Letra Homeopatica

Understanding Stannum met.

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

Weakness runs through the remedy. That’s our first and most striking impression coming from the symptoms. As Kent says:

Stannum is especially suited to persons who have long been growing feeble. This is so striking that it may be said that some deep-seated constitutional state must be present. There is a history of increasing weakness, cachexia, catarrhal conditions, and neuralgia dating back over years.

This general condition is what we should expect from a Stannum patient, his feebleness, his long deep-seated disease. This remedy belongs to Hahnemann’s list of anti-psoric remedies. It has every aspect of the master theory. If we understand what Hahnemann meant when he described his theory on the miasmas it will be far too easy to understand why he chose Stannum as one of his anti-psoric medicines.

There’s one symptom that can help us to understand Stannum’s temperament:

Oppression of stomach in hysterical women, with nausea, pale face, great weakness, phlegmatic temperament.

(…) People with this temperament may be inward and private, thoughtful, reasonable, calm, patient, caring, and tolerant. They tend to have a rich inner life, seek a quiet, peaceful atmosphere, and be content with themselves. They tend to be steadfast, consistent in their habits, and thus steady and faithful friends.

Pedagogically, their interest is often awakened by experiencing others' interest in a subject.

People of this temperament may appear somewhat ponderous or clumsy. Their speech tends to be slow or appear hesitant.

(Wikipedia)

A clinical case presented in Hering’s Materia Medica will illustrate Stannun’s perception of the world:

A woman, æt. 39, pregnant in fourth month; continued anxiety and restlessness; must keep in bed not only on account of bodily weakness, but also on account of her inability to do anything, as she cannot muster sufficient courage, and is forgetful and absent-minded; feels like crying all the time, but crying makes her feel worse; great palpitation of heart and anxiety, especially if she has to give directions in her domestic affairs; thinking makes her feel wretched, and she cannot get rid of what once gets fixed in her mind; oversensitive smell; vertigo on moving head; visions in morning and through day of all kinds of fancied things; drawing pains in different places; difficult evacuation even of soft stool; urging to stool; urine profuse and pale and then scanty and brown, sometimes white like milk; flatus; dry, tiresome cough; lies always upon her back with one leg stretched and the other drawn up. θ Pregnancy.

She cannot think or give any directions regarding her household. The symptom describes someone that is unable to do anything but keep herself in bed. She is forgetful and absent minded.

Moving back up to Stannum childhood years and we will be able to have a clearer picture of the remedy.

The child is weak and looks miserable. She refuses her mother’s milk. She moans during sleep or supplicates in a timid manner.

Why she refuses her mother’s milk? From what is she complaining?

She is intimidated by someone or from something. What intimidates her?

At every new tooth that is coming out there’s a renewal of her convulsions. Also, convulsions due from worms.

A timid supplicating child, weak, who was not properly nursed or fed by her mother, having fits at every new tooth, looking miserable.

She is full of catarrhal complaints, asthma and is tuberculosis prone.

That’s our patient in the beginning of his very difficult life.

Stannum will develop himself, as the years go by, into this temperament: from a timid and frail child, she moved to become an adult with an inward and private attitude, also becoming someone reasonable and tolerant. Combined with her history, her difficult upbringing and development, always feeling weak, feeble. Hers was a life with many colds, pneumonias, a constant risk of tuberculosis, probably a late development of her body into a mature woman.

Giving birth was exhausting, as also feeding her baby was unbearable.

Her discharges, menstruation bleedings, leucorrhea, it has been always so exhaustive for her. Living also has been far too exhaustive. She has outbursts of melancholy, sadness, and anxiety before menses.

There´s an interception between Stannun´s sensations and reality: we believe that Stannun has the impression that he is weak, feeble, assuming this attitude towards his life. He feels as if he has no power to face life, to fight for what he wants or believes. We will find our patient hidden in his room, woke up all night, “travelling and living” the world but through a dystopic perspective: he is now living in a virtual world, having experiences, developing opinions all based over experiences he “had” by living in a virtual reality. Long before there was no internet, no victual world, but now there´s a place where we can find our Stannun´s patients: travelling from site to site, developing ideas, opinions without been necessarily a great effort to live, travel, go to these places.

