Blog - Shilpa Bhouraskar

Drug Remedies in Homeopathy

My introduction and exploration into drug remedies -

I remember scrolling through the pages of the mind section in Kent's repertory as a student and being fascinated with the delusional rubrics of one remedy in particular. That remedy was Cannabis Indica.
I found that this remedy had one of the most absurd set of delusion rubrics I could find.
I always wondered when a patient would walk into the OPD clinic exclaiming that she was a butterfly or a gigantic flower or that he heard the sweetest and the most sublime melody or saw a plateful of stars!!

Eventually I realised that many of the so called drug remedies shared similar rubrics.
When I look into the rubric delusion imaginations beautiful in the Complete repertory I also found Cann- Sativa, Coffea, Anhalonium, Coca and LSD.
The rubric Vision beautiful was a smaller rubric of just fourteen remedies but six of them were drug remedies such as Opium, Cannabis Indica, Coca, Coffea and LSD.

The common themes of Drug remedies -

Let's look at what are the other common symptoms of some of the well proved drug remedies.

I used the homeoquest software and extracted the top eight common rubrics of the well proven drug remedies such as Cann- Ind, Cann-Sat, Coca, Coffea cruda, Coffea tosta, Piper -met, Anhalonium and Opium for remedy analysis.
Each of the following rubrics are quite small with less than 50 remedies but they included at least 4 of the above remedies.

Confusion of mind , duality sensation of

Delusion beautiful wonderful

Delusion strange everything is

Fancies vivid lively

Strength increased mental

Activity and efficiency increased physical

Analgesia.

Mind excitement, exhilaration.

So we realise that these drug remedies shared common themes of experiencing beauty, liveliness, excitement, increased strength, painlessness etc. There was also a confusion and feeling of duality.

Why people use drugs?

I googled for the most common reasons people use drugs and here is the list from the http://www.nt.gov.au/health/healthdev/health_promotion/bushbook/volume2/chap1/sect1.htm

For pleasure - they like the feeling the drug gives

Because they like the 'taste'

To relieve tension and relax

To be part of a religious ceremony

Because they are lonely

Fo relieve boredom

For pain relief

To help cope with problems and forget worries

To do things that they usually could not or would not do - it gives them courage

So in a way people who used drugs are escaping through drugs into a world of pleasure, beauty, courage etc to relieve tension, worries, pain, boredom and loneliness.

Clinical presentation of drug remedies

So was there a similar theme in people needing drug remedies homeopathically?

I initially found the answer by studying the cured cases of these remedies from cases presented by my lecturers as well as from books and journals. Later my own clinical cases confirmed this fact.

It was not surprising to find that even homeopathically the patients who needed drug remedies were acutely sensitive to the real world around them. Most of them had a history of shock or an intensely stressful episode in the past which eventually became the 'ailments from'. The chief complaint developed in the process.

The way they coped was by escaping into this other world.

How did they express these symptoms?
Well some had a past history of taking recreational drugs but that never solved the issue for them so they looked for other avenues. Most escaped through their hobbies and interests. For example through music, dancing, art, religion, spiritualism or exercising. They could be fascinated by science fiction movies or fantasy movies. Many expressed through day dreaming and even dreams in sleep reflected these themes.

Differentiating drug remedies

Eventually I realised that every drug remedy perceived and expressed this reality in his or her own individual way and this wass the key to differentiate them.

Here are some examples from my practice.

A nine year old child developed pyrexia of unknown origin since the shock of his grandfather's death. It was intense fear from this frightful episode and eventually he became dull, absentminded and had episodes of losing awareness of the surroundings. This was his way of escaping from that pain.

Another man developed severe migraines since his baby daughter died from strangulation of the umbilical cord at birth. The migraines were much better by distracting thoughts and during sleep when he had the most exciting and amusing dreams. These dreams were opposite to the painful reality of his life.

Another woman came with nervousness and anxiety. She felt stuck and restricted in her life. It was traced back to her strict upbringing during childhood. She escaped by living in her head, she created funny stories in her head which were hysterical and full of laughter.

The interesting part was that the homeopathic potencies chosen at Stage 3 and 4 helped balance this disturbed sensitivity in the long run. These remedies helped them cope with reality without them needing to resort to other ( sometimes harmful)ways of escapism in the long run. In the process it also resolved their main complaint.

This time I will share with you a case example of a little child to explain the process at Stage 3.

