Hi everyone,
It was only a matter of time before asking for remedy advice for my 7-year old daughter...who also has been seeing our family homeopath with not a lot of lasting success.

Issues:
Started seeing our homeopath 2 years ago (age 5) because of constant nasal congestion/post nasal drip/summer allergies issues. Very brave, it takes a lot of pain for her to complain. Weakened immune system. Huge tonsils. Whenever she would catch a cold, she would get terrible post nasal drip that made her cough violently day and night. She always sounded congested, as though she had a cold. Then the sneezing and itchy eyes started 2 summers ago, at which point, after going through about 4 different remedies, our homeopath settled on mercurius, which did take care of the congestion and summer allergies. However, when she catches colds, they often (but not every time) re-aggravate the post nasal drip/cough cycle, and she goes on bryonia to get relief. Lately, bryonia has not had any positive effects.
She had strep throat 3 times this past winter (the last 2 times one after another).
She can't seem to get rid of a latest cold; started as a violent dry cough (worse at 8:00 PM, 1:00 AM, and in the morning), which has become a very deep, wet cough; sinus headache behind right eye and earache in left ear.

History:
Fantastic girl, but emotionally & intellectually complicated 7 ½ year old (7 years old going on 37)…Brown hair/eyes (myopic; wears glasses), small jaw for her teeth (tightly spaced teeth), fair-to-tan complexion, large mole on the inside of right elbow, no spots on nails, tall and thin for her age, large sweaty head, beautiful smooth skin, full cheeks get flushed easily in hot, humid summer weather; much more heat intolerant than cold intolerant, but generally doesn’t do very well in either extreme. Has had all standard allergy vaccinations. Very surly & ornery as an infant, our family joke is that she cracked her first smile at 8 months of age! HATED being restrained on her back to have her diaper changed (we called her the “Exorcist Baby”!), had “exploding”, liquid bowel movements as an in infant & toddler (with serious diaper rash) , never been one for hugging, cuddling, or being held, even as an infant. Even when she attempts to hug you, it looks and feels awkward. Gave up afternoon naps very early, does not feel the need to nap during the day, but is a very deep sleeper at night; no problems getting out of bed in the morning. Sleeps on her back almost exclusively. The only time she’s comfortable with contact is while play-wrestling. VERY much aware of her own personal space, a strong individual, a team player only if in a leadership position. Very determined, strong willed, moody, stubborn, takes any correction or advice very personally and sees it as an attack. Very self-conscious, thinks everyone is looking a her. Comfortable doing things as long as it’s on her terms; has learned to be diplomatic, and to negotiate (because she’s had to!). Never had a good sense of balance, would always walk into walls, trip easily, crack her head on kitchen counters, easily injured when playing; has been playing soccer and doing karate for a while now, and these have helped improve her coordination. Advanced reading ablity (reads at a rate of 1 standard hardcover text page per 30 seconds with full comprehension). Not interested in “girl” activities, does not like dolls, dresses, tea parties, color pink. Dresses like a creative artist. Very artistic, imaginative, and creative. Excellent piano player, has a very good ear for music. Drawings and paintings gravitate toward the abstract, where she’s at her best creatively. Also very good at cartooning. Good with shapes and spatial relationships. Has a strange fascination with the color green. Has trouble with structure, authority, etc. Very self-absorbed, not naturally empathic toward others (occasionally she shows flashes of empathizing for others, but it doesn’t come naturally). Toilet trained in just 1 week at the age of 2.5 years old. At school, she chooses one authority figure from which she needs validation, but isn’t concerned what anybody else thinks. Conscious of wanting to please that authority figure. Authority figures that work best with her and get the most out of her are the quiet, nurturing type, who exert covert (not overt) control. Natural leader, always has wild ideas about starting clubs, projects, etc. Very respected and looked up to by her classmates. Tends to withdraw in her books when stressed, and tunes the world out. Likes “collections”, doesn’t like to throw things out. Craves salty & sour over sweet: Favorite treats are salt & vinegar chips, candy (not cakes, chocolate bars, or ice cream), granola bars, Sprite or orange flavored soft drinks, prefers vanilla over chocolate. Does not like dairy products, favorite foods include plain spaghetti with meatballs (no sauce-no cheese), pizza with pepperoni, peanut butter & rasberry jelly sandwiches, cucumbers, tomatoes, green salads with salt/oil/vinegar dressing, any kind of meat with crispy fat (roast chicken-loves the skin, bacon, steak, pork chop, roast lamb), rice, steamed broccoli, fried fish (in batter), french fries (no ketchup), batter-fried chicken nuggets with sweet & sour sauce, etc.

Fits the silica profile almost perfectly, yet silica (c200) has done nothing for her.
Also a very close match to natr. mur., but this (c200) also didn't work. Merc. is the one remedy that has worked the best up antil now, but she's having a harder time fighting off colds with complications.

Thanks in advance for suggestions.

RF

[This message has been edited by RF (edited 05 June 2000).]

Lycopodium c 200 one dose.

GM,
We had quite the night last night, let me tell you...By the time my daughter was ready for the lycopodium, she was in tears because the earache had become unbearable; because it takes a lot for her to complain, we knew it had to be painful. Anyway, she took the lycopodium at bedtime (8:00 PM), and I spent the night with her because she was in rough shape. She slept ten minutes here and there, waking up crying, etc. She also developed a high fever about 1 hour after the lycopodium. BUT...this morning (6:00AM), she woke up without any fever, saying that the pain has gone down and that the ear still feels a little blocked. What a huge difference from last night!! When I tested her hearing from both ears, it seemed to be fine, she may have a little fluid in the left ear, but without the fever and the terrible pain, I'm not as worried anymore.
How does all this sound?

Thank you so much for your advice,

RF

[This message has been edited by RF (edited 06 June 2000).]

Sound good, its just to wait, a month, but do not give her any that contain coffe, as chocolate, coca cola pepsi, etc.

Just in case...(after all, she's only 7) what do we do if she forgets and eats something with chocolate by accident? How about white chocolate (only has cocoa butter but not caffeine)? She should be OK with coke, pepsi, etc., she never drinks the stuff.

Thanks,

RF

If, the progress will stop.but, it will begin again, no need to retake it.
But coffe can give pains when on lyc.

[This message has been edited by GM (edited 06 June 2000).]

OK, good to know. What a pleasure to know what do expect when things go wrong. A departure from my experience with some homeopaths up until now. Thanks.

RF

Another update, GM:

It's been 8 days since she took the lycopodium, but 5 days ago...she ate 2 chocolate M&M's. Hard to police her when she's at school. Anyhow, she became very lethargic, tired, droopy almost instantly for a couple of days. She seems to have rebounded now. Only thing remaining is the sound of nasal congestion when she speaks, but often nothing comes out when she blows her nose. I'm mentioning this because this was the one of the original problems we had with her 2 summers ago: constant congestion, sneezing, very emotional, moody, very much heat intolerant, low energy, post nasal drip, violent coughing with colds (which merc. seemed to take care of for a while).

What do you think?

RF

Seems like choclate stopped it for some time, its just to wait and se, it seems to go the correct way.

I'm thinking of having her wear a headband at school with the words "NO CHOCOLATE FOR ME!!" printed on there

Thanks again,

RF