| Roberta is Now Prozac Free and feeling real good |
In December 2006, I received a call from Roberta's mother inquiring about my services and requesting that any treatment
would provide be absolutely confidential which of course is a primary practice of Classical Homeopathic care*. Roberta had
been diagnosed with depression and anxiety about a year and a half ago and was taking a daily dose of Prozac to manage her
symptoms. She instinctively knew that, though her condition was better after beginning the Prozac treatment, she was still not
well and did not want to continue this medication for the rest of her life.
Roberta was a very attractive, well dressed, posed yet very mild and timid 22 year old young lady. She was the oldest of her
siblings and the daughter of a clergyman. She enjoyed children and worked as a nursery school teacher. Her disposition was
a bit childish and immature for her age which I decided matched her enthusiasm of working with children.
Her physical symptoms included muscle tension in her arms, legs and neck especially on the right side, TMJ (lockjaw),
sleeplessness due to anxiety, loss of appetite, periodic strept throat and sinus infections with a "neon" greenish yellow
discharge and headaches that felt better when she moved around. I noticed she had several birth marks on her face mostly
on the right side.
In order to understand what was unusual about her mental symptoms, I asked Roberta to describe what happened when she
felt depressed or anxious. "I don't eat when I'm depressed. I lost 7 pounds and I'm skinny. I like food and like to eat but I
would get nauseous. When I had conversations I had some sort of blockage - I couldn't hear what they were saying or I would
have to think so hard to hear what they were saying. I felt like I was in another world. Not that I was up in a different place but
I couldn't relate to anything that was going on. I didn't feel apart of anything. I have a big family and I'm the oldest. When
they would ask me to do something, I couldn't do anything and I couldn't talk when spoken to. When people would talk around
me, I didn't know if people were talking to me. If someone would say "don't act so stupid", I would take it as if they were talking
to me but they were talking amongst themselves. I'm not crazy but if someone told me this I would think they are crazy. " At
this point I observed that she was playing with the snap on her coat, so I stayed focus on this subject.
I continued by asking what was the feeling when they said something? "I block it out of my mind because I didn't want to
remember. It's not pleasant and I don't want to remember. I didn't want to go to work or get up. I'd rather stay in bed. I had
no motivation. I didn't want to go to work. Everything took so much energy to do anything. I felt that I wasn't doing my job and
it wasn't fair. I told my mother that if I have to live like this it's not worth it. I probably wouldn't do anything to myself but it's
hard not to think like that." This was the language of the sycotic miasm which constantly struggles with an inner weakness but
is not hopeless and desperate.
I asked her what causes it? "It comes when it wants to and leaves when it wants to. It could be when I'm more stressed out. I
had anxiety before tests and I remember I felt I couldn't breathe. If you know that your not going to die so you feel better.
Stressful things would bring the depression or anxiety on. Mostly before tests or pressure from college or if I don't do well then
I don't get the credit - then you have to pass and if you don't know the answer you don't do well. Then you don't graduate and
there is no point being in school. If I don't finish school (college), my grandparents are not going to be happy and it's
important to them."
Roberta went on to explain that she was stressed out while completing a certain major that was too difficult and not interesting
to her. So she changed majors in an attempt to reduce some of the stress so that she could graduate in June. During our
conversation I noticed that Roberta was soft spoken and periodically couldn't finish her sentences.
I asked if she had any significant fears and it took her a long time to answer. "I don't like flying. I get claustrophobic, and I
want to know that I'm getting there safely. Checking in and weighing luggage - I'm scared that I'm overweight and I'd have to
take things out. I'd have to make people wait and the people in the line and behind the counter get upset. I feel that it's not
right - I could make everyone wait and backing up the whole line. There is a lady with a mean look on her face screaming. I'm
nervous, hot and my mouth is dry. I get embarrassed and worry that things should run smoothly. I'm nervous that something
is going to happen - it could crash."
Following her sensations, I began to focus on her use of the word block. This was the dialog we had that lead me ultimately to
her first remedy.
H. Go back to the story about being blocked. Forget you are with me and tell me the story.
R. There is no other way to tell the story. If you're blocked in you can't get out and if you try to get out you can't because you
get worn out.
