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Case 1: 10-year-old boy
17 February 2011
He comes with his father and grandparents. I previously treated his 17-year-old sister, whose cystic acne responded well to Hepar sulfuris. She was the one who told me about the current family situation. The children's mother has left the family and lives with her boyfriend; the father, the sister and the brother live with the father's parents. This is one of the reasons why the boy needs help.
He is struggling with the divorce and with his mother leaving; he feels abandoned by her. His sister does not have to stay with or visit the mother because she is older, but he must, against his will, spend every second weekend with his mother.
In my clinic the father dominates the conversation. I observe the boy yawning, stretching and rubbing his eyes. He seems unsure what to do at this consultation. He is wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.
He twists his neck from side to side so that it cracks, and he cracks his knuckles. He says he is tired, although his father says he sleeps a lot.
He says hardly a word unless addressed.
His father says he was prescribed Prozac, but the doctors were not happy with the result. It had completely changed him and seemed to take away his personality, so the medication had to be stopped. The reason for the prescription had been anxiety about the consequences of the divorce: “He is facing a hard time.” His father also said the boy has ADHD. He has grown out of the hyperactivity but still has concentration problems.
The boy pulls at his long eyelashes. He has a round face, wears a Mohawk-style haircut and has an ear piercing. It almost looks as if he is wearing make-up.
He is shy and anxious, and his eyes are only half open. He turns, twists and stretches his neck, stretches and says he feels stiff.
The father says his son is a bed-wetter, and that this comes from the mother's side of the family.
The boy actively plays on a baseball team that his father has coached for seven years. He has never had serious injuries or hospital stays. From time to time in winter he has middle ear infections or colds but no pneumonia. His digestion is fine and he can tolerate milk. He has no problems with his incisors.
What about fears?
His father says: “He is moody, stubborn and irritable. He still has times when he reacts emotionally; he feels easily hurt and then starts to cry. He is not so extreme any more, he has grown out of that, he had a hard time at school. He makes things difficult for himself. He wants to do everything correctly, but in his own way. If he has not done something right, he first becomes sulky and snaps at people, then withdraws. If he has problems at school, he just shuts down. He needs time to himself; then he comes back and joins in.”
I ask questions about the past year and about his mother.
“He deals with it in his own way. About once a month he opens up and talks about it” (the boy stretches and looks away). “He is angry at his mother and at what she has done to us. He gets angry and swears, but he does not throw objects. It just comes out and he cannot control it. He does not want to go to his mother.” The boy says: “I don't want to see her, she yells at me and shouts at me!” (Here he closes his eyes).
“He is sad and angry, especially about the family. He is not particularly nervous or anxious, but he does not like horror films.” His father says that she (the mother) left him, and he is angry with himself.
He loves animals: dogs, cats, lizards and snakes.
At school everything goes so fast; it is hard for him to stay focused; he does not enjoy it. He is happier at home with his father and grandparents.
He does not like the cold and is not a winter person; when it is cold he stays inside and plays video games. During the consultation he often rubs his eyes, and suddenly he pulls his hoodie up so that his whole head disappears into the jacket.
Summer is different. He is outside all summer swimming and fishing. He plays baseball and likes to compete with others. He cannot lose and becomes angry, even with himself, when his team loses a game. If things do not go the way he wants, he takes it out on others and throws his helmet and bats. When his team wins, he is proud of himself. His father says he is in good form when he is busy, and can then concentrate.
Sleep and dreams?
He sleeps more than eight hours. He remembers one dream: on Mother’s Day he dreamt that his grandma had died – someone had shot her. He was very upset and sad and cried. He is very unhappy and depressed because of the divorce and because his mother left him. He no longer has a good relationship with her. He makes a fuss when it is time to visit her and just wants to stay at home. He has problems at school.
The father does a lot with his children, takes them outside and does things with them. He says his wife hardly ever did anything with the children when she lived at home. She shouted at the children and insulted them. She now lives with her current boyfriend and both smoke and drink. If the mother were at home, she would clean and take care of the household, and that would be that.
Cravings for particular foods?
Cravings: fish, crabs, salmon, squid, prawns, eggs of all kinds (boiled, omelettes) and corn. No broccoli or green vegetables.
Music: he likes Lil Wayne, Bruno Mars, rap or rock.
Films: he likes "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"
Analysis
Almost always, in this case the picture of the snapping turtle stood out strongly. A proving of this remedy was recently published on the website of the Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy [1].
At the centre of the case is being abandoned by the mother – this is exactly what the snapping turtle mothers do. Here an obvious animal energy is shown.
He has an aversion to winter (reptile), likes swimming in lakes, has a preference for fish, and is very competitive. At the same time he is a nice boy with long eyelashes and an earring, and he almost looks as if he uses make-up. All this points to an animal remedy.
Although he shows reptile characteristics, he shows nothing serpentine.
Turtles are fed on maize.
Also the neck-twisting and the cracking make us think of a turtle. He snuggles into his sweatshirt as if he wanted to crawl into his shell.
Imagine someone picks up a turtle and distracts it, as his father does when he is irritated. However, if it is annoyed, it snaps.
Here are some excerpts from the proving:
Abandoned by the mother
The Chelydra female lays her eggs in the sand. The baby turtles hatch and must make their way to the safety of the water on their own as best they can. The snapping turtle has the theme of abandonment common to reptiles. They are very sensitive when they feel they have been dumped and left behind. They feel easily ignored and forgotten. They dream that people ignore them or that the teacher doesn't notice them. They fear being “thrown out” and that everyone will leave without them. They react sensitively to abandoned children. They want to care for and protect those children who have been helplessly left by their parents.
