Understanding Natrum sulph.

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

He needs to restrain shooting himself.

She is worse from any stimuli that have a melancholy taint, like music (even happy music) or anything that remotely bring her back to some deep feelings, emotions, remembrances.

She has dreams of flowers and of marriages processions moving across her street.

She is afraid of water, but all connected to flood, drowning and danger. 

Water is related to danger and music to sadness.

He feels relieved after going to stool. He is generally better, and his humor is better after stool.

He can’t bang his head hard, from the danger of developing many mental and physical symptoms.

And so - why life is such a distress for the Nat-s. patient., leading to the point of killing herself?

What sort of sad memories and feelings does music and sweet impressions bring back on him?

His liver is almost at a brink. Hepatitis (jaundice) had been launched from a surge of irritability. Should be a very strong change in his humor - up to the point of affect his liver. Or his liver is already too weak and prone to sickness. Why?

His life never improves (it’s a fact, not a sensation), anything that he does doesn’t work.

Does he have endogenous depression?

Is he a strong eater and drinker? Up to the point of ruining his liver? 

Does he have gallstones due to his family genetic inheritance? Or from his eating habits?

These are the elements of the remedy. That’s the person who came to see us, asking for help. 

We know that, if we don’t touch the bottom of his sufferings, there will be no complete cure. So, what is in this case that must be changed? What are the deep emotional sufferings of the Nat-s. patient? 

There’s not much pathogenetic symptoms available but we can start our understanding of this remedy with that group of symptoms:

Dreams of gardens, flowers, delightful picnics

Dream that she bought beautiful bouquets of flowers in the market.

Dream of a wedding procession that passed by her.

Although our remedy/patient is filled with sad thoughts these three symptoms may remind us Nat-s. very own nature: someone happy, sensible to beauty, to nature, to the most delicate aspects of life. The prover (a woman) dreams of marriage and we all know how important and significant a marriage is for a woman. So, this is probably Nat-s. internal soul, his internal being. We must assume that is from this point on that his sufferings will develop.

The mother will describe her daughter as someone delicate, happy, affectionate, sensitive to all environmental impressions like music, colors, and any sort of emotional events. 

But she is also very sensitive to pain. This symptom was added to the repertory by Kent and can help us to understand why Nat-s. will became, as the years goes by, someone with these feelings and sufferings.

Satiety of life; must use all self-control to prevent shooting himself. 

Very much disheartened; tired of life; despairs of getting well, [2]. 

Kent: A good wife goes to her husband and says: "If you only knew what restraint I have to use to keep from shooting myself you would appreciate my condition!" It is attended with wildness and irritability.

Nat-s. now is in that state: she must use all self-control in order to not take her life. Of course, a long path was walked through to reach that point. Her ability to support and deal with pain has been mined after many years of existential suffering. We all went to frustration, deception, broken hearts but for Nat-s. all those experiences are felt with a intense suffering.

Nat-s. may remind us of the sensitiveness of Natrum mur. altogether with the incapacity of Sulphur. There’s a symptom in the text that says:

Nothing that she undertakes succeeds well, and she does not know why.

It shows the incapacity o Nat-s. when dealing with the practical and objective world.

It’s not an impression, but a fact. And those two next symptoms will reveal the immediate consequences:

Great fear, with dread of a misfortune.

Dream of a lottery; he saw the numbers which he had taken. 

Noting how hard is for her to deal with the practical world, with her work, even to succeed as a professional, now misfortune, poverty and failure will wait at the corner of her life. There’s a dream that should be considered almost as a keynote of Nat-s. It embodies her fears and her personal sensation about her capacity for struggle in the practical world.

Dreams that an acquaintance was going to cut off the great toe of his right foot; the fear of it awoke him, and he felt a violent pain, as though knives were sticking in this toe, for one minute, after midnight,

We all know the importance of our great toes. Without them we can’t stand upright, they are the reason why we stay in balance while we walk, run, they receive all the information regarding our balance when standing. And Nat-s. dreams that her great toe is about to be cut off. It means no more walking, no more running, no more balance. It also means dependence from the others, difficult moving about, been crippled and in some way paralyzed.

Life around her has become a nightmare. All the beauty, music, nature that years ago had filled her life with joy has become an utmost suffering. Kent makes this observation:

“Anything like melancholic strains aggravate her complaints; mild music, gentle light, mellow light that pours through church windows, these little glimmers of light that come through the colored glass, all these make her sad”. 

Sadness reaching the point of suicidal impulses as a way to end her sufferings. And Kent continues:

“No remedy has that symptom like Natrum sulphuricum. You may examine the various remedies in our drug pathogenesy and you will find almost every kind of mental symptom, but here is one that stands by itself; this wonderful restraint to prevent doing herself bodily harm, is characteristic of Natrum sulphuricum”.

She is vexed, insulted and hurt. She wants to be alone and quiet (like all Natrum salts).

Aversion to company. 

