666.42.09 Onopordum acanthium, Case
Woman, 30, bronchitis.
She had bronchitis during childhood, especially in autumn with wet weather. It came back when she was adult and living in a humid house. She is allergic to dust, house mites, cats and dogs. She has lack of breath when lying on her bed, sneezing. Her eyes are irritated, red, itchy and with tears. Her mucous membranes are irritated and prickling and her nose has a watery discharge which is not acrid. She has a low lung capacity. The complaints are worse from dust, wet weather and in spring and are better since she stopped smoking. She also has hayfever.
She has winter depressions with a lack of sleep; she can hardly keep working in winter. She was so depressed and passive only lying in bed, that the third winter she attempted suicide. Since she started light therapy she can keep functioning and working.
She had frequent angina, throat infections with a constriction of her throat and difficult painful swallowing. Her throat was so swollen that she felt suffocated, which was better with cold drinks. She had fever of 39° till 40°C and was hot alternating with cold, shivering from the cold and perspiring profusely. She was very ill and tired with it, like influenza, with nausea and muscle aches and had to go to bed for a week.
As a child she was sexually abused by an older brother. He was treating her like a little child, was 8 years older and she tried to get his recognition. She had suppressed her memories but they came back after seeing her brother’s daughter having pain in her genital region. Then she told her brother her memories, which he admitted. She was very angry with him and since then had hardly any contact.
She had good parents who were sweet and she has good contact with them. In puberty she had confrontations with them about going out, friends, clothes, hairdressing and the like. She became independent and mature very early, too serious for her age. She felt alone, thinking a lot about the values in life. She was concerned about what happened on this earth. She has a critical view towards relationships.
She has a good relationship but she has had problems to commit herself. She has a fear of being hurt when being too dependent on someone else. She has an aversion to quarrelling, preferring harmony. But when necessary she can become angry easily, especially when people are intolerant or there is injustice, when people promote themselves at the expense of others.
She is a hard worker, is focused when she wants to do something. She has high demands on herself, is impatient with herself and is very perfectionistic. First she has to do her duties before she can enjoy things. Delegating is difficult; she prefers to do things herself.
Her menses are irregular, with abdominal pain and sometimes a headache.
Weather: desire for warm sunny weather; < in winter with the dark days, < from wet.
Desire: sweets, chocolate, cheese, wine.
Sleep: needs at least eight hours; she moves a lot during sleep, rubbing her forehead and swinging her arms.
Analysis
Carbon series: recognition.
Lanthanides: concern about the world; aversion to become dependent; -> sun; < winter, dark days; do things herself.
Phase 4: recognition; good parents who were sweet.
Asteraceae: bronchitis with high fever; shivering; heat alternating cold; muscle aches; boundaries disrespected, her integrity was violated.
Subphase 2: adapted to her brother; angry easily.
Stage 8: hard worker, focused; impatient.
Follow up
After Onopordon acanthium MK all kinds of old symptoms returned during the first three weeks. First she got asthma, then abdominal pains, then a throat infection, after that a headache and finally muscle aches for a few days. Her mood was very changeable, she had a lot of weeping attacks.
With all these complaints she felt quiet labile but less depressed, more solid. Her energy improved. She had strange dreams about events of the past but no more nightmares. She feels more light-hearted, as if there is more space. Talking about the incest also helped her.
After four repetitions of Onopordon acanthium and four months later she is doing very well. She is not depressed anymore and could handle the winter very well. She has more energy and needs less sleep. She can set boundaries more easily and people at work take that into account. She is more balanced. She has the feeling that she has carried a very heavy backpack for years and that a debt has been cleared.