Platinum –Tri Miasmatic Materia Medica (Part-2)

PLATINUM –Tri MIASMATIC MATERIA MEDICA (Part-2)

By V T Yekkirala

[Excerpted from my forthcoming book, ‘Classical Homeopathy – Challenges And Opportunities’]

It is no proof of man’s understanding, to be able to confirm what he pleases; but to be able to discern that what is true is true, and what is false is false, this is the mark and character of intelligence. – EMANUEL SWEDENBORG

 

INTRODUCTION

This is in continuation of the first part of this article[1] published in February 2014 issue of this journal. Building up themes based on the rubrics present in the repertory in which the remedy is present is a profitable exercise. It reveals the potential uses of the drug with different shades of coloring given by the miasm. When conducted with reference to a case on hand, this study becomes even more thrilling and productive. Once we know the technology behind this kind of a study, we can duplicate it in respect of any other remedy or case. So also we need to understand the dynamics of vital force in its different modes of action as when under action of disease; when it is acted on by suppressive treatments including homeopathy; and when it is acted on by the partial similimum, or constitutional similimum, or Genetic Constitutional Similimum (GCS). I find that understanding disease as energy greatly helps in understanding the dynamics of vital force in its different modes of action and reaction and helps us to trace the miasmatic progression and regression in each individual patient.

MIASMATIC PROGRESSION & REGRESSION

“In the permanent cure of diseases by medicines in living organisms nature seems never to act otherwise than in accordance with these her manifest laws, and then indeed she acts, if we may use the expression, with MATHEMATICAL CERTAINITY.” – (HAHNEMANN S., Materia Medica Pura- Spirit of the homoeopathic medical doctrine)

Dr Prafull Vijayakar’s teachings on miasmatic progression and regression of disease are sourced strictly from Hahnemann’s works, especially the above mentioned observation of Hahnemann and Aphorism # 74 of Organon which says: In order to maintain life against these inimical and destructive attacks, it must produce a revolution in the organism, and either deprive some part of its irritability and sensibility; or exalt these to an excessive degree (WHICH IS THE PSORIC DEFENCE), cause dilatation or contraction, relaxation or induration (WHICH IS THE SYCOTIC DEFENCE); or even total destruction of certain parts (WHICH IS THE SYPHYLITIC DEFENCE), and develop faulty organic alterations here and there in the interior or the exterior, cripple the body internally or externally, in order to preserve the organism from complete destruction of life by the ever-renewed, hostile assaults of such destructive forces. Simply put, when an organism is under attack by inimical forces, it defends itself first by inflammation (Psoric defense). If the organism can’t free itself by adopting this mode of psoric defense, then it adopts the sycotic mode of defense by dilatation, contraction, fortification, proliferation, induration etc. Even then if the organism could not free itself, then it adopts the syphilitic mode of defense by destruction of tissues or organs. (This is the normal mode of miasmatic progression in disease and there may be variations which will be discussed later.) Consequently the reverse should happen when the vital force is stimulated with the constitutional similimum. Syphilitic expression shall reverse to sycotic and then to psoric expressions. That this happens with mathematical certainty was first found and recorded by Hahnemann and now further amplified through his seminars and books by Dr Prafull Vijayakar who says ‘Homeopathy is Mathematics’.

Fundamental to our practice of classical homeopathy is the thorough understanding of the principles of ‘Miasmatic Progression’ (in disease) and ‘Miasmatic Regression’ (in cure) as amply explained by Dr Prafull Vijayakar in his books on ‘Predictive Homeopathy’. This helps us in understanding the miasmatic journey of disease in each patient and as a corollary, predict what should happen if the remedy given is the ‘Genetic Constitutional Similimum’ (GCS). This is also essential for deriving and understanding the Tri-miasmatic materia medica of every well proven remedy. Most importantly, this knowledge is essential if we are not to miss the remedy just because some vital theme of its popular drug picture available in all the materia medicas (like Haughtiness in Platinum) is not present in the patient sitting before us.

