This case study of homeopathic studies 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.
BRUCE
(Early 30’s)
MC: IgA NEPHROPATHY
• Sores in the mouth
• Panic attacks
Pierre: Tell me please what is happening.
“Last year I developed throat pain to the point that I could not talk. A few days later the color of my urine changed to a very dark brown almost black in color. It was diagnosed as blood in the urine. I took medication, I got diarrhea and the color of the urine did not change.”
And then?
“It has been like this ever since. Seven years ago I fell on my back. I went to the hospital and they found blood in my urine back then already, but not enough to be an issue. I have had a sore feeling in my muscles in this area (pointing to his back) ever since then. There is tightness there that has not released.”
Please describe the tightness.
“It needs some impulse to release the pressure. The muscles are not resting. On the other hand, I think it is connected to things I am afraid of.”
Could you tell me about that, please?
“Two weeks after I had the sore throat, I woke up with my heart racing and I was sweating. I even started taking Paxil for panic attacks. I think these attacks came from being afraid of dying. In the E.R., I thought, “This is it.” I even told my wife goodbye. I think my problem with the kidneys represents fear to me. It is the fear of the process of dying.”
Describe the feeling to me, please.
“Even before the accident I had pain in the left pectoral like a needle going in under the chest. It comes and goes. When I need to take a deep breath I feel it. Fear has played a big role in the way I feel. I feel like there is a ball of air rising up to my throat, which is the same feeling as when I was a child when my father was coming home drunk. I have had shortness of breath ever since then. I need to catch a breath, take a deep breath. This has been going on for the last seven years. It happens mainly around people or when I am stuck in traffic.”
Describe the feeling of having shortness of breath, please.
“Since I was a child, I have known that I have a block for not coming through the expectations of my parents. Everything happening now is the same as back then. I also have mood swings that can be aggravated in a split second.”
Tell me more about “Everything now is the same as back then.”
“I am afraid of hearing arguments. We moved a lot when I was a child. I remember having tightness in the stomach, tightness in the throat, as if something is grabbing my throat. I was always afraid of what might happen. I was always afraid of having no control over what is happening or losing the control of whatever is around me. I used to think, “How are people going to react to me being afraid?” I was thinking it might affect my younger daughter. It makes me feel insecure to see what is happening to me. I am different from what people think I am. They think I am tough but I am not. This problem brought everything up to the surface now. I am tired of being afraid. I want to be free of that.”
Tell me more about being “tough.”
“It is the outside perception. You don’t cry because soldiers don’t cry. I never release this bad energy of not being tough. It is a basic issue for everything in my life.”
Please describe the feeling, tell me about “release.”
“It is not being worried about what people say and think. It means to make decisions on my own with good judgment instead of asking someone else. Instead, what happens is the pressure builds up which later on comes on as a panic attack. So when I was younger, I started to drink to release it. I want to stand up for my point of view. It feels like I am lacking emotions. Sometimes, the tightness comes in a moment of relaxation. It comes from my stomach up to my throat and I think it has to do with not being able to express myself.”
Tell me about the feeling of pressure, please.
“It must be hurting someone or being hurt. It’s a physical feeling like someone hitting you. I’m talking about being mentally hurt, which leads to physical tightness in the stomach and the throat. It is the tightness that you feel when you are going to get hurt. It feels bad to not stand up for my point of view. It is ready to explode. It feels tight. I feel like a liar.”
Tell me about standing up, please.
It is the feeling that you count and that your feelings are accounted for. You feel strong and solid, not empty. You stand up for something. It is solid like can take the punch. In that sense, it is a release.”
REMEDY:
Senecio aureus.
FOLLOW UP: (1 month later)
Pierre: Are you feeling better?
“The pain on the right side is a lot better. In the first two or three days the pain actually increased a bit. The urine is also better. The needle pain in the left pectoral is still there but better. My fears are not as great. I think I can express myself a little more. I am much more open. The feeling of having a ball in my throat is gone, I can’t believe it. I can breathe better. My mood swings are also better but are still there. Overall, I feel much more relaxed.”
Please, tell me about the build up or pressure feeling you had when you came.
“I feel free of emotions that were building for years. This past week though has been so, so. I think progress has stopped.”
REMEDY:
Repeat.
FOLLOW-UP:
‘I have not been as well. The pain in the right kidney and dark urine came back a little but it is not as bad as before. It varies from day to day. I am feeling nervous. I am not as good as I was two months ago.”
REMEDY:
Same remedy, different potency.
SEVERAL FOLLOW-UPS LATER:
Pierre: How are you, how is your back?
“I am still not well. Overall there has been a lot of improvement but I can’t say it is perfect. I am more the way I should be. The pain in the chest is all gone, the heart palpitations also. The back is fine, I don’t have as much kidney pain as I had. At work, everything is fine but, overall, I still feel panicked. I get irritated easily, too.”
Tell me about the panic feeling, please.
“At times, I still feel like everything is trembling inside. It’s shaking especially when I am relaxed. I wake up tired. It used to be all the time and now it is seldom. At times, I feel like I can’t get a hold on my life. My mind is still thinking too much.”
REMEDY:
Eupatorium perforatum
FOLLOW UP:
“I am so much better. My anxieties are practically gone and the intensity is very, very low. I can easily relax myself if I feel it. The weather has a lot to do with the way I feel. If I feel a little nervous it could well be that it is before a rainy day. Sometimes I tell my wife I am feeling nervous today and she’ll tell me that they are predicting rain the day after. But overall, I would say there is a very big difference.”
REMEDY:
Continue.
FOLLOW UP:
Pierre: How are you?
“I have to tell you that I am feeling really well, thank you”
DISCUSSION
BRUCE
(Early 30’s)
This case is interesting because IgA nephropathy can easily lead to kidney transplant or dialysis as it is a degenerative kidney disease but with the proper homeopathic remedy the disorder in this case was completely reversed. Medicine does not have any treatment for this condition and most efforts are directed to slowing the progression of the disease.
I present this case because it reveals very beautifully the different interactions that happen on different levels. Much like a weaver, with time, the disordered Vital Force encroaches further and further within, eventually encompassing the whole. When the VF (Vital Force) is free of infringement, the self remains untainted and can be used for the better purposes of life.
He thinks the nephropathy is connected to fear because he saw an acupuncturist for about a year and in Chinese medicine kidneys relate to fear. There are a multitude of fears and, in a case like this, I think the sharp accuracy of homeopathy affords us the precision needed to reverse the disorder.
He told his wife “goodbye” in the E.R. There is fear in this case but I think some of his thoughts about it have heavily been influenced by his acupuncturist.
He feels “a ball in my throat, the same way as when I was a child”. This is common in children of alcoholics. It relates to the apprehension or uncertainty of what is going to happen. It could be fear of being beaten up or a fear of an argument. The possibilities are numerous but at a deeper level the sensation of the experience is a much more individual matter. That deep level is what matters to the homeopath. In order to remove the whole disorder, we must get to that level. This is where it all comes together.
He does not feel tough enough. This is a common feeling in men, especially in the United States. The important part of this though is the feeling beneath.
What is wonderful in this case is that he easily explores the connections between the different aspects of his condition. The connection between his childhood, his situation in life and the IgA nephropathy is exactly what interests me in this case.
“Soldiers don’t cry” he says, is also common in men and from these masculine clichés we can uncover the individuality of the disorder and give a remedy accordingly.
