I’ve gotten a lot of feedback like this one on the article I wrote about giving more than one remedy in a case (see last month’s ezine: May, 2010):
What Would Hahnemann Say? – Part 2
Elaine responds to feedback from her article of last month regarding the use of more than one remedy in a case.
Dr. Ellen,
Mixing the medicines, like a “mixture” of the old allopathic doctor, by so called homeopaths is prevalent in Pakistan as well. Their reason? They want to “cover all symptoms”! It only shows their ignorance of Materia Mediaca and the teachings of that great master, Hahnemann.
But Dr. Ellen, Bryonia for fracture? I thought Symphytum works wonders.
Nisar
Thanks for the question, Nisar. Bryonia for fractures, why? Because when you have a fracture, what is the sensation? Sharp pain! Worse least motion! What remedy does that remind you of? Yes, Bryonia! Of course, once the the bone is set, it’s Symphytum all the way! Bryonia is for the pain of the injury when the symptoms match.
Yes, I know about the way homeopathy is practiced by some in Pakistan, I understand the desire to want to “cover all the bases”. But this is the work of amateurs. When you can’t recognize an Arsenicum flu, which should be obvious to all of us, what can you do but give Ipecac for the nausea, Veratrum for the diarrhea, Mercury for the sore throat, Spongia for the cough, Arnica for the achy/sore feeling…and hope that one of them works! This is actually pathetic and has nothing to do with treating complex disease as Hahnemann explained in Aphorism 40: Dissimilar diseases, different etiologies, all setting up shop in different areas of the body, where one remedy cannot possibly be homeopathic to each complaint. A perfect example is what happens in a complicated injury: blunt trauma, stabbing, crushing, bleeding, fright…. One remedy is not going to cover all this; but, you start with the worst thing! Aconite might make for a good opening remedy here. Arnica might be considered next and so on.
Thank you Dr. for educating me.
Nisar
“I recently heard from a patient whose homeopath had prescribed 8 or 10 remedies, all to be taken at once, three times a day! I said, “This is not homeopathy, this is insanity!”
Read Ibid. Einleitung S. 51-54 and Hahnemann CFS. Lesser Writings. p. 460.
Will 30C bryonia taken by a “healthy” individual produce sharp pain? I remember an experiment where 87 healthy people were given Belladona 30C. They reported very strange things even conflicting with the usual Belladona remedy. Also true for a Pulstatilla proving. How do we know that the provings are correct in the first place? Even cinchona doesnt produce malaria like conditions any more ;).
Another story is about a homeo lecturer who said that he will ask volunteers to prove Lachesis (yes he told what the remedy he will give would be). All people who took the medicine exhibited very strong Lachesis proving. Only to be told later that they were given pure water!
I am not a Homeopathic denier, but would like to understand it better. The study I pointed out above was conducted on 87 healthy individuals with Belladonna 30C. Here is what the researchers had to say.
“One could criticize the fact that only predefined categories were offered to subjects for reporting the observed changes. Still one would have suspected that at least the pronounced and characteristic symptoms typical for belladonna would be visible. The fact that the symptom patterns tested showed quite erratic tendencies does certainly not speak in favor of the experimental hypothesis”
So what went wrong? Wrong potency? Bad medicine? Unsuitable volunteers?
Curious, there is a methodology for homeopathy provings. If you don’t follow that, you will end up with crap. Most of the provings (including Belladonna, Pulsatilla and Cinchona) were done in non-toxic MATERIAL doses. If provings are done this way, it is very easy to elicit common symptomatology arising from that drug. Only some sensitive individuals prove in higher protencies (beyond 12C) and these symptoms need to be cautiously analysed and confirmed overtime either through repeat provings or clinically. Hahnemann later did say that medicines can be proved in 30C straight and so does Jermey Sherr but these people were able to separate wheat from chaff after doing dozens of provings. For most people, such provings are going to present a confusing picture. George Vithoulkas is also of the opinion that drugs should be first proved in non-toxic material doses. The clinical efficacy of medicines coming from Hahnemann’s earliest provings is a verification of the proving methodology that ought to be followed to get proper symptomatology arising from a substance.
Manish Bhatia
You know what? I’ve seen people accidently prove a remedy and darned if I didn’t find the exact symptom in the Materia Medica! I’ve been amazed at how reliable our provings are.
More great explanations/suggestions from Elaine. I’ve had similar experiences when treating family members during which the “perfect” chronic remedy wouldn’t work until the acute illness (which just cropped up) was properly dealt with. To me this isn’t mixing remedies but instead treating what is in front of me. My wonderful mentor taught me this 🙂 Speaking of Elaine, this article was written with such gallantry, discernment and sophistication- Keep it up!!
Kelly: One of our more discerning and sophisticated readers.
Thanks Elaine. I always read your articles. You have such a knack for putting things in such a way that even a child could understand. I appreciate you.
And yet another discerning and sophisticated reader! (You’re not Kelly’s 8 year-old son, are you?)