How To Use The Repertory
by Glen Irving Bidwell
Presented by
Cases Illustrating Repertory Work.
Case 1
– Mrs. C. F., 35 years,
record contains the following symptoms:
Mind. –
Thinks of nothing but death.
Homesick and worries about home whenever away.
Cross and irritable.
Memory very poor. Forgetful, which is very troublesome.
Company makes her nervous; does not want to stay and visit with frieds
when they come to call or spend the evening.Imagines there are persons in the room.
Difficult to concentrate her thoughts on any one thing long enough to
complete it.
Head. –
Headache most of the time, severe pressure at base of
skull.Pain in right side of head extending down to neck.
Aggravation from warmth of bed; from mental exertion.
Amelioration from lying.
Itching of scalp with much dandruff, with falling of hair.
Vertigo in hot room and when rising from seat.
Stomach. –
Hungry all the time, but a little satisfies.
Much belching of tasteless gas.
Desires sweets which disagree.
Abdomen. –
Sensitive to pressure of clothing.
Much rumbling of flatus with pressure both up and down.
Urination. –
Profuse, pale and alkaline.
Sometimes burning in bladder after urination.
Menses. –
Profuse.
Irregular.
Dark, with dark clots.
Very much depressed and inclined to be tearful before menses.
Leucorrhoea profuse for a few days after menses – excoriates.
Sleep. –
Good but unrefreshing. Wakens tired and exhausted.
Very sleepy after dinner (at night).
Dreams frightful, usually of drowning.
General Aggravation and Amelioration. –
Better in open air.
Worse from pressure of clothes about abdomen and throat.
Very sensitive to noise.
Repertory Analysis.
Mentals. – Imagines Phantoms, etc
. (page 27.) – Ambr., Apis,
Arg. m., Ars., BELL., Carbo v., Caust., Crot. h., Hep., Hyos., LACH., Lyc., Merc., Nat. m.,
Op., Phos., Samb., Stram., Thuj., Sulph., Zinc.
Sensitive to Noise
(page 79) – Apis, Ars., BELL., Carbo v.,
Caust., LACH., Lyc., Merc., Nat. m., Op., Phos., Zinc.
Aversion to Company
(page 12) – Bell., Lach., Lyc., Nat. m.
Physical Generals – Amelioration from Open Air
(page 1307) –
Lach., Lyc., Nat. m.
Menses Dark
(page 723) – Lach., Lyc.
Menses Irregular
(page 724) – Lach., Lyc.
Menses Dark Clotted
(page 722) – Lyc.
Therefore, if our analysis has been correct, Lycopodium
should cover this case in its entirety, and consulting our Materia Medica we find not only
the general symptoms of the case that we have used in our analysis but all the others which
are recorded in the record of the case. Therefore, we know that this remedy is the similimum
to the case, and if administered carefully will cure.The second case that I will give will show you how not to use the
repertory. This method of trying to find a remedy which will cover every symptom of the
patient is the one most of you try to use and it is one that is discouraging not only from
the fact that it takes so much time, but as well as the fact that many times the repertory
will not give the particular rubric for which you may be looking. I selected this case for
the reason that each of the symptoms can be found in the repertory and that one remedy
covers them all.* * * * *
Case 2.
– Mrs. H. S. came to me
2-12-’07 with the following symptoms which I will give in her own language: “I am so
nervous; am afraid I shall kill some of my people, as I go all to pieces and can’t control
myself. Thinking about killing, I dream of killing my little girl. If I do not get better
soon I shall commit murder. Every afternoon I have pain over my eyes as if burned. Can’t
read at night, as there are sharp pains going through my eyes; if I persist in reading dark
points appear on the page so I cannot see the print. Hungry most of the time; in morning
when I awaken there is burning pain in my stomach which grows worse until I get up, when it
goes away. Always have to take pills to move my bowels; before they move there is a sharp
cutting pain in the rectum and many times the bowels come out while at stool. If I drink
beer will have piles for two or three days. My menses have been too often since my last
child, three years ago, and for a week before I am sick have whites each morning, which are
much worse walking. There is not much flow, and it only lasts two or three days and smells
sour as vinegar. Can’t sew for past month, as there are stitching pains in the back of my
neck when bending my head forward. Feet cold as ice every afternoon and cramps in my calves
keep me awake nearly all night. Do not shop, as I feel so badly when I have to stank
long.”