DISEASE AS ENERGY

[2]‘We know that diseases just do not disappear into thin air. Nor do they appear from out of the blue. Everything in the world, including diseases, have a precursor and a follower’

Dr Vijayakar’s concept of disease as energy, mentioned above greatly helps our understanding of the rationale behind his 7-Layer chart of Suppressions abundantly described in his book, ‘Theory of Suppression’. I feel we may conceptualize disease more specifically as a portion of vital energy that deviated from its original normal state and started acting as if it is an autonomous thing in itself and of itself, and not in consonance with the rest of energy field or vital force of the organism. The defense mounted by the rest of energy field to get back the disease energy under its control and normalize it to be in consonance with itself will be psoric to start with. When its psoric mode of defense does not solve the problem, this same psoric defense gets converted to sycotic mode of defense and still later to syphilitic mode if the sycotic mode of defense is found not adequate to restore order. From psoric to sycotic to syphilitic, it is a continuum and since the sum total of energy is constant, it follows that during cure the decrease in syphilitic mode shall result in corresponding increase in sycotic symptoms. When these also get converted into psoric symptoms, and later these psoric symptoms also disappear, confirming that the Psora has gone into latent stage – the cure is established. While doing this kind of conceptualization, we must also be aware that this is just a model that helps in our analysis of case and its cure, without which no successful case management is possible. If you have a better model that serves the same purpose, you are most welcome to use it, because after all a model is a model, something like a temporary scaffolding that is built around the structure while it is being constructed and later when the purpose is served, it is dismantled as of no use.

DISEASE AS ENERGY – CURE OR PALLIATION

Disease as energy, is an excellent concept adopted by Dr Prafull Vijayakar that paved the way for his Predictive Homeopathy.  Some other homeopaths before him too adopted this concept, but none to the extent that Dr Vijayakar did. In the light of this concept, the mechanisms of cure and palliation become more meaningful and assume significance in understanding the journey of disease in a patient, identify the change of miasmatic expressions and suppressions due to allopathy or non-homeopathic treatment of disease. Cure implies restoration of disease energy to its undiseased state, which is accomplished by the vital force when stimulated by the similimum. What follows in due course of this restoration process over several months, in a chronic disease is the normalization and seamless integration of disease energy with that of the rest of the organism. Palliation implies just a realignment of the disease energy without it being normalized or integrated with that of the rest of the organism and it continues its mischief albeit in an altered mode. It is well known that in almost all chronic diseases, the allopathic suppressions are attendant with palliation and not cure.

DISEASE AS ENERGY – ALTERNATING SYMPTOMS

We find the following rubric in the Radar repertory.

MIND – MENTAL SYMPTOMS – alternating with – physical symptoms

ABROT. agar. alum. Arnica astra-e. aur. bell. carc. cere-b. Cimic. con. Croc. ferr. gink-b. hippoc-k. hyos. IGN. lach. Lil-t. Murx. Nux-m. PLAT. Rheum stram. Sul-ac. sulph. tub. Valer. Veratrum zinc.

 

This rubric very aptly confirms our understanding of disease as energy and is in consonance with nature’s laws of conservation of energy. If we give a similimum and find that the mental symptoms have disappeared and disease has now travelled to the physical plane, what is the conclusion we can draw. Disease is energy and it cannot just vanish into thin air and so the relief in mental symptoms shall be followed by corresponding increase in physical symptoms, if the remedy given is correct. In fact we cannot draw any conclusion at this stage. Only after we come to know that these physical symptoms have also disappeared in accordance with Hering’s Laws of direction of cure and the patient is well both physically and mentally we can be sure of its cure. But what if after a lapse of a few days, the earlier mental symptoms return, and in all probability with even more vengeance, and you find the physical symptoms disappeared in the same proportion. This aspect is described by Campbell as follows.

“These states are mentally and physically reciprocal by reasons of the continual play of reflexes and many of them under no treatment or bad treatment eventuate in malignancy. But under the influence of one of the antipsoric or the diathetic nosodes, the latency can be made to declare its true character after which the scientifically selected remedy or cycle of complimentaries will accomplish more than any other remedial measure to subdue the miasm and divert its manifestations from vital to non-vital parts of the organism, and from malignant to benignant expression. Instead of venting the entire volume of the (disease) energy locally it becomes innocently diffused (by the correct similimum).” – J. B. Campbell in Proceedings of the Thirty-Fifth Annual Meeting of the International Hahnemannian Association.1914

