Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Girls Used as Guinea Pigs in HPV Trials Admits GSK

Girls Used as Guinea Pigs in HPV Trials Admits GSK
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/108773

Christina England
We have always suspected it and now they admit it,GSK are using young girls (as young as 9 in some areas) as human Guinea Pigs in HPV vaccine Cervarix trials. This was only discovered after reading a document that was meant for 'Scientific Background and Informational Purposes only'

Cervarix GlaxoSmithKline´s Cervical Cancer Candicate Vaccine Mandate. Media Backgrounder makes very disturbing reading as it states exactly what trials are to be carried out, with one particular very interesting line

"Phase III Trials Phase III studies are underway in 37 countries with more than 39,000 subjects planned."

So this appears to prove that all our children are part of one big experiment to enable the drug companies to line their pockets whilst they sit back and watch what happens to our children.

Whilst trawling the Internet a fellow member of ICAP also came up with this gem of a document which also appears to prove that our children are part of trials.

The document is the Presentation of advisory report Vaccination against cervical cancer from the health Council of the Netherlands to the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport

This is an official political document. It is called 'Vaccination against Cervical Cancer' and it was accompanied with a letter addressed to the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport in the Netherlands, from the Health Council. Interestingly the report outlines some very alarming points. The report discusses the differences between the two HPV vaccinations Cervarix and Gardasil.

It States:-

"Both vaccines are designed to provide immunity against HPV-16 and 18: the two types of the virus responsible for about 70 per cent of cervical cancer cases. Gardasil also provides protection against HPV-6 and 11, which together cause nearly all genital warts. Broader-spectrum vaccines capable of protecting against hrHPVs other than HPV-16 and 18 may become available in due course. The vaccines differ from one another in terms of the adjuvants (vaccine-aiding agents) they utilise. Gardasil uses the well-established adjuvant aluminium hydroxyphosphate sulphate, while Cervarix uses the equally widely employed aluminium hydroxide, but in combination with monophosphoryl lipid A, a chemically modified lipopolysaccharide, that influences the innate immune system. The latter complex is known as ASO4. Cervarix stimulates higher levels of antibody production, but the significance of this phenomenon for its protective effect is not known."

The report states that there is no real knowledge to how long the vaccine lasts or if a booster will be needed or if in fact it does protect against cervical cancer.

"Conclusions

Vaccination protects against persistent infection and the precursors of cervical cancer

The initial effect of vaccination is favourable: vaccination leads to the formation of antibodies against the target hrHPVs and thus to protection against infection by those hrHPVs. This in turn brings about a major short-term reduction in the incidence of the precursors of cervical cancer. It is known that the development of such precursors is a prerequisite for the subsequent development of the cancer. Vaccination against cervical cancer itself. However, whether vaccination does in fact protect against cervical cancer will not be known for many years to come."

Lovely isn't it? Then it states:-

"It is not yet clear whether booster vaccinations will be needed

The duration of the protection afforded by vaccination has yet to be determined.It is known, however, that high antibody levels persist for at least five years and that immunological memory is created. Protection is required, however, for several decades. The possibility that re-vaccination will be needed in order to provide such prolonged protection cannot be excluded at the present time."

It carries on

"Although the available data provide an incomplete picture of the effectiveness of HPV vaccination, they are sufficient to support the expectation of significant health benefit: vaccination leads to fewer infections and thus to a reduced incidence of the precursors of cervical cancer. We may therefore move on to the next criterion. Thus, this chapter of the report considers whether vaccination might have any adverse effects that offset the attainable health benefit.

Although the trials so far conducted have involved the administration of HPV vaccine to thousands of women (nearly 12,000 have been given Gardasil and more than 16,000 Cervarix),the numbers are small compared with those that would be involved in general vaccination.If vaccination were made available to all twelve-year-old girls in the Netherlands,that would mean treating roughly 100,000 young people a year. Certainty regarding the vaccine´s safety and insight into any rare side-effects that it might have are therefore very important."

For me however, the hightlight of whole report and letter is in the Executive Summary at the beginning where it states quite clearly:-

"With regard to safety, the third assessment criterion, there is currently no reason to suppose that the vaccine has any adverse events that might preclude its inclusion in the NIP. Nevertheless, the possibility cannot be excluded that, if it were administered to large numbers of people, relatively uncommon adverse events might come to light in due course. This underlines the importance of careful monitoring following the introduction of this form of vaccination."

I would particularly like to draw your attention to this phrase "relatively uncommon adverse events might come to light in due course" In other words the more they vaccinate the more likely it is that a serious adverse reaction will show up. That is really great news to all parents out there with children about to be vaccinated with Cervarix or Gardasil. Your children are part of a nationwide test but it is OK because if your child gets very bad reaction it will help determine the safety of the vaccine. I am sure that will be a great comfort to mothers of children like Ashleigh Cave who is still in hospital after a Cervarix vaccination. She has now been in hospital for 9 months, is just beginning to be able to put a very small amount of weight on her legs, cannot stand unaided and has recently lost bladder control at 13.

The news gets better for all you parents out there because Suzanne Garland who is the director of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the Royal Woman's Hospital in Melbourne has decided she wants to include babies in the HPV vaccine trials. She is on the advisory boards for both rival companies Merck and Glaxo Smith Kline and has proposed to test cervical cancer vaccines in babies, with a view to adding the vaccine to the infant immunisation program. This is according to The India Times in 2007

Suzanne Garland has a special interest in the management of herpes in the pregnant woman and the neonate. She is an advisor to World Health Organisation in the area of sexually transmitted infection diagnosis and the prophylactic HPV vaccine Obs-Gyne Exhibition & Congress Speakers Tackle Cervical Cancer Vaccine Issues And Encourage Advocacy

So she has no real conflicts of interest there then does she? Not only is she on both boards of advisers for Merck and GSK but she is an advisor to WHO! It appears that no matter who advises Governments on vaccinations whether it is WHO or the JCVI,the members have strong links and alliances to the pharmaceutical companies who manufacture the vaccines, therefore, how can the general public trust the people who tell us the vaccines are safe? As we have seen we are all just human Guinea Pigs to them, of course they are safe!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Homeopathy for Bites & Stings!

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As summer approaches, many of you will be outdoors more often, traveling with your families and enjoying the beauty of nature more. This newsletter will therefore focus on remedies for insect bites and stings.

Best Acute Remedies for Bites and Stings

Apis: This medicine is good for red, inflamed insect bites from which you experience burning or stinging pain that is worse by heat or warm applications and relieved by cold or cool applications.

Hypericum: If you develop sharp or shooting pains from a bite or sting, consider this remedy.

Ledum: This is the most common medicine for itching bites or stings from mosquitoes, bees, wasps, spiders, and rats. The itching from the bite or sting is relieved by cold applications and is sensitive to touch.

Staphysagria: When mosquito or other insect bites itch excessively or become large welts, this medicine should be given.

About Dosing Remedies in Water
This is considered the most advanced method of homeopathic dosing. It's easy to do, more gentle, better controlled, reduces any aggravations that may occur and shortens the time for healing. Read more about how to dose Acute Remedies in water at this link: www.homeopathyforwomen.org/insect_bites_stings.htm

Acute Prescribing by Phone
Our new Acute Phone Hotline offers affordable phone care, paid by the minute. The Average Hotline calls run between $20 to $40 and are charged based on the actual time used, to the minute, at a rate of $2.00 per minute. They include the remedy prescription. http://www.homeopathyforwomen.org/acute_homeopathic_care.htm

Our Consultation Services
If you are new to homeopathy and interested in scheduling a consultation for homeopathic care of a chronic, unresolved issue, please visit our website to schedule a free first 15 minute consultation at www.homeopathyforwomen.org/contact.htm.

Our Associated Homeopaths also specialize in treating children with autism, learning disabilities, behavioral and emotional issues.

Our best wishes for a happy and healthy summer with your families!

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This newsletter is copyright July 2009 by Homeopathy for Women. All rights reserved.

Monday, June 22, 2009

The Truth about the Flu Shot by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny

The Truth about the Flu Shot by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny 

"By 1853, Parliament began passing laws to make the untested vaccine compulsory throughout the British Empire. Other countries of Europe followed suit. Once the economic implications of compulsory vaccinations were realized, few dared to disagree. Then, as now, the media were controlled by the vaccine manufacturers and the government, who stood to make huge money from the sale of these spurious vaccines."... Tim O'Shea

1. What's in the regular flu shot?

Egg proteins: including avian contaminant viruses

Gelatin: known to cause allergic reactions and anaphylaxis are usually associated with sensitivity to egg or gelatin.

Polysorbate 80 (Tween80™): can cause severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis.

Formaldehyde: known carcinogen

Triton X100: a strong detergent

Sucrose: table sugar

Resin: known to cause allergic reactions

Gentamycin: an antibiotic

Thimerosal: Mercury is still in multidose vials

2. Do flu shots work?

Not in babies: In a review of more than 51 studies involving more than 294,000 children it was found there was "no evidence that injecting children 6-24 months of age with a flu shotwas any more effective than placebo. In children over 2 yrs, it was only effective 33% of the time in preventing the flu. Reference: Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy children." The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2 (2008).

Not in children with asthma: A study 800 children with asthma, where one half were vaccinated and the other half did not receive the influenza vaccine. The two groups were compared with respect to clinic visits, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalizations for asthma. CONCLUSION: This study failed to provide evidence that the influenza vaccine prevents pediatric asthma exacerbations.

Reference: Christly, C. et al. Arch Dis Child. 2004 Aug;89(8):734-

Not in children with asthma (2): "The inactivated flu vaccine, Flumist, does not prevent influenza-related hospitalizations in children, especially the ones with asthma…In fact, children who get the flu vaccine are more at risk for hospitalization than children who do not get the vaccine." Reference: The American Thoracic Society's 105th International Conference, May 15-20, 2009, San Diego.

Not in adults: In a review of 48 reports including >66,000 adults, "Vaccination of healthy adults only reduced risk of influenza by 6% and reduced the number of missed work days by less than one day (0.16) days. It did not change the number of people needing to go to hospital or take time off work." Reference: The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. "Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy adults" 1 (2006)

Not in the Elderly: In a review of 64 studies in 98 flu seasons, For elderly living in nursing homes, flu shots were non-significant for preventing the flu. For elderly living in the community, vaccines were not (significantly) effective against influenza, ILI or pneumonia.

Reference: "Vaccines for preventing influenza in the elderly. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 3(2006).

3. What about the new Swine Flu shot?

A new report from a WHO advisory group predicts that global production of vaccine for the novel H1N1 influenza virus could be as much as 4.9 billon doses a year, far higher than previous estimates.

The report says that vaccine makers are expected to produce about 780 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine for the northern hemisphere's 2008-09 flu season for the US

350 million doses will be ready by June 30

430 million doses will be ready by July 31

June 12 Announcement:

H1N1 vaccine to be made by Novartis. It will be made in PER.C6 cells (human retina cells) and contain MF59, a potentially debilitating adjuvant

Federal health officials will probably recommend that most Americans get three flu shots this fall: one regular flu shot and two doses of any vaccine made against the new swine flu strain.

The "working hypothesis" of the CDC is that most Americans will need two swine flu shots to get full protection, although the elderly (people born before 1957) may be able to get away with just one," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, the agency's director of immunization and respiratory disease.

4. Is Mandatory Vaccination Possible?

1946: USPHS was establishment and EO 9708 was signed, listing the communicable diseases that could be corralled using quarantines

Between 1946 and 2003: Cholera, diphtheria, TB, typhoid, smallpox, yellow fever, viral hemorrhagic fevers have been added

April 4, 2003: EO 13295 added SARS to the list.