H. What do you mean by worn out?
R. Tired and you try to get out and you can't.
H. Where is somebody blocked?
R. Where can a person be blocked? Inside their own world; their room.
H. Where inside their own world? Give me an example.
R. Like when someone is narrow minded?
H. Tell me about narrow minded?
R. When you can think only that way. You think you are always right and you can't see anyone else's way. You're ideas are
right.
H. When is a person narrow minded?
R. In their ideas, values and how they think about life. They think what they think is right and what someone else is doing is
not right. I'm not so narrow minded so I can't describe it. I have a friend who was narrow minded - she used to think that you
could only be religious if you act or dress a certain way. You don't have to do it one specific way.
H. Tell me more about being blocked and narrow minded.
R. It's not the same thing. Blocked is you are blocked from doing what you have to do and narrow minded is a way a person
thinks. Not something that happens but a way a person thinks.
H. A person who is blocked does what?
R. Can't do anything;
H. What do they want to do?
R. They want to get out and do whatever they have to do.
H. What do they have to do?
R. Go to work; what's planned for that day; to work. They could do it but they're pushing themselves to do it but they are not all
there. They are somewhere else, thinking about things.
H. And a person who is narrow minded?
R. Can do what they have to do but they think in their own little box and no other way.
To summarize this case, Roberta is mild and timid, rather childish, and weak in nature. She gets anxious mostly when she is
expected to perform beyond her perceived abilities and when she relates to a group of people all at one time. She blocks out
her world when depressed or anxious and was fixed on the idea of narrow mindedness.
In analyzing this case, it was very clear to me that the miasm was sycotic because she was dealing with a fixed weakness that
she absolutely didn't want anyone to know about and which was stressful but not hopeless. I wasn't certain about the kingdom.
So in consultation with Rob Tennenbaum, we determined that the case pointed to the mineral kingdom because she described
issues pertaining to her identity.
The remedy prescribed was Silica which is crystal flint and is found in quartz, sand and in the stalk of grains. Roberta's
favorite place to vacation is at the beach in hot weather and her favorite jewelry is diamonds and colored stones. Silica is a
main element in the stalk of grains which gives the plant it's strength to withstand wind and rain, and Roberta certainly needed
something to strengthen her constitution.
Roberta's first treatment included one dose of Silica 200C plus a daily dose of Silica LM4 to offset the affects of her daily
Prozac.
Relief from her depression and anxiety came on almost instantly. During the course of the next 5 months Roberta continued to
progress extremely well. There were long periods progress followed by a brief regression at which point we repeated the
single dose of Silica 200C and eventually increasing to Silica 1M. During the entire treatment she continued taking a daily
dose of Silica LM4 alternating morning or evening with her prescribed daily dose of Prozac. All through the homeopathic
treatment, Roberta's condition was monitored by her psychiatrist who periodically modified and reduced her prescription for
Prozac until she was completely Prozac free by the beginning of June 2007.
Then after several weeks of being completely Prozac free and after the half-life of the prescription, Roberta experienced a
relapse of her mental and emotional symptoms. She was extremely spacey, weak and unable to concentrate or focus. All her
other physical symptoms had totally disappeared. I considered several other remedies like Pulsatilla which was a remedy I first
considered at the beginning of her treatment due to her child-like manner and Thuja due to her fragility and weakness;
however none of these remedies gave her any relief from her symptoms.
I then had a session with her parents. When I learned that both her father and her grandmother had similar chronic
depression and anxiety, I suspected that Roberta's condition at this time was simply an expression of the illnesses she
inherited. So I suggested a purely sycotic miasmatic remedy Medorrhinum Americana 200C plussing - three doses a day for
3-4 days. When I spoke to her on the phone a few days later, she sounded so confident, happy and excited to be feeling
better.
Several months later, Roberta phoned to say that she wasn't feeling as well as she did after taking the last remedy. A repeat
of the same remedy did not give her sufficient relief. We met for a quick follow up session, and again she was weak and
couldn't focus. This time I recommended Adamas 200C - the homeopathic remedy from the diamond. Diamond is pure carbon
and is located in the 10th column above Silicea on the Periodical Table of Elements. In all carbon remedies, there is a strong
lack of vital energy which matched Roberta's chief complaint of being weak and unable to focus.
It is been quite some time since I last heard from Roberta which is typical when she's feeling better.