It therefore follows that our selection of the remedy must cover these alternating states, if present in a case, for cure to follow. Otherwise we will be suppressing the case and ultimately it goes into malignancy. In alternating states as when mental symptoms alternate with physical symptoms or even the mental moods alternate between gaiety and depression (like in Bipolar), Platinum is one of the first ranking remedies to be considered. [MIND – EXHILARATION – alternating with – sadness]

DISEASE AS ENERGY – MENTAL PLANE

Will, Understanding, and Intellect form the three vertices of the mental plane. They belong to the individual constitution and mental makeup. Disease energy can localize at any or all of these three and the following case taken from Grauvogl’s Textbook of Homoeopathy proves the point and helps in conceptualizing disease as distorted energy either on the mental plane or physical plane or both, that has to be normalized with the similimum stimulating the vital force to do so.

CASE OF AN IMBECILE BOY (IHA 1916):

“I was asked to examine a boy, eleven years old, because I was told he always acted like an imbecile; now laughed, now cried, without being able to give any reason for it. As soon as he is not observed, he seeks to rub the genitalia against tables or chairs, or in any way, even against the thighs. This he pursues with such a passion, that he gets angry and cries whenever he is prevented from so doing; hence, he has to be kept constantly under the eye. He was no child like other children; he never played or took any interest in those of his age, was always absent-minded and forgetful, did not hear what was said; was seldom induced to speak, and when compelled, only answered a word or two, whereupon he forgot, right away, what the question was. He also made all sorts of grimaces, distorted his eyes and mouth; suddenly raced about the room, with all sorts of gesticulations, then sat down again, relapsed into a stupid mood, or whistled or sang to himself.

           “Irritable and very easily aroused, he was most quiet in the open air. Whatever was taught him, had to be taught mechanically, but above all things, of whatever he read, he could relate nothing. At the same time, he had no confidence in anybody. Everyone was indifferent to him, he showed an inclination for no one, and was in the highest degree timorous and distrustful. His hunger could hardly be appeased and he slept, if not disturbed, unusually long. At the same time, I observed after watching him a long time, that he was always more indolent and acted more peevishly and ugly one day than the other, on which account I forbade that he should be punished on his bad day.

 “To this child I gave, according to the law of similarity, Platina 30, four or five drops night and morning. In a very few days, everything improved, and the Platina was discontinued after having been given in this way for eight days, in order to let it produce its entire effect. Hereupon, however, the old vices made their appearance again in a few days. Nevertheless, I continued in this same way, and gave Platina 30 for eight days, and then discontinued its use for eight days, and afterwards for a longer time, and then had the satisfaction of curing this child so completely in the course of four months that he was freed from his unnatural sexual passion, even. Just in proportion as this declined, all his intellectual functions were brought up to their normal state.” –   Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the International Hahnemannian Association.1916

The above case shows how a true similimum can set right the constitution and rid it of its evil habits and addictions, so that the mental resources are freed from the clutches of disease force and the indwelling spirit can utilize his body for higher purposes of living. This case is also an excellent example of Platinum in mentally retarded children in particular and psychiatric disorders in general where we find this erotic theme predominates in the overall context of the case.

PLATINUM IN PAEDIATRIC PRACTICE

“Stages of development are clearly discernable in the child that grows up and matures. Remedies for these stages can be found in every kingdom, but in no other kingdom can the stages be traced back to remedies as easily as in that of the minerals.” – Dr Patricia Le Roux (Homoeopathic Links, 2006)

How to recognize Platinum constitution in children is best done by studying the rubrics carefully. Children come mostly with psoric phase of disease symptoms and these psoric drug pictures are not available in the materia medicas. If we are able to recognize and treat children with their constitutional remedies, following the acute remedies given to treat their acute conditions, their genetic predisposition can be corrected at a very early age and they can be saved of many misfortunes in health they are genetically prone to as they sail through the vicissitudes of life. Another aspect of this study is to confirm the childhood symptom picture retrospectively, of an adult patient sitting in front of us. This is so because it was only this original Psora that over the years got transformed to sycotic or syphilitic picture owing to suppressive treatment or wrong homeopathic treatment.

PLATINUM CHILDREN

Unlike in Phosphorus, Platinum children do not like to be caressed, cuddled or hugged. They are capricious.

