Using the Homeopathic Repertory

CHAT BEGAN AT 20:59 EDT

 

Moderator: Welcome, Karen Allen, CCH, director of the Pacific Academy of Homeopathy, www.homeopathy-academy.org; author of 'Tutorial and Workbook for Homeopathic Repertory' (www.karenallenhomeopath.com has a link to a bookseller where it can be purchased).

 

Karen Allen: Hi all, welcome to our discussion of homeopathic repertory - I am glad to take your questions.

To answer an early question about remedies after surgery, the rubric “GENERALITIES; WEAKNESS, enervation, exhaustion, prostration, infirmity; anesthetics, from,” has Phosphorus and Acetic acid. Another remedy for ill effects from anesthesia is Emerald.

However, as always, it is important to individualize - you may not need anything specific for the anesthesia, and the value of Arnica after most any surgery can not be overstated! Some homeopaths have reported that taking a remedy like Hypericum before surgery can interfere with the action of the anesthetics, so it is best to have a remedy in the recovery room as soon as possible afterward.

 

RoseB: Can you point me in a direction to repertorize Scleroderma?

 

Karen Allen: This brings up a great point - how do we select rubrics for something when we have a diagnosis? Sometimes there are general rubrics that cover the diagnosis. Other times, we will look but it won't be there! So it is important to remember to fall back on the actual symptoms! One person's experience of scleroderma will be different than another's. So we need to stick with the specific symptoms of the case before us - are there some specific symptoms you had in mind?

 

cheryleey: I always get caught with some of the old terminology that is used.  Plus, now new terminology is used also and they might mean the same thing.  I'll try and find an example.

 

Karen Allen: Yes, the repertory is full of archaic language - and sometimes there is a partial overlap with current terms. An example is 'Mind, Dipsomania' in the repertory - which means craving to drink. And it sometimes is noted with a synonym of 'Mind, Alcoholism', and it does cover that, but dipsomania is broader than alcoholism, so the two are not exactly equivalent

 

cheryleey: How would I know which to use?  Or would I combine rubrics?

 

Karen Allen: IF in doubt, combining is a very good option. It is better to include too many possible remedies than to exclude the ones that might be most helpful.

 

cheryleey: The new Synthesis takes me directly to ‘Mind, Alcoholism.’  If they aren't the same then how can I trust that rubric?

 

Karen Allen: They are not the same, but the rubric for Dipsomania does include alcoholism, along with other things... so it is ok to use it. It would not be the same the other way around - for example, if there is a person who is drinking water all the time, craving anything to drink, “Alcoholism” would not be correct, but dipsomania still would be. You just have to look at the use you are employing for the rubrics.

 

cheryleey: The new Synthesis doesn't have any remedies for Dipsomania.  It just says to see Alcoholism.

 

Karen Allen: Yes, this is an example where the current term is used as a cross-reference to the old term. There is an approximate equivalence between the terms, and since the current term is so much more recognizable, it is substituted.

 

cheryleey: It looks like I would go to “Stomach, Thirst or Generals, Food and Drink, water” instead for that patient.

 

Karen Allen: Perhaps, but those rubrics do not have the element of craving that is indicated with either dipsomania or alcoholism where there is a compulsion to drink - so they would be approximations of the symptom

 

krishnaonkar: Is there any set remedy to use in cardiac failure in terminal cases?

 

Karen Allen: There are groups of remedies most appropriate for cardiac failure, such as Latrodectus mactans and Digitalis – the remedy selection would need to be individualized - but in cases like that I think you would not have time to be checking the repertory!  Many remedies could apply, depending on the individual symptoms of the client...

 

krishnaonkar: My friend appears to be breathless on any movement with a rattly chest.

 

Karen Allen: The first thing for any friend or client is safety - if there is imminent danger to the client, then Aconite or Arnica and Rescue Remedy while on the way to the emergency room is a good option! If the friend with rattly breathing on any movement is in distress then urgent care should be sought. The next step after safety is to assess what body system might be involved to help identify the symptoms that can be repertorized. For example, the symptoms you are describing of rattly breathing and worse from motion can be from pneumonia or from bronchitis, or from an injury or a pneumothorax - so it is important to have an accurate diagnosis to work with.

