Homeopathy & migraines

& iatrogenesis - a case report spanning four years

SARAH PENROSE

Dec 18, 2024

This was initially paywalled but now is not.

Case report - Female early 30’s - First appointment 2018.

MAIN COMPLAINT - Migraine.

Origin of the complaint Post partum - since one year.
Possible causative factors Anesthesia - birth via emergency caesarean section (foetal distress) - felt drained for sometime afterwards.
Hormonal changes post partum.
Modalities Worse odours particularly perfume, and synthetic fragrances.
Time of occurrence, aggravation or amelioration Cannot hold food down.
Side of the body Left.
Frequency of appearance Intermittent.
Description of pain Electric shocks.
Other complaints Left hand and fingers feel weak with not great grip.
Weak pelvic floor.
Intermittent twitch left eyelid.
Lost 8kg during first trimester of first pregnancy.

PERSONAL MEDICAL HISTORY

Suppressive therapies and vaccinations HPV vaccines in early twenties - lost 13kgs in one month post third dose and was given no diagnosis.
Received all childhood vaccines.
Traumas (physical, emotional, mental) Very fearful during pregnancy that she was carrying a girl, didn't want her to be molested.
Parents divorced as a very young child.
Acute infectious diseases Chicken pox - ten years of age.
Surgeries emergency caesarean section.
Other Shingles - left intercostal with electric shock pains - age 22.
Family Medical History Angina. Asthma.

PHYSICAL GENERALS

Sleeping habits Dreams a lot.
Food modalities Can eat 6-7 bananas per day
Worse citrus, lemons = stomach pains and runny stools.
Forgets to drink - forces one litre per day.
Menstruation Strong heavy, with clots, for ten days.
Electric shock pains in left leg groin to feet - I don't want to walk but do want to curl up.
Fatigue with periods which returned two months post partum.
Menarche aged 13.
As a teen often couldn't leave the house due to metrorrhagia.
Skin eruptions irritable skin - red lumpy rash, left side décolletage down left arm, feels dry, thin, irritable since taking HPV shots in her early twenties.

MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS

Worry I have signs of multiple sclerosis - have had every test under the sun.
I get embarrassed by my skin.
Loves dogs, and horses - has many of each.
Scared of being attacked by a saltwater crocodile - petrified of them.

ANALYSIS & PROGNOSIS

This lady does not recall having a fever during the few colds in earlier life, or with shingles.

Loss of 13kgs post third HPV vaccine due to disordered stomach is a very strong reaction with complications indicating a defense mechanism which is too weak to counteract the vaccine - vaccinations often induce disturbing effects.1

Any chronic condition that traces to a vaccine is termed vaccinosis2 - evidenced by the persistent left sided rash our lady has had since ten years.

This lady's family medical history doesn't reveal much about her inherited predisposition.

Level of health3 classified as Group C, level 8 where acute infections are no longer observed and they no longer develop fevers - a sign of a compromised immune system.

An individual belonging to Group C will not have had any acute illness for several years, and typically requires several successive remedies.4

The Ladder of Health by George Vithoulkas

Figure 1: Ladder of Health by George Vithoulkas. Adapted from ‘scale of the Levels of Health, from level 1 to level 12, divided into four groups A, B, C, and D. The healthiest level is at the top. This illustration depicts the genetic predisposition of the individual and the degree of strength of their *defence* mechanism. REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION from Vithoulkas, G. 2017. *Levels of Health, The second volume of the Science of Homeopathy, revised edition.* Alonissos: International Academy of Classical Homeopathy.

Selected rubrics and repertorization results

Figure 2: March 2018 (Vithoulkas Compass)

PHOSPHOROUS Thin, tall and fine featured. Smell very acute < headache, intolerance of perfumes. Great sensitivity to odours. Left sided symptoms. Haemorrhagic tendency (menses). Metrorrhagia bright red (almost never clotted). Dry skin.5 Strong anxiety about health. Many fears.6

POSOLOGY

Remedy Phosphorous
Potency 200c (initial potency up to 200C in Group C)7
Regimen One dose daily for three days.

2020

First follow-up appointment.

This lady is pregnant with child number two and briefly reports experiencing no migraines at all, and lighter menses, during the two years since Phosphorus but is rather grumpy with my questions as she is quite unwell with ‘influenza a’ - without fever (this appointment was via phone).

Reaction to the remedy of the first consultation

The response to the remedy - as outlined in The Levels of Health8 and also in The Science of Homeopathy9 - helps us evaluate the overall pattern of the reaction to the prescription and provides direction of ‘where to from here.’

The closest response pattern in this case after two years (typically conducted after one month) is Observation 8 which implies a compromised immune system where several sequential remedies will be required to restore health, but from here on the remedy will be easy to recognize. This type of reaction when seen in the lower levels of health level 9 & below (Fig.1) (not in this case) indicates what was referred to by Hahnemann as one-sided disease.10

Figure 3: Reaction to the remedy after TWO YEARS. REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION from Vithoulkas, G. 2017. *Levels of Health, The second volume of the Science of Homeopathy, revised edition.* Alonissos: International Academy of Classical Homeopathy.