You ask a Platinum child, ‘whom you don’t like’, she will say ‘I don’t like my brother’.  Why, ‘why because I hate him.’ How about your sister? ‘She is ok’. ‘Whom do you like most? ‘My pet’ and so the conversation goes. You give her crayons to paint and you find she is not interested. The mother confesses that this child is asking her recently why her genital area differs from that of her brother, which she noticed while bathing in the bath tub.  Following rubrics support this theme.

MIND – CARESSED; being – aversion to

MIND – AVERSION – family; to members of

MIND – ANIMALS – love for animals

MIND – ART – inability for

MIND – CAPRICIOUSNESS

As the child grows older and develops strong likes and aversions, there will be discernible changes in behavior. They start bullying parents till they get what they want. But this need not always be the case. Generally they will be harsh with mother but soft with father. Where the parents are both very strict and disciplinarian, these children resort to seducing behavior.

MIND – HARD for inferiors and kind for superiors

MIND – COQUETTISH – too much – children; in

MIND – begging, entreating

MIND – REVERENCE for those around him

MIND – AFFECTIONATE – alternating with – sadness

They remain aloof in the class room and like solitude and won’t join in play with other children. Early development of sexual instincts may be a pointer in mentally retarded children. Children grossly suffering from wounded honor because of being sexually abused or bullied by class mates may refuse to go to school on some pretext or the other or resort to intense praying and develop anorexia. As these children enter adulthood, they begin humiliating their parents by passing blasphemous comments on those venerated by their parents. They want to sport the latest and costly branded items to win the admiration of those around. This flamboyant nature may confuse us to give Lycopodium in the first instance. Children in psoric phase may refuse to participate in debating contests at school. A study of the repertory will prove Platinum is represented in all these themes.

PLATINUM AS TOP-MANAGERS

Some Platinum persons make excellent managers because they know which side of the bread, the butter lies and accordingly vary their style of functioning. With their sycophancy and seducing behavior they make it to the top. But once they reach the top, they miserably fail to deliver. Their authoritative style of functioning only suits such organizations which are loss-making and almost given up for revival. In such cases only they succeed in implementation of turn-around strategies and take them to never before thought of levels of achievement.  Like Winston Churchill, they are suitable as war time Prime Ministers only and unfit for peace time management. The case of Mr Mani Iyer, a former minister in the Government of India from recent history servers as an excellent example of this. He was once kept as Minister for Petroleum and was in constant[3] tug-of-war with the Chairman of Oil & Natural Gas (ONGC) to a point that the Chairman, who was acclaimed as the most competent CEO threatened to quit. This minister was later shifted to Ministry of Sports where also his performance came in for severe criticism by friends and foes alike. Mr Ajay Maken who succeeded him later as Sports minister sent a letter[4] to the Prime Minister, blaming former sports minister Mani Shanker Aiyar for the Common Wealth Games mess to an extent, claiming that Aiyar had played an “obstructionist” role. The public image of this minister closely tallies with Platinum. We have no knowledge of his private life or his sexual preferences. However, If he also happens to be a homosexual, then Platinum suits him as a GCS and he would make an excellent Prime Minister if selected for that post in 2014 and I have no doubt that he would pull the country from out of the present mess, what with the economy in doll drums and all-around rampant corruption eating away the social fabric. His unquestionable loyalty to the Gandhi family would serve as additional qualification for him for that post. This is just to show how knowledge of the constitutional types would help us identify retrospectively the GCS in every individual, as also serve as a guideline in selecting the best men for any job.

VARIATIONS IN MIASMATIC PROGRESSION – NATURE vs NURTURE

Man is a mixture of nature and nurture. So the outcome of miasmatic expression varies with the composition of this mixture. There can be infinite possibilities at every stage of development of disease. But the ultimate expressions can be broadly classified as frank syphilitic or autoimmune or those cases involving destruction of organs or tissues needing stimulation of stem cells. Especially those with tubercular diathesis or cancer diathesis end up with diseases related to their diathesis.

