Lophophytum leandrii An 80-year-old man, he is heavy and rotund, short of breath, can’t walk more then 5 meters and gets around on a mobility scooter. He comes across as fearless, strong-willed, somewhat confused, but aware of his incapacity.
The reason for his visit is itching, “more at the back, from the eyebrows to the abdominal area” (occipital, neck, and back). It has been going on for years, and medication from the dermatologist does nothing. It feels like ants are crawling on him, day and night, all seasons, at times very badly. Scratching with a pot scrubber provides temporary relief. There is no rash, and skin scraping as test is negative. Eight years ago, he had a stroke, and since then, things have not been going well. He has diabetes, polyneuropathy, osteoarthritis of the shoulders and elbows. He has angina and had a stomach aneurysm. He has had vascular dementia for years, his memory is poor, he struggles to find words, he often mistakes vowels, the sound of the word is right, the melody, but with the wrong letters. He has had lung problems for years. After he stopped smoking, medication did not help. Five years ago, it turned out that his right lung was ‘rattling’ and loose. This was resolved surgically, but since then he has been short of breath and needs inhalers and oxygen. He thinks it happened because he exerted himself. His memory has deteriorated rapidly after delirium last year, during pneumonia and a bladder infection at the same time. He still has to urinate very often. He eats little. He uses oxygen while sleeping because of apnea. For his work, he used to spend a lot of time on the road, and he enjoyed driving, meeting lots of people, and seeing lots of things. Now he can't do that anymore, but he does ride his mobility scooter a lot with his wife next to him on her bike, “we see a lot.” 'It's a shame I can't do as much anymore. It's not as much fun anymore. In the past, he was always positive and did a lot of odd jobs. Now they still go out together.
AnalysisWith the above as a ‘framework’, the section ‘skin, itch, scratching does not ameliorate’ was reviewed. Flor de piedra is mentioned, a synonym in many Materia Medica for
Lophophytum leandrii.
Series 5: We see many aspects of the Silver
Series, interest, reflective talking (with
Malvidae, you often see people listening to what they are saying, assessing, adjusting, or analyzing it, as it were. This process is reinforced in him because he monitors himself due to his dementia). Shoulder girdle (osteoarthritis has that as a specific location), lungs. So
Lamiidae.
Phase 7: The body is clearly in decline, life is no longer enjoyable, and delirium (loss of consciousness). So Santanales. Life is ending, possibilities are gone, so
Balanophoraceae.
Stage 14: It is over, Compare the powerlessness of Erbium, the loss of
Plumbum.
Prescription: :
Lophophytum leandrii C30.
Follow-upOn the first day, he ‘felt something’ but could not describe it. The itching decreased after a week, and after three weeks he said, ‘This is easy to live with’, as it is now only around his shoulders. His energy is better, he no longer lies in bed during the day and can keep going all day long. His Hb rose from 6 to 9, as was evident after 10 days. He is doing odd jobs again. He still has headaches after sleeping, possibly due to his semi-sitting position in bed.
Paracetamol helps, and he can now manage with half the dosage. The pain is everywhere, and he cannot describe it. It has been going on for a few years. He continues to mix up his words. He has had several jobs, including sea transport, assembling equipment throughout the country, and started his own business after being laid off, done various jobs. Following months he is stable.