But we must be sure that Stannun feels that he has no power to face the real world. This is an impression, a sensation that might become reality from the moment that he doesn´t exercising, walk, swim, interreact with the real world.

The provers are expressing symptoms like:

Sadness, with aversion to men and disinclination to talk.

Sullen, answers unwillingly and shortly.

Aversion and dread of people.

Disinclination to talk,

Cannot read to her children, it causes aching in throat, chest and deltoids.

Quiet fretfulness: he answers unwillingly and abruptly; easily vexed, and easily gets into a temper,

Peevishness and transient sensitiveness (first three days).

Vexatious; nothing goes to suit him.

Talking weakens, particularly the chest.

Was suddenly attacked by weakness; she could scarcely breathe, while dressing, after rising from bed.

From this point on Stannum wants to be quiet and to be with himself. We believe that our patient will be someone among those fellows who lead their lives amongst his closest friends and family; in a certain way, absent, distant from the world, from the others - so strong is their feelings of weakness and sensitivity.

Quiet, absorbed in himself, with great discomfort of the body.

Quiet, absorbed in himself, solicitous for the future,

There will be probably some level of anguish and anxiety in Stannum’s eyes. She may look to the world, to the people around and then perceives that there is something wrong with her. Why does she wants to be away, apart, why is she always feeling tired and distressed?

She is also restless due to the pain in her body, during her chest ailments, her pains. And a contradictory symptom: she loves dancing (this symptom from Synthesis repertory)

Uneasy, does not know what to do with himself, pains > by walking, yet so weak he soon must rest. θ Anemia.

Uneasy, knows not what to do with himself; pains > by walking, yet so weak he must soon rest.

She will turn herself into an indifferent person. She will raise a wall between herself and the world. She is too tired to deal with the people and with their craziness.

Dullness of mind, indifference to external objects, indisposition, with paleness and darkness about the eyes,

Anxious dreams of quarrel, strife, and battles.

Dreams of fire.

Is inclined to do no work, and inability to think.

Restless and distracted; no persistence in work, immediately,

A few worldly pleasures were left for the Stannum patient, being one of them the pleasure of sex.

Lascivious dreams, with erections, without emissions,

Lascivious dreams and emissions, without erections,

Amorous dreams, with physical enjoyment, without a pollution (twenty-second day),.

Voluptuous sensation in genitals, ending in an emission.

An intolerable voluptuous excitement in the genitals and in the whole body, even to emission of semen (after forty hours),.

Nocturnal erections, without lascivious dreams,

Excited sexual desire; easy orgasm.

Scratching arm produces an intolerable sensation of pleasure in genital organs which extends to uterus and produces sexual orgasm. θ Neurasthenia.

There’s only one way out for the Stannum patient, there is only one way to refuge from this exhaustive world: it is inside oneself, inside her imagination, her thinking, her fantasies. There, in this realm, is where probably Stannum took refuge from this world. And where this place is? She will find it inside the books, inside the romantic novels, inside the stories told by the great writers. There, hidden out, is where we are going to find our Stannum patients. Hidden inside the libraries, the internet, frequently been seen in the bookshops, ever digging for a novel to take oneself away from the daily reality.

Pleasant dreams of earthly splendor and greatness, which keep her in good humor after waking.

Stannum metallicum Groups

Symptoms from Hahnemann, Allen, Hering & Kent

Dr. Claudio C. Araujo M.D., FFHom (Lon.)

With the Environment

Dullness of mind, indifference to external objects, indisposition, with paleness and darkness about the eyes, [4].

Vertigo, as if all objects were at too great a distance.

Anxious dreams of quarrel, strife, and battles.

Dreams of fire,

He heard a loud noise in a dream.

Humor

Joy

Remarkably joyful, [4].

Talkative; sociable, [8].

Quiet good humor (after fourteen hours), [8].

Anxiety

Continued restlessness and anxiety.

Great anxiety and depression a week before the menses, ceasing on the appearance of the flow, [1].

