Snoopy,

That's exactly what happened to me. My FORMER homeopath yelled at me on his speakerphone when I was asking him about a new little problem with asthma. He was big on constitutionals. The next morning his assistant called to tell me she was sorry about his behavior. She'd been in the room and heard both sides of the conversation. He had definitely helped me in the past but who wants to pay someone to yell at them.

Contenta

CRA,

I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better, but I hope you don't mind if I share my own little cautionary tale of suppressing rashes with antibiotics. I'd feel great if I could help someone avoid problems.

When I came down with the measles as a child I was given heavy doses of antibiotics for at least a month, probably penicillin. I ended up being delirious, with a very high fever, for much of that time. I managed to survive it, barely, but not long after a rash appeared on my neck which eventually was diagnosed as the outward manifestation of a rare genetic disorder. This disorder has, to my knowledge, never shown up in any other family member. Even if my siblings were to develop it now, which could happen, I've already had it nearly forty years.

You do seem to have a lot of awareness but for what it's worth I pass that on to you. Best of luck to you in your decision-making and in dealing with your homeopath.

Contenta

Wow, that's scary. I certainly took antibiotics galore when I was younger -- not to mention goodies like sulfa drugs for a simple bladder infection. Now I never take them - especially not the unnecessary prescriptions the doctor writes when you go in with a bad cold, just so you feel that you've gotten your money's worth - except in a really dire situation like this. I don't even like to take aspirin.

What worries me is that this time the antibiotics don't seem to be doing the trick. My stiff joints seem to be winning the battle. I am going out of town tomorrow on what is supposed to be a romantic getaway. Does anyone have any ideas for things I should take with me in case the pain gets worse? I have Ledum and Rhus tox 30C, and if Washington Homeopathics comes through today I may also have a kit of 100 remedies that I can take. I'm sorry I don't have more juicy symptoms on which to go, but the antibiotics do make things confusing.

I am afraid if I go back to the MD with this she will just say, "Well, are you taking those steroids I prescribed?" and THAT I really don't want to do.

[ 08 August 2001: Message edited by: CRA ]

Dear CRA,

Has Hypericum been tried? My course notes for Hypericum say, "Lyme ticks....Bites and stings that go septic."

Regarding Ledum--how many doses did you take of that? Because 30C 4 times a day for 3 days should have been tried before giving up on it.

Snoopy

Well, CRA, if you had only mentioned those red rings!!! Then someone would have clued in on the Lyme's disease thing. The "bullseye" shaped markings are characteristic of Lyme's disease. Ledum is the genus epidemicus remedy for Lyme's disease--it has all the arthritic symptoms you mention, the foot swelling symptoms you mention, plus the sensitivity you describe (the swelling in your foot made it difficult to walk...as it would in a case of gout, for which Ledum is a very big remedy...)

Oh well, live and learn.

P. S. I don't think Kentians ignore acute ailments when patients are on constitutional remedies. I learned from several primarily Kentian prescribers, and all of them taught us how to interpret/treat/respond to/manage and never ignore the acute ailments which arise on constitutional prescriptions.

I think homeopaths who do this are lacking in case management skills, and need help understanding and analysing their patients' progress on remedies.

Not everyone is a 100% flawless physician, you know? Lots of people get insecure about acute ailments after they've prescribed..instead of just calming down and paying attention to what is going on in the case! Often, the chronic remedy will create an acute illness!

Divina

[ 09 August 2001: Message edited by: Divina ]

__________________
...and deliverance has many faces<br />but grace<br />is an aquaintance of mine

Hi Divina,

I totally agree with you that Kentian or any Classical Homoeopath do not ignore the acutes while treating a person constituionally.

Here is one simple example to illustrate this pnenomena is:

While on a Calc. for const. treatment, if any acute comes like, fever, sore throat etc, the patient get relief from Bell., which is the acute of Calc.

[ 09 August 2001: Message edited by: Shashi Roy ]

I had a feeling my remarks would bring out the cavalry!

I subscribe to The Herscu Letter, which Paul Herscu, head of the New England School of Homeopathy puts out. He has called the last two issues "Homeopathy and Acute Diseases" because he has become aware that even his own graduates do not know how to treat acutes: "A funny thing happened to me at the last conference I attended. Three good homeopaths I have taught told me that they felt uncomfortable treating acute diseases. As one of them put it...I feel comfortable treating people constitutionally with homeopathy. Yet when a patient comes to me with an injury or a viral infection, I feel lost."

