by Nelleke Bruch
Oxytocinum is all about "communication and bonding", in the broadest sense of the word. Patients who need this remedy either feel that they are not allowed to exist, or they do not want to live. They are constantly seeking love and contact. They do not want to talk, have nothing to say and only cry, or they talk too much. Clinging and letting go are also problems.
Oxytocinum can be given when there are problems with breastfeeding: when the milk does not flow well, when the baby does not feed well, when the baby will not wean or when the mother does not want to stop giving the breast. The remedy can also be given for sleep problems, developmental delays, slowed growth and communication disorders such as autistic behaviour. The problem often traces back to the pregnancy and/or the birth.
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Case one:
A 19-year-old man with depression. Since his relationship with his girlfriend ended he has lost faith in love and sees no meaning in life. He has withdrawn to his bedroom, where he feels safe, but he cannot sleep. He feels that no one understands him, and this makes him sad. He drinks too much, smokes cannabis, and goes to bed late. He is always hungry and tired. He no longer cares about anyone. He does not want to talk to anyone, not even his parents, and has lost contact with his music friends because he is not really "present". Sometimes he is deep in thought, and when he suddenly comes back to reality it is as if he had been dreaming; he no longer knows what he was thinking about.
Prescription:
Oxytocinum MK
Follow-up:
After two months he had come round. He had reconnected with his friends, was playing in a band and had a new girlfriend.
A year later he called for further advice because the depression had returned. He now lives in his own flat. He asked for the same remedy, which he took twice within two weeks. Afterwards he felt well again and did not need another appointment. A few years later he was still well. He is in a steady relationship but does not want to move in with his girlfriend yet, as he wants to see whether she can live on her own. He is very much in love with her.
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Case two:
A 16-year-old girl of Chinese origin, who describes herself as "very sensitive", has panic attacks and fears of death and loss. She speaks very quickly and cannot concentrate at school; she is teased and unable to defend herself.
Her history is burdened with problems: she was adopted as a foundling at the age of two. Her parents are unknown. In the first two years of her life her nappies were changed but she was never stroked. She was simply bottle-fed while lying on her back. When she came to her adoptive parents she was unable to do anything. She had no muscle tone and could not sleep in her own bed.
Prescription:
Oxytocinum C 30, in a bottle she takes with her to school.
Follow-up:
As soon as she holds the bottle she feels warm and peaceful. When she talks about her fear she must hold on to the bottle. She licks her hands. Gradually she begins to make social contacts and learns to sleep in her own bed. She takes violin and drawing lessons and begins singing lessons. After a month she receives Oxytocinum C 200. At school she is no longer teased, and her school performance has improved.
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Case three:
A 48-year-old mother and her 12-year-old son.
The mother complains about electrosmog from the masts in the area. She had her house tested and wants to move. She had already been under homeopathic treatment for five years for a traumatic youth, ovarian complaints and recurrent breast abscesses, and her former homeopath had given her more than 30 different homeopathic remedies.
She still suffers from panic attacks and fits of anger, eye problems (seeing black spots) and fatigue. During ovulation she suffers, among other things, from cramps, heavy sweating, breast abscesses, sore throats and heart complaints.
She is the seventh of eight children; her parents did not have a good relationship. As a child she felt it was her duty to make sure that everyone else was all right. Her mother told her she would never have a husband and child. She became pregnant when she fell in love for the first time, which was a huge shock for her and her husband, and she told her mother nothing. The birth was a nightmare for her—she fainted. She was unable to breastfeed her son.
Prescription:
Oxytocinum C 30, which she carries with her at all times.
Follow-up:
"It was as if a glass wall had been put up around me; now I am slowly coming out of it. I can make connections. I bare my teeth. I cannot bear to have people around me, not even my son."
She broke off relations with her family, especially with her mother, and says that Mother Mary should look after her. Then she has a breast abscess: "It is my bond with my mother — I was not allowed to exist, she denied my existence. When I was ill I was not allowed to complain. I have had painful breasts since I was 15, and I frequently fainted at the time of ovulation. She mentally distances herself from her abscess: 'This is not mine. Look at what was done to me.'"
Prescription:
Oxytocinum C 200
Follow-up:
No more breast abscesses in the past seven weeks; she can wear her bra again. With Oxytocinum 1M and 10M the panic attacks and the other complaints disappear. Her husband takes a new job, and they move house.
Soon afterwards her son also receives Oxytocinum 1M, and she says that she has got her child back; he is much better at making contact than before. In their new house she is happy, and she has a new hobby: dolls and dollhouses — she repairs and sells them. "I put a lot of love into the dolls, and so I can pass that on." She takes Oxytocinum 1M from time to time.
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Case four:
A two-day-old baby who cries constantly; she will neither feed nor sleep. Because of a hole in her heart an operation is necessary. The mother uses a breast pump because she does not want to breastfeed. "I do not want to become so attached to my baby — what if she does not make it?"
Prescription:
Oxytocinum C 30 in a bottle placed in the baby's cot and also held between mother and child when the baby feeds. The baby responds immediately, sleeps better and cries less. The operation goes well.
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Case five:
This woman is 39 weeks pregnant and in terrible pain. Although she had already given birth before, she has no experience of labour because she previously delivered twins by Caesarean section at 32 weeks. In hospital Syntocinon is given to induce labour. After 24 hours and much pain she is sufficiently dilated to give birth. She is instructed to push and suffers a uterine rupture. The gynaecologist was not present at that moment and the child died. There were no records of the contractions.
After this tragedy the mother cannot sleep, she is restless and hyperactive. She feels: "I was not allowed to 'be'. Nobody listened to me because I was too young. I received no support from my parents. They felt a lot of sympathy for the medical student who had been present at the birth but is now off sick: 'He could do nothing, he was still in training.'"
Prescription:
Several doses of Oxytocinum 1M and Bach Rescue Drops.
Follow-up:
She can sleep again. Three years later she is pregnant again and has a planned Caesarean section at the university clinic. She is given Nux vomica for the after-effects of the anaesthetic and Oxytocinum to support her sleep.
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Case six:
A five-year-old boy with eczema on his face and in the skin folds since his first year of life.
At three-and-a-half years he began to cough. After some time the cough stopped, but he became seriously ill and had to be hospitalised with asthmatic bronchitis, where he was given Ventolin.
Two weeks ago he had an open skin eruption on his foot that was treated with antibiotics. He then developed respiratory symptoms for which Ventolin and Pulmicort were given. His energy dwindled, and he had thin stools. He only drinks goat's milk.
His birth was very fast — in 50 minutes — and was a great shock.
The boy is friendly and cheerful and messes about. He is a real peacemaker. He chews his fingernails and does not look people in the eye. He does not want conflicts. He always needs a photo of his mother when he goes to bed, or when he stays overnight with someone.
Prescription:
Acidum phoshoricum MK for the child, Oxytocinum for the mother
Follow-up:
The eczema around his mouth that he had at two reappeared and then disappeared. His stools are light and loose — spelt bread is recommended. His mother takes Oxytocinum and sticks a dose behind the photo her son holds. Shortly afterwards he no longer needs the photo. His energy returns, the skin complaints disappear, he is strong and at peace within himself.
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This article was published on www.interhomeopathy.org
Photos: shutterstock - Evgeny_Atamanenko,
istockphoto - Newborn baby with mother - Image - © NiDerLander
Category: Cases
Keywords: Communication, Attachment, Depression, Breastfeeding problems, Weaning, Autism
Remedy: Oxytocinum
