Questions Patients Ask-26

Not So Fast!

Hello everybody!  I’m going to summarize the first question for you.  A patient came down with a virus centered mainly in her chest.  When I finally found the right remedy for that, she reports back saying that now she’s got diarrhea and hemorrhoids and burning!  I was thinking this was a continuation of the virus and so I was about to say, “Arsenicum!”  But then I remembered that she had been to a doctor, and the doctor had prescribed antibiotics and an inhaler and prednisone; so I said, “Is it possible the diarrhea is a side effect of some drug you’ve taken?”  It turns out…and guess what?  She’s been taking Magnesium!!!!  Magnesium is a laxative!  You’ve heard of Milk of Magnesia, right?  So you should really stop and think before you start repertorizing symptoms that may be the result of something–some drug or supplement–that your patient has been taking or mis-using.  That was certainly the case here.

How Do You Take A Cat’s Case?

Elaine, my cat’s got cystitis but she can’t “talk”, so, I’m not sure how I’m supposed to fill out the questionnaire for her.

Taking an animal case is a lot like taking a baby’s or toddler’s case.  They can’t talk but you can observe that certain things bother them or certain things make them better.  For example, you can tell if they’re better for affection and being petted or if they’d rather be left alone.  You can tell if touch or pressure makes them worse or better.  You can tell if they’re more thirsty than usual or more hungry than usual.  You can tell if they prefer warmth or look for a cool spot to lie down.  You can tell if they’re better or worse from exertion or movement, you can tell if being in the sun makes them better or worse, or if they’re better outside, worse inside.  You can tell if they’re worse for being approached.  You can tell if they get worse at a certain time of day or night, you can get an idea of their demeanor–are they dull, lethargic, active, restless, frantic, aggressive, irritable, etc.  You can describe what they’re doing, describe their appearance, or anything peculiar that you see.  With animals, you have to think about what they may have eaten that they shouldn’t have.  Think about possible chemical exposure.  Think about possible causes, in other words. 

I am not totally sure whether the cystitis that my cat is dealing with at the moment is acute or chronic.  It is acute at the moment, but she did have this several years ago too.  Then it was stress related, I don’t remember what we did that made it go away anymore, I believe Feliway helped but not sure what else.

But I would like your help with the cystitis that she is dealing with now.  Can that be an acute case?  If so, then I would like to receive the questionnaire please.

OK, we will hope we won’t need any constitutional information to solve this case.  If you read the dog’s case with cystitis (the Platina case), you probably noted that we did need constitutional information for that.  The dog was aloof, never greeted people at the door (company had to come to HER) and she made sure she was viewed as “superior” by the other dogs in the house.  Sometimes you don’t know where the clarity in a case is going to be.  Is it going to be in the acute symptoms?  Or is it going to be the personality, the behavior that will unlock the case?  This is why it’s best to always have a complete case.  But, like I said, we will do the best we can with the Acute Case Questionnaire and see what happens.

Edema

I over-did it drinking raw goat’s milk.  I was afraid the milk would go bad so I drank it all up.  My legs and feet are swelling.  What should I do?

Try Apis 30C.   

Apis 30 c worked!  I do not know why my legs were swollen, but Apis 30C helped.  Thank you.

You drank too much, kidneys were overwhelmed, stopped working. 

Just remember, under-drinking and over-drinking, both can have disastrous consequences. 

Apis is a great kidney remedy when edema is the result.

How Do I Know When To Repeat A Remedy?

 My mother has the flu.  I’m afraid I’m going to catch it.  Yesterday at 7pm I had tummy ache, took Oscillococinum, it went away.  3 am woke up, no flu symptoms.  Not sure if i should take Oscillococinum again.  Took it anyway “just in case.”  9 am forgot to take 3rd dose.  Still have no idea how I am supposed to take Oscillococinum.  

You only have to take it once.  Oscillococcinum is a 200C remedy.  If it works, you only need to take it again if you start to relapse.

When You’ve Finished Your Remedy Solution Bottle, Then What?

 Hi

So my original tarentula which i made in bottle is almost over. So i will again prepare new one in a bottle and then plus it, correct?

No!  You can’t start over!  Just add more water to your bottle, fill it half way, then succuss 40 times, then pour out bottle again, refill, succuss 40 times and do that one more time and you will have raised the potency by 3.  And that’s it.  People think that when their water bottle is empty, or nearly empty, they have to start all over again with a new bottle of water and new pellets.  No, you never go back to the pellets!  The pellets are now weaker than the water in your bottle!  The water has been succussed dozens of times, so it is STRONGER!  The pellets are weaker, it would be like going back to 2 mg. of Valium after graduating to 5!  Would the 2 mg. tablets work like they did in the beginning?  No!  This is why you can’t start over again.  Work with the water that you have, it’s stronger than the pellets!

 

Remedy Doesn’t Work?  (And A Nice Description Of Lachesis!)

Sorry to bother you on New Year’s Eve.  We don’t really celebrate, just some sparkling cider.

  Now why didn’t I think to buy sparkling cider????

