Niobium metallicum_A case of

Case
Original case taken 3/31, 2006
Female 43


Main:
Chronic diarrhea for approximately 7 years. It did not bother me until I got this horrible pain that started 3 years go. Had cramping pain for a week and had to go to hospital. Kept me in the hospital for a week and felt sick for 2 weeks after that.

Tests: Upper GI, Cat Scan, stool and blood tests. Was in the hospital again last year and they did a colonoscopy and ultrasound of abdomen. Finding: Tiny kidney stones.

Tendency to stomach Viruses.
Lots of diarrhea—2 to 10 movements a day- with severe and debilitating cramping in abdomen. More often on the left, sometimes the whole abdomen. Crawls up in bed and not able to move. It comes in bouts that go from 2 days to 1 ½ weeks and diarrhea more frequent when going through a bout. Nausea and vomiting sometimes.

No appetite, forcing herself to eat. Evening, >heat for all the aches—Stomach, shoulder—

Never had a bad relationship with food but when she has the pain she does not want to eat. Takes Ensure and only have one meal a day. Since September has lost a lot of weight.

Other Symptoms:

Tiredness-Linked to MS diagnosis and < since the pain pattern started.
Postnasal drip:
MS: Pins and needles that come and go, not all the time. Tiredness is the major sx.
I do not have typical sx. Of MS very pronounced. I have been ambulatory all this time.
When I have difficulty walking it is a kind of weakness related to being recovering from abdominal pain. Mild lack of coordination and balance.

Neck and shoulder pain
Worn out – Takes naps to be able to function.
Activities of the day: Takes daughter to school, tries to walk there, checks e-mails, sort out laundry, naps, picks daughter from school, helps her with homework, takes her to after school classes. Don’t do a lot of cleaning, ‘not my priority’.
I wait to take a nap until 10:30 am or 11 because I could lie down earlier and stay there the whole day. ‘Stopping any activity makes me feel better’.

Migraines: Horrible migraines since 12. Weather related, barometric pressure changes.
At 12 moved to Toronto. Did not want to go and leave friends. I was ahead in school in many ways and the move meant having to learn French.


Medications:
Neurantin-Was taking it for MS. Neurologist stopped it to determine if the pain got better without.
Donnatal—Phenobarbital and belladonna alkaloids: hyoscyamine atropine and scopolamine) anticholinergic/antispasmodic drug.

Medical history:
Since early childhood URI, ear infections. Throat infections. Would get an infection 5x. a year. Always allergic, postnasal drip. Sneezing spring and fall.


DISPOSITION/Emotional
Hair died very red highlights.
During the interview she is changeable, can be sobbing and starts laughing.
She looks pale, anxious, not a lot of movement.
Sits with left ankle over the right knee and both hands with fingers tightly clasped under the crossed leg, picking at the cuticle of the thumb with opposite thumbnail. The more emotional she gets the tighter she clasps the fingers and the more she digs into the thumb.
She is very emotional reporting the symptoms of the pain.

Her opinion of the pain: “The pain is a punishment, this pain is something I brought on to myself. It is a punishment for not living up to my potential. Too lazy or too afraid to do anything else.”

I guess I feel guilty that I have not done more with my life, other than raising Julia and making some jewelry. Only Catholics would feel guilty about things like these. Nobody else is giving me a hard time. My husband does not resent me for not cleaning he house, but I feel guilty anyway. There is clutter everywhere.


Dreams:
Used to have elaborate dreams of houses...famous people...guest stars. My friends would joke, whom is guest starring now?
I would be an actress, or a writer, or a dancer.
Even after I was diagnosed with MS still had these grand sort-of-dreams where I would do things that are not physically possible. As in I am not able to be a ballerina in real life, but in my dream I was.
Dreams were wildly unrealistic, not many recently (Cries.) It is kind of sad. I don’t see why I cannot be a ballerina while I am sleeping if I cannot be one in real life. Then she laughs and says funny, isn’t it? Why Not?

In my dreams I could be an architect. Then I would joke with friends saying if I had a client I would say to him or her, let me take a nap and I will get back to you. I swear the next day I would remember exactly all the details of their house.

Dreamt that I was a composer and woke up trying to remember the song.

When sick: weird realistic nightmares. Horrible, my house in reality is cluttered and I am a pack rat. Neither husband nor I like it, but I am too tired to put the effort to fix it.
In my dream husband and I had a big fight about the mess. We started to clean and he was still yelling at me that I had not done the cleaning. I am ‘we were cleaning, doing something about it,’ I felt blind-sided; he keeps saying this house is a mess and you have to get rid of this stuff. I am “we are working on it” I was mad at him.


In reality we don’t fight that much. When annoyed with him I call him and tell him what I am annoyed about because I know when he comes back I won't be annoyed any more.
I feel that I don’t have the right to be mad at him because I am not doing anything. Cries.
I take pictures and do jewelry, nothing that is useful to the household. We planned on me staying home and be a mom.

