Rauvolfia serpentina

Case by Maarten van der MeerA 79-year-old woman, she is small, has a clear face and she is clear-headed. “I am so tense, so hyper- nervous”. She is very emotional. If they point at her she can already cry, she says with a red face in tears. It is constant, even at night there is agitation, with waking up and then staying awake for hours. It has increased since her husband is doing badly, having surgery. Always she has been worrying and looking ahead. Now she is full of thinking about how to proceed and has this agitated feeling. It is an accumulation, her brother recently passed away, and she constantly had to hear all the misery. She can't sit still for long and has to get up constantly. The restlessness: she points to the stomach and chest. She has been using morphine patches for a year now because of neuropathy in the legs, it has been 15-20 years. She falls asleep and wakes up at 4 am in a lot of pain, and can only nap a little after that. This started with the big toe 25 years ago when Grandma died. It is nerve pain, with bumps, and it comes more and more up the leg. She cannot keep her legs quiet. With waking up she is very stiff. Always she was sensitive to tension, quick to think more deeply about something, and worried. Her husband now needs surgery again, they did lifelong everything together, he patches her, gives her eye drops, and they do household together. She doesn't want to lean on the children. She has always taken care of her parents. Years back she used prednisone, because of depression due to pain, and sleeping badly. Last year she got prednisone again; when that was phased out, the anxiety came. 'I don't want to use any more crap'. She has osteoarthritis: no strength, and stiffness in fingers, neck, and shoulders. Her right eye is bad, she still has 40% vision, due to a bump in the macula. She always remained cheerful, but now she is no longer going. She once had breast reduction surgery because of shoulder pain, she had worn neck vertebrae by then. She had migraines, then lay on the bed spitting up, until menopause. She cares, for everything and everyone, she is always concerned that things go well. Becoming dependent on herself, she doesn't want that. She always took care of her parents, and in-laws, from ordinary care to informal care, also with her own young family. Being the oldest herself at home, having to work, care for, the extra study, and also the work in her youth. She never complained, but now I am “reaping the sour fruit of it”. She always keeps going, even though she has poor eyesight and poor hearing. “She can't bend circumstances the way she wants now. Everything comes up, it piles up. She can't turn off her thoughts after waking up. Always wanting to be in control, giving the children commands. As a child, she let everything go over her head. After her husband comes home from surgery, she is more nervous, she has a red face from the emotions, with a lot of loads, crying quickly, and she is tired: her legs drag behind her, about the pain, she says: you don't want to know what I feel''. Terbium muriaticum and Harpagophytum had no effects.AnalysisLanthanides, Serie 6: neuropathy, osteoarthritis. Silver series: large nerve paths, neck shoulder pain Serie 6: Independence, being alone is the common thread in life, Silver series: sensitivity to people and atmosphere. Very stressful is the uncertainty, Phase 2, gives a lot of agitation, the agitation is Subphase 5. Her development (Gold series) she hardly got around to (Phase 2) because of caring for her parents (Rauvolviae). Neuropathy developed after the death of her father. Bond parent-child is very strong we know from Asclepias, that this can be extrapolated to Gentianales, and been seen more often in Rauvolviae. Complaints after the death of her grandmother. So bad that she have to constantly appeal to the children: themes of worry, mother, and the theme of independence. Restlessness, unable to keep legs still we know from Zincum metallicum, placed at Stage 12, culmination (of worry and grief), exhaustion, powerless, we know from Cadmium, placed at Stage 12, formerly 'commanding, keeping control of others, we know from Mercury, also Stage 12. With searching for or classifying a Stage, you can always compare it with better-known drugs.
Prescription: Rauvolfia serpentina MKFollow upThe first three nights she had very bad leg pain, and could hardly sleep. After that, it went well again. The emotional is over after a week. Sleep is very good now, very deep. The agitated feeling is gone after three weeks. The blood values are good now, and the internist is satisfied. Osteoarthritis is going well at the moment, but that always varies: she always has a strong aggravation in the north wind, and then she walks badly from pain. The thrust of emotion and the drive in caring for family, caring until you drop: Rauvolvia. She stays stable for years.