CLINICAL CASES


These clinical cases are presented to demonstrate the use of the single remedy –various potencies –infrequent repetition — and varied diagnoses. All were office cases and the repertory used before the patient and various rubrics shown.


Three cases long on diagnosis, short on symptoms:.

CASE 1. Stomach ulcer shown by x-ray. October 25, 1937. For three weeks dull feeling in epigastric region. Great weakness, especially on standing at occupation. Age 39. Sulphur 200 and placebo bi-weekly.

November 25, 1937. Not much relief except on third day after first visit. Worries constantly. Wants to be alone when sick. Natrum mur. 12x. and placebo every other day for two weeks.

February 28, 1938. Reported fine after last medicine.

May 10, 1938. Still well.

CASE II. Man 48 years old. History of stomach ulcer for some years. Confirmed diagnosis by x-ray.

October 21, 1936. Soreness of epigastric region; sensitive to touch. Vomiting like ink. Breath and taste bad. Frontal headache cruel. Movements regular but ebony black. Dead tired. Nervous, irritable. Sleep broken by pain and gas. Desires meat and warm drinks; averse to fats. Belching >. Warm blooded; craves open air. Sulphur had previously relieved in bad attack four years ago. Sulphur 1M., single powder.

October 26, 1936. Vomiting since last visit, sour, curdled. Cant keep food on stomach. Smell and sight of food objectionable. Taste bitter. Salivation. Wife says he wants to be left entirely alone. Natrum mur. 2c., single powder.

November 10, 1936. Reports no symptoms.

June 14, 1938. Seen at work; no symptoms.

CASE III. Man 35 has suffered twelve years from duodenal ulcer. Treated at various hospitals. X-ray February 28, 1938 showed duodenal ulcer. Seen by me in hospital clinic May 27, 1938. Has lost 15 pounds. Mental state desperate. Ready to jump in river if he cant get relief. Vomiting and purging constant for a week. Even smell or sight of food causes vomiting. Pain dorsal region of back < by pressure. Colchicum 200x. and Sac. lac. power iii q.o.d.

June 3, 1938. Comes in with a smile. Vomiting stopped within two days. Has regained one pound. Sac. lac.

June 14, 1938. Feels fine. Has regained six pounds. Sac. lac.

These three case failed to present a large group of symptoms, but in spite of a diagnostic x-ray tag improved quickly and have held the gain to date. The mental and general symptoms have served me well in a considerable number of demonstrable ulcer cases.

CASE IV. Mr. W. N., age 49. November 10, 1937. Sinus trouble. Duration four years; operated three years ago twice on septum and turbinate bones. Pain over eyes, blinding character. Takes cold frequently; nasal discharge offensive. Chilly. Free perspiration. Pain frontal region extends downward. Must carry handkerchief in hand all morning. Has taken everything, he states. Sulphur 2M. and Sac. lac. bi-weekly viii.

June 1, 1938. Nearly seven months later; has not returned but has referred eight cases to me, who relate Mr. W. N. is delighted.

CASE V. Mr. D. C., age 42. October 24, 1937. Water on knee six months ago. Treated for past four months for arthritis. Works in garage, cement floor. Pain and stiffness of left knee, ankle, hands. Perspiration of neck and chest. Rhus tox. 200X. and Sac. lac. bi-weekly.

November 14, 1937. Much better right away. Today heard creak in knee. Stiffness in fingers, > after working a while. Calc. carb. 10M. and Sac. lac. weekly.

January 6, 1938. Free from symptoms. Sac. lac.

February 14, 1938. Left forefinger stiff. Calc. carb. 50M. and Sac. lac. weekly.

May 15, 1938. No complaints.

CASE VI. Mrs. J.B.C., age 78. November 26, 1937. Mother of last case. Has had sugar in urine. Tremor both hands for one year; breaks dishes. Tremor of knees while sitting. Palpitation on exertion. Gnawing pain in cardiac region. Always constipated. Chilly. Sleep poor. Draft <. Nervous, least thing upsets. Rough eruption of palms, itching, < at night for one year. Never well since husband died a year ago. Phosphorus 1M. and Sac. lac. bi- weekly vii.

February 11, 1938. Helped wonderfully. No dishes broken since. Some tremor still of hands and knees. Phosphorus 1M. and Sac. lac. weekly.

May 29, 1938. Still some tremor but feeling better in every way. No sugar in urine. Sac. lac., single powder.

CASE VII. Mrs. P., age 56. September 20, 1936. Complaint of soreness and “wasting” of muscle of right thenar region below thumb. Duration some months, getting worse. Disposition irritable. Considerable gas > by belching. Craves open air. Lycopodium 1M. and Sac. lac. bi-weekly.

