The Fastidious Mother
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 2000 Mar / Apr VOL II NO 2.
Dr Vibha Shah
'Kali-carb
Introduction: This case had 2 unusual aspects of this case.
- Primarily the child (patient's son) was brought to me for treatment. During history-taking, it became obvious, that the mother's nature was responsible for child's anxiety state and anorexia with nausea and vomiting. This then made it mandatory for the mother to be treated. So I had to manoeuver her to opt for Homoeopathy, ostensibly for her headaches. Fortunately, she also developed an acute throat pain for which she asked for medicine. I seized this opportunity to take her case. This in ordinary parlance would be called patient- grabbing!!
- Then through her headaches, she had to be treated for her obsession with cleanliness. So this cannot be called a pure OCD case, like the other one I got in Feb this year, where the patient, a MBBS student, came directly for her OCD. That case is still under treatment and cannot be presented yet.
Case Mrs SR, 31 yr, started treatment on 26-3-96 with an acute throat pain since 4 days, pricking and poking on swallowing - whether saliva or pickles; > warm drink. She felt terribly weak and chilly with tongue dry and pain in ears and legs.
Other Complaints
- Headache since 1992, now continuous and constant with DNS and Nausea. Pain AF computers < reading, TV, sun, heat, afternoon, > sleep. The accompanying nausea was worse in closed room and better open air. Pain traveled from temples to the top of the head to the neck.
- Abdomen: girdle like pain since 23-11-96 AF Caesarean, worse standing and over exertion.
USG - Normal and Nil - Gynaec. According to Gynecologist it could be a B-coli infection. - A patch on the Rt side of her neck with itching > heat.
Patient As A Person:
Tall well-built woman, 5'6" and 75kg.
Hair: wavy and thick, which was falling after coming to Bombay.
Skin: had a tendency to ecchymosis and there were bags under her eyes.
Teeth: healthy with no cavities.
Perspiration: normal
Appetite: good, with occasional gas.
Cravings: chocolates3, pickles2, sweets, sour2.
Aversions: None major.
Stools: normal- twice a day.
Sleep: normal
Thermals: Hot pt.
MP = 4-5/30, normal with heavy bleeding. PMS for 2 days - felt lethargic and moody with leg ache and body ache; second day - pain in the abdomen.
Pregnancy in 1996, uneventful except very weepy and depressed during pregnancy.
Life Story:
Born in 1965. Middle of 3 girls. Father was in the army, disciplined but very caring. Mother, very hardworking, a very good housekeeper and did all her work in spite of army staff. Just for background, the patient's mother was one of 6 daughters; her father had been murdered, and so was married at 14y. So she was very self-reliant and hard working. She taught all house work to her daughters.
1985. Did BA in computers. Took up a job.
1991 Married. Arranged marriage. Husband was an only son, in a well-educated, Joint-family. Family chosen as educated and MIL working - a principal in college. It was expected that such a family would be more broad minded, but these expectations were belied. She was very conservative and interfering. She would go to any length to show the patient in a poor light. Pt would cook the meals and then before the men came home, she would have a bath and get ready.
And that time MIL would go into the kitchen, and it would appear as if not DIL, but she was doing everything! Husband constantly gave her sermons of how to behave. Pt being very sensitive got into a very tense state. She got pregnant soon after: her Pregnancy was awful. She was unhappy, sad would weep constantly. Dreams, which scared her - of death and disease. Her BP went up in pregnancy, with severe morning sickness for 3 mths and oedema feet.
Delivery: 1994 Large baby- 4kg and born with cleft palate. That became a major issue. No one in our family has a history of this problem, so how come this child got a cleft-palate. Tremendous guilt in patient, though no history even in their family. This was in 1994. 2 more yrs were passed with strain.
1996: Husband transferred to Bombay, so situation was better, but the tremendous anxiety was transferred to the son- his feeds and cleanliness.
1998: Father died after being ill with Cancer for 6 mths. Pt went to Delhi. MIL came to her house and warned her not to stay more than the customary 13 days!
In 1999: Her 3 rd sister got married and mother managed everything on her own- single-handedly conducted the wedding! Pt could help a little.
1999 end. Husband given a 3-yr posting in Germany from Siemens. Even at that time, the in-laws tried to break them. Told patient she could stay in Delhi and he would go to settle the son in Germany. She absolutely put her foot down and went with him.
Structure
Mind: irritable3 weepy3 when sad. Suppressed, mortification, guilt2, brooding2 self-pity with depression in evening3
Likes people, very critical, lonely, with anxiety and worry and depression in pm Sleepless when H traveling, from being alo e and anxiety.
Fastidious3 critical3 if her plans altered. Irresolute and pessimist.
Pt has done BA in computers and was working before marriage. Not allowed later. Speech soft spoken but told the story in detail omitting no detail, which put her in good light. 2nd interview with husband: in which he told how difficult life as due to her over fastidious nature. "No one can come to our house, because they dirty the bathroom and she is upset. If we are all going out with our friends after that, she will insist on cleaning the bathroom before leaving. So all have to wait for her. While waiting, those friends feel so guilty that they never come again!! About laying the table: This is my job, but it is not as easy as you may think it is.
