Case 5.20
By Gerard Megens
Woman, 56 years old.
Spontaneous anamnesis: itchy cough for a year; it started shortly after she started working as a volunteer in a parrot shelter. It is a kind of tickle that she feels coming up in the airways by inhalation and it is accompanied by a light inspirational stridor. Initially she had a course of antibiotics without result and after that she was sent a lung specialist for further examination; lung function test has now been agreed upon. Allergy test: allergic to cats, rats, mice and rodents. They scared her that she would suffer from a pigeon fancier's lung and would have to stop working in the shelter. The lung specialist prescribed her Flixonase nasal spray and another puff for the lungs. Until recently she had no problems at all at night and her cough disappeared; now she also had problems at night. According to the allergy test she is not allergic to the feathers, but to the serum and faeces of parrots. Previously she had two parrots at home for nine years without any problems. Even as a child she kept birds until she was 20 years old without any problems.
Appearance: quite striking appearance with large curly hair, sharp face with pronounced nose; slender build and dressed in old jeans with sweater.
Tractus anamnesis: always been healthy, but when asked she appears to have had a parathyroidadenoma and once "something" on the eyes for which she now takes a low dose of aspirin. No visual complaints. At 42 years of age, she had sepsis once due to a rising urinary tract infection.
Appetite: very good; she has been a vegetarian for thirty years (both aversion to meat and disgust at the idea of eating dead meat). Preference: olives, nuts, vegetables, fruit, yoghurt. Aversion: meat, fat, sweet, whipped cream, etc. Drinks a lot of lemonade, juice, tea and water. She has been in transition for several years and has never had problems with her period; no children. Sleep: good; no special dreams.
Life course: she is American by birth, grew up in New York and has been crazy about animals all her life, especially birds. As a child she liked to be alone with her animals or to read. She studied biology and was married at the age of 20 to a contemporary; however, after 10 years her husband went to live in a Buddhist ashram and wanted her to come along. She didn't feel like it and that's why they got divorced. After that she was alone for 12 years and at the age of 42 she met a Dutch man, who was on holiday in the US. With this she experienced a heavy summer, in which she also suffered from the uroarpsis due to the intensive sexual activities. She then decided to marry him and come to the Netherlands. From the moment she set foot on Dutch soil, her husband no longer wanted to make love to her and she felt very frustrated about it. Then she took two parrots, but they fought each other so much that transfer to the parrot shelter was inevitable. Because she did not want to do without her birds at all, she decided to move with her to the shelter. "My husband knows what to do if he wants me back. However, they are not divorced, but now and then they meet at a station, where they go cycling together to go and see....................................... She prefers parrots and not people. She loves all birds up to and including vultures, but parrots are at the top. "A day without parrots is a bad day. Before she arrived at the shelter, she had already stipulated that she would be allowed to take care of the birds on her own. "A quarter of an hour coffee break with people is still possible, but I shouldn't think about working with people all day long". She likes to be alone outside. When I asked her what birds meant to her, she said, "birds are so small and delicate; they weigh nothing; they always make it happy for others; it is as if they are always happy; they make the world more beautiful and cheerful; they do no harm to anyone and they do not eat meat.
Analysis: her extreme passion for animals and the strong need to prefer the company of animals to that of humans makes me immediately think of Aeth. Although Aeth. is not really known for his respiratory problems, I do find some confirmations for Aeth in the directory. The suppression of sexual need also suits Aeth. (addition of Vithoulkas). Louis Klein has already told us during one of his courses in Utrecht that Con. and Aeth. want to have sex, but only with their own partner. If the sex disappears for whatever reason, the sexual need is suppressed. Also with this patient you see that she actually has a normal or probably more than normal sexual need, but she has suppressed this need twice in her life for a long time, the first time after her first marriage and the second time in her current marriage. After her divorce she had no more relationships until she met her current husband. I found it remarkable that she is allergic to the animals of which Aeth. has delusions: cats, rats and mice.
Some categories:
MIND - ANIMALS - love for animals
MIND - SYMPATHETIC - animals; towards
MIND - SEDUCTION - desire for - wants to be seduced by own partner
FEMALE GENITALIA/SEX - SEXUAL DESIRE - suppressed
COUGH - CRAWLING, sensation of
COUGH - CRAWLING, sensation of - Air passages, in
LARYNX AND TRACHEA - TICKLING - Larynx, in
GENERALS - FOOD and DRINKS - fat - aversion
Requirement: AETH. LM1 1 dd 1 granule.
DD: other Apiaceae, especially CON. and possibly a bird remedy e.g. ARA-MACAO, but I haven't had any experience with that myself; MED. (extreme passion and urosis as a result of coitus)
Second consultation: (4 weeks after start of Aeth.) meanwhile had lung function test and according to the lung specialist normal lung function and no indications for pigeon fancier's lung, etc., but a non-specific reaction. His advice is to limit the work in the shelter, which of course is firmly rejected. She is also reassured by this, but the complaints have already decreased by 50%. The only concession she wants to make is that in one building, where she had the most problems, she has started to work less.
Of course, the case is still too short for a final judgement, but will be prosecuted.