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Occasional throat problems with “tonsillitis” (owner diagnosis, usually not treated).
Family history
None known.
Homeopathic history
Seen for full assessment 13/1/1995
Appearance: Good general condition; average weight. Demeanour: Continually looked to owner for support, preferring to be on her lap. Quiet, anxious. Would avert gaze when looked at.
Mentals: When unwell seeks reassurance. Generally desires company, but not unhappy when left (rarely left without the other dogs). Generally anxious, particularly of big dogs, when she seeks support. Fears crowds (dogs and people). Anxiety can lead to abdominal episodes. Very mild, easy-going, very tolerant, never has a temper. Generals:
Temperature modalities not noted.
Time modalities: abdominal episodes usually occur between 1am and 6am.
Weather: dislikes wet weather; hates to get her paws wet. Prefers to be in the open air but gets overheated easily in hot weather.
Sleeps well, variable position.
Appetite is average. Diet varies as has had so many problems that many things have been tried.
Food: Desires – eats anything
Aversions – none
Upsets: “everything in time”. <rich or fatty foods Thirst: relatively thirstless.
Locals and particulars:
Nose: Has a history of infrequent creamy discharge from both nostrils without sneezing. Clear on examination. Neck and throat: History of recurrent minor throat infections.
Respiration and chest: normal.
Abdomen: Problem usually starts with a belch, followed by gurgling and later pain. If belches when in pain, it relieves. Becomes restless when in pain and prefers to keep gently moving around. >rubbing, gripe water, heat. Doubles up in pain, abdomen gets very hard. Usually ends in diarrhoea.
Stool: Highly variable. Frequently goes 2-3 days without a stool and without desire. Finally goes when on a walk. Abdominal pain is relieved by passage of stool or flatus; this is often mixed with lumps of mucus, or mucus alone may be passed. Straining is not relieved by stool. Stool smell reported “sickly”, “like almonds”. Blood only occasionally seen.
Female genital tract: Irregular seasons, scanty discharge. False pregnancies with lactation and inappetence.
Physical examination
Head and neck: External lymph glands prominent. Tonsils moderately enlarged.
Eyes: Small amount of clear mucoid discharge medial canthi.
Abdomen: Some gas palpable in intestines (she was on Tylan at the time of the consultation and had a recurrence every time it was stopped). No pain.
Other areas were all normal on examination.
Conventional diagnosis
Flatulent spasmodic colic with colitis. Investigations carried out include full blood work-up and faeces samples, all of which were normal.
Management
Plain home-cooked food was advised. Hills I/D diet had been tried without success, as had Dene’s foods. She was now on fresh cooked rice and pasta with fish/chicken/turkey. Raw vegetables were advised to be introduced later.
Repertorisation
The following rubrics were taken (Kent’s repertory): MIND: Mildness
Fear; crowd of GENERALS: Wet; getting
STOMACH: Thirstless
ABDOMEN: Gurgling
RECTUM: Constipation, alternating with diarrhoea STOOL: Mucous, slimy
FEMALE GENITALIA: Menses, scanty
The result was Pulsatilla 22/8; Sulphur 16/8; Phosphorus 16/8; Arsenicum album 15/8, Lycopodium [figures did not print].
Treatment
The first remedy given was Aloes 6c 1 tid. This was based on local signs of spluttering diarrhoea with mucous and jelly-like lumps; abdominal distension with rumbling colic >passage of stool and flatus; >early morning. This resolved the diarrhoea to the extent that the Tylan could be stopped. An episode of nausea and diarrhoea after eating biscuits was relieved by giving Nux vomica on 31/1/95
[note 1/24: interestingly, Nux vomica appears to have been effective this time, following the Aloes, whereas it was reported unsuccessful previous to it].
Pulsatilla 200c split dose (3 doses 12 hours apart) given on 17/2/95. At this time Bramble was off all conventional drugs. On 20/2/95 she had two more episodes of abdominal pain which responded to a single dose of Magnesium phosphoricum 30c. From this time the stool became normal and the abdominal pain did not recur. Since this time there have been mild recurrences of the problem about every 3-4 months. The owner gives 1-2 Pulsatilla 30c tablets and this always controls the problem. There has been no recurrence of the early morning messes. She was generally much happier and
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