April 1, 2005: EO 13295 amended to include "Influenza caused by novel or re-emergent influenza viruses that are causing, or have the potential to cause, a pandemic

The power to quarantine was delegated by the President to the Sec of HHS to be determined at his or her discretion

Sec of HHS was given the power to arrange for the "apprehension and examination of persons reasonably thought to be infected." A cough or a fever could put a person at risk for being quarantined for an extended period of time and without recourse

January 28, 2003: Introduction of Project BioShield during Bush's State of the Union Address. This created a permanent "indefinite funding authority to develop "medical countermeasures"

New authority was given to the NIH to speed R&D of drugs and vaccines and emergency approval was given to "fast tracked" drugs and vaccines if needed without the regular course of safety testing

December 17, 2006: Division E: Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act was added as an addendum added to the Defense Appropriations Bill HR 2863 at 11:20p on Saturday night, long after House Committee members had signed off on the bill and gone home for the holidays. Section (b)(1) states:

The Sec of HHS can make a determination that a "disease, health condition or threat" constitutes a public health emergency. He or she may then recommend "the manufacture, testing, development, administration, or use of one or more covered counter measures…" A covered countermeasure, defined in Division E, is a "pandemic product, vaccine or drug.

Division E also provides complete liability protection for all drugs, vaccines or biological products deemed a "covered countermeasure" for an outbreak of any kind. Protection has been given to the drug companies for any product for any public health emergency declared by Sec of HHS.

Pharma is now protected from all accountability, unless criminal intent to harm can be proven by the injured party. Drug companies are protected from lawsuits, even if they know the drug will be harmful.

4. What can I do?

These are just suggestions; you may have many more of your own! Add to this Action List and Spread the word to make it grow.

Give this information to everyone you love and everyone you know

Contact local first responders (EMTs, Paramedics, Fireman, etc). Let them know what is in the shots and that *they* will be the first ones to get it.

Contact local police and discuss concerns about mandatory vaccination. You go to church and to the grocery store with these folks and their kids play with your kids. They are not "scary" people. (take them coffee and doughnuts to get in the door....

Contact local city council members about liberties and constitutional rights to refuse what is inserted/injected into your body.

Write a small article for LOCAL, community newspapers. Watch for samples on www.DrTenpenny.com

Have at least 3 weeks of food and water at your house and be prepared to voluntarily self-quarantine of given no other options.

Stock up on Vitamin D3 (3000IU per person), Vitamin A, Vitamin C, etc and homeopathics for the flu

Someone told me if you had to get the shot, *immediately* afterward, rub the area hard and brisk with 1/2 of a freshly cut lemon. I don't know if that will help, but it certainly can't hurt.

Check out www.oath-keepers.org . A pdf of their oath for easy printing will be on www.DrTenpenny.com I am sharing this with local military recruitment office, reservists and retired military people we know.

Connect with other activist organizations – those who support 2nd amendment issues, environmentalists, and animal rights folks. Help spread the word about their passion and get them involved with your.

You can't do it all, but you can do something! *

As stated years ago by Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has."

For more information go to www.SayingNoToVaccines.com or www.DrTenpenny.com 440-239-1878

 

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Sulphur Remedy Type: Personality: A General at Work

Note: Sulphur is predominantly a male remedy, although this does not exclude the existence of female Sulphurs. But mostly the reader will recognize a male figure in this portrait. To know more about the homeopathic personality types, pleases see my book What About Men or Catherine Coulter's Portrait of Homeopathic Medicines, once of the sources for these portraits (another being my observation of thousand of patients in my practice.)

As a child, the Sulphur person already stands out. You can see right away that he will be a leader rather than a follower. Even as young as two years old, the child shows his independence by wanting to run away from his mother. There are the toddlers whose mothers have to put them on a little leash when they go out. The Sulphur child is curious and explorative. As he grows up, other children tend to look up at him, as he commands attention through his strong personality. Other children like him because he has charisma and is fair in organization games, where even the underdog is allowed participate.

The Sulphur's disdain for external appearances shows up at a young age. His hair flies all over the place, his shirt hangs out of his pants and he falls over his untied shows. You never have guess what he has eaten the previous night - the spaghetti spots testify to his ability to eat too much, too fast. He especially craves stimulating food like Chinese food, fried and fatty foods, and his all-time favorite, pizza. He is usually very intelligent, but that does not always work in his favor. He can be bored stiff when the teacher has to repeat himself for the slower children in his class. Often he "checks out" and starts daydreaming.

The Sulphur child is interested in factual things: he reads biographies, books about wars or the Guinness Book of Records, and is not at all interested in novels. This tendency persists throughout a Sulphur's life. Not uncommonly, a Sulphur boy will correct his teacher, to the amazement of the adult who cannot understand how this "lazy" boy knows these facts.

Puberty comes as a shock to many teenagers but especially to the Sulphur adolescent. He is very prone to skin conditions like disfiguring acne. Whereas before he did not care much about how he looked, now he sees his problem skin as an obstacle to his growing popularity among the girls. He will only agree to see a homeopath to get rid of these "zits"; he is not interested in improving anything else about himself.

As a teenager he still makes a mess of his room, and cleaning it up consists of sweeping his "stuff" into a cupboard. Waking up in the morning and getting ready to go to that boring school is as much of an ordeal as having all his teeth pulled out. He is grumpy, "not hungry" and prefers not to talk to anyone before ten a.m. But he always needs some money for snacking on the "nutritious" food from the school canteen. His popularity at school soars as he gets older, and he is often elected class president by his admiring fans.

Even at a young age the Sulphur recognizes the value of things. Pity the child who dares to enter into an exchange of collectibles with him. The Sulphur always comes out on top, although the other party never suspects this, the way he talks up the deal.

Of course, as a dynamo of energy he is a hot-blooded person. The Sulphur boy defines a sweater as something his mother pushes on him because she is cold. At night he usually throws off the blankets or at the very least, he sticks his feet out from under the covers. He considers taking showers a waste of water, and standing or sitting still is pure torture. Everything has to be fast, stimulating and exciting: music, computer games, movies, books, sports, etc.

The adult Sulphur will not change much. He Just covers it up more to reap the full benefit of his behavior. He is still the man of action, the achiever and fierce competitor who can move mountains. He has just one great weakness: he can be pretty insensitive to his spouse because he is still very factual. This does not leave much room for sentiments. For example, he might keep an album with pictures of women he dated before. he married his present wife, not realizing that this could appear insensitive.

If feelings come in the way of his plans, the Sulphur's motto is: "On we go!". He does not look back, holds no grudges, and easily moves on professionally and in his relationships. But he won't tolerate laziness either and will only respect people who work at least as hard as he does. When you first meet him, you might think that he is a jerk, intolerant of others when they do not reach their potential by his standards. He says that he has no sympathy for his "freeloading employees". Of course there is no place for tears or showing emotions. "That's for sissies" he says; a man should never cry, at least not in front of other people.

Mr. Sulphur usually has a physical appearance resembling a nervous race horse. He is lean and mean, although he can easily change to the opposite picture when he is burned out. At that point his cynicism takes over and he becomes the well known philosopher: politics stink, newspapers he, people are stupid, etc. It looks as though the only intelligent person is a Sulphur person, at least according to him; everyone else is a degree lower.

Sulphurs love being the center of the conversation, and they usually are, with their knowledge of facts. A Sulphur doesn't hesitate to jump, unsolicited, into his neighbor's conversation to give his view on the affair. He will not easily back off either. He can become quite quarrelsome and erupt like a volcano. Just remember one thing: these Sulphur outbursts are like real volcanic eruptions, rare and short-lived.

Mr. Sulphur loves a deal and would not hesitate to drive an extra five miles because the gasoline is two cents cheaper. And shopping at Marshall's or other discount stores is a must! He can be manic-depressive in the winter because the boredom of the winter plagues him. He thrives out-of-doors in the spring and summer. He never misses a day of work, which reflects his great energy and resilience. He appreciates a quick mind, wit and humor, something he is not devoid of himself.

And for a Sulphur, taking care of the family financially is his greatest achievement and concern. He is the one who should have been born a cave man so he could have "whacked the saber-toothed tiger on the head and brought him home for his wife to cook." He has a phenomenal memory, usually photographic, which contrasts so much with the fact that he can't remember names, even of good friends. A Sulphur would reason that he never wants to become that personal, because it is a form of weakness.

A Sulphur's mind is always "preoccupied with higher things," so he is indifferent to what or when he eats. Don't ever expect him to pick up after himself. His desk is invariably covered with innumerable rings from cups and glasses. Dirty dishes pile up, as well as stacks of old newspapers, empty bottles, grocery bags, etc. representing his collector's mentality and his strange view of his possessions: if it's his, it's beautiful. So don't throw away an old pair of shoes or a ragged T-shirt, as these are his most prized possessions. He has almost no fears, except a fear of heights, where he feels that he is being drawn to the ground below if he risks looking downward.

A Sulphur is rarely depressed or discouraged. His outspokenness can cause many to dislike him. His utter conviction that he is right and everyone else wrong can easily make him enemies. The fact that he is frequently right does not ease matters. His ambition is fame, whatever it means and whatever it is worth. He is very tolerant about a person's sexual preference and will never pass judgment. As for himself, all the evidence shows that he is aggressively heterosexual.

All in all, a well-balanced Sulphur is witty, intelligent, hard-working, non-judgmental, a defender of the underdog and the general of the troops, not afraid to make decisions and change plans on the spur of the moment. If you have a Sulphur at home, you are in for the ride of your life, full of excitement and unexpected events. Enjoy!

A Sulphur person is likely to need these acute remedies:

  • Sulphurs are apt to get skin conditions like eczema, diaper rash and other rashes, for which Sulphur is an excellent acute remedy, as is Graphites.

  • Sulphurs are also prone to the ambitious, competitive, hardworking lifestyle-often associated with overindulgence in alcohol and other addictive and stimulating substances - which characterize a Nux vomica state.

  • Nux vomica is an excellent remedy for the indigestion and hangovers which are likely to occur.

  • Sulphurs are also likely to have a sensitive digestive system and to suffer from gastrointestinal disturbances.

  • Lycopodium is apt to be a good remedy for their gas, bloating and GI distress.

  • Finally, here is a tip which is useful for anyone who has had an Aconite cold (see Aconite in the Guide to the Remedies) which does not resolve completely. Take a dose of Sulphur 200C (3 pellets dry, in the mouth) and the fatigue, cough or other remnant will disappear. (Aconite is an acute remedy associated with Sulphur, which means that Sulphur people are more likely than others to get an Aconite cold.)


by Luc De Schepper, MD, PhD, DI Hom., CHom., Lic.Ac
from his book, "The People's Repertory". Reprinted by permission.
Dr. Luc is the a
uthor of excellent books on Classical Homeopathy.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Sepia Remedy Type: Exhausted, Dragged Down, Desperately Seeking a Vacation!

Often the source from which the remedy is taken tells us a lot about its uses. This is certainly the case for Sepia, made from the ink of the cuttlefish (also called the giant squid). The cuttlefish has the shape and form of a uterus, while Sepia is used for many disorders of the female reproductive system. The con­stant twitching and jerking of its head and body re­mind us of the Sepia patient's constant desire to move. The shades of brown and yellow which are part of the squid's astonishing camouflage system remind us of the Sepia woman's wardrobe as well as her typical pigmentation: sallow skin, a brownish mottling of the face, or the “mask of pregnancy”. The cuttlefish is a master of escape (excreting a cloud of black ink to confuse the pursuer), and escape is exactly what the Sepia woman wants when she feels totally over­whelmed. Finally, the female cuttlefish is said to have total disregard and indifference for her eggs once laid, like the exhausted Sepia woman's indifference to her family. It is also said that the male fish loses his special copulatory tentacle during intercourse-which is re­flected in the depression following intercourse in the (less frequently encountered) male Sepia patient.

How does one get into a Sepia state? Many women could answer that. Typically it reflects 4 overwork and over-responsibility. The exhaustion can easily stem from childbirth, especially if the pregnancy was hard (with Sepia being a great remedy for morning sickness), or if the delivery was difficult and/or rushed (with suction or pitocin). It is unfortunate that gynecologists don't know the power of Sepia for "postpartum blues"! Women who have had several pregnancies, miscarriages or abortions can also get into this debilitated Sepia state, drained not only of their physical energy but of their emotional energy as well. However, I have also seen women get into a Sepia state after only one pregnancy. If the baby is a screamer (a typical colicky baby) and does not want to sleep for the first three months, the mother almost inevitably will slide into this state of fatigue.