* All the names and non-pertinent details of all the cases presented in this website have been slightly modified to protect the privacy of those
treated.
would provide be absolutely confidential which of course is a primary practice of Classical Homeopathic care*. Roberta had
been diagnosed with depression and anxiety about a year and a half ago and was taking a daily dose of Prozac to manage her
symptoms. She instinctively knew that, though her condition was better after beginning the Prozac treatment, she was still not
well and did not want to continue this medication for the rest of her life.
Roberta was a very attractive, well dressed, posed yet very mild and timid 22 year old young lady. She was the oldest of her
siblings and the daughter of a clergyman. She enjoyed children and worked as a nursery school teacher. Her disposition was
a bit childish and immature for her age which I decided matched her enthusiasm of working with children.
Her physical symptoms included muscle tension in her arms, legs and neck especially on the right side, TMJ (lockjaw),
sleeplessness due to anxiety, loss of appetite, periodic strept throat and sinus infections with a "neon" greenish yellow
discharge and headaches that felt better when she moved around. I noticed she had several birth marks on her face mostly
on the right side.
In order to understand what was unusual about her mental symptoms, I asked Roberta to describe what happened when she
felt depressed or anxious. "I don't eat when I'm depressed. I lost 7 pounds and I'm skinny. I like food and like to eat but I
would get nauseous. When I had conversations I had some sort of blockage - I couldn't hear what they were saying or I would
have to think so hard to hear what they were saying. I felt like I was in another world. Not that I was up in a different place but
I couldn't relate to anything that was going on. I didn't feel apart of anything. I have a big family and I'm the oldest. When
they would ask me to do something, I couldn't do anything and I couldn't talk when spoken to. When people would talk around
me, I didn't know if people were talking to me. If someone would say "don't act so stupid", I would take it as if they were talking
to me but they were talking amongst themselves. I'm not crazy but if someone told me this I would think they are crazy. " At
this point I observed that she was playing with the snap on her coat, so I stayed focus on this subject.
I continued by asking what was the feeling when they said something? "I block it out of my mind because I didn't want to
remember. It's not pleasant and I don't want to remember. I didn't want to go to work or get up. I'd rather stay in bed. I had
no motivation. I didn't want to go to work. Everything took so much energy to do anything. I felt that I wasn't doing my job and
it wasn't fair. I told my mother that if I have to live like this it's not worth it. I probably wouldn't do anything to myself but it's
hard not to think like that." This was the language of the sycotic miasm which constantly struggles with an inner weakness but
is not hopeless and desperate.
I asked her what causes it? "It comes when it wants to and leaves when it wants to. It could be when I'm more stressed out. I
had anxiety before tests and I remember I felt I couldn't breathe. If you know that your not going to die so you feel better.
Stressful things would bring the depression or anxiety on. Mostly before tests or pressure from college or if I don't do well then
I don't get the credit - then you have to pass and if you don't know the answer you don't do well. Then you don't graduate and
there is no point being in school. If I don't finish school (college), my grandparents are not going to be happy and it's
important to them."
Roberta went on to explain that she was stressed out while completing a certain major that was too difficult and not interesting
to her. So she changed majors in an attempt to reduce some of the stress so that she could graduate in June. During our
conversation I noticed that Roberta was soft spoken and periodically couldn't finish her sentences.
I asked if she had any significant fears and it took her a long time to answer. "I don't like flying. I get claustrophobic, and I
want to know that I'm getting there safely. Checking in and weighing luggage - I'm scared that I'm overweight and I'd have to
take things out. I'd have to make people wait and the people in the line and behind the counter get upset. I feel that it's not
right - I could make everyone wait and backing up the whole line. There is a lady with a mean look on her face screaming. I'm
nervous, hot and my mouth is dry. I get embarrassed and worry that things should run smoothly. I'm nervous that something
is going to happen - it could crash."
Following her sensations, I began to focus on her use of the word block. This was the dialog we had that lead me ultimately to
her first remedy.
H. Go back to the story about being blocked. Forget you are with me and tell me the story.
R. There is no other way to tell the story. If you're blocked in you can't get out and if you try to get out you can't because you
get worn out.
H. What do you mean by worn out?
R. Tired and you try to get out and you can't.
H. Where is somebody blocked?
R. Where can a person be blocked? Inside their own world; their room.
H. Where inside their own world? Give me an example.
R. Like when someone is narrow minded?
H. Tell me about narrow minded?
R. When you can think only that way. You think you are always right and you can't see anyone else's way. You're ideas are
right.
