Natrium phosphoricum
Case
v2
Man, 50 years old
This is a patient with Dupuytren's contracture and pain in her right shoulder. She is a diabetic. I needed quite a while to find the remedy.
Dupuytren's (du-pwe-TRANZ)
contracture is a hand deformity that usually develops slowly, over
years. Dupuytren's contracture affects a layer of
tissue that lies under the skin of your palm. Knots of tissue form under the
skin — eventually forming a thick cord that can pull one or more of your
fingers into a bent position.
A : You have been in treatment since 1984. Your problem is diabetes. This is your main problem. You need 27 I.E. human insulin and 5 I.E. Alt insulin in the morning and 5 I.E. human insulin and 5 I.E. alt insulin in the evening.
You have diabetes and Dupuytren's contracture in your hand. This is very clear, an induration. Which problem started first?
P : I have had
diabetes already for 20 years. It started at the age of 20 and the Dupuytren's contracture I have had for 6, 7 years.
A :
In your past history it says that you had asthma.
P :
Yes, as a child.
A : No eczema?
P : No. I had asthma until I was 12, 14 years old. It stopped gradually. The complaints became less and less. It lasted until secondary school.
A : In secondary school it diminished?
P : Yes.
A : Your third
problem and actually the problem you came for was pain in the bends of your
knees.
P : Yes.
A : Pain as if the muscles, the tendons are contracting. Pain like in Dupuytren's, as if it was contracting, as if the tendons were too short, is that right?
P : Yes. When I moved the muscles and came back to rest position then the pain appeared.
A : Was this a pulling pain? Pulling as if they were too short?
P :
I don't know whether it was pulling. I thought it was rather stitching. When I flex my muscles I don't have pain, only when I relax
them.
A : At that time you
said that you had pain in the bend of your left knee.
P : Yes.
A : We didn't go any further into this matter. Has it disappeared?
P : Not completely. First it was better, but when I squat and get up again, I still feel it.
A : But the biggest complaint you had was pain in your right shoulder. I searched and searched until I gave you a remedy on January 11. There was no improvement with any remedy I gave you before. This is the first time that you have said there was a clear effect.
P : I don't have pain as strong anymore, at the moment it has disappeared. I can't move my arm completely, I cannot lift it perpendicular to my head, but the pain is a lot better.
A : A constant complaint which you had had a long time was that you woke up at three o'clock in the morning. I don't know whether it also disappeared with this remedy, or whether it has improved.
P : I must tell you that I sleep very well at the moment. About 3:00 a.m. I still sleep lightly, but I don't wake up automatically anymore. Four or five nights in a row I may wake up at 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. , which is normal, but not at 2:30 or 3:00 a.m. Before it was always after 4 hours of sleep.
A : Did the last
remedy restore your sleep?
P : I don't think so. Is it because of the emotional state that I sleep better?
A : Yes. Until January 11 you still had problems with your sleep and you still woke up after 3 or 4 hours of sleep. After the last remedy it appears it has improved because your emotional state has improved.
P : Probably yes. One follows the other.
A : This is the question, because the remedy has an influence on your emotional life.
P : Yes.
A : We can assume that you woke up at 3:00 a.m. That's what I thought, wasn't it?
P : Yes.
A : After about 4 hours of sleep. When you went to bed at 11:00 p.m. you woke up at 3:00 a.m. and when you went to bed at 12:00 o'clock you woke up at 4:00 a.m. ?
P :
I go to bed early. Normally I go to bed between 10 and 10:30 p.m.
A : But you say that you woke up after 4 hours of sleep.
P :
The first part of the night I slept very deeply, within a quarter of an hour I
fell asleep, but after 4 hours I woke up from the slightest noise. For example,
if a train was passing or if somebody came home at 3:00 a.m.
, a neighbor parked his car, or an airplane flew over then I woke up.
A : So waking from the slightest noise. Is this still so?
P : No, not at the moment. I have very few sleep problems.
A : Can you describe the pain in your right shoulder once again? Very detailed because this is very important.
