This case study is an excerpt from Pierre Fontaine's book "Homeopathy, Sweet Homeopathy: Coming Home to Perfect Health". Find out more information including how to purchase a copy.
ERIKA MC: LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS Pierre: Tell me about the lupus, please. I am not sure about ethnic background… but tell me more about the lupus. Please continue. I will explain later, please continue I don’t want to lose the flow of this. Tell me more about how all this is affecting you, please. Tell me about feeling unstable, please. You are doing a great job. Please continue. Let’s go back to how this is affecting you, please. Describe the feeling, please. Can you tell me more? Please continue. Tell me about your dreams, please. Tell me about the feeling of being ruined, please. REMEDY: FOLLOW-UP: (one month) That’s good. What else has happened? Tell me more about what is better and not better. Anything else? SUMMARY OF SEVERAL FOLLOW-UPS: |
DISCUSSION
She was diagnosed with Lupus 4 years ago. At first the doctors thought it might be scleroderma because of the severity of her GERD symptoms and other gastro intestinal problems. As we see throughout the book, we think the person with the problem knows best about her condition. The sufferer might have some technical misconceptions as is the case when she says “I don’t think we get it in my ethnic background” but deep down in the individual constitution there is no doubt that only the person experiencing the ailment is the one who can describe it. It is unusual for people to start describing the way the condition is affecting them. I ask her to tell me more about the lupus and she tells me “it is ruining my life.” Most of the time people ease into it by talking about the physical symptoms rather than the emotional state. Either way it is fine by me because the road map of case taking is very clear, only the destination is not known until the end of the consultation. Very often people ask me, “Why is this happening?” I never answer these questions. There are two practical reasons for that. It is best to continue with the story rather than give an answer that in the end has little or no relevance. Secondly, it is up to a doctor to respond to these inquiries. Some people might think that the on again/off again nature of the symptoms as they are stated in the previous answer might be a psychosomatic complaint. It could not be further from the truth. Rather this on/off characteristic is part of the experience of the disorder. I never know where the case takes me. It is all part of the story, which as a homeopath I always find interesting. Let’s see if “being born breached” leads anywhere and if somehow it relates… The feeling of “being unstable” relates to a larger totality comprising the lupus with the emotional state that accompanies it. It is a characteristic symptom once the feeling of being unstable is recognized as being on the physical or emotional level. Do notice that the suggestion “Tell me about being unstable” is not a leading question. It is very important that it be so to give the most freedom for answering according to the disorder in the constitution. No one can assume to know what should come next. When she says, “I am cold or hot. I have one strong side and one weak one,” it reminds me of the on and off symptoms she described earlier in the case. Here we have the ruined feeling again, so it means a lot. Valerie had the same feeling of “being ruined.” In Valerie’s case, it took a long time to “extract the root” whereas in this case it was mentioned right at the beginning (see case). Though the root feeling is similar, there is still a drastic difference in the way the condition is perceived. Here she is helpless; in Valerie’s case she feels it is hopeless. This is very serious. She is telling more now about how systemic the pain really is. There is pain even in her nails and hair. At this point I thought I knew the remedy she needed so I looked for more information in a different direction to cross my “T’s” and dot my “I’s.” I asked her about her dreams and, as you can see, the dreams give the same feeling as in life so we have come full circle. If my analysis is correct the remedy should start lifting the disorder very quickly. The remedy seems clear. I love quick action; at the same time I don’t expect it. Isn’t the reversal of so much disorder really mind opening to the possibilities and to what it is that ails us? What is deeply satisfying in doing this work is that I see a lot of people who can’t be helped with medicine and they return to a vibrant state of health. It speaks as to the beauty of homeopathy. In this case, the remedy matched her to a T and very good results were achieved. Some might ask do you have a remedy for everyone or everything? Of course we can’t do everything. This is not miraculous work, but it is wise to give it a fair try. Down to the last details. It is possible to be deeply better all around. The follow-ups are absolutely crucial for case management. Many people think that as they are better physically there is no need to continue. I continued the same remedy in different potencies according to what was going on. The marriage did not survive. My view on that is that the decision was taken from a healthy point of view rather than a “ruined” point of view. |