I am frequently asked, “Can homeopathy cure this?” or “Can homeopathy work for that?” Homeopathy is a complete system of medicine. However, like allopathic medicine, it has its limitations. I would never guarantee a cure of anything. Only someone’s vital force knows what it is or isn’t capable of.
But I thought it would be interesting to make a little running list of some of the things I have seen homeopathy cure in the past 6 years. Some of the details have been changed to protect identities but all of these are real cases.
It is a shame I cannot practice homeopathy where I now live. But it is my hope someday homeopathy will become a standard integration with allopathic care instead of an unknown and misunderstood alternative.
Cured cases:
1. Depression/bipolar – 36 yo man. Aurum Metallicum, 6c. Infrequent water doses. Family history of bipolar. Mother schizophrenic. All 5 siblings bipolar and medicated. Had started meds but did not like side effects. Extreme anxiety. Took several doses of 6c in water over the course of 1 month. No further need for any medication. Had his best financial year he ever had. Remained well for 2+ years, lost contact.
2. Chronic back pain – 65 yo woman. Nux Vomica – 2 doses of 30c dry. Debilitating pain interrupting daily life. Dry dose – pain traveled down one side and then to the other side. Redosed 2 pellets – pain was completely gone – has not reoccurred in 4+ years.
3. Mitral Regurgitation – valve replacement surgery pending – 60 yo man. Laurocerasus – liquid dosing 30c – 1M. Cured after 6 months – no surgery necessary. Also eliminated need for meds for high blood pressure and high cholesterol which he had been on for 20+ years.
4. Alopecia – 7 yo boy – Lycopodium. Hair began falling out in big patches. Liquid dosing, full head of hair grew back within 4 months. First came in downy and soft, then full and beautiful.
5. Pneumonia – 32 yo man – Lycopodium. Pain was severe in right lung. Was beginning to hepatize (harden) – difficulty breathing, asthmatic symptoms, burning pain and heaviness in chest. Liquid dosing, 30c. Cured in 24 hours – went in for follow up x-ray – lung completely clear.
6. Pneumonia – 4 yo boy – Lycopodium. Nostrils flaring, could not breath, nebulizer treatments every 1-2 hours bringing minimal relief. Chest rales (visible on inspiration). Complete cure within 48 hours.
7. HSP – vasculitis and nephritis – bleeding from intestines, kidneys, and covered in bruises – 10 yo girl – Crotalus Horridus. Kidneys stopped bleeding within 1 week. Full recovery. Also cured of ADD, chronic stomach pain and frequent vomiting. 4 months of LM dosing up to LM6. Continues on remedy as needed. 2 years out.
8. Alzheimers – 82 yo woman. – Nat Sulph, liquid dosing, 30c – 1M. Euphoric response to first dose. Went from lying in fetal position and not knowing her children or grandchildren to full recovery.
9. Stroke – 84 yo woman. Baryta Carb, dry dosing, 30c-1M. Was turned out of rehab because no further progress was thought could be made. Was in wheelchair, could not stand unassisted, no use of right arm, slurred speech. 6 months – walking without walker, full use of arm, speech returned to normal.
10. Autism – 5 yo girl – post DTP vaccine at 5 year booster. Liquid dosing of DTP, 30c. Return to normal until treatment discontinued.
11. Depression – 40 yo man – post tetanus vaccine. Would not get out of bed, no desire to do anything. DTP remedy, 30c. Return to normal self.
12. Pertussis aka Whooping cough – 9 cases – various remedies – Ipecac, Pertussinum nosode, Drosera, Chamomila, Coccus Cacti. All recovered well.
13. Prostate cancer – 64 yo man. PSA measurement was 2.5. gleason score 6/7. After Thuja, LM1 – LM7, measurement was 0.01. Afterwards, decided to do traditional medical treatment of radiation.
14. HSP – vasculitis and nephritis – 32 yo woman. Lachesis, liquid dosing, 30c-200c. From grief following death of mother and sister.
15. Mastitis and thrush – 26 yo woman. Borax and then Silicea, both liquid dosing, 30c potency. Horribly painful nursing. Full cure, went on to very healthy nursing.
