Incidentshomeopathic Treatment

Incidents during Homeopathic Treatment

By Dr. Athos Stavrou Othonos Homeopathic Medical Doctor

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INCIDENTS during

HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT

-Second Prescription -Evaluation of the Course of Treatment -Therapeutic Aggravation -Pharmaceutical Provings -Parallel Allopathic and Homeopathic Treatment -Potency Selection

Athos Othonos Homeopathic Medical Doctor

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 EVALUATION OF THE COURSE OF TREATMENT SECOND PRESCRIPTION / FOLLOW UP 1.1 What do we ask at Second Prescription? 1.2 When the patient is “better grade 3” 1.3 What do we investigate when our patient is “better 1”? 1.4 What must be checked if our patient initially improved and then suddenly has a relapse 1.5 We always prescribe the each time simillimum 1.6 What to search for when our patient gets worse 1.7 Homeopathy isn’t harmful but still requires a well trained doctor

CHAPTER 2 THERAPEUTIC AGGRAVATION 2.1 What’s Therapeutic Aggravation? 2.2 What’s not a Therapeutic Aggravation? 2.3 When and why Therapeutic Aggravation takes place? 2.4 Misinterpretations of Therapeutic Aggravation

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CHAPTER 3 PHARMACEUTICAL PROVING 3.1 What’s a Pharmaceutical Proving? 3.2 How can a Pharmaceutical Proving be caused?

CHAPTER 4 PARALLEL ALLOPATHIC AND HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT 4.1 Can Homeopathy be combined with other treatments? 4.2 Why a homeopath must definitely be a medical doctor?

CHAPTER 5 SELECTION OF “SIMILAR” POTENCY 5.1 How do we select the “similar” potency? 5.2 How do we reach idiosyncratic diagnosis in babies?

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PREFACE As Hippocrates said, Medicine is at the same time Science and Art. An Art that needs on the part of the doctor several years to thrive while “Life is short, Art is long”. Nevertheless, wisdom, as all true virtues, depends not on quantity but on quality. It’s based not on the quantity of experiences but on the right processing of these events.

Only a processing according to Universal Laws and according to Holistic Thinking can transform experiences to wisdom. If not, what prevail are subjective opinions, arbitrary theories and all kinds of “experts” and “gurus”. That’s the reason why Hahnemann - founder of Homeopathy and the first one to introduce the modern scientific method of Double Blind Trial which he called “Proving” - named Allopathic Medicine of his times as Empirical Medicine contrary to Scientific Medicine.

Unfortunately, this is also true for Modern Allopathic Medicine despite its international academic and clinical prevalence. It’s true because it’s not founded on any diagnostic or therapeutic law with general validity originating from the general Universal Laws, as any true Science should. That’s the reason why every day chemical drugs and therapeutic techniques are triumphally introduced to modern diagnosis and treatment as being very effective and harmless, only to be silently withdrawn after a while, as ineffective and harmful, not to say lethal.

That’s the reason why both Scientific Methodology (Universal Laws) and Art (experience) are valuable to any true Science, Medical Science not excluded of course. Nevertheless, in Homeopathic Medicine one more crucial factor is of absolute need in order to transform a doctor into an effective healer: “The healing of the healer!”

5 Since homeopathic case taking aims at the diagnosis of the patient’s idiosyncrasy – body and mind – it is indispensable that the doctor be objective, unbiased and balanced since he is the very “measurement device” of his patient’s idiosyncrasy. He definitely has to overcome, at a certain degree, his own idiosyncratic illusive tendencies and moreover have the right moral attitude towards his patient. Only then, will he become an effective healer worthy of his name and position.

This book is a contribution in the area of art/experience regarding applied homeopathic treatment. It refers to the incidents that usually appear during any homeopathic treatment from the first prescription until the end of the curative effort. This book is the outcome of 25 years of clinical application of Homeopathy according to Universal and Homeopathic Laws. I believe that I analyze some very controversial therapeutic subjects like:

-Second Prescription/Follow up -Evaluation of the Course of Treatment -Therapeutic Aggravation -Pharmaceutical Provings -Parallel Allopathic and Homeopathic Treatment -Potency Selection

There are many well trained homeopathic doctors as case taking is concerned, that fail to heal their patients because they lack the correct knowledge and technique regarding follow up of the patient until the completion of the treatment, until achievement of cure. They fail to evaluate correctly the course of their patient’s state of health and impatiently prescribe this and that remedy in this and that potency and repetition until they have spoiled the case.

6 In order to have a successful cure you have to follow not only diagnostic laws but as well as therapeutic laws. And that is the purpose of this book which is a product of my lectures to doctors about Homeopathic Therapeutics. You can judge what I say only if you apply it in clinical practice. I did that for 25 years and I am now confident enough that it works and that’s the reason why I propose it to you. Enjoy the theory and moreover the clinical practice!

If, on the other hand you are a patient, by reading this book you will become a well informed patient, able to follow the course of your treatment and able to judge the therapeutic actions of your doctor. A very valuable thing nowadays, if you come to think of how many doctors aren’t worthy of their title.

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CHAPTER 1

EVALUATION OF THE COURSE OF TREATMENT SECOND PRESCRIPTION / FOLLOW UP 1.1 What do we ask at Second Prescription? 1.2 When the patient is “better grade 3” 1.3 What do we investigate when our patient is “better 1”? 1.4 What must be checked if our patient initially improved and then suddenly has a relapse 1.5 We always prescribe the each time simillimum 1.6 What to search for when our patient gets worse 1.7 Homeopathy isn’t harmful but still requires a well trained doctor

Good Evening! Tonight we will discuss certain incidents that happen during homeopathic treatment like for example Therapeutic Aggravation and Pharmaceutical Treatment. But first we will discuss about the Evaluation of Course of any Homeopathic Treatment and about Second Prescription or Follow Up.

This is usually done one month after the first consultation of our patient. The goal of first prescription is to find the simillimum while the aim of second prescription is to evaluate the course of our patient as a whole and decide if our first prescription was right or wrong.

8 1.1 What do we ask at Second Prescription? What do we ask at Second Prescription? The first thing to do is to run through, one by one, all his symptoms and diseases and ask if anything changed. The proper way to ask for every symptom and disease so as to get an unbiased answer is “Are you worse, better or the same?”

We must be specific each time because often syphilitic individuals will try to downgrade or understate their improvement or even lie about it. This is usually done so as not to feel obliged to the doctor. But it may also be done for another reason: they don’t want you to lower your effort to help them and give them “weaker” medicines!

Syphilitic individuals and especially Lachesis may also act the other way round and start praising you loudly and in front of other patients saying: “Bravo doctor! You are God! You do wonders! I will have your picture in my praying room!” Don’t you think that they say these out of mere gratitude! They flatter you so as to force you to keep up the good work. They do know the meaning of the saying “many people hated money but nobody hated glory!”

