Using the homeopathic approach

Homeopathy is one of the most popular complementary therapies. Dr Elizabeth Thompson discusses its use in the management of chronic pain.

The homeopathic approach is a holistic one. Underpinning it is the concept that the mind and body are connected. Some patients feel let down by the standard medical approach. If the pattern of their symptoms does not relate to a clear diagnosis, the doctor may reassure the patient and tell them to live with the problem. However, the homeopathic approach can work with the symptoms. A diagnosis is not needed.

Finding a pattern

In a consultation with a homeopath the patient sets the agenda by choosing the symptoms or problems to focus on. Sometimes the top problem is the pain, but not always. Often we will focus on the characteristics of the pain, for example, where is the pain felt and what makes it worse or better. Then we look at when the pain began and this may often take us into a deeper layer of understanding of the pain that acknowledges a pattern to the symptoms. Examples would include:

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• “I always had pain in the left side of my tummy just before my period and over the years it got worse. I had the womb and ovaries taken away – the strange thing is, that the pain got worse after that and now I have pain all the time.”
• “My tummy pain began just after a heart attack and the heart attack was one week after my wife left me quite suddenly with two children to bring up – I never really got over it.”

The homeopath is trying to understand the pain as the patient experiences it today, and also to understand when it began and how it has changed over the years.

Each person is unique

Whilst always trying to ensure that no conventional diagnosis has been overlooked, the next step in a consultation is to link the pattern of pain with the characteristics of the person as an individual. This highlights another belief underlying the homeopathic approach that each person is a unique and precious individual. No two stories are the same and each person’s suffering is different to the next. Many patients might benefit from paracetamol but only a few might need the remedy Asterias rubens – a homeopathic preparation of the starfish. This is why, in general, the homeopathic approach is complex, and one that takes time because there are over two thousand remedies to choose from!

Sometimes a patient will look a bit perplexed when I ask them “What is your favourite food?” or “Have you had a recurrent dream?” These are characteristics that tell me what distinguishes one person with facial pain from another. Some people can find the approach too nosy and a practitioner may have to direct someone to a different holistic approach that suits them better. However the majority of people find it very helpful to really tell their story in a safe environment.

Choosing the symptoms

Once the practitioner has received this story, the next step is to choose symptoms that reflect the problem most accurately. Here is an example:

A forty-seven year old lady with a ten-year history of back pain came to the pain clinic. The pain was around her shoulder blade on her left side, and was twisting, stabbing and burning in nature. It was worse for any movement. In 1983 her drunken husband stabbed her in the left side of her neck. After that she couldn’t eat or sleep for a long time. She tried pain killers but none of them worked, and nerve blocks didn’t help. A TENS machine helped a bit.

She was sleeping badly, wakening between 2 and 3 am. “I need one of my family to be with me at night. They take turns.” She continued to tell me about herself, “I’m a serious and sensitive person. I hate animals, even budgies. I like reading novels. I get a rash over my neck and the part of my back that’s sore if I get upset, like with my nephew.”

The symptoms I chose for this lady were the pain around her shoulder blade (scapula) and the fact that the pain had come on following a very frightening event. Also this lady had a great fear to be alone at night. She also had a brown rash over her chest.

Symptoms

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• BACK; PAIN; stitching, shooting; dorsal region; scapulae; left.
• CHEST, eruptions, vesicles.
• MIND; FEAR; alone, of being.
• MIND; AILMENTS from; fright or fear.

Remedy

Ranunculus bulbosus or the buttercup.

The remedy Ranunculus bulbosus is associated with stabbing pains around left shoulder blade. The pains are sharp, stitching, shooting, come on suddenly and are worse in wet, stormy weather, from touch, motion, or turning the body. The remedy also has an association with brown rashes and a great fear at night.

On seeing this lady for review she said, “The back pain has cleared completely and the rash has gone away. I’m feeling a lot less nervous.” The rash came back a bit with the pain when the remedy ran out. Her general practitioner was able to re-prescribe the remedy for her.

Finding a practitioner

Homeopathic medicines are available through the NHS. There are five homeopathic hospitals within the NHS, in London, Tunbridge Wells, Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow. There are also network clinics staffed often by general practitioners trained in homeopathy. You will see the initials “MFHom.” after their name if they are registered with the Faculty of Homeopathy. There are also some homeopaths who are not doctors (professional homeopaths) working within the NHS. Some work within health centres and you will see the letters “RSHom” after their name if they are registered with the Society of Homeopaths.

If you feel your diagnosis is in question I would recommend a doctor homeopath. If you have been fully investigated and are under continuing care from your general practitioner or hospital doctor, then a professional homeopath will often give a good prescription. I don’t recommend any drugs to be stopped, but patients may find they can come off existing medications if the remedy is working well. This should always be done under the supervision of a qualified doctor.

Dr Elizabeth Thompson is Consultant Homeopathic Physician at Bristol Homeopathic Hospital. You can get further information from The British Homeopathic Association, 15 Clerkenwell Close, London EC1R 0AA. They keep a register of doctors who are also trained homeopaths. For information about homeopaths who are not doctors, contact The Society of Homeopaths, 2 Artizan Road, Northampton NN 1 4HU. Please enclose a stamped addressed envelope when writing to these organisations.

©Copyright © Elizabeth Thompson. All rights reserved.