Themes of plutonium nitricum By jeremy sherr, fshom

Plutonium nitricum
 Since the proving of Plutonium Nitricum we have witnessed quite a few cases cured by this remedy. Common to many of these are the intensity and depth at the core of the case. It seems that other remedies could not touch the deep nucleus of the generative energy, the will, which Plutonium detonates. The inner essence of Plutonium must forever remain hidden in the deep, but these cases have enabled us to fuse new clinical observations with proving themes. By carefully gathering and transmitting this information from generation to generation, a full picture will emerge.
 I must stress that the following ideas represent only certain aspects of the proving. Neither is it necessary for any of these ideas to appear in every specific case-they may be partially present or not at all.
 During the proving some provers felt light and elated, even spacey, as if a great burden had been lifted of their shoulders. This enabled a relaxed calmness with an ease of being, cheerfulness and laughing.

 On the other hand provers felt incredibly heavy and weighed down. Depressions that were often described as 'deep' or 'heavy', originating from the very core of being. This was sometimes accompanied by a withdrawn feeling and aversion to communication. The extreme of this state is a sense of deep isolation with intense despair, as if totally alone in the world. With these polarities it is obvious that the remedy may be of use in certain manic depressive cases.
 We may deduce that the tension in Plutonium nitricum is on the vertical axis, with the lower heavy side being pulled downwards and the light top side floating up. This idea is confirmed in a diversity of ways. A few provers had a sensation of the soul leaving the body (often upwards and to the left). Others had a sense of elongation, of being very tall, also dreams of extremely tall, thin people. One prover felt the sensation of a cavity in his chest with vibrations moving upwards and downwards and eventually exiting through the vertex and rectum, respectively. We may compare this elongation of Plutonium to the radioactive mushroom resulting from an atomic explosion and rising 50,000 feet above the ground. This theme of heaviness and lightness also features in the proving of Helium, an element which Plutonium discharges as alpha radiation. There are several other similarities between the remedies Helium, Hydrogen and Plutonium-as if the head of the periodic table meets its own tail. They share a sensation of leaving the body, spaciness, lightness and elation combined with the opposing heaviness and isolation. Some Plutonium patients spoke with the deep voice of Plutonium, while others voiced the higher tones of Helium.
 This vertical dichotomy is given further expression through dreams. The prover dreamt of a woman sitting high up in a tree, while far below an aggressive man searched for her. Another prover dreamt many peculiar dreams, always recurring twice in the same night, but from two different vantage points. The first dream was experienced by an observer looking from above, while the second was dreamt from down below as a participant. In one dream the prover, observing from above, saw a bank robbery followed by a police chase. Later that night a similar dream occurred, but this time the dreamer was the bank robber, who, having previously observed the scene, knew the best route of escape. Therefore, alongside the elongation theme, there are aspects of a split between higher and lower aspects of ourselves and our ability to learn from past experience.
 This low, deep and heavy aspect expressed in Plutonium seems to relate to our most primal nature. Anger with a tendency to quarrel. Dreams of warriors fighting or of aboriginal people throwing stones and spears at each other. Dreams and sensations of being a primitive Neanderthal man hunting with a dog. Plutonium delves deep into the centre of our being, where our most primitive instincts of survival lie buried. These instincts fuel our claim for land and territory, as well as the connection through history to hereditary roots.
 As the ancient god of the underworld, Pluto rules mercilessly over the imprisoned souls of the dead. This myth symbolises our connection to ancestral roots, genetic lineage and archaeological history. A central theme of Plutonium is a deep feeling of suffering originating from one's forefathers, like a punishment echoing down through the generations. Just as the half life of plutonium is almost 25,000 years, so the roots of our suffering may stretch far into the past. In a similar way the consequences of our actions will effect many future generations. The hundreds of tons of plutonium that have been manufactured over the last decades will poison the earth for the next quarter of a million years. Thus, plutonium will radiate our genetic lineage through history, affecting our core, our marrow, our DNA. The same primitive person who once threw a rock at a neighbour is now hurling atomic weapons of mass destruction across the border. A graphic visual image of this idea is in Stanley Kubric's film '2001', which opens with a group of apes fighting each other, then cuts to a space ship hurdling into the depth of space and carrying nuclear cargo. The external form has changed but our inner nucleus remains the same. Can we learn from past mistakes? Can we rise above old instincts before our world is destroyed? Can we leave a habitable planet for future generations?
