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Thyrotoxicosis and chronic rheumatism
THE
BRITISH
HOMG~OPATttlC
JOURNAL
137
THYROTOXICOSIS AND CHRONIC R H E U M A T I S M MRs. R., aet. 55. Pains hands and feet for a year. Never before. Pain " toothoaehy ". Worse night; worse first thing a.m. Better using ; worse damp weather ; worse cold weather. She likes the heat. Chilly + +; better warm room. No +sweat at all. No hot feet, no chilblains. Appetite very good. Very fond of fat. Sweet tooth. Salt +. Very fond of eggs. Worries. Jealous. indigestion : worse onions ; worse pickles. Bad varicose veins. VERY flat feet and hallux valgus. Blood pressure 140/90. Pulse rate 96. Tremor hands. Teeth are bad and loose. Taking the rheumatic symptoms alone :--Worse damp, cold, warmth of bed, a.m., and better use, the following drugs came through :
Dulc., Puls., Rhod., Rhus, Tub. Rhus rex. 3, t.d.s., was given. The report in one month showed improvement, but still not too good in Very shaky. Taking the case again and working it through Calc. carb. came out. Then noting a striking symptom mentioned by Pulford, much better after wa~,m bath, Calc. phos. was chosen. Calc. phos. 30, three doses. She returned: pains not so well. Better in self. Placebo. Next report : Not so well, nor the pains, and though the hands are better for use the feet are not, but then one remembered that the pains in the feet were probably mechanical due to the flat feet. Rhus 30, three doses, was then prescribed, and the next report : Pains better again but not very well in self. Shaky, pulse 100, tremor. One felt frustrated, but then one noted that Boericke states that Calc. fluor, is the complement of Rhus. (Gibson Miller's list of complements shows Calc. but not Calc. fluor.) Reading Calc. fluor, there she was: Gouty enlargement of the fingers; better heat and warm applications; worse during rest and changes of the weather. Calc. fluor. 12, three doses, was given. Next report improved. Nil for six months, and then writes: " I am pleased to say that your treatment has greatly improved m y health, and I have had no further need of medicine." One so frequently forgets to consult the complements of drugs when some remedy has helped, but has not held, i.e. seems indicated but is not deep enough. Tuberculinum is often quoted as the complement of Rhus, but here we have a chilly mortal who seemed to be Calcarea essentially but wanted a particular Calcarea, and that Calc. fluor. Calc. fluor, is noted as a tissue remedy for hard, stony glands, varicose and enlarged veins. Hard knots on the breast. (Cf. Con.) goitre, induration threatening suppuration. Cataract. Arteriosclerosis. Tuberculosis. Reduces the tendency to adhesions after operation. Depression; fear of financial ruin (common to all the Calcareas.) Cataract : phlyetenular conjunctivitis. Ozmna. Specific ulceration of the nose. Sclerosis of the temporal bone. Chronic suppuration of the ears. Induration of tongue. Looseness of the teeth. Acute indigestion from mental fatigue, hence dyspepsia of students. Fissure of the anus. self.
138
THE
BRITIS}I
HOM(EOPATIIIC
JOURNAL
Induration of the ~sticles. Stated to remove fibroid deposits in endocardium. Aneurism. Chronic lumbago, worse beginning to move, better use. (Cf. Rhus.)
Gouty ~posits in the fingers. Skin indurations, scars, indolent ulcers with indurated edges. The mentals are not well marked, but those of Calcarea must be taken as a guide. The method of choosing the salt of a well-known remedy because of some feature not present in the basic element is useful, though criticized by some. But, e.g. Calc. fluor, would rarely come through a repertorial analysis, but, if Calc. did, and the local manifestations, e.g. induration, suggested fluoric acid, then it is quite in order to choose the combined salt. As Stonham says : " Calc. fluor, makes the inflamed glands of Calc. carb. harder and the inflamed bones harder even to producing bony outgrowths." I f one limits oneseff to polychrests then one will miss m a n y a remedy allied and chosen ultimately on its pathology. For, reading through the pathology of Cad. fluor., we have the pathology of this patient : Varicose and enlarged veins. Goitre (or imbalance thyroid). Looseness of teeth. Chronic r h e u m a t i s m ; better for getting around. Hard gouty nodules of the fingers.