Then we go on asking if there is any change in his general mood or any change as to his anxiety state, irritability, joy or sorrow. We also ask if the psychological special traits of the idiosyncrasy that affects him at the moment, have changed; not if they vanished but if they became less intense and more normal. For example, be it a Nux Vomica, we will ask about fastidiousness or irritability; be it a Thuja we will ask about lack of self-confidence; be it an Argentum Nitricum we will ask about fixed ideas and compulsive behavior, etc.

We also ask about the patient’s general physical condition. We ask if his sleep became normal or if it improved, that is, if it’s easier for him to go to bed, if he sleeps more deeply and without interruptions and if he is

9 more refreshed in the morning. We also ask if his physical strength has improved and if he has more stamina. In a woman we ask about her menses. Does she have less pain? Is her menstrual cycle more balanced? Have her intense premenstrual symptoms become better? What about the quantity of blood and the duration of her menses?

If our patient was a greedy one, we ask if this has improved; if he didn’t have any appetite we ask whether this has changed to normal. What about his sexual desire? If it was low did it improved to normal? Does he enjoy sex more than before the treatment? How about his early ejaculation or lack of erection? Is he less anxious about his sexual potency?

All the above reveal if he got better and at what degree, because all the above can be changed to normal by the action of the homeopathic medicine! And that is a common thing for any skilled homeopathic doctor! That doesn’t mean that all the above will improve or that they will improve from the first month of the treatment, but eventually a general improvement will be the outcome. This improvement has to do with his symptoms, his diseases, his general physical state, his psychological state and the imbalances of his idiosyncratic characteristics.

You may also find out that your patient doesn’t catch colds so easily because his immune system has become more effective. His psychological endurance to stress and misfortunes will increase; behaviors that caused imbalance to him in the past will affect him less than before. If he is a student he will realize that he can be more efficient regarding his studying and have less anxiety during his tests. A working man will be more relaxed and still more efficient at his job. Most mental functions and even memory will become more enhanced.

What on earth? Is this a magic pill? Yes! In some cases this is indeed the case! The patient feels that and expresses it: “Oh doctor! What on earth

10 have you given to me! My whole life changed! It’s as if I am a different person! It’s as if I found my good old self!”

Unfortunately, this is not so common nowadays. Our modern way of life has driven most human organisms to exhaustion so it’s not a common thing to find “better grade 3” cases after administering the simillimum. But still it’s not a rare thing to happen. As a rule the patient eventually becomes “better grade 2 or 3” but not “magically” in just one month.

1.2 When the patient is “better grade 3” Now, let’s examine one by one, all possible cases during Second Prescription. Let’s begin with the “better 3” case. What does “better 3” stands for? The patient is definitely improved psychologically. He tells you: “I feel so much better and even my close ones have noticed this change”. Or he says “So many bad things happened during this month but still I managed to deal with it satisfactorily, I was calmer, cooler, composed and self-possessed! What a weird thing! Have I become insensitive or thick-skinned?”

He is also physically improved. He may tell you: “My headaches have almost gone; my colitis is a lot better; I eat things that I wouldn’t dare to touch in the past!” Most of his physical symptoms have improved at a great and profound degree and some even vanished. This is definitely a “better 3” case confirming to the doctor that he definitely prescribed the simillimum.

Another sign confirming that “we’ve hit the bull’s eye”, that we’ve prescribed the simillimum, is Therapeutic Aggravation; of course, most of the times the patient is improved without the occurrence of therapeutic aggravation. From my experience, this phenomenon happens at a percentage 15% only although the patient is improved. When therapeutic aggravation happens – and if it’s a therapeutic aggravation – this is a

11 strong sign that we’ve prescribed the simillimum. I deliberately say “and if it’s a therapeutic aggravation” because as I will show you later many homeopathic doctors name all kinds of irrelevant things as therapeutic aggravation!

When we have to do with a “better 3” case, then we never, ever, prescribe anything else for the moment. We may only change the tissue salts to be given. We wait and wait and wait! We may wait for months. As long as our patient remains “better 3” or even “better 2” we don’t give any other idiosyncratic medicine. We keep giving tissue salts and wait.

1.3 What do we investigate when our patient is “better 1”? If our patient is “better grade 1” then we start asking ourselves: “Is it a matter of time? Is my prescription correct but my patient, being a psoric person, improves only gradually?” Or is it that my prescription is not correct but I try hard to convince myself and my patient that he has improved although he didn’t?

Nevertheless, he may be “better 1” during the first month of the treatment only because he suffers from a severe and chronic disease. What did you expect, for God sake? To do wonders in only one month for a person suffering for years or decades of years! In such a case, the expected course is gradual improvement from “better 1” to “better 2” and maybe “better 3” eventually.

During the first month in chronic diseases, only some symptoms and the general state of the patient are slightly improved. Then, gradually most symptoms tend to improve. Some symptoms may not change at all and this is the case when non-reversible tissue destruction has taken place.

12 Often, in chronic diseases, during the first month of treatment there may be a clear psychological improvement but no improvement regarding his physical symptoms. You may even find that he has a general physical improvement but the symptoms of his physical disease have not changed. We never change our prescription in such cases. Psyche is hierarchically superior to the body and improvement travels from above downwards. That’s the Law of Hierarchy and we should have it in mind.

Many times physical changes and tissue changes need time while the general psychological state of the patient is easily improved being directly affected by the energy-etheric action of the energy-homeopathic remedy. Nevertheless, if physical change does not manifest itself we must re-examine our case.

If my patient is “better 3” or even “better 2” I never re-examine anything. I wait and see. If on the course of treatment my patient does not improve any more or if his state declines then I will re-examine the case. In the case of “better 1” or even more, in the case of “zero change” we definitely reconsider our prescription.

First I have to check me, myself, the doctor! Did I give the simillimum or did I prescribe a relative, a similar remedy but not the one and only similar remedy, i.e. the simillimum? A relative medicine may have caused a slight improvement, a palliation of the patient’s condition but will not go any further.

For example I may have in front of me a patient whose basic idiosyncrasy is Sulphur but at the moment, temporarily, he is affected mostly from Argentum Nitricum. The right thing to do is to give him Argentum Nitricum and when time comes, that is, when his improvement starts declining and if he still has Sulphur as basic idiosyncrasy, to prescribe Sulphur.

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But if I prescribe Sulphur from the beginning then I may have a palliation but not an effective cure. My patient will keep calling for Argentum Nitricum. You see, you have to unfold such a multi-layer case from top to bottom. You must prescribe each time according to the top layer because that is the simillimum each time!

So, whenever we have a “better 1” case we first check the doctor if he has prescribed the simillimum, then the pharmacist if he has prepared correctly the prescribed medicine and finally the patient if he has followed our orders and if he hasn’t been drinking coffee. Moreover, it’s important to check if my patient has undergone any intense physical or psychological stressful conditions. Did any relative or close friend died or got severely ill? Has he faced a separation or a love disappointment? Were there any extreme financial problems or job problems?

