Healing with Homeopathy

by Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman, ND, LCSW, and Robert Ullman, ND

Homeopathy for Mitral Valve Prolapse Resulting From Rheumatic Heart Disease

It Began with Childhood Rheumatic Fever

Janice presented in our office nearly seven years ago complaining of severe right chest pain of one month’s duration.

I couldn’t move. The pain lasted about an hour. My husband thought it might be a kidney stone. The next day I had a really bad heart spell. I suffered from rheumatic fever as a child, so these heart spells happen often. Pain down my arm, leg, head. My scalp feels bruised for a week. So bad that I can’t even touch it.

As a child, it was like clockwork. I experienced flu-like symptoms every six weeks for about a year. My heart would hurt and actually swell. My chest and calf would swell, too. The vein behind the calf would become large and blue, and sometimes burst. I became easily winded, couldn’t do hikes with much altitude gain, and running was out of the question.

The symptoms are brought on by overexertion, trauma, fatigue, or not getting enough sleep. My heart was damaged by the rheumatic fever, and I developed mitral valve prolapse. The ends of the valves are a little floppy and they click. My heart doesn’t pump efficiently. My last spell was two and a half years ago when my mom died. My heart will take off and start beating really hard. It takes a while to slow it back down.

When my heart is in arrhythmia, I can feel it right here. This little constriction. A lot of tightness in the chest. This time I wasn’t exerting at all. My face turned a really weird gray. A strange, gray pallor. My eyes got pointed. It was like somebody squeezing. Sitting on my chest. I couldn’t get my breath. Something was constricting. I have asthma, but it’s nothing like that kind of constriction. Like something wrapped around there. A squeezing. The pain started to go down my left arm and leg. The veins were becoming stiff. Pressure from all sides. A compression. Kind of like a choking. Like something is choking the life out of you. Grabbing. Like when a weed wraps around another plant and chokes it, periodically squeezing. Something choking the life out of you. Clasping so you can’t breathe. Like a drowning feeling. A weed that is beautiful and green, powerful, strong, and grows quickly. Have flowers and be physically beautiful. Viny, beautiful, intertwining. It creeps along to grow, but isn’t really noticed because it’s very pretty and grows low to the ground. The way the pain spreads feels like a plant. How it shoots up, then radiates out. I starts one place and grows. When it reaches my calf, it feels like it is building up and going to pop. Following the heart spell, my scalp feels bruised and I get a headache. It feels like fingers grabbing internally.

My mother suffered from rubella during the pregnancy. I got the rheumatic fever when I was 3 years old. There was a really bad form of strep fever that spread through our town. My cousin died from it at 9 months of age. I nearly died. The doctor told my mother not to take me to the hospital or I would die for sure. They tell me I became so lethargic that I couldn’t eat or drink. They gave me water enemas to keep me alive. After that my heart was damaged. I was sickly. Lots of ear infections up to the time I was 10 or 11, but the worst were from age 5 to 6. The ear pain was beyond belief. The antibiotics just didn’t do the job. The doctor poured some liquid into my ear and told me not to swallow it. It looked like liquid mercury.

I have had recurrent strep throat my whole life, even over the past few months. It’s always there. Whenever I’m pulled down, it takes over. If I get tired or cold or don’t dry my hair completely and go outside, I get a sore throat just like that. Sharp, sharp pain. You just want to cry every time you swallow. The last time I had strep, I was full of Motrin and still developed a fever of 102 to 103. They give me antibiotics right away. Sometimes a pretty high dose of prednisone because the throat and the tonsils can almost swell from the inflammation. I end up looking like the elephant man.

The plants on the East Coast trigger my asthma, when I visit my father. I get wheezy. The breath isn’t there. It’s a clenching [hand gesture of constriction]. They warn me not to use the inhaler when I’m having a heart spell, because it will have the opposite effect. I suffer from claustrophobia in the car and even in the house. I must open a window. I say that I need oxygen. I was diagnosed with a peptic ulcer in grade school and with costochondritis in college. I’m an inflammation person. Whenever I would overdo, whether at high altitudes or too much sledding, my joints would hurt unbelievably.

