Two cases from Ulrich Welte's Kandern practice
Case 1:
A 10-year-old girl had been pale and anaemic for years.
She had always been sporty and very slim, and enjoyed being active. Because of the iron deficiency she was often lethargic, however. She tolerated iron tablets poorly. She experienced dizzy spells and fainting attacks up to collapse (this can occur with severe iron deficiency, but cobalt deficiency can also trigger severe anaemias with a tendency to fainting attacks and thinness).
More recently she had also developed a kyphotic change of the spine. She had therefore become somewhat hump-backed and, sadly, walked through her young life stooped because she could only straighten up with pain.
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Analysis:Iron deficiency is not only an indication for Ferrum, but also for neighbouring elements of the iron series, particularly Cobalt and Manganese. An intolerance to iron also points to a remedy from the iron series. The diseases of the iron series mostly affect the musculoskeletal system (muscles and joints), which applies in her case. |
One can easily distinguish iron and its two neighbours in the periodic table, for example by their colour preferences. Iron patients mostly like delicate pink, whereas cobalt favours strong red and blue; manganese prefers magenta (the telecom colour). Our patient liked Red 9CD and Blue 15C.
So in this case it was not iron that was indicated as the remedy, but cobalt. It is the right-hand neighbour (stage 9) of iron (stage 8) in the periodic table of the elements. Incidentally, cobalt is a very valuable remedy for examination anxiety, which was not yet known in old homeopathy but has proved itself many times. In our practice over the last 15 years it has in the majority of cases superseded the typical exam remedies Gelsemium, Argentum nitricum or Strophantus, and perhaps even Aethusa. Above all the phosphate, i.e. Cobaltum phosphoricum, is the best cobalt salt specifically for examination anxiety.
When asked about this, the mother said that her daughter was indeed plagued by severe examination anxiety. Thus cobalt was the indicated remedy, also confirmed by this symptom.
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Cobalt has proved effective for examination anxiety |
Course:With daily administration of Cobaltum metallicum LM6 she was almost free of pain within a week, could move again quite normally and was able to stand up straight. Soon afterwards she was moving completely freely again. The pallor had disappeared. The dizzy spells did not recur. The crooked spine straightened itself again over the following months. She became very ambitious and developed boundless energy. Two years later, now in puberty, the same remedy also helped her with headaches. Examination anxiety did not recur. |
Case 2:
The patient had been suffering for 15 years, a long painful time. She was always very stiff in the mornings and her joints cracked, especially the shoulders. Last year she had therefore undergone surgery for a calcifying arthrosis of the left shoulder joint. The complaints of this so-called calcific shoulder had not substantially improved after the procedure, however; everything still cracked and hurt. An allergy to cobalt had been known since her youth, and she had also suffered from examination anxiety in her youth.
Her colour preference was Red 10CD and Blue 15C. This clearly indicated cobalt, as we understand from the description of the first case.
After a dose of Cobaltum metallicum C1000 she awoke the next morning feeling battered, and a few days later she was able to move freely in all joints again. After 4 months the remedy was repeated because the pain recurred, this time with a shorter initial reaction: she was sleepless the first night, but nevertheless felt on top form the next morning. Reduced iron and erythrocyte values also normalised. She has been free of complaints for many years.
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Photos: Shutterstock Periodic table
Examination anxiety: Fotolia.com © lassedesignen