Dislikes to speak or to be spoken to. 

She is oversensitive and suspicious. 

Two group of symptoms may be of some help when we are studying our case:

Nat-s. fear of falling and his fear of drowning. 

Dream that wood was being floated down the neighboring stream, which might be the cause of much damage.

Dream that she was sailing on the Danube, and was very much afraid.

Dream of a great expanse of water, into which her daughter went, and then cried for help.

Anxious dreams of falling from a height, etc., which made her start up. 

Dream that she was flying in the air, and always feared to fall to the ground.

Dream, before midnight, that she was thrown from a carriage.

Both symptoms are not present in our repertories, but I hope that soon they’ll be part of those rubrics. Nat-s. love for nature has turned itself a fear of flood, of falling from a high, of falling into a river and get killed.

The only touchable reason, up to now, that explains one’s turn over from a happy child to a despaired grown up is that Nat-s. sensitivity has turned one’s happiness into suffering, despair and ultimately, a longing for death. Nat-s. probably compensates one’s suffering at the table, to the point of getting sick in his gall bladder, his liver overcharged and incapable to continuing digesting Nat-s. enormous intake of food. He retains water at every spot of his body because one’s surcharge of water retained in between his cells. Nat-s. has become someone fat, dyspeptic, suffering from gallstone colic, getting worse from changings of the weather, suffering also from asthma and depression. That was left of him. Of that sensitive and lovable child, now turned into someone prone to suicide and filled with despair.

Groups in Natrum sulphuricum

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

With the Environment

Kent: Anything like melancholic strains aggravate her complaints; mild music, gentle light, mellow light that pours through church windows, these little glimmers of light that come through the colored glass, all these make her sad. Now, such are the mental characteristics of Natrum sulphuricum.

Dreams of gardens, flowers, delightful picnics (after eight days), [2]. 

Dream that she bought beautiful bouquets of flowers in the market (fourth night), [2]. 

Dream of a wedding procession that passed by her (seventh night), [2]. [860.] 

Dream of a lottery; he saw the numbers which he had taken, [2]. 

Only anxious dreams; for instance, that she poured boiling lard into the fire, [2]. 

Flood, water, drowning, danger

Dream that wood was being floated down the neighboring stream, which might be the cause of much damage, [2]. 

Dream that she was sailing on the Danube, and was very much afraid, [2]. 

Dream of a great expanse of water, into which her daughter went, and then cried for help, [2]. 

Anxious dreams of falling from a height, etc., which made her start up, [2]. 

Dream that she was flying in the air, and always feared to fall to the ground, [2]. 

Dream, before midnight, that she was thrown from a carriage, [2]. 

Humor

Cheerful

Cheerfulness, happy mood; after loose stools. 

Cheerful, happy mood, which she notices herself; particularly after loose stools, [2]. 

Anxiety

Great anxiety caused by pressure of swelling of throat on windpipe. 

Spirits low, extremely timid and anxious; mind enfeebled. 

Music

Music affects her very much; it makes her melancholy, and feel like crying, although it was merry, dancing music (fifth day), [2]. 

Depressed; tearful; lively music makes her sad. 

Sadness

Lachrymose; thinks only of sad things (after six days), [2]. 

Melancholy with periodical attacks of mania. 

Irritability

Very irritable, depressed (fifth day); very irritable, ill-humored, [1]. 

Great irritability; she dislikes to speak or be spoken to; particularly in the morning, [2]. 

Out of humor and dull, in the morning when rising, until breakfast-time (seventh day), [1].

Very much out of humor and fretful (fifth day), [1]. 

During forenoon of first day, he seems to be in a very good humor, is cheerful; this first good humor changes into a cross, irritable mood, the third or fourth day, [2].

Extremely irritable in the morning.

Violent anger which is followed by jaundice. 

Irritable, < mornings; dislikes to speak or to be spoken to. 

Taciturn, speaks but little, and is generally irritable (first day), [1]. 

With Oneself

Sensitiveness

Very sensitive, even in the morning, and easily flying into a passion, which disappears towards the afternoon (after eight days), [2]. 

Succeeds, never

Nothing that she undertakes succeeds well, and she does not know why, [2]. 

Great fear, with dread of a misfortune, [1]. 

Tired of life, suicidal

Satiety of life; must use all self-control to prevent shooting himself. 

Very much disheartened; tired of life; despairs of getting well, [2]. 

Kent: A good wife goes to her husband and says: "If you only knew what restraint I have to use to keep from shooting myself you would appreciate my condition!" It is attended with wildness and irritability.

No remedy has that symptom like Natrum sulphuricum. You may examine the various remedies in our drug pathogenesy and you will find almost every kind of mental symptom, but here is one that stands by itself; this wonderful restraint to prevent doing herself bodily harm, is characteristic of Natrum sulphuricum.