Once safety and an accurate diagnosis have been established, then work with the rubrics that describe symptoms, such as “Respiration, Rattling.”

 

Christina: I recently had heart surgery and had rattly breathing and was worse (out of breath) with any movement. The valve was not working and needed to be repaired/ replaced. I agree they need to go to an emergency room or urgent care quickly.

 

krishnaonkar: He does not seem to be in an emergency situation. It is heart failure and he looks loaded with fluids. I was thinking about Apis.

 

Karen Allen: In a situation like this which is potentially very serious, it is important to work with an experienced practitioner. Apis does have retention of fluids, but not a strong affinity to the heart - other remedies may be more appropriate - You can use the NCH practitioner directory to find an experienced homeopath for consultation.

 

Christina: What Repertory would you recommend for someone new to homeopathy?

 

Karen Allen: For someone new to homeopathy, I suggest that they start with Kent's repertory - it is great for learning, and has very accurate content. And it helps if you have a book to explain it like my Repertory Workbook.

 

alan: I find it helpful to have an old dictionary from the early 20th century to help with older terms, go to e-Bay, amazon.com, or an old book store.

 

Karen Allen: Yes, old dictionaries are great!  Also Jay Yasgur's dictionary of terms is very helpful.

 

alan: Yes, Yasgur is excellent, everybody should buy Yasgur's dictionary with Kent's repertory.  Karen, are you related in any way to any of the famous Allen's of Homeopathy's past?

 

Karen Allen: I would like to think so, but don't have the family tree worked out enough to tell. I do have family from Allentown, Pennsylvania where Hering had his famous homeopathy school :)

 

battilocchi: Is it more important to look at time of complaint in the section of physical or mental complaints, or would it be better to look this up in generalities?

 

Karen Allen: I tend to use the GENERALITIES section when I see things that affect the whole person, or if a complaint recurs in different places - like Stomach, pain, burning, and Extremities, Foot, sole, pain burning for the same person might prompt me to chose a general rubric about burning...

 

alan: Are there any books similar to Sault's guide that you would recommend?

 

Karen Allen: Yes, I like Sault's Guide to the Mental Rubrics - great reference text - also 'The Mind Defined' is a great help.

 

Battilocchi: How would you repertorize a flu that keeps on coming back after it appears to be  over, then shows up again four or five days later?

 

Karen Allen: You are describing a ‘relapsing flu’ - we have seen this pattern over the past several months with clients. Try looking under 'GENERALITIES, relapse of complaints'.

Also, this is a life style issue - people try to get up and around before they are really well, need to get back to work, etc. I suggest that people take the remedy Thymuline 9c daily for a few weeks after flu to prevent this - it is widely used this way in France

 

theresa: When looking for menopausal hot flashes, is “FEVER” the correct section to look?

 

Karen Allen: When looking for menopausal hot flashes, the FEVER section will get you part of the way there – “GENERALITIES, Heat, flushes of” is a great place to start. And as always, it is important to individualize - look at the specific symptoms - when is the heat felt, and where, and is it accompanied by perspiration? You might need to look in the Face or Abdomen or Head or Back sections - You can also look at some of the categorical rubrics about menopause under 'FEMALE, menopause.'

 

Lisa M: Are there any tricks for trying to repertorize concomitants, like, nose runs clear each time they have a bowel movement? or every time they blow their nose, right eye streams tears?

 

Karen Allen: Great question, Lisa - this is exactly why we have repertories! A person has a grouping of symptoms; the repertory is not used for just a single symptom standing alone. There are usually several symptoms present at the same time, and the fact that they occur in conjunction, or concomitantly, with each other is as relevant to the case as the fact that each one exists individually. So by selecting a rubric to describe each symptom we can identify the remedies where those symptoms are likely to show up together.

 

Lisa M: Oh, I see. Then you combine them and see how they grade?

 

Karen Allen: Some concomitants are listed in the repertory as modalities, and others we just choose a rubric for each aspect of it, and see what remedies are common between them.

 

Lisa M: So you look at them separately. You don't combine them?

 

Karen Allen: Yes, just compare all the remedies across the set of rubrics and see what is present across the set.

 

Lisa M: Thank you.

 

dvs48: I have some confusion, being very new to homeopathy, regarding the potencies, but did buy a 30c kit.  A good explanation would be where?

