Nux moschata : three cases

Nux moschata : three cases (J. Cicchetti)
 Nux Moschata was proved by Dr. Helbig in 1833. Many of the symptoms have been obtained from poisonings. The nutmeg tree grows to thirty feet high, begins bearing fruit in the seventh or eighth year, and then continues to do so for the next seventy or eighty years. The ground nut is used in cooking and a distillation of the oil, Myristica oil, has been used in medicine as a flavoring agent, carminative, and as a local stimulant to the gastrointestinal tract. The main active ingredient, Myristicin, is a poisonous narcotic.
Case
 Nux moschata
 Case 1
 In the spring of 1996, I became aware that an acquaintance of mine was having one accident after another. The accidents became more and more serious, including one that almost cost her life. Later she began to have strange physical symptoms-severe gas and bloating-and went from one doctor to another, receiving no help or even a clear diagnosis. I couldn't stand to see this anymore and suggested that she come in for homeopathic
treatment.
 The reason for the accidents and the confusing digestive problems soon became clear. She was in a Nux Moschata state-a state where the mind is disassociated from the body. No wonder she was having so many accidents. A few doses of 200c helped a lot. I lost track of her and thought very little about this remedy until I met Melissa.
 Case 2
 In November of 1997, Melissa, a 36-year-old married woman, came to me with the complaint of "hormonal sensitivity" and high blood pressure. Melissa was a lively strawberry blonde, very personable and friendly, speaking quickly and laughing a lot, even at serious matters. She also seemed overexcited, very jittery, and tense. She has two children.
 Melissa's symptoms included: Joint pain before menses (Searing, penetrating, sharp pains. A nerve-type pain. Like being really cold and then warming up. amel. movement. agg. in knees, but could be in any joint); Dry eyes before menses; Weeps easily and becomes depressed and sympathetic before menses; High blood pressure (160/100. Taking low dose of beta blocker. agg. evening. agg. before menses. Pounding in blood vessels, jittery and on edge.)
 Melissa is very sympathetic and loves animals. She faints easily, especially in warm, stuffy rooms. She craves chocolate, sweets, spicy food, and cinnamon. She has an aversion to fried foods, greasy foods, and white bread. There is a tendency towards hypoglycemia. She also has a history of terrible morning sickness during both her pregnancies; she threw up the whole nine months. The only thing she could eat was meat and potatoes, with a craving for potatoes. Even during labor, she was still throwing up.
 Melissa had postpartum depression after her second child; she became very anxious and worried. She weaned the baby early and went on birth control pills and antidepressants. She went off birth control pills a year ago because of her high blood pressure.
 Actually, Melissa has had periods of depression since she was 19. As a child, she worried a lot. She couldn't sleep from worrying. She was always afraid of disappointing her parents, who were very controlling. Her father was very health-oriented and controlled her diet very strictly-allowing no fat or salt.
 "They are into being skinny, exercising, and eating a low fat diet."
 "I'm the only one who is married and on my own. There's a real tradition of not going out on your own".
 "I just wouldn't make any waves-never disappoint them."
 "I rebelled in college and paid the price with inner turmoil."
 "My parents say it's important to have a real job-a doctor or a lawyer. Any time I mentioned any other career, my parents went ballistic." (She became a physician).
 Analysis
 The dryness of the eyes, symptoms worse before menses, the extreme giddiness, and severe vomiting during pregnancy led me to Nux Moschata, along with a few polychrest remedies. What really helped me see the full picture was Gina Inez's article, "My Advice on a Spice," in the Spring 1994 issue of The American Homeopath. Gina mentions the case of a brilliant woman who blossoms after taking Nux Moschata.
 She comments:
 "One wonders about the "classic woman" of this remedy type in the nineteenth century. Did she need this remedy only because she was so prone to fainting on the hot days she was being fitted for a tight fitting corset? One wonders about her dreams, her creativity, her artistry, and her sense of being able to be comfortable and true to herself in a social environment which she may have found as restrictive as the tight garments she wore."
 Dorothy Sheperd tells us more about the use of nutmeg by society ladies:
 "A drink which was concocted by our great-great-grandmothers for domestic requirements was nutmeg tea. One crushed nutmeg would make a pint of tea, a small cupful of which produced a sleep of several hours' duration.
