Male patient, aged 53 yrs.

After going out new years eve (1997), drank some alchohol and became very sick - only had two drinks. Face turned grey, sweated profusely, became very drunk immediately on second drink.

Ever since then, tired headaches, sores on inner thighs (blisters become pustules), tingling stinging pain in lumbar region.

Has started talking to himself. Postponing things constantly. Has been phoning a fantasy sex line very frequently - has run up a bill of $8000. Feels he has become hooked on sex lines.

Confidence is very bad - feels fragile, depressed, has no control, feels he is losing it. Can't control his money, can't control his sexual fantasies. Feels useless. Small things seem very big. Does not want to work - avoids his responisibilities. His memory is very poor - forgets what he is saying even while talking to me. Patient is talkative but goes on about many different subjects, sometime forgetting why he is telling me about them.

worse afternoon, 2pm. worse air-conditioning (sinus)
worse Heat, hates the sun, worse direct sun
Head sweats profusely but body is dry (patient is sitting in front of me mopping the sweat off his head).
Patient says he sweats heavily in bed while sleeping, forms pools of sweat which stains the bedclothes a yellowish colour.

Feels he is just playing a role in society, that his role as a leader in the community is just fictitious (he is a pastor). Must always live up to other people's expectations. He is told by others that he takes too much control.

Patient has lots of sexual fantasies but has trouble getting erections. Feels his fantasies represent a sinister side to him.

Rubrics:

Alcohol agg. (2)
Heat of sun agg.(2)
Perspiration single parts.(2)
Perspiration during sleep.(3)
Perspiration staining the linen yellow (3)
Ailments from sexual excesses (1)
Sexual thoughts with impotence (calad,Onos)
Fear of work (1)
Speech babbling (1)

Reaction:

Felt really good, more in control, less anxious.
Patient felt he could handle things now, things were within his ability to deal with them.
Mind became clear, all his confusion went away.
Able to put everything in perspective - not being swept away by little worries.
Sweating diminished considerably. No longer caused stains.
More able to handle the heat - summer was no longer so difficutl (Summers here are really hot)
No impotence.
Able to say no to the sex lines now.
Energy good. Generally felt on top of everything.

__________________
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.

David,
Thank you for that case which seems to be a wonderful Selenium picture. The lecturer who spoke to us about the remedy said that there was often a 'religious' or 'dogmatic' side to the remedy. This does not seem to be mentioned in the Materia Medica but also seems to be an aspect of your case.
Also could there be some relation with Conium? especially noticing the hemlock reference in the Ovid poetry?

Interesting, the Greek Myth about the Moon goddess Selene illustrates a possible Selenium remedy picture. Selene falls in love with a shepherd and he is granted eternal life by Zeus, remaining forever young but sleeping forever. He had lost interest and was indifferent in his shepherding duties, chosing to live in a dream world where his lover Selene visited him by night. However, his sleep cannot have been very restful as he fathered 50 daughters by her.

Here we see the drowsiness, indifference to work, insensibility, exhaustion and weakness after coition, someone who only ‘lives’ in the evening and is preoccupied with sexual matters.

It is interesting when they came to name the element, they choose to name it after the Moon Goodess!

Best wishes
Therese

Therese: I have sent the work, please report to me if it receives it well. Regards.

Dear Opium, yes I have received the file and I will try to have it translated. Thanks to David Johnson for sharing the Ovid poetry and showing that Selenium is not just for old people! The picture given in Scholten's Elements is also more of young people (males) worn out by too much sexual activity, alcohol, late nights, junk food etc. Uninterested in their studies but assume they will sail through at exam time. (Quite a common picture in my experience.)

Also to David JK, can I ask some very practical questions about the case. What potency was Selenium given in? Did it need repeating or did the patient need any other remedy afterwards?
Best wishes
Therese

Hi Therese,

Another way to give definition to selenium is to compare it with similar remedies, eg., caladium, agnus castus and onosmodium, or polychrests such as lycopodium. By showing how selenium can be distinguished from other remedies you can add detail and clarity to its broader themes.

Good luck!

