Trembling with anger: a case of Hydrastis

A thirty-one-year-old lady consulted me in April 2014 with complaints of cough for the last ten years, for which she takes anti-allergics from time to time, hypothyroidism since three years, for which she is not taking any allopathic drugs. She is on homoeopathic medicines but is not improving.

Symptoms
Haemorrhoids since two years                                                                                                                                                                                                              
Cough from dust and from slight change of temperature
Cough with expectoration
Expectoration viscid, like thin wires
Pain in ears with noises, as if a generator is running
At times palpitation, as if her whole body is vibrating
Pain right hypochondrium and sinking sensation in epigastrium
Sleep disturbed by thoughts

Patient as a person
She is very sensitive by nature. She keeps on thinking if someone criticizes her work.  “I get angry, my body starts trembling with anger. I feel heat in my body and then, I get palpitations and I want to break something.
“If somebody talks in a taunting way, I get hurt. Why is he saying this? I feel like killing that person, but I never express my anger, only thing I do is to start weeping.”

Stressful situations
After getting married, her mother-in-law used to criticize her for household work. She would say that even a maid can do a better job than her. “I use to feel very angry about this, but I use to keep quiet. Internally, I wanted to break things, I was so angry that I wanted to bang my head on the wall, and with this anger my heart would palpitate and my whole body would vibrate.”

Dreams
Dreams of water, flying, being pursued, dead persons 
The common feeling in these dreams was fear; her body would tremble internally, then she would wake up with a headache.

Physical
Piles painful, pain remains for some time after stool
Leucorrhoea yellow, sticky, ropy
Involuntary urination with cough
Lachrymation with cough
Salivation during sleep, viscid saliva

Understanding the case
Themes running through the case: trembling of body, heat, palpitations and vibrations.

These symptoms are connected with emotions, especially with her anger and fears.

She is very sensitive to sarcasm and being criticized and she reacts by suppressing her emotions. When angry, she desires to break things and to bang her head on wall but she just weeps.

The remedies that came to mind with these themes are Staphysagria and Pulsatilla. This group of remedies belongs to the Ranunculaceae family of the Plant kingdom; they are very sensitive to rudeness, to humiliation and insult. They feel hurt and easily offended. Psychosomatisation is a big theme with the Ranunculaceae; when they suffer mentally, it is expressed at a physical level.

I needed a remedy from the Ranunculaceae that covers other characteristic symptoms from the case:
Discharges ropy, viscid
Rectum pain long after stool
Sinking sensation epigastrium
Painful noises in ear as if a generator is running

“Painful noises in ear as if a generator is running” was not found in the repertory but in Allen’s encyclopaedia, I found a symptom which could be closely related to it: Noise in ears, as from the turning of a machine, in a machine shop, at two PM (seventh day).

The remedy which covers these symptoms from the Ranunculaceae is Hydrastis.

Prescription: Hydrastis 200C

The 200 potency was selected because her day to day living experience was at the emotional level; it was only after probing that she went deeper and expressed a deeper state.

Follow up one month later
The pain in the rectum is better. Cough intensity decreased but still continues coughing. Rest of symptoms are still the same.

Prescription: placebo
She was improving with the remedy and her most irritating symptom started improving.

Follow up two months later
Pain in her rectum has gone. Expectoration has decreased. Coughing improved but still persists. Her thyroid report is unchanged.

Follow up four months later
TSH level decreased. Emotions, palpitations, vibrations slightly better.

Follow up five months later
Cough again aggravated like when she started the treatment. Although in general she was better, the intensity of cough was severe.

Prescription:  Hydrastis 200C one dose.

Follow up eighteen months later
Thyroid levels within range. Palpitations, vibrations, heat from body with emotions greatly improved. Cough very occasionally.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Hydrastis canadensis; public domain