Understanding Carbo vegetabilis

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

 

 

Mixed amongst the Carb-v. symptoms are both acute and chronic states. Many sentences are standing for epidemical diseases, others for chronic infections – like tuberculosis – but some others clear describing malignant tumors, chronic hepatitis, blood physical degenerations, food allergies and other auto immune diseases.

Then,” where” is hidden, between all those sentences, the Carb-v. patient?

 

He had had a difficult childhood. The common diseases of children were a hard time for him. Those diseases left a mark on his constitutional state. Acute diseases like whooping cough, measles and even the common colds were dealt with such a strong effort from the Carb-v. patient and they all left him with a constitutional scar.

It is already said that the child had a lot of developing problems. He has been described as someone with a bad temper, biting and scolding the people surrounding and Kent assumes the child as someone who has been having a hard time, both mentally and physically.

The child has been known as someone with great difficulties to learn, to understand, difficulties on growing up like any normal child. Altogether he takes every single disease into a very strong and lasting ailment. Asthma, bronchial catarrhs and common fevers, they all turn themselves into lasting fevers, pneumonias and long-lasting diarrheas; dentition is a hard time for Carb-v., also worms and many other complaints.

Carb-v. had turned every single ailment into an exhaustive disease. So, at the end of every new complaint he became more weak, prone for more new diseases.

Let’s not forget that Carb-v. is one of Hahnemann’s anti-psorics.

This should be the past medical history of our patient. After he finishes his description of his sufferings, this must be what he had described.

It doesn’t matter if his hemorrhoidal piles are bleeding, or if his varicose veins are engorged and painful; or if his cough never leaves him in peace or even if a malignant tumor in growing in her uterus. The constitutional history must be this and this one alone.

He had never been a healthful child. He had never a light acute disease. He always suffered from cold, he had being someone with a very difficult digestion, flatulent and constipated, and every single ailment lasts forever.

He is weak and exhausted from being sick for so many times, and for such a long period each time. His health is getting worse, every day.

Who is this guy? Who is that fellow human being, so much afflicted with his non-ending ailments?

There’s not too much information on the proving.

We can deduce - and is present in our repertories - that he has indulging himself on sex, food and alcohol. His digestive symptoms, if not for an acute infection, do not belong to someone with a strong rigid diet, such as the vegetarians or vegans.

He is not very fond of physical exercises, due maybe to his chronic weakness or his general indisposition. We cannot imagine someone with such an array of symptoms being an athletic person. Many of his symptoms would disappear only with a strong diet and physical exercises. So, he is probably someone that belongs to the nightlife, to the parties, enjoying both eating and a free sexual life.

 

We can ask ourselves – why is he living that way?

 

After sexual excesses and onanism. 

Onanism during sleep. 

Too frequent pollutions, particularly in morning.

Frequent continuous erections, for three days together

Constant erections, at night without voluptuous sensations or fancies, . 

 Increased sexual desire (after forty-nine days),. 

Very vivid, lascivious dreams (second night),. 

 

He is not of a good humor and kindness to the others. There’s no symptom regarding his relations with the other human beings, but only sexual. 

Hering’s description of the Carb-v. child exemplifies what he had brought with him:

 

Peevish, wrathful; child wishes to vent itself in rage, strikes, kicks, bites. θ Worm affections. 

 

Carb-v. had been long before a very fearful child; afraid of the dark, of ghosts, of people. There is in Synthesis the symptom  - fear of strangers – and this appears in the proving like that:

 

When it became dark in her room, frightful shapes appeared before her eyes; started from anxious dreams. 

Nightly fear of ghosts. θ Worm affections. 

Easily frightened or startled. θ Dysentery. 

Starting with fright on going to sleep. 

 

Anxiety and uneasiness causing him to tremble all over, as if he had committed a crime, ending in weeping, even before strangers; painful hiccough in œsophagus. 

 

What do people cause on him? What do they are to the Carb-v. patient? Are they threading him with what?

It should be something very poignant, harsh, otherwise he would be not shaking, trembling and weeping.

It must be something strong enough to send him away for good. He doesn’t want to relate to the people anymore. They scare him, they hurt him. To the point of desire to kill himself.

He is unhappy and indifferent.

