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SPECTRUM OF HOMEOPATHY
Jürgen Hansel ¦
VARIOUS REMEDIES
20
PALLIATIVE
metastasis, worse on walking. All her complaints are focused
on the right side and are worse in the morning.
CASE ANALYSIS
Following the 1990 WHO definition cited above, this is a classic
case requiring palliative medicine: a progressive, far-advanced
illness with limited life expectancy without any possibility of
cure. Yet, for homeopathy this does not necessarily mean that
the only possibility is palliative local treatment aimed at symp-
tom relief. In this situation, we can also initially select a remedy
based on holistic criteria, using the patient’s striking, unusual,
and characteristic symptoms.
The first thing to notice is how the patient deals with her ill-
ness: “I ignored it.” She behaves as if she is healthy, although
in fact she is seriously ill. One reason for this is her aversion
to doctors. Underlying this is a deep-seated fear of injury
that runs through her life and is painfully reactivated by the
illness “I can’t cope with the slightest physical injury, even in
my children. An open physical wound has an emotional effect
on me.” Since the patient is not at all a fearful person but
rather a strong, self-conscious personality, her fundamental
fear of injury is all the more striking. With this pronounced
sensitivity to the smallest scratch, she undergoes a series of
invasive procedures, with the pleural drainage subjectively ex-
perienced as the most major trauma – a shock in the language
of the repertory. The sensation of impalement is particularly
characteristic.
Repertorization of her sensations and the associated reaction
pattern leads us to the injury remedy par excellence: Arnica
montana. This also covers the patient’s decision to break off
chemotherapy after the initial impact with the rubric “over-
sensitive to allopathic medication”. Phatak writes of Arnica:
“Trauma in all variations, psychological or physical, as well
as direct or remote effects can be treated with this remedy.”
When selecting the remedy, I also regarded the local pain
symptoms as the effects of trauma and did not further con-
sider their unspecific form. At the most, the local symptoms
are striking in the aggravation from wind.
REPERTORIZATION
PROGRESS
August 2:
prescription of
Arnica
Q1, three drops a day. Initial
aggravation with pain in the entire chest and thigh, and the
patient is very restless. After three days, she is feeling much
better than before taking the remedy; she is far more stable,
has much more energy and scarcely any pain.
August 10:
more pain again in the leg and chest.
August 12:
energy somewhat lower.
September 2:
severe pains and vomiting for four days.
Comments:
since the remedy has so far had a positive effect
on her life force and pain but is now less effective, the potency
is changed.
Prescription:
Arnica
Q3, three drops a day
September 6:
no more vomiting, pain noticeably reduced
September 10:
severe pain in pleura and breathlessness. The
patient is exhausted after the slightest exertion and sleeps a lot.
Comments: the change of potency only brought about a short-
term improvement, following which the pain – now associated
with breathlessness - returns. Yet, the loss of energy is particu-
larly serious. Apparently, the positive effect of
Arnica
on the life
force has declined. So, instead of a new potency, a new remedy
is indicated. Due to the positive effect of Arnica, I search for a
related remedy from the same family, with a strong connection
to cancer. I choose the plant that Sankaran assigns to the cancer
miasm in the Asteraceae family.
Prescription:
Bellis perennis
Q1, three drops a day
September 17:
after a pronounced initial aggravation, the pleural
pain is now much less. Her energy was initially unchanged but
since yesterday, the patient has felt a noticeable spurt. Yet, she
has to repeatedly vomit although she feels no nausea.
Comments:
Bellis perennis
seems to have had a similarly posi-
tive effect on the energy and pain as did Arnica before but it
has no effect on the vomiting. In addition to the constitutional