CLINICAL EXPERIENCES

 

            The story of an old man who crossed a big river flowing rapidly; he crossed with difficulty.  After he reached the other shore he built a bridge.  When someone asked “Why are you building this bridge?  You have already crossed the turbulent river”.  The old man said, “This bridge I am building so that, that young man there, who wants to cross will not falter, does it easily; and for the many who follow.”

           

In so far as Homœopathy is concerned each man’s experience is his/her experience and will not be a pointer (of the remedy) to others.  May be the experience of the experienced practitioner will help since it would build confidence.  Even here, there is not much chance for an individual to prescribe as it pleased that individual.  Heed the rules.   We travel on the road already cut and well-kept by our predecessors.  I recall a poem by Robert FROST:

   

 “Much as I own I owe

            The passers of the past

            Because their to and fro

            Has cut this road to last,

            I owe them more today

            Because they’ve gone away.” 

 

            HAHNEMANN has already warned (Preface to Organon) that Homœopathy is a ‘cogitative, laborious’ work but when practiced properly it is a ‘blessed business’.

           

My first prescription was a single remedy (Sulphur 30), and to this day 46 years later it is still a single remedy and never a combination or any adjuvants like Biochem/Bach Flower, etc. etc.

           

Fortunately I had no particular teacher who taught me to follow that teacher’s technique.  I learnt German and began reading the literature in original and my grounding on HAHNEMANN’s teaching in the Organonand Chronic Diseases and the enlightening essays of his close followers like von BOENNINGHAUSSEN.  Of course I had the good fortune to move closely and for long with very impressive names in contemporary world of Homœopathy within and abroad.  I am grateful to them.  Most of them have gone to their well-earned rest.  I do not want to mention names, and as I quoted FROST’s poem,  I owe them more today. I also learnt a lot through correspondance and conversations and attending several Seminars.

 

            Another source of genuine knowledge is the Homœopathic Literature pertaining to the golden years of Homœopaths  - BOENNINGHAUSEN, HERING, LIPPE, GUERNSEY, WELLS, ALLEN, DUNHAM, NASH, FARRINGTON, KENT, down to ROBERTS, Wright-HUBBARD, etc.  We have a never-drying-up wealth of literature.  These are our sources.

           

I’ll speak briefly about few cases:  Remember that I told you about my first prescription.  A 32 year-old man, an office assistant, was seen knocking with his fist, on the top of his head and seemed to be in some suffering.  When enquired he said that at about 1100hrs. he gets a pain on his vertex along with vertigo, every day since few months. He has been prescribed by the allopathic doctors.  At this time I was reading the small monograph titled ‘Leaders in Sulphur’ by E.B. NASH and I had read it repeatedly and learnt by heart the 41 ‘leaders’ that point to Sulphur.  The vertigo, the vertex location, the time 1100hrs. and I gave him Sulphur; within five minutes, I found him again knocking with his fist his vertex and I asked him.  He said his pain, vertigo were all gone and he was only verifying it by knocking on the head.  For more than a year when I saw him, he remained well.  This was in 1959.

 

            This was so impressive.  A long-standing complaint, one remedy, one dose and lo! The pain vanished permanently.

           

A boy of about 3 years sturdily built but Asthmatic.  He was having an asthmatic attack the previous day and was given.  Antimonium tartaricum 30; this had given some relief but next day he was worse and it was clear that the Antimonium tartaricum  was only partly similar.  He was lying prostate, quiet, very shallow breathing, was bluish.  The situation was rather serious.  The child was given a dose of Ipecacuanha 30 and within few minutes his bluishness came down, he sat up and started to eat!  Lesson: the correct remedy would surely bring the most rapid relief which no other medicine has until then (and to this day), to the best of my knowledge.

 

            Such rapid response to the medicine remains indelibly in memory and conviction of the correct single remedy’s action.