At every single ailment, at every single pain, his sufferings are renewed. Being sick and in pain for so many years, pain turns itself almost like a torture.

 

Indifference; heard everything without feeling pleasantly or unpleasantly, and without thinking of it. 

Lack of cheerfulness in evening. 

She feels unhappy, with very little pain. 

She desired death, she felt so unhappy. 

Discouraged and frightened, 

Indifferent, no interested in anything. 

Indifference, he heard everything without feeling pleasantly or unpleasantly about it, and without thinking of it,. 

Music, of which he is fond, does not interest him the whole day. 

Peevish, impatient, desperate; he would like to shoot himself, 

 

Feeling oppressed - is that the way Carb-v. felt since his very beginning?

Was he oppressed by disease? Not being able to have a normal and healthy life?

Was he oppressed by the others? Criticized, judged, impeded?

There is this symptom:

 

Anxiety in the evening after lying down, as from oppression of the chest, with heat in the head, heat in the hands, and sweat on the forehead; she was unable to remain in bed on account of a sensation as if the heart would be pressed downward; objects about her seem to become constantly narrower and smaller, and when the room was dark horrible visions passed before her sight,. 

 

To some extend, it has all we have been brought up until now. He is sick in his heart, unable to breath freely. His heart, with means life itself, is being oppressed downward. Everything around him is also being pressed down, getting smaller, as if under a strong pressure. Reality now turned itself into darkness, into nothing. And horrible visions are now passing over in front of him.

That’s what life has always been for the Carb-v. patient.

Lifeless, colorless, shapeless living. Only darkness and fear prevail.

He has been living in the dark through his whole life, without any energy to lead a healthy life. Surrounded by specters, ghosts, frightful images, he is probably trying to flee away from them. But there is no rest, it all belongs to those impressions coming from inside of his mind. Life is only a empty and dark space, populated by this frightful imagery.

 

 

Groups in Carbo vegetabilis

Symptoms from Hahnemann, Allen, Hering and Kent

 

Humor

 

Very much excited in the evening, with distended veins,. 

Immoderately jovial, though easily put out of humor, 

 

Anxiety

 

Anxiety: as if oppressed; with heat in face; accompanied by shuddering; on closing eyes; in evening after lying down; on awaking. 

Great anxiety and heat with pains. 

Trembling anxiety in morning. 

Restless, anxious; 4 to 6 P. M. 

Anxiety, as if oppressed, for several days, 

Trembling anxiety in the morning on waking,  

 Inexpressible anxiety every afternoon from four to six. 

Increasing anxiety for several hours in the evening, with heat in the face, 

Anxiety in the evening after lying down, as from oppression of the chest, with heat in the head, heat in the hands, and sweat on the forehead; she was unable to remain in bed on account of a sensation as if the heart would be pressed downward; objects about her seem to become constantly narrower and smaller, and when the room was dark horrible visions passed before her sight,

In the evening after lying down he was attacked with anxiety, so that he could scarcely remain lying (after nineteen days), 

Anxiety during and after eating, 

Anxiety after a stool, with sensation of trembling and involuntary movements 

Great anxiety and heat with the pains, 

Anxiety as in fever; the hands become cold and she trembles,

Anxious, frightful dreams, 

Extremely anxious dreams,  

 

Weeping mood

 

 Sensitive weeping mood, 

Great weeping, in which he wished to shoot himself 

He became lachrymose; everything frightened him, and he seemed to despair. 

Frequent screaming. 

 

Restlessness

 

Very vivid dreams, causing restlessness (second night), 

Tormenting dreams disturb the sleep.

 

Irritability, anger

 

Very irritable, excitable and inclined to anger. 

Obstinacy.

Sensitive, easily irritated mood, which was easily excited to foolish mirth; when laughing the muscles of the arms and hands became relaxed, 

Out of humor after eating,. 

Great irritability,. 

Violent irritable mood,. 

Very irritable through the day, inclined to vexation, 

Very irritable and out of humor; he cried easily over sad events, and just as easily laughed over the slightest trifles till the tears came to his eyes, [1]. 

Irritable and out of humor, with mental exhaustion (after then hours),. 

Irritability and sensitiveness,. 

