Homeopathy and Chronic renal failure
Posted by Dr. Swapna Potdar on Saturday, 22nd August 2009
A Case Of Chronic Renal Failure:
It was a precious opportunity for me to treat few cases of chronic renal failure.
I am discussing here one such case of interest.
On the 12 th June 2003 a gentleman aged 73 years came to my office with his wife and daughter.
He was a man of short thin built, with a yellowish complexion and looking pale and withered. He had a calm and composed expression. It was characteristically fearless, showing no anxiety or concern of any kind.
He had been a professor of language for 17 years and had composed many poems. He had taught literary criticism to students of Masters in Arts.
His wife and daughter were doing all the talking. He reprimanded them right at the beginning of the interview and asked them whether they were going to let him talk.
He started as, ‘I have absolutely no complaints. I am a diabetic since 20 years. That was detected in a routine blood examination before my operation for cataract. I am a hypertensive since 15 years. That was detected in a routine medical check up.
Since a few weeks I had slight nausea and aversion for food. So I had a check up done when high urea and creatinine was found in my blood.’
He has been on anti-hypertensive allopathic drugs and Insulin injections for about 15 years.
The levels were Blood Urea level 220 mg/dl (normal range being 15-40 mg/dl)
and Serum creatinine at 3.9 u/dl (Normal range being 0.5-1.5)
His Renal Doppler suggested diffuse renal parenchymal disease. An atrio-ventricular fistula had been made in his right arm, and he was to go for a dialysis the following week.
2 years back he had a toe amputation for an intractable infection.
So it is quite evident that he is suffering from complications of diabetes.
Let us take note here that there is a major problem in his body, but the only symptoms the vital force has expressed is slight nausea and aversion for food.
The relative lack of subjective symptoms was striking.
This brought to mind the syphilitic miasm so definitely.
The syphilitic miasm is of a deep destructive nature, which hardly shows up in the form of subjective symptoms. Its very nature is like the silent killer.
The relative lack of subjective symptoms gives us the clue that psora is more or less latent at this point of time.
Psora in its very essence means expression; psora needs to express as it needs to communicate its primary anxiety of separation. Psora expresses to connect with others so that they may feel less separated; less lonely. The mental ‘itch’ may thus somewhat be relieved.
So we find that his economy only communicates minimally, in the form of two symptoms, nausea and an aversion for food. That is quite unlike an active psora.
He has a low appetite, and nausea. Empty retching.
He likes spicy pickles and sweet meats when well. Let us note here that it is not a craving, a mere preference. So we cannot really put it high up in the hierarchy.
He drinks less water as his chest seems to fill up with it. His stools are sometimes dry and hard.
He passes about 1 litre of urine per day.
He is a man of few words. And they are precious ones.
Quite unlike an active psora!
He has a small friends’ circle of renowned writers and poets. He used to read a lot, but is not happy with the present shallow writing, and thinking. So now, he generally does not read much, nor does he write anymore.
He had a huge collection of books all of which he donated to a library.
We understand this as a need to collect and retain followed by a total discharge, probably out of a growing indifference.
It means he is tuning away from the things he ardently loved before.
He has stopped his expression- his writing and teaching, and become indifferent now. He has a feeling that it is not worth it anymore.
The symptoms I could gather were-
Absence of symptoms where expected
Reserved
Philosophical
Indifferent
Irritated on being disturbed
Renal failure
But to summarize the observations made before,
He was in psora and tubercular miasm initially.
Psora because it being a basic ‘ mother miasm’, is always present, though varying in its active influence or activity during the lifetime of a person.
And psora, also because he was very expressive, teaching, writing.
The tubercular miasm shows itself by his creativity and innovative ideas;
Only creative persons can write poems. And those who think and feel deeply and can express it in verse.
The Syphilitic miasm seems to have been present in the past, but had been latent in his constitution. This conclusion is on the basis of his mentioning that he did not have any ‘subjective symptoms’ of diabetes or of hypertension. These had been detected during routine blood tests.
That means there was hardly any expression of the inner disturbance; which means not much activity of psora although psora is always there.
Now at this point of time, when the patient is in chronic renal failure, the syphilitic miasm seems more dominant as it has brought about a silent irreversible organ damage and the little activity of a largely latent psora seems to have brought up the nausea and aversion for food, which are the only subjective symptoms, or expressions in his case.
If psora had remained almost completely latent, he would have had no symptoms, no nausea or food aversion. He would probably have straight away gone into uraemic coma.
Besides this miasmatic analysis we see a prominent theme in the case.
‘Retention.
He used to collect- ‘retain’ a large number of books, which he has now given away- discharged. We see a polarity of need and aversion here.
