The first thing to look for is location, which is the right hypochondrium. Although the pain goes from the right hypochondrium to the left, use the place where it originated.
Now for the sensation and complaints: There are two, one of tearing and one of rawness. It was stated that the pain was a tearing and raw sensation. Under the Boenninghausen system, we are obliged to use two rubrics. One is tearing and one is rawness, but since they are both referred to the inner portion of the body, they are tearing internally and rawness internally. We have now met two portions of the requirements, location and sensation.
Now we have to meet the conditions of aggravation and of amelioration; as to time and as to circumstances. The pain is worse before mignight. Translating this into repertory language, we use the rubric “aggravation in the forepart of the night.” The pain is also worse when lying down, from lying on the painful side, and from slight touch, all of which cover aggravation as to circumstances. Amelioration as to circumstances is covered by the rubric, “amelioration from walking.”
The fourth requirement for a complete symptom is a concomitant. Now, where is the concomitant in this case? Is it not the fact that the woman was pregnant? While there appears no relation between the symptoms discussed and pregnancy itself, the occurence of the complaint during pregnancy makes the fact of pregnancy in this instance important. Therefore, we use the rubric “pregnancy” as the the concomitant.
We have now “blocked out” the case. That is, we have translated into repertory language the language of the patient, have indicated what rubric are pertinent to the symptomatology of the patient, within the structure of Boenninghausens system, keeping in mind the four important requirements of location, sensation, modality and concomitancy.
We are now ready to procede to the next step, namely, a consideration of remedies which present a symptom picture similar to that of the patient. Among these these similimum will be found.
These simplest procedure in a simple case showing a single symptom is to choose a leading rubric then to select from that rubric all the remedies ranking 5 and 4 against which to run all the other rubrics of the case. In this instance we have chosen all the remedies under the rubric “right hypochondrium,” having a value of 5 and 4. These are: Aconite, Baryta carb., Ammonium carb., Belladonna, Bryonia, Chelidonium, Kali carb., Lycopodium, Nux vom., and Sepia. The remaining rubrics are now run against these remedies, the value of the remedies in relation to the particular rubric being set down opposite the remedy as shown in the accompanying diagram: Acon. 5 3 3 4 . 4 3 4 3
Bar.c. 6 3 2 2 . 5 5 2 2
Am.c. 5 2 3 3 . 4 2 2 .
Bell. 5 5 5 2 4 3 3 2 5 9/37
Bry 5 5 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 9/36 Lyc.9/38
Chel. 4 4 2 2 2 . 4 . . Bell.9/37
Cocc. 5 3 4 2 . . . 2 5 Sep.9/36
K.carb. 5 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 9/25 Bry. 9/36
Lyc. 5 5 2 5 5 4 5 4 3 9/38
Nux v. 5 5 5 4 2 4 4 . 3
Rhus 3 2 4 5 4 4 2 5 4 9/33
Ruta 3 3 . 4 4 5 4 4 .
Sepia 4 5 4 4 4 3 3 4 5 9/36
Page 82 188 175 289 217 290 294 320 249
1. Right hypochondrium
2. Tearing internal
3. Rawness internal
4. Worse lying
5. Worse forepart of night
6. Worse lying on painful side
7. Worse pressure external
8. Ameliorated walking
9. Pregnancy
A further glance at night diagram, which represents the repertorial workout, will show that only five remedies come through in the highest degree, i.e. covering all the rubrics and having the greatest numerical values. These are Lycopodium 9-38, Belladonna 9-37, Bryonia 9-36, Sepia 90-36 and Kali carb. 9-25.
The decision to prescriber Lycopodium was based not only upon the fact that it has the highest value, repertorially speaking, but also upon the characteristic direction of the pain, i.e. from right to left. The potency used was the 3x which cured.
The repertorial principle and method outlined from this simple case composed of a single symptom can be applied successfully to those cases exhibiting many symptoms or fragments of symptoms. The procedure is somewhat more complicated than for the case cited and takes considerable time but the results are comparable and consistently accurate. A word of warning to those not skilled in the use of the repertory must be added here: No repertory choose the similimum; it simply eliminates those remedies which do not and can not cover the case. The court of last resort is always the Materia Medica.
Allan D. Sutherland was born in Northfield, Vermont in 1897, delivered by the local homeopathic physician. The son of a Canadian Episcopalian minister, his father had arrived there to lead the local parish five years earlier and met his mother, who was the daughter of the president of the University of Norwich. Four years after Allan’s birth, ministerial work lead the family first to North Carolina and then to Connecticut a few years afterward.
Starting in 1920, Sutherland began his premedical studies and a year later, he began his medical education at Hahnemann Medical School in Philadelphia.
Sutherland graduated in 1925 and went on to intern at both Children’s Homeopathic Hospital and St. Luke’s Homeopathic Hospital. He then was appointed the chief resident at Children’s. With the conclusion of his residency and 2 years of clinical experience under his belt, Sutherland opened his own practice in Philadelphia while retaining a position at Children’s in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department.
In 1928, Sutherland decided to set up practice in Brattleboro.