A PROSTATE CASE


There were ups and downs in his condition, but on the whole he improved. On July 25th the patient reported: “One evening last week pressure to urinate came very frequent. I had to go to a meeting that night of an hours duration. I attended to myself before going in; I had to go out in about ten minutes, and again in a half-hour, and immediately the meeting closed.


DISEASED and degenerate prostates are becoming more and more numerous. Every day we read of distinguished men who have been operated upon for this complaint. President Hindenburg of Germany and President Poincare of France died of it, and many distinguished Englishmen succumbed to the dangerous operation for this complaint, among them Lord Curzon and Lord French. On the other hand, a considerable number of cases are on record in which the operation has been more or less successful. I know several cases of men who had their prostates taken out when 80 or older and who lived for a considerable number of years.

However, the excision of the prostate is not a satisfactory operation; it is risky and very frequently cripples the patient for a very long time. Naturally it should be avoided if it is avoidable. Unfortunately the average doctor knows of no treatment for enlarged prostate except operation, and sends patients to the surgeon, and the surgeon, of course, has nothing to do with medicinal or dietetic treatment, and takes out prostates indiscriminately, occasionally with very unpleasant results for the patient.

On March 20th, 1936, I received a letter from Mr. R. J., of a highly intelligent and very superior working man engaged in the printing business, who be it noted, had been interested in homoeopathy for many years, and had some knowledge and experience of homoeopathic treatment. He wrote to me:.

“I have been troubled for a good many years, say eight or so, when I had as a rule, to rise to micturate early in the morning. During the day on a railway journey I sometimes had to take of four hours duration, I could not retain water more than an hour; but I put it down to nerves as I had before me conference meetings, at which I would likely be speaking. But since over two years the trouble has greatly increased, till at present it has come to be unbearable.

I got homoeopathic treatment, but have not been benefited. Since a year back I tried to help myself from reading an article in the November issue, 1933, of HEAL THYSELF. I got some help from various remedies, so that I had not to get up so frequently during the night, but not a cure. Belladonna helped me for a week and then failed. Thuja and Pulsatilla were stand-byes, but they also failed. I also got Sabal serrulata, but cannot say I was helped. The doctor said in 1933 it was the prostate gland which was swollen.

“I have lately been worse than ever. I had powders about a month ago, and for nine nights I got little rest, so that I felt completely done. I thought of keeping bed on the ninth occasion, but thought it was hopeless as I would not be able to remain quiet.

“I manage during the day fairly well, and can retain water for about two hours, sometimes longer. When I am pressed I have no control.

“When I retire at night, I will sleep for an hour or two hours, then up every hour, half-hour, and so on. Generally I cannot pass anything till I walk backwards and forwards for a minute or so.

“There was a burning sensation in the penis when passing water, but since taking Belladonna a week or so ago I was relieved a bit. I am 73 years last month. Have been a hard worker all my life. I am in the printing line, in charge of case room. I have had no serious illnesses save cold or flu, and rheumatics, till gall-stone trouble afflicted me, but happily I got helped under homoeopathy and was free entirely for eight years till 1935 when I had several attacks of pain, the last on January 12th this year”.

It will be noted that the patients condition was serious and that Belladonna, Thuja, Pulsatilla and Sabal serrulata which he had tried, on his own, had failed. It will also be noticed that the poor fellow had to get up during the night every hour or half-hour to make water, and that the emission of urine was so difficult that he walked the floor in despair until the bladder functioned.

On receipt of his letter I sent him Kali iodatum 1x, a dose to be taken first and last thing, and Apis 3x, a dose to be taken every two hours in between. Kali iodatum, like many of the iodium compounds, is apt to reduce swellings in the body, and Apis is an excellent remedy for bladder irritability.

People who are stung by bees get swellings of mucous membranes and get bladder urging. Therefore the potentized bee poison is curative of this condition on the principle of similarity. Mr. R.J. received my medicines on March 21st and he reported to me on April 1st after nine days treatment: “Since taking your medicine I have had good nights till last night, but my long day of work, 7.45 a.m. till 12 night, may have accounted for that. I was up at 4, 5, 6 and 7. From experience of last week, I am quite hopeful of being cured.”.

It will be noticed that there was a favourable effect immediately upon starting the medicinal treatment, although dietetic regulation had not even been attempted. On April 2nd I replied to him:.