If any of the above happened it is expected that my patient instead of becoming “better 3” to become “better 1” although I’ve prescribed the simillimum. He may also improve physically but still not psychologically.

We also have to take in consideration irritating external factors regarding his disease. For example I may give the simillimum, he may improve psychologically but his gastritis may not improve because he was working away from home and eating junk food all the time. Or his arthritis may not improve due to extreme weather conditions or physical exertion. Nevertheless, most of the times, even if the external conditions are adverse if he gets the simillimum he may overcome them and have a physical improvement too.

As I’ve told you before, in all cases where there is a clear psychological improvement with no physical improvement we never change our

14 prescription. We wait and we try to get rid of any factor that may hinder the patient’s physical improvement such as food, alcohol, side effects from chemical drugs, weather conditions, stress, physical exertion, etc.

If we have a slight psychological improvement without any physical one, we must also check if this is not caused from our treatment but if it’s due to pleasant occurrences in our patient’s life such as a new promising companion, love fever, vacations, won the lottery, his bitch mother in law died, etc! (laughing)

We must also take in consideration that many patients tend to attribute their improvement to external conditions and not to the treatment so as not to feel obliged towards the doctor. It may also happen that his improvement may be a combination of the homeopathic drug’s action and of pleasant external factors.

However, as homeopathic doctors we have many criteria to use in order to differentiate between all these factors. Don’t forget that most external factors usually act locally and temporarily while the therapeutic action of the homeopathic remedy is holistic and permanent. For example a healthier diet may improve our patient’s gastritis but it will not drive away his depression in one month’s time. Or a pleasant occurrence may improve his psychology but it will not improve his arthritis or vaginitis.

1.4 What must be checked if our patient initially improved and then suddenly has a relapse Whenever our patient initially improved at grade 2 or 3 and then suddenly has a relapse at grade 1, 2 or 3 then we have to check a lot of things. First, we have to check if the energy action of the homeopathic medicine given has been de-activated by the use of coffee or substances that have caffeine. Sometimes, even one coffee or one cola refreshment is enough to cause deactivation of our treatment especially if it acted at first stages.

15 But, be careful. There are cases where the patient has been drinking a lot of coffee but still his treatment hasn’t been affected.

Then we must check if adverse external conditions and misfortunes have hindered his improvement although the medicine administered was indeed the simillimum. In the latter case or in the case of deactivation of the treatment due to coffee I will have to repeat the simillimum in the same potency or at times at a higher one, but only if he is still being affected by the same idiosyncrasy.

You see, a certain misfortune may change his idiosyncratic state. He may now be affected by a different idiosyncrasy and I have to prescribe accordingly. He may have been Medorhinum and now after a job problem, he may develop Phosphor. Or she may have been Natrum Muriaticum and now due to love disappointment she develops Ignatia or even Sepia.

If he was initially “better 1” and now this slight improvement has vanished I must strongly check if what I gave him was not the simillimum but a relative to the simillimum remedy that caused a temporary palliation. So, I must consider all relative remedies to the one that I have prescribed.

We also have to check if the chemist did give him what we have prescribed and at the correct potency.

1.5 We always prescribe the each time simillimum Rule Number One, an inviolable rule: We always prescribe the each time simillimum; that which is similar to the present state, to the current state of the patient. If I gave him a certain remedy one year ago or even one

16 month ago and he did great, that doesn’t mean that today the same remedy will do the job.

We are not machines! We are not cars to be dispatched from the factory as Toyota Corolla and remain Toyota Corolla when withdrawn from use! We keep changing all the time because we are living creatures. It’s true, of course, that during a lifetime we tend to be affected by certain relative idiosyncrasies but, nevertheless, we do change. If we keep giving the same “good old” remedy we simply violate the Law of the Simillimum. If the lock changes you must also change the key that unlocks it!

Very often the patient says: “Please doctor, just give me the same medicine that you gave me last time because I did great then!” But we are not allopathic doctors; we don’t prescribe for the disease that remains the same; we prescribe for the patient’s idiosyncrasy that keeps changing although disease stays the same. We must always ask ourselves two questions. First question: “How did my treatment go?” Second question: “Is he still affected by the same idiosyncrasy?”

Now let’s examine one more case: the patient is the same, both physically and psychologically; “zero” change! Again we must check the doctor if he has prescribed the simillimum, the chemist if he prepared the medicines correctly and the patient if he followed our orders.

One more thing; we have to check the patient’s state of health. Even in very severe or incurable diseases a slight physical and psychological improvement is to be expected during the first or second month of the treatment. Sometimes there is no improvement to the symptoms of the disease the first month but still there is at least a slight improvement to his general physical state and to his mood.

17 If you have an incurable case like for example a cancer at terminal stage then you may see a general temporary physical improvement and a psychological improvement at first. As illness takes its course, first the physical improvement will go away and gradually the psychological also because the patient is affected by his physical symptoms and the deterioration of his state. Any hope is gradually lost.

Nobody can avoid his destiny; no matter what he does and no matter what his doctor does; even if you give him the best thoroughly selected homeopathic or other drugs. It’s not up to the doctor. Nature and God calls! We, doctors are but go-betweens, simple tools of Mother Nature and God. We may be good or bad go-betweens, good or bad tools and we are going to be judged as so and not according to the outcome of treatment. Got it! Merely go-betweens! But be careful, go-betweens of Nature and God and not go-betweens of our egoism or of Medical and Pharmaceutical Companies! (laughing)

1.6 What to search for when our patient gets worse There is one more case on the course of any treatment: deterioration! The patient not only didn’t improve but it got worse both physically and psychologically. Something definitely went wrong and we must urgently take a very close look at our case! Again we must investigate if the patient used caffeine or if the chemist did not prepare the medicine correctly or gave a wrong drug or if we, the doctors prescribed a totally irrelevant medicine.

A medicine not properly prepared, a patient deactivating the energy action of the proper medicine and the prescription of an irrelevant drug can all have the same result if the patient already declines from a severe active disease: the continuation of deterioration! Nothing stopped the declining course of the patient’s health and things got worse!

18 The homeopathic drug doesn’t have any side effects of any kind at the physical level because it acts on the energy level. If it suits the energy state of the patient then it will act and mobilize all his psychological and physical therapeutic mechanisms towards cure. If it’s not the simillimum but still similar to the patient’s energy state, then it will do a positive action but not so strong and permanent as if a simillimum would do. If it’s irrelevant to the energy state of the patient then it will do nothing at all.

You see we have to do with energy phenomena and not with material action and there are distinct differences in action. For example if you try to charge your mobile telephone with the wrong charger nothing will happen. It needs to be charged at a certain voltage, at a certain frequency and at a certain amber range.

Nevertheless, if you keep trying to charge your mobile telephone with the wrong charger again and again and especially at voltage and frequency that differ very much from the proper ones, then after a while you may cause certain malfunction to the device. In the same way there is a slight possibility that you may cause trouble to a patient if you insist giving again and again, very frequently the same irrelevant homeopathic medicine for months and months at very high potencies. Then you may cause a “Pharmaceutical Proving” by the homeopathic medicine.