 

            In the case of infants, and babies who suffer from Diarrhoea before they reach their first year birthday – it is a crucial period – when the child has several large, profuse, watery stools, which would seem to drain the child where you have to act soon and give the correct medicine.  Such cases were faced in places where there was no other immediate medical hospital and even out of those who went to the hospital a good  percentage was lost.  I am speaking of early 1960-63  - 43 years ago.   Fortunately in those days we had limited number of books and you read only them again and again and memorised.  NASH, H.C. ALLEN, MMP of HAHNEMANN, James B. BELL, von. BOENNINGHAUSEN’s Lesser writings.   KENT and KNERR Repertory were not easy to obtain.  Now the market is flooded with books; it is a big ocean and the Repertory has so many rubrics and so many remedies that one becomes more confused.  Well, it was BELL’s book on Diarrhoea which helped me save these children.  A senior Paediatrician  who became an ardent  homœopath told me that she would shudder on seeing an B coli stool because it was difficult to save that child with the then available allopathic medicines.  She found that it was with Homœopathy that she could cure such cases.  So, the character of the stool, symptoms before, during, and after the stool would bring a few remedies; then the concomitant symptoms would help reduce it further and from these we select the constitutional remedy.  There are several characteristics which I used to memorise, and they helped.

 

            I’ll give an example in so-called emergencies when all around you the patient’s relatives and others anxiously keep inquiring;  I should not lose my equilibrium.  Read KENT’s picture in the very first paragraph ofAntimonium tartaricum. There is a small booklet by Douglas BORLAND titled Some Emergencies in General Practice.  This book is a gem and helped in early days and even now; we can add our own experience to this.

 

            Another way is to memorise the differential characteristics. Now listen to this Rhyme in Margaret TYLER’s Drug Pictures:

 

     Feels “if she moves her heart will fail, is

     A pretty strong plea for Digitalis;

     “Must keep on moving, or heart will stop,”-

     Gelsemium here comes out easily top;

     While with Lobelia, you’ll hear her say,

     That “it’s going to stop, whichever way”.

     With a Cactus heart, iron-band constriction

     (Chest, uterus, rectum, all share the fiction).

     Then Lach. has constriction on waking; Ars. A.

     Gets constriction – oppression, on walking; you’ll play

     Tiger lily to splendidly comfort her woe,

     Whose heart is alternately grasped and let go.

     Iodum has a heart simply squeezed and no more:

     The most violent hearts for Spigelia roar.

 

            A young man, about 28 years was taking his meal in a ‘Mess’.  I was sitting at the next table.  The tables were all full as the men were having their food and leave for their offices.  Suddenly this young man clutched at his chest (heart) and seemed to be in great pain, got down from the chair on to the floor and was rolling in great pain.  I wiped my hand in a towel, ran to my room (in the same building) and came within a minute and tapped 3-4 pills of Aconitum napellus XM, put back the vial into my pocket.  By this time   within two minutes, the man got up free from pain.  It appeared that he was a heart patient; he was advised to visit his cardiologist without delay.  This was in Calcutta in 1980.  Action of the homœopathic remedy in emergencies was so convincing for the many office-goers who were all present.

           

There is another case of a female heart patient who was in the care of a Cardiologist but not fit for surgery.  She was under my homœopathic  medication.  This time she came, sat down in the chair and within a minute slumped in the chair, her head on the table and perspiring profusely.  Her dress was soaking wet, head very sweaty and couldn’t open eyes.   I was wiping her with a towel and found the sweat cold and she was rather bluish. Pulse imperceptible. I asked her husband to get an auto rickshaw to take her to the KMC Hospital.  In the meantime I put a powder of Carbo vegetabilis XM and talked into her ears that it’s “going to be alright, pick up” and stroked her back gently and in minutes her sweating came down, she raised her head and was becoming warm.  Within the next 5 minutes the auto rickshaw came and she went to the KMC Hospital.  In the evening she came and said that her Cardiologist confirmed that she had suffered an attack and has been saved.  He also advised her to continue with Homœopathy until she became strong enough for surgery.  This was some 20 years ago.  These experiences are to be witnessed by the younger homœopaths. 