 It was fashionable for society ladies to carry a silver grater and a nutmeg box suspended from the waist on their chatelaines. Naturally, as it was so commonly used, it led to some abuse, and ladies often developed the habit of drinking nutmeg tea in order to go to sleep easily and quickly."
 Why did they want to go to sleep all the time? Perhaps we can understand this more deeply by looking further at Melissa's case. Her story reveals the pressure that was put on her to live her life the way her family wanted her to live it. I began to think that many of the symptoms of the state, especially the fainting, the sleepiness, and the "out of body" experiences of Nux Moschata, were an attempt on the part of the vital force to leave a situation that was unacceptable to the individual. Such is the situation of a woman (and most cases of Nux Moschata are women) who is unable to express her creativity and intelligence, to know herself, because of family or societal pressure.
 Remedy: Nux Moschata 200c, split dose.
 4 months after first prescription. After a brief aggravation she was much better. Could exercise without feeling tired. No longer needs to nap. Blood pressure normal-120/80. No pains in the limbs. No depression before menses.
 6 months after first prescription. She reports that after eating a eucalyptus candy the blood pressure went back up.
 Repeat Nux Moschata 200c.
 7 months after first prescription. Blood pressure went back to normal after last dose of 200c. She reports being much calmer. The hormonal pains and mood swings are gone. "I can't believe it's this easy to get well. Is this all I have to do?" But blood pressure has gone up to 140/90.
 Assessment: Needs higher potency-Nux Moschata 1M, split dose.
 9 months after first prescription. She feels great. No depression, no pains in the limbs. She feels much stronger emotionally and physically. Feels stronger about confronting people when she needs to. She has been able to visit her parents without being upset by them. Blood pressure is completely normal except for slight rise just before menses. Assessment: Doing well, Nux Moschata 30c before menses, if needed.
 Case 3
 Sandra is a 40-year-old businesswoman, married with three children. She comes to me because she wants to strengthen her immune system.
 "I'm the mom. I get sick when my kids bring things home."
 "I'm beginning to feel the symptoms of arthritis. I can feel it in my fingers."
 "Horrible menstrual cramps with PMS-very sleepy, emotional, angry." (Feels better as soon as the flow starts. Menses are beginning to be irregular.)
 "Whenever I was taking a self-help seminar or doing yoga or meditation and I had my period, I didn't have cramps."
 "I'm in a stage of my life where I want to get away from everything, my work, my kids."
 "I'm very creative and artistic, but I haven't done much of this in the past five or six years."
 "I need to get away now. Mother overload. I love my kids, but I don't like the maintenance."
 Sandra has dark red hair and lots of freckles. She is very lively and extremely loquacious. She has recurrent dreams about being late and missing a plane or a car. Her father died of cancer when she was 15; he started getting sick when she was 13. She was devastated by this. "That loss was always with me." She doesn't need to sleep more than six or seven hours each night and feels refreshed after a nap of less than five minutes.
 At first, I suggest Lachesis 200c for Sandra. After this, her periods become regular again and she has no PMS or food cravings. She feels more relaxed and the "desperate feeling of having to get out from under my family" is gone. She has a very interesting dream where she sees herself as a snake coming out of its skin. As she touches the snake, it becomes a big fertile mother pig. She says, "That was me for the last year." Assessment: Doing very well-no remedy needed. Seven months later, I repeat the remedy because of what appears to be a relapse after dental work.
 Eight months after the first prescription, Sandra develops terrible pains in her neck-stiffness with tingling in the back of the head. "Feels like my neck can't support my head." She has a lump on the side of her neck that has been diagnosed as a fatty cyst. She is going to many doctors and cannot get a diagnosis. She has great anxiety about her health.
 What is going on here? Is she proving Lachesis after all this time? I don't think so. Her symptoms are still covered by Lachesis. Perhaps she is moving to a deeper level of healing. I give Lachesis 1M which does nothing. This is a very tricky time during treatment. I feel that there has been some very deep healing for Sandra, and know from experience that transformation often kicks up other symptoms. I let her know this and, at the same time, support her in her search for the allopathic reason behind her symptoms. She visits many doctors and develops other strange symptoms, one thing after another-gastric reflux, dry eyes, dryness of the mouth, wandering arthritic symptoms, and muscle twinges that feel like electric shocks. She has gone to many doctors who rule out MS and Sjogrens syndrome.
 13 months after first prescription.