It’s not a rare thing to prescribe an irrelevant to the simillimum homeopathic medicine, in fact it’s human, but, nevertheless, it’s very rare to cause a proving because you have to prescribe wrongly again and again in high potencies and very frequently. If you follow the above rules regarding the evaluation of the course of treatment you must be blind not to see that the specific medicine you have prescribed does not have any positive effect so why give it again and again and in high potencies.

19 Even if you have a patient with a very sensitive organism who develops a Pharmaceutical Proving from the very first administration of an irrelevant homeopathic medicine – something extremely rare - you definitely have all the signs in front of you that tell you that you’ve caused a proving! So you can overcome such a situation immediately deactivating what you have given either by giving coffee to your patient or by simply giving the simillimum. Even in this rare case no permanent physical symptoms or diseases are caused; only temporary mild functional physical symptoms and temporary mild psychological symptoms.

Any therapeutic action must be done with great care no matter what therapeutic system we employ. We are dealing with human beings and that is the reason why any healer should be a medical doctor and on top of that a well trained doctor. Moreover any doctor should be honest and sincere not only to others but mostly towards his conscience. He must feel free to say to himself: “Damn you! Why were you so careless! You’ve definitely done something wrong and you must fix your wrong action immediately!”

Moreover, in such cases we have to have our patient under close medical observation until things are clear. Not only in such rare extremely rare cases but also in any case that things did not go as well as expected we must keep a close eye to our patients. Whenever things are not clear or stable I tell my patient: “You’ll call me once a week just to keep me posted on your state”. From my experience most patients appreciate this concern and say to themselves: “He is not playing God! He really tries hard to do his job!”

Follow up/Second Prescription is more difficult than First Prescription because you have to overcome yourself and your standard procedures in order to identify possible mistakes. Re-considering is tougher than considering! Moreover, if the patient calls me in two weeks time after his first consultation and says that “nothing has changed” or that he is worse, I have to re-consider in a few minutes time.

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If I just can’t do it in such limited time I find it more honest on my part to tell him to come again for consultation instead of waiting another two weeks. But, due to years of experience, that is a rare thing to happen. Do you want to ask anything?

1.7 Homeopathy isn’t harmful but still requires a well trained doctor -Let’s say that a patient comes to us for the first time with asthma. He is in a state of exacerbation of his disease, started taking cortisone but still his symptoms are intense and he tells you: “My symptoms are at their highest. Can we start homeopathic treatment or should we wait a couple of months until things calm down? I mean I am afraid I might have a therapeutic aggravation as I was told and expose myself to danger.” What do you say to him and what do you do? -You’ll apply homeopathic treatment right away! You must know that the human organism is wiser than all the doctors of the world! When any organism is in an emergency it rarely proceeds to a therapeutic aggravation. Even if it does, usually in lighter cases, this is never a dangerous or harmful thing for the patient.

Therapeutic Aggravation is an intense reaction of the organism but still a fully controlled action. For example therapeutic aggravation never involves psychological symptoms and never physical symptoms that could be harmful or dangerous for the patient.

You may have a temporary rise of the fever, an exacerbation of the cough, a headache or an exacerbation of the eczema of the patient. All these are controlled and temporary and are purposeful; they are in the direction of overcoming the present febrile state of the patient and on the direction of somatization(release to the body) existing anxiety. That’s the reason why after the initial crisis the patient is very relieved both physically and psychologically and his state of health is improved.

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Our organism is very wise because his creator is the source of any wisdom, the Wisdom itself. It’s not programmed to harm itself. Only the human egoism can do such things. Nature never behaves in an unnatural way! Only humans do!

It so happens that every now and then a patient comes to me and says: “Doctor I suffer from depression and suicidal tendency. If I have a therapeutic aggravation as they told me, what will happen to me?” And I say to him: “My dear, your organism isn’t as stupid as those who told you this! Never, ever, has any therapeutic aggravation involved psychological symptoms! Only physical symptoms and never dangerous ones! So don’t be afraid of anything! In fact most of the times a therapeutic aggravation involves decompression of psychological anxiety by somatization, so don’t be afraid!”

If you are a homeopathic doctor and you apply during your clinical practice, all those homeopathic laws that I have taught you, then you have nothing to fear about. That doesn’t mean that you won’t make any mistakes! It’s bound to make mistakes since you are human but if you follow homeopathic laws it will be minor and not severe ones.

You are excused to make minor mistakes as doctors because after all you are humans. But you were trained to identify them and correct them. That’s what makes you real scientists. Apart from that you must have the moral background to practice Medicine in good intentions and to the best of your abilities.

If that is true and acceptable about any allopathic doctor who employs harmful drugs and dangerous operations in his clinical practice why not be true and acceptable about a homeopathic doctor who employs natural healing means in his practice? A homeopathic doctor has the advantage

22 even when he is mistaken in prescribing not to harm. He may not do good but at least, he won’t do anything bad. “Benefit; don’t harm!” according to Hippocrates!

Homeopathy is never a dangerous therapy. It’s a natural healing tool at our disposal. It won’t do harm but still it needs a skillful and moral personality on the part of the doctor so as to benefit. And that’s your obligation as doctors. And that’s what this training is all about!

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CHAPTER 2

THERAPEUTIC AGGRAVATION

2.1 What’s Therapeutic Aggravation? 2.2 What’s not a Therapeutic Aggravation? 2.3 When and why Therapeutic Aggravation takes place? 2.4 Misinterpretations of Therapeutic Aggravation

2.1 What’s Therapeutic Aggravation? There are so many misconceptions and false ideas when it comes to the phenomenon of Therapeutic Aggravation! A complete chaos! Not only on the part of patients but also on the part of doctors! We, doctors, are the main cause of misconceptions that exist in the minds of patients as medical concepts are concerned.

What is Therapeutic Aggravation? As its name reveals, Therapeutic Aggravation is an aggravation/crisis/exacerbation of symptoms, yet of therapeutic nature. It happens only to physical symptoms that the patient already had for example headaches and certain skin problems. It doesn’t happen so often as most people and doctors think; from my experience it happens at a percentage of 15% among patients examined for the first time. It doesn’t happen in the course of treatment. From that time on, patients are gradually improved without any exacerbation of any kind.

24 This exacerbation of physical symptoms is only temporary; the onset of a headache may happen the first hours or days after taking the simillimum and may last from some hours even seldom to some days. When it comes to eczema or psoriasis this exacerbation may last for days or more rarely for a few weeks. The intensity of the symptoms varies from light to intense.

But, what’s of great importance for any doctor or patient are the criteria that can define that a certain crisis, a certain exacerbation of symptoms is indeed a Therapeutic Aggravation and nothing else. Let me tell you these firm criteria.