Repertory Analysis
– Fear of killing people. – Abis, Ars. a., Nux
v., Rhus t., Sulph.– Dreams of committing murder. – Rhus t., Sulph.
– Burning pains over the eyes, worse afternoon. – Sulph.
– Sharp shooting pains at night, on reading. – Phyto.,
Sulph.– Followed by dark points. – Con., Sulph.
– Burning pains in stomach on waking, better rising. – Sulph.
– Cutting pain in rectum before stool., – Asar.,
Sep., Sulph.– Prolapsus recti during stool. – Ign., Lyc.,
Podo., Rhus t., Sulph.– Leucorrhoea mornings, worse walking. – Nat.
m., Bov., Sarsa., Sep., Sulph.– Menses scanty, short duration. – Amm. c.,
Lach., Puls., Sulph.– Menses smell sour. – Carbo v., Sulph.
– Stitching pain in neck from bending head forward. – Sulph.
– Feet cold afternoon. – Nux v., Sulph.
– Cramps in calves while in bed. – Ars. a.,
Caust., Ign., Sulph.– Worse standing – Con., Cycl., Lil. t., Puls.,
Sep., Sulph., Valer.Here we see that Sulphur covers each
symptom, but with a good knowledge of the arrangement of the repertory it took me some time
to work it out. Now to demonstrate how much more rapidly we can arrive at the same results
by working from the generals to particulars, we will start with a general rubric:Menses scanty, short duration. – We find the following nineteen remedies
that have this symptom in the first and second grades: Alum., Amc.,
Asaf., Bar. c., Cocc., Con., Dulc., Graph., Lach., Mang., Merc., Nat. m., Nux v., Phos.,
Plat., Puls., Sepia., Sulph., Thuj.Now among this group of nineteen remedies will be found one which will
cover the totality of our case. If we were to give a remedy upon this one symptom alone we
might give any one of the above, for they all have this condition in a high degree; but if
we did not give the right one we should not cure the case. We must individualize our case
still further, so we will use another general.Worse standing. – In consulting the repertory we find that of the first
nineteen there are only the following seven which have the symptom in the first and second
grade: Con., Cocc., Phos., Plat., Puls., Sepia., Sulph.But still we have seven remedies, any one of which may be the remedy so
far, and we must individualize still further by another symptom. We will take the general,
better in open air. Here we find that we have only four remedies of our previous group which
will have this symptom in the first and second grade – Con., Phos., Puls., Sulph.We have now worked our list down to four remedies and we will
individualize again by taking another general, fear of committing murder. This gives us
Sulphur, the only remedy which covers all of the symptoms we have taken so far. Now if the
logic of our reasoning be correct, if the technique of selection be without a flaw, Sulphur
must be the mathematically correct remedy, and reference to the pathogenesis of the remedy
shows that Sulphur not only covers these four symptoms we have used, but it also contains
all the other particular and common symptoms of the case. The proof of the pudding is in the
eating, so we will turn to our record and we find the patient was discharged 7-7’07; that
all symptoms had disappeared, bowels move naturally. Says never felt better in her life.* * * * *
Case 3. –
Boy, age 14; epileptic attacks for three years.
First attack followed fright caused by other boys’ make believe to hang him. Attacks
increasing in frequency until at this time they occur every two weeks. The following
symptoms were given: Attacks begin by running round in circle, the falls down unconscious.
Attacks are more frequent in cold dry weather and during new moon. Involuntary urination
during the attack. Boy complains of always being cold; wants to keep warm both summer and
winter. He is very touchy; everything makes him cry; seems depressed all the time. Appetite
either ravenous or wanting. Aversion to all kinds of sweets, of which he was previously very
fond.
