Named after her grandmother; a case of Rosmarinus

The patient is an eleven year old girl with digestive complaints and behaviour problems; she needs laxatives and has haemorrhoids from pushing too much. She has sour eructations and stomach aches when she is tense. When she was four, she had discharge from her ears that ran all the way down to her chin.

Emotionally, she is up and down; she has periods when she is quiet, then periods when she “loses the plot”, and it is impossible to get a grip on her. She will not listen – it is as though she does not hear. She has serious problems at school; she cannot concentrate and she goes from one thing to another without finishing anything.  All her schoolwork lies on the table and she cannot figure out where to start. She begins to cry if her parents ask her to start doing her homework. She is very restless; she just cannot sit still. She gets in a panic if something has to be done quickly. She is already tense about having to do a talk at school in three months time. She is very emotional; she is still upset about the death of her grandmother three years ago. She can become very angry; first she broods, then becomes very restless and can start fights, then she explodes, stamping her feet (DD Lamiaceae, Compositae).

Mother: “The pregnancy and birth went well, I just had some hypertension. As a baby, she was sweet and lovely. She only cried if you rode her backwards in a buggy. When her sister was born, it was a difficult time, with many hospital admissions, and her grandmother became sick, too. She was put on the sideline and felt like she was left in a corner by herself (Lamiaceae). After that, she started to become sick and since then she has no middle ground; she is either full on or in a complete ‘standstill’.”

Often, her parents have to get firm with her. She wants to do everything too perfectly, which does not work out, and then she says “I can’t do it!”  If something does not go well for her, a task or a game, she stamps her feet and shouts so much that it frightens her sister. She sleeps well but moves a lot and talks in her sleep (Lamiaceae). She is afraid of storms and gets into a panic. She is not shy at all and tells everything easily. She knows everything precisely and knows where to find things. She has no friends and is never asked to come to parties: “You are too busy, we don’t want you.”

She has been named after her grandmother, who died when she was a toddler. She knows everything about her granny; she still has her cuddly toy. She often talks as though she is looking into the past, as though she is bringing an old situation to mind and describing it accurately. In doing so, she is very confident about what she is telling. She does so in an exaggerated “don’t contradict me” manner, using great inflection in her voice, while a tone of reproach rings through. Meanwhile, her mother sits there looking tired, as though she has been through all these battles and heard all of this many times before.

Analysis
Characteristics of Lamiaceae in this case:
Explosive reactions. Not belonging to the group. Jumping movements, restless, rolling the eyes. She puts her mother to the test and looks to see if she is being caught out. She keeps an eye on her mother to see if there is enough attention, talks with a lot of emotion, and is reproachful in her anger, as though she has been misunderstood. One can see her thinking, the building of the tension in her body, rising up on the chair and raising her voice. She enjoys being able to congratulate herself on being right. She has big eyes and she tries to make contact eye contact. On the other hand, she can be introvert but then her eyes are even more lively.  

Due to the many characteristics and the atmosphere of Lamiaceae in her case,  a remedy was sought within this group. She has been named after her grandmother and has a special bond with her:  when being named after a grandparent plays a great role in a case, it is an additional indication for the remedy Rosmarinus. As we know from our herbal lore: “Rosemary is for remembering.” In homeopathy, it is one of our “forgotten” remedies! It fits in stage 6: “achieving, proving”.

DD Glechoma (no attention), DD Collinsonia canadensis (constipation, haemorrhoids)

Prescription: Rosmarinus 1MK, one dose

After the remedy, it went well for her, especially at school. She was no longer chaotic or panicky, she just went about her work. After a week, she developed a fever and had a stomach ache, as in the past, but then has had no more complaints with her digestion. She now goes to the toilet without the help of laxatives. She plays well and does not have fits of anger or arguments; she has had a lovely vacation. At home, she is much calmer: “a different child”. After a month, she had a rash next to her nose and some dark yellow coating at the base of her tongue. During the following year, she had a short relapse of her behaviour at school and then she was fine. She has had no more abdominal complaints over the last three years.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
unes fulles de romaní; Artico2