Dr Tom Whitmarsh, homeopathic consultant at the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital, describes three cases where homeopathy has brought benefit to his patients:

• Case 1
• Case 2
• Case 3

The sudden onset of severe headaches in a middle-aged man is sometimes due to a brain tumour and Mr W's doctor was clearly concerned about this. He was seen by the neurologist three months after the headaches began. In this time he had four attacks, which were all identical. For about three hours before the headache he began to feel tired. The pain came on very suddenly and was accompanied by severe nausea and then vomiting. The patient described the pain as a severe throbbing above the left eye. While he had the pain, he was very sensitive to light and noise, and the whole attack would last about two days. During the first 12 hours of the attack, he would vomit every hour. He needed to take about two days off work every month.

The neurologist could find nothing on examination, but arranged several tests, including blood tests and brain scans. These were all normal and a diagnosis of migraine was confirmed.

Over the next three years the attacks continued, despite the fact that Mr W used a large number of well-indicated conventional treatments. After three years, his GP referred him to another neurologist, who repeated some of the tests, including the brain scan, and agreed with the diagnosis of migraine.

Mr W then tried another round of more powerful anti-migraine drugs, again to no effect. Some of the painkillers caused him to develop a stomach ulcer and he needed treatment for this as well. By now he was having four days off work every month with two severe attacks. He could neither predict when he was going to get an attack nor could he prevent it. He did notice that if he was feeling worried, then the attack was more likely to begin with the pain.

As a last resort, the GP referred Mr W to Dr Whitmarsh. I took account of the details of his attacks and a number of other factors in his constitution. He provided him with the remedy Bryonia (wild hops) in a moderate potency - 30C - to be taken twice a day for two days a week.

At follow up two months later the patient had been entirely headache-free and had lost no time from work since he began the remedy. He had actually only taken the Bryonia for three weeks, stopping the treatment when the two expected attacks did not happen. Dr Whitmarsh has seen him several times during the past four years and he has had no more migraine, despite some upsetting events in his life, which would normally have triggered an attack.

Thus Mr W had the best of conventional medical opinion from two different neurologists, many sensible investigations and all the standard anti-migraine treatments to no avail. Homeopathy resolved his problem.

B A C K to list.

Case 2
MJ, 58, was referred with bowel problems. For three years, she had experienced recurring episodes of colicky pain, wind and a feeling of bloating. She was initially diagnosed as having irritable bowel syndrome, but investigation showed that she had extensive diverticular disease in the lower bowel.

The conventional treatment is to keep the bowel moving with anti-spasm drugs and additional dietary fibre. Mrs J was studying for a university degree and her symptoms were very troublesome in her work, particularly as her examinations approached. She wanted an alternative to chemicals to help her symptoms. At times the pain was extremely severe, making her double up and unable to do anything apart from lie in bed. She was unable to wear anything tight around her stomach and she had an embarrassing amount of wind from the bowel. She had to be extremely careful about her diet, as some foods triggered a bad attack.

Dr Whitmarsh had initially treated her with the homeopathic remedy Sepia (ink of the cuttlefish) in high potency, coupled with Colocynth (bitter cucumber) when the pain was particularly bad. When he saw her again a few weeks later, this treatment had not helped, so he took account of some deeper characteristics of her personality.

In particular I realised that the symptoms were much worse when she was worried, for example about her examinations. She was also particularly keen on sweets, yet they made her symptoms worse. These factors together suggested the remedy Argentum nitricum (silver nitrate).

Dr Whitmarsh prescribed this in high potency and a couple of months later Mrs J returned to say that the medicine had worked very well. She had noticed an improvement immediately after taking the first dose. The wind in the bowel was much reduced and she had no colicky pains at all. He suggested she used the Argentum nitricum as and when she needed it and over the next few months she settled down to a single dose of the 30C potency every morning. Her symptoms remain well under control six months after treatment. She is coming up to her finals without any abdominal problems and has not needed any conventional medication although, of course, she is still careful about her diet.

B A C K to list.

Case 3
MW, 53, was in great distress when Dr Whitmarsh saw her. She suffers from the intensely painful condition trigeminal neuralgia, a spasmodic condition of unknown cause involving the main nerve of the face. Mrs W had a particular complication in that she experienced pain in her tongue and teeth as well as the from the ear to the side of her face. In a bad bout she had excruciating pain inside the ear and travelling down to her throat.

At the height of the pain, the patient's whole mouth and face were hypersensitive to the touch. She could not eat or drink and sometimes could not even speak. The pain was experienced every few seconds. Mrs W had first had this condition 10 years previously but conventional treatment at that time was very effective and she had had no further problems until the problem re-occurred. She was offered surgery to the nerve but decided against this. She was very worried that she might eventually need surgery, however. She was already taking a high dose of the conventional drug that had been effective before but was still in severe pain and was often unable to function normally for whole days at a time.

She decided to try complementary therapy and was having acupuncture several times a week. She felt it had been helpful, but was still worried about the prospect of surgery. She is a charming, lively, successful businesswoman, who spends much of her life helping people in need. These characteristics, coupled with the details of the nature of the pain, led Dr Whitmarsh to prescribe the remedy Phosphorus in high potency followed by Verbascum in 30C potency, twice a day.

When he saw Mrs W a month later, she was very much better. The pain only ever occurred now if she knocked her face; for example, while washing or turning over in sleep. Also a much smaller area of the face and mouth was affected. She felt that the Phosphorus had given her great peace of mind, but that the Verbascum had been instantly effective on the pain. She was beginning to reduce the dose of the conventional drug and felt she was well on her way to recovery. Now, several months later, she has not needed to come back, as the pain has gone completely.

B A C K to list.

Reference
Whitmarsh, TE. When conventional treatment is not enough: a case of migraine without aura responding to homoeopathy. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 1997; 3: 2, 159-62.