Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Clinical Case: Abdominal Mass


Maria Teresa De Donato, Ph.D.
Traditional Naturopath, Homeopath, Life Strategist, Author



Clinical Case: Abdominal Mass

A woman, age 45, very active, energetic, and still having her regular periods – though no longer “as abundant as they used to be” as she described them – had realized that something was wrong with her after having started feeling the urge to go to the restroom and urinate some 7-8 times each night, this disrupting her sleep pattern and depriving her of a good night of rest. By touching her abdomen, she had also noticed the presence of a mass, which she described as being similar to a “tennis ball”. Clinical tests, which had included several pap tests and a Magnetic Resonance (MRI) all conducted during a 12- month period prior to our first homeopathic consultancy, revealed the presence of a Uterus Myomatosus permagnus, with a Sactosalpinx on the left and ovarian cysts on the right measuring one 2.75591 inches (= 7 cm) and the other 1.9685 inches (= 5 cm).
All four gynecologists who visited her had recommended hysterectomy, with two of them stating “hopefully to remove ONLY the uterus”.  Besides the discomfort of her frequent urination interrupting her night’s sleep, and some hot flashes and heavy sweating, which also occurred only during night time, she felt great and had no major complaints except for her joint pains and conducted a pretty healthy and active life. She therefore had refused the idea of undergoing hysterectomy. Eventually, when surgery seemed to be completely out of the question, she decided to look into homeopathy and give it a try.
I identified her as an Arsenicum album constitutional type: she was slim, well groomed and stylish; appeared to be always on the move, extremely active, always anxious, with a tendency to perfectionism. She loved warm drinks and foods.
During the first contact the following further aspects also emerged:
For the first time in her life she had some high blood pressure (140/90) while in the past it had always been between low and normal. She also highlighted that while her father had to watch his blood pressure all his life due to its tendency to be high, and managed it by paying attention to his eating and drinking habits, her mother, who always had low blood pressure, saw it turning into high blood pressure as soon as she entered menopause; she also complained of having been suffering from joint pains for quite some time, especially during the night and as soon as she would lay in bed, while she admitted having no pains during the day. She also pointed out that rheumatism was something else her father dealt pretty much with all his life, especially during the winter season; she expressed some frustration for her frequent travels and several relocations which all took place in a relatively short period of time and made her feel uncomfortable and somewhat concerned about the future.
She appeared to be in pretty good health and was following a vegetarian diet, drinking an average of 8-10 glasses of water each day, was pretty fit through walking, swimming and trekking. She had also plenty of interests and a harmonious family life.
I recommended the following remedies to be taken for the first 3 months:
–                     Olivis 20 drops for her high blood pressure (140/90). Olivis has been proven to be very effective in case of hypertension;
–                     Aurum muriaticum natronatum 30 Ch (3 pellets each morning) for her myoma and cysts.  Aurum mur. nat. has a powerful impact on female organs and uterine tumors more than any other remedy and is also quite effective in cases of high blood pressure and rheumatism;
–                     Arsenicum album 30 Ch (3 pellets each afternoon) AND
–                     Medorrhinum 200 Ch (one dose, every other week, on Saturday) for her joint pains.  
Arsenicum album has profound effects on every organ, and in her case would have helped to reduce or even eliminate joint pains and a sort of restlessness/nervousness due to her frequent travels and relocations, while Medorrhinum would have given her a greater help in the attempt to control, or even eliminate, her joint pains. As a matter of fact, the latter appeared to be a chronic miasm due to inheritance and predisposition. She stated that, besides her father having dealt with rheumatism all his life, she had started to suffer with pains in her joints – especially in her knees – since the age of fourteen;
–                     Sepia officinalis 200 Ch (one dose, every other week, Saturday) for her hot flashes and heavy sweating and also because she mentioned of having the sensation of bearing down in the abdomen.
Results after the first 3 months:
1)                 Her blood pressure had dropped from 140/90 to 120/80;
2)                 Aurum muriaticum natronatum 30 Ch had proven to be quite effective, as her cysts shrank, one from 2.75591 inches (= 7 cm) to 1.9685 inches (= 5 cm) and the other from 1.9685 inches (= 5 cm) to 1.1811 (= 3 cm) according to her last medical report;
3)                 Nocturnal urination had decreased by some 50% — from 7-8 times to 3-4 per night;
4)                 Hot flashes had also decreased by some 70-80% according to her statement;
5)                 Joint pains had also decreased in frequency and reduced to no more than 2 times per week, though not in intensity. Some pains in the lumbosacral region have, to the contrary, appeared.
Remedies recommended for the following 3 months:
1)                 Olivis decreased from 20 to 15 drops per day;
2)                 Aurum muriaticum natronatum 30 C (3 pellets every morning) AND
3)                 Conium maculatum 200 Ch (one dose, every other week, on Saturday) (*) for her menopausal symptoms, myoma and cysts. Her menses had become scanty.
4)                 Dulcamara 200 Ch (every other week, on Saturday) (*) AND
5)                Arsenicum album 30 Ch (3 pellets every afternoon) for her joint pains. Dulcamara was introduced after she complained about having had pains extending to the lumbosacral region.
(*) Alternating one Saturday Conium, one Saturday Dulcamara
The remedies suggested seem to have been working pretty successfully for so far
–                     Her blood pressure has become normal and she has stopped using Olivis.
–                     Her night hot flashes and heavy sweating have completely disappeared.
–                     The pains in the lumbosacral region have completely disappeared and the ones in her joints are limited to no more than once or twice per month.
–                     She does not feel the presence of the “tennis ball” in her abdomen anymore.
–                     The urination frequency during night time has also further decreased. Now she wakes up during the night no more than 2 times against the initial 7-8 per night at the time she started her homeopathic regimen.
The above article was published on the Hpathy online magazine in May 2013 and can be found also at https://hpathy.com/clinical-cases/case-study-abdominal-mass/