“It seems to me that on balance my treatment has done you good. As regards diet, I want you to leave off flesh, fish, fowl and everything made of them. Replace meat by eggs, or egg dishes, cheese, nuts and such like things. You can take dandelion or fig coffee which I personally dislike intensely, and you can take, as far as I am concerned, weak China tea, which will not do you any harm.

You may not think of drinking between meals, but you should drink between meals, taking considerable quantities of the weakest China tea with the minimum of sugar, or lemon water with or without sugar, home-made barley water, and particularly parsley decoction made of fresh or dried parsley, a handful or two to the teapot, which you should infuse like tea, or let it simmer for a minute or two.”.

The patient fell in with my suggestions and benefited greatly. Of course it is extremely awkward to treat an individual whom one has not seen. Mr. R.J. was in the printing trade, and there was the possibility of lead poisoning. I could not examine him for lead poisoning. There is, of course, the well-known blue lead line along the gums, and I could not very well ask him whether in his case there was any lead poisoning because the suggestion might have produced very unfavourable symptoms.

The patient carried out my directions, reformed his dietary completely and took an abundance of liquid from which he had abstained previously. People who have bladder trouble usually restrict fluid to their harm. If they have difficulty or pain in making water, they drink as little as possible, and then they produce very concentrated and irritating urine much to their disadvantage. People with urinary difficulties would do well to increase their intake of liquid greatly so that their urine should become bland and thin, and the irritability and inflammation of bladder and prostate will diminish.

Shortly afterwards the patient complained about rheumatism and catarrh, and for this I sent him Rhus toxicodendron 3x and Kali bichromicum 3x to be taken alternatively. Then I gave him Aurum iodatum 4x for his prostate instead of Kali iodatum which he had had in the beginning. The urinary difficulty was worse at night, and the peculiarity of Aurum is that it produces and therefore cures troubles which are worse at night than in the day time. Rhus toxicodendron 3x improved his rheumatism, for he wrote on June 4th:

“My knees are not so painful. Left knee is practically relieved, but right knee still a little painful on movement”.

He complained about weakness of the joints, so I gave him Arnica montana 3x and Xanthoxylum 1x. He was to continue with Aurum iodatum and Kali iodatum in alternation to reduce the size of his prostate.

There were ups and downs in his condition, but on the whole he improved. On July 25th the patient reported: “One evening last week pressure to urinate came very frequent. I had to go to a meeting that night of an hours duration. I attended to myself before going in; I had to go out in about ten minutes, and again in a half-hour, and immediately the meeting closed. Last night I was up every hour and half hour. There is pain when water is passing. During the day I have to get relief every two hours.

“I begin to fear my case has been existent for so long it is beyond remedy; yet it seems strange I get relief for a night or nights occasionally. Generally speaking I feel much more fit for work than before I came under your treatment.”.

Obviously his condition was largely due to nervousness. I continued with Rhus toxicodendron, Aurum iodatum, and interpolated Sabal serrulata, mother tincture and Pareira brava mother tincture. On September 16th the patient wrote:.

“I had several real good weeks after communicating with you over a month ago, with a bad night now and again. Last night for instance, after my fully fourteen-hour day, harassing, I was up nine times between one oclock and eight.”.

I sent him further supplies of Aurum iodatum 4x and Rhus toxicodendron 3x. On October 1st Mr. R.J. wrote full of gratitude:.

“I have improved much these weeks past, and have been able to rest during night till it was time to rise between 6 and 7 a.m., same after my long day of fourteen hours. Tuesday night of this week was the best I had for years and years gone by I slept right on till 8 oclock with no pressure. Last Lords Day was the best I had for years. After relieving in the morning I had no occasion to seek relief till 2 oclock, then 6, and then 11”.

J. Ellis Barker
James Ellis Barker 1870 – 1948 was a Jewish German lay homeopath, born in Cologne in Germany. He settled in Britain to become the editor of The Homeopathic World in 1931 (which he later renamed as Heal Thyself) for sixteen years, and he wrote a great deal about homeopathy during this time.

James Ellis Barker wrote a very large number of books, both under the name James Ellis Barker and under his real German name Otto Julius Eltzbacher, The Truth about Homœopathy; Rough Notes on Remedies with William Murray; Chronic Constipation; The Story of My Eyes; Miracles Of Healing and How They are Done; Good Health and Happiness; New Lives for Old: How to Cure the Incurable; My Testament of Healing; Cancer, the Surgeon and the Researcher; Cancer, how it is Caused, how it Can be Prevented with a foreward by William Arbuthnot Lane; Cancer and the Black Man etc.