This is not a mystery. If your protocol is one dose and wait, and any other remedy will interfere with and possibly antidote your prescription, then where do acutes find a home in this configuration? There is simply no room for them--they are mischief-makers, personae non grata! And if they cannot be treated homeopathically because of the constitutional prescription, then why learn how to treat them? Hence the rash of letters we receive from people who are suffering. Merl, with her "bathroom attacks" and asthma attacks, for which her homeopath gave nothing; Andy with his vertigo, which baffled his homeopath; there are others, like CRA, who are afraid to tell their homeopaths that they've been taking remedies for acutes. We've gotten lots of "My homeopath yelled at me" letters because of self-prescribed acute remedies. You take CRA's homeopath who left town, and left no one in charge! What is she saying except, My patients can't be treated for acutes, so why should they need to be in touch with me?

Now, here's the difference between Kentian and 6th edition Organon prescribing. When a patient comes to see Robin Murphy, for example, they get sent home with their constitutional remedy in a low potency that can be taken daily, plus an acute remedy in 30C that can treat the periodic disease they have, which could be asthma, seizures, or whatever. It may be the same remedy: Arsenicum 9C twice a day and Ars. 30 C for acute asthma attacks. Plus, the patient will be told to buy a first aid kit and an acute prescribing book. These patients have no fears about antidoting. They never have to choose between their constitutional remedy and treating a horrible acute. No one tells them to give up their coffee and get off their drugs--which only their doctor can legally do. They do not suffer with terrible aggravations because the case is not started with a high potency. The patient is allowed to adjust the dosing to suit their comfort level. In this system, acutes are not ignored, they are expected and prepared for. Often you know what the acute is going to be because the patient will tell you, just like Merl: "I get an asthmatic cough which is helped by cold water." So, you know you're going to send her home with Cuprum 30C, not just her constitutional remedy, you're not going to let her suffer these attacks. So, this is Hahnemann's 6th ed. Organon gift to us, a more humane way of practicing--rapid and gentle.

Snoopy

Well, I know there are definite biases and opinions about this issue--however, I will say again--even Kent treated acute ailments as they arose during constitutional prescriptions.

How do I know? Well, it is in the literature--but I won't quote now, as that is only one way to determine this. Another is the fact that, ever since Hahnemann, remedies have been studied and grouped together in Chronic/Acute relationships.

Belladonna and Pulsatilla are 2 of many documented "acutes" of the chronic calc carb.

Arsenicum is one of many acutes of the chronic Phosphorus.

Ignatia and Apis are 2 of many other "acutes" of the chronic Natrum Muriaticum.

And so on and so on, for hundreds of remedies.

As I said before--some people don't realise it is part of case management protocol to observe what is happening in the case, and, if necessary, prescribe an acute remedy. It is key to managing the case well, and possibly, to creating "cure".

I know many, many homeopaths will agree that the real need in education is for case management skills development. Most homeopaths are taught to focus on case taking for the first 3 years or so of their training--and are left to pretty much their own devices when it comes to case management.

Still, its all in the Organon. All you have to do is read it.

Divina

__________________
...and deliverance has many faces<br />but grace<br />is an aquaintance of mine

Here's a case from Kent's case books, just to illustrate that he treated acutes and also selected low potency remedies, when they fit the case:


&lt;&lt;From Kent's Clinical Cases
Case 5

Abscess on face
Abcès de la face
Tarentula cubensis

A middle-aged gentleman had an abscess on the side of the face just in front of the ear.

Suppuration was advanced and the fluctuation was marked.

Silicea had done some good as it had controlled the pain.

The cavity was aspirated by a surgeon several times but it continued to refill.

After three weeks there was no abatement of the difficulty.

The integument took on a new feature, becoming bluish, mottled with great burning and sharp cutting pains.

The hardness was extending and the opening gave out a bloody thin excoriating fluid of foul smell.

He was chilly and nauseated and had symptoms of pyaemia.

After one dose of Tarantula cubensis 12x an immediate change for the better took place, no more pus formed and he was well in ten days.

The discolored localization became a bright red and then faded to the natural color.

The nausea and general pyoemic symptoms were greatly relieved within twelve hours.

No more medicine.&gt;&gt;


In this case, Tarentula Cubensis acted as an acute remedy to the chronic silica. Though silica palliated the pain and led to the acute pyemia, the tarentula cubensis 12x cured the acute state, and by extension, the chronic one as well.

Divina

__________________
...and deliverance has many faces<br />but grace<br />is an aquaintance of mine

Dear Divina,

Thanks for the great case from Kent! Yes, this is what homeopaths need to be prepared for! There seems to be a laziness--I don't know, a presumption that "All I should have to do is the really challenging,juicy constutional/psychological stuff, otherwise, see a doctor!" I mean, imagine, CRA's homeopath, leaving town with no one in charge of her cases, as if to say, "What could they possibly need me for? They're all on constitutional treatment!"

Snoopy