When to Stop

If you’re new to my blog, you may not have heard my little homeopathy song, “Learn-a Your Remedies,” released in 2022.

Part of the lyrics includes that through more education in my Practical Homeopathy®, you will learn:

“How much to take,

How often to treat,

And when to stop,

And when to repeat.”

Today, I want to briefly discuss when to stop utilizing a homeopathic medicine.

You often see me write, “Stop when very much better.” For a less severe acute condition, such as a cough, that’s simple. One stops taking the chosen medicine when one stops coughing. No mystery there.

But for less straightforward conditions, these are the absolute, clear-cut rules:

1. For less severe acute conditions, usually a couple of days will suffice. Unless it doesn’t.

2. For a chronic condition, one generally employs the homeopathic medicine for 6-8 weeks. Unless one needs more or less time.

Okay, okay, that was tongue-in-cheek. Let’s face it. There are no “rules.”

Knowing when to stop is a matter of nuance, best learned through a Gateway to Practical Homeopathy® study group, a protocol course on a specific group of conditions or The Academy of Practical Homeopathy®. I’m not trying to be “salesy” here, but it’s true. Not all homeopathic concepts can be shoehorned into a short, blog post.

With acute conditions, such as colds, otitis media, and sprains, one would generally stop when very much better. I’m not talking about just a little hint of improvement, no. I mean very much better. In my clinical experience, I’ve found when sufferers’ acute conditions are no longer at the forefront of their minds, they naturally stop utilizing the homeopathic because they simply forget! Perhaps that helps explain what “very much better” means.

However, I often teach my students that homeopathy is frequently a pas de deux. We remain fluid, ready to pivot whenever necessary.

For instance, if a cough starts as a nagging cough, we may choose one remedy. If it later becomes a croupy cough that sounds like sawing through wood, then we would stop the first medicine and pivot to another. (Learn more about which medicines to consider in Ipecac: The Cough That Nags and Gags and Homeopathy Cures Croup as Easy as 1-2-3).

When we see a satisfactory level of improvement, we stop and check it out. If the condition regresses, then we take up the medicine once again. It’s a constant awareness of the dance — the pas de deux — to determine each individual’s response and further need.

On my free, downloadable Remedy Cards, you may have seen the statement, “As always, halt the use of any homeopathic if there’s no improvement.” So, what does that mean?

Well, for chronic conditions, improvement may not come in a few days, as it may with an acute. Generally, one utilizes a homeopathic medicine for chronic conditions for 6-8 weeks — whilst observing, recording, documenting and determining the nuances of change. And there’s the main problem in trying to teach this concept in a blog post. If you don’t fully understand what you’re looking for, you may be improving and not realize it. It's also important to understand that when I offer a 6-8 week guideline, it doesn't mean that in that amount of time, a chronic condition will indeed be resolved. It may, and then again, it may not. But at least at that point in time, we assess and move from there. 

For instance, a client came to me for arthritis and insomnia. After 6-8 weeks, she noted no improvement in the arthritis, but her sleep was marvelous. So, we were on the right track. Most chronic conditions must be observed with a discerning, educated, critical eye. No blog post can give you that. But my friends, you can develop this skill with education!

Mighty Members can also learn more by reading Memo to Mighty Members Tip #185, in which I answered one of your questions on when to halt mental protocols. The principles in that post are important.

But for now — as a prerequisite to your continuing homeopathy education — here are a couple of down-and-dirty general guidelines.

We stop utilizing the medicines when either very much better or there is no improvement. But we don’t judge improvement without giving the medicine due time to work. In a chronic condition, that means it could take a full 6-8 weeks of careful observation and notation.

One thing we do not do is utilize a homeopathic medicine in the same fashion as we would a supplement — forever, willy-nilly, without thought. Homeopathy is medicine. We only employ medicines when needed.

It may seem complex, but it’s really not. Heck, reading is a complicated undertaking, but you learned to do that! I can assure you that thousands have learned through Gateway to Practical Homeopathy® study groups and are currently treating themselves and their families with great success.

You can join them, and next thing you know, you’ll be passing on the good news of homeopathy to others!

Warmly,

P.S. In next week’s Memo to Mighty Members, I will answer a few reader questions on last week’s blog, Homeopathic Camphor: The Universal Antidote. Don’t miss it! If you’re not already a member, now’s the time to join us.

And remember — all my Mighties qualify for a 10% discount on course purchases. If you need assistance getting your discount, email contact@practicalhomeopathy.com for more information.