The question often comes, if always the way miasmatic progression takes place in every case of chronic disease, is invariably from psora to sycosis to syphilitic.  Let us consider the case of a young lady, married and getting accustomed to her life situation in a joint family typical of the Indian way of living. Suppose she hails from a well to do family and now finds herself forced to adjust with the new family. Added to all this, she feels she is looked down upon and not given the respect she deserves as a daughter-in-law. If she is a Platinum constitution, she should have taken the matter to its logical conclusion, or so we assume, and expect her to react accordingly. But we find from the history of her case, that she did not act haughtily and so we are tempted to rule out Platinum in the first instance itself. But, ‘acting haughtily’ is a sycotic defense mode of Platinum and if the family social and cultural context of the individual does not permit its expression, naturally the entire disease force directly gets converted to syphilitic mode and the patient ends up finally with either cancer pathology in the physical plane or psychiatric disorder in the mental plane. Even if Platinum happens to be the GCS in her case, we are filtering it out in the first instance itself, just because in her entire case history we find she never acted haughtily. This happens if we are unmindful of the fact that psora may get converted directly into syphilis, without first going to sycosis and then syphilis. This may be true of any remedy or any constitution and so the case history with particular reference to the journey of disease, has to be viewed in the peculiar context of the patient’s life situation to assess the potential suppressing factors like economic dependence, social values and cultural belief systems that prevented expression of the psoric or sycotic phase in its entirety. In some cases where the miasmatic progress occurred directly from psora to syphilis, the organism saves itself by converting back the syphilitic phase to sycotic phase and it stabilizes there for the time being in a new state of syco-syphilitic equilibrium as it often happens in cases treated with steroids for example. In such cases we get predominantly sycotic symptoms with very few syphilitic remnants. We have to hunt for these syphilitic remnants and cover our selection to include these, not forgetting to include the psoric origins from where the whole story started. Disease starts when the organism is starved of its psoric need. We as homeopaths must be alive to all such possibilities if we are to cure chronic diseases, especially where destruction of organs or tissues occurred and so need stimulation of stem cells for their regrowth as in chronic kidney disorders (CKD), motor-neurone disease (MND), Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) etc.

PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS IN PLATINUM CONSTITUTION

As already pointed out, the type of defense mechanism that one puts up is not only genetically determined but also by the environment or the life situation which is largely dictated by the family, social, cultural, and economic backgrounds. In any psychiatric disorder (that Hahnemann refers to as mental and emotional diseases), the question arises whether it has origin from somatic disorder getting converted or a disorder that was caused by the environmental influences like faulty upbringing, bad habits, evil influence of friends and those around etc. To know which of them the cause is, we need to take recourse to Aph#224 of the organon. In those cases originating from faulty upbringing, bad habits, perverted morality, neglect of the spirit, superstitions or ignorance, the mental disease will subside and improve when the patient is shown empathy, understanding, well-intentioned exhortations, consolation, or with earnest and rational expostulations.  On the other hand, if it is a psychiatric disorder that is really based upon a somatic disease (that got suppressed by unhomeopathic treatment), it will rapidly worsen with such counseling. The melancholic patient will become still more downcast, plaintive, disconsolate and withdrawn; someone who is maliciously insane will become still more embittered; and senseless talk will become obviously more nonsensical.

Platinum constitutions at this stage can be broadly divided into two categories, one in whom the patient gives vent to the expression of his innate instincts and lives the way they dictate his course of life; the other is where the patient suppresses those and prevented their expression on grounds of social, moral, religious or other constraints. Vithoulkas calls the former the ‘Earthy Type’ and the later the ‘Romantic Type’ and says:

[5]The earthy type goes into nymphomania. The romantic type goes into grandiose thoughts and the ego blows up in the same proportion that the sex urge is controlled. When the sex is left in free expression, then we do not have the grandiose ideas of Platinum.

The Earthy type will not go into psychiatric disorders, but the Romantic type goes into Obsessive Compulsive Disorders initially and frank erotic insanity finally. Sometimes the same patient may alternate between these two types. Such a case was shown at Jonathan Shore’s seminar, presented 19 – 24 April 1991 in the Netherlands. [6] Shore’s patient was a 48-year old male, PhD in mathematics from Stanford who alternated between a saintly living doing yoga, intense meditation etc and a highly promiscuous behavior taking drugs, etc. However Platinum has the power to stall the progress of the disease at any stage of both these categories and restore order and sanity resulting in normalization of thoughts, moods and behavior. If it happens to be just the state similimum and not GCS, it may have to be followed up with some other remedies to complete the cure.

EARTHY TYPE: Some rubrics relevant to this type are mentioned below. As can be seen from these rubrics, the disease energy is finding expression in the physical plane and when the syphilitic miasm blooms to full, this type pose a threat to the society and community at large.