Repertory Analysis. –
Under complaint caused by fright we find
thirty-six remedies. Of these the following twenty-one have the symptoms in the first and
second grade: Acon., Apis, Arg. n., Art. v., Aur., Bell., Caust.,
Coff., Cupr., Gels., Glon., Hyos., Ign., Lach., Lyc., Nat. m., Nux v., Op., Plat., Puls.,
Rhus t.
– Sadness and depressed. – Acon., Arg. n., Aur.,
Bell., Caust., Gels., Ign., Lach., Nat. m., Plat., Puls.– Worse cold dry weather. – Acon., Caust.
– Aversion to sweets. – Causticum.
We have arrived at the solution of the case by four steps and have used
all general symptoms. Now you may ask, why did we start with the rubric complaints caused by
fright? First: this is a general symptom and we are working from the generals to
particulars. Second: This condition was caused in this boy by fright. This mental shock was
so profound that it caused the whole condition of this patient to be changed. It not only
produced the epileptic seizure, but affected his desires as well. One of the remedies found
under this rubric will be the one which will cover the totality of the case.The second symptom we will take is another general – sadness and
depression. We take this rubric from the fact that it is a mental condition produced by a
derangement of the patient’s most internal condition, the mind. Now if we hope to cure this
case we must have a remedy which has produced this symptom in the provers, so among our
first twenty-one we find eleven with this symptom in the first and second grade.Another general condition is the modality that attacks are worse in cold
dry weather. Among the eleven remedies found in the first two rubrics we find only two which
are worse in cold dry weather.In order to decide which of these two will cover our case we will take
the general aversion to sweets. Here we find that Causticum
must be the mathematically correct remedy, and turning to our materia medica we find that
the pathogenesis of Causticum not only contains the
rubrics we have used in our analysis, but the remaining symptoms of our case as well.Therefore, Causticum is the remedy we
will give. Our records show that two doses of this remedy were administered with the
following results: The attacks lessened during the first month to one; the second attack, a
very slight one, did not follow for seven weeks, and now, after an interval of a year and a
half, there has been no sign of a return, so we may safely say the boy is cured.* * * * *
Case 4. –
Mrs. A. S., aet. 28; married four years; menses have
always been irregular, but during the first year of married life were more regular but
always profuse. The third year married gave birth to a seven-pound child; labor normal, no
lacerations. Since labor has never been well; the menses would appear every two weeks; then
every five or six weeks, with no regularity. The would be profuse and weakening. Had had
curettages and various treatments without relief. The condition of the patient at the time
of first prescription was as follows: Menses irregular and profuse; great weakness when
walking; the walk from the car to office completely exhausted her. Cannot sleep; what sleep
she gets is unrefreshing. No appetite; does not want to think of eating. Craves beer, of
which she had never tasted but once, and then it was repulsive. Sweats easily; is in a
perspiration most of the time and has to be very careful about getting in a draft, as when
she becomes chilly she is nauseated.
Repertory Analysis. –
–
Menses irregular and profuse – Apis,
Arg. n., Art. v., Benz. ac., Calc. c., Carb. ac., Caust., Cimi., Cocc., Con., Dig., Ign.,
Iod., Ip., Iris., Kreos., Lyc., Murex, Nux v., Nux m., Secale, Sepia, Staph., Sulph.,
Tuberc.
– Worse from warmth – Arg. n., Calc. c., Cocc.,
Con., Ign., Iod., Ip., Lyc., Nux m., Sulph.– Extreme weakness from walking – Calc. c.,
Cocc., Con., Iod., Lyc., Nux m., Sulph.– Great desire for beer. – Calc., Cocc., Sulph.
– Nauseated when chilly. – Cocculus.
