Argentum Case
A woman of 20 has been coming for two years with various complaints.
Colds, stuffed up nose, blocked ears < blowing nose, < wind.
Headache in forehead, more on the left than on the right side, stabbing pain and feeling of pressure.
< tiredness, < excitement and anger.
< going from cold to heat, < inside (2). > outside (2), sitting and rest.
< reading, vision bad, squinting, dancing letters, pressure in eyes.
pain in right eye, stabbing, tingling, pulsating.
+ noises in ear, like sea waves.
Concentration difficult. Cannot relax her head.
Pain in her neck on the right side, as if there is a bruise, cramp < wrong movements, stiffness, < morning.
Other complaints: hoarseness, white spots in the throat.
Eyes: glued together in the morning, dry. Styes. Red eyelids.
Palpitations < exertion. Easily out of breath.
Stomach pains < milk, feeling of nausea with bloating and rumbling.
Pain in abdomen, stitching < after meals, < lying on left side, > heat.
Acne on forehead. Inflammation around hole in left earlobe.
Growing pains in right shin bone < standing a long time, creaking knees, weak ankles.
Stitching pains in front of left shoulder, numb and paralysed feeling in left arm.
Nails split and break easily.
Past history: ear infections, mostly left sided. Eczema in hollow of knees, elbows and medial thighs. Enuresis.
General characteristics:
Temperature: cold, cold hands and feet; hot flushes, sometimes after blowing nose.
she feels too hot after 5 minutes in the sun, < inside (2).
> outside (2); restless during storms.
Perspiration: under arms.
Time: > evening.
Desires: mashed potatoes with vegetables, refreshing things, sour (2), sweet (2).
chocolate (3), unusual food.
Aversion: fat, sprouts, salt; little thirst.
< green pepper (2), < fasting.
Menses: copious with clots, cramping pain in the left abdomen, pain in the back, stabbing, nagging, > hot water bottle, < pressure.
irritable before menses; yellow-white, slightly itching discharge.
Sleep: difficulty falling asleep because she thinks of problems.
nightmares when she lies on her right side; usually sleeps on left side.
Mind: She is jealous of her sister: she feels that they give her more attention.
Her parents are old-fashioned. She feels restricted, particularly by her mother. She has to finish her school first, but she hates it. She would rather start a course in designing clothes and fashion. She has plans of starting her own enterprise as a fashion designer.
She is reserved and likes to know where she stands. She can’t handle things if they happen too fast; this makes her cry.
She is very idealistic.
She was very angry with a former boyfriend because he went around showing off that he had chatted her up and got her where he wanted.
Fear of heights (2) and narrow places (3).
Impression: a lively woman who knows what she wants. She doesn’t express herself very easily.
Analysis
This is another patient to whom I had given several remedies, more or less in vain. Until Smits (case taking evening) showed me an Arg-m case with severe phobias and stiffness in the neck in the morning on waking (Kent, 1985 b, page 947). My patient had the same complaints together with some general indications for Arg-m: desire for sweet, fear of heights and narrow spaces, anticipation and fears.
She feels the cold and is better in the evening, further symptoms of Arg-m. And lastly I recognised the slight arrogance, which was similar to the previous case.
Reaction
She felt much better after Arg-m. She had more self confidence, the fears became less and the complaints disappeared almost completely.