I’m emotionally sensitive and passionate about whatever cause I’m advocating, but I tend to overcommit and overvolunteer. I have trouble saying no. I need to see greenery, open spaces. I have an internal radar. Sensitive to everything. I take a read on people and sense whether it’s safe. My radar is always up. I am extremely sensitive to noise and lights. I want to eat my breakfast in the dark and can’t handle anyone talking to me first thing in the morning. I loved fireworks, but would always be the kid who would plug my ears. I am very sensitive to clothing, too.

We inquired about Janice’s fears and dreams. “I used to get really afraid of ghosts the those kinds of things as a child. The neighbors always said our house was haunted. My bedroom was supposedly the ghost’s room. I don’t think I ever did get a good night’s sleep there. I once dreamed as a kid about a one-armed man who was after me. It made such an impact that I can remember it to this day.”

When questioned about her food desires and aversions, Janice responded that she loved her mother’s chicken and dumplings and was addicted to chocolate, but worried about the caffeine and her heart. “I love pickles, olives, and lemons. In fact, I can eat a whole lemon!”

One Remedy Repeated Over Six Years

There were many indications for Belladonna (deadly nightshade):

• childhood history of recurrent strep throat and rheumatic fever

• exquisitely painful recurrent strep throat and headaches during adulthood

• extreme sensitivity to light, sound

• charismatic person

• plant-like sensitivity and description of a “beautiful” creeping vine (literal meaning of Belladonna is “beautiful lady.”)

• fear of ghosts

• strong desire for lemons

There were a few red herrings, but we chose to ignore them., because the case seemed clear enough. They were the strong sensation of constriction and Janice’s radar being “always up.” We prescribed Belladonna 200C.

Two-month follow-up: “Feeling a lot better. The heart pains went away. Getting back to my old self. Energy is back to what it was. The only pain I have had since taking the remedy was once after a mile hike. No shortness of breath. I even had iced tea six nights in a row, which I could never do before because it would cause arrhythmia for a week. I am still very sensitive. I would say I am eighty percent better overall.”

Four months: “No more heart spells. This month has been rough. Super fatigued. My asthma has been acting up. My joints are stiff and achy. The glands on both sides of my neck are quite sore. I am getting headaches if the lights are too bright. I have no hearts symptoms. I just feel out of whack.” We repeated Belladonna 200C.

Six months: “The remedy worked for only a week. I have the same symptoms.” We raised the potency to Belladonna 1M.

Eight and a half months: “The higher dose worked fine. I repeated it a month ago. The painful joint stiffness in m shoulders is back the past few days. I’m pregnant and I have morning sickness. Sour stomach, rolling, gurgling. Sometimes lemon with salt and water helps. It is my longtime remedy for nausea and carsickness since childhood.” Since the lemon craving was strong, her shoulder pain had returned, and no other acute remedy was clear, we repeated the Belladonna 1M.

Ten and a half months: “The remedy worked fine for the morning sickness. A month later I passed a began to flood blood, then passed a huge clot with a piece of the placenta. It was placenta abruptio and subchoroidal hemorrhage. The placenta has repaired itself. I am on absolute bed rest.” Again Belladonna 1M and a dose of 10M to hold, if needed.

One year: “I didn’t take my remedy because I couldn’t find it. Everything looks good with the baby. It’s a boy. He has a good, strong heartbeat. I am 23 weeks pregnant and I have only gained 3 pounds so far. I only gained fifteen to twenty pounds with my daughter.” Belladonna 1M.

Fourteen months: “I’m in my eighth month. I’ve gained 10 pounds. The baby is active and seems fine. I have had no palpitations or heart problems. I’ve had a sore throat the past few days. I took one dose of an antibiotic and the baby jumped.” Belladonna 1M.

