Thus incontrovertible facts only are used and theorizing and supposious reasoning is avoided, for the proper use of Boenninghausen automatically, as it were, sorts the symptoms and excludes those not of prescription worth, working in a simple, efficient and logical order from cause to effect.
If several remedies have worked out about the same a careful study of them in the materia medica may show that one which is not numerically the highest is the simillimum; hence the importance of this fifth and final step. This is where the “rank of value” may come in particularly; as Hering said, “it often decided the selection of the curative remedy.” Here we may say that there is a double or triple rank of value because these important symptoms selected in accordance with the rule are now emphasized by the analytical repertory and confirmed by comparison with the provings.
On looking up Lycopodium in the materia medica I found not a duplicate of the case but enough congruence to warrant its exhibition, it was particularly in the general conditions that it agreed; evidently then this was a “synthetic.” prescription.
Lycopodium was given every three hours (3x one trituration tablet in a half glass of water and two teaspoonfuls at a dose) for one day and it helped at once. Twelve days later it had to be repeated, in the same way, as she took a slight cold and the pain returned, this time in the left side, extending clear around the body, other characteristics as before; once more relief in twenty-four hours and no return.
Sometimes instead of the “numberical value” being indicated just a mark is made against each remedy in the different columns in so doing the analytical value is lost,-Bry., Caust., Lyc., Puls., Sep., and Sul., would each in that way have totalled thirteen and Rhus eleven. This is one difference, and perhaps the prime one, in the way to use the Therapeutic Pocket Book and the results from an index repertory.
After one has becomes skillful time can be saved by taking the first two, or preferably three rubrics and then an important but short one, (a modality), i.e. one which has few remedies in it, which will cut down the list of medicines at once. In this case we can take the first three columns or better the first four, as that covers cause, part, and sensation and so preserve the regular order, because these rubrics must be used as the foundation; this gives thirty-seven remedies, then aggravation lying on painful side cuts them to eighteen. Agg. Pregnancy.
Rt. Hypochondrium
Tearing Internally
Rawness Internally
Agg. Lying on painful side.
Acon. 10.
Alum. 9.
Ambr. 10.
Amm.m 5.
Ars. 7.
Bar-c. 8.
Bell. 16.
Bry. 12.
Calc.c 11.
Caust 9.
Chin. 8.
Agg. Pregnancy.
Rt. Hypochondrium
Tearing Internally
Rawness Internally
Agg. Lying on Painful side.
Dulc. 4
Fer. 6.
Graph. 6.
Hyos. 8.
Ign. 8.
K-carb. 9.
Lyc. 11.
Mag-m. 6.
Mang. 6.
Merc. 10.
Nat-m. 9.
Nux-m. 8.
Agg. Pregnancy.
Rt. Hypochondrium
Tearing internally.
Rawness Internally.
Agg. Lying on Painful side.
Nux-v. 14. 3
Petrol. 9
Phos. 9. 3
Plat. 6.
Puls. 13. 2
Rhus. 9. 3
Sep. 14. 2
Sil. 9.
Spig. 8.
Staph. 7. 2
Sul. 13. 1
Sul-ac. 8.
-after this the rest can be worked out rapidly. As a rule time is well spent working a case all out as the remedies running high are useful for further study, but an expert soon learns to recognize the essential diagnostic symptoms of the remedy-one, two, three or four-and look them up in repertory and materia medica; so it is a short piece of work.
In this case if Lycopodium had failed either Bryonia or Sepia would have been the most probably useful remedy, as Pulsatilla had been tried without success; also if Lycopodium had been in line, therefore we have suggestions for the second remedy worked out in the study.
