6. Case of AcidityPresenting Complaints: A 42-year-old man presented with acidity and headaches of 10 years duration.
Characteristic Features of Headache: Headache starts in the forehead and spreads over the whole head, with heat, burning eyes, and alternating sides. Worse from sun and humid closed rooms; better from vomiting, sleep, and bandaging.
Characteristic Features of Acidity: Bitter vomiting, teeth feel sour and yellow, with marked neck stiffness. Associated with acidity, constipation, and bloating.
Other Complaints: Low back pain from prolonged sitting, worse on sitting and standing.
Physical Generals: Thirstless; desire for spicy food and eggplant. Thermally chilly, chills on back and ears; urine offensive smelling.
Mind State: Easily stressed, irritable, emotionally sensitive about family matters.
Family relationships, particularly care and respect with his wife, are very important to him. He tends to do everything quickly, wants things on time. He has a fear of water.
Reports: Non erosive pangastritis -RUT +ve with fundic gland polyps.
Rx: Colchicum 30C plussing for 3 days; after 30 days, Colchicum 200C B. D. for 2 days; SL 50 days
Follow up: In the past month, he had two episodes of headache.
Constipation, eye burning, and back pain have improved. When symptoms worsen, he feels chilly, worse from exertion, with frequent eructations. The head feels hot, headaches are often one-sided with occipital pain and stiffness, sometimes after sleep.
Irritability and suppressed anger have increased, with marked emotional sensitivity and a tendency to cry easily.
Stress triggers back pain requiring rest. Vomiting no longer relieves symptoms, and occasional chest burning persists.
Analysis: There is a subtle ‘you vs me’ mindset with a strong victim feeling—others are perceived as doing things to him. His response is emotional suppression, which manifests physically as headaches, digestive disturbances, gastritis, and polyps.
The case can be approached in two ways: either considering a deeper constitutional remedy or prescribing an intercurrent remedy. In some cases, both may point to the same medicine.
Rx:
Pancreatinum 30C O. D. for 3days followed by Colchicum 30C, 200C B. D. for 2 days each. Repeat every 3 weeks. Natrum phos 12x for 45 days
Follow up: No headaches; one to two mild episodes of acidity with sourness in the teeth.