Analysis of the reaction

Phosphorous appears to have helped the defense mechanism as Group C (Fig.1) will report no acute illness for many years, but this lady is now generating ‘influenza’ symptoms (which can be seen in levels 6 - 9) confirming the original level 8 classification.

The longer it takes a Group C individual to develop an acute illness the more chronic their condition is. The immune system is not working adequately. Group C individuals are prone to develop serious acute illness which require treatment.11

Selected rubrics and repertorization results (2020)

Figure 4: March 2020 (Vithoulkas Compass(2022)

BRYONIA has characteristic irritability, may refuse to answer questions preferring to neither talk or move. Motion (of any kind) greatly aggravates. Headache. Constipation. Thirsty for large quantities of water. Trauma. Fear of financial ruin / poverty.12

POSOLOGY

Prescription Bryonia.
Potency 200C.
Regimen One dose for two days.

2021

Second follow-up appointment.

This lady is again grumpy although this time is unwell with symptoms of ‘a head cold’ with 'maybe like a light fever.'

Group C (Fig.1) is susceptible to mild acute illness with fever no higher than 38.5°C which can sometimes still occur in level 8 and require treatment.13

Selected rubrics and repertorization results (2021)

Figure 5: July 2021 (Vithoulkas Compass (2022)

POSOLOGY

Prescription Bryonia.
Potency 200C.
Regimen One dose.

2022

Third follow-up appointment.

This lady has taken panadol - a few doses - she hasn't taken pain relief for many, many years.

And happily reported her great anxiety about health, and all of her initial 2018 symptoms (Fig.2) had dissipated.

She was now experiencing a different type of headache and had become very fearful and uncertain of the future.

Selected rubrics and repertorization results (2022)

Figure 6: April 2022 (Vithoulkas Compass (2022)

POSOLOGY

Prescription Bryonia.
Potency 200C.
Regimen One dose.

Analysis

Post the 2018 prescription of Phosphorous, this lady experienced two acute illnesses - ‘influenza A’ and ‘a head cold’ - in three years, where none had occurred for many, many years.

The return of acute illness here reinforces the idea this lady is regaining some strength back in her immune system - the manifestation of acutes long after administration of the initial remedy is both a good sign that recovery has begun and indicates the chronic condition under treatment was quite severe.14

Considering that individuals belonging to level 8 or 9 typically require years of treatment with homeopathy before they can produce an acute illness (the longer they take to develop is indicative of more severe, chronic pathology) this lady, having had two acute illnesses in the three years and in an increasingly shortening timeframe, has improved her defense system (aka immune system) function.15

Level 8, Group C individuals typically require several successive remedies which is seen in this case followed for over four years.16

TAKEN FROM: Vithoulkas G. 2012. (3rd ed.) Materia Medica Viva. Cactus grandiflorus to Calcarea sulphuricum. International Academy of Classical Homeopathy. Alonissos. Greece. (First published 1997)

‘The homeopath must understand the importance of this statement regarding the specific sequence of remedies: it is the only way to restore health with absolute success.

Overprescribing remedies without properly assessing the effect of each prescription is irresponsible. It serves only to create the impression that the person is receiving homeopathic treatment.’

George Vithoulkas17

In my opinion, every homeopath working with people suffering chronic disease must become familiar with Levels of Health theory in order to offer the people they work so hard for the best chance of recovery - under the care of a well-trained homeopath able to interpret and understand disease progression

- whether healthful or anti-healthful -

as all diseases in the medical history, both acute and chronic, form links in the chain of a person’s overall health status

recuperating health results in symptom patterns which enable precise evaluation of remedy effect, knowledge of which is immensely beneficial to clinical efficacy. 18

The body is in a relatively good state of health when it has the possibility of producing a fever above 38.5°C.

When there is no longer ability for fever, it may indicate that the inflammatory processes have progressed to a deeper level, to a vital organ, or even to the whole system, creating a new situation of sub-acute inflammatory processes which always result in continued deterioration of the chronic condition.192021

An observational, multi-centre, study of over two hundred women seeking homeopathic treatment for migraine showed improvements that persisted for the observed 24 month period. However, due to the study design, treatment specific effects, or not, were unanswered.22

Treatment with Individualized homeopathy effectively managed a case of migraine in an eleven year old female, with complete regression of the Pineal Cyst during the period of treatment.23

As always, further scientific investigation is required in this direction to establish effectiveness of classical homeopathy in migraine.

‘In contrast to frequent claims, the available meta analyses of homoeopathy in placebo-controlled randomised trials for any indication show significant positive effects beyond placebo. Compared to other medical interventions, the quality of evidence for efficacy of homoeopathy was similar or higher than for 90% of interventions across medicine. Accordingly, the efficacy evidence from placebo-controlled randomised trials provides no justification for regulatory or political actions against homoeopathy in health-care systems.’24