A 31-year-old woman consulted me in April 2014 about a cough that had troubled her for 10 years and which she treated sporadically with antihistamines. In addition, hypothyroidism had been diagnosed three years earlier, which she did not treat with medication. She takes homeopathic remedies, which do not help.
Symptoms
Haemorrhoids for two years.
Cough triggered by dust and by slight changes in external temperature.
Cough with expectoration.
Sputum thick, like thin wire.
Ear pain with tinnitus, like a generator humming.
Occasional palpitations, as if the whole body were vibrating.
Pain in the right hypochondrium and a sinking sensation in the epigastrium.
Sleep disturbance because of thoughts running through the head.
The patient’s personality
She is by nature very sensitive. If she is criticised about her work she thinks about it for a long time. “I become angry and I tremble all over with rage. I feel hot inside and then I get palpitations and have the urge to smash something.”
“If someone makes fun of me, or teases me, it hurts me greatly. I ask myself why the person speaks like that. I would like to kill that person, but I never express my anger. I then usually only cry.”
Stressful situations
After her marriage she was criticised by her mother-in-law for the way she ran the household. She was accused that even a maid would do a better job than her. “I was very angry about that, but I said nothing. Inside I would have liked to break something. I was so angry that I wanted to bang my head against the wall and with that anger I had palpitations and my whole body vibrated.”
Dreams
Dreams of water, of flying, of being pursued, of corpses.
The underlying feeling of these dreams is fear; she trembles all over internally and wakes with a headache.
Physical
Painful haemorrhoids; the pain continues after defaecation.
Leucorrhoea – yellow, sticky, stringy.
Involuntary urine loss when coughing.
Tearing when coughing.
Salivation during sleep, thick saliva.
Case analysis
The following themes run through the case: trembling of the body, heat, palpitations and vibrating.
All these symptoms express emotions, especially anger and anxiety.
She reacts very sensitively to sarcasm and criticism; she reacts by suppressing her feelings. When she is angry she has the urge to break something and to bang her head against the wall, but restrains herself and cries.
The remedies that immediately come to mind with these symptoms are Staphisagria and Pulsatilla. These remedies belong within the plant kingdom to the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family). They react very sensitively to rudeness, humiliation and insults. They feel hurt easily and react as if offended. Psychosomatic complaints are a major theme in the buttercup family. Whenever these people suffer emotionally it is expressed via the physical level.
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I therefore looked for a remedy from the Ranunculaceae that covers the characteristic symptoms of the case:
Discharges stringy, viscous.
Pain in the rectum long after defaecation.
Sinking sensation in the epigastrium.
Painful tinnitus, as if a generator were humming.
“Painful tinnitus, as if a generator were humming” – I could not find this symptom in the repertory, but in Allen’s Encyclopaedia I came across a symptom very close to the present one: noises in the ears, like a running machine, in a shop, at two o’clock in the afternoon (on the seventh day).
Hydrastis is the remedy from the Ranunculaceae family that covers all the symptoms.
Prescription: Hydrastis C200
The C200 was chosen because the patient was functioning on an emotional level in daily life; only on questioning was she willing to go to a deeper level.
Follow-up one month later
The rectal pain has improved. The cough has decreased in intensity but is still present. The remaining symptoms are unchanged.
Prescription: Placebo.
The patient is better; in particular the main complaint shows a marked improvement.
Follow-up two months later
The rectal pain is gone. The sputum has reduced. The cough has improved but is still present. The thyroid findings are unchanged.
Follow-up four months later
TSH levels are better. Emotions, palpitations and the vibrating have slightly improved.
Follow-up five months later
The cough became worse again. Although she feels generally better, the cough was still severe.
Prescription: Hydrastis C200, single dose.
Follow-up 18 months later
TSH levels have normalised. Palpitations, vibrating and the sensation of heat in the body with emotional arousal have improved very markedly. The cough now only occurs sporadically.
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Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Hydrastis canadensis; public domain
Category: Cases
Keywords: Trembling with anger, anxieties, heat, palpitations, vibrating, sensitive to sarcasm and criticism.
Remedy: Hydrastis
Original article: Interhomeopathy.org
