Hi Krista,
People who tend to respond always to one particular chronic (as you put it 'overall') remedy, are those who are pretty healthy to begin with. For these people, when there is an acute flare up e.g. cold or flu, or an emotional upset, their chronic remedy will often cover the symptoms of the acute situation with good effect. This is a phenomenon that homoeopaths right from the beginning have noticed with some patients, that these people have curative effects from the administration of the same remedy for the most part of their lives. It is nothing new, nor is it the whole story!

In other patients who have miasmatic blocks, obstructions, or influences, whatever you want to call them, the case management becomes more complex. In these situations you will find the patient has a good result from a particular remedy, repeats it a couple of times, and then no matter how they alter the dosage or potency, the curative effect of that remedy has come to an end at that time. Apart from a miasmatic blockage, this could also be because the choice of remedy to begin with was only partially correct, or the case has moved to a different deeper layer and a new set of symptoms indicates the need for an entirely new remedy. (You can appreciate why it's wiser to find a classical homoeopath you can work with.)

This is where the study of remedy relationships is very important. For instance, in the Concordances chapter at the back of the Boger-Boeninghausen's Repertory if you look up Sulphur, you see a vast list of other remedies that have a complementary action to Sulphur, with regard to particular regions of the body. It is like if you threw a stone into a pond, and the centre ripple is Sulphur, then all the consequent ripples spreading out from the centre are other remedies that have an 'overlap' connection to the centre remedy in different degrees. These 'overlap' connections are used for acute and intercurrent situations, but NO, you would NOT be using Belladonna every month for the next 20 years. This is the influence of the allopathic mind set which has one drug for one part of the body and another drug for another part. The study of remedy relationships is used to restore people's health and correct 'energy leaks' and imbalances. They are not used to palliate menstrual pain every month, or solely to reduce swollen glands which may actually compromise your overall health even more. The aim is to get you to a better state of health, in which your menses do not create such havoc in your life.

It needs to be stressed that a simillimum is not chosen by the fact that a remedy covers 'overall' a hundred different features in one patient. The simillimum is based on several very strong, marked and characteristic symptoms that captures the essence of the totality of the case. The totality includes the probable exciting cause in acute flare-ups, and the evolution of chronic long-standing complaints that are caused by chronic miasms. It may involve only one remedy, it may (more likely) be several different remedies over a long period of time, and ONE ONLY at a time. PLEASE READ THAT I HAVEN'T TAKEN YOUR CASE and am not advocating that you take Sulphur as a chronic remedy and Belladonna as an acute. It was meant as a suggestion that may be worth looking at. I would recommend finding a professional homoeopath that suits you.

Glad to hear of your success with Ars alb for your dear cat. The simillimum is truly a miracle when properly chosen.

Thanks ChrisG
You explained the concordances at the back of the BB-rep very well.
I would not like to miss them in my daily work.
Hans Weitbrecht
Cure by symptom similarity!

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Dear Chris,

I second Hans, and I thank you for putting it all so succinctly!!

We need to realise that most people would require more than one remedy to reach a cure. The trick is in appreciating which one, when!

Warm regards,
Leela

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