P : Yes. It was a stitching pain in my shoulder (points to the concerned spot).
A : A stitching pain in the biceps. Where the muscle starts in the upper arm.
P : Yes, stitching pain which occurred without movement or without any other cause. It just came like that.
A : How did the pain start?
P : How?
A : Did it appear gradually or quickly?
P : It didn't appear gradually. The stitching pain came within a short time, within half to one minute, until the maximum was reached, and then I couldn't move my arm anymore from pain.
A : The pain was so strong that you couldn't move your arm.
P : Yes, I had to hold my arm a little bit to calm down.
A : How did the pain disappear?
P : It lasted a longer time. It could last from 10 minutes to a quarter of an hour, until the pain gradually disappeared. It disappeared more slowly than it appeared.
A : So the pain appeared quickly and disappeared gradually. And it was surely a stitching pain?
P : Yes.
A : Did your whole upper arm hurt?
P : No, only the last 10 centimeters.
A : Not your shoulder?
P : The clavicle and so on, no, but the shoulder itself; and I also slept badly. I woke up, because actually I sleep on the right side, and there was pressure on that shoulder.
A : If your arm was lying underneath you it became worse.
P : Yes, worse, hm. The pain, the stitches came more frequently.
A : Did you have more complaints at night than during the day?
P : I think so. I had some pain during the day, but I'm always occupied, and when the pain becomes too strong - sometimes I had this feeling - then I tell myself, "It will go away." I go on with my duties and then it disappears.
A : You are rather
hurried in your speech. You talk very hastily. Has this always been so?
P : Yes, always. I'm
a little bit impulsive and a little bit too fast.
A : What do you mean impulsive? Fast in talking?
P : Yes. I also think in certain movements. I react in certain situations without letting the other finish.
A : You are very impulsive. You react rather quickly.
P : Yes.
A :
Actually too angry.
P :
Yes.
A : You don't
restrain yourself, it just comes out.
P : Yes, but later I restrain myself and tell myself, "Now first calm down." But unconsciously it comes up, I notice it and I hold it in.
A : You don't pause while talking. In certain moments you cannot restrain yourself and you react very quickly. Is this so?
P : In many cases yes. When I'm driven into a corner I'm a little bit impulsive.
A : But this happens only in certain situations?
P : Yes.
A : Can we say that you are an impulsive person?
P : No, actually not.
A : A second element of your character is a closed and reserved nature although sometimes you have outbursts.
P :
Yes, sometimes I would like to be alone, without many people around me, I want
to be left in peace.
A : Has your wife joined you?
P : No. She cannot because of the children.
A : You have
difficulties talking about yourself. It is remarkable that you are rather
reserved, almost closed. You are not a person who talks about his problems.
P :
No, no.
A : This is a fact. Do you have other characteristics which are peculiar?
P :
Yes, they say I'm a closed person, and impulsive and otherwise I'm diplomatic, rather
quiet. I try to give people a solution. At work usually they fetch me to solve
certain problems because I have such a balanced character. (is
thinking) Not so fatherly.
A : You are not so familiar?
P : No. I cannot talk well with other people.
A : Do you think you are a sympathetic person?
P : Yes, instinctively. In certain situations. This plays a role with me. I try to hide this, but internally I am.
A : Are you very sympathetic when you see something on television?
P : No.
A : We can say the feeling you have in the tendons of your hand is like a tension as if it is too narrow. It contracts, doesn't it?
P : Yes.
A : Do you have this in other parts of the body - in the shoulder you had stitching pain. Does it contract?
P : It still hinders me in certain movements. It is not a stitching pain anymore, but I still feel as if I hit my shoulder against something.
A : But not a feeling as if the tendon is hit.
P : To a certain point not, but when I exceed the limit I do, then further movement stops.
A : Do your joints
crack?
P : Yes, in my feet.
A : In your feet, not the ankle?
P : Yes, also the ankle joint, but I always had this. And I always have cold feet. Probably it is because of the blood circulation when you have diabetes.
A : When especially do you have cold feet?
P : It comes very quickly.