 

Karen Allen: On the NCH website, under “Articles,” there are many good discussions - that would be a good place to start. There is also very good information on the website for Washington Homeopathics - their website is www.homeopathyworks.com and you can find a lot of info in the FAQs section which will cover this for you - good luck with your remedy kit - I hope it serves you well!

 

krishnaonkar: Can you suggest remedies for elderly people with osteoporosis who have difficulty walking?

 

Karen Allen: It is important to take the case and individualize for each person - what might be helpful for one person might not help at all for another, so the case must be carefully taken. Cell salts are a possibility - Calcarea phos and Calcarea fluor cell salts in 6x potency are useful for helping with calcium metabolism. Weight-bearing exercise is also very important - Hahnemann directed us to look at the whole person, and to be mindful of the life circumstances that affected them and their symptoms...

 

Lisa M: I had trouble finding a rubric for laughter that was ‘wicked’, ‘mean.’ All I could come up with was sardonic. Any suggestions? That rubric was too small.

 

Karen Allen: Interesting idea that you introduce here - first about the specific rubric, and also about the size of a rubric... If the laughter is mean spirited, then the broader idea of meanness which the laughter exhibits could be repertorized - such as MIND, Cruelty or MIND, Harshness or MIND, Sarcasm...

 

Lisa M: That sounds perfect.

 

Karen Allen: Jeremy Sherr says there is something behind until there is nothing behind - this is a situation where it would be useful to know what that laugh means for that person - is there a delight in the suffering of others, for example...

 

Lisa M: It was mean spirited. Yes, there was in this case, cruelty to animals.

 

Karen Allen: So it helps to understand the symptom well...  and then sometimes there are other behaviors besides laughing that show up - you see it as a broader theme in the case here. Sad to see that, isn't it?

 

Lisa M: Yes. It was an upsetting part of the case and she laughed as she told it in that mean spirited way.

 

Karen Allen: Healing is not for the faint of heart - it takes courage for us to look at all the symptoms that come before us, and just observe them...

 

cheryleey: How do we know when to accept a small rubric or when to go for the larger ones?

 

Karen Allen: This is a great question - there are a few things to consider. First, ask yourself if it makes sense to you that the rubric should be small. If there was a rubric for the delusion that an alien being was in the person's ear playing the bongos... then it makes sense that this rubric would be small because very few people across the spectrum of humanity are likely to have that... But for a rubric like itching directly on top of the spine, then there would probably be more people who might have that, and so it might be expected to be a little larger. And by the time we get to common things like coughing from exposure to cold air, then lots of folks get that, so it should be quite a full rubric...

 

So the first thing is to ask if it seems reasonable that the rubric should be large.  Ask yourself - out of the full materia medica of 3000 or so remedies, does it seem reasonable to me that only xx of them would be in this rubric?

 

Lisa M: No I guess not. They can't all be in there. I found sometimes looking at small rubrics gives me ideas for remedies well I am still searching.

 

Karen Allen: And the second thing to consider is a forest-and-trees approach. Sometimes a tiny rubric is very, very exact and accurate, and so it makes sense to use it.... but if you put it into your rubric set, it will limit it so greatly because it is smaaaaaalllll.

 

A good strategy is to choose a larger more general rubric for the rubric set (like itching on the back instead of itching on the spine) and then use the small rubric as a confirmatory symptom to check after you repertorize. This allows you to use both small and large rubrics.

 

cheryleey: True, that's good and makes sense. What about the "children, in" parts of the rubrics?  Would it be better to pick the broader rubric?  Or what if you have an adult that is very childish, would you use "children, in" then too?

 

Karen Allen: Another option is to combine several small rubrics that apply, amalgamating them into a larger rubric that is more likely to be representative...

 

Lisa M: I like that idea.

 

Karen Allen: Another option for the 'children, in' sub-rubric is to use the broader main rubric, but then include a 'childlike' rubric in the set such as 'Mind, Childish' or 'Generalities, Children, complaints in'

 

Moderator: Our hour is up! Thank you so much, Karen Allen, for answering all these questions and providing invaluable insights on using the repertories.

 

Karen Allen: Best wishes to you all in your studies and case work!!!

 

CHAT ENDED AT 22:10