Natrium iodatum CaseA woman of 60 comes with complaints of hyperthyroidism. She is very restless, > exertion and fresh air. When she is able to do sports, to cycle, dance and move in general, she feels much better. When she feels anxious she gets very sad and doesn’t feel like doing anything, even shopping or doing the washing up. The restlessness is accompanied by a feeling that she has to escape; it gets worse from loud noises and bright lights. Her heartbeat is irregular, particularly during her midday meal. It feels as if there is a fire in her veins. She is losing weight and only weighs 52 kg. She has a struma, a small induration in the thyroid on the right side, 2 cm in diameter.
Another complaint is recurring cystitis. This is accompanied by a biting pain in the urethra, < during and after urination, > pressure on the pubic bone. The urine is blood-stained. The pain radiates to her back. She gets these inflammations after making love or after swimming.
She often has pain in her lower back.
Her mouth is dry.
Ten years ago she suffered from fibroids in the uterus, after which she had a hysterectomy. After this operation she woke up suddenly, felt very sad and suffocated, as if she couldn’t breathe properly.
When she was 3 years old she suffered from intestinal colic and her appendix was removed when she was 6.
Childhood: She was born in Indonesia and she was often alone as a child. She was not allowed to play with the Malaysian children. As a friend she had a mirror, which she called ’Tess’. She was in a Japanese concentration camp, together with her mother and her sister. She doesn’t get emotional when she thinks about it, unlike her sister. She doesn’t remember much about it, except that they had to sleep on 80 cm. wide planks and that she had pneumonia once. She also remembers that the women had to queue up to get food.
General characteristics:
Temperature: she easily gets too hot or too cold. < warmth, > fresh air.
Time: < 5 am, morning, spring.
desires: warm food, meat, cheese, apples, oranges; appetite increased before flu.
always hungry.
Aversion: bread; alcohol makes her fussy and irritable.
Menses: copious with stomach pains; irritable before menses.
Sleep: sound, unless she has drunk coffee; wakes at 5am.
sleeps on the right side.
Mind: She has always been a nervous type of person. She also gives the impression of being rather restless. She has many vague fears, particularly when she reads about houses that have been burnt down. She doesn’t like loud music, loud conversation, or too many people: these make her afraid and it gives her a feeling of tightness at the top of her head.
She is very kind hearted and likes company, especially superficial contacts. But she worries about her health and that of her husband. She is afraid of being left on her own.
Her hobbies are drawing, cooking and working with clay. She is quite a perfectionist, but on the other hand also very unsure about her work. Sometimes she doesn’t even bother to start, and at other times she can’t stop. This makes her tired, even until the next day.
Dreams: that her mother is still alive.
Marriage: She did not marry until she was 40 and she is very happy.
Work: She used to be a school teacher, but it became too much. Even at night she still heard the children calling: ’Miss, Miss!’.
AnalysisThere are many indications for
Iodum in this case: hyperthyroidism, < warmth, < inside, > outside, restlessness, constant hunger, right-sidedness, < 5 am.
Iodum 1M brought repeated improvements to her condition, but they were only temporary. (Likewise Lycps, Leonurus cardica and Calc-i). She was quite happy with the treatment and kept coming back every 2 to 6 months, when the complaints returned. This sort of reaction indicated that the remedy was close, but not quite the similimum. So I thought it a good idea to start looking at the Iodatums. Which symptoms in this case did not fit
Iodum? The first thing we notice is that she is sad and doesn’t feel like doing anything when she feels anxious. The second aspect that stands out is her story about the concentration camp. The line of hungry women waiting for food fits with
Iodum, but not the concentration camp itself. This fits more into a Natrum situation. She was often alone as a child. This also fits with Natrum, as well as her feelings of sadness. The only modality we have for Natrum is the aggravation during a midday meal (<11 am) If we look at Natrum iodatum with the group analysis method, we get the theme: lonely and not enough to eat.
This is a theme that fits her situation very well, especially with the camp experiences.
ReactionAfter Nat-i 1M she felt 80% better within three weeks. The restlessness disappeared, this time forever. She felt more stable, as if the restlessness had definitely gone. (Previously, after Iod, she had always had a vague fear that it would come back again).