I would love to know your experiences using drug remedies. What other themes do you find emerging in your practice.

Discussion:

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Thanks for sharing. Very Interesting. Do not think have recognized Cann ind yet but hae had several cases of Opium.
Regards Jean

Dear Shilpa,
This makes so much sense to me thank you. I see an interesting set of artists and writers, often taking anti-depressants who also have constipation, disturbed sleep and uncomfortable menopause. Thank you for the insight and excellent delivery of the material, Helen

Thanks Helen,
I have recently been seeing a lot of artists especially musicians and designers.
Drug remedies are more often then not indicated in them. But what I have found very interesting is how much of their case taking information is collected by just letting them talk about their portfolio!
Its fascinating.
So let us know how you go and all the very best.

Shilpa

Shilpa

Dear Shilpa,
this is very interesting. Thank you.
I have used drug remedies frequently and successfully in my short practice and I am surprised about that.
Kind regards
Pia

Hi Shilpa. I prescribed Coffea cruda in a case of bipolar disorder with some success. The casetaking brought to light the pattern of the patient’s disturbance, namely that she became over-stimulated (‘revved up’), followed by exhaustion and a feeling of emptiness. The over-stimulation was brought about by mental or emotional excitement. She said she was not ‘wired’ for positivity (ailments from joy). The excitement of her first boyfriend; alcohol and drugs; travelling to meet her guru in India; the feeling of being loved and valued; involvement with alcohol and drugs; all these things provoked a sense of euphoria which developed into a manic state. She became intense and active, wanting to do things swiftly. Her energy flowed.She could not sleep. Afterwards she was depleted and depressed.Coffea LM3 helped her achieve stability.
In Prisma, I read:
“Caffeine binds to cells in the brain in such a way as to block the effect of adenosine, a chemical that ordinarily has a quieting effect upon the brain. By blocking the quieting effect of adenosine, it impairs the brain’s ability to keep its own excitatory neurotransmitters in check. In this way caffeine clears the way for the brain’s own stimulants – neurotransmitters such as glutamate, dopamine, and the endorphins- to do their job without interference. Coffee drinkers thus get ‘wired’ only to the extent that their own natural excitatory neurotransmitters transmit exhilarating signals.”
The Coffea constitutional type seems to be extraordinarily creative, sensitive to sensory stimuli, and susceptible to natural exhilaration, with a predisposition to unchecked stimulation. Once the patient is over-stimulated the vital force has great difficulty restoring emotional balance.
Your description of your Coffea case has expanded my understanding of the remedy and drug remedies in general.
You are a very good teacher, Shilpa.

Thanks for sharing your case Peter. You have added some beautiful clinical expressions of the remedy rubrics.

Dear Shilpa, thanks , very vivid and interesting picture of drug remedy has been mpresented by you.I have always used these drugs with success esp. coffea cruda and opium.
please keep sending your experiences of homeo medicine.
with warm regards.
Asefa.

I just watched your video about drug remedies and as usual found it extremely educational, but I could not understand the name of the remedy which you referred to for treating the extreme boredom experienced by some patients. It sounded like pipomate. Could you please spell the name of the remedy you were referring to.

thank you, Deborah

Its Piper Methysticum ( Piper Met). The common name is Kava Kava

Hi Shilpa, many thanks for sharing your passion. I am a student and my collection of books is few and I query what books you have used to understand the themes of these 3 remedies. Kind regards, Marie.

Thanks Marie
I generally have spend a lot of time studying the rubrics of these remedies to get the differential diagnosis and verifying it clinically. ( I get a reverse materia medica of these from Complete Repertory from my Homeoquest Software. But I guess any program should be able to do the same). The other new books are - Insight into Plants volumes by Sankaran to get a good insight into the family understanding of these remedies.

Hope this helps.

Shilpa

How the child was taking the coffea 200c,imean once a day?for how long?

For the constipation,initially it was one dose every week for the first few weeks and then as she started responding well, it was as and when required.
During the acutes the dose was more frequent, ie a dose every 3-4 hours until she started responding to the medicine and then again it was wait and watch.