BRITISH
HOMG~OPATttlC
JOURNAL
137
THYROTOXICOSIS AND CHRONIC R H E U M A T I S M MRs. R., aet. 55. Pains hands and feet for a year. Never before. Pain " toothoaehy ". Worse night; worse first thing a.m. Better using ; worse damp weather ; worse cold weather. She likes the heat. Chilly + +; better warm room. No +sweat at all. No hot feet, no chilblains. Appetite very good. Very fond of fat. Sweet tooth. Salt +. Very fond of eggs. Worries. Jealous. indigestion : worse onions ; worse pickles. Bad varicose veins. VERY flat feet and hallux valgus. Blood pressure 140/90. Pulse rate 96. Tremor hands. Teeth are bad and loose. Taking the rheumatic symptoms alone :--Worse damp, cold, warmth of bed, a.m., and better use, the following drugs came through :
Dulc., Puls., Rhod., Rhus, Tub. Rhus rex. 3, t.d.s., was given. The report in one month showed improvement, but still not too good in Very shaky. Taking the case again and working it through Calc. carb. came out. Then noting a striking symptom mentioned by Pulford, much better after wa~,m bath, Calc. phos. was chosen. Calc. phos. 30, three doses. She returned: pains not so well. Better in self. Placebo. Next report : Not so well, nor the pains, and though the hands are better for use the feet are not, but then one remembered that the pains in the feet were probably mechanical due to the flat feet. Rhus 30, three doses, was then prescribed, and the next report : Pains better again but not very well in self. Shaky, pulse 100, tremor. One felt frustrated, but then one noted that Boericke states that Calc. fluor, is the complement of Rhus. (Gibson Miller's list of complements shows Calc. but not Calc. fluor.) Reading Calc. fluor, there she was: Gouty enlargement of the fingers; better heat and warm applications; worse during rest and changes of the weather. Calc. fluor. 12, three doses, was given. Next report improved. Nil for six months, and then writes: " I am pleased to say that your treatment has greatly improved m y health, and I have had no further need of medicine." One so frequently forgets to consult the complements of drugs when some remedy has helped, but has not held, i.e. seems indicated but is not deep enough. Tuberculinum is often quoted as the complement of Rhus, but here we have a chilly mortal who seemed to be Calcarea essentially but wanted a particular Calcarea, and that Calc. fluor. Calc. fluor, is noted as a tissue remedy for hard, stony glands, varicose and enlarged veins. Hard knots on the breast. (Cf. Con.) goitre, induration threatening suppuration. Cataract. Arteriosclerosis. Tuberculosis. Reduces the tendency to adhesions after operation. Depression; fear of financial ruin (common to all the Calcareas.) Cataract : phlyetenular conjunctivitis. Ozmna. Specific ulceration of the nose. Sclerosis of the temporal bone. Chronic suppuration of the ears. Induration of tongue. Looseness of the teeth. Acute indigestion from mental fatigue, hence dyspepsia of students. Fissure of the anus. self.
138
THE
BRITIS}I
HOM(EOPATIIIC
JOURNAL
Induration of the ~sticles. Stated to remove fibroid deposits in endocardium. Aneurism. Chronic lumbago, worse beginning to move, better use. (Cf. Rhus.)
Gouty ~posits in the fingers. Skin indurations, scars, indolent ulcers with indurated edges. The mentals are not well marked, but those of Calcarea must be taken as a guide. The method of choosing the salt of a well-known remedy because of some feature not present in the basic element is useful, though criticized by some. But, e.g. Calc. fluor, would rarely come through a repertorial analysis, but, if Calc. did, and the local manifestations, e.g. induration, suggested fluoric acid, then it is quite in order to choose the combined salt. As Stonham says : " Calc. fluor, makes the inflamed glands of Calc. carb. harder and the inflamed bones harder even to producing bony outgrowths." I f one limits oneseff to polychrests then one will miss m a n y a remedy allied and chosen ultimately on its pathology. For, reading through the pathology of Cad. fluor., we have the pathology of this patient : Varicose and enlarged veins. Goitre (or imbalance thyroid). Looseness of teeth. Chronic r h e u m a t i s m ; better for getting around. Hard gouty nodules of the fingers.