Argentum Case
This 45 year old woman is the mother of the patient of the previous case. She has some complaints since her second daughter was born ten years ago.
Intestinal problems: belching, < after drinking, green peppers and cucumber. Flatus, sometimes stinking, < cabbage, < sitting. Pain in the abdomen with rumbling. Constipation when travelling.
Other complaints: tiredness, memory not very good.
Headache in forehead, right sided, slight feeling as if she will fall down, expanded feeling.
Eyes itching, photophobia > wearing sunglasses. Slight strabismus to the left.
Frequent colds. Sneezing attacks < mowing grass, < dust. Hoarseness > since she took up singing.
Sudden tearing pains shooting through left arm. Stitches in elbows, < rain. Feeling as if a fire is shooting through the bones in her hands. Index finger is numb. Tingling sensation, as from needles in the arm, the tips of the left ringfinger and little finger.
Heavy feeling in left upper arm, followed by a cold feeling, < driving, < sitting in the same position for a long time, > movement. It sometimes wakes her up, > night, < evening. Tired, restless and sick feeling.
Musty smell to the urine. Many inflammations of the bladder: burning, frequent urination of small amounts. Followed, a few days later, by feverishness, itching and skin rashes. Pain in the back after sitting a long time. Restless legs.
High blood pressure, 140/85. Swollen feet and ankles, < standing, < evening.
Slight eczema on head, elbows, thighs, hands and feet. Blistery and scaly skin.
Itching around waist, < evening. Warts on right thumb and index finger.
Past history: jaundice with remaining tenderness of liver region. Both her daughters were born through caesarean section, because her pelvis is too narrow. Vaginal correction. Runny nose as a child. Acne on forehead.
General characteristics:
Temperature: cold, < before menses, cold feet. < before snow. < or > heat, > sun but it makes her lazy. > sea. < cold and damp weather.
Time: < 2 pm and 8 pm.
Desires: honey, sweet, cherries.
Aversion: oatmeal porridge, sour; little thirst.
< green pepper, cabbage, cucumber, onions, bread, cheese, beans
< fried food.
Menses: painful, like labour pains, > hot water bottle, occasional fainting.
long lasting, back ache after getting up. yellow green discharge
< before menses, sometimes after; irritable before menses.
Sleep: feels refreshed from a short nap; sleeps on right side.
sleepless before menses; wakes at 3 am to urinate.
Dreamt that her neighbour had twins. Dreamt that she had to watch something, but couldn’t.
Mind: Tension, < when she has to talk about herself. nervous in large crowds. Meddles in the affairs of her daughter. Cries when her daughter is rude to her.
Changeable moods with frequent depression. Cries easily without cause, or when she sees something sad. Indecisive over trifles.
Angry when she is too busy. Takes on other people's problems.
She likes music and singing. Doesn’t like animals in the house.
Her brother died suddenly of tetanus when she was 9. She was totally stiff with shock and surprise: she had sometimes wished her brother was dead because he was allowed to do many things that she wasn’t.
Fear of narrow spaces, has suffered from ‘flat neurosis’.
Marriage is good, she has two daughters. Sex is painful < dry vagina. They don’t talk much to each other. She sometimes tries to get through by making jokes or nasty little remarks. They are both too much involved with themselves.
Analysis
This woman has been treated for several years with Lyc and Puls, with very satisfactory results, in her opinion. But I was not really satisfied: the complaints were better, but I did not feel that I had really helped her on a deeper level. Since her daughter had reacted so well to Arg-m, it suddenly wasn’t difficult anymore to see the same remedy picture in her.
Reaction
I saw a real improvement in her for the first time. She was no longer so depressed and the frequency of the consultations was drastically reduced.