Homeopathic Management
What is Homeopathy?
Homeopathy is a system of medicine based on the idea of “like cures like”. What that involves is getting a detailed description of your symptoms and finding the remedy that most closely matches that symptom picture. When the correct remedy is chosen, it will gently and rapidly stimulate your body to heal itself. Finding the right remedy requires understanding you as a whole person and because the treatment is based on your unique symptoms it is highly individualized. For example, 10 different women may come in with symptoms of PMS and each woman may receive a different remedy based on her own manifestation of the disease.
Is Homeopathy Safe?
Homeopathy is the safest form of medicine we know. The remedies are extremely dilute, so they will not interact with other herbs or medications, and they are free from uncomfortable or harmful side effects. Homeopathy is even safe to use in pregnant or nursing women and infants.
How long will treatment take?
The length of treatment varies depending on the condition being treated and how quickly your body is able to heal itself. It can often take several months to a year or more for the body to be fully cured, but most women FEEL better right away and there should be steady improvement over that time.
What can Homeopathy treat?
Homeopathy can treat a wide variety of ailments in women of all ages and stages of life.
Irregular, painful, or heavy periods
PMS
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
Infertility
Cervical dysplasia
Pregnancy complaints such as morning sickness, digestive issues, hemorrhoids, fatigue
Mastitis in nursing moms
Post-partum depression
Menopausal symptoms
Anxiety/Depression/Insomnia/Fatigue
Migraines/Headaches
Thyroid Imbalances
Case Example
CJ is a 31 year old female who came to the clinic with complaints of PMS and painful menstrual cramping. Her PMS symptoms included headaches that typically start 2-3 days before her period. Her headaches were mostly in her forehead and behind her eyes. She described the pain as “throbbing” and that pushing on her forehead made it feel better. Interestingly, she said that her headaches felt better in cool, open air, and were worse if she were in a stuffy room. She would also get very emotional the week before her period, crying very easily, being very sensitive to the opinions of others. She would take things her husband said the wrong way and think he didn't love her. She can be very indecisive, and often asks her husband what he thinks or prefers. In general, she described herself as a “pleaser”, always putting the needs/wants of others in front of her own. Even if something bothers her, she avoids confrontation because she hates conflict and “making a scene”. She is very timid and gets embarrassed very easily, and dreads meetings at work where she has to make presentations. When she gets upset, she needs to be reassured and feels much better from consolation. She has had painful periods since she began menstruating. She described a very heavy sensation in her pelvis, like there was a stone in her abdomen and the pain as “cutting” in nature. Sometimes she would also experience pain in her low back. Her periods were regular, but the bleeding was very heavy, often with large clots. Generally, she is not very thirsty, and is even less so when the pain is bad. She has cravings for rich, fatty foods, but they generally make her feel worse after she eats them.
Based on all these symptoms, I prescribed Pulsatilla 30C and had her come back after her next period, which was 4 weeks later.
The First Follow Up
CJ returned to the clinic and reported that her PMS was much milder. She was not nearly as weepy and sensitive and she reported that she did not have a headache before this period. She also reported that the cramping was still there, but was much less intense and only lasted the first couple hours. The bleeding was a little lighter, but what she really noticed was there were hardly any clots this time. She also had to a presentation at work the week before and said she felt much more confident and at ease. Overall, she said she felt “more balanced”, both emotionally and physically, and even her husband noticed an improvement in her mood. Since she was still doing so well we had her continue the remedy and follow up in another 3 weeks.
The Second Follow Up
CJ returned to the clinic and had begun to notice her mood slipping back a little. A few days ago, she started getting weepy again, crying for no apparent reason and feeling more sensitive. She also had a headache yesterday, similar to the ones she used to get. Based on these symptoms, I concluded that CJ is no longer reacting to her remedy and we went up in potency to Pulsatilla 200C
The Third Follow Up
CJ reported feeling better almost immediately after switching potencies. She said her mood stabilized, she had no more headaches, and her period was even less painful than the one before. Once we figured out how long CJ reacted to each potency, we had her follow up every 6 weeks to make adjustments. Every time she returned, her improvement was better than the time before, and after about 6 months, was virtually symptom-free, needing only minor tune-ups occasionally.
This case is a good example of how treatment typically proceeds with homeopathic care. Improvement is usually step-wise, with symptoms gradually getting better as time goes on. Every person will stop reacting to a particular potency at some point, and may have a slight regression of symptoms, but if we catch it soon enough and make the necessary changes, we can get right back on course. The end goal is absence of disease, without further need for treatment. Understanding each person's unique symptoms (mental, emotional, and physical) is the key to prescribing the right remedy and also knowing when we need to make adjustments to keep the improvement going. When dealing with hormonal imbalances, it typically takes several months (cycles) for the body to correct that imbalance, but as you can see, most patients notice improvement in the first month.
