Case Cochlearea 4
A 5 year old woman has a sore throat with yellow and red spots, starting on the left, moving to the right side.
She suffers from nagging pains in her stomach, radiating to sides and back. The modalities are:
She often has diarrhoea when she has to go out somewhere. This complaint started when she suddenly had an attack of hyperventi- lation when she was watching a play in the theatre. It was accompanied by great fear, cramping stomach pains, weakness and fear of death.
She has aching pain in her muscles < touch. Often cramp in her right leg, just underneath the skin.
Many problems started when her husband fell ill 5 years ago. He had cancer of the testes with metastasis to the bones and great brittleness of the bones. But he tortured her through his behaviour: he was angry and jealous, wanted to throw her out of the win- dow, wanted to have sex all the time, although he was impotent since his testes had been removed. She couldn’t understand what was happening, their marriage had been so perfect until then. She is a very trusting sort of person, always sees the good side in everybody. She always worries about her children. She is extremely nervous, always neat and tidy and likes to be on time. She is afraid of heights.
Weather: cold, < mist, < draught (2), fear of hard wind and storm since the floods in "53.
Time:< evening.
Desire: sweet, chocolate, salt, fatty meat, fish, eggs.
Aversion: sour rhubarb, milk.
< red cabbage.
Comment: The diarrhoea from anticipation makes you think of argentum nitricum or gelsemium. Her nervousness would seem to fit this picture too. But arg-nit had very little effect. Nor had calcarea carbonica, rhododendron or cimicifuga. The keynote of stomach pains radiating to sides and back could indicate cochlearia. The worries about her husband and children and the horrors around the time of her husbands illness fit this picture too. After cochlearia her muscle pains, stomach pains and nervousness became much less. She felt much better on the whole.