Dear friends,

I was wondering if someone could help.

My homeopath is overseas on holiday and I am running into possible problems with my treatment. I am not sure what to do.

I am 22 years old, female. Indian parents.

I am new to homeopathic treatment. I went to see a Homeo. for my eczema (severe - all over body except face, mainly joint areas)/asthma (used to be severe, but improved as skin got worse)/allergies (mild hayfever, severe allergy to dairy products) for the first time two weeks ago.

After a very long discussion, he decided to prescribe Lachesis (5 drops, 1M, once a day). This was based particularly on my tendency to have two very strong sides to my character (one very kind, loving, understanding, tolerant side (which seems to come from my mother); and the other - very angry, envious, resentful towards my father (he used to hit us and put us down when we were little, and was constantly obsessed with the importance of making money). Intuitively, my personality tends towards the loving side. However, there is a constant internal war with the other angry side.

The homeopath I saw was absolutely excellent -very thorough and very intuitive.

I have experienced a real mix of symptoms since beginning the Lachesis.

When I took it for the first time, almost as soon as it entered my mouth - I felt like I had broken out of prison and was free! I felt amazing like this for about two days. Normally, I am VERY self-conscious of my eczema (it is quite noticeable, though I have always been spared of the eczema from my face - the skin there is very beautiful) - I would be constantly covering up, and would sometimes be so ashamed of it that even I could not bare to look at it (would get dressed in the dark etc).

For the first two days of treatment, I felt very free (no insecurities). I had immediately stopped allopathic treatment (oral and topical steroids/cortisone, antihistamines for the itch, ventolin for any asthma) but this did not seem to present a problem (which is great, b/c I have always been reliant on them).

I have now not taken any allopathic treatment for the past two weeks (a record for me) - nor do I feel a dependency on them anymore - which is wonderful. Every time I took anything allopathic, I just hated myself. I think I intuitively knew it was wrong and was merely suppressing the problem.

As for my emotional state - it was very clear and stable and happy (free of envy of others, insecurities, depression) for the first 7-8 days (with only one, very short lapse). However, I have been very emotional for the past three days - I have been crying terribly and will not see my boyfriend b/c I am feeling ugly. He doesn't care how I look(he is very supportive) but this doesn't seem to make a difference to me.

I must admit, at the same time, I am not feeling the same inferiority complex that I had prior to treatment. Normally, I compare myself to others on an intellectual, beauty (particularly focussing on their skin) and social level, and always feel that I am inferior. I have been doing this a lot for the last four years since I have been at University (my friends are all very talented, high achievers). Prior to this, I was insecure (even as a young child), but this manifested itself differently - not as an inferiority but as a superiority complex.

I don't feel like this anymore. I am quite happy with myself. Nor am I feeling any anger/resentment generally, or towards my father. Which is also a big change.

Yet I can't stop crying (for about three days now). I have started focussing on my skin again - noticing every new scratch etc and this makes me cry making me think the treatment isn't working.

The skin has been very flared up for the past week or so. This could be b/c I stopped allopathic treatment -and no doubt it is partially this - but I also think there has been flare up as a direct result of the lachesis (as my body responded to a little bit of scratching in a completely disproportionate way - becoming very, very purple, but not itchy, and then these purple patches just healed themselves). I have had one very mild allergy and asthma attack, but I just seemed to ignore them and they went away within minutes.

The skin is currently extremely dry and wrinkly. I have tried baths, oils etc to try and make the skin supple, but it has not worked. It is extremely painful on account of the dryness, cracking, and scratches - and it is intensely itchy, particularly at night time. I usually have the will power to control the itch during the day, but I scratch a great deal during the night and have no recollection of it in the morning (only the visible results).

Now I am beginning to lose my willpower even during the day, as the itch becomes quite unbearable at times.

I am not sure what to do now with treatment. My homeopath has given me agency over what to do with dosage levels. I had increased dosage to 1M, twice a day - but this has not made any difference in emotional state.

Any suggestions? I am a little wary of changing the medication until my homeopath returns - I trust him completely with this.

Also, I was wondering what to do about potential infections from skin wounds. My throat, groin and under arm glands are all swolen, suggesting there is some infection - though of course this should present no problem for the body if the Immune System is OK (which I suspect it is right now on account of the lachesis). However, what can I do if I start getting sick from infection? Can I/should I take antibiotics? I have had septicemia twice before from skin infections and have almost died from this (though these both happened about ten years ago).