A woman in a Sepia state will say, "I am depressed" or “I am on the verge of a nervous breakdown." Indeed, she wakes up in the morning and feels there is nothing to look forward to: nothing but chores which can't wait, so overwhelming that she can't imagine being able to finish them, yet she will have to start the housework all over the next day. She never seems to get a few minutes just for herself where she can simply rest, exercise a little, read, anything put her body and mind at peace. No wonder such a woman does not want to get out of bed. She will spend the whole day driving the kids to school and their activities, cooking, shopping, washing… the list seems endless, and by the late afternoon, she is ready to collapse. All she wants is a little nap - but this is just the moment the children come back from school, and then the "big boy," her husband, demands his dinner. He even adds insult to injury by talking about how much work he did that day (and implying that housework isn't "real work").

A Sepia woman feels pushed relentlessly with no end in sight. It is only her sense of duty that keeps her going. But there will come a time when she runs out of energy and her patience comes to an end. Trapped in her situation, feeling utterly exhausted, she tells everyone to go away and leave her alone. She will even slap her whining children without feeling a bit sorry. She is just too tired to care.

And beware of the husband asking, for sex! That is just another task for her to avoid. Nor should he complain about a bad day at work. One of my patients said to her husband, "A bad day? I'll give you a bad day! I'll take out my pistols and bang! You're dead!" Another of my patients just got to the breaking point with her husband who came home from work, plopped in front of the TV and demanded that she make him a big bowl of pop­corn. She took the popcorn and dumped it on his head, then got in the car and drove away for a few hours, just to be by herself-leaving her husband and kids in a panic, because they had never seen her act like this!

A Sepia woman will snap if anything extra gets added to her overloaded routine. She has to shut off he has to shut off or she feels she will die. She will even want to run away from this situation where she feels trapped. She may tell her husband, "You are in charge of the kids," and flee in desperation to the mall, or pack her suitcase and announce: "I am off on a little vacation and I don't want anyone com­ing along!"

A woman in a Sepia state may seem unsociable, but that's only because she is too tired to follow a conversation. She just wants to lie in bed with a book. Under severe stress, she may appear frozen, no longer showing emotion.

Sad to say, this Sepia state can be forced on a young girl if she has to fill her mom's shoes in the family, perhaps due to her mother's illness, absence or death. Being given so much responsibility at such a young age can mark her for the rest of her life. She may want to stay unmarried in order to avoid taking care of anyone else, or she may abso­lutely refuse to have children, preferring to be a successful career woman with no strings attached.

In the doctor's office she can be very critical, trying to hide the real reason of her visit: her emotional exhaustion. Often she only talks about her physical complaints, which are numerous (espe­cially menstrual, menopausal or other hormonal symptoms).

But more often a woman in a Sepia state will burst into tears while telling her story, as crying is her only way of communicating. A Sepia will cry even more than a Pulsatilla, but her grief stems from exhaustion rather than the Pulsatilla's needi­ness for attention. She can have a sharp tongue; how can she feel any sympathy when she feels she can "lose it any minute"? As you can see, many women are in this unfortunate situation. I hope they will turn for help to Sepia, ready to give them a new lease on life!

A Sepia woman is likely to need these acute remedies:

  • The main thing a woman in a Sepia state needs is help from a homeopath, who can prescribe remedies in the right professional potencies. She can also benefit by using Sepia acutely in situations such as these:

    • Many women, and especially women in a Sepia state, are likely to need Sepia for dysmenorrhea (with the typical Sepia symptom of a bearing ­down feeling in the uterus, as though it might slide out through the vagina!)

    • Sepia is also good for morning sickness, vomiting during pregnancy, and hot flashes during menopause.

    • It can also be used acutely for PMS symptoms such as irritability, weepiness and depression.

    • I often tell my women patients to protect themselves against exhaustion during the Thanksgiving - Christmas season by taking Sepia 200C (3 pellets, dry in the mouth, as needed).

Copyright by Luc De Schepper, MD, PhD, DI Hom., CHom., Lic.Ac
from his book, "The People's Repertory". Reprinted by permission.

Dr. Luc is the a
uthor of excellent books on Classical Homeopathy.


Saturday, March 29, 2008

Phosphorous Remedy Type

Attracting as much attention as the Sulphur, the luminescent Phosphorus personality is often his favorite companion. Rather than the charisma of the Sulphur, it is the external beauty and the liveliness of the Phosphorus person that makes heads turn. Even as a child, Phosphoruses attract attention with their big eyes, their long slender bodies and their eternal smile. Couple that with their uncanny ability for great communication and you have a winner. They love talking and have a great appreciation for friends, acquaintances and family, whom they support throughout any ordeal.

Empathy is second nature to a Phosphorus. It can be detrimental to her, though, as a Phosphorus is too sensitive and lacks boundaries. It is as though everything in her environment gets absorbed; she is like a psychogenic sponge "feeling yours and anyone else's pain." That leaves such a sensitive person on the verge of collapse, especially since a Phosphorus does not have the greatest physical and mental stamina in the first place.

Phosphoruses are not competitive in sports (although we can find some good runners among them), and too much studying leads to headaches and indifference. It is not that they lack intelli­gence. Like Sulphurs, Phosphoruses have a great memory, but they lack stamina. Therefore they are called great beginners and bad finishers. There is nothing better to revive a Phosphorus than a 30 minute nap; she feels reborn.

It is not only their lack of energy that contributes to their inability to finish, but also their sense of dissatisfaction and desire for change and excite­ment. They grow bored with the same things and that can extend to their life partner, from whom they demand continuous attention. Because of their beauty, they have no difficulty in finding other interested people. Sad to say, many Phosphorus people marry more than once because they grow tired of their present relationship.

We can easily see that a Phosphorus person belongs to the Heart-Fire-Joy element in the Five Elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine. They live for the present, spending money easily for beautiful clothes and expensive gadgets for their home, which they feel they should redecorate every six months (corresponding to their eternal rest­lessness). One item is never missing from the home of a Phosphorus: a mirror, or should we say many mirrors. They can't pass one without checking their hairdo, although they will claim that mirrors and self-portraits are just a way of enhancing the beauty of their house.

Beauty is very important to them. So don't insult a Phosphorus by asking her age; you won't get an answer. Although they always look at least ten years younger than they are, they have a fear of growing old and never dress the part. As one Phosphorus actress of 55 years old told me, "I can't play the role of a woman in her late twenties, but a thirty-year-old one, I can definitely play."

Invariably a Phosphorus will be inclined to dance, paint, sing, anything that creates beauty. From a young age they make their history lessons at school into an imaginary drama, with themselves at center stage, and they have a hard time with a too-structured teaching environment which does not allow for the spontaneity of a Phosphorus.

The sensitivity and active imagination of a Phosphorus leads to many anxieties and fears: fear of being alone, in the dark, ghosts, lightning, thun­der, spiders, the future, death and incurable disease. They are fascinated by the subtle and vibrational spheres: meditation, crystals, channeling,. or energy healing. They are the most spiritual and intuitive of the types. So a Phosphorus will be the first one to consult a medium or a fortune-teller. Nothing is more interesting than Nostradamus' predictions, and they won't hesitate to rearrange their lives around these fortunetellers. But they can easily be distracted from such gloomy predictions by plans for a party or a trip around the world.

Their physical sensitivity is a source of suffering for a Phosphorus. Perfumes, gasoline fumes, smoke, and even a great sensitivity to changes in the barometer, will aggravate existing symptoms or bring on headaches, fatigue and forgetfulness. If things get worse, they are the unfortunate souls who be­come allergic to the world and start reacting to everything: they can become prisoners in their own home, where everything has to be stripped bare and free of synthetics. You can imagine what that means for the sociable, adventure-traveling Phosphorus: it feels like a death sentence.

Otherwise a Phosphorus comes into this world with great assets: their beauty, intelligence, sparkle, sympathy, sensitivity, intuition, spirituality, romanticism and a great aesthetic sense.

A Phosphorus person is likely to need these acute remedies:

  • Phosphorus, not coincidentally, is the #1 remedy for many of the health concerns of a Phosphorus: a cough, for example Phosphoruses are notoriously weak in the lung area) and easy bleeding

  • Phosphoruses are the most likely to get nose bleeds, to bruise easily, and to have heavy menstrual periods with bright red blood, in all of which conditions the bleeding can be stanched by Phosphorus.

  • Phosphorus is also the best remedy for two other conditions which the sensitive Phosphorus person is most susceptible to: the bad effects of anesthesia and/ or difficulty coming out of anesthesia; and a hypersensitivity to environmental chemicals, fumes, perfumes, etc.

  • Emotionally sensitive as they are, Phosphoruses are also the most likely to get into a Nat. mur. state (see the following portrait of Nat. mur.), which could possibly be avoided by taking Ignatia acutely.

Copyright by Luc De Schepper, MD, PhD, DI Hom., CHom., Lic.Ac
from his book, "The People's Repertory". Reprinted by permission.
Dr. Luc is the author of excellent books on Classical Homeopathy.


Saturday, March 22, 2008

Nat-Carb (Natrum Carbonicum) Remedy Type

Nat-carb: The Flight into a Dream World
With the Nat-c child we have to look at the Periodic Table to understand what this child is all about. We can easily understand the difficult life of this child when we see the elements Natrum and Carbonica. Natrum belonging to the first group, is all about wanting to connect to others very impulsive, spontaneous, even naïve, but it is the second part, that carbon, which mistunes her in her mission to connect. Carbon is stubborn, a primitive and archaic ego, very little differentiated and the child is stuck with no differentiation yet in her dominant function The attention is still mainly aimed at the self (but not 100% like the pure carbon), and together with the stubbornness, leaves little place for others to impose their will or opinion (we see this easily in intolerant to contradiction). The child usually expresses this sentiment as, "I want to do this! Don’t help me!" It looks like this is a very independent child. The reality is very different. Independence in the case of Natrum is easily confused with and translated as loneliness. It is easy to see too why these children would be catalogued under the ASD as they have difficulties connecting to others, even if they are intimate friends or family: aversion to family members and to society and estranged from family and friends. And it has, company, aversion to, of intimate friends (2). There seem to be a contradiction to the Natrum element that is so desirous to connect to others, and the aversion to even family: this leads to the core delusion,

Del, there is a division between himself and others, which is also expressed by del, is forsaken and deserted (1) and fear of being alone, yet averse to company (3!). I remember such child that would go so far to invite her friends at her home, but when they arrived went off playing by herself. How can that be in such young child that has hardly lived? It must go back intra utero and these same feelings must be found in the pregnant mother! But for what reason can this behavior be present? It can only because the mother must have felt isolated and estranged from friends and family. What trauma can create such situation when happiness should be at a peak? Let’s have a close look at the ailments from. Ailments from anger with fright (1), and from anger with silent grief (1).

Such NWS recalls the cases of the young excited woman who might be pregnant for the first time, but her joy is tempered because of neglect, indifference, even anger from a husband who is not ready to have a family or fears that this baby will get all the attention. Maybe she felt, rightfully or not, forsaken by her family because "they did not get enthusiastic enough about her being pregnant." Or maybe the pregnant mother was hoping that this child might be the peacemaker between her and her parents from which she is estranged and then it did not happen! Maybe the husband has to travel for his work a lot and family lives far away. It certainly would explain her anger and grief and her isolation from family. Sometimes, as is evidenced in the example below, the secret story is even more unbelievable, but then again, society is often quick to judge others without knowing the facts. Maybe both parents were not married yet and in a conservative family this can lead to all kinds of rejection: maybe an abortion is advocated strongly against her wishes, leading to estrangement from "well-meaning" friends and family who exclaim: "You are both too young. You are immature. You cannot afford this." Or there can be a secret story of rape or incest. Is there any more horrible reason for being subdued about being pregnant? How can the pregnant mother express her joy to the world? And it does not have to be rape. There are enough Lycopodiums and Medorrhinums out there who abandon the pregnant mother right away yet the mother is committed to the unborn child. Besides leading to ailments from anger with fright ("What am I going to do now with no help, who is going to help raising me this child?") to anger with silent grief (they are too embarrassed to tell anyone they have been dumped), it all leads to ailments from anticipation anxiety (2) and emotional excitement (1-stress), two other NWS for Nat-c.

This combination of loneliness, stubbornness and immature ego coupled to shyness does not seem to be a good combination to overcome her sense of isolation. And indeed life is a struggle for this child. What positive tools, if any indeed, does she have to overcome all this?

