Understanding Conium mac.

Dr. Claudio C. Araujo M.D., F.F.Hom. (Lon.) et al

Conium is one of those remedies that has its own toxic effects present in the majority of the Materia Medica symptoms. The individual pathogenetic and characteristic symptoms are mixed altogether with the more toxic and superficial ones. We know that that should exist a straight relationship between the Conium patient and its toxicology, when clinical and disorderly neurologic pictures are the consequence and the result of the other.

There is a common knowledge about Conium: symptoms will come and progress slowly. It has been described that the raising and appearance of symptoms are so subtle that even his family and relatives will not perceive until the patient lost his memory or has become in a state of imbecility.

Kent: The mind is full of strange things that have come little by little, and when the family look over the many things that he has done and said they begin to wonder if he is not becoming insane, but he is travelling toward a state of imbecility.

Conium is of a slow, passive character. 

Present in the symptoms is also a strong tendency of weakness of mind, tiredness, loss of memory, imbecility and insanity. Those clinical aspects are all belonged to the toxicological poisoning of Conium, that’s his way of get poisoned.

It’s already well known that Conium can cure any type of tumours, since the symptoms agree. It has already been described by several authors the cure of tumors, both benign and malign ones.

How the Conium patient feels with himself?

Probably our patient has lived (or is living) a very happy and joyful life.

He is “lively, well and strong, in the morning”.

The symptom describes a “liveliest excitement”, what includes the words “live and excited”. An almost euphoric mental picture.

Liveliest excitement (after twelve hours).

Constant mirth.

Tendency to laugh, as if coming from the right hypochondrium and stomach, during an exhausted condition.

Tendency to laugh, with loss of vital energy.

 Lively, well, and strong, in the morning (alternating curative action), (after twenty-four hours).

Another curious aspect of Conium is his relationship with the others. In many aspects, Conium has not too many feelings toward the others. He is not fond of others but at the same time he can’t live without his fellow beings.

General aversion to being with people, and yet afraid of being alone.

Dread of men, of their approach, yet with dread of being alone.

Dislike to society and yet a dread to be alone. ð Hysteria. 

He is averse to being near people, and to the talk of those passing him; is inclined to seize hold of and abuse them.

Patient averse to talking, dressing himself, taking food or seeing her children; spleen enlarged. ð Melancholia.

Conium, with his lively mood, is probably someone that likes to shows to everyone else how he feels with himself. Or, we can anticipate, his is attracting and seducing the opposite sex.

Likes to wear his best clothes, makes useless purchases, cares very little for things, wastes or ruins them; does not want to work, prefers to play.

Conium has a strong sexual desire. But it’s not all. He will become sick, if he is not allowed to sexual intercourse. This is one of his more important symptoms, something that, once known by the patient, will keep him always aware of his weakness. He will get ill if he stops his customary sexual relations.

Paroxysms of hysteria and hypochondriasis from abstinence from sexual intercourse. 

Kent quotes that sometimes Conium symptoms can be launched from grief. We can assume that every single remedy can have made his symptoms to appear from grief. Hahnemann says that the turning from the Latent Psora to the Developed state is launched mostly due to grief.

Violent weeping, with tears, at night, in sleep. 

Inclined to cry, sobs aloud when alone.

When alone in the house she was seized by an inclination to weep; on giving way to it, it changed to a loud hiccough, followed by flickering before the eyes and indistinct vision, so that she was obliged to steady herself in walking, followed by exhaustion of all the limbs, and dull headache.

Sad mood (after one day).

Conium is suffering. But his sadness comes with indifference.

Hypochondriac depression and indifference, while walking in the open air.

Alternate fits of silent depression and quarrelsome liveliness. ð Mania. 

Mood serious; unsympathizing, from indolence.

Why he is so indifferent? It seems that he doesn’t care to the others. “Unsympathizing” means – someone that do not feel with the others – the suffering of others to not affect him.

How does can he live in such a contradiction? The suffering of his fellow human beings don’t affect him, he is angered towards the others, wants to size them but at the same time he needs so much to be together with the others.

He is averse to being near people, and to the talk of those passing him; is inclined to seize hold of and abuse them.