 Yet the source of this violent and destructive energy is also the root of our survival. The seventh radioactive period represents the core that energises our beings. It is this power source, will, basic instinct or cell nuclei, which generates the force to create and propagate. Like bubbling bone marrow which churns out red blood cells of life, natural underground power plants energise our existence.
 The ability to use this core energy creatively depends on two factors: integration with all levels of being and slow release. When chakras revolve harmoniously, root energy can ascend to power us toward the higher purpose of our existence. When the radioactive power sources split from the helium of our soul, there is no channel connecting heaven and earth. This results in compressed nuclear violence, which some Plutonium patients have described as intense enough to destroy the world.
 Like the raw energy of radioactive elements, this confined force should percolate to the surface slowly, naturally and gently from its habitat in the depth of marrow earth. When dragged incongruously to the surface it becomes dangerous and must be controlled. Some cured Plutonium patients were powerful individuals who had to suppress their deep and vital inner core due to fear of unleashing incredibly destructive violence. This suppression resulted in frightful black depressions or deep and enormous rage. We should remember that the remedy is Plutonium nitricum, and that nitric usually tends to limit and restrict the ions it associates with. The tremendous explosive power of plutonium is limited by the restrictive boundaries of nitrogen.
 Violence and the association with blood and marrow are reflected in the Plutonium desire for red meat, liver, bacon and blood. Some provers had delusions of vampire bats, creatures that thrive on blood and live upside down in the underworld.
 Naturally the power of the remedy manifests on the sexual level, the generative sphere of our existence. Powerful sexual urges, images of enormous phalluses and dreams of sexual abuse highlight the explosive energies of unbridled testosterone. This aggressive and base sexuality is coupled with aversion to 'new age men' or cultured people such as art dealers -middle men who do not generate or create. On the other hand a tendency towards effeminate men or masculine women was increased. Radioactive remedies may possibly be indicated in the AIDS pandemic. In an HIV patient, Plutonium nitricum has cured persistent anal warts and increased the white blood cell production.
 Pluto was the ancient god of material wealth, the source of crop growth and world economy. Yet, this power is extremely dangerous and will scorch if prematurely unleashed. Since 1945 we have lived in this radioactive world, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Deeper and deeper we dig, violently excavating elements of our being that until now have been left buried in the deep.
 PLatinum moves to PLumbum, PLUmbum to PLUtonium. The boys took their new chemistry set down to the basement, 94 bottles of cheerfully coloured chemicals waiting for a wizard. Too late, Pandora, too late! The box is open, your secret is out. Chronos lies dead at Hiroshima, his Kingdom split for all time. Radioactive corporations power governments of media-ocracy, fuelling the cancerous economics of a Mickey Mouse medicine. Shamans market secret potions while ancient occult traditions expose hidden codes on TV. Enigmatic genetic puzzles are cracked and engineered to statistically useful norms of insane sameness. Nations fuse to supernations as decaying empires emit tribal particles. X-rays probe the depth of our psychic mysteries in plastic magazines, ripping deep unconscious veils of mystery to expose hidden planetary aspects. Soft micro soap operas expose the roots of our souls to digital audiences. Particle accelerators kiss the speed of light, corporate genetic food engineers generate leukaemic nuclear bunkers in our children's marrow. Tcell warheads threaten genetic bundles of decoded viral information in mutual mutating deterrence. Across the fence at the common, savage peacekeeping men glare peaceful warrior women as the drip drip drip of toxic radiation seeps the underworld. Deep below in Hades, shades of the dead scream the message down the generations. Too late, Pandora! Too late! Your Plutonic Pandemic will power the earth long after our solar-fueled fossils obscure the sun.
