Lac rhesus: a happy, mischievous monkey

Homoeopathy is a science that has tremendous potential to heal and give relief to the cases that have at times been troublesome for the patients as well as the allopathic physicians. Behavior problems specifically in young children fall into such a category. Here is one such case from my clinical practice.

The six year old boy was diagnosed with ADHD and was living his life so “HAPPILY” that nobody around him was happy. His parents decided to see me because the school administration told them to send the child to a school for special children.

Complaints mentioned by parents:

1. Excessive restlessness and inability to pay attention in any activities.
2. Very mischievous, which caused many complaints from the school.
3. Inability to read or write properly, despite repeated help from school teachers.
4. Continual running, and climbing onto high places and jumping, which makes it difficult to look after him.
5. Beats his friends violently while playing with them.
6. He eats too much and sleeps little.

In the consulting room, the child did not sit down and did not want to be inside the room at all. He tried to run out of the consulting room several times; when the father tried holding him with force, he hit him on his hand and ran towards the door. Finally, his father locked the door so that he could not get out on his own but he opened the latch by climbing onto chair and reaching the latch, then he and ran out. While observing what the child was doing, I continued talking with the parents. Since the child did not return after five minutes, his father went out and saw him on the terrace - he was sitting on a wall of the terrace. His father informed me that the child always likes to climb up on various places and that no one can ever control him. Since the conversation with the child was impossible, I continued to observe the child and to talk with parents.

Further information given by the parents:

"He only loves playing outdoor games. He keeps harassing everybody if he is kept inside the house. He breaks things, he shouts, making lots of noise. He keeps singing the songs and he mimics actors what he watches on the television. Today, he might mimic your style after we go home. He teases everyone by calling them different names. He teases his teachers as well; nobody bothers trying to control him, although he is very intelligent. He is interested to know the newer technologies, such as how to use I-pods, mobiles, computer etc., which he follows well. He is not good at studies since he cannot concentrate on any topic for long and he cannot sit still even for a short while. While playing with friends, if any fight occurs, he runs behind the friend until he beats his friend. If you beat him, he beats you back, but if he is not successful in beating back, that’s alright, he forgets it in few minutes and wants to get back to the game.

He always wants his mother to be with him. If he is not being controlled by any means, the parents blackmail him by saying: “If you don’t listen, your mother will jump in a well and you won’t be able to see your mother again.” When he is told this, he starts crying and keeps quiet. There is a significant fear of separation from his mother and he is very attached to his mother.  At night, he prefers clinging to his mother while falling asleep.  He is quite emotional about anything going wrong with his grandmother or his mother.

He likes to watch television and specifically to watch comedy movies - he laughs hilariously. Also, he enjoys watching dance on television and he keeps jumping and dancing along with the music.
He relates a lot to the monkeys, the entire family calls him a monkey-boy.
He fears snakes; the snake is the only animal that he avoids watching on the television.
He loves to eat fruits, especially bananas.
He sleeps very little.
His is thirsty and he prefers cold water.
He perspires a lot but without any specific smell.

Understanding the case:

Along with all the common symptoms of ADHD, the main individualistic feature of the case can be seen in following symptoms:

Desire to jump and climb – to the extent that he climbed up the outer wall of the terrace
Mimicking and teasing others
Intelligent and curious
Love for dancing and jumping.
Attachment to the mother; wants to cling.
Fear of separation from the mother.
Fear of snakes.
Desire for eating fruits, especially bananas.
Restlessness
Indoors

All these symptoms and the overall personality of the child lead me to the homoeopathic medicine that is made from monkey’s milk: Lac Rhesus.

Differentiating from the Spider group of remedies:

Characteristic symptoms. such as restlessness, desire for dancing and jumping, and the desire to eat fruits often point to the spider group of remedies. However, the attachment with the mother suggests the Mammal sub-kingdom. Also, the child did not have the qualities of cunningness and deception that make up the core theme of spiders.

Prescription: Lac Rhesus 1M, one dose every morning for three days

Summary of the follow-ups:

After two months:  the child came and sat on the chair of my consulting room. The father was very happy to see him sit without becoming restless. The child kept asking me about my laptop and about how to operate it. He communicated without a compulsion to leave the consulting room. His parents say that he is doing well but that his concentration is still not much better.

Treatment Plan: Repeat Lac Rhesus 1M, one dose and placebo for next two months.

After four months: He started paying attention in the tuitions; now, he can follow and understand his studies better than before. His sleep was still poor, his mischief was the same, and he continued teasing people. He had a fever episode that resolved itself without any medical intervention.

Treatment plan: No repetition.

After six months: The child continues to improve steadily; his restlessness has reduced. He takes interest in communicating with others. He is better with his studies, yet still makes few occasional mistakes in mathematics. Over all, he is doing well.

Comparing it with DSM IV Criterions for ADHD, we can see him improving in the right direction. Obviously, there is a long way to go yet; but the important point to note is that the road is correct.    

Such behavioral issues can be beautifully taken care by the wonderful science that we are blessed to practice. Practicing this science every day helps us to heal others and at the same time to heal ourselves. As Yoko Ono says “Healing yourself is connected with healing others.”

Photos: Wikimedia Commons
Rhesus Macaque in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand; Aiwok
Rhesus Macaque in Kinnerasani Wild life sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh; J.M Garg