Very much excited, passionate, domineering, quarrelsome, scolds and will not bear contradiction.

Inclined to cry, sobs aloud when alone.

When alone in the house she was seized by an inclination to weep; on giving way to it, it changed to a loud hiccough, followed by flickering before the eyes and indistinct vision, so that she was obliged to steady herself in walking, followed by exhaustion of all the limbs, and dull headache.

Why is that? Is the sexual intercourse his only need? He needs to walk about dressing in his best clothes, seducing anyone else, only to have sex?

Probably this is one serious point, otherwise he will get sick.

The great majority of the symptoms show a person angered, violent, sad and distant. We know that it all comes due to a frustration. What had happened?

Conium is, in fact, someone unhappy, bored, dissatisfied with “her surroundings” or to say, everything around. He is indifferent, unhappy, “sunken in deep though”.

Morose mood; everything about him makes an unpleasant impression upon him.

Discouraged, despondent, and dissatisfied with herself and her surroundings.

Worse when idle. 

Sunk in deep thought; he apprehensively considered the present and future, and sought to be alone.

Kent: Great unhappiness of mind, recurring every fourteen days, showing a two weeks' periodicity. The Conium patient will sit and mope in the corner in a state of sadness and depression, giving no reason only that he is so sad.

Complete indifference; takes no interest in anything, particularly walking in open air. ð Hypochondriasis. 

Very ill-humored in afternoon, from 5 to 6, as though a great grief weighed upon him, with paralyzed feeling in all the limbs, indifference and taking no interest in anything.

Morose mood; everything about him impresses him unpleasantly. 

How can he survive from his own first impressions of reality? From his first sensation, the “unpleasant sensation upon him” what could help him, what is “at hand” that he could use in order to live his life? What strategies did he established for himself?

Let’s return to the very beginning: Someone lively, searching for a living full of good moments, a life full of sex, full of the pleasures of sex. Without it (the living full of happiness and sex) he will fall back into his very first sensations. That life has no meaning, no reason, it’s boring, has nothing worth of interest. Nor the people in it.

Groups in  Conium maculatum

Hahnemann, Allen, Hering and Kent

        Maria Julieta Mascarenhas M.D.

Claudio C. Araujo M.D. F.F.Hom. (Lon.)

 

Humor

Laugh and mirth

Liveliest excitement (after twelve hours).

Constant mirth.

Tendency to laugh, as if coming from the right hypochondrium and stomach, during an exhausted condition.

Tendency to laugh, with loss of vital energy.

Lively, well, and strong, in the morning (alternating curative action), (after twenty-four hours).

Lively free mood (curative action), (third and fourth days).

Lively mood , with inclination to talk (curative action).

Great nervousness, involuntary laughing and weeping, great weakness after least walk; urine intermits in its flow. 

Became much agitated, were attacked with hallucinations and delirium, and went out of the house; the neighbors thought the whole family had gone mad, and were obliged to employ force to compel them to return home; watched them and rallied them in their hallucinations, and more or less absurd proposals; the patients had been mirthful all the while.

Sadness, weeping and mood alternation

Violent weeping, with tears, at night, in sleep. 

Inclined to cry, sobs aloud when alone.

When alone in the house she was seized by an inclination to weep; on giving way to it, it changed to a loud hiccough, followed by flickering before the eyes and indistinct vision, so that she was obliged to steady herself in walking, followed by exhaustion of all the limbs, and dull headache.

Sad mood (after one day).

More sad than lively.

Melancholy; quiet, sad, picks his fingers, makes short answers; or this condition alternates with excessive gayety.

Hypochondriac depression and indifference, while walking in the open air.

Great depression of spirits preceding menstrual period.

Sad and gloomy for days, then excited. 

Great unhappiness of mind, recurring every fourteen days. 

Alternate fits of silent depression and quarrelsome liveliness. ð Mania.

Great depression of spirits preceding menstrual period.

Kent: Great unhappiness of mind, recurring every fourteen days, showing a two weeks' periodicity. The Conium patient will sit and mope in the corner in a state of sadness and depression, giving no reason only that he is so sad.

Cannot endure any kind of excitement, it brings on physical and mental depression, with weakness.

Indifference

Great discontent.