Seventeen months: “The baby is two weeks old. My right breast is really full, hard, and it has pink streaks from the nipple. I couldn’t stop shaking for two hours. It is super sore and hot. The breast hurts all the time. The pain is much worse if anything bumps against my breast or if the baby kicks while nursing on the other side. I am sensitive to everything: light, noise, everything. I am only sleeping two to three hours a night.” Again Belladonna 1M, which covered the mastitis symptoms beautifully.

Nineteen months: “The breast pain was so much better that I didn’t even need an antibiotic. The baby is wonderful. It is a miracle. He’s a great nurser and I’m making plenty of milk. The doctors never thought he would make it. They gynecologist was amazed that the placenta was so healthy. He said it looked better than a lot of his patients who have the whole placenta. This past week the sensitivity to light and sound has returned along with some rheumatic symptoms.” Belladonna 1M.

Janice continued to do well with periodic repetitions of Belladonna 1M, then 10M and 50M, for the next five years, despite incredible economic and other stresses. A little over a year ago, we gave her one dose of Belladonna CM (the highest potency available). There was not much improvement, so we decided to retake Janice’s case seven months ago. We spent an hour and a half with her, as if we were starting over.

Different Kingdom, Different Remedy

I have some new symptoms over the past few months. Extreme stabbing heart pain. Fatigue so bad that I could barely get out of bed. It was like someone took a knife and jabbed it through my heart. Sharp, searing, stabbing. It was similar to an episode. Terrible joint swelling and pain all over. In the muscles, joints, and between the joints. There were big knots on my knuckles and shoulders. I was like Quasimodo. My breathing was quite restricted and the lining of my ribs was swollen. They thought it was rheumatoid arthritis, but a blood test ruled it out. They diagnosed me with pericarditis and treated me with antibiotics.

If I was feeling even a little stress, it would be like shooting venom to each joint. As fast as a snake can spray venom. The image that I had in my mind, when I had those pains, was venom squirting into those joints. Like a rattlesnake poisoning my body. Inflaming it. Degrading it. I saw a lot of snakes growing up in the desert. I saw my brother shoot them before they could strike us. We’d have to cut off the head and bury it because that’s where the glands are. I handled a lot of snakes.

When I had that knifelike chest pain, I was paralyzed. I couldn’t even move because if I moved the slightest bit, the pain would intensify.

I’ve had some had a new symptom the past few months—really bad headaches on the left side. The arrhythmias are more frequent. I am craving a lot of water, lemons, pickles, and vinegary things.

We went back to Janice’s original case. At that point she mentioned, and made a hand gesture, of constriction, squeezing. She spoke of a plant that would wrap around, choke, and squeeze. The snake-like references and the case having stalled with Belladonna led us to consider a snake remedy. We weren’t convinced that she needed Crotalus horridus (North American rattlesnake), thinking maybe that her mind went in that direction because of her actual past experience with the snake. We prescribed Naja (cobra) because of its well-known affinity for the valves, in a 12C plussed liquid form.

Six weeks later Janice reported that she took the remedy on five consecutive days. It definitely helped the joints, but exacerbated her sensitivities. “The venom reaction was not there. But the joint pain is starting to creep back in. The arrhythmia is better.” We do find that repeated, plussed liquid remedies can be too strong for highly sensitive patients. We changed the prescription to Naja 6C in a dry dose.

Six weeks later Janice informed me that she had not taken the lower dose of the remedy because she was two months pregnant and suffering from morning sickness all day long. “I am nauseous and dizzy. My sense of smell is heightened. Certain smells make me sick. I can open a refrigerator and smell things that no one else in the family can smell. Sometimes I can’t even stomach the thought of certain foods.” We prescribed Colchicum (meadow saffron) 30C, which covers the exact symptoms that Janice described.