 Sandra has not had a remedy for five months. She reports the aforementioned symptoms and is preoccupied with aging and her own mortality. Assessment: The Lachesis has uncovered a deep existential anxiety that was previously experienced during the illness and subsequent death of her father. I prescribe Nux Moschata 200c based on the dryness, ailments from grief, and wandering arthritic symptoms. (Note that all three cases had suspected Sjogrens syndrome, which was found to be negative.)
 15 months after first prescription.
 Sandra reports that she's better. Dryness of eyes and mouth cleared up quite a bit.
 "I don't feel as anxious." "Still have some muscle spasms, but I'm operating under the assumption that this is going to clear up." "I also realize that I've held anger in; I'm continuing to feel layers of it. Now is the time to get back to who I am." "When I wasn't feeling well, I couldn't do certain things but I was without guilt. I was able to speak with my children. It improved my relationship. For a long time I felt there was something seriously wrong with me. I was holding so much fear and tension. That was what this was all about."
 Assessment: The remedy is the simillimum.
 Repeat Nux Moschata 200c.
 20 months after first prescription.
 Sandra reports, "I am well. Muscle spasms are gone. Sleep is good. Have been practicing Zazen-something for myself. I think I wasn't accepting where I am-that I have three kids and this is where I am. I love them and this is my life. I had been frustrated, it was a state of mind and that has shifted. I've started making more time for myself." Assessment: Doing very well. She is very conscious of what has gone on in the healing process. This is, in my opinion, very important. No remedy required.
 22 months after first prescription.
 Sandra reports that she is feeling good. There is some residue of the muscle twitches. "I'm not really concerned about them." "I feel I'm really defining who I am and what I want to do. When I had tried to define who I was-I was trying to be who I was before I had my children. That wasn't possible. My excuse was, "the kids wear me out." The truth was, I didn't want to confront the real me." Assessment: She's doing well and will probably not need another remedy for a long time.
 Lachesis mutus
 Case 3
 Sandra is a 40-year-old businesswoman, married with three children. She comes to me because she wants to strengthen her immune system.
 "I'm the mom. I get sick when my kids bring things home."
 "I'm beginning to feel the symptoms of arthritis. I can feel it in my fingers."
 "Horrible menstrual cramps with PMS-very sleepy, emotional, angry." (Feels better as soon as the flow starts. Menses are beginning to be irregular.)
 "Whenever I was taking a self-help seminar or doing yoga or meditation and I had my period, I didn't have cramps."
 "I'm in a stage of my life where I want to get away from everything, my work, my kids."
 "I'm very creative and artistic, but I haven't done much of this in the past five or six years."
 "I need to get away now. Mother overload. I love my kids, but I don't like the maintenance."
 Sandra has dark red hair and lots of freckles. She is very lively and extremely loquacious. She has recurrent dreams about being late and missing a plane or a car. Her father died of cancer when she was 15; he started getting sick when she was 13. She was devastated by this. "That loss was always with me." She doesn't need to sleep more than six or seven hours each night and feels refreshed after a nap of less than five minutes.
 At first, I suggest Lachesis 200c for Sandra. After this, her periods become regular again and she has no PMS or food cravings. She feels more relaxed and the "desperate feeling of having to get out from under my family" is gone. She has a very interesting dream where she sees herself as a snake coming out of its skin. As she touches the snake, it becomes a big fertile mother pig. She says, "That was me for the last year." Assessment: Doing very well-no remedy needed. Seven months later, I repeat the remedy because of what appears to be a relapse after dental work.
 Eight months after the first prescription, Sandra develops terrible pains in her neck-stiffness with tingling in the back of the head. "Feels like my neck can't support my head." She has a lump on the side of her neck that has been diagnosed as a fatty cyst. She is going to many doctors and cannot get a diagnosis. She has great anxiety about her health.
 What is going on here? Is she proving Lachesis after all this time? I don't think so. Her symptoms are still covered by Lachesis. Perhaps she is moving to a deeper level of healing. I give Lachesis 1M which does nothing. This is a very tricky time during treatment. I feel that there has been some very deep healing for Sandra, and know from experience that transformation often kicks up other symptoms. I let her know this and, at the same time, support her in her search for the allopathic reason behind her symptoms. She visits many doctors and develops other strange symptoms, one thing after another-gastric reflux, dry eyes, dryness of the mouth, wandering arthritic symptoms, and muscle twinges that feel like electric shocks. She has gone to many doctors who rule out MS and Sjogrens syndrome.