As we have seen in the core delusion for Nat-c, the difficulty is entering the world, even the limited world of the child and connecting to others. What can we do to survive if we are not able to connect to anyone in this world? Creating our own fantasy world! This will be the primary compensation and all other ones are just in function of this first one as we will see. Indeed many fixed ideas are expressing this illusion created world: del, of fancy illusions (1). These are children that create stories by themselves in which they are the heroine, the controlling force over what happens in their own little world. These are children that seemingly are totally engrossed in their actions, playing with little cars or trains, while having earphones on listening to music. Other delusions allude to this fantasy world: Del, he is on a journey (as they are totally seemed to be disconnected from their environment). Del, of a wedding again shows the desire of connecting to a pleasant world and a sense of belonging somewhere, which in real life they seem incapable of achieving. Because these children are still young, they create a world of smallness in order to fit in that world, in order to be part of it: del, things appear small. Creating such small world (like carrying small toys everywhere around with them) is comforting to them: they are small but large in comparison with the little toys/stuffed animals they play with. See in the next example how this girl wants to "disappear in small crevices, in a lamp, etc.

This lack of intimacy results also into a desire to be magnetized and mesmerizing ameliorates. In other words, there is a desire to be supported, to be "carried" by someone. This mesmerized is more by their created fantasy visions, not by realities in life as there is a tendency to anthropophobia, misanthropy and especially fear for men. There is a continuous effort to try to make contact, but at the same time, they flee before any serious contact is made. When I mentioned music, we can’t expect that she will listen to fast rock and roll music like Tarentula: this does not fit at all her mood and even piano music creates anxiety. The best music for such child is classical music from Walt Disney films (i.e., the "Beauty and the Beast,)" another dream world in which she can escape. The Natrum element certainly refers to the seriousness of the child (serious, earnest), also reflected in the kind of music she listens to. So this music is a positive tool, as it reinforces and resonates in her special world. But we should remember that the reaction to a serious child is seriousness; to a happy outgoing child, it will be laughter and play. From in the beginning, this child unconsciously blocks avenue of reaching out to the rest of the world.

Another positive tool to connect to "a world," (not the world) is her strong conscientiousness about trifles (3). However this easily leads to monomania and OCD, again mentioned in the spectrum of ASD: children play for hours lining up their little cars and get mad when someone interferes or they get attached to one or more objects, like always carrying around with them a certain little toy. Or the conversation is at nauseam about the same topic: one of the favorite things is observing and talking about small animals like insects such as lady bugs or little gold fish for which they show great concern (sympathy, compassion, 2). Therefore this remedy should be in the rubric, talking, one subject; of nothing but, where we find remedies like Arg-n, Lyc, Med and Stram. Of course, the talking of one subject is very different in these remedies. Med and Lyc don’t talk about lady bugs but about the ladies (their sexual conquests); Arg-n talks about all the calamities that "can" happen when she leaves the home; there is always one more "what if this or that happens;" and Stramonium only talks about the dangers she possible faces in this world. Nat-carb’s interest for detail is indeed a positive tool for the child as she uses it to a detail filled fantasy world but definitely can be a positive indicator for an ASD child.

We can see that all the positive tools of Nat-c, are really means to reinforce a permanent world in which she is able to live. If we see loquacity in Nat-c (a 2, the most loquacious of the Natrums and Nat-p is not even in this rubric as it means, "lack of communication), it is not to connect to others but more to connect to the figures in her created fantasy world to which she talks all the time (occupation ameliorates, 2). This lining up of toys and talking to the figurines and little soldiers must make you think of Calc-c, but the difference is that Calc-c is not at the stage yet where they are ready to go into the world (sometimes they never are even as an adult) and must connect to others than the immediate parent or family. Calc-c only just discovered himself and feels content in safe environment of the home where he has no difficulties engaging with others. In fact he easily, through stubbornness and temper tantrums, can get all the attention he wants so much. Nat-c somewhere got lost and family does not represent that safe haven anymore as it is for Calc-c. Natrum wants to connect outside of the family with friends and others, but "something (NWS)" stops her from achieving this!

Once the Nat-c child knows how to read and write her loquacity takes on another form and her fantasy world expands with another positive tool: writing! She talks of verses and writes stories. You see the refinement of the Natrum again, as this is a way of communication with the outside world for Nat-c, a world that seems too difficult to reach. However this is only a "positive" compensation for the child as it will cut her more and more off from the real world who finds such person too serious and eccentric.

This limited arsenal of positive tools, which has only one purpose, creating a safe haven (a fantasy world) for the child, shows how difficult life in general will be for this child, even growing up. The isolation, if not sufficiently compensated by fantasy, will become more and more outspoken when the child grows up and comes in a structured environment like school where other mandatory and less desirable tasks are imposed. Mental work is not a positive tool: occupation ameliorates and attention to detail are not connected to school work as we have seen, rather to the creation of that fantasy world. Where Nat-m and even Nat-p in their initial phase have desire for mental work, Nat-c has mental work is impossible or fatigues (3!). This child needs time outs after spending barely 30’ on homework or lecture, something impossible in structured settings but better dealt with and certainly quicker found out in home schooling. There is quick confusion of the mind from mental exertion (3) and concentration difficult while studying and reading (2). No wonder these children, absorbed and buried in thought (in their fantasy world), have received every name in the manual of psychiatry: from OCD to ASD to ADHD!

We can see easily the furthering of isolation in this child confronted with these increasing difficulties in life. They even have the del, that the body has become heavy and thick, showing how difficult it is again to respond to exterior stimuli. How does one react negatively to isolation? It will be depending in what miasmatic phase of the remedy they are.

  • In their psoric phase it will be mainly with despair, fears and anxieties. There is much anticipation anxiety about anything that threatens their fragile little world: this is the child that watches the weather forecast and gets excited (not in the sense of wanting to watch it like Carcinosin and Sepia but fearing it) about the appearance of a storm, before, during and after! Thunderstorm aggravates: only Nat-c 3! Approach of thunderstorm a 2! Aggravates after thunderstorm: a1. They are easily frightened (3) and suffer from prostration of the mind and brain fag (3).

  • It goes to sycotic behavior like foolish behavior (Hyos, Tarent) and suspicious behavior: del, sees thieves and criminals.

  • If the child does not get out of his isolation, he is doomed to live a life of loneliness, with continuing fears and slipping into syphilitic traits: indifference and apathy (3), with ennui; indolence to work; estrangement from friends and family, showing the dept of isolation; loathing of life waking up in the morning; malicious and spiteful; quarrelsome; gloom and sadness (3); striking from anger (2) and stupefaction on awaking. Couple this to timidity and bashful (3) and you see how we are returning to the core delusion of feeling an abyss between the self and others. The real danger if such child grows up and is still creating a fantasy world, that an emotional event can push the adult from this neurosis and delusions into a real psychosis (like schizophrenia).

  • A Nat-c Case

    C., a 5 Year old girl: CC: Very moody, changeable. It was a forceps delivery, after 2 days labor, the physician was in a hurry at this point. From in the beginning she had acid reflux (Ph 1) and constipation. She was a very irritable baby, not breastfed. The regurgitation was helped with Propulsid (suppression) but the constipation remained. Only last couple of years more normal where before suppo’s were necessary. She is very tidy and fastidious: she lines up her toys to perfection and is fascinated with listening to classical music on her walk man while she is watching her train zooming around. But she often says, "People are talking about me, they are laughing at me." She loves wind, will go and stand in it. She is afraid of storms. She will watch the weather channel, and then becomes excited when one is coming! She cannot stand her nails to be cut neither her hair being brushed: she says, "It hurts!" She is independent, wants to do everything herself! Lately, especially the last 4 months, she has been saying to her older sister who is adopted: "But I came out of mommy’s tummy!" She loves "small things." She has a little elephant that she carries around with her everywhere, also loves insects. She also says when she sees a lamp, a jar or a crevice, a little space, "I want to go in there." She only likes classical music, not fast or country music, "That is boy’s music!" She tends to be a loner, she is insecure. She asks mom to invite friends and then when they show up, she does not do anything with them, tends to take off on her own (mom calls it "stand-offish"). She appears often sad. She likes wearing the same cloths and hates everything around her neck. She is into kissing, we call her "kissy" as she is always kissing her younger brother (7 months). She is very responsible and serious. She wants a puppy and when she feeds the fish, she is concerned about the small fish whether they get enough food. She is home-schooled and she does have only an attention span of 30’. After that she needs to do something else. She likes computers and video games. She does like routine, does not like new situations.

    What is the pregnancy story: The parents were in the process of adopting after mom had gone through a lot of fertility drugs. They had already signed the papers when she found out she was pregnant! (For first time) Now she had intense fear that she would lose the other child (the adopted child) and fear of her present child, going something wrong with all that stress. In fact the natural mother found out and sued them for "fraud." This lasted the whole pregnancy. As a result, when she found out that she was pregnant, she could not tell anyone out of fear that she would be labeled a "fraud" and that the other child would be taken away. Only her parents knew. She said, "I wanted to protect my nest and my reputation."

    Allopathy diagnosed this child as ASD and OCD.

    Analysis

    We can see that this child was irritable and "difficult" from in the beginning. This certainly was also expressed in all the GI symptoms: so our remedy should be one that has an affinity for the GI system! The constipation remained a big problem, so somehow that should be included in the remedy. Being very tidy is expressed as being organized in her toys (Carbon-Calc c) and listening to classical music is also a peculiar sx for children. She is adamant about that kind of music, does not like other kinds. Then there is a degree of paranoia, and being laughed at (suspicious). It reflects her insecurity and isolation. She is afraid of the approach of storm and during storm (she is "excited" in the sense of anticipation anxiety, not excited in the sense, "I want to watch it! In fact she is very afraid of it! This shows a carbon element again. Nails/hair issue: she is sensitive externally (generalities), sensitive to pain! Head, sensitiveness, from brushing the hair. When she says, but I came out of mummy’s tummy" it reflects some maliciousness in her (comes from mom’s side with a grandfather with Parkinson) and it might well be to boost her standing in her eyes: I belong somewhere! Where in fact this is her trouble: she does not know where she belongs, she has a difficult time connecting and therefore prefers to create a world of illusions! But she is independent: this excludes Bar-c! She loves small things: it reflects how she creates a world full of illusions (headphones on, watching little train, not paying attention to anything) and how she considers herself: small and vulnerable wanting to hide in a small cozy world (like mummy’s tummy). This really reflects how mom has felt in pregnancy: she wanted to hide, could not tell anyone she was pregnant. Had to hides it, wanted to escape and be left alone out of fear one would find out she was pregnant. We see here the connection in utero! But she is affectionate, amorous, especially towards her younger brother. With other children, we see a desire to connect, but then she cannot (when the friends are there). This represents the core delusion: "Del, division between herself and others." This again reflects what happened intra utero: mom wants to connect with others (to tell them she is pregnant) but she could not! C. is serious and responsible (NATRUM) seen in how she feeds the fish. But hard time with attention: she needs to refuel after a half an hour (Confusion from mental work)-Concentration difficult!

    This is a beautiful case of Nat-c. We start with 6C 8 oz. bottle, 2 succ prn. (The 5th edition Organon Split Method - see my book, "Achieving and Maintaining the Simillimum"). Two months later: after adjusting the dose to 1 succussion of the RSB, 3 drops from the RSB in a 4 oz. cup, and 3 drops from the first cup every third day, the child does not exhibit any of the above symptoms. The child’s case is still in progress.

    Copyright by Luc De Schepper, MD, PhD, DI Hom., CHom., Lic.Ac
    Excerpts from Dr. Luc's upcoming book "Beyond Jung: Delusions, Dreams, Neuroses and Homeopathy" Copyright 2007 All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission.
    Dr. Luc is the a
    uthor of excellent books on Classical Homeopathy.


    Saturday, March 15, 2008

    Calcarea Carbonicum Type: Down to Earth, and Not a Bad Bone in His (Her) Body

    Many children in the U.S. are born this type: indeed about 50% of them start out this way. And it is reflective of the steadiness and stubbornness of a Cal carb. that many of them remain the same throughout their life At birth they are grandmothers' favorites: big babies, with chubby cheeks inviting pinches and (in the grandmother's eye) radiating health and happiness.