Just a word of explanation of our selection of rubrics in this case. Why
did we start with the symptom, menses irregular and profuse? In the first place, it is a
general symptom; then it is the symptom above all others that has proved the change in the
patient’s general condition; it we expect to cure this case we must have a remedy that has
in its symptomatology this condition. On the other hand, if we took any of the remedies we
find in the first and second grades under this rubric we would have a remedy for this local
condition that so many and various lines of treatment had been used upon with no results; so
not only must we take this symptom, but must take the other symptoms, which make this case
of irregular and profuse menses different from every other case of the same condition; in
other words, that makes of it an individual case. Therefore, we proceed with the other
symptoms.One word more, about our fourth rubric – great desire of beer. Ordinarily
this symptom would be of little vale, but we find a patient that before she was affected
with this change of internal conditions did not like beer; in fact, she had never tasted it
but once and then it was repulsive to her, but now she is sick; some change in her desires
has produced a condition of her economy whereby she has a craving for beer. Now the
condition has changed and a symptom which in other cases would be of little or no value
deserves a prominent place in our record analysis.This case also has another interesting peculiarity, in that if the
keynote prescribers had been working at it they might have reached a correct solution, for
in this case we find that the particular symptom, nauseated when chilly, is found under only
one remedy, Cocculus.Our selection of Cocculus in this
case was justified, for the case was cured. The menses became regular and normal; the
weakness disappeared; the craving for beer vanished; the excessive perspiration and nausea
left, until after four months she was discharged stating that she never felt so well in her
life.* * * * *
Case 5 –
There are some cases where we cannot individualize
closely enough to work our case down to less than two or three remedies. When this occurs we
take the remedy which has the symptoms in the highest grade and if the pathogenesis of the
drug justifies we give that. To illustrate, I will give the analysis of a case without the
history.Menses copious and dark. – Am. c., Am. m., Ant. c., Ars. a., BELL.,
Bism., Bov., Bry., Calc. c., Calc. p., Carbo a., CHAM., China, Cimic., Cocc., CROC., Cycl.,
Ferr., Graph., Ign. Kali n., Kreos., Lach., Lil. t., Mag. c., Nit. ac., NUX M., Nux v.,
Phos. ac., PLAT., PULS., Sabin., Sec., Sep., Sulph.Worse riding in a wagon. – COCC., Ign., Nux m., SEPIA, Sulph.
Worse before menses. – Nux m., SEPIA, SULPH.
Aversion to milk. – Sepia, Sulph.
Sadness in evening. – SEPIA, Sulph.
Vertigo looking down. – Sepia, SULPH.
Here we find by giving a numerical value of two to those of the first
grade and of one to the second grade that we have Sepia
having a value of nine and Sulphur a value of eight.Absolute reliance cannot be place on numerical superiority on points for
any one remedy; that is, a remedy not having so many points as another will yet have a
better correspondence with the vital features of the symptom picture, and be the curative
drug to select. This selection must be made from a final comparison of the drug’s
pathogenesis as given in a complete materia medica.* * * * *
Case 6 –
In closing the cases for
analysis I wish to conclude with the following case to illustrate two points. 1st. That, as regards our prescription, diagnosis has little or
nothing to do. 2d. That if we could all forget our diagnosis
while taking our case for a prescription we should all be able to do better work. This case
will be given as taken by a young lady who had never studied medicine; in fact, all she knew
concerning that subject was that when she or her friends were sick she wanted a homoeopathic
remedy to make them well. I have never this case personally, but know she is well from
reports that I have received through the mail.Mrs. H. C., aet. 42; widow. Has eruption on legs, which burns and itches,
and is worse from warmth of bed. She cannot keep her legs quiet at night. Is worse from
warmth of stove, which causes creeping sensation over whole body. Feet are icy cold during
day, but soles burn at night in bed.Lameness of left shoulder, which has lasted since rheumatism four years
ago; this is worse when lying on it. The hands go to sleep and feel numb, more specially the
left one. The wrist pains as if sprained when awakening. All pains are of burning character
and change locality often and suddenly.Sometimes, there are small ulcers on inner side of left thigh, from which
there is a thin offensive discharge; walking will cause them to smart, become red and puffy.