 Printed with permission of Jeremy Sherr from The Homoeopathic Proving of Plutonium Nitricum Dynamis Books, 1999.

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."

Erosion of the stomach and homeopathy

Veratrum album
 Case
 On the 27th of January 1990, I was consulted by a 40 year old woman I shall call Sarah (not her real name) with a presenting complaint of erosions of the stomach. This is her case.
 In September of 1990 Sarah had a sore throat which developed into a common cold. Then, on the 1st of October at 2:00 am she woke up and vomited large quantities of 'coffee grounds' with great weakness afterwards. She had to lie down on the bathroom floor until she had gathered the strength to get back into bed. The next day she was admitted to hospital and kept in for three and one-half weeks. Endoscopy showed erosions of the stomach. She lost sixteen pounds in this time (her weight went down to 90 pounds).
 Medication:
 Ranitidine 150 mg BD, increased to 300 mg BD when she relapsed.
 Ferrous sulphate (because her Hb went down to 6.7)

 Sarah came to me with a great fear of her symptoms recurring if she came off the Ranitidine and also a fear of suppression from the allopathic medication. Her general state of health had been poor before the erosions and was worse since. She felt exhausted, looked pale, had marked swelling under both eyes and had no appetite. Mentally she was very low-sad, angry and insecure. She was going through a very traumatic divorce and dealing also with her father (83) who was ill, possibly dying. Her husband had left her one and a half years previously under unpleasant circumstances. She was furious with her ex-husband and angry and worried with what was happening to her father.
 In hospital when she had been so very ill she had written the following poem:
 This poem is a lament, there is a desperate quality, a vivid sense of loss and despair, a woundedness that wants to be healed. I wondered whether this was her case, and I chose the following rubrics from the poem:
 Thoughts of death: I must be well, black thoughts
 Stools, black; bloody: No more black blood, black stools
 Despair of recovery; Lamenting: Please make me well
 Stool, cadaverous, offensive: I'm haunted; smell of cadaverous stool
 Desires company: I long to be held close
 Thoughts disagreeable: I keep my images inside-vivid, sometimes dark
 Taciturn; Desire to Hide: Hidden.
 Inflammation of the stomach: Like the erosions.
 Violent symptoms; Sudden effects: Like the blood that erupted from me.
 Ailments from grief: All the pain, the deaths,
 Forsaken: The aloneness.
 Ailments from disappointed love: The pain of a dying love.
 Religious affections: The blood has flown, And I have been purified.
 The emotional injury of the dying marriage had wounded her. The image of injury to already sore wounds is graphic and speaks of her feeling deeply hurt to the point of contamination. The bleeding then cleansed or purified her-another dramatic image with religious overtones. In this last verse she also expresses the tragedy of the death of a dream. This is a woman whose expectation of a happy and enduring marriage has shattered her, slowly and painfully.
 This is her story. Her husband wasn't Jewish and she was. He insisted she didn't practice and wouldn't allow her to join a synagogue. She cut off from her spiritual and religious roots. When he left her she joined a synagogue: "It made me feel like I belonged." His leaving was distressing and complex. "I feel betrayed by him, let down." Sarah felt, above all, distressed that her hopes of a good family life were dashed. She wasn't interested in material goods, it was building a family life that was most important, one she didn't grow up with. It was only after the solicitors talked to her of what she had missed out on (because of the money her husband had earned), of the missed holidays and so on, that she felt she had missed out, been somehow cheated.
 Her own father's family had perished in the concentration camps. He never talked about this. Her own mother was obsessed with her position. She came from an aristocratic background and had married beneath her. She didn't have much time for the children. When Sarah was four, her brother was born and she felt displaced. Her grandmother looked after her a lot because the baby was ill so often. At age nine her grandmother died. "When I cried my mother said 'she was my mother not yours' and told me to stop crying. I felt very alone. I had no-one for me after that." Sarah felt that she had grown up not feeling part of a family, without a place in the family and this situation had been repeated with her husband.