16. Pre-term labor contractions, 36 yo woman. Natrum Muriaticum, 30c, 2 pellets dry. Had preterm labor contractions starting at 20 weeks and 21 weeks respectively with first two pregnancies. Did 5-6 months of bedrest for remainder of both pregnancies with contractions throughout. Third pregnancy, contractions began at 21 weeks. Took 2 pellets of Nat Mur dry. Contractions stopped within 24 hours, no further contractions in full term pregnancy. (me!)
17. ADHD – 10 yo boy. Lycopodium, 30c – 1M liquid dosing. Difficulty paying attention in school, difficulty with reading. Timid in groups. School pressuring parents to do meds. 4 months post dosing, improved in all areas, excelling in sports, “a different kid.”
18. Acute ear infection – 9 yo girl. Belladonna, 30c, liquid dosing. Severe pain began suddenly on the way home from swimming at a lake. Face red, crying with pain. 1 tsp dose direct every 15 minutes. Would fall asleep after dose, then wake crying in pain. Dosed 4 times, all pain ameliorated.
19. Post-herpetic neuralgia, 28 yo woman. Natrum Muriaticum, 30c. Severe pain in shoulder, extending up to head, and down arm. Not able to move arm at all. Recently had shingles. Nat Mur, 30c, liquid dosing. Complete amelioration of all pain – and lasting improvement in overall mood – feels “like her old self.”
20. Guillain-Barre – post viral paralysis, 7 yo girl. Natrum Muriaticum, 30c. After flu, awoke one morning and fell out of bed unable to walk. No pain. Could not use legs. Doctor determined Gullain-Barre Syndrome. Nat Mur, 30c, 2 pellets dry, complete amelioration of symptoms within 4 hours.
21. Chronic allergic reaction – 60 yo man. Apis, 200c, liquid dosing. Chronic red, swollen eyes with intense itching. Ongoing for several months, reoccurring for 2 years. Several liquid doses of 1 tsp direct completely cured – 2+ years.
22. Alleged encephalitic reaction to MMR vaccine – 18 mo girl. Screaming fits, becoming rigid and must be left in the crib otherwise would hurt herself. Uncontrollable screaming and thrashing. Began 24 hours after MMR vaccine. 1 dose, MMR remedy, 30c potency – no further fits.
23. Chronic diarrhea – 2 yo boy. Kali Phos, 30c, then LM1, liquid dosing. Chronic stomach aches and diarrhea after eating. Undigested and liquid stool, smells of blood. Irritable behavior. Extremely shy. Liquid dosing for several months, complete cure. No further diarrhea, very talkative, happy child.
24. Sciatica – 61 yo woman. Nux Vomica, 200c. Severe pain traveling down leg. No comfortable position. Liquid dosing – full cure within 12 hours.
25. Worms – 2.5 yo girl. Cina, 1M, liquid dosing. Irritable behavior, scratching others, biting, picking nose, eating nonstop, constipation, dark circles under eyes. 1 tsp dose of Cina, 1M. Passed long worm and several short worms within 30 minutes of dose. Complete cure of behaviors and appetite returned to normal. Became very happy and easy going.
26. Diabetes – 40 yo woman – Heloderma, LM1. 1 week of liquid dosing. Fasting blood glucose 145. Numbness and swelling in hands, arms, feet. Pain in bottom of feet, worse walking. Diplopia (blurry vision), huge swings in blood sugar levels. Follow up fasting blood sugar in 3 months was 80. A1C was 5.3 – non-diabetic. All other symptoms ameliorated. Follow up blood glucose in 6 months was 72, A1C, 5.2. (There is a new allopathic medicine using the toxins from the Heloderma (gila monster). I just went direct to the source because the symptoms fit.) 10+ months out. (again, me!)
Some of the things I was not able to help (please note that this can be my own limitations and not necessarily because homeopathy can’t help it):
1. Lyme disease in 8 yo girl. Lyme can be treated with homeopathy if caught early (read: immediately). However, unfortunately, in this case, it was not known there was Lyme until later. In any event, Lyme is one case I would do immediate antibiotics as this can halt the Lyme if caught early enough. Any residual effects of the antibiotic can be addressed later with homeopathy.
