2.15.2 ammonium fluoratum, Case 1
A 16 year old boy complains of headaches since he started secondary school. Worse in the morning on waking at 7.30 am and in the evening after 7 pm. It is also worse when he is busy, when he shouts or runs and particularly when he is studying at school. Rest and eating ameliorates the pain and heat or humid weather aggravates. Almost complete amelioration during the holidays.
he also suffers from frequent colds with a runny nose, slimy mucus, and sore throat. The pain in his throat is worse on coughing, which is caused by a tickling feeling in the throat. He coughs up green mucus in the morning.
He hasn’t been feeling well lately. He hates school, his teachers and his studies. He doesn’t like those in authority and people who push him. He hardly talks to his mother nowadays, as she is always on at him to do his homework or do his share of the household tasks. Whenever she nags at him he retires to his room in a bad mood. He doesn’t talk to her because he is angry about all these do’s and don’ts She wants him to eat healthy food, whereas he only wants to eat porridge.
She is afraid that he will grow up to be no good at all. He had to repeat a class already last year. But he doesn’t mind at all. He would rather smoke pot with his friends and slouch on the sofa watching television. He smokes nearly every day so his school work is really suffering. He often doesn’t turn up for school. When asked what he wants to do in life he says that he wants to be rich and have a large house and a big car. He thinks he will achieve this by winning the lottery. He also likes girls, but at the moment he is too wrapped up in his own world to think of asking a girl to go out with him.
Generals
Weather: < hot, humid weather.
Time: <7.30 am. 7 pm and 3 am.
Desires: sweet (3), porridge (3), pizza, chips, macaroni, cabbage.
Aversion: beetroot (2), spinach (2), mushrooms (2), olives (2), mashed potatoes, potato hash.
Analysis
His desire to get rich and buy a big house and a big car reminds us of Fluor. Particularly in view of his aversion to doing any real work and his preference to achieve his goals through winning the lottery. His aversion to work is also quite obvious from his resistance to doing his homework or helping in the house.
But his surly behaviour, the aversion to talking with his mother and the tendency to shut himself up in his room is not so much a Fluor symptom. It fits more into the Ammonium picture, as does the aggravation at 3 am. So this leads us to the combination Ammonium fluoratum.
In this case we see the two themes existing side by side, rather than combined into a new overall picture, as we usually do.
Fluoric acid might also have been a possibility, but then we would expect to see more openness and extroversion, and a desire to fight for his cause.
Reaction
After Ammonium fluoratum the headaches gradually ease. He also feels more positive, he talks to his mother again and she manages to convince him that finishing his studies would be a useful step towards achieving his goals. They are able to come an agreement with regard to the housework and his schoolwork. A year later he has stopped smoking hash and he has started work.