Lac Defloratum; I do not care to live

Case
“I DO NOT CARE TO LIVE”


Mrs P.S, 26 years old, came for a consultation in April 1995. I had already made some observations about her while she was coming with her son. Her mannerisms were mild, she was communicative, loquacious which was not irritating, but mild and pleasant. She would laugh easily while narrating her symptoms. She was childlike and she seemed very immature for her age. She was not a complaining type of person.


She was feeling depressed for quite some time now.
“I don’t know why I feel depressed and what is the exact feeling. I have no desire to live, I do not care to live and I am not happy to live. During this spell of depression if I am able to weep I feel better, but tears do not come. I have to make a lot of effort to divert my mind from such depressive thoughts. Recently when I felt depressed I just locked my house and went to my in-law’s house, there we all talked with each other and I felt better. I am not able to describe the basic feeling directly, but it’s as if when someone has died then how you feel, I feel like that .
I have no desire to live, but don’t have courage to jump from the window, to burn myself or sleep on the railway track. I can adopt the simplest method like consuming sleeping pills. During my childhood and adolescence I was always alone by myself. My father and mother were always busy. My mom was very strict and narrow minded. After teaching at school, she would give tutions till late at night. When I used to go to my friend’s house, her family would talk to each other about whatever happened throughout the day. I used to feel bad that why such a thing does not happen in our house. Now after marriage I don’t like to go to my mom’s place. There no one has time for each other, they forget about me.
I had a love-marriage. My husband’s family is large and closely knit. They sit together, talk with each-other, take care of each-other. My own mother tried to spoil my marriage, but my in-laws were more understanding and they stood by me. When I was admitted in a nursing home at Malad (suburb in Bombay) during my pregnancy, my in-laws, sister-in-laws and their daughters came from Mira road (very distant place) for me, but my own mother never came to see me at all. I was her only daughter and it was my first pregnancy, but she came four days after I delivered a baby. She never came out of her way to meet me. She was teaching in school which was in the next lane to the nursing home. I really felt very hurt.”

During pregnancy once she had a dream of black snake.

“I weep very easily at everything. While watching movies I always sit with a napkin or handkerchief with me. You name anything and I am fearful.”

She also had severe and persistent headaches for the last 4-5 years, starting with a feeling of tension in the left temple.
“At times it is so severe that I have to take 4-5 Crocins. If I am able to get sleep I feel better, but I am not able to get sleep. I have to tie my head very tightly, sometimes even with a rope. I feel better by pulling my hair tightly and I apply cloth-clip around bridge of my nose”.

“ I have pain in both lower limbs – as if pulling, ameliorated by tight bandage”.


Profuse menses after cu-T insertion. Blood black with pain in her legs and backaches.

In the past her Hb would drop to as low as 6gms%, she took iron injections.

Appetite: "I can eat anything, anywhere, anyhow. I can eat even after a full meal. I eat a lot, but my thirst is totally opposite of my appetite. For many days I don’t even drink a glass of water."
Sweat: "Almost no sweat even in summer. I don’t drink water so how can there be sweat?"
Craving : "I love eggs."
Aversion: "I cannot tolerate milk and milk products, even the smell of milk."
Sleep: "I can sleep anytime, have a good sleep."
Dream: "I am falling from bed, hold the side of bed and wake up frightened. Once during pregnancy BLACK SNAKE."
Other observation: Motion of tongue left to right and has a tendency toward obesity.


Converting into RUBRICS, we get:
1. Del- dead, all her friends are dead and she must go to a convent.
2. Weary of life.
3. Death, desires – meditates on the easiest way of self destruction. SUICIDAL Disposition, meditates on easiest way.
4. Sadness, mental depression – conversation amel.
5. Forsaken.
6. Aversion milk
7. Amel. tight bandage.
8. Headache > tight bandage. Sleep, after [ lac-d has headache from loss of sleep ]
9. Dream snake.
10. Fear falling.

She was prescribed lac – defloratum 1M, single dose.


The rubric Del – dead, all her friends are dead and she must go to a convent has to be understood in a deeper sense. It is as if a herd of cows are taken to a slaughter house where one by one each cow is going to be slaughtered and gradually every cow feels alone, forsaken till her own turn comes. The whole scenario is that of sadness, gloom and despondency. The feeling of our patient matches similarly with the feeling of cow’s milk. Further confirmation is strong aversion to milk and milk product, even the smell. Still further confirmation comes from various Materia medica [ Kent, Phatak, Clarke] which is given below for better understanding.


Generalities: Skimmed milk is useful in diseases with faulty nutrition and anemic condition of blood (patient had low Hb). Sufferings from loss of sleep, persons or children who become sick on taking milk, obesity, throbbing especially in temples, and the rest of head feels light.


Worse: Milk, loss of sleep.
Better: Pressure of bandage, conversation.
Mind: Depression; does not care to live; questions as to the most quiet and most certain way of hastening one’s death. During conversation, headache and depression of spirits ameliorates. Sadness, death desires and meditates upon easiest method of self destruction. Imagines that all her friends will die and that she must go to a convent.
Head: Persistent headaches for years. Pain ameliorates by bandaging head tightly and conversation.
Stomach: Aversion to milk.


Follow – up

Headache immediately reduced very much in intensity, though continuous, but no need for tight bandage and cloth–clip. Recurred once after 1 month of the dose, lasted for 4 days amel. tight bandage, but no need of crocin at all. After 1month of last recurrence, slight headache lasting from evening to night. After that no headaches.


Mind: Depression once lasting for only 2 days, no suicidal thoughts. Thereafter only once a slight depressed feeling. Nervousness as if going for exams, restless could not concentrate my mind, never felt confident of riding Kinetic Honda to my office.
No depression, sad feeling or suicidal thoughts after that.


Menses: Not much profusion, no tiredness, but a backache with menses. Felt like normal except slight pain in legs.

Dreams:
1. Brother was very nearly saved from accident.
2. Husband’s remarriage [i.e felt hopeless, forsaken] continued again after falling asleep.

Thirst: Feels thirsty now.
Sweat: She perspires now.
Appetite: Not much hogging. Only now, after 3 months again a ravenous hunger. For a week she can eat a full meal immediately after eating. No HEADACHE or DEPRESSION.

Motion of tongue continues, though not always.
Only a single dose of medicine was given. I feel she still requires treatment, but she has stopped it after 3 months.


Dr. Manish R Panchal
Dr. Phalguni
Centre for Classical Homoeopathy,
1, Phalguni Apartment, 39/36 Erandwane, Prabhat road 9B,
Pune-4, Maharashtra State, INDIA.
Telephone : 2542 25 91 / mobile: 9922403093
Email : gentlecure07@gmail.com