What do Benjamin Franklin, Henry VIII and I have in common?
All three of us have experienced a gout attack.
To my great relief I only had to go through it once, but these two men, like many others, were mercilessly tormented by the terrible pain this disease brings. Gout can cripple even powerful men.
In fact, there is a persistent story that Thomas Jefferson had to present a rough draft of the American Declaration of Independence to his fellow Founding Father Benjamin Franklin because Franklin was so afflicted by gout that he could not attend the meetings himself!
Henry VIII is also famously known to have suffered from the disease, which is why it entered the history books as the "disease of kings". But someone suffering from gout certainly feels anything but royal during an acute attack, I can attest to that!
My attack happened a few years ago and I wasn't quite sure what was wrong with me. The big toe on my left foot was swollen, red and incredibly painful, but I would never have suspected gout. Surely I was far too young for that! I ate well and drank water regularly and in plenty.
On the other hand, perhaps I wasn't quite so meticulous after all.
At first I thought it might be a bee sting, and for bee stings Apis helps. Well, I can tell you straight away that Apis did not help, even though it is a good remedy for gout. It did nothing for me. I suffered the pain for a few weeks until it eventually – very slowly – subsided.
It is important to me to share this story with you because it shows that I make mistakes too, just like everyone else.
We learn from mistakes.
This episode illustrates how important a correct diagnosis is when you want to treat homeopathically. Only many months after my gout symptoms had disappeared did I realise what they actually meant. Had I made an accurate diagnosis immediately, I could have chosen the right homeopathic remedies straight away and significantly shortened my pain.
That is why I feel compelled to keep emphasising that a diagnosis is part of a good homeopathic treatment.
In gout the uric acid level in the body is elevated. The excess uric acid crystallises in the joints and causes debilitating arthritic pain. I have already written that the Schuessler salt Nat phos is one of the remedies to consider in cases of excess acidity.
In gout, however, it is usually used in combination with other remedies, depending on the symptom picture. In a recently published podcast we talked about the effectiveness of Nat phos C30, but in this case Nat phos D6 would be the better choice. It makes no difference whether it is taken in acute or chronic cases.
But Nat phos is of course not the only remedy for gout. There are many others.
The Banerji protocol, for example, for chronic gout is Ledum palustre C200, along with Belladonna C3 allowed to dissolve in the mouth two to three times daily. In addition, Medorrhinum C200 is taken twice weekly.
In acute cases this protocol can be applied every two to three hours, with the two remedies (Medorrhinum and the Ledum/Belladonna mixture) taken alternately until the symptoms have clearly improved.
After receiving my matching remedy I never had another gout attack. Why? I don't know. I also don't know why I had an attack at all. What I do know for certain is that I am always ready to fight it with our wonderful homeopathy again should another one occur in the future! (And I bet the poor Benjamin Franklin and Henry VIII would have been just as glad).
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Source: https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/the-disease-of-kings-and-commoners
Photo: Shutterstock_751403155, Copyright: 9nong