Indescribable anxiety and despondency for several days, [1].

Very vivid anxious dreams, at night, [1].

Sadness

Sadness, with aversion to men and disinclination to talk.

Sullen, answers unwillingly and shortly.

Sad, hypochondriac mood, [1].

Discontented, [1].

Discouraged, [1].

Anger

Excited and inclined to storms of anger (fourth day), [3].

Violent, very transient anger, [3].

Contented with nothing without being fretful, [1].

Fretfulness disappearing, in the open air, the whole day, [2].

Quiet fretfulness: he answers unwillingly and abruptly; easily vexed, and easily gets into a temper, [7].

Peevishness and transient sensitiveness (first three days), [3].

Vexatious; nothing goes to suit him, [8].

Quiet

Quiet, absorbed in himself, with great discomfort of the body, [4].

Quiet, absorbed in himself, solicitous for the future, [8].

Temperament

Oppression of stomach in hysterical women, with nausea, pale face, great weakness, phlegmatic temperament.

With Oneself

Uneasy, does not know what to do with himself, pains > by walking, yet so weak he soon must rest. θ Anemia.

Her distress of mind ceases as soon as menses begin to flow.

Several days after a fright, while walking, an unusual feeling of weakness which appeared to proceed from chest and obliged her to loosen her dress and lie down; after remaining quiet for an hour the attack disappeared, but returned in a few days and gradually changed into a gnawing pain, seated at middle of sternum, commencing gently, gradually increasing for two hours and then disappearing just as gradually; at beginning of paroxysm, which returned more and more frequently, irresistible inclination to lie down, and at the height of attack was unable, for half an hour, to make any motion or sound ; (…)

Uneasy, knows not what to do with himself; pains > by walking, yet so weak he must soon rest.

Talking weakens, particularly the chest.

Feels as if she would faint.

Faintness from going downstairs.

Great lassitude when walking.

Weariness of whole body, especially after ascending steps.

Was suddenly attacked by weakness; she could scarcely breathe, while dressing, after rising from bed.

Great weariness during day; was obliged to lie down.

Excessive prostration: constantly wishes to sit or lie down, and when about to sit down falls upon chair because she has not the power to sit down slowly.

Extreme exhaustion of mind and body.

Loss of power as if limbs were beaten.

Very much exhausted from talking or reading aloud.

Great sense of weakness in larynx and chest, thence all over body.

Trembling, < from slow exercise.

Teeth feel loose, elongated, with painful jerking shortly after eating.

Vivid dreams full of terror (second night), [8]

Pleasant dreams of earthly splendor and greatness, which keep her in good humor after waking, [3].

With the Others

Aversion and dread of people, [1].

Disinclination to talk, [1].

Cannot read to her children, it causes aching in throat, chest and deltoids.

Work

Restless and distracted, no persistence in work, immediately,

Fruitlessly busy, as if a rush of ideas prevented him from completing his work at a certain time; all sorts of things occur to him to be done, [3]. Indolent and irritable, with heat in the face; would do everything, but really does nothing, .

Is inclined to do no work, and inability to think,

Anxious dreams of neglected business, about the same subject, two nights,

Kent: Stannum is especially suited to persons who have long been growing feeble.

This is so striking that it may be said that some deep-seated constitutional state must be present. There is a history of increasing weakness, cachexia, catarrhal conditions, and neuralgia dating back over years. There is sensitiveness to pain and an increasing aversion to doing anything, aversion to business in a man, and in a woman, to going about her housework; always tired, all work becomes irksome.

Male Sexuality

Lascivious dreams, with erections, without emissions, [4].

Lascivious dreams and emissions, without erections, [3].

Amorous dreams, with physical enjoyment, without a pollution (twenty-second day),

Voluptuous sensation in genitals, ending in an emission.

Irritation, with great weakness and nocturnal emissions; marked neurasthenia. Spermatorrhœa with excessive prostration.

Burning internally in the sexual organs, as in excessive irritation to discharge semen (after twenty-four hours), [1].

An intolerable voluptuous excitement in the genitals and in the whole body, even to emission of semen (after forty hours), [1].