 Sarah had suppressed many feelings in her life, but it has an active feel to it. She said that she bit back her feelings, "I grit my teeth and carry on." She looked very alive as she spoke these words!
 After repertorizing, I differentiated between Arsenicum and Veratrum album. Both have the collapse and the sudden, violent symptoms. Although Veratrum album didn't have the cadaverous stools or the anxiety about health, it had everything else. You will also find it under Ailments from anger with silent grief, with anxiety. Sarah was much better for fresh air, loved being outside and was also better for being busy/occupied. She was still severely anemic and therefore still taking the Ferrous sulphate.
 I decided on Veratrum album because of the focus on her loss of position that came through from her mother and childhood and was still active in her adult life, that had a religious connection. Neither did she have any generals that might have guided me towards Arsenicum. Also, she had an interesting 'edge' in the way she told her story; an edge that I have experienced with most of my Veratrum patients.
 29 Nov. 90 Rx: Veratrum album 200
 15 Dec. 90
 Immediate improvement, in energy and emotions. "I feel I've come alive." Sleeping much better. Hospital checks in mid-December were positive: there is no blood in the stools, her Hb is up to 12.4. She is taken off the iron. The past week she has started to feel low again after a difficult conversation with her husband. Is nauseous a lot of the time and full of flatulence.
 15 Dec. 90 Rx: Veratrum album 200
 29 Mar. 91
 Has been feeling a lot better. Had two migraines within two weeks of the last Rx (law of cure). The hospital has discharged her. She has put on five pounds in the last three months and has been feeling really well until recently. She has resolved to have more fun in her life. Is saying 'no' to her husband (appropriately) rather than going along with his demands. Starting to dream again, "Healing ones. I can leave the past behind now." She has color back/pink cheeks. Appetite is fantastic "I can't stop eating." Had generally become more easily tired but was pacing herself (not rushing around busily!) until lately when she went back to work and became very quickly "frenetically busy". Since then she is exhausted but keeping up with the (hyperactive) pace -"I need to be doing things the whole time."
 29 Mar. 91 Rx: Veratrum album 1M
 9 May. 91
 Many old symptoms returned in the weeks after the last dose of Veratrum; obstructed nose for ten days; a skin rash which was followed by a great sense of well-being. April 15, swollen fingers on waking with itching all over body (recurrence from 1984). April 19, nausea and vomiting for two days. Then leucorrhoea (old chronic complaint) came and went. May 3, sore throat which developed into a cold and lasted a week then cleared. Swellings under eyes are reducing. Work is fine. Getting on well with ex-husband. Is socializing more and has entered into a new relationship and is enjoyed feeling more sexual again.
 Wait/no Rx.
 28 Nov. 91
 Generally very well until the last month. Work going well. MP regular now-normal bleed every 28 days. Weighs 112 pounds again (her normal, healthy weight).
 Emotionally in a very bad place. Having a difficult time with her ex-husband, and her father who has been in and out of hospital. Feeling arrogant, dissatisfied, persecutory towards her children and lover. Abrupt and nasty to those close to her. Getting on her high horse (haughty) a lot. She spent much of this follow up consultation complaining "I don't want the hassle. Who needs this?" Hard and rejecting (the other side of the Veratrum collapse).
 28 Nov. 91 Rx: Veratrum album 1M
 Spring 1992
 Very well generally. Still has her ups and downs because her divorce isn't settled. But she is coping really well. Family life is good, her children are beginning to accept the man in her life. "I feel like a woman now". Her body is rounding out and her breasts have grown. Even when she was formerly well she was always thin and boyish.
 Sarah has developed a sense of herself over the past eighteen months which has included acknowledging the power of her shadow and an acceptance of that side of herself which has led to a deep healing.
 She has gone on to marry happily, someone who accepts all of who she is and who can share in that fully.
 Miranda Castro is a Fellow with the British Society of homeopaths, and is a registered member with the North American Society of Homeopaths for which she acts as the executive director. Miranda lives and practices in Seattle.