2. Cold sores on the mouth – chronic condition – significantly reduced episodes but still reoccur once per year.
3. Autism – several cases were difficult and continuing homeopathy was not desired by the parents.
4. Shoulder pain – chronic shoulder pain continues to be one of the most difficult symptoms to cure.
5. Migraines – two cases – chronic – very sensitive to remedies – patient not wanting to continue, the other, still trying.
6. Gout – gout is extremely difficult to cure although not impossible.
Hi Erica,
Your son's recovery is amazing, I'm so happy for him and for your whole family!
My son was diagnosed with autism. He is 2yrs-4mths old. First thing I tried was classical homeopathy. He had a couple of pellets of Tub 200C and after a tough first week, we had lots of ups and downs but positive changes after only one month.
I then started to read about CEASE and decided to give it a go. To be honest he never had any "visible" reaction to vaccines, but after reading it all about vaccines/antibiotics, I believe they may have played a role in his condition.
So we started CEASE, a month ago. It's been hard to cope but it has already brought more progress.
Sometimes deep inside I would like to have followed through with classical homeopathy only. I guess CEASE is harsher than homeopathy.
But I admit I was a coward. I wasn't coping with the uncertainty of trying many remedies and not finding the right one.
I understand you never used CEASE. I wonder what is your opinion on CEASE therapy.
I'm writing a blog about my son's treatment in Portuguese so Portuguese-speaking people who don't speak English can have a source of information.
All the very best to you and your family and I hope your son has been doing great!
Julie
Hi Julie,
Thank you for your comment. I think the premise of CEASE is appropriate however, as you mentioned, it is harsh because it doesn't individualize the dose nor follow the tenant of the minimum dose of homeopathy. It applies a protocol and gives increasingly higher potency remedies in a rote fashion. This is many times not necessary and should be done in a more individualized fashion because some kids won't need the higher potency and many will unneccessarily aggravate. From what I see, parents are reporting strong "clearing responses" which are in fact, a similar aggravation from too high of a potency. This can be avoided if you select the potency to match the child and don't increase until you see no further action from the lower potency. I believe there could be significant healing being missed because they either jump to the next potency when not ready OR more importantly, they leave a remedy to go to the next after no response from a single dose. Kaiden didn't have his dramatic reaction to the DPT vaccine until his 3rd dose. If we had left that remedy for another clearing remedy who knows if we would have seen the amazing recovery we did. I also believe the DTP remedy worked so well for him because it fit his constitution as a classical remedy. Meaning, it acted as a deep acting constitutional remedy, not just as a clearing remedy. I believe there is a place for CEASE-like tautopathy in clearing the ill effects of vaccines, medications, toxins, etc. But it needs to be used in conjunction with classical homeopathy and invididualized. I hope that helps!
OOps, wanted to add about your son's dose. Many classical homeopaths begin with a 200c or higher potency. But with a remedy like Tub, especially a nosode, why not start with a 30c? 200c is known to be the most aggravating potency. But any potency can aggravate if it's too high. So he aggravated for a week but then it was followed by the expected improvement. We have no way of knowing if he has received all the benefit of that remedy without a repeat once it's positive action has worn off. If your homeopath repeated the 200c after its action stopped (no further improvement or return of symptoms), he most likely wouldn't aggravate as much (or at all) and it would be followed by even further improvement or point to the next remedy.
Best wishes on your blog! It's such a big help to other parents!
what exactly is the "DTP remedy" Ive seen a lot of people have used it with great results in similar cases as my son.
Hi Erica,
Thank you so much for your reply. It breaks my heart to think I'm making my son suffer in vain 🙁
Our CEASE therapist is one of the best in England. I may mention your comments about potencies to her.
You said: "This is many times not necessary and should be done in a more individualized fashion because some kids won't need the higher potency and many will unneccessarily aggravate"
My son's strongest aggravation happened on his second 200C dose and on the 1M dose (Amoxicilin clearing). It's so unpredictable. He didn't really aggravate much on 10M, what do you think?