 

            It is the greatness of Homœopathy that we get all types of cases as they come, almost every day.  An infant with birth defects like septal hole, or a child with hydrocephalus, a Down’s Syndrome, Autism, Muscular dystrophy, children with learning disabilities, poor memory, Examination funk, lack of concentration, precocities, poor growth; then girls with Puberty problems, later menstrual problems which are too many; Sterility, Menopause, Obesity, Fibroids, etc. etc.; rheumatic and arthritic complaints fill a large part of our practice.  Respiratory complaints, Asthma etc., and Renal complaints, Haemophilia, etc. etc. make the most of our practice; Skin complaints, are so many, the most difficult being Psoriasis.

 

            Then there are unusual requests for cosmetic changes – like a too dark-skinned wanting to become less so after the wedding date is fixed; too thin person to put on weight, too bulky to lose weight, and so on.

            Oh yes, since about a decade more cases of Cancer especially after radiation, Chemotherapy, surgery etc. and mostly in Gr. III and Gr. IV, that is when they became very difficult, tending to become terminal.

 

            I would like to assure that all the ailments generally enumerated above have come their way in my clinic and we do our best.  There have been striking successes and failures too.

 

            We can never delimit the range of a homœopathic remedy.  Those of you who have read GALLAVARDIN – his Plastic Medicine, Psychic Medicine, J.C. BURNETT – his 21 Monographs each one a gem, wonders, would understand when I say that Homœopathy has no limitations, while every homœopath has his/her own limitations.  Most of our colleagues think that their limitations are limitations of Homœopathic Therapeutics.  When we read HAHNEMANN’s cases and later those great ones like BOENNINGHAUSSEN, KENT, ALLEN, LIPPE, Erastus CASE, etc.  We see that now we treat more difficult cases.  This is not meant to deride those beacon lights nor to pride ourselves but only to point out that more and more of so-called ‘incurables’ are curable now.   So we must proceed to become better and better homœopaths day by day by careful study of the Organon, theChronic Diseases and the reliable Materia Medicas.  Our feet should be firmly on the ground.  We should not over-rule the basics.  Fanciful, novel ideas should not move one from foundation.  I must stick to the fundamentals. The highflying modern Gurus – there are any numbers of them – may label this fundamentalism, used as a ‘smear’ word.  These people do not remember that everything has a basic, fundamental base.  However high one may fly one has to touch the ground down get down from the flying machine and go home and find his happiness, fulfillment etc in. his home. It was exciting while flying, but it is a passing phase.  Keep to the basics and you will not be lost.  Go too high you will be tossed about by the winds.

            I have spoken on the basis of my decades of practical experience, I have practiced according to the Law of Similars as laid down by the great Master and his true students.  I have carefully kept myself off from Impostors.  I wish you all well.  

 

            I give few cases further now.

 

Vedachalam

Male 54 yrs. Working in TB Res. Unit.  P. C. – Wheezing since June 2004. Asthalin inhalation 4 puffs a day admitted Hospital for 10 days in June 2004

His wheezing complaints began after 4-5 Pints of IV Fluids

Breathless when walking.  On medicine for htn. Feels terribly weak

Hence fear.  Sensitive. Easily wounded mentally.

Lachesis muta 200 one dose on 5 Dec.2005.

Jan.2006.: much improved.  SL.  Remains well till now.

 

Vighneswari. Girl 13 yrs. Psoriasis, extensive.  Face fully affected.  Head to toe.  

Father: Paternal aunt, both Psoriasis.  GF Skin disease.

Wheezing since childhood.  On Homœopathy (Father old DHMS)

Frequent attacks of Cold since childhood.