First of all it involves only physical symptoms and only what already the patient has suffered from. It never involves new symptoms, that is, symptoms that the patient didn’t have in the past. Secondly, it’s of unusual intensity and thirdly, immediately or gradually after the exacerbation there is always a clear and definite improvement of these certain symptoms.

Fourthly, this improvement involves the whole, i.e. other physical symptoms and diseases, the general physical state of the patient and his psychological state. The last one is the most important criterion. There can’t be any Therapeutic Aggravation without psychological improvement to follow it. No psychological improvement, no Therapeutic Aggravation! It’s as simple as that!

2.2 What’s not a Therapeutic Aggravation? There are of course times when certain idiosyncrasies that are very nervous and restless, like for example Lachesis or Valeriana or Platina, will tell you: “Oh, doctor, what did you give me? The first hours/days of the treatment I felt befuddled/stupefied/dazed and wanted to sleep all the time!” This wasn’t an exacerbation of any existing symptom. What really

25 happened was that her organism in order to gain strength and reduce anxiety was tuned at a lower rate of function.

It’s like a car that was working at 6000 revolutions per minute going on the edge of burning its engine and then the mechanic tuned its function at a normal frequency. Nevertheless, when a person is used to function at very high “revolutions” then when brought back to normal feels as if he is stupefied. It’s of course a fact that at times before the final adjustment/setting is achieved that the “revolutions” tend to rock back and forward from very high to very low ones for some time.

Nevertheless, this isn’t deterioration; this is an adjustment done by the organism with the help of the energy he got from the homeopathic medicine; in fact, it’s a beneficial and purposeful adjustment! It will last for some hours or days and then things will not be back to the previous unbalanced state but back to normal.

For example a restless and overactive Platina will feel at first as if stupefied; if she wasn’t told by the doctor about this possibility this will make her worry whether the doctor gave her something equivalent to sedatives. But this isn’t suppression of brain’s function; this isn’t suppression of mental activities. She can drive efficiently and work mentally efficiently but more relaxed and in a slower pace.

Then after some hours or days she will be again active and restless because this is her idiosyncratic characteristics but it will be in a more relaxed and balanced way. Homeopathic remedy doesn’t change anyone’s idiosyncratic characteristics; it smoothes/grinds the edges of any extreme characteristic thus making it closer to normal, closer to balance.

How can one distinguish between the relaxing healing action of homeopathic medicine and the suppressive action of a chemical sedative?

26 It’s something you have to know as doctors in order to know what’s going on with your treatment and in order to explain it to your worried patient.

The chemical sedative suppresses all the functions of the patient, psychological as well as physical. His physical strength and stamina are decreased, his movements become slower, his sexual desire is decreased and he may also have many other physical side effects, for example skin symptoms or peptic symptoms. He wants to sleep all the time but even after much sleep he doesn’t feel refreshed; his thinking is slow, his memory weakened, his concentration low. And that’s the reason why a person on sedatives is advised to avoid driving. He is also advised to avoid alcohol because one kind of suppression is already enough!

On the contrary, when a person starts homeopathic treatment he feels more relaxed and due to this he has a slight aversion to spoil this relaxed state and enter any stressful job, like the ones we usually do in our modern professions. Nevertheless, if he decides to do so, he will manage to do the job quite efficiently because all his mental and physical functions are working properly and are not suppressed. The above state can be compared to the relaxed state that one has just after a refreshing sleep when he refuses to spoil this positive feeling and enter a cruel program of work.

A similar adjustment can be done to another function: sleep. The patient may feel sleepy for some days especially when it comes to people that haven’t been sleeping enough for a long period and definitely need rest. It has nothing to do with suppression of the brain’s function and that’s the reason why on waking the patient feels very refreshed and calmer than before. It’s simply a therapeutic action done by the wise organism in order to calm the soul and refresh the brain and body. Patients that have a lack of energy and a lack of body weight may experience an increase of their appetite for some days or weeks until they gain what they need.

27 -Does this sleepiness have anything to do with the stop of drinking coffee? -That’s a very good question! Many people, even if they don’t drink more than one or two coffees per day, develop a caffeine addiction. So when they stop drinking coffee at the onset of treatment may experience sleepiness for some days. But this sleepiness is accompanied by nervousness, bad mood, weakness and lack of energy. This is not a positive adjustment done by the organism; these are but withdrawal symptoms. Most of the times the beneficial action of the homeopathic treatment helps the patient overcome this situation very quickly and with less burden.

During any therapeutic aggravation no exacerbation of psychological symptoms can happen; only some already existing physical symptoms may increase for a little while. You see, during therapeutic aggravation we have a beneficial somatization (release to the body) of anxiety done by the organism in its effort for quick cure. It’s a beneficial release of anxiety done at the right curative course from the center to the circumference and from higher levels to lower ones according to the homeopathic Law of Hierarchy.

You may also see a Thuja or a Staphisagria patient telling you: “During the first days/weeks of the treatment I was more irritable than before”. In such cases I always ask: “Did you really were more irritable or is it just that you felt freer to express your anger whenever you got angry?”

Then you see that sparkle at the face of the patient that shows that he has realized something very profound and he usually says: “Oh God! You are so right! That’s what really happened! It’s not that I get angry more than before; it’s that I express my anger more easy; I’ve started claiming my rights!”

28 2.3 When and why Therapeutic Aggravation takes place? Now it’s time to answer to a very crucial question: When and why Therapeutic Aggravation takes place? There are two cases. The first one is when we have given the simillimum and the mobilization of the organism was intense. Accordingly the somatization of existing great anxiety was intense. There are cases where it’s not a matter of intense anxiety; it may be that the mobilization of the patient’s physical therapeutic mechanisms was great.

In both versions there is a sudden effort of the patient’s whole to drive the Illness to more external levels and free him from the burden of imbalance. I feel free to use an analogy: If you start your car and you are in a hurry first you engage the first gear and then you violently step on the gas pedal and suddenly release the clutch. The wheels spin noisily and the car is shaken violently. But as you shift to the second or third gear the car accelerates in a less violent way.

That’s the reason why therapeutic aggravation takes place only the first days of the first month of treatment. Even if you repeat the same idiosyncratic medicine next month you won’t have a therapeutic aggravation. Yet, if a patient has followed a successful treatment, did well, stopped and after some time comes back for a new start, he may again have a therapeutic aggravation. But, nevertheless, this is a rare thing to happen and if it happens it will be less intense.

The second reason for which a therapeutic aggravation happens is the following: The medicine we have prescribed for the patient was indeed the simillimum but the potency used wasn’t “similar” to the patient’s state. That is, we went too high regarding his state. We either gave a very high potency or a normal one but the patient was very sensitive. In simple words we pushed somebody to the right direction but yet, suddenly and too hard compared to his needs. And if you push someone too hard you shake him! You trouble him but only on the physical plane and not on the psychological one.