A : Very quickly?
P :
Yes, also at home. After half an hour, three quarters of an hour the coldness
extends upwards. My feet are always the coldest part of my body when we are
walking outside in the winter, even when I wear very thick socks.
A :
Icy cold feet?
P : Yes, yes.
A : Do you have itching of the anus or anything like that? No worms?
P : No.
A : Itching in the
nose? Nose problems?
P : No.
A : Influenza or a cold?
P : No, seldom.
A : There is something else you said, "I get pain in my shoulder, because I cannot sleep on the left side." You cannot sleep on the left side, or what do you mean?
P : No.
A : So you cannot.
P : No. I try to fall asleep on the left side, but after a certain time I turn again, then I lie on my right side again.
A : How did you treat your asthma?
P : Medically they did all kinds of things, everything that classical medicine can offer. Allergy tests, 65 dusts have been tested, injections and so on, but I can't remember exactly what.
A : You never have itching?
P : No.
A : Can you tell me
what you like to eat and what you don't like, both extremes. For what do you
have a big appetite?
P : For meat and vegetables. All kinds of meat. I always like meat, and also a lot of vegetables. Actually there is no vegetable I don't like. I can't say a kind of vegetable I would stay away from.
A : You like vegetables a lot?
P : Yes. All kinds of cabbages, Brussels sprouts, endive, just everything.
A : How do you
like food prepared, concerning spices and sweets?
P : I like highly
seasoned food, pungent.
A : What about salt?
P : My wife doesn't use much salt because everywhere they tell you to use as little salt as possible.
A : But how is your desire for salt? Last time you told me that you liked salt a lot.
P : Yes, a good soup
must be salted a lot and also the meat must be salted and peppered a lot.
Mustard, pepper, pungent, that's all right for me.
A : Otherwise you cannot say. Do you prefer vegetables boiled or raw?
P :
I prefer them boiled, but also raw. I like raw tomatoes less. Actually I don't like fish.
A : You mean that you like to eat meat. Not so fond of fish, but rather meat.
P : Yes.
A : Your left knee
hurt when going upstairs. But not lately.
P
: That's right.
A : Then, the sensitivity to the sun. Do you like the sun or rather not? Do you lie in the sun?
P : No, no. I don't adore the sun.
A : Why not?
P : Maybe that's my character.
A : What do you mean?
P :
I don't like to lie in the sun. To lie in the sun for two, three hours to
become brown, I would never do. I would rather
walk about than sit or lie down.
A : By character you have a slightly sanguine way of reacting, sometimes a little bit excessive, but yet we cannot say that you are hot-tempered.
P : No, that's not so.
A
: What about your stool?
P : No problems.
A : Have you had problems in the past?
P : Never.
A : Did you ever have aphthae in your mouth?
P : No.
A : Are there any other characteristics which are peculiar?
P : You better ask somebody else.
A : Are you a thirsty person? Do you have a dry mouth?
P : I like to drink. In the evening I like to drink 1 or 2 glasses of beer, and maybe another one, at about 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. I would like to eat a toast with something. During the day I have a thermos with half to three quarters of a liter of water.
A : You drink rather
well. Cold or warm?
P : I prefer cold drinks, except coffee, of course.
A : Large or small draughts?
P : Large draughts.
A : Do you have headaches?
P : No.
A : Really?
P : Once or twice I had a headache.
A : What about your eyes?
P : Astigmatism. I
need glasses for distance. If something is very little I have to take off my
glasses to see it.
A : Do you think that the pain is influenced by a thunderstorm?
P : No, such electrical fluctuations don't play a role.
A : Do you have any anxiety?
P : No, not at all.
A : Do you startle easily?
P : No.
A : From noise or anything else?
P : No.
A : Do you have heart palpitations or trembling?
P : No, except with hypoglycemia.
A : Otherwise not?
P : No, otherwise not.
A
: All together, the fact that you have diabetes, Dupuytren's,
wake from the slightest noise, have stitching pain in your right shoulder, this
character and cannot sleep on the left side are strong indications for the
remedy. And we can say that before this we treated you for three
years without any success. Now we can speak of a clear amelioration.