Peevishly irritable the whole day (second day), 

Very peevish, irritable, and inclined to anger,. 

Peevish irritability, with confusion of the head,. 

 Impatience,. 

Violent and irritable, in the forenoon,. 

 Involuntary outbreaks of anger (after thirty-six hours),. 

 

 

With Oneself

 

Unhappiness

 

Indifference; heard everything without feeling pleasantly or unpleasantly, and without thinking of it. 

Lack of cheerfulness in evening. 

Feels unhappy with every little pain. 

She feels unhappy, with very little pain,. 

She desired death, she felt so unhappy,. 

Discouraged and frightened,. 

Very sensitive and morose (after four hours), 

 Indifferent, no interested in anything, 

Indifference, he heard everything without feeling pleasantly or unpleasantly about it, and without thinking of it,  

Music, of which he is fond, does not interest him the whole day, 

Peevish, impatient, desperate; he would like to shoot himself,. 

 

Afraid

 

Easily frightened or startled. θ Dysentery. 

Starting with fright on going to sleep. 

 

 

Towards the Others

 

Anxiety and uneasiness causing him to tremble all over, as if he had committed a crime, ending in weeping, even before strangers; painful hiccough in esophagus. 

 

 

With the Environment

 

When it became dark in her room, frightful shapes appeared before her eyes; started from anxious dreams. 

Nightly fear of ghosts. θ Worm affections. 

 

 

Work

 

Worse after mental exertion. 

Exceedingly irritable; she seems to be overhurried in her business,. 

 

 

Childhood

 

Peevish, wrathful; child wishes to vent itself in rage, strikes, kicks, bites. θ Worm affections. 

Kent: School girls and boys, too, who are sluggish, slow to learn, and suffer from night terrors; they will not sleep alone, or go into a dark room without someone with them.

The child sinks from exhaustion, with coldness, pallor and cold sweat. The nose, face and lips are pinched and hippocratic. With all diarrheic troubles the prostration will indicate Carbo veg. as much as, if not more than, the stool.

 

 

Male Sexuality

 

Voluptuous fancies. 

After sexual excesses and onanism. 

Onanism during sleep. 

Too frequent pollutions, particularly in morning.

Frequent erections (after twenty-four hours), 

 Frequent continuous erections, for three days together. 

He awoke every hours, with erections, [1]. 

Constant erections, at night without voluptuous sensations or fancies. 

 Increased sexual desire (after forty-nine days), 

Very vivid, lascivious dreams (second night),. 

 

Sexual instinct suppressed. 

Seminal discharge too early during coitus, followed by roaring in head. 

Complete loss of sexual desire, in the morning, not even excited by sensual thoughts (after twenty-four hours), 

Frequent emissions, without much sensation, 

Emissions, without dreams,  

 Emission too soon on coition, followed by roaring of blood in the head,. 

Excessive emissions, which painfully shake the nerves, followed by violent burning in the forepart of the urethra, with severe cutting and burning when urinating, which continues a long time and is renewed on slight external pressure. 

Discharge of prostatic fluid, when straining at stool, 

 

 

Female Sexuality

 

 

 

Intellectual

 

Memory feeble, flow of ideas slow; tendency to fixed ideas. 

Periodical want of memory; headache as if integuments of head were contracted; hat presses on head as a heavy burden; when taking off hat, he feels as if a handkerchief were tied round head; creeping in integuments of occiput as if hairs were in motion. 

Confusion of head, making thinking difficult; morning on waking; he had to make great exertion, as if arousing himself from a dream. 

Mental freedom, lightness, and general well feeling (curative action after great confusion of the whole head, as with a coryza, and general heaviness of the limbs and body), (after four hours). 

Ideas flow slowly; they constantly turn about one object, with a sensation as if the head were tightly bound, 

Want of memory, periodic,  

Sudden loss of memory; he could not even recollect what he had just spoken or what had just been told him,

Kent: The whole mental state, like the physical, is slow. The mental operations are slow. Slow to think; sluggish; stupid; lazy. Cannot whip himself into activity or rouse a desire to do anything. Wants to lie down and doze.

 

 

Neurological

 

Falls down insensible. 

Stupor, collapse. 

Flightiness at night. 

Quiet delirium. θ Typhus.