IDENTIFICATION
Atonic weakness of muscles of heart and muscular coats of arteries, heat being too weak to contract with sufficient force to throw blood in sufficient quantity into arteries, and muscular coats of arteries too weak to contract with sufficient force to hurry on the blood already thrown into them; thus we get the SLOW weak small irregular or intermittent pulse so characteristic of this remedy.
ESSENTIAL
Anxiety. Melancholy. Restless. Sad. Its chief characteristic is its extremely slow pulse. Blue eyelids, lips and tongue. Pale face. Deathlike sinking at stomach. Thirst, lips dry. Appetite lost. Liver enlarged, pains, sore. Stools white pasty or ashy gray. Urine high color. Prostate in old men enlarged. Jaundice. Weak, prostrated, from slight exertion; aggravation rising. Sudden sinking of strength, like Arsenicum Faint.
COMMENT.
Mind
Anxiety, 6 p.m.; fears death while walking; unsympathetic. (L): Confusion as from intoxication. Fear: of death, like Arsenicum, or that the heart will cease to beat if one moves, reverse of Gelsemium; Lobelia fears heart will cease to beat whether one moves or not. Anxious: of future; low spirited, wants to be alone, reverse of Arsenicum and Phosphorus, tries to escape if others thrust themselves upon her, tearful, internal anguish; sad, sleepless at night, from pain in heart, as form unhappy love, in brown complexioned women who are firm and obstinate, said to be preferable to Ignatia As if one would fly to pieces. Sad from music, like Aconite, during menses: Natr-c.
Vertigo
On ascending steps, or rising from sitting; trembles.
Head
Noise, sudden, crashing, frightened starting up, especially occurring with nervous prostration, or in threatened epilepsy. Meningitis, cerebral, effusion, albuminuria, cold sweat and above IDENTIFICATION; differs from Helleborus only in the character of the pulse. Pain, settles in forehead, extends down to root of nose on drinking cold water. Brain as if made of glass and shattered at a blow.
Eyes
Veins on lids distended, also on ears, lips and tongue. Detached retina, like Gelsemium Retina and optic nerve anaemic. Digitoxinum (Digitalis dissolved in alcohol) has yellow vision very marked, and distressing nausea aggravation champagne and aerated waters.
Ears
Ringing noise after coition. Sudden crashing noise, frightened starting up. Deaf, noise as of boiling water.
Nose
Terrible pain at root after vomiting. Pain in head on drinking cold water, settles in forehead and runs down nose.
Face
Pale; appears deathlike, or bluish red.
Mouth
Putrid taste after coition. Ptyalism sweetish, fetid. Copious saliva. tongue clean, appetite lost.
Stomach
Disordered after coition; sensitive to, and sinking from, bad news. Drinks much, eats little, like Sulph., lips dry, tongue clean. Vomit: food, green bile or mucus; when expectorating. Nausea: at mere sight or smell of food, not amelioration vomiting; distressing; sometimes amelioration eating; vomiting and, during pregnancy as if one would die; continuous, anguish, desponding, or fainting, or sinking at pit, vomits. Weak: deathly, sinking down, as if life would become extinct, aggravation after breakfast. Feels best when stomach is empty, reverse of Chelidonium and Hepar Every shock strikes at stomach, like Kali-c.
Abdomen
Cutting. Fulness. Incarcerated hernia. Jaundice, vomit, liver hard, sore over region of liver, and above IDENTIFICATION, stool white; urine high color like Myrica, often ascites and fainting attacks.
Rectum
Diarrhoea, violent, drowsy, cold sweat and above IDENTIFICATION.
Stool
Whitish ashy gray. Bilious. Clay color. Often colorless.
