Rhus tox 30 and was amazed to see her walking in the wards with a smile on her face.

While I was there during the OPD hours, I observed Dr. Nikam’s approach to teaching the students at his institute. A case is would be taken by the resident doctor and presented in front of Dr. Nikam and the students/interns who sat around him. Afterwards he would ask more questions and try to reconfirm the symptoms of the patient. Once everyone completed the analysis, he asked each one to show the remedy they had obtained, then he would reveal his prescription. The case learning didn’t stop there. He immediately makes the student read out the indications of the remedy from Materia Medica to again confirm the remedy! This practice not only benefited the patient in receiving the best-suited remedy but also made the students more aware of why the remedy was given.

Dr. Nikam suggested two basic books that every student should master. Those are the Organon of Medicine and Davidson’s Practice of Medicine. He also added Kent’s lectures on Materia Medica, Clarke’s Materia Medica and Boericke’s Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica and Repertory.

My main lesson from Dr. A. Nikam was to have firm knowledge of physiology, biochemistry, pathology and of course Materia Medica to match the pathology. That would help me be fearless and have the confidence to manage chronic, including syphilitic diseases and to never limit the scope of homoeopathy to a set of a few diseases.

Dr. Amarsinha Nikam (left)

During my stay at Pune, I also visited “The Homoeopathic Yoga Centre – Prana”. Their motto of discovering the healer within really matches the aura this centre creates on how integration with Yoga would bring about cure sooner and more efficiently. The approach here is very systematic yet also personal for all patients. Specialty OPDs are made, example for rheumatology, so one doctor will see all the cases and be aware of the common asanas or exercises that could be helpful for the patients. They also have a platform to improve learning for students. Practitioners of homoeopathy have relays of classes conducted in Mumbai, where there is  an in-house library of exquisite books.  Overall, this center reflected a lot of positive vibes and encouraged integration with other modalities of holistic healing.

Dr. Sheetal D. Bidri

During my stay in Pune I had an interesting encounter with Dr. Tulpule, one of the staunch followers of the Sehgal’s approach to homeopathy. I met him with a clean slate not knowing anything regarding the Sehgal’s method, and he shared with me a few introductory and basic points of the approach. I learnt that, every case has in it a PPP, a symptom that is Present, Persistent and Predominating. The PPP is nothing but the state of the patient that reflects his concerns and worries at that point of his life. It is his condition during the illness, and his ways and methods of adapting to the situation. We need to observe and listen to how, why and what the patient says and further ask him to elaborate. Man mainly rules by his will and understanding with memory to act and when the mind of the man is in order it is said to be health and when disordered it’s said to be diseased. Some entry points in every case are their dispositions, situations, feelings, emotions and sensations.

Some examples of key rubrics and their interpretation are as follows:

FEAR extravagance, of

When a patient comes to the physician with a problem which he might have not taken seriously earlier, and now wants to get help so that it doesn’t further increase.

DELUSIONS injury, injured, surroundings, by his

When the patient tends to blame his environment, other people including  family for his not getting better.

DELUSIONS, wrong suffered, has

This rubric can be taken when the patient feels that medicine taken cannot help him. He has developed new set of symptoms after taking the previous medicines, which he claims to be wrongly prescribed or too harsh now he cannot function normally as before.

HIDES things

When the patient comes to the doctor with a preconceived thought of not sharing his personal matters with the doctor.

My main lesson in this approach was to understand the patient’s language and translate it into the rubric metaphorically and accurately. This will broaden the vision of what we can see in every case.

Dr. Tulpule

The quest of exploring homoeopathy started with my hunger for knowledge and I learned from experienced doctors. Application of all these experiences has made me more confident in my practice. I have more than one path that could lead me to the simillimum. Incorporating and integrating the different approaches not only brings me closer to the simillimum but also enriches my knowledge of various aspects of our wonderful science.

About the author

Sheetal Bidri

Dr. Sheetal D. Bidri graduated B.H.M.S in 2015 and M.D. Homoeopathy in Paediatrics in 2018 from Government Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Bangalore. Inspired to pursue homoeopathy at greater heights by learning under Dr. Usha, she completed the basic modules and SCPH from the School of Predictive Homoeopathy. She learned from doctors in Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai and Kolkata, including Dr. Sanjeev Dole, Dr. Gaurang Gaikwad, Dr. Sunirmal Sarkar (and also worked on his recent publication ‘Just You Think’.) She is receiving extensive training from Dr. Rajan Sankaran through his WWR series online education portal. She is now practicing in Bangalore at ‘Happy Healing Holistic Homeopathic Clinic’.

3 Comments

    • Thank you Dr. Gaurang. You have been an inspiration to learn under various masters of homeopathy, be it old ones from the literature or new ones from their clinics and experiences. Thank you for guiding me as well, learning a lot from you!

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