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It’s a normal and common thing to have therapeutic aggravation. As I’ve already told you it happens at a percentage 15% during the first month of the treatment. But it’s not a desirable thing to have a very intense therapeutic aggravation; not desirable for the patient and not desirable for the doctor. If the doctor is experienced and well trained he can, most of the times, foresee such a possibility and prevent it from happening by giving the simillimum at a lower potency, for example 200CH instead of 1M.

Now that I am more experienced I try to prevent an intense or prolonged therapeutic aggravation from happening. I remember the first time that I experienced such an event on my first year of clinical practice! It was a case of a small Sulphur child with eczema. Instead of starting the treatment with a low potency like 200CH or even 30CH I prescribed Sulphur 1M! Oh God! The eczema spread all over his body just hours after the onset of treatment and insisted for weeks. He had terrible itching and much serofluid was flowing from his patches. The boy was complaining and the parents were in despair and worried.

That’s when you are tested as doctor! First you have to have the knowledge to identify what’s going on. You must diagnose correctly if this is indeed a therapeutic aggravation or something else. If it’s a therapeutic aggravation you know that you gave the simillimum and that you are on the right tract but still you have to convince the patient and his relatives to be patient.

If you live in Greece and you have to do with Greek parents worrying about their offspring then things aren’t so easy! Greek parents are very worried about their children! And not only parents are involved to their kids but also the grandparents and the uncles and even the friends of the couple and the next door neighbors! Moreover, all Greek people consider themselves as doctors and act accordingly giving free medical advice to all others around them!

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It’s been many years since I had the last such case of extreme therapeutic aggravation. Experience taught me to be more careful. I take in consideration the age of the patient; the younger the child the lower the potency. I also take in consideration the disease of the patient and his idiosyncrasy; skin problems like eczema or psoriasis tend to be aggravated intensely and for long especially in Sulphur individuals.

The young and inexperienced doctor or the ambitious doctor wants to achieve spectacular and quick therapeutic results and may prescribe high potencies and this may cause intense therapeutic aggravations. We must never judge according to us but according to the needs and state of our patient. That is the rule! The only rule!

So if you go higher than needed regarding potency you may trouble the patient with an intense therapeutic aggravation. On the other hand if you go lower than needed you may have no result or very poor and temporary results. You are on the right direction but you haven’t pushed enough. If the patient is slightly improved and then relapses and only if we are definitely sure that we’ve prescribed the simillimum then we may give the simillimum at a higher potency.

I say “may” because we may have prescribed a similar remedy but not the simillimum. Or it may happen that the patient suffers from a chronic disease and he is exhausted and it’s easy to relapse, or… or…

You have to be very careful when repeating the same remedy at higher potencies because if you insist repeating the same remedy at high potencies and if it’s not the simillimum but it’s irrelevant to the patient’s idiosyncrasy you may cause pharmaceutical proving in sensitive patients.

31 2.4 Misinterpretations of Therapeutic Aggravation Let me discuss with you a relatively common incident. A doctor prescribes a remedy that is irrelevant to his patient’s idiosyncrasy. The most common outcome is that the remedy doesn’t act at all and the patient stays the same. If before treatment he was at a declining state of health then during the treatment this declining course will continue. Then, this ignorant homeopathic doctor sees this declining state, misinterprets it and says to the patient: “So, you say that you got worse! Bravo! This is a very good sign; this is Therapeutic Aggravation! You will be troubled for some months and then you’ll be cured!” This is a very severe mistake, not to say a stupid mistake.

There are crystal clear criteria, as mentioned above, that define a therapeutic aggravation so there is no excuse for any homeopathic doctor regarding misinterpretation of therapeutic aggravation!

When it comes to wrong prescription nobody could accuse any homeopathic doctor for not giving the simillimum because not all cases are clear. You are excused not to be able to read the mind and see the soul of your patient. After all, any homeopathic doctor isn’t superhuman, isn’t God. Accordingly an allopathic doctor may find it difficult to diagnose the disease of his patient. But, if the doctor is well trained and cares for what he does, he will try again and do his best and most of the times manage to help his patient.

But no scientist is excused to misinterpret a declining health state for a therapeutic aggravation! There are definite rules and the only thing they demand is common sense.

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CHAPTER 3

PHARMACEUTICAL PROVING

3.1 What’s a Pharmaceutical Proving? 3.2 How can a Pharmaceutical Proving be caused?

3.1 What’s a Pharmaceutical Proving? There can rarely be a case where the patient may get worse due to homeopathic treatment; it’s the case of Pharmaceutical Proving. In order for someone to understand the latter we have to say a few basic things.

What is the usual procedure of Proving? I administer a crude substance of mineral or plant origin, in repeated doses, to a healthy human being until the minute he starts developing symptoms. These symptoms manifest themselves when the “poisoning” action contacted at the experiment overcomes the defense threshold of the organism and his physical and psychological defense mechanisms are mobilized in order to produce these useful symptoms.

The sum of these symptoms is but the pharmaceutical action of this crude substance to the human organism. Several substances were used to healthy human beings and the several pictures of symptoms produced were included in the Homeopathic Pharmacology or commonly known Homeopathic Materia Medica.

33 If the crude substance to be proved is a strong poison then in order to eliminate the possibility of severe symptoms and avoid harming the healthy individuals we not only use dilution but also percussion of the crude substance, i.e. potentization. In simple words we use homeopathic medicines in repeated doses. After some time this procedure overcomes the defense threshold of the healthy person and causes symptoms. The sum of the person’s symptoms is the Proving of this substance done in a more safe way.

Now let’s move on to what can happen during homeopathic treatment. If I prescribe the homeopathic medicine Sepia to a patient whose idiosyncrasy is indeed Sepia then I will cure him because I gave him the simillimum. He will definitely have no side effects.

But if his idiosyncrasy is an irrelevant one compared to Sepia and provided that I keep repeating it at high potencies and the patient has a sensitive organism, then I may cause a Pharmaceutical Proving. Apart from his naturally existing idiosyncrasy and on top of that, he will artificially and pharmaceutically develop another idiosyncrasy irrelevant to the already existing, a Sepia idiosyncrasy. The symptoms of Sepia will make him feel bad both physically and psychologically.

We could say that this is a case of energy side effects. This has nothing to do with Therapeutic Aggravation. It’s a Pharmaceutical Proving caused by our false and repeated homeopathic prescribing. It may not be dangerous but still it causes a burden to the already suffering patient. I must say that this is a rare incident happening only to sensitive organisms but still it’s something that must and can be avoided.

3.2 How can a Pharmaceutical Proving be caused? How can this Pharmaceutical Proving be caused? As I have told you before if you give the simillimum then you have cure and no side effects.

34 If you give a similar remedy but not the simillimum then you have a palliation of the patient’s symptoms. If you give an irrelevant to his idiosyncrasy homeopathic medicine then most of the times nothing will happen; no action at all. But if you keep repeating it in high potencies and the patient is sensitive to energy actions then you may cause Pharmaceutical Proving.