Stiffness in small of back on bending or beginning to move. The pains go down the thigh. She
has dry cough, which is worse after sleep and is caused by a tickling in the throat. This
cough has always come the last of March or the first of April, and would last until real hot
weather had come; with this cough she is quite hoarse and has sensation of lump in the
throat. Menstruation is dark and scanty and offensive; has not been regular since last
child, twelve years ago; she says all her aches and pains are better during her flow, and
she never feels so well as when flowing freely, although it is sometimes accompanied by a
painful diarrhoea. At other times she is always constipated; has to to closet and try
several times before she has stool. There is sensation of weight and pressure in bowels with
much rumbling of gas. Abdomen is sensitive in the morning on awakening. Complains of
burning, stitching pains in left ovary when constipated. Appetite one time is good, then she
may have none at all. She says she cannot get enough to drink; has constant thirst and
drinks a great deal of coffee. The mouth and tongue are dry; has feeling as if the skin was
peeling from the roof of mouth. Sour taste in mouth all the time; tongue cracked, brown
center and red tip.Does not sleep well; has had work to get to sleep before midnight and
then she wakens frequently with shock in pit of the stomach and a tight suffocating feeling
in the chest. Lately she has complained that her heart feels too large for her chest when
she walks fast. This oppressive pain is sometimes relieved by belching. For past few weeks
face and lips are bluish; has flushes of heat, but only one cheek gets red; the other is
pale. For last year her hearing has been failing; she complains of noise like a tea kettle
boiling. There has been scarcely any wax, and what there was would be hard and white. Riding
in the cold has always given her earache. She fears to go to bed during this last attack, as
she thinks she may die, and she says she dreads to die so much.There has always been more or less headache, at different times, but the
one which has been most troublesome is one that begins on the right side of head and goes
through to the left until it aches all around. With this there is a drawing in the back of
neck and burning pains back of the eyes; some dizziness with sensation as if she were going
to fall to the left side. She has an irritable disposition and everything seems to be worse
in the morning when she awakens.Now what is the diagnosis in this case? I do not know. Have never made
one. We do no care about the diagnosis, as it is not a disease we wish to treat, but rather
this sick woman we are going to try and cure. We have a well taken case, and from this mass
of symptoms we must select some that will individualize this case and make it different from
all others. Let us look at the record and see which symptoms we will select for our
repertory analysis. We find the following general symptoms: Worse after sleep, thirsty,
burning pains, left side and better during flow. Making a repertory analysis of these we
find under:Worse after sleep. – Acon., Apis, Arn., Ars.,
Camp., Carb. s., Carb. v., Caust., Chel., Cocc., Con., Euph., Ferr., Hep., LACH., Lyc., Op.,
Phos. ac., Puls., Rheum, Sabad., SEL., Sep., Spong., Staph., STRAM., SULPH., Verat.Thirsty. – ACON., Arn., ARS., Camp., Carb. v.,
Chel., Cocc., Con., Hep., Lach., OP., PHOS., STRAM., Sulph.Burning pains. – Acon., Arn., ARS., Carb. v., Con.,
Lach., Op., PHOS., SULPH.Left side. – Arn., LACH., PHOS., SULPH.
Relieved during flow. – LACHESIS.
Here you see we have worked our long case down to one remedy with five
rubrics. We will now turn to the pathogenesis of Lachesis
and see if our selection has been justified. In the Guiding
Symptoms we find under Lachesis not only the
five symptoms we have used, but also each and every one of the other symptoms; so this
remedy must be homoeopathic to the case.
Lachesis
, two powders, was sent with the following results:
For thirty-six hours after the administration there was an aggravation of all the symptoms,
which was followed by rapid improvement that has continued ever since until the last report,
when she wrote that every symptom had disappeared and that she felt as well as she had ever
been in her life.* * * * *
Case 7 –
Let us look at the analysis of constipation, the
great bug-bear of our prescribers, who say that constipation cannot be affected by the
homoeopathic remedy. The reason for this statement is that constipation, in the common, per se, cannot be cured, for we have no one remedy for the
disease condition.Even when we bring our case of constipation down one step in
individualization we are no better off; taking for example, constipation with hard stool,
under this common general we find eighty-three remedies listed under this rubric (page 635,
second edition, Kent); any one of these remedies might be curative in such a general
condition, but if we do not have something to individualize our case further we are at sea.