Erections immediately; on the following days want of erections, [1].

Nocturnal erections, without lascivious dreams, [8].

Jerking in the penis, as far as the posterior portion, almost as when evacuating semen, [1].

Nocturnal pollution during sleep, while lying on the back (fifteenth and seventeenth nights), [14].

Emissions without lascivious dreams, [4], [8].

No sexual desire and no ability for coition, not even when excited thereto (secondary action?), [1].

Female Sexuality

Excited sexual desire; easy orgasm.

Scratching arm produces an intolerable sensation of pleasure in genital organs which extends to uterus and produces sexual orgasm. θ Neurasthenia.

Prolapsus of the vagina, aggravated during a hard stool, [1].

Bearing down in uterine region; prolapsus uteri and vaginæ; < during stool; feels so weak must drop down suddenly, but can get up readily. θ Neurasthenia.

Prolapse strangulated, tends to gangrene.

Menses: too early and too profuse; preceded by melancholy; pain in malar bones, continues during menses.

Leucorrhœa: with great debility; weakness, seems to proceed from chest; of yellow, white or transparent mucus; thin, watery, in debilitated subjects; profuse white or yellow, causing great general debility.

Pregnancy, Oarturition, Lactation.

Melancholia.

Spasmodic labor pains: they exhaust her, she is out of breath.

Childhood

The child leaves the breast of the mother who has taken Tin*, and will not drink anything more,

*Tin is a chemical element with symbol Sn (for Latin: stannum) and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group-14 elements, germanium and lead, and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4. Tin is the 49th most abundant element and has, with 10 stable isotopes, the largest number of stable isotopes in the periodic table. Tin is obtained chiefly from the mineral cassiterite, where it occurs as tin dioxide, SnO₂.

Child refuses mother's milk.

Renewal of convulsions with cutting of every tooth; also, in consequence of worms; child is weak; looks miserable.

Epilepsy: with tossing of limbs, clenching thumbs; opisthotonos; unconsciousness; with sexual complications; during dentition, with symptoms of worms; in evening; paleness of face, twitching of hands and eyes.

Restless, child moans during sleep, or supplicates in a timid manner.

Intellectual

Want of memory, in the morning on waking, [1].

Confusion and dullness of the head, as before coryza, which, however, did not occur, with sneezing, [1].

Vertigo, as if the brain were whirling around; all thought vanished, and he could not continue to read, and sat as if without his senses, [7].

Face pale, eyes sunk, mind dull.

Neurological

Neuralgia: the pain increases gradually to a very high degree and decreases again as slowly.

Hysterical spasms, with pain in abdomen and in diaphragm.

Hysteria with frightful pains in head; full of notions.

Hemiplegia, paralyzed parts constantly moist from perspiration; especially on left side, with a feeling of a heavy load in affected arm and corresponding side of chest, and frequent night sweats.

Paralysis, from worms, onanism, spasms, emotions.

Great loss of power in the arms and lower extremities, as if there were no strength in them, and as if the latter would not support the body, [3].

Paralysis of the left arm and foot, from fright, disappearing at night, [1].

Weariness in the arms and lower extremities; was obliged to let the arms sink down,

Paralytic weakness of the arms if he holds a light weight for only a short time, [9].

Paralytic weakness and heaviness in the arms, especially in the right arm, chiefly in the upper arm and joints; aggravated by every motion, at times associated with dyspnœa, [7].

The arms easily become fatigued from moderate exercise, so that everything he holds is allowed to fall, [7].

The arms and fingers are almost immovable, [1].

Kent: The countenance becomes increasingly sallow, even to a waxy, cachectic aspect. Once who has been growing weaker and develops neuralgia of the face, eyes, stomach, and intestines; not the shooting, tearing pains often described, but a pain beginning gradually, increasing steadily and then diminishing gradually.

Dreams

Confused, unremembered dreams, [3].

Confused, vivid dreams in which many things are mixed up, sometimes she talks aloud, tosses about the bed, frequently wakes, and always finds herself sitting up in bed, [3]

Vivid, confused, half-remembered dreams, [3].

Estudos

STANNUM MET.