The satiety of life, aversion to life; the great sadness, the great despondency, coupled with the irritability and dread of music - music makes her weep, makes her sad, makes her melancholy - this symptom runs through the Natrums which it receives from the Natrum side of its family ; Natrum carbonate, Natrum muriaticum, Natrum sulphuricum, all have it.

Starting from fright or noise and in sleep.

Towards the Others

Aversion to company. 

Dislikes to speak or to be spoken to. 

She is oversensitive and suspicious. 

Fear of a crowd; of evil; of people. 

Anxious dream that priests had discovered that she had committed crimes, [2]. 

Dream of a mob fight, in which he became engaged, [2]. 

Sickness from the others

Dream that a gentleman, she knew lay sick in her house, [2]. 

Dream that her daughter had been struck by paralysis, which frightened her so that she woke covered with perspiration, [2]. 

Violence

Dreams that an acquaintance was going to cut off the great toe of his right foot; the fear of it awoke him, and he felt a violent pain, as though knives were sticking in this toe, for one minute, after midnight, [2]. 

Vexed, insulted.

Dream that her daughter had vexed her (third day), [2]. 

Vexations dream that a young gentleman of her acquaintance slighted her, [2]. 

Dream that he was much hurt and provoked because he had been insulted, [2]. 

Dream that insults had excited him so that he began to fight, [2]. 

Male Sexuality

Male: In the male strong sexual desire and troublesome erections.

Intellectual

Inability to think. 

Dullness of mind and excitability. 

Mental exertion brings on mental symptoms. 

Forgetful, easily frightened, hysterical; indifferent; indolent; insanity. 

Neurological

Mental troubles arising from a fall or other injuries to head. 

After striking head, fits driving him to distraction, never knew when they were coming on, epileptiform; very irritable, wanted to die; constant pain in head; much photophobia. 

Kent:

“A young man became very sad and subject to attacks of vertigo, and neglected his business after being hit on the side of the head by a baseball. He was entirely free from all symptoms after taking this remedy.

With the constitutional troubles there are important head symptoms-mental symptoms from injuries of the head. A young man in St. Louis was hurled from a truck in the fire department. He struck on his head. Following this for five or six months he had fits; I do not know what kind of fits he had; some said epilepsy.

Some said one thing and some another, and some said he would have to be trephined. He was an Allopathist, of course, as these firemen all are, for it is hardly ever that you can get one to go outside of Allopathy and try something else. He was a good, well-bred Irishman; so he had to have some good stout physic.

Some of his friends prevailed upon him to stay in the country for a while. He did so, but he did not get better; he was irritable he wanted to die. His wife said she could hardly stand it with him; always wanted to die; did not want to live. His fits drove him to distraction.

He did not know when he was going to have one, they were epileptiform in character. Well, in the country he ran across a homeopathic doctor, because lie had one of these attacks and the handiest doctor at the time was a Homeopath.

That Homeopath told him that he had better come back to St. Louis and place himself under my care. He did so. At that time it had been about six months that he had been having these this. When he walked into ray office he staggered; his eyes were, nearly bloodshot; he could hardly see, and he wore a shade over his eyes-so much was he distressed about the light such a photophobia.

He had constant pain in his head. He had injured himself by falling upon the back, had hit his head and he had with this all the irritability that I have described. There was nothing in his fits that was distinctive of a remedy, and the first thing that came into my head was Arnica; that is what everybody would have thought.

Arnica, however, would not have been the best remedy for him. Had I known no other or better remedy, Arnica would have perhaps been the best. As soon as he had finished his description, and I had given the case more thought, I found that Natrum sulphuricum was the best indicated remedy for injuries about the head, and I have been in the habit of giving it. So I gave it in this case.

The first dose of Natrum sulphuricum cured this young man. He has never had any pain about the head since. He has never had any mental trouble since, never another fit.

That one prescription cleared up the entire case. If you will just remember the chronic effects from injuries upon the skull - not fractures, but simple concussions that have resulted from a considerable shock and injuries without organic affections, then Natrum sulphuricum should be your first remedy.

Now, that may not be worth remembering, but when you have relieved as many heads as I have with Natrum sulphuricum you will be glad to have been informed of this circumstance.

Ordinarily, Arnica for injuries and the results of injuries, especially the neuralgic pains and the troubles from old scars; but in mental troubles coming on from a jar or a knock on the head or a fall or injury about the head, do not forget this medicine, because if you do many patients may suffer where they might have been cured had you made use of this remedy”.

When lying long in one position, the restless desire to move compels a change which is very painful, and it is very difficult to find a new position which gives relief. 

Prostration; tired, weary, especially knees. 

Weak and languid, with malarial symptoms. 

Exhaustion, with colic. 

Debility and dyspepsia of drunkards. 

Trembling of whole body; of hands-on waking and when writing. 

Twitching of hands and feet during sleep. 

Chorea, with retarded stools, tetanus of left side; trembling of right, gesticulating convulsively every afternoon. 

Locomotor ataxia.