 13 months after first prescription.
 Sandra has not had a remedy for five months. She reports the aforementioned symptoms and is preoccupied with aging and her own mortality. Assessment: The Lachesis has uncovered a deep existential anxiety that was previously experienced during the illness and subsequent death of her father. I prescribe Nux Moschata 200c based on the dryness, ailments from grief, and wandering arthritic symptoms. (Note that all three cases had suspected Sjogrens syndrome, which was found to be negative.)
 15 months after first prescription.
 Sandra reports that she's better. Dryness of eyes and mouth cleared up quite a bit.
 "I don't feel as anxious." "Still have some muscle spasms, but I'm operating under the assumption that this is going to clear up." "I also realize that I've held anger in; I'm continuing to feel layers of it. Now is the time to get back to who I am." "When I wasn't feeling well, I couldn't do certain things but I was without guilt. I was able to speak with my children. It improved my relationship. For a long time I felt there was something seriously wrong with me. I was holding so much fear and tension. That was what this was all about."
 Assessment: The remedy is the simillimum.
 Repeat Nux Moschata 200c.
 20 months after first prescription.
 Sandra reports, "I am well. Muscle spasms are gone. Sleep is good. Have been practicing Zazen-something for myself. I think I wasn't accepting where I am-that I have three kids and this is where I am. I love them and this is my life. I had been frustrated, it was a state of mind and that has shifted. I've started making more time for myself." Assessment: Doing very well. She is very conscious of what has gone on in the healing process. This is, in my opinion, very important. No remedy required.
 22 months after first prescription.
 Sandra reports that she is feeling good. There is some residue of the muscle twitches. "I'm not really concerned about them." "I feel I'm really defining who I am and what I want to do. When I had tried to define who I was-I was trying to be who I was before I had my children. That wasn't possible. My excuse was, "the kids wear me out." The truth was, I didn't want to confront the real me." Assessment: She's doing well and will probably not need another remedy for a long time.
Summary
 In all three cases we see the "out of body" experience of Nux Moschata-the feeling of being far away from oneself, of going to sleep to oneself. This is typical of any remedy, like nutmeg, that has narcotic properties. But, unlike some of our more exotic narcotic remedies, nutmeg is commonly found in the kitchen. It has its own unique "flavor"-grappling with the great existential question "Who am I?" within the context everyday life. None of these women has gone to Tibet or taken psychedelics. They are at home, in everyday situations, struggling with this question.
 As we understand the essence of Nux Moschata, we will use it more often. I believe it is a commonly needed remedy, often confused with Lachesis (loquacity, excitability, agg. before menses), Pulsatilla (wandering pains, changeable moods, symptoms during pregnancy), or Opium (sleepiness, out of body experiences).
 The following categorizes many symptoms that I have seen in my cases cured with Nux Moschata:
 Out of body
 Faints easily. Fainting from the sight of blood.
 Overpowering sleepiness. Narcolepsy. Extreme drowsiness.
 Bumps into things. Has accidents because she is not in her body.
 Clairvoyance.
 Can seem intoxicated, as if on drugs.
 Feels as if in a dream. Spaced out.
 Numbness of body parts.
 Changeable
 Dullness of mind or extreme clarity of mind. Spaced out or chatters.
 Changeable moods.
 Laughter, cheerfulness, giddiness alternating with depression. Wandering rheumatic pains in joints and muscles.
 Laughter
 Giddiness, laughs at serious matters. Loquacity and laughter.
 Dryness
 Dryness of mucus membranes and eyes.
 Dry mouth without thirst.
 Lack of perspiration.
 Nux Moschata is an important remedy for Sjogren's syndrome -dryness of eyes and mouth, rheumatoid-like symptoms.
 Freckles
 Nutmeg has been used to remove freckles. I have six cases of Nux Moschata who are doing well. They all have reddish hair and freckles-lots of freckles.
 Female hormonal system
 Symptoms worse before and during menses, during pregnancy. Complete change of personality during pregnancy (Vasillis Ghegas).
 Digestion
 Tremendous bloating and constipation with soft stool.
 Very chilly
 Ailments from mental shock, grief, disappointed love, intermittent fevers.
 Kent: "Useful in the coma of typhoid and intermittent fever. When aroused she remembers nothing; looks about and wants to know who the people are around and what are they doing... We find such a state in typhoid, in hysteria, after shock, after fear, blighted affections or the loss of a friend."