Manganum iodatum

4.7.7 Manganum iodatum, Case 1A 40 year old woman has a large goitre. It is so large on the right side that you can hardly see her throat. It started after her two children had been born and it is worse before the menses. There had been many deaths in the family around the time when her children were born: both her parents, both her grandparents, her father in law and her uncle all died around that time. She took care of her parents until the very end. They were still relatively young: her brother and sister were only 13 and 14 years old at the time. She took it upon herself to look after her little brother and sister, but it was all a bit much, when she was pregnant.
She is always very busy, she runs her own household and she helps out other people. She works from 7 in the morning until 11 at night, always busy for other people. Her friends only have to ask and she is there, ready to help. She gives a lot and she receives a lot too. Apart from her part time work as housekeeper for another family she also works at school, giving cookery lessons. She can hardly keep up with all these different activities and she finds herself doing several things at once. Her speech is hurried, as if she hasn’t got enough time to tell me everything. She can’t stop herself anymore, there is never a moment’s rest.
She can’t stand being criticised. She does her best at all times, so there is no reason to find fault with her work. Everything is immaculate and running smoothly, but it takes a lot of energy to get it like that.
She worries about the children, she panics when she hears an ambulance. She is quite possessive of the children, particularly of her little son. He used to be hyperactive and was in therapy for years. She feels she has to be alert all the time to make sure it doesn’t get out of hand.
She is afraid of the sea: doesn’t like the shimmering brightness and the fact that it seems so endless.
She has some other minor complaints: pain in her shoulder and neck, worse from draught. Large varicose veins on the inside of her lower leg and knee, worse on the right side, starting after her first pregnancy. They feel hard and painful, worse before menses, better from putting her legs up. Her hands and feet feel numb on waking. Frequent swelling of her hands with pain, worse on the left side, worse on damp weather. She gets earache from draughts, and always wears a scarf when there is no sun. Urticaria on her face from eating bananas and tomatoes.
Many problems around the menses. Before she had the children she always had a pain down the front of her thighs during the menses. Pain in her head before menses, a pulsating pain in the temples, she has to hold her head. Pain radiates to teeth, ears and neck. Also pain in the lumbar area of the back.
She put on a lot of weight during pregnancy, she weighed 100 kilos when she was expecting her second child.GeneralsWeather: warm (3), < damp; << draught and wind (2), -> storm; < sea (3); -> inside, -> outside in overcast weather.
Perspiration: always, under arms, on face and head.
Time: < morning.
Desires: sweet, cheese, soup, vegetables, mashed potatoes and carrots, solid food.
Aversion: fish, egg, milk.
Food: Tomatoes, bananas.
Sleep: like a log; on right side resting her face on her hands.AnalysisThe goitre makes us think of Iodum, possibly Bromium and Fluor.
But Iodum is more likely in this case because she is so hurried and the goitre is more right sided. A typical symptom is her fear of the sea, the fact that it is so endless. We know that the sea also plays a role in Bromium and Chlorum, but the feeling that it is endless has something to do with the aspect of expansion, which belongs to the Silver series.
But which Iodum should we choose? Her work has to be perfect and she can’t tolerate criticism. This points to the Iron series. She is always busy helping people: her parents when they were ill, her little brother and sister, the school etc. This leads us to Manganum and from there to Manganum iodatum. She has to be alert all the time (Iodatum, things might get out of hand at any moment) in order keep everything running well (Iron series).
Another nice example of the two elements combined: she gives cookery (food, Iodatum) lessons (Manganum)
Further Manganum symptoms: earache << draught and wind, > scarf, < tomatoes.
Iodum symptoms: hurried speech, <<< death of family, warm, < sea, -> outside, -> solid food.
DD: Ferrum iodatum, Calcium iodatum, Arsenicum iodatum.ReactionOne week after Manganum iodatum 1M she gets an aggravation that lasts a week. Afterwards she feels better. She doesn’t do ten things at once anymore, is less hurried. One year and several doses of Manganum iodatum 1M later she is doing very well on the whole. Her goitre has disappeared and she feels well.