6.10 Neodymium oxydatum caseWidth 7, Depth 7,
Cure 7, Duration 6
A man of 70 years has had colitis for 25 years. He has diarrhea with sudden urging that he cannot control, worse from walking, better when lying. His stool is thin and watery, with small lumps and blood. The colitis is worse from peas, beans, spicy food, onions and leeks. He has offensive flatulence, smelling like rotten eggs. He has stool every 15 to 20 minutes in the daytime, 3 times at night, worse in evening at 7 pm. It started after an operation on his hemorrhoids. They were bleeding and itchy and were due to constipation and very hard stool. He’s been treated with cortisone, salicylate and Imodium.
A year before a shunt was inserted operatively for hydrocephalus. This was after he started getting forgetful, walking zigzag, his legs giving way from weakness and being tired. His concentration and memory are still bad. A few years before that, he had an operation on a herniated vertebral disc. He has had backaches already for 30 years. The backaches are worse from standing a long time, stooping, change to bad weather, and better from walking bent forward. After the operation he developed impotency.
Since childhood he has had divergent strabismus in his left eye. The vision in his right eye is 7%. 4 out of his 8 siblings also have strabismus.
He worked as a guard in the army. He was very strict, he would refuse to let even generals through without a pass. His officer told him that he was mad, but he didn't mind, seeing it as the officer's problem.
He’s fearless. As a child he was a real rascal, stealing cherries etcetera. When the owner wanted to protect his cherries with a net, he and his friends ate all the cherries, rolled up the net and put it outside his front door and rang the doorbell. The police always picked him out of the groups as the one responsible, but he didn't care. In the Second World War, he saw many dead people and many funerals. Once he played with gunpowder in a bunker and got several fragments in his hand, wrist and knee. He was caught but managed to escape by climbing down a drainpipe. It was the most beautiful stunt of his life. He blocked up the exhaust pipes of cars of the German soldiers several times, so that the cars broke down within minutes.
He’s very to-the-point: when he says A he also says B. He’s so honest that he’s not believed sometimes “If you tell the truth they don’t believe you”. He will never betray his mates. They were taking little things, nails and so on from the army. They still do such things at reunions. He has an attitude of daring, “Don't play with me!”.
Weather: chilly, cold feet (3).
Time: < 7 pm.
Desires: sweets, warm food, herrings (3), sour (2), cheese, beans.
Aversion: <- tomato soup, rhubarb (3), cabbage, orange juice, endive, spinach.
Food: < peas, beans, spicy food, onions, leeks.
Sleep: much, on his right side.
AnalysisThe ulcerative colitis, as an auto-immune disease, points to
Lanthanides and especially a Lanthanide oxydatum. His daring character indicates
Stage 6. He’s full of courage and is fearless. He talks about his playing with gunpowder as the most beautiful stunt of his life. This sounds like a trapeze stunt in the circus (
Molybdenum,
Stage 6 in the
Silver series) or climbing a mountain (Tungsten,
Stage 6 in the
Gold series.
The theme of the rascal is a typical expression of
Neodymium. It’s proving their autonomy.
ConfirmationsGold series: strabismus, blindness, hydrocephalus.
Oxygen: stealing things from the army, stealing cherries.
Follow upAfter
Neodymium oxydatum MK he generally feels better and his complaints diminish. The diarrhea disappears.
2 years later he’s still doing fine.
He had been treated homeopathically already for 13 years before he got the
Neodymium oxydatum.
The first prescription was Lycopodium. It palliated for six months.
After Cicuta he felt much better, in energy, memory, sleep and diarrhea. His memory stayed much better, but the diarrhea came back after 18 months. Then Rheum was prescribed on the symptoms of the diarrhea and his strong aversion to rhubarb. It gave him more initiative and happiness and the diarrhea was much better.
3 years later he came back because the diarrhea had come back again. Clematis helped for 2 years. Then it came back again. Rheum, Cicuta, Polygonum punctatum and Conium had hardly any effect.
Ferrum sulphuricum was prescribed on the indications of the aggravation time of 5 am and the worries about his wife, her bossiness and her disease.
Ferrum sulphuricum MK in 4 doses helped for 3 years.
Then the diarrhea returned and Rheum and
Kalium nitricum had only short effect. Then
Neodymium oxydatum was prescribed.
CommentThis case is a good example for discussing the criteria for evaluation. One criterion often used is the duration of the cure. Periods of one or two years are often used by some homeopaths as a prerequisite for a good prescription.
In this case we can see good results of remedies that lasted 18 months, 2 years and even 3 years. They can be said to be curative of a layer. In the case of Cicuta I have the impression that that really is the case. But in the case of Rheum I only see superficial effects. The same is true for
Ferrum sulphuricum. Clematis also helped for 2 years. The patient had no complaints for 2 years. But there’s’ no sign of a cure on a higher level, of any understanding coming to him. So I doubt the prescription.
Cases like this made me reflect on the criteria for evaluation. They led me to the conclusions in the chapter on Case scores.