Joseph Kellerstein, DC, ND
Similar Thought
Charlotte is a lovely young lady with a great smile and a pleasant, straightforward manner that is disarming. Her story is not unusual for a vital 20-year-old. She is someone for whom values are a clear priority. Honesty, integrity, and loyalty are way up on the list.
She says, “If someone violates these values, I feel sad or angry, but I will usually keep it to myself. My friends tell me that if I am feeling these strong emotions I will laugh off my problems. That is, I will laugh at my problems if in company. I don’t laugh them off when I’m alone.”
History
Just prior to a much-anticipated family trip to a high-end, all-inclusive resort at a lovely, warm-weather destination, Charlotte suffered a sudden turbulence in her life when she inadvertently discovered that her boyfriend of some years had been secretly “cheating.” Despite his efforts to reconcile, Charlotte was devastated and wanted nothing more to do with him.
“I am someone who loves hard,” she explains. “I love fully. It hurt so much. At some points I had thought of suicide. How can someone do such a thing? I hated him.”
While on vacation at the resort, Charlotte met a new romantic partner and things seemed a bit better. However, soon after returning home she noted flat, darkish, wart-like excrescences in the genital and inner-thigh region. On inspection, the attending primary-care physician diagnosed HPV. Charlotte was traumatized. “Will I ever get well?”
Some time later, her family suggested she try homeopathy.
Repertorization
I took a long case, hoping to get a solid “totality” on which I might prescribe. Nothing. Question after question, I was striking out. Now, the story, as related above, makes one perhaps think of Ignatia or Natrum muriaticum. However I could not get any confirmatory symptoms for these remedies. Those choices did not make me feel that I had hold of anything connected to the disease.
After continuing to get nowhere with the usual case-taking questions, I noticed her eyebrows rise as if to say that a thought had come up for her. Noticing her response, I stopped questioning and instead said nothing, in the hopes of a useful flow of information.
“I do notice that after I work out, the warts seem less noticeable for a while. Is that important?”
The TBR2 (by George Dimitriadis) so elegantly allows us to view this information and possible remedies for study (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Repertorization & Remedy
I had been thinking Ignatia or Nat mur, and, indeed, Nat mur does come up in the repertorization. However, the modality of “better after exertion” (workouts) strongly suggests Sepia.
Prescription: Sepia 10M. Dose on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
One-Month Follow-up
A month later, Charlotte was elated.
“I am at least 80% better! The first 2-3 weeks I was actually worse. It seemed like the warts were more prominent and got itchy, but the itch was relieved just by lightly scratching. Then, in the fourth week, they suddenly seemed to dry up. Where I had 10, I now have 1! Where they were, the skin is a bit pale.
“I also feel much healthier emotionally. Normally, I am very hard on myself. I fear failure. If a friend would offend me, the old me would run back and make up. This new me is different. I don’t seem to be so overwhelmed. I care less. I do not want this kind of disrespect in my life.”
Plan
Plan: Decrease dosing frequency to twice weekly, and return in 1 month.
This is certainly not a fully-cured case, but definitely a “wow”! And premised on such a simple observation. Thanks to Hahnemann.
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Joseph Kellerstein, DC, ND, graduated as a chiropractor in 1980 and as an ND in 1984. He graduated with a specialty in homeopathy from the Canadian Academy for Homeopathy, and subsequently lectured there for 2 years. He also lectured in homeopathy for several years at CCNM; for 8 years at the Toronto School of Homeopathic Medicine; and for 2 years at the British Institute for Homeopathy. Dr Kellerstein’s mission is the exploration of natural medicine in a holistic context, especially homeopathy and facilitating the experience of healing in patients.