21 Aug. 2005: Sulphur 200, one dose.

Aggravations prolonged, then steady improvement.  No further medicine until date. As

on August 2006 only few lesions on the scalp only.  Face etc. clear.  On SL.

 

 

Satish Kumar. 28 yr. Male.  Ulcerative Colitis diagnosed in 2001. Colonoscopy done thrice.  Piles 2nd degree.  Surgery suggested.  4 – 5 stools a day, sometimes only mucous, blood with mucous.

Sedentary work.  Hurried and tense.  “I am a worrying type”.  Urge for stool when tense. 9 a.m. to 11 A.M. very tired, evenings fresh.  Desires potato, pungent food, snacks.  Sweats all over, hands and feet.  Foot sweat offensive.  Sleep heavy, difficult to be aroused.  Starts on falling asleep.  “All manifestations of my intestinal ailment”.  Unexpressed anger.  “I feel the ulcer is because of this anger”

Nit-ac. Q1 on 28.12.2005.  Improving steadily. Rpt.Q2, April 2006.  Improving. Q3 on 1 Aug.2006.  Overall tension lesser.  Impact of insecurity less.  No tiredness.  Number of stools reduced. 

 

Jayasoorya 4 year-old boy.  From 1-year age under homœopathic care.  Oct.2004 diagnosed Nephrotic syndrome. Treated Childs Trust Hospital.  On Wysolone.Oct 2004 to Jan 2005.  Some relief, when Wysolone stopped recurrence.  Again Wysolone.  This pattern continued. June 2005 onwards Homœopathy.  Was on Solidago mother tincture. Not satisfactory.  Since coming here on Rhus toxicodendron and much better, although not completely cured.

 

Sanjit Soorya. 3 yr.old boy.  Nephrotic syndrome diagnosed in 2004.  9 Jan.2006 face puffed up.  Dull, drowsy.  Albumin 4+..  On Prednisolone.  When it was stopped  recurrence.  Again and again same.  9.1.2006: Apis Q1- Q4  (now Q4), very much improved.

Ugamchand Jain.  62 yr. old male.  Jan.2006 diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Stage III. 6 – 7 years ago had similar pain.  Indomethacin made him worse.  Fluid from knee drained.  Bl. Transfusion.  Hospitalised.  He came practically unable to extend or place his rt. Leg on the floor, limping on one foot.  On 26.3.2006 Phosphorus 200.  Repeated on 6.8.  Improvement began promptly with the first dose itself.   Very much improved.  Can extend the leg almost fully.  Walks and goes to his shop, temple, etc. 

 

Perumal, 83 yr.old Agriculturist.  Cough.  Mucous block in throat since 10 years, periodical agg.  Long cough so deep that he suffocates and there is lachrymation with sweating.  Stringy white expectoration.  Suffered Herpes left lumbar back 3 months ago, allopathic treatment.  Pain burning in that part off and on.  Pain right Inguinal hernia from coughing.

17 Aug.2006: Mezereum daphne 200

20.8.    No burning in the herpetic suffered part.

20.9.    Still when he coughs becomes breathless    Lycopodium clavatum 200.

20.8. then 13.9 reported completely well. Lasty seen in July 2012: remain very well.

 

Lokesh. 35 yr. Male.

24.5.2006: Nose block, wakes him from sleep.  Ulcer (gastric).   Whole body feels very weak.  Libido less.  Lot of  personal problems.  Hair going grey.  Sweat offensive.

Lycopodium clavatum 200

27 July: SL. 

11 Sep. SL.

Great change in mental attitude.

 

I chose to present different diseases, most of them recent ones:

            2 children with Nephrotic Syndrome

            1 elderly man with Gr.III Multiple Myeloma

            1 young girl with extensive Psoriasis

            1 man with severe wheezing

            1 man with Ulcerative Colitis

            1 old man with chr.cough

 

            These only to impress that genuine Homœopathy can take all types of diseases if he/she sticks to the basic rules.

            Thank you all,

            Few questions and answers followed.