So you think once he starts aggravating (say, with 200C) I should keep him on 200C for as many weeks until he stops aggravating? We will do another round of Amoxicilin clearing anyway… I hope it helps.
I wish there was a way to avoid strong aggravations, is there? Sometimes I don't even know when he is having an aggravation (when he regresses…) or if it's just him being him?
Before I started CEASE I contacted the homeopath who worked with your son, he is in London, right? I nearly went to speak to him, but decided to go for CEASE instead…
As I said I find it very hard to cope with the uncertainty of not finding the right remedy. Time will go by and if things don't progress at all I'm afraid I will start doubting that homeopathy can cure him, like other parents, and I don't want it to happen!
Also, another factor that made us decide to go for CEASE is the fact that we read people saying that with classical homeopathy, their kids progressed and after a while regressed, and that with CEASE the gains were more permanent…
Julie
Just as an example, Kaiden only needed the 30c potency for several years. Only once it stopped working did we go up to 200c, and then eventually 1M. Those who regress after improvement either need a nosode to clear a block, a higher potency, or a different remedy. Sadly, most homeopaths don't know this.
Every homeopath doses differently. Unfortunately, most don't follow the Organon.
Strangely enough, I have not seen an aggravation to a 10M potency but I have only had to go that high a handful of times.
We saw Nancy Frederick in Maine. We did not see Len Marlow. I mentioned Len Marlow on the site because he has done a fantastic study of the DTP remedy which cumulates into a proving of sorts. Meaning enough cases were reviewed (over 300) and enough similarities resulted in the 50 with the best response to give a good picture of the DTP remedy. This is useful because there are many who think they can give the DTP remedy rotely as a cure for autism. This is not true. While it is useful in clearing the bad effects, it will only have a strong curative effect if used homeopathically.
I believe it is the cumulative effect of CEASE that is helpful – it detoxes and clears the energy for a good constitutional to work better. Some kids may not respond to classical because their bodies are so toxic, their vital force can't respond. This is where CEASE is useful. But I would prefer to see it used in an individual fashion rather than protocol.
Dosing is as important as selecting the remedy. Some people respond to certain potencies but not others. That is the beauty of homeopathy – it is individualized medicine at its best.
Hi Erica,
By the way, Tub 200C was given by a classical homeopathy. After he had it, I spoke to a couple of other homeopaths who said they wouldn't start with a nosode 🙁 let alone 200C. she is a good homeopathy in London, trained with Vithoulkas… (how would I know?). Actually she wanted to repeat Tub, we just didn't do it because he started on CEASE.
Julie
Julie,
The Tub 200c is fine as a first subscription if your son's picture matched that of Tub (which many children with autism do). I agree it is unwise to start a case with a nosode — UNLESS the case matches the picture of that remedy. Otherwise, it may only function to "open up that miasm" and complicate the case.
But there are a large number of children who match the picture of Tuberculinum and to not give it when it fits would be just as wrong as following a rule like, "don't give a nosode first." And many classical homeopaths start with 200c.
While I would start with Tub if it fit the child, I would not start with 200c because an aggravation could be avoided or minimized with a 30c. But that's me…
And thus you have hit upon the major shortcoming of homeopathy which is not the practice of homeopathy itself, but the inconsistency and disagreements upon homeopaths who don't practice according to its tenants. Sadly, this is a universal problem.
I mean prescription not subscription!~ 🙂
Erica, I thought aggravations were a good thing, a sign that the remedy is healing the internal organs and the symptoms go to the surface or something like that?
If we give a 30C remedy to my son and he does not aggravate, how do I know that the remedy is the right remedy? Aren't we suppose to look for reactions?
I asked you so many questions.. I'm sorry. Thank you so much.
Julie
Erica,
Thanks again for your reply!! If you decide to start with a lower potency to avoid aggravation, how do you know if the remedy is working?
As I'm asking you this and thinking about what you said, I realised that my son had a very good week and – it even looked like he was progressing – on the Amoxicilin clearing while on 30C.
Can I… repeat clearing and ask the homeopath to keep him the whole month on 30C?