A question pops up: How can a homeopathic doctor end up doing such a totally false thing? Ok, I can understand that if he is not well trained he may prescribe an irrelevant to the simillimum medicine but then why doesn’t he see that and why does he keep repeating this false medicine in high potencies?

This is done due to the misconception of a correct and useful technique adopted by James Tyler Kent, a great teacher of Homeopathy. Kent said that If you administer the simillimum in low potency and the patient after getting better for some time, starts becoming worse again, then, if he is still influenced by the same idiosyncrasy and only then, you can go higher. That is, you can repeat the same homeopathic medicine at a higher potency and the patient will get a lot better and you may even finish the case.

It’s as if you have given a push in the right direction but not strong enough to finish the case and then you have to push harder. So you repeat the same medicine at a higher potency and maybe again the same medicine at a much higher potency. For example you may give Sepia 200CH, then Sepia 1M and then Sepia 10M. But this is done only if the patient is indeed Sepia, only if you started low and the patient improved for a while and then relapsed and only if he is still Sepia. Moreover you go higher only after he has relapsed. Usually you don’t have to repeat the medicine more than once or twice higher.

35 This technique of Kent has nothing to do with the false procedure used by those ignorant homeopathic doctors that cause Pharmaceutical Proving. Being wrongly trained they often administer irrelevant to the simillimum homeopathic medicines. Then being ignorant, if in chronic cases their patient not only improves but keeps declining they misinterpret this as Therapeutic Aggravation and say to themselves: “I gave the simillimum and my patient has a Therapeutic Aggravation”. But then the patient still keeps declining. So they say to themselves: “I must have given a low potency, so according to Kent’s law I must go higher”.

They go higher and the patient keeps declining. So they go again higher or repeat the irrelevant homeopathic medicine thus causing Pharmaceutical Proving! Again, being not well trained they don’t identify that they have caused Pharmaceutical Proving and the patient enters a vicious circle.

From my experience Pharmaceutical Provings are often done by the use of Sepia and Arsenicum. These idiosyncrasies are not so often nowadays as ignorant homeopathic doctors think. Furthermore, ignorant doctors are not well acquainted with the true idiosyncratic pictures of these idiosyncrasies. So they keep prescribing them again and again thinking that they are on the right tract misapplying the technique of Kent of “going higher”.

Whenever I come across to a patient that has Pharmaceutical Proving done by a previous doctor I do case taking and prescribe the simillimum and the whole mess comes to an end. The false idiosyncratic picture produced by the Pharmaceutical Proving goes away and the real idiosyncratic picture of the patient is treated and the patient gradually becomes balanced. -But how can you distinguish between these two existing pictures and decide what is his natural idiosyncratic picture and what is his pharmaceutical picture?

36 -It’s very easy. The patient himself tells you: “I didn’t have these symptoms before my taking Sepia”. Furthermore you know the idiosyncratic picture of Sepia and you identify its characteristic symptoms. Apart from that you can ask your patient about his course during the treatment with the previous homeopathic doctor and identify that not only he didn’t go well but on top of that he suffered from Pharmaceutical Proving.

Your patient tells you that he had some symptoms. Then he was given Sepia and his symptoms did not improve. Then he was given Sepia again and new symptoms developed on top of the previous ones. What else do you need to know in order to understand what happened? When you have confusion in your mind like the previous doctors you “see without seeing” and you act without knowing what you do!

If you are theoretically well trained and you have substantial correct clinical practice, then you have order in your mind. If you have order in your mind then you can automatically be tuned with the order that exists in natural phenomena or the lack of order that exists in many human brains, be it the brain of a patient or a doctor! You can see truth only if you are full of it inside you! There’s no other way!

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CHAPTER 4

PARALLEL ALLOPATHIC AND HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT

4.1 Can Homeopathy be combined with other treatments? 4.2 Why a homeopath must definitely be a medical doctor?

4.1 Can Homeopathy be combined with other treatments? Some patients, especially the syphilitic and mistrustful ones, may say to me: “Doctor, before starting your treatment I will stop chemical drugs so as if I get well to know what did the job!” or “They told me to do also Acupuncture together with Homeopathy but then how will I know what helped me?”

“Excuse me!” I tell them. “What’s our main concern? Your improvement or who’s going to get the credits?” If we can help a patient in more than one ways why shouldn’t we? As a homeopathic doctor I have in my mind all the criteria that will allow me to know if the homeopathic drug that I have prescribed has acted curatively or not and at what degree.

There are some homeopathic doctors that deliberately refuse any other treatment to their patient so as not to lose him on the process of parallel treatment. They say to themselves: “If he gets better he may think that it was Acupuncture that helped him and not Homeopathy and then he will prefer the other doctor!” This is not only wrong; it’s also immoral on the

38 part of the doctor. It’s my duty to do my best and it’s the patients right to choose whatever he likes even if he chooses wrong. I haven’t got the right to deprive him of the possibility to get well following any other allopathic or alternative treatment.

There are also some homeopathic doctors that believe that anyone on homeopathic treatment shouldn’t take any other medicines of any kind. They say that chemical drugs counteract or neutralize or deactivate homeopathic drugs. This is, of course, wrong because homeopathic medicines act on the energy level while allopathic drugs act on the material level. It’s true, nevertheless, that allopathic drugs have side effects or suppress symptoms and diseases and that troubles the patient’s organism but most of the times this isn’t a serious obstacle to the progress of homeopathic treatment.

I certainly would prefer to start my homeopathic treatment having a patient free from allopathic drugs but this is not possible most of the times. In fact, many times it’s medically wrong to stop abruptly any allopathic medication and proceed to homeopathic treatment right away. First you have to help your patient in order to be able to stand on his own feet and not need allopathic medication and then proceed to the gradual stop of his allopathic drugs.

If you have a patient with a broken leg first you have to fix his leg and then get rid of the crutches. Crutches aren’t curative means but still they support your patient until he gets well. Accordingly, most of the times, allopathic medicines aren’t curative but instead they are palliating or suppressing symptoms, but still they often support the patient; so you mustn’t throw it to the dustbin before you have already helped, up to a point, your patient by homeopathic treatment.

If you throw away his “crutches” before he is ready to stand on his own then he will fall down and you will be responsible for this action. Even if

39 you don’t harm him, you may cause trouble to him because you have taken away the palliative action of his allopathic symptomatic treatment. Thus you may also force him to stop homeopathic treatment because he suffers again from the symptoms of the disease since the allopathic drugs that relieved him were thrown away. You see, there is a period of time during which homeopathic treatment hasn’t yet progressed to the point of relieving the patient and during this period he needs allopathic medicines.

For example if you have a patient taking systematically antihypertensive drugs for 10 years or more it’s definitely wrong to stop his drugs as soon as he starts homeopathic treatment. First you have to do a parallel allopathic and homeopathic treatment and only after he has improved in general you’ll start systematic measurement of his blood pressure in order to see what’s going on. You will measure his blood pressure a whole week, twice a day, with and then without antihypertensive drugs and compare the two set of measurements. If without allopathic medicines his blood pressure is normal then and only then you are allowed to cut them off.