Taking the character of stool as:
Stool Dry
(page 634). – We narrow our list to thirty-one
remedies, which are as follows: Aesc., Amm. c., Arg. m., Arg. n., BRY., Calc. c., Cimex.,
Con., Cupr., Ham., Hep., Kali bi., Kali c., Kali s., LAC. D., LYC., Nat. m., NIT. AC., NUX
V., OP., PHOS., Plat., Plb., Podo., Prun., Sanic., SIL., Stann., Sulph., ZINC.With this condition is often associated inactivity of rectum, i. e., not
having a desire for stool for three or four days.
Inactivity of Rectum
(page 619). – We find fourteen of the
above thirty-one remedies, in the first and second grade, which allows us to narrow our
group of curative remedies to the following: BRY., Calc. c., KALI C., Lyc., NAT. M., NUX V.,
OP., PHOS., Plat., PLB., Podo., SANIC., SIL., Sulph.The stool may crumble, and if such is the case it will help you to
further particularize the above fourteen remedies in order to find the one curative remedy
in this individual case.
Crumbling
(page 634). – This rubric gives us only five out of
the above fourteen which have crumbling stool, and are as follows: Nat. m., Op., Plat.,
Podo., Sulph.The best we have been able to do with the symptoms that refer to the
constipation, per se, has been to narrow down to five
remedies, and one of these five will be curative. You say we might give all five at once in
a gun-shot prescription, and that is what some men do, and then say that Homoeopathy will
never cure constipation. Or that you might give first one and then the other in rotation,
but you would never cure the case that way, although one of these five remedies will be
curative if given alone. We must look for other symptoms of the patient, and you will always
be able to find some in every case that will help us to individualize this patient so we may
find the one remedy.Suppose Burning pain after stool. (p.
624). We find that this rubric only contains Natrum mur, and Sulphur of the above five
remedies. We are now down to two remedies either one of which may be curative. Look at the
tongue, and see if you cannot find some symptom there which will help you out. Let us
suppose that this patient had a heavily coated tongue, but along the edges there were spots
which were clean. This would be known as mapped tongue. Look under this rubric, Tongue mapped in circles on sides (page 411). We find that of
our two remedies only Natrum mur, has this symptom, so
if you have no marked generals to rule out Natrum mur, it would be the remedy and would cure
the case, unless there was some tissue change or growth which from pressure was causing an
occlusion of the bowel. In taking these old cases of constipation do not expect to give one
dose, or a dozen doses, in rapid succession, and expect the constipation to disappear over
night or in a week. These cases are usually long standing, they all have the constipation
habit, and most of them the cathartic habit, and have to be carried along with your remedies
in series, mayhap for several months, before a cure will be established.In order to cure your case you must insist upon the cathartics being
stopped at once, and until your remedy has changed conditions so as to establish a normal
stool you must depend upon diet and an enema of warm water to empty the lower bowel.
Form of Case Record.
Mind
. – Place all symptoms of mind under this heading, but be
sure and leave space on your sheet for symptoms that you may discover at subsequent
sittings.
Head
. – Here will be placed pains, hair symptoms, movements of
head, etc.
Stomach
. – This group will include pains, food desires and
aversions, eating and drinking, appetite, thirst, nausea, vomiting, eructations and
sensations.
Abdomen
. – you may place under this heading symptoms referring
to constipation, diarrhoea, sensations as pain, pressure, etc., symptoms of urination,
defecation, bladder and male genitals.
Menses
. – These symptoms are of so much importance to the
female case that a separate heading should be made. All symptoms referring to the female
generative organs, to child birth, haemorrhage, etc., may be placed in this group.
Chest
. – Symptoms referring to coughs, pains and sensations,
expectoration, breathing, heart, pulse, breasts, etc., may be place under this head.
Back
. – Sensations, pains, etc.
Extremitites
. – All symptoms as refer to the condition of
sleep, dreams, etc.
Generalities
. – Here place all symptoms which refer to
conditions of modalities that affect the patient as a whole, not already covered by the
mentals.With the symptoms of your case arranged in this orderly manner, from Mind
to Generalities, we have a record to which it is easy to refer and from which it is easy to
individualize the record for repertory study.
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