Podcast 8 – Stopping and Changing Direction

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In this podcast, we cover:

1:09 Conditions that take longer to treat

2:11 Antimonium crud mixed with Arsenicum album for itchy eczema

7:41 Petroleum for eczema that’s worse in the winter

9:22 Use camphor in between the wrong protocol and the new protocol

10:16 Coffea helps with sleep

12:08 Food intolerance, the root problem

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Herein I finish the three-part series What to Expect When Using Homeopathy.

In my previous two podcasts (and blogs) I covered acute illness, general guidelines for selecting dosage and chronic illness, what to watch for (the three magic markers) to determine whether the remedy was well chosen.

Now in Part 3, I cover what to do if you recognize that the remedy is not the best selection for the case.

Here are my guidelines:

• Give the remedy the necessary 6-8 weeks time to work.

• Access the case applying the 3 magic markers (Part 2 of 3 – Podcast 7)

• Stand firm in your convictions. Go back to your study course notes and observations. New realizations often present that were not obvious 6 weeks previous, leading you to select a second remedy.

• Consider Camphor 200 for a smoother transition to the next remedy if you clearly made a mistake.

   

Remain confident in your skills, knowing even the wrong remedy choice can give us information that may have gone unnoticed or perhaps wasn’t available at the time the first remedy was selected.

I know you know what it means to have your child feel better after months of suffering. Now imagine what that must feel like knowing that it was at your hand…that YOU cured your child, husband, mother, friend.

Many of you know this feeling.

I know this feeling. Is there anything on earth that is a better high than this?

You are listening to a podcast from JoetteCalabrese.com where nationally certified American homeopath, public speaker, and author, Joette Calabrese, shares her passion for helping families stay healthy through homeopathy and nutrient-dense nutrition.

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Jendi: This is Jendi and I’m back with Joette Calabrese from JoetteCalabrese.com, and this is our series of What to Expect When Using Homeopathy. So far, we’ve covered the number of doses, the spaces in between, and the other important details and kind of focused on acute conditions. That was part one. And part two, we talked a little bit more about chronic conditions and we covered how to watch for what Joette calls magic markers to determine whether the remedy was well chosen. Now, this is the third and last part of this series of What to Expect When Using Homeopathy. And I’m looking forward to hearing about what to do if I choose a wrong remedy for a condition.

Conditions that take longer to treat

Joette: Okay. Let’s talk about some conditions take longer than others, sometimes even remedies. Certain remedies are slower acting. But generally, it’s the conditions and in the corresponding article, I mentioned vitiligo. And for vitiligo, the Banerji protocols have been shown to alleviate this problem in a certain number of people. It’s not a hundred percent for everyone. But it’s generally a very long process with slow results. You know, I like to use musical terms. I know that you play instruments and I play piano. And so I love to use musical terms. And it might be called adagio, adagio. That’s a very slow snail’s pace. And although homeopathy has a history of being able to treat psoriasis, it, too, has an elongated pace. And here is how it often fleshes out. I’ll explain this to you. Pun intended, by the way, Jendi.

Jendi: And you have another story for us about a little boy today. And I love it when you share the stories because I understand and I find I remember the example better.

Antimonium crud mixed with Arsenicum album for itchy eczema

Joette: Yeah, it does help. Yeah, there’s nothing like a story to demonstrate a point. So I’ll tell you about Joseph who’s 10 years old. This is a case of a mother who’s been taking my online courses and she’s been following my blog for a few years, and also, she’s had other interest in homeopathy through other homeopaths as well, and then decided to take my course, Skin: The Ugly Truth, and later, Good Gut, Bad Gut. And this is where she learned how to master the Banerji protocols which is who I promote indirectly. And she implemented them with her son.

So Joseph had a few things going on. He was irritable, he had food allergies, but most importantly, he had kind of mid-level eczema until a few months ago. And then around that time, probably two or three months ago, his skin worsened and so did his behavior. His rashes got very itchy and his mother, Millie, figured it was something he was eating. He was allergic to something. She kind of knew that all along anyway but didn’t have to pay too much attention to it until a few months ago. But she wasn’t sure it was anything more than dairy and wheat.

So the family had been on the GAPS diet kind of loosely. And if you’re not familiar with the GAPS diet, it’s a good diet to help eliminate food intolerances and build up gut flora. So the whole family was pretty much on it but she was a little more strict with Joseph, particularly when he had some flares. But this was the worst that he had ever had. By the way, for those who don’t know about GAPS, it’s a great therapeutic diet but it’s pretty difficult on moms, especially for kids such as Joseph’s age who sneak candy bars and such. It’s pretty tough but for the most part, Joseph, even though he was a little difficult as of recently, he was a rather compliant boy. So based on the information that she found on this blog, she gave Joseph Antimonium crud 6 mixed with Arsenicum album 6 twice daily for about six weeks. This is the Banerji protocol that is pretty specific for itchy eczema. Now, not all eczema is itchy. But it’s a really good place to start when you see eczema coming forth.

Jendi: And then she had to check Joseph’s skin over and over to see how it was doing? Because I know I get impatient and I want to see how things are moving along.

Joette: Right, right. Certainly, it’s difficult not to check Joseph’s skin day by day, even by hour. Most moms want to see how things are progressing. But I urge parents to not get too caught up in this when it comes to a chronic issue because we need to look at the net gain in the long run to know where we stand. I was in touch with Millie at the time and she was my student and I cheered her on, “Hold off from assessment, Millie, hold off; you can do it,” which is, as I said, difficult to do.

