Case Agrostemma
A woman of 42 years age has tuberculosis. It was diagnosed when she pneumonia, with a lot of coughing in the evening around 9 pm, worse from exertion, with white and sometimes green expectoration. She was sweating a lot all over her body, soaking in her bed. She was chilly, desired a hat and gloves, couldn’t stand drafts. She lost her appetite and was very tired. Her face was “hanging”.
Her joints were inflamed with pain in knees, hips, elbows, wrist, hands, fingers and thumb, worse on rising in the morning. Her back felt stiff, her hands feel stiff in the morning, better spreading her fingers.
She cares a lot about her two children. But her husband was very strict with them. Especially during meals he could be very angry with them and beat them. She felt too weak to stand up against him, and walked away not being able to stay and look at what happened. This always made her feel guilty. The trouble with her husband came to a climax during a holiday abroad and she had to leave him. But she couldn’t take the children with her because only the passport of him had their names. This provoked strong guilt feelings, leaving her children with her terrible husband. After the holiday she divorced and took the children with her.
She’s very sympathetic; people come and tell her their problems. Her mother was also very caring for her 7 children, giving everyone something special, helping people.
She can look indifferent from giving up the fight with her husband.
Heart, pressing pain, < 9 pm, < quarrels with husband.
She has heat in her legs.
She worries about the suicidal son of her second husband.
Fears: heights (3), snakes, spiders, jelly-fish, death < falling asleep.
Colour: bright rose.
Past history
At her eight she had hepatitis.
In puberty she had headache, occipital, throbbing, < rising, < motion, < heat, < 5 pm, < before and during menses, < stress.
Sacral pain, stitching, < stooping, < lifting, > sitting, extending to the legs.
Haemorrhoids since her pregnancies, painful, < pressing for stool, < lying, < walking, > sitting, sometimes bleeding. Her umbilicus itches. Urticaria.
General
Weather: < cold, < draft; fear thunderstorm, > sea, <- mountains.
Time: < 9 pm.
Desire: bread, (cold) milk, spicy, radish.
Aversion: red vegetables, beets.
Food: diarrhea << fat.
Menses: backache, uterus cramp, headache, grumpy before an during menses.
Sleep: falling asleep is difficult.
Analysis
Her overall attitude of worrying about family and children is pointing to Silicaseries. The Caryophyllaceae have this aspect too and even more so the softness and worrying, together with the sensitiveness of the plant kingdom.
This is stage 15 as we can see form the tuberculosis and the guilt from “leaving” her children.
Reaction
In the course of 12 years some remedies helped her temporarily like Rhus toxicodendron, Magnesium sulphuricum, and Erica vulgaris. Collinsonia helped quite good and Bismuthum sulphuricum cured her guilt feelings after her ex-husband had committed suicide.
Many remedies didn’t help her at all: Lac caninum, Calcium carbonicum, Medusa, Sanguinaria, Senecio jacobea, Arsenicum, Thlaspi, Beta vulgaris, Onopordon, Gaultheria, Ranunculus bulbosus, Aesculus. And she developed the tuberculosis.
Sepia aggravated her.
After Agrostemma githago she really started doing well. In the course of a year she got much better, the symptoms of the tuberculosis disappeared, her fatigue went away and she enjoyed life again. Every time after she took Agrostemma the hanging of her face and of her as a whole disappeared, she looked more energetic and lively and started taking care of herself.