Thanks!

aura, it is very clear what to do. Stop taking the Lachesis drops. From what you write it was the correct remedy choice for you by your practitioner, but given in repeated doses like this the remedy over-acts and gives a return and intesification of symptoms.
Once you stop taking it, the symptoms should calm down. If they don't, then re-post because you might need and antidote.
Repeat dosing of Lachesis in 1M is potentially dangerous.
Homoeopathic medicines work by showing the vital force in you an image of the disturbance in you, so that it knows what to react against. Once that imprint has been shown to the vital force it does not need to be reinforced by repeated dosing. Repeated daily doses can cause the disease pattern to be imprinted on your vitality more deeply than ever it was before, if you persist in taking it.
I think every practitioner who posts on this bulletin board would agree that you need to stop taking the remedy immediately, and to wait for the symptoms to calm down, which they should do swiftly.

I absolutely agree with what Anna has written. You should only have been given the remedy once and it would have carried on working. What you are experienceing now are proving symptoms.

Dear Anna and Ricky,

Thank-you both so much for the advice. It intuitively feels correct to stop the treatment. My skin looks scaly - just like a snake or fish, and I have, over the past few days, been feeling a little reluctant to take the lachesis. I shall stop it.

I was wondering how antibiotics contribute to suppression of the problem. Like I said before, I am a little worried about infection. Would I be suppressing the problem if I began a course of antibiotics? Could it clash with my homeopathic treatment? Another alternative is taking foods (like manuka honey) which have quite rich natural antibiotic properties.

What do you think?

Thank-you.

Heed the advise already given. If the remedy is working, the Homeopath doesn't. A proving of Lachesis was beginning. To accept the aggravations on the skin is excellent advice. They will subside. As your energy on all planes, physical-mental and spiritual is abundant and you have Joy in your life your Homeopath would be smiling with the report you have shared.
Continued good Health and a prosperous New Year.

Use of one m, as it was LM one, is wrong and produce problems, you migth need to go to LM one, diluted and sucussed, after prescription, to get a sligthly changed dose each day, to avoid aggravations like this, it seem to me that its done wrong,owerworked, or giving unwanted effects, and it migth take time before your through aggs if not going to LM, or get a antidote.

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Homeopat MNNH Geir Marcussen.
http://members.home.net/franske/naturalway.html
e-mail. getm@eunet.no

Dear friends,

Thank-you all for your very cogent advice. I have not taken any lachesis for a day now, and will not take anymore.

Already I am starting to feel marvellous again. I feel happy, no need to cry, no feelings of depression. Indeed, a real test of insecurity yesterday when I received my University results - they were terrible! - but I felt fine.

The skin is doing amazingly well. It still looks pretty bad, but I am happy to live with it now that my spiritual side is feeling well again. I have no desire to suppress the physical manifestations. Besides, there are already signs since the stopping of lachesis, that my skin is on the mend. The very dry patches on and around my elbows and shoulders are flaking off (looking like fish food!) and leaving beautiful healthy soft skin underneath. The rest of the arms and neck look like they will follow suit.

Also, prior to the stopping of lachesis, I had started to experience the most intense itch, particularly on my back and back of my upper thighs. That too has gone. I did scratch a little in my sleep last night, but this was mild and mainly on my legs. Strangely, since beginning the lachesis, my legs have been relatively free of any eczema. Historically, they have always been the problematic (and thus, the most suppressed physical part of my body - fairly extensive use of cortisones).

Thus, I am not surprised that my legs are starting to flare up now - I think it is only natural that they do so and I am happy to put up with it - it is the body's natural healing response.

No allergies today either (I had a long sneezing session yesterday while I was still on the lachesis).

Thank-you all so much for your help and encouragement. I shall keep you posted on the progress of the treatment.



[This message has been edited by aura (edited 01 January 2001).]

Dear Friends,

It has been five days now since stopping the lachesis as advised.

I felt immediately better after stopping it - my mood improved dramatically and my spirit became much stronger. This continued for about three days.

Now my condition is beginning to deteriorate. I am starting to feel a little depressed and insecure again (though in a MUCH milder form than I was experiencing before when I was on the lachesis). Also, my arms, neck and back (which had almost healed in the three days after stopping the treatment) are beginning to flare up again - becoming itchy, and I am scratching them at night-time (though this is also milder than before).

What could be happening? Should I just accept these symptoms and see how I go? If I am experiencing a flare up as a result of taking too much of the lachesis, can these aggravations slowly go by themselves (perhaps with some yoga and meditation) or will I need an antidote?

Thank-you!

aura, stay with it for a bit if the symptoms are not too bad. You are getting a counteraction from all the lachesis you took.

It would be a good idea to order Lacheisis LM1 from a homoeopathic pharmacy as I think it will be needed to balance your reactions. LMs are a much gentler dosage that will not produce the swings that you have experienced with the remedy so far. When your prescriber returns from holidays, s/he will be able to advise on use of the LM.