Thank you for sharing. I am really absorbing and enjoying your lessons. my question about this child which was helped by coffea 200 is: Did the remedy affect the creativity and expressiveness of the child? As a psychologist now studying homeopathy, I would think in terms of 'coping strategy', and this might not be needed anymore after being cured.
Very interesting.
Kind regards,
Els

Thanks Els. It must be fascinating to bring together these two fields for you. I do not have further inputs on this child from my notes. Possibly the mum and I were just focused on the chief complaint. But I can say with many other patients who are professional painters or dancers that the expressions before and after the remedy do show interesting changes.

First of all a big thanks, Shilpa, I love this case.

Now - my question was the same: What happened to the child's creative expression?
Part of me would have been sad to see something so special disappear (particularly with the mum's beautiful expression of how she gives through her painting). But then I remembered a case of mine:

In this case an artist, who was producing beautiful, stylised drawings, a bit in the manner of Beardsley, suddenly changed her style after a remedy. She was all of a sudden using colour! And she still is, years later. Beautiful stuff.

So, I figure if the art is really what they are meant to be doing, we can help them to get closer to their own style if the remedy influences it.

Interesting question Eva. From my experience the creative expressions never fade with homoeopathy since creativity is an expression of real health and wellbeing.
But as you have experienced, when the miasmatic stuckness gets released with homoeopathy, their art changes and aligns such that it is a true reflection of this new healthy state which is more free and balanced.

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting.
Regards Anne-Maarit

Could you gave complete data of drug remedies

What exact data are you looking for Arachit?

common theme in all following their mind and facial features .their IQ and body Languages.Are they Highly intelligent creative genius or dull minded . Is Aethusa is a dug remedy

Dear Shilpa,
I normally have consulted Boericke and after hearing you on the cases of the "bored" child in the previous presentation and of the constipated child in the present presentation' Boericke seems to be pretty different. Ignatia is supposed to be the answer to the "ill effects of grief and worry", which the mother of the constipated child had gone through after her brother's death.The symptom had apparently been transferred onto the conceived child and consequently Ignatia should have been the remedy.And by prescribing the "bored" child Piper Met isn't the ultimate effect (besides curing) going to make him a duller, silent and drowsy individual. Iam sorry, I don't intend to criticize but curbing his natural innovative mind and hyper activity will ultimately make him a brooding individual? Do clarify this to me as I am pretty confused.

Dear Shilpa,
I normally have consulted Boericke and after hearing you on the cases of the "bored" child in the previous presentation and of the constipated child in the present presentation' Boericke seems to be pretty different. Ignatia is supposed to be the answer to the "ill effects of grief and worry", which the mother of the constipated child had gone through after her brother's death.The symptom had apparently been transferred onto the conceived child and consequently Ignatia should have been the remedy.And by prescribing the "bored" child Piper Met isn't the ultimate effect (besides curing) going to make him a duller, silent and drowsy individual. Iam sorry, I don't intend to criticize but curbing his natural innovative mind and hyper activity will ultimately make him a brooding individual? Do clarify this to me as I am pretty confused.

Thanks Dr.Shilpa for the great Insight into coffea cruda. Wish to learn so much from you in future.

So I guess each drug remedy is in different families and in different miasms. I didn't see cannabis indica in the Schema. So not sure how one would discern these facts....also looked in Clarke for the family and couldn't find it.

Sankaran puts Cannabis Indica in Hamamelidaceae group.
However it belongs to Cannabacea specifically. Check Wikipedia for its updated botanical classification.

Hi Shilpa ,
It's a nice way to present a worked out case.
However, for my own clarification Can't we consider "Fear pain of and fear suffering of" as mother stated that due to hardness of stool child fear to go to pass stool along with other rubrics as considered in the case by you.

Best regards

Thank you for so clearly demonstrating the importance of the mother's history in determining the experience of the child. I am currently reading "One Heart, One Mind" by Pierre Fontaine and it is incredible how he has managed children with ASD through the understanding of mother's experience.
I have no experience prescribing drug remedies but you have explained the common features beautifully. Much appreciated.

Thanks Catherine. I remember my discussions with Pierre last year on how he uses prenatal state for ASD. It is incredible indeed.

Thank you, Shilpa, this is very interesting.

Hi Shilpa. Thank you for this beautiful case. My question is why did you take the case at stage 3? What made you decide that? I always love learning from you, with all your clear explanations. Thank you

Thanks Christina
The reason was the issue was since birth. So there was a prenatal connection and hence it was exploring that connection which is Stage 3.

Thank you Shilpa... It makes sense once you spell it out for me... Thank you