MIND – LIBERTINISM

MIND – NYMPHOMANIA

MALE GENITALIA/SEX – SODOMY

MIND – OBSCENE, lewd – man searching for little girls

MIND – MORAL FEELING; want of

MIND – COMPREHENSION – easy

MIND – HOMOSEXUALITY

MIND – PEDOPHILIA

ROMANTIC TYPE: Some rubrics relevant to this type are mentioned below. It may be seen from these rubrics the disease energy is finding expression in the mental plane and in this mode it is destruction of self, which is like aiming the gun at oneself. So there is no threat to society from this type, as they destroy themselves with autoimmune disorders or insanity or cancer.

MIND – MARRIAGE – obsessed by idea of marriage; girls are sexually excited and

MIND – LASCIVIOUS – touch; women become lascivious at every

MIND – MENTAL SYMPTOMS – alternating with – physical symptoms

MIND – AILMENTS FROM – celibacy

MIND – OBSCENE, lewd – talk

MIND – MOOD – alternating

MIND – RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS – too occupied with religion – taciturnity, haughtiness, voluptuousness and cruelty; religious affections with

MIND – RECOGNIZING – not recognize; does – streets; well known

MIND – CONTEMPTUOUS – paroxysms against her will, in

MIND – CONFUSION of mind – knows not where he is

MIND – MANIA – violence, with deeds of

MIND – MANIA – sexual mania

MIND – INSANITY – strength; with increased

MIND – INSANITY – religious

MIND – INSANITY – erotic

MIND – SITTING – inclination to sit – wrapped in deep, sad thoughts and notices nothing; as if

MIND – SHRIEKING – must shriek; feels as though she

In any case, once the Platinum constitution gets into this syphilitic phase, the superiority complex fades away and then the following are some of the rubrics that indicate the direction one takes just before the psychiatric disorder becomes full blown.

MIND – DELUSIONS – unfit – world; he is unfit for the

MIND – ESTRANGED – wife, from his

MIND – SITTING – inclination to sit – wrapped in deep, sad thoughts and notices nothing; as if

MIND – DESPAIR – religious despair of salvation – alternating with – sexual excitement

MIND – FEAR – death, of – anger; from (only remedy)

PLATINUM COMPOUNDS – CANCER

The romantic type of Platinum constitutions ends up either with cancers or autoimmune disorders or psychiatric disorders. In cases of cancers occurring in Platinum constitutions, the various compounds of Platinum hold promise and need to be proved.

[7] Platinum-based anti-neoplastic agents are compounds of platinum used in 50% to 70% of all chemotherapy schemes for cancer patients world-wide.  But their use is attendant with side effects as noted below. Since what a drug causes, it can cure based on our homeopathy principle; these toxic effects show their potential use in homeopathy treatment of cancers in Platinum constitutions. However a homeopathy proving of these Platinum compounds in potencies only will give us more specific indications.

Cis-platin, [8] inorganic compound containing platinum, chlorine and ammonia was the first to be developed for chemotherapy. It is particularly found effective against testicular cancer. However, cis-platin used in cancer chemotherapy has given rise to nephrotoxicity with both tubular and glomerular lesions, severe nausea and vomiting, ototoxicity with tinnitus and hearing loss, and sensory peripheral neuropathy. So this drug in potencies should be useful in antidoting these side effects of chemotherapy and as a homeopathy remedy in Platinum constitutions suffering from cancers occurring in the urogenital areas, chronic kidney disorders, and sensory peripheral neuropathy (while Plumbum salts are to be preferred in motor axonal polyneuropathy).

carboplatin, is a second-generation platinum-based antineoplastic drug most commonly used for ovarian cancer and lung cancer. Its side effects include peripheral neuropathy, loss of vision and hearing, and bone morrow suppression causing drop in WBCs, RBCs and platelets. So this drug in potencies should be useful for antidoting these side effects in patients undergoing chemotherapy and in homeopathy treatment of Leukemia and bleeding disorders in Platinum constitutions.

Oxaliplatin, is used mostly to treat colorectal cancer, oesophageal cancer and stomach cancer. Its side effects are same as noted in the above drugs and in potencies it should be useful for cancers in GI Tract.

