Kali Chloricum and the Mad Hatter

Case:
Male 87 years old. He is tall and very thin. He looks a bit fragile, but with a good sense of humor and VERY flirtatious.

“I hope I do not have to excuse myself and go to the bathroom. My problem is ulcerative colitis. Since the colitis I have lost 35 pounds. I would have a BM every day right after breakfast and it would go on all day. There is a lot of pain and I would sit there all day. There can be blood in the stool, but mostly thick white mucous. I get cold to the bone. The only thing that makes me feel better is hot baths. It warms me up, but also lessons the pain. Now I can’t eat much. It’s as if I will starve. Things don’t taste very good. I get a white thick sputum in my mouth with a metallic taste.”

“The Parkinson’s was diagnosed 30 years ago. I said heck this is nothing just a little tremor and I let it go for 10 years. The tremor has gotten worse over the years, but my problem now is more like a rigidity. I have developed drooling at times. I am stiff and imbalanced in the legs and the hips. I do not think I will out live it.”

“I was drafted during the Second World War and I was sent to Africa. I was in the invasion of Italy. I worked in a MASH like unit. (Weeping) I cannot get away from it. I can see those boys. If some one wants me to talk about it, it is a stress for me. There were some we couldn’t save. Those boys have families that would never see them again. A thing that happened to me during the war was my mother was ill. She had a tumor on the spine and she died when I was in the war. I was sent a letter telling me. I thought about never seeing my mother again while these dead boy’s mothers would never see them. (Weeping) I guess the worse trauma of my life was the war and thinking about all those families that have lost each other.”

“I have had 6 children, and 15 grandchildren and 6 great grand children. Having 6 children would become stressful. I always felt a duty to take care of them the best I could.”

“My wife was wonderful and she helped me a lot. We practiced the rhythm method for birth control, but it was stressful. I have always had a strong sex drive. I could have sex 2 or 3 times a day. I still have sex with a lady friend of mine, as often as we can. Her husband died a couple of years before my wife died. We were a support for each other.”

“For many years when I got back from the war I had a job making hats. It was tough, hot and steamy. I worked with chemicals making these hats. I would press the felt soaked in the chemicals by hand into the molds for the different hats. We would have mad hatter balls. Not a dance (laughing). We would have these battles with these balls of felt that had been soaked in the hatting chemicals, throwing them at each other. It was such a mess, but a lot of fun.”

Prescription:
Kali Chloricum 12c, daily 7 days.

Analysis:
Kali Chloricum is the most poisonous of the Kali family. It is similar in its action to that of the remedy Mercury and is useful in cases of mercury poisoning. The phrase “Mad Hatter” comes from the destruction of the neurological system from the mercury used in the making of hats. In this case, the ulceration of the GI mucous membrane with a thick white mucous discharge, thick white sputum with a metallic taste, the Parkinson’s, and the strong feelings of duty to the family led me to choose Kali Chloricum. In this remedy there is also “Delusion he must starve.”

Follow Up
Six weeks:
“I am doing very well. I have gained ten pounds. I had 2 flare ups last week though. I am sick of it, but things are looking quite well.
I have less drooling and tremors, but it is still there. The stiffness is pretty regular. It does not elevate or go down, it is pretty regular.”
Plan: Kali Chloricum 30c, one dose.

Next six week follow up:
“I am doing better and better. I am getting out of the house now. I am even going out to dinner more recently. My family and I are having a nice time and enjoying this fantastic weather. It is so nice and so beautiful. The appetite is much better. I have gained more weight, but I am not keeping track so I can’t tell you how much. I have not had any bouts of the colitis since I saw you last, and I do not have that terrible metallic taste with all the thick sputum or the bouts of drooling. I think that means the Parkinson’s is good too. I am able to get around better, less stiffness and I haven’t noticed the tremors much, even when I write.”

“I have not seen my lady friend for quite a while. I suppose I am slowing down when it comes to my sex drive. Of course that maybe because I will be turning 88 soon!”

Just to note, in every case of Parkinson’s that I have had there is always an extremely strong sex drive. Any thoughts?

This case was first taken in July of 2005. I continue to see this client and his colitis has not returned and his Parkinson’s symptoms are much improved. He takes the remedy in a 30c when ever he begins to stiffen up and responds beautifully!