Encounters of the Hysterical Kind
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 1999 Jan / Feb VOL VIII NO 1.
Dr Rama Hariharand
'Puls / Arg-nit / Dysentry-co

Case 1:
This is a case where the undercurrent anxiety was present throughout the case but surfaced as a symptom after months of unraveling physical disturbances.

Mrs. AB is my 65-year-old aunt whose husband died 25 years ago. She now lives with her only daughter.

Chief Complaint - Continuous and loud eructation's since 6 months. When I visited her in Feb 98, my cousin was desperate. Detailed investigations and visit to consultants revealed no major disease. Many kinds of therapies given (incl H) but to no avail. This fat, jolly aunt of mine who used to bake the most fabulous cakes and biscuits and who had never allowed her widowed status to interfere with her warm and affectionate lifestyle now lay weak, sad and forlorn. I had to do something. ASAF, Iod, Arg-nit tried by a colleague in various potencies to no avail.

Upper GI Endoscopy had revealed a relaxed condition of Gastro-esophageal sphincter, which herniated into the cardiac orifice each time she swallowed. It was not hiatus hernia as there was no heartburn.
First clue: her loud eructation's were better lying down! Also considerably better by evening - both eructations & vertigo.

Other Symptoms: H/o IHD with low BP, cardiologist ruled out as contributory.
THERMALS - Hot patient.
DESIRE - sweets
Her APPETITE, THIRST, SWEAT, STOOLS and MICTURITION were normal.
Very active around the house looking after her daughters kitchen, the garden, attending music concerts nearby and going for her regular walks. Very well informed, kept abreast with all the magazines and TV serials.
F/H - M severe DM, F senile dementia at 93 years, just before dying,
Both Brothers: glaucoma, MGF-DM,
M uncle- Ca mediastinal gland,
M uncle - CAD, M uncle (m) DM, M 2nd Uncle: glaucoma.
Paresis of the lower oesophagus was a good start and so I consulted the Rep- Synthesis version 5.2 by F. Schroyens. Following rubrics taken initially.

Pg 1545	evening >
Pg 605	paralysis oesophagus
Pg 631	eructation's lying >

I sat for hours sifting through various Materia Medica. Finally a remedy emerged Alumina. She responded to single doses of Alumina 200, fortnightly for two months, later SOS. In 6 months, eructations were history and only the occasional giddiness remained. A reputed ENT and a neurophysician again ruled out any pathological focus.
Now what surfaced was FEAR OF VERTIGO, preventing her from again participating in household chores, gardening and walking. She just sat at home and was melancholic.

She preferred open air, was afraid of closed or narrow rooms and by evening she wanted some one to talk to. But her fear of anticipating the giddiness prevented her from going out, so she was peevish and miserable (cantankerous and stubborn +++, according to her daughter, despite the entire household loving her!). That particular period in their lives was hectic-one child in final BCom along with Inter CA; second child in 10th, my cousin switching to a part-time job so that she could look after her mother and the husband was struggling with a new business in a down sliding economy.

Pt felt alone. Wanted her daughter's opinion for everything, including how much sugar and maida to put into the cake-she, which had taught baking to 2 generations of housewives!
Come monsoons & her sinuses were blocked, and some white phlegm easily expectorated in mornings but foul. Hunger every 2 hours till lunch.
Sadness worse evening, better open air & talking to somebody.

Puls and Arg-nit were the forerunners. I chose Puls as it covered a broader spectrum of her problems. Puls 1M -1dose and waited for 6 weeks. My cousin frantically called one night and said her mother's stubbornness and fear of giddiness continues, although her sinuses had vanished! Could I please help her out with some more magical sweet pills as the kids were having exams and her mother was not prepared to do any chores due to the fear of giddiness? I immediately sent Arg-nit 1M and a week later a relative remarked how she had seen my aunt go for her walk and even watering the garden! She is visiting me currently and has already promised to bake her special chocolate cake much to my son's delight!

Editor: here we will have to sort out why the first Arg-nit given by a colleague did not have any impact. I think that phase was of Alumina, which paved the way for Arg-nit. Puls were only an acute remedy for the sinuses.

Case 2:
Here was a case that had the major ingredients of anxiety, fear and hysteria. From the watchman to the compounder, everyone knew Mrs. CD, a 53 year old, smiling, shawl-clad (whatever be the season in Chennai!) sometimes replete with socks, muffler and flask if the temperature went a shade under 250C! She used to be accompanied by her soon-to-be-retired husband, who was uncomfortable by his wife's antics.

She was scared of the dark, being alone, death, news of death, cancer, heart attack, dogs, large expanse of water, closed lifts, small-closed rooms, crowds, noises, to cross the road, to travel by auto rickshaw/ bus as passing vehicles frightened her esp. trucks and buses. If by chance she travelled by bus, she had to sit by the window but could not see outside as she felt the trucks and other passing buses and vehicles were almost going to come on to her. She had no problems traveling by train but reaching the station was nearly impossible. So long distance travel was impossible.

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