I'm so confused now… you see the problem is that once you start working with a homeopath, you have to trust them, right? I do try to understand what she wants to do and ask questions to my homeopath, but there is a limit… as she is doing her job!
Yes – you are right. It is not my place to supercede what your homeopath has told you. Once you choose a homeopath, give her/him a fair chance to treat. I am only trying to help you understand the principles of homeopathy and how it works (or doesn't work). But again, every case is different and there have been some surprising results from unconventional dosing.
No – an aggravation is not necessary. This is a common misconception. And it doesn't show the body is healing or pushing anything out. If it is truly an aggravation. There are two kinds of aggravation – similar and dissimilar. A similar aggravation is a temporary worsening of symptoms the person already has or had in the past. This is a sign the remedy is correct but too strong. A dissimilar aggravation is new symptoms the person does not have or never had in the past. This is typically a sign the remedy is not the right remedy.
But there can also be what we call needling. This is small symptoms of the remedy peaking out at the same time the person is either having a similar aggravation or experiencing improvement. This is often due to the right remedy but not the right potency (usually too low).
These are very subtle differences and are best judged by an experienced homeopath. That is another beauty of homeopathy – the body's response will tell you what to do next.
So the answer to how do you know a 30c is working is … TIME. You wait and watch for improvements/changes. Kaiden had moderate improvements from his first couple doses. They stood out to me enough that I noticed – he pointed for the first time, he noticed a child at the grocery store for the first time, he stopped stimming as much, etc.
That is why dry dosing is a longer process – you have to wait for the action of the remedy to exhaust itself. If you redose too soon, you can spoil the action of the remedy. It's like kicking a rock once it's already rolling down a hill. It will cause it to veer off course.
Any time there are improvements, you don't change the remedy or go up in potency. You just redose when ready. It was Kaiden's third dose (I think) that brought the amazing healing within days. It was literally overnight. If we had gone on to a different remedy after the first two so-so doses, we may have missed out.
But this is the traditional way of dosing. CEASE doesn't try to do this. It tries to use the vaccines and meds in potency to "clear" the bad effects. This is a valuable tool but you still should follow good homeopathic principles.
Aggravations are very different from a healing response or healing crisis. A healing response may bring eczema or a skin rash even if that is not a previous symptom of the person as the remedy pushes things out to the surface away from internal organs. A healing crisis will produce symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy, yeast die off, etc. as the toxins try to too rapidly leave the body. It may or may not be able to be avoided. This is why I like to go low and slow.
From what I've read on other blogs the reactions parents are describing are more like similar aggravations than a healing crisis.
But again, this is a different from of homeopathy. CEASE is NOT classical homeopathy in any way, shape, or form. I think it's a valid form – I just wish it was practiced with more personalization so it can be the gentle, quick healing for which homeopathy is known.
Hi Erica,
Thank you so much for you explanation.
With Tub 200C he had lethargy and fever, a bit of worsening of symptoms too, which makes me think he would definitely profit from Tub but perhaps a lower potency would have been better.
With Amoxicilin clearing, he did nicely on 30C, but his symptoms worsened a lot when he had his second 200C dose, which makes me think he could deal with the 200C but perhaps the second dose came too early? (we dose on Mondays and Thursdays)… and then 1M definitely too early (worsening of symptoms and skin rash appeared on his face and then went down to his arms and legs).
Should we have kept him on 30C for longer? Should we have kept him on 200C for longer before moving to 1M (if at all?)
With Tub his affection towards me improved dramatically, and more awareness I guess.
On Amoxicilin clearing, a few obsessions disappeared completely and he gained more awareness. But he acquired a new symptom he's never had before… he "presses" his front teeth against the skin of my hands (without biting me) many times a day.
As for his gains, I understand if they then go away it's because we need – and will – repeat the remedy. But where does this new symptom come from? Too high potency? Wrong remedy…? but how can it be the wrong remedy if it brought other gains?
I read all your replies with my husband very carefully. It was so useful, thank you so much. I will talk to my homeopath and see if we can individualize his treatment more.
Many, many thanks!