He is reserved- ‘retains’ emotions. Initially he expressed them in verse, now he does not. He ‘retains’.
He is a deep, sensitive thinker.
The theme of retention, his depth of thinking and his past tryst with verse, brought to mind Natrum and the radical chloride.
So one dose consisting of 2 pellets of Natrum mur 6X were given to him. The rest was plain Sac lac.
In organ damage, I have observed great benefit with the low potencies. Here I have often used the X potencies instead of the C. The C correspond more to the higher frequencies of disturbance as they are more potent than the X potencies.
The frequency of energy of a disturbance is a relative term, by which I mean that—the higher the frequency, the more is the ‘energy’ of expression of the symptoms.
The symptoms will be sharp, strong, marked, and violent.
The ‘higher’ potencies correspond to these sublimated forms of expression.
The lower the frequency of energy of a disease, the lower is the intensity of expression of symptoms.
Like it is in our patient. So the lower potencies are more similar here. Though certainly not a material dose!
The low potencies correspond to the more physical aspects of disease; to the disturbances of a lower frequency so to say.
The problem with him right now, is- his failing kidneys.
I could not have given him a higher potency as his constitution would have been overwhelmed by it. They would just not correspond to him! It would bring about aggravation.
So he had one dose of Natrum Mur 6X.
He reported back about a month later on 17th July 2003, with his BUL and S. Cr. Levels.
BUL was 136 mg/dl……which had been 220 mg/dl before.
S .cr was 3.15 ug/dl……which was 3.9 ug/dl before.
He said ‘I feel more energetic’ and he looked less yellow for sure. He looked more interested than before. This means the syphilitic miasm has reduced in its activity a little.
Placebo was continued up to 29/09/03. His allopathic medications continued as before.
Now his BUL was 166 mg/dl
S.cr 3.9 ug/dl
During this period, he had an episode of vertigo.
He also had fluctuations in Blood sugar levels in the last one week.
He seemed to be more irritated this time. His wife said he seemed to want to cast off all the restrictions put upon him by doctors.
He decided that he wanted to travel to Canada, to his daughter. ‘I need to travel. It is a tonic for me. I always wanted to travel. But my wife’s osteoarthritis never let us go anywhere. My kidneys feel better now. Please give me something that I can travel without a problem with them’.
Do we see here the rebellious Tubercular miasm coming up! Let us recall that he was a thinker, poet and teacher, the creative Tubercular.
These statements were quite startling as compared to his first visit. He seemed to have come out of the Natrum Mur phase. He wanted to go out, travel, connect back with his distant relatives, and even risk his health for that.
This brought to mind another member of the Natrums, Natrum Phos.
The outgoing, communicating effervescent Phosphate radical, who can burn himself by his own warmth if he is not able to give it out.
Now Natrum Phos 12X was given.
I chose the 12X now, as we see that the ‘energy’ of his symptoms have increased to a higher level. The frequency is higher than a 6X.
Nat phos has known to have an affinity for the pancreas and hence diabetes; says the Biochemistry man Schussler.
Nat phos is irritated. And incidentally our patient had a deep yellow coated tongue which confirmed my choice of Natrum Phos!
2 months later, his BUL was 97 mg/dl….(previous reading – 166mg/dl)
S.cr 2.2 ug/dl ……….(previous reading- 3.9 ug/dl )
His allopathic anti-hypertensive and insulin shots continued, but he needed only half the initial dose now!
This was encouraging.
He went on well for about 3 years. He did travel abroad to Canada to visit his daughter, and enjoyed his stay there for a period of six months. After Natrum phos, he did not rebel against medical advice regarding diet and regimen, and so did not ‘burn’ himself, or I mean land himself into trouble, like he would have without our Natrum Phos 12 X.
He was independently going about his routine activities and even went out alone for a short walk.
He visited every month and was quite stable. As symptoms came up he got a single dose of the indicated remedy. Natrm sulph 30 X one dose on one occasion and Nux vomica 30 one dose on another.
3 years later he started deteriorating. He complained of breathlessness, and disorientation.
He died of cardiac arrest peacefully at the ripe age of 76 years.
We do understand here that it was a case with irreversible renal damage. But the medicine seemed to have accentuated the functioning of the remaining healthy renal cortical tissue for a fairly good period of time. He did not require dialysis except on the last day of his life, as his condition had been stable, and his blood biochemistry was fairly good.
Homeopathy could give him a better quality of life. I can say that it was probably even considerably prolonged with Homeopathy.
Dr. Swapna Potdar
BHMS (Pune, INDIA)
D. (Hom)Devon, (UK)
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