P : Yes.
A : You didn't drink coffee or eat any peppermint?
P : No.
A : Good, I would like to see you again after two months. Check whether you still need as much insulin as before.
P : Yes.
A : Do you need as much insulin?
P : During the feasts I injected more, because I ate more with my relatives. Actually I should reduce it again.
A : If the pain becomes worse in the meantime, call me to make an appointment, but you won't get a remedy now because you are doing better. You received the remedy on January 11, almost 1 1/2 months ago.
What
is the remedy?
Answer: Natrum phosphoricum.
A
: Yes, Natrum phosphoricum.
There are good elements, for example, diabetes and Dupuytren's.
Remark: And contraction.
A : Yes, Dupuytren's, a contraction of the tendons of the palmer side of the hand.
You see Plumbum in the rubric:
EXTREMITIES,
contraction, hand, tendons, flexors
Natrum phosphoricum is an addition, also Causticum, Sulphur, Natrum muriaticum, Lycopodium, Ruta.
In Plumbum it is a typical expression of the arteriosclerosis. If you see somebody with a typical hand for Plumbum where would you look?
Answer: ... (not understandable)
A : Induration of the penis? What remedy has this?
Conium is the remedy where the tip of the
penis is bent upwards or downwards.
Sometimes it is very interesting to work
together with many people. One person discovers something by coincidence, tells
it to his colleagues, another remembers it with one of his patients,
gives the remedy and has a good result. All these cases, there were three
patients, young men between 30 and 40 years old who have been cured with
Conium.
With this contraction of the penis, a cordae think of Conium.
This is also an expression of arteriosclerosis, an induration.
Actually my question; was what else should you look at if you see somebody with a Plumbum hand with Dupuytren's?
The teeth. And what do you see?
A blue line at the apex of the gums, close to the teeth. This blue line is typical for Plumbum.
Plumbum also in cases of Multiple sclerosis.
Question: ... (not understandable)
A : Yes, the additions are for contractions of the flexors.
Remark: ... (not understandable)
A : Aha, Benzoicum acidum, this seems to be an addition of Vithoulkas.
All right. Give me some other elements which made you think of Natrum phosphoricum.
Answer: ... (not understandable)
A : Lying on the left
side impossible is an element of Phosphorus and we also find it in Natrum phosphoricum.
Audience: ... (not understandable)
A
: Yes, this is typical for Natrum phosphoricum. This is a result of too much acidity.
Other
elements?
Audience: ... (many answers, not understandable)
A : Yes, he likes fish, wakes up from the slightest noise. And what about his character?
Audience: ... (not understandable)
A : In the rubric "Pain, knee, left" Natrum phosphoricum is also there, but what do you find in connection with his character? He is a real closed person, he is reserved, but on the other hand there are moments when he can't restrain himself. This is like Phosphorus. You couldn't hear this, because you didn't listen to the original language, but to the translation.
Also, he didn't
tolerate the sun. I think these were all the important symptoms for Natrum phosphoricum.
Remark: ... (not understandable)
A : Yes, also stitching in the shoulder.
I think, if you doubt, if you don't feel well with Phosphorus, but there are still Phosphorus elements, and on the other hand you must think of Natrum muriaticum, as I did with this patient then you have to think of Natrum phosphoricum.
He
didn't have a desire for fried eggs, which normally is a strong desire of Natrum phosphoricum.
But you understand that you can search for years and years until you find the right remedy, don't you?
Other questions?
(Silence)
He is still doing well. He didn't have a relapse and we repeated the remedy, I think twice, and every time he reacted well.
Remark: ... diabetes ... (not understandable)
A : No, no. What has changed is that the diabetes is in equilibrium. Before he received Natrum phosphoricum he had hyper- and hypoglycemia, he was not in equilibrium. Now he doesn't have these problems, but he still takes insulin.
Remark: ... Magnesium elements ...