H. When is a person narrow minded?
R. In their ideas, values and how they think about life. They think what they think is right and what someone else is doing is
not right. I'm not so narrow minded so I can't describe it. I have a friend who was narrow minded - she used to think that you
could only be religious if you act or dress a certain way. You don't have to do it one specific way.
H. Tell me more about being blocked and narrow minded.
R. It's not the same thing. Blocked is you are blocked from doing what you have to do and narrow minded is a way a person
thinks. Not something that happens but a way a person thinks.
H. A person who is blocked does what?
R. Can't do anything;
H. What do they want to do?
R. They want to get out and do whatever they have to do.
H. What do they have to do?
R. Go to work; what's planned for that day; to work. They could do it but they're pushing themselves to do it but they are not all
there. They are somewhere else, thinking about things.
H. And a person who is narrow minded?
R. Can do what they have to do but they think in their own little box and no other way.
To summarize this case, Roberta is mild and timid, rather childish, and weak in nature. She gets anxious mostly when she is
expected to perform beyond her perceived abilities and when she relates to a group of people all at one time. She blocks out
her world when depressed or anxious and was fixed on the idea of narrow mindedness.
In analyzing this case, it was very clear to me that the miasm was sycotic because she was dealing with a fixed weakness that
she absolutely didn't want anyone to know about and which was stressful but not hopeless. I wasn't certain about the kingdom.
So in consultation with Rob Tennenbaum, we determined that the case pointed to the mineral kingdom because she described
issues pertaining to her identity.
The remedy prescribed was Silica which is crystal flint and is found in quartz, sand and in the stalk of grains. Roberta's
favorite place to vacation is at the beach in hot weather and her favorite jewelry is diamonds and colored stones. Silica is a
main element in the stalk of grains which gives the plant it's strength to withstand wind and rain, and Roberta certainly needed
something to strengthen her constitution.
Roberta's first treatment included one dose of Silica 200C plus a daily dose of Silica LM4 to offset the affects of her daily
Prozac.
Relief from her depression and anxiety came on almost instantly. During the course of the next 5 months Roberta continued to
progress extremely well. There were long periods progress followed by a brief regression at which point we repeated the
single dose of Silica 200C and eventually increasing to Silica 1M. During the entire treatment she continued taking a daily
dose of Silica LM4 alternating morning or evening with her prescribed daily dose of Prozac. All through the homeopathic
treatment, Roberta's condition was monitored by her psychiatrist who periodically modified and reduced her prescription for
Prozac until she was completely Prozac free by the beginning of June 2007.
Then after several weeks of being completely Prozac free and after the half-life of the prescription, Roberta experienced a
relapse of her mental and emotional symptoms. She was extremely spacey, weak and unable to concentrate or focus. All her
other physical symptoms had totally disappeared. I considered several other remedies like Pulsatilla which was a remedy I first
considered at the beginning of her treatment due to her child-like manner and Thuja due to her fragility and weakness;
however none of these remedies gave her any relief from her symptoms.
I then had a session with her parents. When I learned that both her father and her grandmother had similar chronic
depression and anxiety, I suspected that Roberta's condition at this time was simply an expression of the illnesses she
inherited. So I suggested a purely sycotic miasmatic remedy Medorrhinum Americana 200C plussing - three doses a day for
3-4 days. When I spoke to her on the phone a few days later, she sounded so confident, happy and excited to be feeling
better.
Several months later, Roberta phoned to say that she wasn't feeling as well as she did after taking the last remedy. A repeat
of the same remedy did not give her sufficient relief. We met for a quick follow up session, and again she was weak and
couldn't focus. This time I recommended Adamas 200C - the homeopathic remedy from the diamond. Diamond is pure carbon
and is located in the 10th column above Silicea on the Periodical Table of Elements. In all carbon remedies, there is a strong
lack of vital energy which matched Roberta's chief complaint of being weak and unable to focus.
It is been quite some time since I last heard from Roberta which is typical when she's feeling better.
* All the names and non-pertinent details of all the cases presented in this website have been slightly modified to protect the privacy of those
treated.
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| tel. 516-510-7880 email. francine22@optonline.net Long Island Office: 421 Oakland Avenue * Cedarhurst, New York 11516 Queens: 144-37 68th Drive, Suite 1, Kew Garden Hills, New York Manhattan: 8 Gramercy Park South, New York City, New York |