Cases XIII and XIV
To a father-in-law and his son-in-law, both great drinkers absinth, the one was given without his knowledge LAchesis 200, and the other Nux vomica 200, which caused in them such a disgust for that liquor, that their smiled when their husbands said, “Do you not find that absinth is not good”? We should renounce drinking absinth. It is not more well made. And the two women continued to smile hearing them speak thus.
Case XV
Having treated by correspondence an alcoholic, I had sent successively Nux 200, 1000, 5000, 10,000. II obtained no result. I had a 30,000 dilution from U.S. Which I never dared use. I sent it to him, becoming hopeless. The family wrote me at the end of the treatment “Send us the remedy that you sent use on such a date, it is the only remedy that acted.”
There are some drunkards, fortunately their number is very few, whom I have treated for several months, almost without success. II finally discovered that in them the dipsomania is hereditary or rather symptomatic of a benign form of madness, having no other manifestations. Drunkenness of these two forms are difficult to cure, specially the second form because in the first case, that of hereditary drunkenness, some of them may be cured, if they are as much tenacious as the doctors in their treatment.
There is a third case, that of hereditary drunkards which is lasting for 20, 30, 40 years and the drunkenness have stamped the organism with an inveterate habit, which has become somewhat a second nature. In such a case sometimes an unceasing treatment is necessary, or many times renewed to cure them.
In a fourth case, the drunkenness, hereditary or not, is manifested, not under the influence of a greed or a habit, but under the influence of a weak mind or a want of will power. It is sometimes difficult to act on these people deprived of any weight in their intelligence and their character. They float on the ocean of life again and again by the waves of their changing caprices or by the will of the people of their entourage. To these men one should give the medicines indicated at a time against their dipsomania which is intermittent, but specially for their fantastic mind (Fantastic: Veratrum, China, Phosphorus, Ipeca, Nat, carb., Light headed, unreflective mind: Arnica, Pulsatilla, Sulphur, Agaricus, Laches. 2. Calcarea c., Sulphur, Solubilis, Ammon c. and muriatic ac., Baryta c., Lycop., petroleum, Nat. mur., Silicea) and their want of will power who ware predisposed to it. These people are very often difficult to cure than others who are ten times more drunkards, but having the blast in the intelligence and character. They are half mad who causes hopelessness to so many families and on whom no advice, and even medicines react.
To the preceding cases, I could have added many others that are so different amongst themselves as the drunkards by their face, temperament, and co-existing psychic and somatic symptoms. All these cases will show that drunkenness, when it is not hereditary may be cured in half of the cases, but on condition that the treatment is continued with persistence and even recommenced when their is relapse.
I have more opportunities and successes while treating drunkards who are ten times more drunks than those having a fantastic mind, who by their mobility, escapes all influences.
According to these two classes of drunkards, the most difficult to cure are:
1. Those who are drunkards since 20 to 40 years.
2. Those who are suffering from hereditary alcoholism..
However they may be cured by a persevering treatment. Thus after having administered six medicines with a mediocre result to a husband of 41 years, the son of drunkard, being drunk since the age of 13, I at last cured him completely by Arseneous acid.
VIII. After having selected remedies best indicated by the totality of somatic and psychic symptoms that presents the drunkard, generally it is not necessary to give the remedy but in 200. The latter sometimes causes a slight aggravation for a few days. This aggravation which is a good symptom, is followed generally by a cure, partial or complete. But this aggravation must not very strong and prolonged for several weeks, as I have noticed it, as for example after a single dose of Sulphur 5,000, in drunkards but in all. The subject may not always react and the aggravation delays or may even hinder the case. When there is an aggravation, the medicine should be left to act for 3 to 12 weeks after which will come partial or complete cure.
It is always prudent to give at first the 200, then gradually the higher dilutions, 600+ 1000+ 2000+ 4000+ 6000+ 10,000+ 16,000.