    Unfortunately, "fat and flabby" can remain a constant symptom, as they struggle with their weight for the rest of their life. But they are cute babies indeed, easily smiling and always having a great appetite (a breast is a pacifier for this baby and they make snacking an art form).

    As part of their obstinacy, they have constipation from the beginning of their young life. They can go for days without a bowel movement and that without any sign of discomfort. But watch out when they go! The bowel movements are voluminous and big, no one can believe that all this comes from such a little guy; not infrequently the mother has to break up the stool with a plunger so that it can be flushed down the toilet.

    There is no other type as attached to their home as a Calc. carbo. They are not interested in summer camp, especially if it is not right around the corner. I had knew a mother who kept making that mistake. Every summer, her little boy managed to misbehave so much at camp that he was sent home for the rest of the summer, where he then behaved perfectly in the company of a baby-sitter.

    As you can see, the Calc. carbo is nice but stubborn. Moving away from a home is a catastrophe. Even if the new house is nicer and bigger, he will always miss that old house, the old neighborhood and his friends. In my practice I have often seen Calc. carbo suffer from a serious disease since moving away from his childhood home.

    You have to think of a Calc. carbo person as an oyster (and indeed the remedy is made from the middle layer of the oyster shell): he has a hard shell (his stubbornness), but on the inside is this weak creature (the soft, flabby Calc. carb. person) and often you find a pearl of polished and delicate beauty-his compassionate, sensitive nature. He is horrified when he sees upsetting stories on TV. Often a Calc. carb. person does not read newspapers or turn on the TV for fear of seeing all the cruel things of this world -wars, famines and suffering. It really reflects the Calc. carb.'s great fear of physical harm and pain.

    That's why the Calc. carbo child of three or four years old asks those questions about God and "What happens when I die?" Tell him some angels are waiting for him, who are going to play with him, and that there is going to ne plenty of food ( a major concern for a Calc, carb.) He will be perfectly content as long as there is no suffering.

    Just like a Phosphorus, a Calc. carbo can be very spiritual and giving, always ready to console people, to listen to their complaints, and then, alas, getting overwhelmed by it.

    A Calc. carbo stands for the "F's": fat, flabby, fair, faint, and fearful. We have already discussed the lack of tone in this person ("there is little bounce to the ounce") and hence he is not readily interested in competitive sports, especially contact sports. He is exhausted from any physical effort, especially going upstairs. This includes sexual intercourse. In his thoughts he can be hypersexed, but in reality the act exhausts him as quickly as any other exercise.

    Of the other F's, faint stands for the easy fainting this person goes through. As for fearful, nobody has more fears than a Calc. carb. I have already mentioned his fear of physical suffering, but this big, stout person is also fearful of mice, of the future, of death (there might be suffering), of disease (there is definitely suffering), of being alone (especially being away from home and mom), of poverty (no more food and no more safe home), of the dark (especially at night, when they always need a little light; Calc. carbo is a great remedy for the nightmares of children), and fear of changes (he likes routine, old friends, the same barber, the same doctor, etc.).

    One sure thing is that a Calc. carb.'s appetite will never fail. He is a glutton and not very choosy about his foods, which can be plain and bland. Of course he never says no to ice cream or pizza, two of his more beloved foods. His wish list also includes boiled eggs and milk (which he tolerates poorly). He generally does not like meat (except for the occasional hamburger), but of course he would not say no to it if there is no other food. Fasting is definitely not in his vocabulary!

    A Calc. carbo has a great sense of humor and likes teasing, which he does with an uncanny ability. But he is very sensitive to being teased himself. He can take quite a bit but he has his limits. Often the butt of the jokes at school, he can tolerate it for quite some time. But suddenly he will surprise everyone with a violent outburst-even to the point of killing someone. I have read about some of these unfortunate incidents in the newspapers. It is always incomprehensible to everyone involved that such a soft, mild, gentle child could suddenly kill someone (but no surprise if you know homeopathy!).

    The Calc. carbo often shows his slowness early in life (late teething, late closing of the fontanels, late walking, late talking). At school the teacher can have the impression that he is not really intelligent as he will never volunteer to answer questions like the Sulphur (because he knows the answer) or the Phosphorus (anything to be loquacious and in the limelight). He sits in the background, but many times he will surprise peers and teachers alike by understanding everything and coming up withvery logical answers. His logic is down-to-earth.

    I had a four-year-old patient who heard his mother saying that his pediatrician had moved. The next time he felt sick, he did not say anything. When the mother finally noticed his fever, she scolded him and asked him, "Why didn't you tell me?" The little fellow had a very logical answer: "My doctor moved, so there is no sense in complaining. He does not live in that office where I used to go."

    A Calc. carbo never wants to get pressured into answering things, at school or at home. Even when I asked a little six-year-old Calc. carb., "Who is your best friend?" he answered, "I have to mull this over." (Quite the contrast to the Phosphorus girl who tells me she has fifty friends and can name them all; or the Sulphur boy who would look at me with disdain for asking such a stupid question, thinking "Doesn't he know, I am a Sulphur, so people admire me, and of course everyone wants to be my friend.")

    Usually though, a Calc. carbo will tell me he has one very special friend who he prefers to spend his time with. But he never has any problems playing by himself, lining up his little cars against the wall or playing war with all his little characters, in quite an animated way for a Calc. carb. But you have to understand that he is in his own room in his own home, which he feels is his castle.

    It is amazing that we see many of these characteristics maintained in the Calc. carbo adult. The Calc. carbo father lives for his family and friends. He loves to play cards and watch football while eating pizza. He adores his wife (who is often a Phosphorus trying to put some spice in his life). The Calc. carb. mother is pleased with staying at home, tending the garden, and driving the children to their various activities. She is the "mother on the block" for everyone who needs a sympathetic ear.

    Calc. carbs. might appear naive, slow, and earthbound, but they have an unsurpassed inner beauty in the love they have for people and the earth. There are very stable people, contributing very much to happiness in this world.

    A Calc. carbo person is likely to need these acute remedies:

    • A Calc. carbo child is susceptible to recurring ear infections, especially those of a Belladonna type.

    • When sick or under stress, he is also likely to become more clingy to his mother and demanding of attention, typical of conditions responding well to Pulsatilla.

    • One of Calc. carb.'s weak points is weak ligaments and especially a weak back, which he is likely to strain by overlifting, a condition which respond well to Rhus tox (the #1 remedy for lumbago).

    • And of course Calc. carbo will also be a good acute remedy for such common Calc. carb. problems as constipation and the ill effects of overwork.

    Copyright by Luc De Schepper, MD, PhD, DI Hom., CHom., Lic.Ac
    from his book, "The People's Repertory". Reprinted by permission.
    Dr. Luc is the a
    uthor of excellent books on Classical Homeopathy.


    Friday, March 14, 2008

    Homeopathy for Mothers: Best Remedies for Your Household!

    When you have children (and even adults that can act like children) then mom knows that she needs to be prepared to be a doctor in the field and trenches. I have five children and I suspect that one of the reasons I got them is that they wanted to challenge me to see how good I was in acute homeopathic prescribing. Hardly a day went by or I had to bring out the "magic box" as it was dubbed by my combative children…"Let's see dad if homeopathy can treat this," was their warrior cry: Cuts, bruises as big as an egg, burn wounds…and yes even heartaches and disappointments! I am actually grateful for these challenges now as they are all grown ups, and have their own children, and not even a moment do they doubt to use homeopathy for all the same troubles their children cause now as they did to me. There is some pride in their voice as they talk about having successfully treated some of the 101 incidences that do not require an ER visit or a even a doctor's visit. I want the reader to get acquainted with some of these "magic pills" and put a physician's cap up for a moment and see the "magic of the minimum dose" as we call it.

    Here follow some descriptions of homeopathic remedies you should have in your first aid box. They easily replace Tylenol and company as they are effective if truly indicated. The intake of these remedies for acute cases (I am not talking about chronic diseases for which you need to consult a professional) is always the same.


    How to Dose with Acute Homeopathic Remedies
    Put two pellets of a 30C potency (NOT 6C) in a bottle of 8 oz spring water, let them dissolve (if they are big pellets crush them first in paper without touching them and throw the powdered remedy in the bottle) and take 1 tsp from the bottle directly. Do not repeat before two hours go by. If there is total improvement after two hours there is no need to repeat. This bottle should be kept out of sunlight or radiation.


    The Magic of Arnica

    This is the sports and injury remedy par excellence! Bruises, falls on the head with the formation of the well known "eggs" on the front, black eyes (you never know how they got them) and "over exercise" all respond by magic to Arnica. "Over-exercise" can go truly to overdoing it even when you are a well trained athlete. But I think more about children and adults alike who do very little during the year, go on vacation and imagine that the muscles they never used, are just ecstatic to be used excessively. Enthusiasm easily takes over the first vacation day but the second day, one feels like a "bulldozer run over him." This is where Arnica comes in (the pellets taken orally in water are MUCH more effective than the cream and cheaper!). Arnica can be used acutely after operations where bruising takes place, is a must for the woman right after delivery of her child, after tooth extraction…it brings the swelling down immediately, stills the pain and stops the bleeding. Pure miracle! Keep in mind: never use Arnica for open wounds!


    The Sting of Hypericum

    Have you ever crushed your finger between a door? Fingers are rich in nerve endings and that's why it is excruciating painful! It is also indicated in any pressure on nerves like in acute sciatica where the pain radiates down your leg from the back on. While an chiropractic adjustment and acupuncture treatment can do wonders, Hypericum's pain relieving characteristics are fabulous. Indicated for those sharp, electrical, stinging and stitching nerve pains (even in tooth pain).


    Sprains and Rhus-tox

    Nothing is more effective than Rhus-tox for sprains and strains of your ligaments no matter where in your body. You rolled over your ankle and now a swelling appears? Make sure there is no fracture first but in such sprain there is restoration within a few days. It is also greatly indicated in any lumbago. You lifted some things during a move? You hyper-extended your shoulder serving a tennis ball or less gloriously, painting a ceiling in your home? You worked for hours bent over in the yard and now you really do feel your age as you can't straighten your back? Put the youth back in that lower back with Rhus-tox and look forward to your next day of gardening! Keep it also in mind after acute whiplash!


    Grief and Ignatia

    While physical ailments can bring much pain, whoever has felt grief (and who hasn't) needs this remedy. Hearing bad news, emotional shock from seeing horrible things, unexpected death of a friend or family member, deception and betrayal and the first lost love of your child…nothing makes the healing of the soul smoother than Ignatia. It has all the characteristics of deep grief: hysterical crying or sobbing, loss of appetite, even the development after grief of a stiff neck or tic nerveux, constant sighing, a feeling of a ball in the throat, loss of sleep in your grief…this miraculous remedy will remedy all of this before the situation might develop in a full blown depression! I wish the rest of the world knew of this remedy! Tell your friends, they will be grateful. I even had children developing a stiff neck when humiliated by a coach or teacher in front of everyone. Always have Ignatia remedy for the many insults to the soul!


    Infection and Calendula

    I wish allopathy would know the wonders of the antiseptic characteristics of this remedy. Again better to take the remedy orally rather than using it on the open wound although you can do both! Any cuts, open wounds, scraped skin, incisions after operations, post delivery to heal the cu in the perineum, to avoid infection after tooth extractions, can be avoided and healed with Calendula, derived from a little flower like Arnica, True Nature does not have healing boundaries and limitations. Mankind has not made sufficient use of its powers.

    Aconite and Fever

    If your child wakes up around midnight with sudden high fever, weeping, very restless, hot to the touch in the head and over the body, bring Aconite out to the rescue! That little teaspoon from your bottle as by magic will calm the child down, make her fall asleep and often, the first dose cures! How could it have happen? It often happens on a sunny but rather cold NE windy day. he child has been sweating and caught a cold, which shows up without warning between midnight and 2 am with these violent expressions. It is also a great remedy for anyone who was caught in a sudden fright…almost died from as heart attack or from an accident: the restless and excited mind needs the calming capacity of Aconite! And no better remedy for the fearful woman pregnant for the first time, fearful for what can happen during the delivery!

