I just wanted to share an insight I have had regarding complementary remedies, which has developed over the years as I noticed what remedies my patients needed during on-going managment/treatment.

I used to look only at those remedies listed in the Mat Med as complementary. But I have found a little trick that I don't remember reading anywhere, and certainly I wasn't taught this.

I have noticed that I can use a remedy that shares an important symptom of the patient as a complementary remedy.Say that Fear of being alone in the Dark is very important to the case. A patient may do well on one of the remedies known for it, but when it doesn't work anymore, you can look at the other remedies that shares this symptom. Obviously I would find some confirming symptoms for the new remedy's use.

I have found that Valer and Phos can work this way. I have found that Nat-c and Hydrogen can be complements (Delusion seperate from society). Nat-mur and Tub also (Romantic), Aur and Thuj (delusion worthless) , Nat-mur and Staph (Dwells on past misdeeds).

I can't say for sure, this is just an impression I am forming, so I don't want to imply I have discovered some new principle. I think this especially true in very small rubrics, esp where one remedy is a polycrest and the others are smaller less well known remedies.

Has anyone else noticed this?

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David Kempson.<br />Dip.Homoeopathic Medicine.<br />Lecturer Australian College of Natural Therapies (Brisbane Campus)<br />Member AHA, AROH, HMA<br />Member Australian Homoeopathic Association. Member#0442.

Yes, and until the smaller less well known remedies are proven thoroughly, who knows what gems are lying within our Materia Medicas.
It's been interesting for me to learn how in the course of a proving, certain remedies were deemed to be complementary, antidotal etc. E.g. if you were to prove Iodum, you may develop symptoms like great emaciation, ravenous hunger and a sore swollen knee. After the proving schedule was completed the emaciation and hunger may disappear leaving the sore swollen knee. So you know Apis can remedy this, you take it, the symptoms go away and there you have it. Apis antidotes Iodum.
Clinical verification tells us that Iodum is followed well in croup, Strammonium follows Apis well in 'mania', and so on. I'm always interested to know where additions to our repertories and Materia Medicas come from, and I think we should all be encouraged to list our own clinical observations.
The only thing I would like to add about my observations in this regard is that I've found modifying dosages in LM prescribing has further enhanced the efficacy of a remedy where previously I would have changed to a different remedy.

I think this is the reason we already have complementaries, they have this link in their symptomology, which allows us to link them in our patients too.

Other links I have noticed

Hyos and Lyssin( Delusion/Fear of being bitten)
Thuja and Hydrogen (Seperate from society)

It gives me alot more scope for the second prescription, when the first did so much good, but has ceased to be effective.

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David Kempson.<br />Dip.Homoeopathic Medicine.<br />Lecturer Australian College of Natural Therapies (Brisbane Campus)<br />Member AHA, AROH, HMA<br />Member Australian Homoeopathic Association. Member#0442.

Your discovery is not new --actually it is more than 150 years old. The one to look out for is Boenninghausen, In the Therpeutic Pocketbook at the end he has these relationships worked out in great detail.
They take the form of rubrics and these are listed under the remedies. For example:
if you gave Bell, and you need a remedy to follow that up, and your main trouble lies in the mental sphere, Your rubric ot start with would be:
BEll, Mind.
This rubric contains 24 remedies in the graduation between 1-5.
if you put this rubric on the top of your repertorisation and run the new, or persistent decisive features against it, it won't take you long to come up with a good follow up remedy. I am using this Information for the last ten years, and it greatly helped me to unravel complicated cases.
Ps.:The same remedy relationships are found in the back of the BB-rep.

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cure by symptom similarity!<br /><a href="http://www.Boger-Boenninghausen.com/" target="_blank">www.Boger-Boenninghausen.com/</a>

I guess what I am saying though, is that it allows us to create new complementary relationships with remedies, and esp with new remedies that do not appear in the old materia medicas. How do we know what is complemantary to Adamas, or Marble, or Granite, or Ammonium-sulph , or Hydrogen ? I was taught that certain remedies were complementary to others, but not how that link is created. And no-one ever suggested that we could ascertain new complementary relationships. I realise of course that this is how the old ones were established, often on generals and physicals. Now I feel confident about expanding the concept to help patients who don't fit the traditional complements.

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David Kempson.<br />Dip.Homoeopathic Medicine.<br />Lecturer Australian College of Natural Therapies (Brisbane Campus)<br />Member AHA, AROH, HMA<br />Member Australian Homoeopathic Association. Member#0442.

Two questions:-

1) To David - firstly thanks for sharing this with us. In your example Fear of the dark, where you may have given say Phos, am I to presume that after the Phos has completed its action the fear of the dark is still present? Then I take it you give a complementary remedy that also has fear of the darkin it.

2) To Hans - excuse my ignorance but what is the BB rep?

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RSHom - Registered Homeopath

hallo Ricky
The BB-rep stands for:
Boger-Boenninghausen's Characteristics and Repertory edited by C. M. Boger
First edition Parkersbourg, Wa,1905
Second and consecutive Editions:Roy and co,India 1937/1952 , then B.Jain publishers, India.

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cure by symptom similarity!<br /><a href="http://www.Boger-Boenninghausen.com/" target="_blank">www.Boger-Boenninghausen.com/</a>

I had a feeling you were going to say that. I can't get to grips with it!!!

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RSHom - Registered Homeopath

Dear David,
I love hearing about your cases so keep them coming!! I pick up all sorts of little titbits as I am sure others do.
Thanks!

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RSHom - Registered Homeopath

David, I'm genuinely surprised to read that noone ever suggested you could discover more complementary links between remedies other than those already established. It is like being told that homoeopathic research is already complete and final.
At seminars a speaker will often recommend upgrading a specific symptom, or adding another remedy to a keynote based on personal experience. Banerjee is brilliant at this with his photographic memory. As well, many new books (like Practical Materia Medica for the Consulting Room by Dr Tinus Smits)leave space at the end of a page for personal additions.
On another note, this subject has brought up the question of partial simillimums causing suppressions. Have you also noticed in some cases where using a "smaller" remedy to finish off a case has hindered instead?