My major fear right now is that this is it. This is as healthy as I will be. I am sleepwalking through life. Not really doing anything. Aware since out of the hospital that I am afraid to do things (sobs), to make plans, what if I won’t be feeling well. Never happened before. I had MS diagnosed for a long time and never worried about it. With this stomach thing I feel helpless, hunched over with pain, if it does not go away I wont have any kind of life. Days are boring, long and hard. This is affecting daughter. She saw my father and mother having a hard time and now I am having a hard time. She woke up one day and was hysterical and did not want to go to school.

Off and on has done some writing and wants to get back to that. People comment on how funny my Christmas cards are. I should write a book about the funny aspects of being sick. Being sick is a scarier thing lately, feeling helpless, useless, exhausted, depressed (holds her belly) I don’t want to think about the stomach ache.

Asked her about holding her belly? She said is protective. The MS is something I got; the stomach thing is my fault. Old testaments stories about a person being blind because he or his parents did something wrong.


The other fear is that I will end up being not a good mother, tired and crappy. Crabby with Julia. I don’t feel well and I yell for something minor. Don’t want her to have that memory.
Daughter is 7, that was around the time when diarrhea started, but don’t remember any particular stress then. Mother got sick a few years later. (Cries) She had a brain tumor and died in Oct 2005—5 months ago—sobbing. Father had heart attack around the time mother was diagnosed. I guess father is ok. (Cries and laughs) he keeps going, he had another heart attack a month or so ago. The horrible bout of pain in January was a couple of months after mom died. It has been worse since mom died.


Dreams: floating. Specifically remember telling somebody about a dream, relaying the whole experience of floating. Not as a body, but the whole experience of the dream, the place or the room was floating. Last night I had a dream of flying, involved flying, preparing to fly in an airplane.


ANALYSIS

-Wants to be an artist, but not able to perform in anyway.
In her dreams she performs and is around people that are famous performers.
In dreams she is an architect, always art. She makes jewelry and likes photography.

-I am not doing anything, not using my potential, too lazy or too scared.
Should be punished
Stomach pain is a punishment for not doing anything with her life.
In dreams husband mad at her because she does not clean, blaming her.

-Changeable: from crying to laughter. From sadness to biting sense of humor.


Silver Series: The artist, Creating, Performance
Stage: 5
Torturing herself, tantalizing, wants to do it. Unrealistic. She dreams that she is what she wants to be, but not able to make it a reality.
She is unable to move forward to do her art.

Scholten:
Not able to decide if they can do it. Content with seeing others do it.
--She can only do it in her dreams.

Can be changeable, but more about not being able to decide how to go about doing what he wants to do. Piles of unfinished paintings, writings, etc. The mountain never gets any smaller.

Prescription: Niobium 200c.



Follow Up May 16, 2006
"Have not had any stomach aches since the remedy.
Not a lot of diarrhea either, and I had that a lot before the pain started.
2 bowel movements a day and most of the time perfectly normal.
Because of feeling better I feel more optimistic about things.
I do not feel punished. I feel if it happens again I can come out of it.

Started to tackle to clutter at home. And doing a lot during the weekend with husband and daughter.

Still get headaches before it rains and it has been raining a lot, but not getting them every time it has rained."

Dr. recommended to go back to Neurantin and gave her Nortrityline (add drug that has headaches in the most frequent side effects)
Tiredness is better; postnasal might be a bit better. Eating better.


Follow Up July 11, 2006
Had a relapse on June 7, sick to stomach, nauseous. Had her repeat the remedy in water for several doses. Though I was relapsing I was basically functioning, did not need to go to bed as it used to be.
Had one day with the humidity feeling the left side of her body weak. Then got better.
Headaches are still coming and related to the weather. Better when in air-conditioning.
She looks much better, energetic and animated.


Follow Up October 10, 2006
The stomach problem has been fine. Occasionally a day that I feel nauseous but it goes away quickly.
Right knee hurting when going up and down stairs.
Had a sinus infection and was put in two rounds of antibiotics.
Doing a lot of cleaning lately. Husband helping rearrange things on the porch. Getting lot done and organizing her shop.


Follow Up December 12, 2006
Headaches are better though still get them.
No sx. Of MS
Energy somewhat better but threw her back out and ended up at the ER and they gave her medication. The back pain slowing me down.
Stomach and diarrhea ok.

Prescription: Niobium 1m.


Follow Up Feb. 6, 2007
Stomach has been ok. Last week just a bit nauseous, but not severe.
For a week and ½ bad cold. Congestion, post-nasal, stuffy nose, sore throat, body aches. Alternating hot and cold. Cough.
Have not had many headaches.
In the last 2 months pins and needles left arm. PC thought it was carpal tunnel syndrome because of what I have been doing with the jewelry.

Prescription: Niobium 1m. in water 3 doses tonight and call to report on progress.


Follow Up Feb. 8, 2007
The cold is better, still some congestion left.



Follow Up Called her Aug. 8, 2008
to see how she was but could not get in touch with her.


Matilde Flores
email: matiflor@verizon.net
Matilde lives and practices in Maynard, MA, USA.
She has been in practice since 1983 and is a Board Member of the New England Homeopathic Academy.
She is Certified by the Council of Homeopathic Certification since 1995.