    Cantharis and Burn Wounds

    The sun is out for the first time and you can't get enough! And it was so great to splash around in the pool or ocean, but when evening comes, you are burning allover your body in spite of sun cream. Even blisters (second degree burn) can show up. Reach to cantharis for first and second degree burn wounds and see healing taking place without the formation of scars. As I told you before, my children did test this remedy more than once!

    Arsenicum: Such Poison and Such Healer!

    To finish a remedy that "I never leave home without," (never mind Mastercard), especially on my travels overseas! For any food poisoning with bad water, causing burning constant diarrhea, draining your fluids, Arsenicum is indicated. The diarrhea is an expression of the body's attempt to purification and evacuation and Arsenicum will assist the body in doing so in the right way. Medications that stop the diarrhea often don't help (it is like putting a cork in your anus leaving the toxins in your body where they play havoc!). Numerous are the people I helped with this wonderful remedy in Mexico, India, Egypt, China, Morocco…The travel brochure usually does not advertise Montezuma's revenge as they call this illness. Don't be caught without having Arsenicum at hand.

    These are just some of my favorite remedies but there are so many more. Much more can be learned from my book, "The People's Repertory", which you should have at home and bring on your travels. You feel empowered and grateful you can help your family and others!

    Become a domestic physician!!


    by Luc De Schepper, MD, PhD, DI Hom., CHom., Lic.Ac
    Reprinted by permission.

    Thursday, March 6, 2008

    Nat Mur (Natrum Muriaticum) Remedy Type

    It will pay off in the practice to get to know Nat-m intimately. Looking at the PT, we have a remedy built up from two elements, the Natrum and Chloride. Even in chemistry, these two elements have a high reactivity as they are not found in nature as free elements. Natrum has one electron in her outermost shell that tends to be lost when forming compounds. This “high reactivity” can be translated into homeopathic terms as a need to be part of a relationship in order to exist, in order to feel whole. In other words patients needing these homeopathic remedies will initially look vigorously for a relationship. Without one, they may feel helpless and incomplete, lacking a goal. Their uncertainty makes them struggle, either to form a distinct identity or to find a niche in the work environment and a group they can belong to. We can clearly see from the above that this is a very psoric characteristic, the seeking of support, as we can expect this first phase in almost every remedy of the materia medica. Let us see why Nat-m would want so much a relationship in the first place. This should be found in the formulation of the core delusion and the causality leading to this CD.

    Nat-mur’s CD (Core Delusion) is, his mother is dead. This is literally the “mother” of all delusions, or the primal or archaic delusion, which as in all remedies will be the motivation behind the creation of secondary delusions belonging to the three phases of Nat-m, psora, sycosis and syphilis. Coincidence or not, when one of my student’s patients listened to the explanation as how to take the RSB (Remedy Supply Bottle) containing Nat-m, she nodded her head, and said, “Yes, it is like the mother bottle.” I am convinced it was her CD speaking from her unconscious; called a slip of the tongue. It will be interesting to investigate how Nat-m deals with this CD: the CD remains the same in the three different phases, but different secondary delusions and compensations will be created in each successive stage. As long as we keep in mind, that this CD leads to every act and thought in Nat-m, regardless of the phase she is in, we will get a confirmation of this CD because of her motivations as to what she does and how she compensates.

    Before I elaborate about the different phases, let’s further investigate the notion of “mother is dead.” In order to gain far reaching insight into dreams, the homeopath must be experienced in the matter of relatively fixed symbols. Such insights have great diagnostic, prognostic and even therapeutic values. We call those symbols, “relative,” because we cannot tell for certain that when they occur in dreams that they have no other meaning. There are a great many of these symbols, and they might differ in individual cases by subtle shifts of meaning. Usually they are a great guideline for dream interpretation. One must study mythology, folklore, religion and language in order to determine their meaning in a scientific way.

    As a symbol, mother stands for the place of origin; nature; womb; creation; unconscious; instinctive life! It also stands for a vessel, the hollow form (uterus) that carries and nourishes, and thus stands for the foundations of consciousness. Now the homeopath understands that more than any other remedy Nat-m reflects the intra uterine crime of lack of emotional nourishment, creating an individual that from day one on seems too serious, too lonely and out of sorts. This “not belonging,” a sensation of isolation and estrangement, is the main feeling and true essence of Nat-m from the beginning of its story till the end. One can only shudder and reflect at the notion that so many newborn Nat-m people are traveling on “a road less traveled,” often entirely created by what the Chinese called, “a noble misfortune, the intra uterine crime!” Jung and Hahnemann expressed this misfortune as a mistunement, a deviation of the intended constitution through such trauma.

    We must remember that much childhood material (and of course the contents of the intrauterine trauma even more) remains undisposed of and unprocessed in the psyche, not only for its delegation to the unconscious, but also because of the rapid flow of the years and the overwhelming rush of the newly discovered world. But it is also a mistake of Nat-m to think that “he has moved on,” that he “has dealt with it,” and freed himself from this suppressed material. He only has removed himself from it and in many cases, it remains in the unconscious which is the mother of conscious and therefore directly will influence his consciousness. Like A38, new events postpone and suspend but not cure the old events! Even worse, those memory fragments remain in their childhood and primitive state and for that reason are still strong and immediate. Only when they are joined again (through therapy or homeopathy) to the adult consciousness can they lose their infantile and primitive aspect and be corrected. Infantile means childish and therefore will surprise he who is possessed by such memories as well those around him of their brusque, violent and crude nature, as an avalanche surprising them at an opportune moment. The beast was let out of the cage!

    The mother can be dead even when mom is alive! All depends if the mother did fulfill her role as a source of emotional support when an appeal was made upon it. For most people, the natural mother remains the lifelong source of emotional nourishment. Let’s take an example. A man had as CC (Chief Complaint) of dull pains in his lower extremities. It started after a contentious divorce that lasted for about five years. He moved to his native country to be close to his family for support. However once he arrived there, his mother and sister did nothing but harassing him with their small problems while at no moment much needed emotional support was given to him. In other words, two female figures that could have been his “mother” at that time failed to give him any emotional nourishment! They never asked him, “How are you? How are you dealing with your grief?” This was for him the straw that broke the camel’s back and exacerbated his CC. This “betrayal” made such a painful impact on him that he moved again out of his native country to start a career somewhere else. But the memory remained alive and well, often present in the unconscious, but also many times manifesting itself and torturing him in his conscious life, when there was a mentioning of his children, whom he missed dearly.

    The intra uterine crime of Nat-m is all linked to one theme: “love” or the perceived or real loss of love. The homeopath should therefore not be surprised that it is mainly a remedy for the feeling type with an archaic thinking function; it is mainly a female remedy or a remedy for males with a well developed anima. The black type NWS (Never Well Since) all stand for that lack of emotional nourishment: ailments from grief, disappointed love, deception, mortification, reserved displeasure and old and new disappointments (disappointments always add up in a Nat-mur’s life). Even other NWS reflect the fragility and easily offended nature of Nat-m: rudeness of others, being scorned, discords between chief and subordinates, bad news, death of a child, parents or friends, and anger with silent grief. It is easy to see why Nat-m is a customer, “nice to know but not nice to live with.” It is also easy to observe that when a Nat-m starts in this naïve, impulsive and spontaneous fashion in life, that a repetition of such “ailments from” is bound to be happen over and over again. Only psychoanalysis and preferable the homeopathic Nat-m will allow this unfortunate victim to change course and possible return to the original destined constitution. However the majority, by lack of receiving adequate treatment, will have to go through emotional ups and downs, not connecting to their unconscious and unconscious of what they are doing in their relationships, in spite of mainly being considered introverts. The primitive thinking function is easily overtaken by the dominant feeling function and a “reasonable” approach for Nat-m is speaking through her feelings (Although evidently a well-educated and intelligent woman, her mind seemed hopeless and confused). Other provings expressing this dominant feeling function are, excitable; capriciousness, cheerfulness, passionate at every trifle, and hysteria with fainting. Failed relationships and marriages as well as chronic strong depressive states accompany such Nat-mur states.

    Beginning Phase
    The main theme of this phase is connecting to others. The cations on the left side of the Periodic Table like Natrum, are very dependent and feel the need for a relationship (it can resemble Pulsatilla) on a more vital level: it is an all-consuming affair, conducted with an abandon of naivety and spontaneity that borders on foolishness. The cations are still trying to form a relationship; the anions on the right side of the Table are trying to hold on to the relationship with great labor and efforts. Phosphorous and Sulphur have already a certain ego or image to keep up, which will require more effort to maintain it in the relationship, while the Natrum is more naive and spontaneous in falling in love, and more passive, letting events happen to her without having much control over them.

    The secondary delusions of this phase must also reflect this naivety and spontaneous behavior of the Natrum element. We have:

    • Del, of fancy illusions: a false impression, an unreal perception; it means a creation of an ideal fantasy world while disconnecting to some degree from the real world. Other remedies creating such world are Nat-c, Cann-I, Lach, Ign and Hyosc and Stram. With the exception of Cann-I , who driven by his hypochondriasis, divulges in drugs to permanently live in a world full of music, beauty and megalomania, the motivation of all these remedies is trying to establish a relationship to one person, usually a family member or loved one. Stram needs this person for protection (CD, all alone in the wilderness); Hyosc does it out of jealousy created by grief, real or imagined (CD, is being sold); Nat-c flees into another world because she cannot connect to others in the real world in spite of having delusions about a wedding and hearing music; Ignatia has nothing but delusions of being married and pregnant but this is only in her imagination and ends up often with ailments from unrequited love like Tarentula and Hyoscyamus; and Lachesis, with her life unlived, has the fancy illusion and desire that she is as passionately loved by her partner than she expresses her possessive love for him or her.

    Nat-m is more like Nat-c in this stage: often born with that sense of loneliness, estrangement and isolation, she will look at any person as a source of nourishing vessel, foolishly falling in love with that person and not understanding why this turns out so badly time after time. But there is no point of return; she persists as she is overcome by feelings of connecting to others…there must be someone out there that fits me! At this point, everyone out there in the world is her possible “mother,” her nourishing vessel! A friendly word, a compassionate gesture, a sympathetic smile, or an unselfish deed are all sure signs that she is loved by that person. So the fancy world Nat-m has created is a world of the birds, the bees, the flowers and the trees and of course…eternal love!

    • Del, delirium with conversing: driven by her CD, there is frantic and hysterical behavior (delirium) even in their conversation as they do anything to secure the relationship; this delirious conversation certainly will draw the awareness of the possible target of attention. But such speech is also used in failed relationships to secure the next one. What a contrast with the taciturn Nat-m behavior every homeopath is familiar with. Yet prolonged talking about her complaints aggravate (Nat-m only remedy!) But the provings show the difference in this first phase: Speech incoherent, from disappointed love, a 1, Lach 2; speech, as if intoxicated.
      • Del, head belongs to another, Del of being double and Del, errors of personal identity. Such delusion or similar ones are often present in people that are dominated, an unkind and unfortunate trauma (Alum, Anac, Nit-ac, Viol-tricolor, Hura Braziliensis, Lac-c, etc.). But Natrum at this point wants to give her identity away, this is not a sacrifice or an unfortunate crime. She will do anything to get that relationship even it is to give up most of her personality and own wishes, because there is no greater desire than getting to know and belong to that other person! In the TV program “The Bachelor,” I see some of these girls behaving in such manner that they think the bachelor wants to see in them. They are not themselves, and such unnatural behavior, is always awkward. They are trying to portray the kind of person that will give them the best chance for success! The way Nat-m invites others to come into her world and dictating what they want, regardless of her own wishes. It makes us think of Carcinosin and of course Staphysagria with which Nat-m is often confused (See Achieving and Maintaining Simillimum AMS).

    It is also easy for Nat-m in this phase to let other people do the talking for her as she appears rather clueless when engaged in a conversation or asked to give her personal opinion: she is distracted while talking and does not know what she ought to say; she is awkward in talking and easily makes mistakes. This again was obvious in the same show: as the bachelor was asking some of these girls what their aspirations were, what they saw in their future, they were speechless, as they were entirely focusing on him, effectively eliminating themselves from the competition. By trying to forget who you are, you reduce your substance to a small pillar! Not being your natural self, also will create jealousy and hatred towards others who are more successful in securing a relationship. Letting people controlling you sure invites domination, insensitivity and rudeness, all triggers to further deepen Nat-mur’s isolated state and foster the CD. It is a hard fall to come down to earth with the first argument they have with the “dream” person. A dream world is an easily pierced balloon!

