663.24.12 Phytolacca americana, CaseCase by Alex Leupen.
Woman, 32, throat complaints.
She always has flu-like complaints with throat pain and a swollen tongue, worse from swallowing and better from cold drinks. She has low fever, is hoarse, has painful gums feeling like paper. She has swollen lymph nodes in the neck. She has a chronic sinusitis and she is allergic to dust and cats. Once she had an imminent ear infection and once pneumonia. She has restless sleep, feels depressed and working has almost been impossible since the complaints. It started 4 months after labour.
During the pregnancy she did a course aside her work. During the pregnancy she had numerous complaints: blood loss, tinnitus, pain in the coccyx, tingling fingers, an aversion to mussels and meat.
Her labour was 8 days early and exhausting for her. The child had to be delivered by vacuum extraction. The first weeks after the birth of the child she felt alert and excited, full of adrenaline. She even had sleeping problems.
For four months she was breast feeding, sometimes with imminent mastitis. She feels uncertain concerning her body: she has no faith in it. She feels guilty when she is ill because she then neglects her duty as a mother. She feels very responsible for her child. The combination of work and taking care of her child is exhausting.
She normally works 3 days a week as a system manager. She also feels guilty towards her employer.
In the past she had a tonsillectomy and influenza she has a hot head and a cold body. No perspiration. The influenza is accompanied by myalgia, mostly in buttocks and thighs.
She uses oral contraceptives. In the week before menses she has head pain, stomach pain and nausea, worse in a warm room. She can sometimes have violent ovulation pain.
Temperature: she can be warm or chilly, depending on the surroundings. No perspiration.
Medical history: swollen lymph node in armpit with fibro-adenoma in left breast.
Dream: a girlfriend is pregnant and the child was born with one arm; the child was not welcome.
AnalysisStriking in this case are the guilt feelings. The central topic of Phytolacca: the young mother who wants to satisfy everyone: the child, the partner, the boss.