A : Yes, the easy waking up, but he doesn't wake unrefreshed. He woke up at night and that is right, waking from the slightest noise is a Magnesium element.
Question: ... (not understandable)
A :
He received Natrum muriaticum,
surely, and also Phosphorus. He received a lot of remedies. With these kind of patients you start to sigh when they come, but when
you finally find the remedy you start loving them.
Yesterday
somebody told me about a patient with a brain tumor who had epileptic attacks
because of this tumor. Which is the remedy for epilepsy because of a brain
tumor?
Plumbum. Plumbum is the remedy for
epilepsy from a brain tumor, and also after cerebrovascular
bleedings, afterwards there is an accumulation of blood and because of the scar
tissue there is epilepsy, then Plumbum is the remedy.
Question: ... (not understandable)
A : Yes, with headaches.
Question: ... (not understandable)
A : Yes, after injuries, but it also might be spontaneous, cerebral bleedings, for example in hypertension.
Plumbum is one of the most important remedies in sclerosis, also Baryta carbonica. Don't forget this. Plumbum also has ingrown toe nails.
In between I also want to tell you about an
acute case. One of our female colleagues broke her leg while skiing. It was
swollen and blue, it has been blue for a long time.
Her knee was swollen and there was a big hemorrhage. I advised her to repeat first her constitutional remedy, but
this didn't change anything at all. Then she took Arnica and Conium. From
Conium you know that they develop very severe swelling after an injury where
they often have to cut the fascia to be able to get the blood out. The
peculiarity of Conium by which you can recognize it is the very strong tension
and the induration; it
is hard like stone.
( Fascia is a
specialized system of the body that has an appearance similar to a spider's web
or a sweater. Fascia is very densely woven, covering and interpenetrating every
muscle, bone, nerve, artery and vein, as well as, all of our internal organs
including the heart, lungs, brain and spinal cord. The most interesting aspect
of the fascial system is that it is not just a system
of separate coverings. It is actually one continuous structure that exists from
head to toe without interruption. In this way you can begin to see that each
part of the entire body is connected to every other part by the fascia, like
the yarn in a sweater. )
After Conium, if the swelling diminishes you often need another remedy, and that is?
Ledum. Ledum, when there is an accumulation of blood and there is formation of a kind of nodule. Which symptoms do you often find in Ledum?
Audience: ... (not understandable)
A : Yes, coldness of the injured parts. If you compare both legs the injured leg feels colder than the other. My colleague took all these remedies, but nothing helped. I mean, the accumulation of the blood was absorbed after a while, but the pain remained still in the knee.
She
told me that she prays a lot, that she prays every night.
I took two rubrics together, I gave her the
remedy and afterwards she could go on skiing.
What was the remedy?
Audience: Sulphuricum
acidum.
A : Yes, and why?
Audience: ... (not understandable)
A : Praying and ecchymosis, good, but I wasn't satisfied. The causation was
an injury of the bones. She broke her leg.
If you look in the rubric on page 1369:
GENERALITIES, Injuries, bone: ... sul-ac ...
Sulphuricum acidum has severe ecchymosis and
also fits praying a lot.
This remedy took away the long-standing pain in her knee after the accident.
ANOTHER CASE
- Which is the
biggest desire of Natrum phosphoricum?
- Answer :
"Fried eggs."
- A : Yes, that's right, everybody knows this in the meantime.
- A : Here it says that he likes
fish very much.
- MP
: On average he likes it.
- Now
you can get the idea to say, 'Another remedy which has the symptoms as well of Natrum as well of Phosphorus and likes to eat fish is Natrum phosphoricum.
We know from Natrum phosphoricum with too much acidity in the blood. In Boericke there is a wonderful description of those who need Natrum phosphoricum. We had such a case and I suffered for two years and tried to solve the problem. At the end I found Natrum phosphoricum: for Dupuytren, diabetes, drawing pains - it is this character of N a t r u m, this kind - do you know the tension in Natrum muriaticum, the drawing, the tension in the knee? This kind of tension, drawing pain as if the tendons are too short, this kind is a Natrum element