    • Del, floating in the air: Nat-m is on cloud nine all the time but the dissociation with the real and cruel world does not serve her well. Such delusion again only predicts the misery ahead for the naïve Nat-m as there will come a moment where she will have to abandon this fantasy life!

    Dreams (Compensatory), equally confirm her quest for connecting: lascivious dreams; sleep at night disturbed by voluptuous dreams, emissions and long-continued erections.

    These secondary delusions reflect and expose her infantile behavior, which borders on an archaic ego and plain foolishness. Nat-m will do anything to attract the attention of others but she is not aware of her often inappropriate and primitive behavior,

    The Mental/Emotional symptoms (her compensations) must reflect the same childish spirit in this beginning phase but Nat-m considers them as positive tools to run away from that dreadful CD.

    In the provings we see, lively, good-humored and cheerful. She wished only to sing and dance. Remarkable inclination to laugh, constant laughing. She laughed so immoderately at something not ludicrous, that she could not be quieted and tears came into her eyes, so that she looked as though she had been weeping. This does not sound like a Nat-mur but it is!! She does anything, and usually it is peculiar and rare behavior (like laughing when attending a funeral) anything to CONNECT with someone or draw his attention, just like in chemistry! Even her speech is confusing: Absent-minded, unobserving: great distraction of the mind while talking; she says what she does not intend; she had no control over her thoughts. It is the “fell in love on first sight,” (she does this many times over), leading to the classical Nat-mur recurrent heartbreak because her ego is not at all as strong as Phosphorus (who can have a distorted, upgraded view of herself and can therefore jump easily from one relationship to another without losing self confidence and self worth, del, she is a great person) or Sulphur who above all wants recognition and appreciation from a relationship. Nat-m in this phase makes me think of the song of the 60s, “Puppet on a String” (“If you say you love me madly, I gladly will be there like a puppet on a string)”-there is no doubt who pulls the strings, not Nat-m! Typical Nat-mur expressions are at this stage, “I am so in to him,” confirming that she has given up her own identity! She wants to be the other person, thinking it will secure the relationship.

    Natrum enters a relationship on an impulse like a teenager at first love and then quickly changes partners (Desire for company, while aggr. when alone). Of course, such behavior is not only the privilege of the naïve teenager! Adults can behave like love-struck teenagers when it comes to falling in love (“I was swept away,” “I could not resist his promises,” “It all sounded so good, his future, his words,” etc.). Little did she realize that she fell for her own undeveloped animus, her weakness, and vice versa, the man usually falls in love with the woman reflecting his primitive anima. It might also be the impulsive entering of a relationship of a grown up into something she is familiar with: an alcoholic, a control freak, or authority figure, a father figure, an abuser, etc. and then quickly leaves the relationship but is bound to repeat it again. Or is it the impossible partner they are looking for, the smooth talker, like the married one (Love, with a married man, Nat-m only remedy, a 2), who promises time and time over again that he is leaving his present wife soon…and it never happens. Or it is the case of the freshly separated person because she can’t see that this new relationship is bound to fail (“the rebound factor”).

    So in this phase Nat-m can’t understand he own feelings (unobserving), either because she is too young or too confused from previous bad experiences, leading to morbid sensitivity (Sensitive-to rudeness and music sentimental), not conducive for a stable relationship. Small remarks make them feel unwanted as it feels like putting salt in a wound and they walk away from the relationship, not persevering at all or investigating their own shadow to correct such situation. There are always others, better ones, the prince of their dreams is out there. In this phase they are still easily consoled and improved by sympathy (this is not in our repertories!). Call it naiveté; even sexual encounters make them hopeful (Affectionate; Amorous or amativeness; ailments from sexual excesses (1); ailments from sexual excitement (2); Cheerful and shameless in bed; Nymphomania and libertinism). “Maybe this time it is going to work, I just need to give more of myself (hope and gentleness).” This is the phase where we see people having three heartbreaks in a row because there is such strong desire to form a relationship (make sure to make differential diagnosis in this phase with Causticum and Platina!).

    When Nat-m is healthy she is cheerful and full of laughter, willing to take charge in love. But in this phase, imbalance and extremes are rather the normal for Nat-m, reflecting the hysterical behavior of this feeling person (alternatively sad and extremely merry, hysteria): sad when a connection breaks off but exhilarated when a new one is successful. It is unfortunately very rare that a Nat-m personality in this stage will consult as homeopath unless there would be some physical problems, especially menstrual ones.

    by Luc De Schepper, MD, PhD, DI Hom., CHom., Lic.Ac
    Excerpts from Dr. Luc's upcoming book "The Professional Guide for the Homoeopathic Practice" which will be published in April 2008. Reprinted by permission.

    Wednesday, March 5, 2008

    Pulsatilla Type: Neediness for Attention

    Have you ever seen a windflower in your garden? I remember seeing one in the yard of one of my students. It was a calm, windless day. Nothing moved except the little windflower: it was swaying from one side to another, like a pendulum. Keep that image in your mind and you will know what a Pulsatilla person stands for. Indeed, changeability is Pulsatilla's great characteristic.

    You can also call it irresolution: Pulsatilla can't make up her mind, whether choosing from a menu (more than one waiter has thought about committing hara-kiri because that sweet little Pulsatilla keeps on changing her main course) or when confronted with the 31 different flavors at a Baskin Robbins ice cream store. When a Pulsatilla buys some apples, she has to handle thirty of them before choosing the two she needs.

    Note: I have referred mainly to she in talking about Phos­phorus, Pulsatilla, Nat mur and Sepia, and mainly to he in discussing Sulphur, based on the predominance of the gender for each type. But this does not exclude the opposite sex from being any of these types. A Calc. carbo is equally likely to be male or female. We rarely see adult men who are Pulsatillas, but little boys who cling to their mothers can be.

    And talk about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-there is no better example than Pulsatilla. She has the uncanny ability to switch from one mood to the complete opposite within five minutes. Tears al­ways seem to be present when needed for sympathy or attention, but the rainbow of smile and laughter always follows the rain.

    It is hard to be angry at a little Pulsatilla child.

    She is sweet, always ready to help mummy in the kitchen, and constantly asking for approval from her mother. This is easily seen on a visit to the doctor. Ask her a question directly, and she will turn her head to mummy to make sure she gives the right answer. Or she may say, "You tell the doctor, mummy."

    There is a sweetness and shyness about them, but don't be fooled. They have figured out at a very young age that you catch more flies with sugar than vinegar. Looking pretty, with such sweet behavior, dressed in their little dresses and sailor costumes, they can put a spell on you when you meet them. Hugs and kisses are demanded and given in equal amounts: who could ever say no to such a little princess?

    Behind this smoke screen, though, there is a great hidden motive. They want constant attention; in fact there is no amount of love sufficient to fill the bottomless pit. Pulsatillas constantly demand proof of love. Comes the first day of school, they are a terror. They break their mother's heart with their piercing screams as they absolutely refuse to let go of mummy's hand, and the tortured mother is haunted by the screams of her sweet little princess as she leaves the school building.

    For a Pulsatilla, this is sheer abandonment. "You don't love me anymore," they say. But once they adjust· to the class, and especially if the teacher is gentle and pays attention to them, they love school. They become the teacher's pet, always ready to help. To the dismay of the Sulphurs and Phos­phoruses, they are the ones reminding the teacher that she forgot to give homework.

    Imagine how upset a Pulsatilla is when a younger sibling is born. This is the greatest threat to their source of love: mom. All of a sudden their mother must pay attention to a little creature and Pulsatilla feels so abandoned. She refuses to visit mom in the hospital and does not want to kiss the new baby. If she can, she will pinch or hit the baby when no one is looking, or simply smack the door in the face of a younger sibling when he toddles innocently into the room. And of course, Pulsatilla will deny all of this.

    If that does not work, there is the ultimate revenge. If mummy pays attention to a baby, she will resort to baby behavior. All of a sudden she wets her bed again, after being potty trained for the last three years. All of a sudden she loses her ability to dress herself. "Mummy, you help me put on this dress." No other child sucks on their thumb longer than a Pulsatilla. And if the baby's diaper gets changed, she wants something to be done for her, too. This jealous behavior is always towards the younger sibling, not the older one.

    When a Pulsatilla gets angry at mummy and storms into her room, she makes sure not to lock that door. She expects that mom is going to run after her, to take her into her arms and profess her deep love for her. Attention, attention-that's all she wants. When mom and dad are involved in a conversation, she keeps interrupting because she feels so excluded, and therefore abandoned. It is as if all the energy of a Pulsatilla is aimed at conquering love and attention.

    Not all Pulsatillas are little girls. A little four­year-old boy told me in the office that "I sold my bed to my Dad, so I can sleep with Mummy." I will never forget that little smile on his face: triumphant and sweet as he had finally achieved his biggest victory. Indeed Dad slept in his bed surrounded by the teddy bears, while my Pulsatilla boy was holding Mom's hand in bed.

    This refusal to grow up is easily seen at puberty when Pulsatilla is a great remedy to help the moody, insecure girl to grow up. If your teenager has been grumpy, confused, hostile and insecure since her first menstrual cycle she needs Pulsatilla.

    As Pulsatillas finally decide to grow up, though, they make excellent partners. A Pulsatilla person is not an intellectual or very cerebral person. Their prettiness and non-threatening behavior lets the husband feel strong, as if he is always in command. "You decide for us, sweetheart," she says, when it comes to going on vacation. The poor husband thinks he is always in control-yet upon reflection, at the end of his life, he would see that his Pulsatilla wife always got her little wish in her own subtle way.

    But she brings much happiness to her husband as she does not need an exciting life. Pulsatillas just adore babies, who they consider their little dolls, fussing over them and running to the doctor at the first sign of a cough. They always keep a certain childish image, easily seen in the way they dress or the way they talk to their dog or baby.

    A Pulsatilla is not shy about discussing her medical history in front of people; in fact she is the first one in a homeopathy class to volunteer to come forward. And she loves group counseling rather than a one-on-one session, as she prefers to get consolation from many people. One of my patients complained about woman (a Pulsatilla!) who kept interrupting a group session by constantly bursting into tears, so that everyone had to come and hug her. Twenty-some interruptions later, the sympathy of the other patients was watered down quite a bit, which Mrs. Pulsatilla could not understand.

    If you succeed in giving Pulsatilla to your young Pulsatilla child, you will do yourself and your child a great favor. You will find peace of mind, since not every moment of your life will have to be dedicated to her, and she will accept attention and love in a more balanced way. Good luck!

    A Pulsatilla person is likely to need these acute remedies:

    • Children with a Pulsatilla personality are likely to come down with ailments that respond well to Pulsatilla acutely: ear infections, fever without thirst, hay fever.

    • A typical Pulsatilla ear infection can be right or left-sided, or both; acute pains starting and stopping; and a variable discharge of yellow or white pus.

    • A little Pulsatilla girl may have a vaginal discharge that is creamy or constantly changing. (Changeability of symptoms is typical of Pulsatilla on the physical plane as are moodiness and indecisiveness on the emotional and mental planes.)

    In their needy emotional state, Pulsatillas are likely to suffer from real or imaginary ailments to get attention, like the little Pulsatilla girl who complains of a tummy ache so she can stay home with mommy instead of going to school. Since Pulsatilla is a great remedy for digestive disorders, Pulsatilla will relieve her tummy ache, if it indeed exists, and in any case will help her to grow a little more independent of her mother.

    Another wonderful acute remedy associated with Pulsatilla is Kali bich, stuffed up noses. Remember, 'If it sticks, it's Kali bich!'" referring to the thick, ropy, green, stringy mucus. Pulsatilla itself can be a great remedy for sinusitis and sinus headaches, especially when the sense of smell is totally gone because of stuffiness.

    This article was written by Luc De Schepper, MD, PhD, DI Hom., CHom., Lic.Ac
    from his book, "The People's Repertory". Reprinted by permission.