I gave a single dose of 200c. He needed a repeat every 4-6 weeks for 6 months, after which these symptoms did not reoccur. He previously responded to a variety of remedies, none of which held (hyos, lac-f, thuj, sulph, cann-i). Some time later, he returned with different (less serious) symptoms, which responded to opium. Just recently, on the anniversary of his mother's death, he became sick again, which was a pattern I had not noticed before. This forsaken feeling responded to hura, and he has been well ever since.

__________________
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.

Dear All,

I want to thank you all for posting. It's the first time that I have been brave enough to ask a question on this bulletin board. I am very grateful for your generous responses and hope you don't mind me sharing the information with other homeopaths. In particular I am very happy to get the case from David as there are so few published cases.

I attach a summary of information about Selenium in case anyone else is interested. I think it could be a very useful remedy, especially considering its relationship to Sulphur.

Best wishes
Therese

What are the main Selenium Symptoms?

Mind: dullness, insensibility, indifference, forgetful, cannot comprehend, unfit for work, talkative when excited, lascivious talk and dread of society, stammering (Hering). Fears (Scholten) failure, falling, paralysis, criticism, crowds, people. Irritability aggravated by coition.

Headache: over left eye, forehead. Especially after lemonade, tea or alcohol and in the afternoon.

Vertigo: almost constant, struggles to support himself.

Voice: hoarseness after long use of. Frequent necessity to clear the throat because of clear stretchy mucus. Disagreeable sense of dryness in throat. Cough in the morning.

Skin: complete loss of hair on all parts of the body. Violent itching on hands and feet and especially in the folds of the skin.

Eyes: Quivering and indistinct vision, twitching of the left eyeball.

Ear: blocked up, hearing dull, noises in the ear.

Back: Tearing pains on left side, back feels lame, stiffness and pain in the limbs.

Appetite: want of appetite, averse to food.
great longing for alcohol and wanting to get completely drunk with remorse afterwards.

Abdomen: After eating pulsation all over the body, especially in the abdomen. Soreness in the liver, stitching pains, rash over the right hypochondrium.

Rectum: stool so impacted it has to be mechanically removed.

Urinary: urine involuntary, dribbling when walking. Sensation of a drop of urine escaping.
Watery fluid discharging from the urethra.

Sexual: weak erections, emissions without erections. Diminished desire. Discharge of prostatic fluid after sex. After coition, very weak and cross. Lascivious dreams. Impotence with lascivious thoughts. Menses copious and dark.

Sleep sleepless before midnight. Awakened by the slightest noise. Awakes early and at the same hour every day and cannot return to sleep. (3 – 5 AM) Worse after sleep.

Generals weakness and debility (especially in heat), irresistible urge to lie down, easy exhaustion. If they stay up late, completely exhausted the next day.
Very weak and irritable after coition, irresistible desire for sleep.
Sudden exhaustion. Chill and then fever. Waking at night covered in sweat having to cold bathe. great emaciation, loss of appetite. Desire to eat and drink brandy in the evening. Debility after typhoid or similar long fever (especially when bowel becomes inactive).
Perspiration leaves a salty yellowish sediment.
Worse after (Allen) tea, wine, lemonade, chocolate, coffee, brandy.
Worse 5:00 AM
Worse after stool, while /after talking, can’t bear the hair being touched.
Worse walking in the open air, hot weather, coition
Worse coffee, sleep, touch, pressure, afternoon, drafts of air, sun Summer, hot weather (Mather).
Better after sunset, inhaling cold air, cold water, taking rest.

Note: Farrington ‘ he becomes stronger as the sun sinks’ and Hering ‘he must lie down as long as the heat of the day lasts. He remains half asleep; his thinking power is quite weak’
This parallels the behaviour of the metal which has low resistance in the light.

How does Selenium relate to Sulphur?
The remedy is close to sulphur in that both remedies are untidy, indifferent and chaotic. Both remedies have poor sleep and catnaps but Selenium characteristically wakes at the same hour every day and earlier than desired. Selenium has more problems related to work and issues with alcohol abuse. Sulphur has increased thirst when in the debilitated state, Selenium does not but has a coated tongue. Selenium has a characteristic pain in the liver area sometimes accompanied by a skin rash. Comparisons of the remedies can be found in Farrington and Scholten.

Thank you Therese.
I also think that if we share, we gain all.
Good work.
Regards.