Mood serious; unsympathizing, from indolence.

Complete indifference; takes no interest in anything, particularly walking in open air. ð Hypochondriasis. 

Easily disturbed by trifles, moved to tears; anxious.

Irritability, morose

Irritable, gets out of temper easily, and then his sight gets blurred, and face becomes pale.

Very ill-humored in afternoon, from 5 to 6, as though a great grief weighed upon him, with paralyzed feeling in all the limbs, indifference and taking no interest in anything.

Morose mood; everything about him impresses him unpleasantly. 

She feels peevish, vexed and easily put out about trifles. 

Morose, peevish, vexed.

Very much excited, passionate, domineering, quarrelsome, scolds and will not bear contradiction. 

Anxiety/Apprehension

Awakened at night by anxiety, so that she lies long awake.

Extreme anxiety constantly impelled them from place to place.

Hysterical anxiety.

Anxious sensation, with beating of the heart, and profuse nosebleed.

Very apprehensive thoughts, almost amounting to deathly anxiety, after midnight, while half awake.

Great anxiety; praecordial anguish; superstitious and full of fear, with frequent thoughts of death; loss of memory.

Rage/Quarrelsome

Very easily aroused to anger.

Morose mood; everything about him makes an unpleasant impression upon him.

He is averse to being near people, and to the talk of those passing him; is inclined to seize hold of and abuse them.

Very much excited, passionate, domineering, quarrelsome, scolds and will not bear contradiction.

Alternate fits of silent depression and quarrelsome liveliness. ð Mania.

Fretful and peevish about trifles. 

Constant ill-humor and fretfulness.

Fretful mood; he does not know how he shall busy himself; the time passes too slowly (after eight hours).

Irritable, gets out of temper easily, and then his sight gets blurred, and face becomes pale. ð Anaemia of brain.

Restlessness and constant desire to change position. 

With Himself/ Herself

Ailments from grief. 

Worse when idle.

Superstitious thoughts.

Buried in thought; apprehensive respecting the present or future.  

Discouraged, despondent, and dissatisfied with herself and her surroundings.

Delirious and stupid; they threw themselves into the water, thinking they were geese; for three years they remained partly paralytic, suffering from much pain.

They ran wildly delirious about the whole house, knocking so hard against the walls that they were full of bruises.

Frightened

Frightened at night.

Inclined to be frightened.

Inclination to start as if with fright. 

Fearful thought, after waking at night.

Fearful lachrymation, faint-hearted. 

Fear of noise and talking, on account of great sensitiveness of head.

Full of fantasies, in the morning (after twenty-four hours).

She is easily disturbed by trifles, and made to cry.

Sunk in deep thought; he apprehensively considered the present and future, and sought to be alone.

Hypochondriacal state of mind, with the nervousness, trembling and weakness of the muscles.

Frequent thoughts of death.

Present and future

Buried in thought; apprehensive respecting the present or future.

Solicitude concerning the future; great concern about any little thing that may happen.

Indifference

Likes to wear his best clothes, makes useless purchases, cares very little for things, wastes or ruins them; does not want to work, prefers to play.

Picks his nose, which bleeds easily; or picks his fingers; lies in bed most of the time; does not like to answer questions.

Discouraged, despondent, and dissatisfied with herself and her surroundings.

Kent: Conium is of a slow, passive character. Complete indifference; takes no interest in anything, particularly when walking in the open air. Cannot endure any kind of excitement, it brings on physical and mental distress, brings on weakness and sadness. Often sits lost in thought.

With the Others

Fear of thieves.

Visions of her brother and child, who had died; at the same time, she saw distinctly persons in the room; she was quite aware that this was an illusion, and tried to get it out of her mind, but she could not prevent herself seeing them together, as if they were coming in at the door.

Fancied that some one was coming in at the door, at night.

Aversion to people, aversion of being alone

General aversion to being with people, and yet afraid of being alone.

Dread of men, of their approach, yet with dread of being alone.

Dislike to society and yet a dread to be alone. ð Hysteria. 

He is averse to being near people, and to the talk of those passing him; is inclined to seize hold of and abuse them.

Patient averse to talking, dressing himself, taking food or seeing her children; spleen enlarged. ð Melancholia.