Urinary
Bladder pulsates, also before urinating; urine often, scanty, water color. (L): Full sense in bladder after urinating; constant violent urging at night. Gonorrhoea; urethritis or, urethra burns, discharge thick, bright yellow, prepuce puffed, infiltrated with serum; if indurated: Sulph.; strangury, prostate inflamed, also upper part of urethra and bladder. Bladder: inflamed, especially neck, like Cantharis and Merc-c., even prostatic troubles that occur, the passing of even a few drops of urine increases the desire as to cause one to walk about in distress. Kidneys inflamed, chronic, urine scanty or suppressed, oedema of lungs, heart failure threatens, and above IDENTIFICATION, and after scarlet fever. Prostate: enlarge, in old men, important, lascivious; diminishes size; where there is residuary urine, in old men and bachelors. Strangury, frequent urging, especially on standing or sitting, pressure on bladder not amelioration urinating, urging incessant, often interrupted by scanty urination; forcing pressure on bladder.
Genitalia
Male, weak, emissions especially during sleep, faint, limbs weak, and above IDENTIFICATION. Hydrocele, especially with scanty or suppressed urine and albuminuria. Menses suppressed, haemorrhage form lungs, cardiac troubles. Dropsy.
Larynx
Constriction on swallowing.
Respiratory
Breathing: irregular, frequent deep sighs, like Ignatia; fear suffocation at night, like Grindelia and Lachesis; irregular, difficult, deep; often stops on dropping off to sleep, wakens with a gasp to catch breath, preventing further sleep.
Cough
Dry p.m., during coryza. Dry, the more one cough the deeper one breathes. From talking, walking, cold drinks reverse of Coc-c. and Cuprum, and bending body.
Expectoration
Blood tinged. Prune juice. Like boiled starch, like Argentum
Chest
Anxiety about heart aggravation moving about; haemorrhage before menses; pain in heart after coition; pressing when stopped. Heart: sudden sense as if it stood still, anxiety, action feeble, frequent, intermittent, irregular; left side arm numb; sharp sticking pain in region; as if it would cease if one moved, reverse of Gelsemium, Lobelia as if it would cease whether one moved or not; as if torn loose and swayed to and fro by a thin thread; pericarditis, effusion; flutters; dropsy; in all forms of headache disease pulse is feeble, irregular or fluttering, as if headache stood still, anxiety, oppression, often cyanotic hue of face, desire to take long breaths which only partially amelioration suffocation; Lauro. often cures heart failure from abuse of dig. by O.S., or when convalescence is attended by weak headache, skin cold, and heat objectionable.
Back
Spinal anaemia from seminal emissions. Desire to lie flat on back with no pillow.
Limbs
Forearm weak p.m. (L): Paralysis of upper leftside Cold. Fingers: nails and, become blue; go to sleep often and easily.
Sleep
Restless, uncomfortable. Deep. Dreams of falling from great heights. Wakens frequently in fright at night, or with a gasp.
Chill
Cold skin and limbs. More internal, face warm, from limbs all over body.
Sweat
Cold over body, warm in palms.
Skin
Cold. Blue: in dropsy; especially eyelids, lips, tongue and nails. Pale, cold, copious sweat covers; limbs cold. Jaundice, slow pulse, uneasy liver, pale stool.
General
Electric like shocks, pulse slow. Like China, Digitalis is overrated by the O.S. and modern homoeopaths, it suppresses the very functions, when taken in poisonous doses, which it excites to activity. Digitalis is not, in our day at least, and in this country, a polychrest; not a remedy applicable to every day cases. In poisoning with Digitalis keep patient in recumbent position and give alcohol. Nitr – s-d. increases its action. The pulse is increased by motion, rising from a bed or chair and rapid walking; is irregular and small or slow, thready and intermittent. Faint: pulse slow, irregular, cold sweat, deathly look on face, exhausted, extremely weak; on least exertion, begins in stomach and bowels. Dropsy: cardiac, bluish skin; after scarlet fever, urine scanty, frequent, dark, oedema of lungs and limbs, dysuria and above IDENTIFICATION; all kinds of d., dysuria, pale face, slow intermittent pulse, doughy swellings that easily pit on pressure, faints, cyanotic, weak heart. Convulsions, head retracted, syncope, collapse.
