Hospital will be the end of me; a case of Staphylotoxinum

A. a 53 year old woman came in September 2009, presenting with a large fist-sized ganglion in her left hip. Her color preference is white C20/21: “I love white, the colour of spring and new growth.”

A: “I don’t want to go  anywhere near surgery, that would be the end of me. I had a tonsillectomy when I was 12 and I almost died; I haemorrhaged and I also had a staphylococcus infection (osteomyelitis) of the left femur which killed the bone marrow.

I had extremely high fever for 3-4 weeks, 106 degrees Farenheit. I was in and out of consciousness; they told my parents that if I survived I would be a vegetable, but I surprised them. None of the medications were working; I heard them say that they wanted to do a bone marrow transplant and I told them that I wasn’t going to let them do it: that night my fever broke. I could never donate blood because I was on such strong antibiotics.

“I feel that if I have to have another surgery I will not survive it. When I had my babies I didn’t want to go to the hospital because I was afraid I wouldn’t come out alive. Chemical narcotics don’t work for me: I woke up during the tonsillectomy, I was walking off the table. When I have dental work done they have to over-anaesthetize me because my metabolism works too fast. I was on strong morphine for a long time and it would only last 20 minutes! I don’t like being out of control, I am a control freak. I am pig-headed and I have an A type personality.

“If I would die I would go to heaven. When I was 12 I had an out-of-body experience: I walked with Jesus and I asked him why I was still here, since I had tried to die three times. His answer was that it was not my time yet.”

Medical history:

“I had encephalitis about 25 years ago, out of the blue with no prior illness. I was sleeping on a cot and I suppose it could have been from an insect bite. I had high fever and couldn’t move my neck. I was given another heavy load of antibiotics and recovered fully.

“I had another brain infection in 1997; the nerves in my face and head were not working well, I couldn’t see, and I had unbearable pain so I was in and out of hospital. It turned out that it was an infection of the trigeminal nerve originating from a tooth infection. I was given Demerol and Morphine but the effects would only last 20 minutes; they used to give me injections into the left cheek, hitting the trigeminal nerve. I also lost the feeling in my right arm. The doctors were going to do surgery to sever the major nerves of my face.

“I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis at 18 and was put on a strong medication that burned a hole in my stomach; that’s when I started to search for natural therapies. I also have restlesss leg syndrome. I have calcium deposits on my bones and teeth, and some of my vertebrae are fused (L7 and L8) so I can’t bend my back easily.”

Fears:

“I have a fear of dying in hospital. I have some claustrophobia, which is extreme in tight spaces where one has no control: I want to be in control of myself.”

Food:

“I love fish and chicken and occasionally I will have red meat. I have stopped eating sugar, and I don’t usually have white flour. I have always watched what I ate and I’ve never been a big drinker. I have never been drunk in my life, that will never happen; it’s control thing, I would feel sick if I was drunk.”

Pain:

“Stabbing pain goes from my lumbar area all the way down the leg, first the right leg, then the left.  The pain goes to the side of the weakness. I have pain my my left groin where the muscles are attached to the bone.  Lateral movement is terribly painful and rotating movements are not good. At first I thought I had a vein problem or an inguinal hernia. My femur muscles are trying to pull the muscles off my knee cap for two years now.  It reminds me of when I had Osteomyelitis. Before that I was asymptomatic! I want to be able to walk and run, it is killing me to not be able to do my usual activity. My hip is becoming progressively worse. I get some relief from a chiropractor, who says that the problem is the muscles these days and not the bones – he says that my muscles are tighter than a ball.”

Sleep and dreams:

“If I am in a lot of pain I cannot sleep. The only dream that I remember is of falling from something, but I never land.”

Temperature:

“I have always been cold from the inside out, like an ice cube. I just can’t handle being cold. My whole body becomes so cold that I freeze my husband out of bed. I love the sun, I am a sun worshipper.”

Initial Prescription: Opium LM 5

Follow-ups:

April 2010: Color preference: 21C, 17C

“Last night, I was in excruciating pain from my hip down the left side after spending so much time in an airplane. The altitude bothers me if I am flying in a smaller plane. I have shin splints above my ankle, and I needed to put my feet up to get the blood circulating.

These growths continue to increase; they are growing into my abdomen now. They have been diagnosed as ganglions, 2 anterior, 1 posterior. I need to keep moving, but that is contraindicated if you have growths. There is more restriction, so movements cause pain.

The feelings remind me of when I was 12 years old and I had what was supposed to be a simple tonsillectomy but I had a haemorrhage and encephalitis. I wasn’t supposed to live after that, and I was supposed to be a mental vegetable. The nurses had given up on me and my brother came in to give me baths. I had a high fever for three weeks and most of my hair fell out. Even the antibiotics and the morphine shots didn’t work, that’s why I don’t take drugs since they just mask your symptoms.”

At this point, it was clear to me that the growths had to do with the Stapylococcus aureus infection after her tonsillectomy (encephalitis). I looked up Vermeulen’s ‘Monera’ which lead me to the remedy Staphylotoxinum, which has the symptom: “Haemorrhage, blood non-coagulable”. Staphylococcus aureus produces an alpha toxin with haemolytic properties and necrosis of the skin.

Prescription: Staphylotoxinum 12 CH daily

June 2010:

“I have been taking the remedy for about one week now and I feel so much better, stronger and happier! I have less pain and I think the tumours are shrinking.”

July 2010:

“I continue to feel better. The masses have become more solid but they are smaller now; before that I could feel them growing. I have been sleeping better and have not needed to take any pain medication. I can walk my dog again, whereas I couldn’t because of the pain in the past. I have days where I feel wired and jittery from having too much coffee, and from my menstrual cycle, but my restless legs are pretty good. My energy is good and I’m not dragging myself around anymore. This is the best treatment I’ve had so far.”

September 2010:

“I am so impressed – the lumps have shrunk more than 75% - I might even get my legs back!”

November 2010:

Improvement continues and there is no more pain in her hip. She has not had another dose of the remedy since October 201

March 2011:

A. is back to doing normal activities including yoga with no pain or discomfort other than the feeling that one hip is not as strong as the other. No further doses of the remedy have been given.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Blossoming trees at Commonwealth Place, Canberra; dion gillard
Staphylococcus aureus; CDC / Provider: Don Stalons