Argentum Case
A 55 year old woman has frequent cystitis. She complains of a stiff, tense, swollen feeling in the abdomen, feverishness, frequent urination with a feeble flow, pain after urination and blood in the urine. It started after exposure to cold wind.
Sciatica, pain in the right buttock, radiating to the back of the thigh and ankle, < sitting (3), < stooping, drawing up the legs, stretching, lying on the back or on the right side, < laughing, sneezing, coughing, > walking upright and climbing stairs.
+ swelling in bend of knee, tingling in legs, numbness in feet, feverish.
+ dizziness, crying, no reflex in achilles tendon.
Other complaints: pain in stomach, left sided, stitching and drawing, < pressure<< fat. Constipation, occasional incontinence of faeces, doesn’t feel it.
Inflammation of right knee joint, hot, red, stabbing pain, < warmth, > cold, < movement.
Swollen glands in axillae and hollows of the knees, with a stiff and tight feeling.
Eczema in hollow of elbow, little finger and ring finger.
Since childhood she has had vaginal infections: yellow discharge with itching, < at night and when she is tired.
Past history: tonsillitis, first on the right, then on the left, pain in throat, < hard food > cold drinks.
Pain in throat with hoarseness or loss of voice.
General characteristics:
Temperature: cold, hot flushes with perspiration, sometimes in the hands.
feeling of suffocation in the sun, fear of thunderstorms (2).
tiredness during storms, desires fresh air (2).
Desires: cheese, fruit, sweets.
Aversion: fat, tough meat; little thirst.
< fat, cabbage, kiwi, leeks, soft fruit. < smoke.
Menses: stopped when she was 45; used to have severe cramp.
swollen abdomen and breasts before menses.
Sleep: she usually sleeps on her right side; often wakes at 3 am to urinate. Dreams are weird: that she lies dead in a coffin, which is as narrow as a snake, that her brother died from a piece of food that got stuck in his throat.
Mind: fearful, fear of dogs, people, heights, looking down, narrow places. ‘A frightened little bird'.
She is nervous and suspicious, she feels that people think she is doing things wrong. She is always tense: ‘mind you don’t fall’. She gets very upset by criticism. She appears nervous and a little arrogant. Her voice is soft and a bit childlike; she speaks fast.
She had a very sheltered upbringing. Her father was quick tempered, her mother had a persevering character but was quite demanding and invaded the privacy of the children.
She likes music, she sings and plays the recorder. She likes company. Her marriage is good, but her husband is very closed. She doesn’t have any children.
Analysis
On the basis of her personality I had already given Puls, Calc and Lyc. The cystitis disappeared but the sciatica started, obviously a suppression. I was having problems, and so was she. I could only think of Tellurium (sciatica < sneezing, laughing, coughing), which alleviated the pain after the first dose, but did not do anything the second time. After searching long and hard my choice was finally Arg-m. on the basis of: 'back, pain, lumbar region, sitting, while' (Kent, page 906) and 'back, pain, lumbar region, drawing up limbs agg' (Kent, 1985 b, page 906), together with the nervous and anxious picture which reminded me of a cold Arg-n.
Such an analysis is not really satisfactory and often not successful either but, through lack of anything better, sometimes unavoidable. And if, in spite of this, the remedy happens to be a great success, it is often possible to learn a great deal more about it.
Reaction
Following Arg-m there was a great general improvement. The sciatica disappeared completely. She needed another two doses during the following two years.