October 26, 1936. “Doctor, I dont know whether to tell you or not, but have decided to do so. My husband has been dead ten years. Seventeen years ago he went to a place he shouldnt have gone, got a discharge he shouldnt have gotten and infected me. We were treated by injections and cured of gonorrhoea. I have never seen any discharge since until I took your medicine. Now the same discharge has returned !” It was difficult to assure the lady that she had made a good exchange for the original complaint. Sac. lac. bi-weekly.

November 15, 1936. Discharge is lessening. Sac. lac.

December 20, 1936. The discharge has ceased and hand is fine.

June 20, 1937. No symptoms.

February 10, 1938. No symptoms except a grateful patient.

CASE VIII. Mrs. C., age 67. April 11, 1937. Six gall-bladder attacks under allopathic care. Present condition: markedly jaundiced. Pain with vomiting. Irritable. Cold chills precede attack. Perspires freely during attack. Belching gives slight relief. Chilly in general. Appetite poor. Thirstless. Desires sour things. Angry argument may precede attack. Nux vomica 94M. and Sac. lac. bi-weekly.

April 26, 1937. Improving. Sac. lac. weekly.

May 23, 1937. Jaundice entirely gone.

No return of attacks to May, 1938.

CASE IX. Mr. H.T., age 27. May 16,1938. Peritonsillar abscess left side, < on empty swallowing; salivation. Pain left meatus. Swelling of left cervical gland. Restless. Perspiration at night from waist up. Has date with specialist to open in two days, but is so much worse tonight has decided to come to office. Difficult to talk. Rhus tox. CM., single powder.

May 18, 1936. Perspiration from waist up heavy at night. Swallowing still difficult, especially hot drinks. Talks clearer. Cervical glands swollen. Sac. lac., single powder. Advised to delay date with surgeon.

May 19, 1936. Feels better. Talks better. Cervical gland not noticeable.

May 21, 1936. Could eat well last night. No pain. Less salivation. Less sweating. Sac. lac., single powder. Discharged.

May 27, 1938. Two years latter his brother comes in for himself and says H. T. never had any further trouble.

There was no discharge of this peritonsillar abscess, but a gradual aborting of the process.

These clinical cases are presented to demonstrate the use of the single remedy –various potencies –infrequent repetition — and varied diagnoses. All were office cases and the repertory used before the patient and various rubrics shown.

BOSTON, MASS.

DISCUSSION.

DR. BARKER: I would like to ask Dr. Spalding what his diet was in those ulcer cases.

DR. MOORE: There is just one point, on the repetition of Phosphorus in three months, which is perfectly all right. I want to get the reaction of everybody here on Dr. Bonnells case that he just gave, where that case came back helped at the end of the week and you heard him say the word, Phosphorus without his telling you what was going to happen. What was your reaction? I wonder if everybody else felt as I did.

MRS. CLOSE: Dr. Spaldings frequent use of Saccharum lactis reminded me of our dear old philosopher, Dr. Fincke. A friend of ours went to him for treatment and the following week returned to him and said, “I didnt take the powders because I knew they were Saccharum lactis.”.

He said, “You should have taken them. I put something of myself in every one of those little powders”.

DR. WILSON: I should like to ask Dr. Spalding if a microscopic examination were made of the return of that discharge in the gonorrhoeal case. I have often wondered whether, after a long period of time, in the suppression of gonorrhoea, when the discharge has returned, gonococci can be found microscopically.

DR. MC LAREN: I think it is the consensus of opinion that the gonococcus is smothered by a mixed infection, and although it is still present in the system the discharge, when it returns, will show mixed infection and not gonococcus, although the gonococcus undoubtedly still is present.

DR. WILSON: One reason why I speak of that, I had a case of so- called rheumatism one time, an articular rheumatism, better called a rheumatic fever, because there is no such thing as rheumatism, it is a scrap basket for everything, and this individual didnt seem to respond to the remedies at all, and finally one day I asked if there had ever been a gonorrhoea.

“Why no ! Oh, no! No!”.

Well, I turned on my heel and went over and fixed a powder of Tussilago. The next morning she said, “Why, I never had anything like that cleared yesterday.” Her next remark was, “Please close the door. I lied to you yesterday”.

That had been gone for a long, long time. No doubt the gonorrhoea had been suppressed and it got into the knees and you had a gonorrhoeal arthritis. I wonder now if Dr. Spalding did find gonococci in that discharge, or made the examination.

Ray W. Spalding