To avoid any aggravation, a single dose should be prescribed once only, because if the dose is mixed in water and if a spoonful is used once or twice a day for several days, one would risk an aggravation of existing symptoms and this aggravation will sometimes persist for days, weeks and months. The cure will be delayed.
Among the different medicine or dilutions administered, there must be some intervals according to the effects produced and according to the persons treated. But as I do it for my clients of my dispensary, it is necessary that the doctor, every three weeks receives the visit of the consultants, either in the chamber or in the dispensary. It is the best method of watch over and to direct the treatment more usefully.
But this treatment will produce any result, if the utility of the high dilution used has not been controlled, verified by the doctor in his daily practice that these high dilutions are supplied by a homoeopathic pharmacy or from a family pharmacy of a homoeopathic doctor. The high dilutions, the instruments indispensable for the cure of drunkenness. Without this instruments, no cure can be expected.
In order to help the utility of the treatment of drunkenness and generally, any psychic treatment, the following condition is very useful and seems to me generally indispensable. One should not reproach the person, treated although they deserve it. While speaking with them one should not make any allution to their vices or to their defects. Reproaches and allusions excite their character, while the remedies soften it developing the for example up till now I cured the husbands from debauchery, all except three, whom their wives tormented with reproaches and biting references to their character.
After having verified how important it is, for curing them, not to make reproaches to the drunkards, I understand why in the numerous colonies of mad persons of Gheel (Belgium) distributed as pensionnaires in the families of 12 to 15 villages of this canton, some mentally deranged persons who were formerly wicked and dangerous in other asylums because they were badly treated, became mild and inoffensive while living among the inhabitants of that canton, under the religious influence perpetuated among them since hundred years for being treated with great christian forebearence, these persons who were devoid of any intelligence, were set into complete liberty and treated as their children.
X. There is an other condition which generally helps the utility of the treatment of the drunkards and of other vices. It is toe treat them without their knowledge. In fact, there are some who find pleasure in their vices and do not wish to be cured. There are others, who know that they are treated for it. The former wish to be helped in their cure and do it awkwardly, the others are sometimes disposed to opposed it by a natural tendency to opposed, a third group who are anxious for the result of the treatment, by opposing unconsciously the effect. When all these persons are treated without their knowledge, there is produced in them a natural evolution towards an well-being under the influence of the medicines which checks the evil tendency which is more or less irresistible, and I repeat, develops reason, the sense of duty and will power to complete the cure.
Generally women drunkards themselves come to consult or through someone, the doctor who may cure them of their addiction. For men it is quite the contrary. They generally find pleasure in their vices and do not wish to be cured. It is therefore easier to make the women to follow some rules of hygiene which may diminish or distinguish the thirst and liking for alcoholic drinks. Thus, for example, in U.S., in the hospitals devoted to the treatment of drunkards who are rich, one cannot cure them their vices only by making them renounce completely the use of meat. The doctors of these hospitals do not use any medicine which is curative of drunkenness are perfectly right to advice the drunkards to give up taking meat because, meat increase the desire for wines. If you can deprive the children and the adults of meat, you will see that the one or the other will have less thirst and drinking less even during the heat of the summer season. What is said about the bad effect of meat lies not in the fatty portion of the meat but in those parts where there is more fat, the bone marrow and all oily matters diminish the appetite and the thirst.
Gallavardin set up a homeopathic Dispensary for the cure of alcoholics, often working in conjunction with priests, and he wrote several books on this subject.
Jean Pierre Gallavardin wrote Psychism and Homeopathy, The Homoeopathic Treatment of Alcoholism, How to Cure Alcoholism the Non-toxic Homoeopathic Way, Repertory of Psychic Medicines with Materia Medica, Plastic Medicine, and articles for The British Journal of Homeopathy, On Phosphoric Paralysis, and he collated the statistics on pneumonia and other cases for the United States Journal of Homeopathy, and he contributed widely to homeopathic publications.