A seventy-year-old woman presents with kidney problems. Her ureters are blocked by scar tissue following repeated infections. Two catheters were inserted seven years ago. She requires continuous antibiotic treatment and the catheters must be replaced and the ureters cleaned twice a year. She suffers daily from severe pain. |
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These complaints were treated with Equisetum D12; this potency had originally been prescribed because it was the only one available. The remedy appeared to work well: the pain subsided, the antibiotic could be discontinued, the growth of scar tissue decreased and the catheters only needed to be replaced once a year (as a precaution). However, cystitis continued to recur and improved only partially with other homeopathic remedies: Sarsaparilla, Cantharis, Terbentina, Solidago, Senecio and Berberis. Uva Ursi was given as an herbal tincture and repeated doses of Equisetum were sufficient to keep the situation under control. Nevertheless, antibiotics still had to be used once or twice a year. |
Case presentation Her husband died twenty years ago. She lives alone, supported by a thriving franchise business. Last year she had a heart attack. When the cleaner comes she helps with the household chores; she enjoys working with her. Otherwise she just sits because she is almost always tired. The pain fluctuates; there are days with and days without pain. Her heart complaints, for which she takes Nitrobat, returned following a life-threatening situation involving her grandchildren, which has left her very tense. |
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She feels as if she were made only of nerves. On the one hand she feels the need to do everything in her power for her grandchildren; on the other hand she is usually so tired that she just wants to lie on the sofa. Sighing, she says she often lacks the courage to start the day and that she has lost joy in the small things of life. She does not know whether she is strong enough to cope with everyday life, to cope with all that must be done each day. Each morning she begins, does what she can, then finds it is too much for her and must lie down again. |
Yet from time to time she manages to pull herself together and tackle her tasks enthusiastically and with vigour. She does not want to talk to her children about her worries and her situation; she does not want to be a mother whom her children have to look after. As she speaks she sighs constantly and rests her head in her propped hands, elbows on the table. She looks like a delicate, fragile little bird. She feels the tiredness in every bone, right into her hands and feet. She frequently has to support her head because of pain in her neck. After many years of hesitation she has now finally decided to move to a smaller house because she can no longer cope with the large one. Analysis Her demeanour and the situation of recent years fit the themes of the Fabaceae: overwhelming tiredness, the will to carry on despite being tired, her joyless situation and the fact that she hates to ask for help. She would much rather have everything under her own control. She considers it normal to manage financially and emotionally on her own and to cope with her life by herself. She does not at all contemplate accepting the limitations imposed by old age. The doubts about how to carry on, the delaying of decisions, repeatedly starting something and then abandoning it, the variability of her complaints — all this corresponds to Stage 5. The tiredness and the need to support her head in her hands corresponds to Gymnocladus. Prescription: Gymnocladus canadensis 200 K(1), single dose Follow-up |
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| (1) Korsakoff | |
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Category: Cases
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