So it seems that there are some traits in all of the remedies we have looked at in this area (Lyc/Puls/Staph) but Lachesis is the best fit of all.  There are things very unlike me but most of the ones I have included here are shockingly right on:

Lachesis

  Negative Aspects:

– Erratic moods and behaviors (These tend to get me into trouble)

– Split psyche “Jekyll and Hyde” (I used to think I had a split personality)

– Highly emotional, switches moods and lashes out (gets me into problems)

– Tendency to addictions (I belong to two 12 step groups DA and OA)

– Complaints are on the left side of body (Always left side)

– Left sided physical issues like sciatica, etc. (I have these problems)

– Talk a Lot-Talks Loudly (Yes and Yes)

– Can be Sarcastic (Yes)

– Polarity and Duality (I was diagnosed with bi-polar when I was 27)

– Hypersexual (High Libido)

– Affected by heat- Skin Eruptions or Rashes

– Inner Restlessness and Agitation (Can’t sit still…unless I am meditating)

– Intense Behaviors (I don’t ever do anything half way)

– Dislike of high or tight collars, or throat being touched. (Wow-weirdly true)

– Palpitations or chest oppression worsened by lying on the left side (Yes)

– Self-Hatred, or lack of self love (strong at times)

– Oversensative (I am Very Sensitive)

– Flatulance (Yes…one of my major initial complaints)

  Positives

– Strong personality; leaders; thinks they are right (Too much so)

– Highly articulate with a wonderful gift of oratory (Articulate and I speak well)

– Public Speaker/Orator (I have been a public speaker all my life)

– Agile Tongue/Clever/Highly Articulate (Too clever!)

– Extremely creative and imaginative with the written or spoken word (YES!)

– A Taste for Life/Desire to have new experiences (I’ve been to 33 countries)

– Intense and Passionate Nature (Highly intense)

        I told you I would eat my hat if Lachesis wasn’t it!

So I guess we’ll have to wait and see…initial reactions to the remedy are weird.  I took the Lach 6c yesterday and I have been panicky, and a bit unsure of myself today.  Sleep was also strange.  I woke at 4am and could not get back to sleep until 9.

   So I guess it’s really hard to know at this point what’s going on.  “Panicky” certainly isn’t what we’re going for!  Listen, maybe your remedy needs to be in more water.  

I think my anxiety might be coming from starting a new job today.

    What???  How could you have left that out????  It’s like when people write to me and say, “My remedy’s not working”, and then they casually mention that someone’s died! 

    Do you want to know why your remedy’s not working?  You’re not in a Lachesis state anymore!  You’ve got “Ailments from starting anything new”–that’s Lycopodium! 

    Every time your state changes, you need to change remedies!  If you’re injured, you need Arnica, it wouldn’t matter that your constitutional remedy is Lachesis; if you took Lachesis for an injury, nothing would happen!  Similarly, if you took Lachesis while you were going through an anxiety state over starting a new job, it wouldn’t work!  Your constitutional remedy is only good for when you’re in that state!  You’re not in that state!

   It kills me how often I prescribe thinking a person is in a certain remedy state and then it turns out they’re not in that state at all!  All they say is, “The remedy didn’t work,” or “The remedy made me worse,” and the poor homeopath (me) is now scrambling trying to find a solution when there is no solution unless the patient admits to what’s really going on in their life; so, remember everybody, if you give a remedy to a patient, and they come back and tell you it didn’t work, be sure and ask, “Has anything new happened to you, are you different now in any way?” 

No wonder you’re panicky and unsure of yourself, you started a new job!  That’s Lycopodium!

I quit the other teaching job and took a new one with a steep learning curve!

Yeah, I’m under a lot of stress right now on top of the holidays.  Sorry.  I took Lyc 6c and it calmed me right down.

See?  What’d I tell ya!

I start teaching in a minute and I think I have it all under control.

There ya go!

Should I go back to Lach 6c (in a larger bottle) daily?  Twice a day?

No!  You’re in a Lycopodium state now.  Keep me posted.  Let’s see how long you need Lycopodium for, then we’ll look again at Lachesis.

******

People, be aware: a remedy that’s prescribed for you isn’t good for all time; it’s good for the remedy picture you presented with at the time you saw the homeopath.  Don’t put off taking this remedy!  Tomorrow or the next day or next week, you may be in a different state entirely, especially if you have a virus of some sort, and I’ve seen people go from Belladonna to Gelsemium, and they’re surprised that their Belladonna isn’t working, but they waited too long to take it!  These are the people who won’t buy a remedy kit, so they have no remedies or maybe just a few.  So the homeopath says, “You need Belladonna,” and the patient thinks he can go out and buy it the next day.  But the next day, the Belladonna state is gone and now he’s Gelsemium!  You must have a remedy kit at home, a 30C remedy kit.  Amazon sells them.  The other thing is, you wait around to take a remedy and allow the case to calcify, and when you finally do get around to it, the remedy doesn’t work; you’ve waited too long; the window of opportunity has closed!  You don’t have forever to take a remedy; take it now!

OK, it’s past my bedtime again.  Take care of yourselves, OK?  Don’t be like me!

Until next time…

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Elaine Lewis, D.Hom., C.Hom.

Elaine takes online cases and animal cases too!

Write to her at [email protected]

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