Six weeks later, Janice was pleased to report that her morning sickness had resolved quickly after taking the Colchicum. She had not needed to repeat the Naja because the joint pains and heart palpitations were so much less since taking the Naja 12C previously. “The joint pain and palpitations are much less with the Naja than with the Belladonna. I no longer feel emotional stress in my joints. The chest pain is a lot less overall. The sore throats are infrequent.” We instructed her to continue taking Naja 6C as infrequently, as needed.

One week ago, nearly seven years after beginning homeopathic treatment: “I am having a great pregnancy. The ultrasound indicates that the baby is doing fantastic. I am starting my 27th week. I did take one dose of the Naja a week or so after we last spoke, due to palpitations and shoulder joint pain. I haven’t taken it since. It is a miracle that we are doing so well. “

Questions About This Case

We find this to be a fascinating case of a sensitive, articulate patient with a pathology that we rarely have an opportunity to treat in this country. Overall, she has clearly benefited greatly from the homeopathy, for both severe chronic and acute conditions. Yet there are still lingering questions about this case.

1. In Rajan Sankaran’s Sensation method of prescribing, which has so inspired our case taking, it is the exception rather than the rule that the constitutional remedy changes over time. Most often, once the simillimum, or source, is discovered, it is just a matter of repetition and reevaluation of potency. Why, then, did the Belladonna stop working after six years?

2. Is this ultimately a plant or an animal case? There is tremendous sensitivity, more than enough confirmation for Belladonna, and references in the initial case taking to choking and creeping, which could be either a vine or a snake.

3. Janice is not snake-like, does not have the typical animal themes of survival, competition, attractiveness, sexuality, territoriality.

4. Typically, references of choking and squeezing in a snake case point to one of the constrictors, such as boa, python, or anaconda. Janice mentions rattlesnake, not cobra, and lacks some of the typical features of Naja, including the delusion of have done wrong and having suffered wrong. Rattlesnake is a snake that she was familiar with growing up, so we gave it less emphasis. It is really too early to evaluate the effect of the Naja, whereas Belladonna proved highly effective in relieving the acute as well as the constitutional symptoms.

5. We rarely get to the point of giving 50M and CM potencies, but, it does happen, especially with long-term patients. We have sometimes found it necessary to begin again with a lower potency, such as a 200C. This depends also on the philosophy of potency selection. It can be argued that Janice is a very sensitive patient who tells her symptoms openly, and therefore will likely require a lower potency. It is quite extreme to have gone from Belladonna CM with no response to Naja 12C with an aggravation.

6. We have periodically made the mistake of leaving a correct remedy for another better one, only to return to the original remedy. It would not be at all surprising if, in the end, we went back to Belladonna in this case.

7. The recent pregnancy may have confused the response to the Naja.

8. It is likely, through fine-tuning of the Sensation method of case taking, as well as Dr. Divya Chhabra’s new technique of leading the patient, through direct experience, to actually name the substance, remedy that is needed, that it will become even more clear in this case.

Hopefully having changed remedies recently adds even more interest to the case. Janice is a fascinating patient, and we treat her daughter as well. She is loyal to homeopathy and we hope that we will have an opportunity to treat her, and to sort out this plant/animal dilemma in the near future.

Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman and Robert Ullman are licensed naturopathic physicians, board certified in homeopathy. Their books include A Drug-Free Approach to Asperger Syndrome and Autism, Ritalin-Free Kids, Rage-Free Kids, Prozac Free, Homeopathic Self-Care: The Quick and Easy Guide for the Whole Family, Whole Woman Homeopathy, The Patient’s Guide to Homeopathic Medicine, and Mystics, Masters, Saints and Sages: Stories of Enlightenment. They have taught and lectured internationally and practice at the Northwest Center for Homeopathic Medicine in Edmonds and Langley, Washington. The doctors live on Whidbey Island, Washington, and in Pucón, Chile. They treat patients in person, by phone, and by Skype video and can be reached at 425-774-5599 or www.healthyhomeopathy.com.