A lady of fifty was suffering from chronic arthritis. After trying for cure under several systems (including homoeopathy) she consulted me finally. She started describing her symptoms which were very common in arthritis cases like unbearable pain, swelling, aggravation at night etc. etc.
After a pause, she remarked:
“Doctor, I got married when I was five years old. My husband passed away within a year of the marriage. As I do not have any children, many people have inquired whether I am not worried about it. But I used to reply them that I am unaffected by all these things in life. Listening to the radio, teaching music to children, I am happily spending my life.”
The words ‘I am happily spending my life’ are the most important and uncommon mind symptom to be considered for homoeopathic prescription. It is not a healthy state of the mind or healthy mental symptom at all for the case under review. (If it is a healthy state, she should have replied as under:)
(a) “I am not worried now though I had lost my husband at my very young age.” or
(b) “The fact that I had lost my husband and that I have no issues bothered me initially but I have slowly recovered from this shock and right now I rarely think of it.”
In this case, the patient had remarked that she is not at all affected by the worst happenings in her life and that she is spending her life happily.
Let us see how this case was worked out with Boericke’s Repertory
MIND (page 695) gay, frolicsome, hilarious: Bell., Can. ind., Coff.; Croc.; Cyprip.; Eucal.; Formica.; Hyos.; Lach.; Nux. m.; Plat.; Spong.; Stram.; Thea.; Val.
On studying the above sixteen remedies in Boericke’s materia medica we find the following words under the remedy Formica in Boericke’s materia medica Rufa (page 292) relevant to the case on hand:
An arthritic medicine.
Symptoms of arthritis were not found in the remaining fifteen remedies.
Formica Rufa-IM was prescribed and it gave her relief.
After three months, she reported relapse and 10M potency, single dose, of the same remedy cured her completely.
(At this point the beginner starts taking notes “Formica Rufa is good for arthritis.’ No, not at all! He should note down as “Formica Rufa is almost a specific for arthritis patients if they are jolly type or gay-going.”)