Kent: A hypochondriacal subject going around with whims and notions that people attempt to reason him out of, and the more they attempt to reason with him the more sad he is. 

With the Environment

Indifference to agreeable sensations.

Complete indifference; takes no interest in anything, particularly walking in open air. ð Hypochondriasis.

Discouraged, despondent, and dissatisfied with herself and her surroundings.

The husband, who had been somewhat addicted to liquor, saw all sorts of animals dancing upon the bed, and "picked straws" a little.

Work

Disinclination for business.

Likes to wear his best clothes, makes useless purchases, cares very little for things, wastes or ruins them; does not want to work, prefers to play.

Timid, cannot be persuaded to work; want of proper will.

Male Sexuality

Many erections during the night.

Painful stiffness of the penis, in the evening, before going to sleep.

Sexual desire, without erections.

Sexual desire greatly excited.

(Inordinate sexual desire).

Emission (first night).

Emissions without dreams, three nights in succession.

Emissions, three nights in succession, followed by awakening of sexual desire.

Emission even while frolicking with a woman.

Paroxysms of hysteria and hypochondriasis from abstinence from sexual intercourse. 

Sexual desire is completely wanting, for several of the first days, in spite of the most enticing caresses.

Female Sexuality

Hypochondriasis and hysteria from suppression of, or too free indulgence in, sexual instinct, with low spiritedness, anxiety and sadness.

 

Pregnancy/ Parturition/Lactation

When she arrived at term, she was troubled, for several days previous to delivery, with false pains, which prevented sleep and exhausted her a great deal (after three months)

During parturition, complete sleeplessness and exhaustion; can hardly speak a few words; extreme sensibility to light, shunning the light to such a degree that smallest ray of sunlight causes great anguish. 

 After-pains excited by child nursing, pains extending from left to right.

 Constant discharge of thin, watery milk from breasts for nine months after child has been weaned.

Intellectual

Dullness; difficulty in understanding what he is reading, with confusion of the head.

Confused thoughts.

 Frequently makes mistakes in speaking.

 Unable to express himself properly while talking, or to think correctly.

Memory

Memory weak.

Want of memory.

Loss of memory (in seventy-four cases).

Senseless, after waking from the midnight sleep.

Obtuseness of all the senses; unconsciousness; wandering about as if half asleep.

Weak memory. ð Vertigo.

Memory enfeebled, likewise the power of correctly expressing one's self; difficult comprehension.

Forgetfulness; excessive difficulty of recollecting things, particularly dates.

Mental effort

 Inability to sustain any mental effort. 

Tired, weary sensation in brain, with physical as well as nervous prostration. 

Sensation in forehead or front part of brain like an inability to fix the mind on any subject; loses hold of the idea and gets confused. 

Kent: Unable to sustain any mental effort. The memory is weak.

The mind will not concentrate, it will not force itself to attention; it cannot meditate, and then comes imbecility.

Conium has such a deep action that it gradually brings about a state of imbecility. The mind gives out. The mind at first becomes tired like the muscles of the body. Unable to sustain any mental effort.

The mind will not concentrate, it will not force itself to attention; it cannot meditate, and then comes imbecility.

Inability to stand any mental effort to rivet the attention upon anything are some of the most important symptoms in this medicine.

Tired, weary sensation in brain, with physical as well as nervous prostration.

Insanity

Kent: Insanity of a periodical type.

Imbecility, though, is far more frequent than insanity.

Forms of insanity that are passive. He thinks slowly, and he continues in this stage for weeks and months, if he recovers at all. This state of the mind has come on so gradually that the family has not observed it.

The mind is full of strange things that have come little by little, and when the family look over the many things that he has done and said they begin to wonder if he is not becoming insane, but he is travelling toward a state of imbecility.

Conium is of a slow, passive character. 

Kent: When you come to examine the mental states you will see symptoms that will make you think the patient is delirious, but that is not quite it.

 It is a slow-forming weakness of mind; not that rapid, active state, such as accompanies a fever; it is a delirium without a fever, so to speak, which is not constant.

From grief

Kent: Sometimes Conium symptoms will be found in persons who have suffered from grief; they become broken in memory.