The desire to be at home
The snapping turtle lives in its home. It carries its shell, which protects it all round, on its back.  Dreams and everyday thoughts show the importance of home. People dream of their houses, think about their houses, watch over their houses and recognise the importance of their home. Often they want to return home. Home is a place of security and protection. Sometimes someone would prefer to be alone in this
state, preferably at home.
Irritable / snappy
The usual English expression for irritability is “he snapped at me”. It recalls the snapping turtle. In fact the turtle becomes very irritable and snappy when removed from its watery habitat.
The provers experienced irritability, anger, resentment and bad temper. They were easily offended and irritated. They often felt this as a reaction to people not meeting their expectations, or reacted this way when forced to do something they did not want to do.
Prescription: Ovum Chelydra serpentina C 200, a single dose – repeat if needed.
Follow-up, 5 April 2011
Father and grandparents come with the boy. He has a mohawk and dyed hair.
I ask whether the father wants to come into the consulting room, but the boy says: “No, I'll go alone!” (Smiles).
During the next 30 minutes the boy speaks and says he is feeling very well.
He says his behaviour has improved and his mood is good. He does not get so angry any more. He listens to his teachers and his grandparents and brings good school grades home. He has talked with his father about whether he has to visit his mother, and they have agreed that he does not have to go, which he is very pleased about. He talks about his sister and how they get on with each other. He is a happy child who likes cycling and enjoys family gatherings with his father's extended family.
He asks me: “What do you think about the price of petrol?”
He is very interested in current events, and I ask him: “Anything else?”
He says: “OK: How was your weekend?” He is clearly a very charming 10-year-old boy.
After about 20 minutes he asks: “Do you think my father should come in now?”
After the administration of the remedy he changed from a boy who had hardly said a word at the first consultation to an empathetic, curious child. He took the remedy twice in 6 weeks.
The father confirms what his son said: his grades have improved greatly, and his teachers say he has changed. Everyone is pleased, the boy himself, his father, his teachers and his grandparents. He is glad that his teachers and grandparents are happy with him. Various family members have made appointments with me.
Update October 2012
The last time I saw the boy was in December 2011; he was doing very well. His father called me several times a year, asked to repeat the remedy and said that his son always responded very well. From time to time the boy suffered from growing pains, and I recommended Calcium phosphoricum.
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Case 2
J.H.H., female, 40 years old
I have been treating this patient for some time, and she has developed very well so far. She has come out of a debilitating depression and founded her own company; she has become a successful businesswoman.
Recently, on 6 September 2012, she came for a follow-up to my practice. She always comes before the dark season begins. She previously suffered from seasonal depression and took bupropion at that time to ease the symptoms during the dark season.
She reports that she has just returned from a river trip where she and her husband canoed and camped: “It was magical! The water was like an aquarium. I saw 3 or 4 turtles. The water was clear and shallow, not dangerous, no rocks or strong currents.”
Her current main issue is that for a few weeks certain feelings have been rising. “They begin very slowly.” There is tension, irritability, a feeling of worthlessness and depression. This differs from her previous experiences of depressive symptoms. “It crawls up inside me. I lived in hell for eleven or twelve days!”
She is given a dose of her current remedy: Hypericum 1M.
“It took off the edges, and I felt well supported. But I still have anxiety and a heaviness in the chest.” A large part of her anxiety revolves around the project she is currently working on. As project manager she feels “ganged up on” and reacts snappishly. It is a constant, ongoing stress. She gets heartburn.
She puts things into a “rigid scheme” and has a “fixed idea of how everything should run”, and when plans don't work out she is furious. She is “angry and anxious”, “overwhelmed by fear”, and startles easily at noise. At night she grinds her teeth. People ... “pick on me.” She is irritable and reacts aggressively to the people she works with on the project. “Don't crowd me and don't push me around!”
As for physical symptoms, she has some spots on her back, she has pain and stress, which is why she goes to the chiropractor.
I ask her again about her last trip. “It was fantastic. The rocks, the water surface, I could look at the water all day and analyse the environment. It was so lovely to be in the water, I felt completely safe. The fish kept out of my way. I don't like rivers so much, I prefer lakes.”
I ask her whether she swam a lot as a child. “Oh yes! In summer daily – about 10 hours – I swam in the tributaries. It was wonderful.” She reports that she was bullied as a child and used to get stomach aches before school. Recently she dreams that she has a lot to do and has to work herself to exhaustion. She sleeps but not deeply.
Analysis
It is not hard to think of the snapping turtle here:
- she is snappy and
- she is bullied,
- the symptoms come on slowly,
- her love of water and swimming, and
- the aquarium.
 The idea of giving patients with winter depression Ovum Chelydra serpentina is obvious, as turtles also hibernate. In addition she is a woman who does not want children. The snapping turtle abandons her eggs as soon as she has laid them.
Prescription: Ovum Chelydra serpentina 1M
Follow-up Case 2
I had a follow-up with this patient on 3 October 2012, a little earlier than planned because of her upcoming surprise trip to Italy. “After taking the remedy I felt my ovaries throb and pulse. I had stomach discomfort and was quite tired for a few days.” She had a few cold symptoms (a runny nose for two days) which later disappeared, while her husband still has a cold.
How are you overall?
Amazingly well. I am confident, centred and it does not bother me to take risks. She rode her horse on a difficult trail; usually she always takes lorazepam before riding, but this time not, and everything was fine.
Her latest project after taking the remedy is going well: “There were no problems. I just did it. It was a positive professional experience.”
Now everything is back in balance for her, and we will see each other again for follow-up in six weeks.
Laura Burr lives and practises in Minneapolis, Minnesota
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