MIXTURE OF PLATINUM & CALCAREA – MARBLE

When we find a mixture of Platinum picture (haughtiness) and that of Calcarea (timid, slow, intends to play but afraid of getting hurt, loves protection and care and clinging for support), Marble (proved by Eising.N) is to be considered. [9] Dr. Vijayakar cured with Marble the case of a huge left sided hydrocele in a 14-year old boy who presented a perfect picture of Platinum, but with a mixture of Calcarea traits also. This boy’s father was cured of Lichen Planus and Diabetes with Platinum, while the boy’s maternal grand- mother was cured of Pulmonary Koch with Calcarea Phos and this knowledge came in handy for a successful prescription of Marble by Dr. Prafull Vijayakar. From the drug picture it seems that we can successfully use Marble in slow moving sycotic cancerous tumors in Platinum constitutions that also present the characteristic traits of Calcarea.

PLATINUM IN COMA

Patients going into coma after a fit of passion or such other causes may be helped by Platinum, if it is the GCS, which can only be known from the previous history of the patient. A bed side examination and careful observation from tip to toe may yield pointers to the indicated remedy in all such cases. Some relevant rubrics are mentioned below as an example and more can be searched for in the repertories.

Clarke J. H., Clinical Repertory – Causation – passion, fit of: ars. mag-c. nat-m. plat.

 

Murphys Repertory:

Brain – COMA, unconsciousness

Brain – COMA, unconsciousness – dream, as in a – does not know where he is

Brain – COMA, unconsciousness – pain, from

GENERALS – CONVULSIONS – unconsciousness; with

 

Radar Repertory:

MIND – AILMENTS FROM – excitement – emotional

GENERALS – PARALYSIS – toxic

GENERALS – PARALYSIS – toxic – lead

MIND – GESTURES, makes – hands; involuntary motions of the; and the sub-rubrics thereunder.

MIND – GESTURES, makes – hands; involuntary motions of the – grasping

MIND – GESTURES, makes – repeating the same actions

EXTREMITIES – CLENCHING – Fingers

EXTREMITIES – FLEXED – Toes

EXTREMITIES – DISCOLORATION – Upper arm – blue spots

EXTREMITIES – DEFORMED – Fingers

EXTREMITIES – CONTORTIONS of limbs

EXTREMITIES – COMPRESSION – Toes – First

EXTREMITIES – COMPRESSION – Thighs

EXTREMITIES – KNOCKED together – Toes

EXTREMITIES – JERKING

EXTREMITIES – PARALYSIS

EXTREMITIES – SHUDDERING – Upper limbs

EXTREMITIES – SHUDDERING – Leg, shivering

EXTREMITIES – STIFFNESS – convulsions – during

EXTREMITIES – STIFFNESS

EXTREMITIES – SHUDDERING – Upper limbs

EXTREMITIES – SHUDDERING – Leg, shivering

EXTREMITIES – RESTLESSNESS – Feet – trembling

EXTREMITIES – SWELLING

EXTREMITIES – TWITCHING – electric shocks, as from

EXTREMITIES – TWITCHING – Wrists – Ulnar side

EXTREMITIES – ULCERS

CASE ENTRY POINTS – MENTAL PLANE

1. Excessive preoccupation with sexual thoughts and immoral behavior often involving sexual deviations and promiscuity as in Fluoric Acid. Erotic insanity and other related psychiatric disorders like OCD, ADHD, and Imbecility.

2. Constant comparison of self with those around, in terms of body image or intellectual or professional achievements. Jealous and Contemptuous of those venerated by others and casting them aside in paroxysms against his will.

3. Actual loss or fear of losing all physical and mental faculties, like walking, talking, chewing, swallowing in the physical plane and senses like hearing, seeing, smelling, touch, vibration, taste etc in the mental plane.

4. Excessive fear of penetration at all orifices of the body. Fear of coition with palpitations and may even faint during coition. Deathly anxiety, as if her senses would vanish, with palpitations and trembling of all the limbs.

5. Cutting off relationships with parents, spouse, children or kith & kin like in Fluoric Acid.

6. Mental symptoms alternating with physical symptoms. Mental symptoms appear as physical symptoms disappear and vice versa.

7. Alternating moods without cause. One moment happy and laughing; and another moment sad and weeping. These moods are not just alternating but do so to the extremes. When happy she could embrace everyone and laugh at the saddest things. So also great sadness, with weeping even at joyous and laughable things, or if she is spoken to. Platinum is suitable for Bipolar disorders.

