Bromium Case(taken by Rienk Stuut)A man, aged 25, comes with acne in the face and on his back. It is a severe form of acne, with large boils, leaving scars. < chocolate and fat.
During the course of treatment he got a pain in his left testicle. Later on this developed into a hard swelling, painful to touch. The pain radiates to his back, > stretching the back. He is restless and can’t find a comfortable position. The tumour proved to be malignant. During that period he had a dream about a mongol in a psychiatric institution,who outwardly appeared to be very friendly, but who proved to be a terrible beast in reality. He twice managed to escape from this institution, leaving behind a pool of blood and destruction.
Past history: Bronchitis many times as a child. Pseudo croup. Pfeiffer.
Childhood: He was a short-tempered little boy, even quite destructive. On the one hand he wanted people to like him, but he often quarrelled with other children. At school he always fought with another boy for the attention of his teacher (a woman). He kicked and punched and if he couldn’t win he used to run home crying. His father then used to go outside to punish those other boys. All his emotions are very intense. He can also be very cheerful, happy, laughing a lot. He feels that his parents were over-protective, taking away his ability to stick up for himself.
Mind: He studies at the academy of 'expression'. Before that he worked with mentally handicapped people for four years. He stopped this because he wanted to start doing artistic things. He finds it difficult to concentrate on one thing, and he usually puts his energy in doing several things at once. The same thing counts for his relationships. He used to have relationships with both men and women. He feels that he needs more than one relationship in order to get enough love and nurturing.
When there are problems within any of these relationships, he quickly feels guilty and wants to solve it straight away.
He often feels that there is someone behind him who disapproves of him.
He is very impulsive and works in bursts of energy. He is also restless, continually moving his legs.
Fears: height, accidents, what might happen.
General characteristics:
Temperature: cold feet and buttocks. -> sea.
Desires: sweet, chocolate, milk, cheese.
Aversion: beer. < fat, < chocolate.
Sleep: on his right side, sometimes he talks or shouts.
AnalysisWe find the following symptoms for
Bromium: croup, acne, < chocolate, -> chocolate, painful and hard swelling in the testicle, Pfeiffers disease, left-sidedness. The tendency to seek attention, the aggression and the feelings of guilt are also typical of
Bromium. So is the feeling of someone standing behind him, which it shares with medorrhinum. This is the remedy which I had given him initially, and this case clearly illustrates the resemblance between med. and Brom. It was difficult to make a definite choice, but the indications for
Bromium were just a bit stronger.
ReactionHe first got med 1M, after which there were the following changes: the acne diminished, he opted for a steady relationship, he became quieter, less energetic, he slept more. From time to time he felt quite sad. Then he developed the pain in the testicle. After Brom 1M. the acne came back. He feels more quiet, secure and stable. He gets another dream in which the same mongol escapes again and is just about to start threatening other patients. But then he manages,with the help of a colleague, to catch him and lock him up.
His tumour was treated with chemotherapy. It is surprising how well he could tolerate this treatment. After a session he just went out to play football. Once when he did not take a dose of Brom before a chemo treatment he felt extremely sick.
A few months later the tumour has completely disappeared. After two years he reports that he has become a different person. He has a steady relationship. The acne remained for a while, but gradually disappeared. A while later he has another nice dream: he had recorded a videofilm together with a group of mentally handicapped people, and his boss gave him a pat on the shoulder for his work.