Even if you are sure that he has a nervous high blood pressure and not a pathological one and that he doesn’t need the antihypertensive drugs, still you have to act as described before for reasons of your patient’s insecurity.

Nevertheless, there are allopathic medicines that should not be cut off not only during homeopathic treatment but even after its successful completion. For example if you have a patient with a certain degree of heart or respiratory failure you will never cut off allopathic medicines that support his heart and lung’s function. In any case of irreversible damages where allopathic drugs are definitely indispensable it’s wrong to discontinue allopathic medication.

4.2 Why a homeopath must definitely be a medical doctor?

40 See why any homeopath must definitely be a medical doctor and moreover a good one? How can he treat his patient as a whole if he isn’t a medical doctor? How can he deal with the already existing allopathic treatment of his patient if he isn’t a medical doctor? How can he deal with any diagnostic test if he isn’t a medical doctor? Most of the patients that consult a homeopathic doctor for the first time are already on allopathic medication that failed to help them but still they are in need of it. How can you deal with them if you aren’t a medical doctor? It’s out of the question!

If we allow the practice of Homeopathy to non medical doctors then we condemn Homeopathy to become a mere “Herbal” Medicine practiced only complementary. The patient will be treated by the allopathic doctor and as an extra action, in the same way that he may also take some vitamins he will also take some homeopathic medicines.

Seriously, is that what we want? Seriously, is that what Homeopathy deserves? Homeopathy is not a complementary or alternative medicine. It’s Medicine; in fact, it’s true Medicine! It’s Scientific Medicine! It’s natural and effective Medicine. At least that’s what it is for me! And that’s what it is in reality.

You have to deal with your patient first as a doctor and then as a homeopathic doctor. I believe that if you aren’t a medical doctor you won’t be able to reach a correct homeopathic diagnosis and you won’t be able to effect a successful treatment. Furthermore, if you aren’t a doctor you can harm your patient. Hahnemann was a medical doctor. His students were medical doctors. Hahnemann taught Homeopathy only to medical doctors. How can any medical doctor teach non doctors how to practice Medicine! It’s absurd! It’s wrong!

It’s true that there are homeopathic medical doctors that don’t deserve to be called so, but would you trust any “alternative” non licensed engineer

41 to build an apartment building for you? Or would you trust a non licensed mechanic fix your precious car? How, on earth, can you trust a non licensed medical doctor deal with your body and mind? I just can’t get it!

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CHAPTER 5

SELECTION OF “SIMILAR” POTENCY

5.1 How do we select the “similar” potency? 5.2 How do we reach idiosyncratic diagnosis in babies?

5.1 How do we select the “similar” potency? Now, let’s talk about another subject. Let’s talk about the selection of the most suitable potency; most suitable to the patient’s state of health. In the same way that we call a homeopathic medicine similar to the patient’s idiosyncrasy we could call a certain kind of potency as similar to the patient’s state of health. So, how do we select the similar potency?

From my experience in most chronic cases I start with the thousandth potency, i.e. 1M, i.e. 1X100 to the thousandth power. In chronic cases I rarely start with low 200CH potency or very high 10M potency. In small children and especially when suffering from eczema do to the possibility of an intense and prolonged therapeutic aggravation I go low at first, either with 30CH or 200CH and then only if needed I proceed gradually to 1M.

There are some homeopathic idiosyncrasies that are suitable to intense psychological states like for example Ignatia or Staphisagria and from my experience the corresponding homeopathic medicine can be given from

43 the beginning at 10M potency. In all other cases it’s advised to start with 1M unless it’s a very clear and intense state and we are very sure that our patient’s idiosyncrasy is indeed what we have diagnosed. I have rarely used 50M potency and only in certain idiosyncrasies like Lycopodium, Lachesis and Hyoscyamus because there was no need for it.

You can proceed from 1M to 10M only according to the technique of Kent of “going higher” but only, I repeat only under the presuppositions that I have already told you. Only if the first prescription was the simillimum and did a very good job but then the patient relapsed and only if he is still the same idiosyncrasy as before. Most of the times I don’t go higher; I just repeat 1M and the job is done quite well.

You have to be very careful not only with homeopathic medicines but also with potencies. If you go too low there will be no action or slight action. If you go too high there will be no action or you may even cause a pharmaceutical proving if your patient isn’t what you have diagnosed and if he has a sensitive energy structure.

In acute conditions I usually apply the 30CH potency or more rarely the 200CH; only rarely when I have a very intense and characteristic picture with not only characteristic physical symptoms but also with characteristic psychological symptoms I may use 1M.

I consider 12CH not suitable for idiosyncratic homeopathic prescribing. I use it only for tissue salts that accompany the idiosyncratic homeopathic medicine. I give the first day the idiosyncratic homeopathic medicine usually at the 1M potency and from the next day on I prescribe one tissue salt at the 12CH potency each day as a supportive of the organism treatment that doesn’t interfere with the main action of the idiosyncratic medicine. Tissue salts are salts of Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium and Ferrum and mostly carbonic, phosphoric, sulfuric and nitric ones.

Dr. Athos Stavrou Othonos I practice Homeopathic Medicine as a private doctor in Athens the last 28 years, being a member of the Athens Medical Association and a member of the Greek Association of Homeopathic Medicine. I've always enjoyed reading and writing books! Up to now I have written 21 books on Holistic Philosophy, 16 Homeopathic Medical books and 8 Litterature books. In my Homeopathic Medical Books one can find a complete course on Homeopathic Medicine and the description of the Method of Miasmatic Idiosyncratic Diagnosis developed by me the last 15 years. My books either philosophical, novels or medical are the outcome of this theoretical search and also the outcome of many years of medical and personal experience. Their common ground is Holistic Thinking and Holistic Philosophy. My choice to offer all my books for free in my web site homeomed.gr and in other sites for free e-books is in accordance with my holistic beliefs.

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5.2 How do we reach idiosyncratic diagnosis in babies? -How can you reach to an idiosyncratic diagnosis when you have to do with babies that aren’t able to talk and can’t be questioned? -We receive valuable information from non-verbal elements as I have taught you; and of course, we get information from their parents and close ones. Something that helps a lot in these cases is that babies and small children tend to be affected by a short list of idiosyncrasies. The same thing is also true for animals. Don’t forget that babies and animals are more primitive in the mental level and thus aren’t yet very diversified.

The most frequent idiosyncrasies in babies and small children are from top to bottom, Medorhinum, Phosphor, Sulphur, Pulsatilla, Cina and Lachesis. Only rarely you will prescribe Lycopodium, Nux Vomica or Lilium Tigrinum to small children because these idiosyncrasies tend to have a more complicated mental sphere not easily found in small children. So you have a lack of some information in children’s case taking but then you have a shorter list of idiosyncrasies to check.