8. Alternating states. Religiousness alternating with eroticism as in Lilium-tig.

9. Ailments from pride, disappointments, grief, vexation, fit of passion.

10. Excessive anxiety leading to panic attacks.

CASE ENTRY POINTS – PHYSICAL PLANE

1. The pains increase gradually and as gradually decrease (Stannum met); and are attended or followed with numbness. Extreme sensitivity in psoric phase turns into numbness in syphilitic phase.

2. Numbness in various parts of body, head, ears, nose, teeth, face, sacrum, coccyx, back etc. Sometimes numbness alternating with hypersensitiveness.

3. Hypersensitiveness at all orifices of body. Refuses permission to be examined by the physician even after being assured prior anesthetization locally.

4. The patient presents flamboyant style of living, sporting the costliest dark glasses, wrist watch and dress. Does not mind spending a fortune on branded items as he wants to show he is a class above the rest of others.

5. Sleep position: sleeps on back with hands over head and thighs drawn upon abdomen and knees spread far apart.

SUMMARY OF PLATINUM

The popular drug picture of Platinum as a haughty, commanding, authoritative individual prone to look down upon others as insignificant is too well known to need any mention here. It is the sycotic drug picture only useful when the patient sitting before us presents with diseases in sycotic expression like prolapses of organs, etc as described by Dr Vijayakar in his book, “The End of Myasmtion of MIASMS”

In patients coming with purely psoric phase of diseases or syphilitic phase of diseases, we will not be able to recognize Platinum constitution, if our knowledge is limited to the sycotic drug picture because this haughty behavior will be absent. Following the methodology shown by Dr.Vijayakar, psoric and syphilitic drug pictures are described and the reader can further amplify these with his own clinical experience as well as studying critically the cases of cure published in various journals. A true cure invariably occurs as per Hering’s Laws and confirms the remedy as the right constitutional similimum.

In psoric phase Platinum mostly comes with complaints of anxiety. He may have anxiety in company or when talking to others in company or even from the most joyful things. Sometimes the anxiety may alternate with flushes of heat. He will have anxiety from excitement or from impeded breathing or asthma or any other psoric ailment coming suddenly. Sometimes when the anxiety peaks to uncontrollable limits as in Psoro-syphylitic phase he may have panic attacks as if all his senses would vanish and afraid that he can neither talk, walk, or swallow. He may be trembling, shrieking from anxiety, with sensation as if about to faint or vomit. In such cases it is advisable to give an acute remedy like Belladonna, Hyoscyamous, Stramonium, Pulsatilla etc and then follow it up with the constitutional remedy later. In certain other cases where the constitution shifted from psora to syphilis, the patient may project her anxiety on others. She may have constant anxiety about safety of her spouse or family members driving her mad. She may come with a diagnosis of OCD. Her anxiety in syphilitic phase may get projected on to inanimate objects too, like a kitchen knife, the sight of it bringing forth her aversion to family members as a sudden and inexplicable desire to kill her spouse or kith and kin. She may vouchsafe her fondness for her spouse and family members nevertheless and we need to take all such assertions with a pinch of salt and give her Platinum high, higher or highest. Platinum loves herself and has no love for anyone.

In the sycotic and syphilitic phase, she may have many fears. She may have fears in all orifices of her body. She may have voluptuous, tingling sensation, (coitus-like) in her organ leading to anxiety with palpitations. The excessive sensitiveness in psoric phase may go to numbness in various parts of her body as she shifts to syphilitic diseases.

Themes connected with erotic excursions and comparison of self with others will be unchanging traits of a Platinum constitution irrespective of the ruling miasm. So also the craving for respect from others. Platinum wants to be respected for his authority. (‘Palladium wants to be admired and adored for her looks, while Manganum wants to be admired for his deeds and achievements.’)

CONCLUSION

If some of the readers especially those who entered the profession recently find themselves as much confused as they were before reading this article, my humble suggestion to them is to read the books and view the seminar DVDs[10] on Predictive Homeopathy by Dr Prafull Vijayakar and then a second reading of this article will surely help them appreciate the approaches presented herein. Amongst our contemporary classical homeopaths Dr Prafull Vijayakar stands like a towering giant and a perfect example of the precept of Emanuel Swedenborg quoted at the beginning of this article.