    Monday, March 3, 2008

    Dangers of the Gardasil Vaccine

    The Gardasil vaccine is not a vaccine for protection against cervical cancer as the pharmaceutical company would like you to believe....

    The Gardasil vaccine is not a vaccine for protection against cervical cancer as the pharmaceutical company would like you to believe. It is a vaccine intended to prevent 4 types of HPV (Human Papillomavirus). According to the Gardasil package insert, there are more than 100 types of HPV! The American Cancer Institute reports HPV-16 (one of the strains the vaccine is intended to protect against) is found in approximately 50% of cervical cancer cases connected to HPV. Merck, the vaccine manufacturer, states approximately 70% of cases are connected to 2 of the 4 types of HPV the vaccine is intended to prevent.

    In 90% of HPV cases, the virus is asymptomatic, will not cause disease, and goes away without treatment. Thus other factors are necessary to trigger precancerous lesions and/or cervical cancer. As an adult, if you have already been exposed to those types of HPV, which approximately 50% of people have, the vaccine is virtually useless. Thus the reason they are targeting young girls.

    The vaccine has not been studied extensively and its long term effectiveness is unknown. In one study reported in the November 2002 New England Journal of Medicine, of the 1533 women left in the study (after ruling out the 859 who already had HPV and abnormal cervical issues), 41 in the placebo group developed HPV-16. Nine of these women went on to develop pre-cancerous lesions. However, 22 other women in the placebo group went on to develop pre-cancerous lesions not associated with the HPV strains in the vaccine.

    By comparison, none of the women receiving the HPV vaccine contracted this specific strain of HPV-16, but another 22 women in the vaccinated group developed precancerous lesions! How does this prove the vaccine prevents cervical cancer?! It doesn't. It simply shows it may prevent some cases of HPV. But this still leaves women vulnerable to cervical cancer! And 17 months is not enough time to determine if any of these women will then go on to develop cervical cancer later in life when it is most likely to occur.

    According to Merck's website, in further studies, the efficacy of the vaccine in 9-15 year old girls is "inferred" (based on antibody production), not proven. Historically, other vaccines have shown antibody production does not prove immunity. It further states on the website, vaccination with Gardasil may not result in protection in all vaccine recipients.

    Not to mention, the vaccine offers no protection against AIDS, chlamydia, herpes, the 96+ other types of HPV, or any other sexually transmitted disease. Whether intentional or not, it fosters a false sense of security. Like with any vaccine, it carries the risk of damaging the immune system and other vaccine reactions.

    It states right in the package insert if you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant, you should not receive this vaccine. How many little girls and young women are planning to get pregnant?!

    The longevity of the vaccine has not been studied so it is unknown whether the alleged protection will last more than a few years or whether there are long term side effects. In addition to the normal vaccine reactions of swelling and itching, reactions include fever, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and severe allergic reaction. Fainting has been reported following the vaccine, as stated on the package insert, which is an uncommon reaction to most vaccines. Reports of reactions in the VAERS (National Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System) include seizures, fever, pain, and Guillain-Barre syndrome (a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system causing paralysis and other dangerous symptoms).

    The vaccine also includes aluminum, sodium chloride, L-histidine, polysorbate 80, water, and sodium borate - boric acid - (poison)! Boric acid, an insecticide and anti-fungal, is banned in the United States as a food additive. It is toxic to all cells. The negative effects of aluminum and other heavy metals are widely reported.

    L-histidine is an essential amino acid which is a precursor to allergic reactions. It stimulates the inflammatory response of skin and mucous membranes (one possible cause of the allergic reactions reported). It is also responsible for forming metal bearing enzymes (such as the toxic metal storage protein metallothionein). Metals such as zinc, copper, and nickel are transported by binding to L-histidine and the binding is essential for excretion of excess heavy metals. Many parents of autistic children are quite familiar with Metallothionein and MT deficiency.

    Anyone familiar with the principles of homeopathy and "like cures like" knows if you highly dilute and potentize something and apply it to a well person, it can cause symptoms and ill health. This is how they prove homeopathic remedies - by giving the remedy to healthy people and determining the symptoms it produces. This vaccine could theoretically be the perfect formula for creating allergy and autism in healthy children. One has to ask, are the pharmaceutical companies really that devious or just that stupid?!

    The National Cancer Institute states cervical cancer in the United States is "extremely rare." It estimates the lifetime risk for cervical cancer is 0.73% - that is less than 1 percent. Many would argue it would make a difference if you were part of that one percent. It is my opinion this vaccine is a bad idea, despite the fact I had pre-invasive cervical cancer at 23 – with no indication of HPV. This came three years after a disastrous MMR revax in college which brought on severe environmental allergies, reactions and allergies to almost all foods, exercise induced anaphylaxis, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue lasting for almost 20 years until dramatically improved with homeopathy.

    The University of Maryland Medical Center reports several studies show a strong relationship between cervical cancer and extended use of oral contraceptives, genetics, smoking and second-hand smoke, harmful chemicals, unprotected sex with numerous partners, and having multiple children. The Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research also reports cigarette smoking increases the risk of precancerous changes and cervical cancer. Regular Pap smears are the best defense in early detection of precancerous cervical changes.

    As with any vaccine, only the parent can decide what is in the best interest of their child. But they need all the facts to make this decision. We have to ask ourselves, does the benefit outweigh the risk? Hopefully, this article will prevent `one less' parent from being misinformed by TV and magazine advertisements.

    The Gardasil vaccine is not a vaccine for protection against cervical cancer as the pharmaceutical company would like you to believe. It is a vaccine intended to prevent 4 types of HPV (Human Papillomavirus). According to the Gardasil package insert, there are more than 100 types of HPV! The American Cancer Institute reports HPV-16 (one of the strains the vaccine is intended to protect against) is found in approximately 50% of cervical cancer cases connected to HPV. Merck, the vaccine manufacturer, states approximately 70% of cases are connected to 2 of the 4 types of HPV the vaccine is intended to prevent.

    In 90% of HPV cases, the virus is asymptomatic, will not cause disease, and goes away without treatment. Thus other factors are necessary to trigger precancerous lesions and/or cervical cancer. As an adult, if you have already been exposed to those types of HPV, which approximately 50% of people have, the vaccine is virtually useless. Thus the reason they are targeting young girls.

    The vaccine has not been studied extensively and its long term effectiveness is unknown. In one study reported in the November 2002 New England Journal of Medicine, of the 1533 women left in the study (after ruling out the 859 who already had HPV and abnormal cervical issues), 41 in the placebo group developed HPV-16. Nine of these women went on to develop pre-cancerous lesions. However, 22 other women in the placebo group went on to develop pre-cancerous lesions not associated with the HPV strains in the vaccine.

    By comparison, none of the women receiving the HPV vaccine contracted this specific strain of HPV-16, but another 22 women in the vaccinated group developed precancerous lesions! How does this prove the vaccine prevents cervical cancer?! It doesn't. It simply shows it may prevent *some* cases of HPV. But this still leaves women vulnerable to cervical cancer! And 17 months is not enough time to determine if any of these women will then go on to develop cervical cancer later in life when it is most likely to occur.

    According to Merck's website, in further studies, the efficacy of the vaccine in 9-15 year old girls is "inferred" (based on antibody production), not proven. Historically, other vaccines have shown antibody production does not prove immunity. It further states on the website, vaccination with Gardasil may not result in protection in all vaccine recipients.

    Not to mention, the vaccine offers no protection against AIDS, chlamydia, herpes, the 96+ other types of HPV, or any other sexually transmitted disease. Whether intentional or not, it fosters a false sense of security. Like with any vaccine, it carries the risk of damaging the immune system and other vaccine reactions.

    It states right in the package insert if you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant, you should not receive this vaccine. How many little girls and young women are planning to get pregnant?!

    The longevity of the vaccine has not been studied so it is unknown whether the alleged protection will last more than a few years or whether there are long term side effects. In addition to the normal vaccine reactions of swelling and itching, reactions include fever, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and severe allergic reaction. Fainting has been reported following the vaccine, as stated on the package insert, which is an uncommon reaction to most vaccines. Reports of reactions in the VAERS (National Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System) include seizures, fever, pain, and Guillain-Barre syndrome (a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system causing paralysis and other dangerous symptoms).

    The vaccine also includes aluminum, sodium chloride, L-histidine, polysorbate 80, water, and sodium borate - boric acid - (poison)! Boric acid, an insecticide and anti-fungal, is banned in the United States as a food additive. It is toxic to all cells. The negative effects of aluminum and other heavy metals are widely reported.

    L-histidine is an essential amino acid which is a precursor to allergic reactions. It stimulates the inflammatory response of skin and mucous membranes (one possible cause of the allergic reactions reported). It is also responsible for forming metal bearing enzymes (such as the toxic metal storage protein metallothionein). Metals such as zinc, copper, and nickel are transported by binding to L-histidine and the binding is essential for excretion of excess heavy metals. Many parents of autistic children are quite familiar with Metallothionein and MT deficiency.

    Anyone familiar with the principles of homeopathy and "like cures like" knows if you highly dilute and potentize something and apply it to a well person, it can cause symptoms and ill health. This is how they prove homeopathic remedies - by giving the remedy to healthy people and determining the symptoms it produces. This vaccine could theoretically be the perfect formula for creating allergy and autism in healthy children. One has to ask, are the pharmaceutical companies really that devious or just that stupid?!

    The National Cancer Institute states cervical cancer in the United States is "extremely rare." It estimates the lifetime risk for cervical cancer is 0.73% - that is less than 1 percent. Many would argue it would make a difference if you were part of that one percent. It is my opinion this vaccine is a bad idea, despite the fact I had pre-invasive cervical cancer at 23 – with no indication of HPV. This came three years after a disastrous MMR revax in college which brought on severe environmental allergies, reactions and allergies to almost all foods, exercise induced anaphylaxis, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue lasting for almost 20 years until dramatically improved with homeopathy.

    The University of Maryland Medical Center reports several studies show a strong relationship between cervical cancer and extended use of oral contraceptives, genetics, smoking and second-hand smoke, harmful chemicals, unprotected sex with numerous partners, and having multiple children. The Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research also reports cigarette smoking increases the risk of precancerous changes and cervical cancer. Regular Pap smears are the best defense in early detection of precancerous cervical changes.

    As with any vaccine, only the parent can decide what is in the best interest of their child. But they need all the facts to make this decision. We have to ask ourselves, does the benefit outweigh the risk? Hopefully, this article will prevent `one less' parent from being misinformed by TV and magazine advertisements.

    Reprinted by permission. May 19, 2007
    By Erica McPhee
    www.RecoveredFromAutism.com

    Thursday, February 28, 2008

    Homeopathy for Women - New Blog!

    Please join us on this new Homeopathy for Women Blog to discuss homeopathic care with the focus on WOMEN.

    This Blog will assist women new to homeopathy and wanting to learn more about the homeopathic lifestyle. Homeopathy has a 200 year history of successfully treating, curing, recovery a multitude of health conditions that affect the lives, health and happiness of women.

    Homeopaths with experience treating women in their practices are welcome and encouraged to participate on this blog.

    This Blog will address the homeopathic needs of young women, pregnant women, stay at home moms, career women, seniors - women of all types, seasons of life and lifestyles.

    Homeopathic medicine for women is an inexpensive holistic system of natural medicine that is easy to use and administer - and costs pennies a day for effective treatment. Women of child bearing age will benefit themselves and their especially their unborn children by using homeopathy during conception, pregnancy, delivery, post-partum, and throughout their mothering years as a valuable health tool.

    Learning to use homeopathic remedies for acute conditions will empower all women to better care for themselves and for those they love!

    If you have questions or comments about using homeopathy as a woman, and in treating conditions that are common to women, motherhood, menses, menopause or - life's situations that have resulted in emotional and mental stresses such as repetitive, grief, death of a spouse or loved one, loss of a child, anger, disappointments, family stress, career and work stress, depression, exhaustion, chronic fatigue, illness for yourself or loved ones from which you never seem to recover - issues from any phase of the life cycle of a woman, please join us on this Blog!

    Kari J. Kindem, Publisher
    Homeopathy for Women
    www.HomeopathyForWomen.org