This is likely to come first. They forget, never can recall things just as they want them. And so they grow weaker and weaker until they become imbeciles.

If it is decidedly mental, imbecility results; if it is taking a physical course the ending is paralysis, and it is not uncommon for a general paralytic weakness to come on, so that body and mind progress toward weakness together until some decided manifestation is made which will send it toward imbecility, and then the body will seem to remain stationary.

There comes a time in these cases where there is a sort of division between the body and the mind.

Neurological

Continued stupefaction, with constant inclination to sleep.

Confused feeling in head, often sits lost in thought.

At every step in walking a noise is felt, as of the breaking of a finger nail. 

Hysteria; globus hystericus. 

Hysterical spasms, convulsions.

Frequent attacks of an apoplectic nature; headache and fainting. ð Uterine polypi. 

Paralysis

Apoplexy with paralysis, particularly in old people. 

Paralysis of old people, especially of old women; general paralysis of voluntary muscles, paralyzing first peripheral nerves, and finally spinal cord; unpainful lameness. 

 Muscular paralysis without spasms. 

 General spinal paralysis and that which follows diphtheria. 

Paraplegia, after concussion of spine. 

Paralysis of the upper lids.

Chorea. 

Trismus.

Delirium

Insanity of a periodical or alternating type. 

Imbecility more frequent than insanity. 

Violent delirium, interrupted by crying out from pain (always with the sounds ah! oh!).

Constant delirium.

Partly foolish and partly delirious, for some months.

Intermittent delirium.

Debility

Kent: The nerves are in a state of great debility.

Trembling, jerking of the muscles and twitching from the weakness of the nerves. Inability to stand any physical effort without great exhaustion.

Gradually growing paralytic weakness, somewhat as was described in Cocculus.

Exhaustion of body and mind; that is a general slowing down of all the activities of the body. Or sometimes there is a paralytic condition and no expulsive power. This shows that the remedy increases toward a paralytic weakness.

Hysteria. He gets tired in the earlier stages, but finally this goes on until the limbs are paralytic.

Great physical and mental debility; great prostration of the muscular system; exhaustion, tremulous weakness.

When in a state of considerable vigor, if suddenly deprived, the woman or the man takes on a state of trembling weakness, inability to stand any mental effort, and inability to put the attention upon things said by others.

If it is decidedly mental, imbecility results; if it is taking a physical course the ending is paralysis, and it is not uncommon for a general paralytic weakness to come on, so that body and mind progress toward weakness together until some decided manifestation is made which will send it toward imbecility, and then the body will seem to remain stationary.

These are only in keeping with the signs of a general breakdown.

Generals

Very easily overstrained. 

Weakness and lassitude with desire to sit or lie down. 

Weak spells. ð Dysmenorrhoea. 

Weariness, with nausea and pain in back. 

Great physical and mental debility. 

Sensation of debility in morning when in bed. 

Great prostration of nervous and muscular systems, agg from excitement. ð Anaemia of brain. 

Exhausted, faint, and as if paralyzed after a short walk. 

Sudden loss of strength while walking. 

Complete sleeplessness and exhaustion, can hardly speak a few words. 

Faintness; sick and faint early in morning in bed, or after stool. 

Fainting fits. 

Tremulous weakness after every stool, amel in open air.

Trembling of all the limbs; muscular tremor. 

 Staggering when walking outdoors. 

Weakness of muscles.

Weakness of muscles on one side of the face.

Paralytic conditions are attended with numbness. 

It is a general; wherever there is trouble there will be numbness, numbness with pains, very often numbness with the weakness.

Paralytic conditions are attended with numbness.

We would not think of giving Conium for those sudden, violent attacks of pain in the head, face or eyes, but those that accompany a general progressive disease.

There are stitching, lancinating, knife-like pains along the course of nerves about face and eyes and head.

Numbness of the scalp is one of the common symptoms of Conium.

 It is a general; wherever there is trouble there will be numbness, numbness with pains, very often numbness with the weakness.

The slightest spirituous drink intoxicates him.

Kent: Conium patients cannot endure even the slightest alcoholic drink.

 Any wine or stimulating beverage will bring on trembling, excitement, weakness of mind and prostration.