Amputations and phantom limb pain

This week is a very "American" week.

On Friday, 11 November, we celebrate Veterans Day every year — in honour of the men and women who have served, fought and sacrificed to protect our rights. Thanks to their bravery, we were able this week to take part in one of our greatest American privileges: the elections. (Election Day in the USA was Tuesday, 8 November 2022.)

So my entire team and I want to say thank you to the veterans among us!

Veterans generally make many sacrifices, but they pay an incredibly high price, as many of them have lost limbs to gunshots, bombs, grenades and IEDs (improvised explosive devices). The loss of a limb is terrible in itself, but there are amputees who additionally suffer from phantom pain in their missing limbs.

Hope Through Homeopathy

Certain triggers, such as a weather event or change, or even the anniversary of the original injury, can worsen the pain. The affected person generally feels helpless. Unfortunately, despite the very real pain, there is no limb left to manipulate or massage to relieve it. Conventional medicine offers, if anything, little help. Even on the famous Mayo Clinic website it says: "It can be difficult to find a treatment to relieve your phantom pain."

In my practice, however, I also deal with this devastating complaint. Homeopathy offers — as always — hope where other paradigms fail. Perhaps we should call it "hopeopathy"! (A play on the English word "homeopathy"; translator's note.)

Hypericum or Calendula?

If you've been following me for a while, you may have thought of a suitable remedy. If you guessed Hypericum perforatum 200, congratulations! You've learned something!

Indeed, Hypericum is an excellent choice for nerve pain. For phantom pain, however, Hypericum would come second for me. And why is that?

Well, because homeopaths over the centuries have documented their successes and a quick look in the repertory (Dr Robin Murphy's Clinical Repertory of Homeopathy) leads us to an even more effective homeopathic remedy. For under "AMPUTATION, pain, phantom" we see that alongside Hypericum perforatum, Calendula officinalis is written in CAPITALS, bold and underlined, indicating that special attention should be paid to this remedy.

So if Calendula is highlighted as the most important remedy for phantom pain in amputees, who am I to disagree? I have also made the mistake of relying on Hypericum alone, even though the better choice would have been Calendula officinalis 200, to be taken twice daily until the pain is much reduced. More information on dosage and potency can be found here.

Working with the Repertory

Dear readers, can you see how it works? We do not reinvent the wheel on every occasion. No, we stand on the shoulders of the homeopaths who came before us. Their whole collective clinical experience and wisdom are compiled in the repertories. So whenever we don't have a treatment protocol for a particular complaint, we consult our repertory!

And let's suppose there are several remedies listed that could be considered. Then we open our materia medica and read all the details about each suggested remedy to make a better choice.

By using CAPITALS, bold and underlining, Dr Robin Murphy has really done everything in this case to highlight the information, except perhaps to circle the word Calendula in red and put arrows and stars beside it! Calendula is therefore a very clever starting point. I have certainly had success with it in my practice. But I admit that it only became clear to me after I had witnessed several such cases.

A good diagnosis is important

Because of the current day of remembrance I have focused in this blog post on people who served in war. But phantom pain can affect anyone who had to be amputated. For example, people with diabetes or circulatory problems can also lose limbs at some point, which often leads to the same agonising pains.

But we do not limit ourselves to the "why" of the condition. Instead, we also deal with the diagnosis. A phantom pain is and remains a phantom pain, regardless of whether the missing limb resulted from war, accident or health complications. And I would add that a good diagnosis from a physician is a valuable piece of the puzzle.

Before I finish, I want to thank you again, dear veterans. We appreciate your sacrifices — large and small. You stood in front of us to protect us. This week we stand with you and support you.

Dear readers, if you know someone — veteran or civilian — who could benefit from this information, I encourage you, as always, to share the good news about homeopathy!

Homeopathy helps — pass it on!

Sincerely,

Yours

Source: https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/amputations-and-phantom-pain/