Jendi: But in this case, the Arsenicum album and the Antimonium tart, they weren’t right after all?

Joette: Well, that’s right. It’s easy to get muddled in the process of ebbs and flows. And what I mean by that, this could be a step forward and a half step back, etc. So after the prescribed approximately six to eight weeks, Millie then decided to change course. And the reason is that when she assessed at the end of that time period, she noted that Joseph had a little less itching, as she was keeping kind of a record of it somewhat, here and there. So based on the magic markers and determining the progress, she admits that the only change was that he was itching less frequently and that when he scratched, he would go into a frenzy.

Now, that hadn’t been happening previously. So it looked as though things were not really moving ahead as she had hoped. So she concluded that there was no net gain in his condition, nor was there also any change in his demeanor. And that matters, too. We want to look at the whole person as well, even though we’re dealing with eczema and food intolerances. So Millie was most concerned because his skin was vulnerable and now he had cracks that oozed and bled a serous fluid. And this was as tough on Millie as you can imagine as it was on her son. Even her husband was also worried about infections since his skin was open in so many places. But Millie resisted because she, too, had eczema and experienced a lifetime of steroid use and she had decided that she wanted to protect her son from sufferings that she endured, and still to this day, as a matter of fact, from the fallout of the steroids. And she also had noted that they never cleared up the problem and caused only new ones.

So she was determined not to use steroids. I had nothing to do with this decision. This was because of her own experience. Once the six weeks had passed, she felt it was time, of course, to at least start looking at another protocol. And as I said, she looked back at the course, Skin: The Ugly Truth and the Good Gut, Bad Gut course. And I mention this because this is where I teach how to use these protocols very specifically. So she referred to her notes and Millie remembered petroleum 200. Now, this is homeopathic petroleum. We’ve had people who have commented on the blog and said, “Petroleum is the worst thing you could use on skin.” Well, that’s precisely why petroleum 200 is so valuable because it’s highly diluted and what causes illness removes illness when used homeopathically.

Petroleum for eczema that’s worse in the winter

She remembered the petroleum 200 as a remedy that is specific for eczema that worsens in the winter and presents with cracks. And of course, this was just a few months ago that she relayed all this to me when it all began. So it had started to get really bad on his skin back in late November, early December. So she hadn’t realized until she read the description of petroleum in her notes because she had been thinking that the problem was not because of going into winter as much as the fact that the children had gone to their grandparents who routinely served heaps of cookies, breads, and soda, sometimes even diet soda, she mentioned. So that makes things a little difficult and it kind of scrambles up the information.

Jendi: And so then she figured that that diet was the cause of Joseph’s skin flare up.

Joette: Right, exactly. So Joseph was not getting a full night’s sleep because of the skin or maybe vice versa. So then she was thinking well maybe, having checked her notes again, Coffea 200 might be indicated because it is the perfect remedy, specific actually for itching that keeps the sufferer up at night. And again, here we go with Coffea. You would think coffee, that’s from which it’s made, would keep someone up. And indeed, if we use it homeopathically, it does the opposite. So this is when Millie decided to change gears. She stopped using the Antimonium crud and Arsenicum album and instead, switched to petroleum 200 and she used it every other day and Coffea 200 once at night, probably just around bedtime or after dinner sometime.

Use camphor in between the wrong protocol and the new protocol

However, Millie didn’t take an interim step that I believe she should have taken. That is, it would have been a little bit cleaner, and I can’t prove this but I mean, we see this all the time, that camphor 200 one dose for one day between the wrong group of remedies and a new fresh protocol is a part of the Banerji protocol that helps clear the way and it allows for a smoother transition into the next remedies if the previous medicines didn’t produce results. And when I say I can’t prove it, as you understand the story and how it unfolds, you’ll see things worked out in the long run even without camphor. But I’ll be writing more on this subject soon, the subject of camphor and antidoting. So Millie’s new choice of remedies was right on in spite of this misstep, what we might consider a misstep, in not using camphor.

Coffea helps with sleep

Jendi: But the Coffea got him to fall asleep, right, like a perfect remedy for insomnia even though it’s coffee. So the like cures like was illustrated with her use of that.

Joette: Right, exactly. You’ve got it. And he promptly fell asleep and stayed peacefully asleep the very first night after taking Coffea 200. And the reason I emphasize that is because sometimes it takes two, three, four nights, sometimes even a week or so, sometimes even longer than that for a remedy to act when it comes to something that’s chronic. But that’s what’s interesting about this remedy, is that it’s even more specific for those who suffer not just from inability to fall asleep but who suffer from itching and the itching keeps them awake. So it’s kind of a dual remedy. It’s really great for when the itching causes that insomnia.

So little-to-no scratching ensued. Joseph’s mom knew this because she had always had her ear glued to her son’s bedroom one room over and the sound of his scratching used to keep her up nightly, worrying with angst. I mean, that’s what it’s like. And on that first night, the only sound she heard, she told me, were nothing but the soft sounds of a sleeping breath drifting from his room. So you can imagine how Millie must have felt that night. You know how mothers are. We sleep better knowing that everything is moving in the right direction and our children are well. I call Millie now a homeopathic mom. It’s been over two months of taking the new Banerji protocols with petroleum and Coffea and Joseph’s skin is not what she’s reporting as perfect but the itching is now about a 2 out of 10 and the condition of the skin overall in appearance and comfort is what I would call a triumphant 3.

Food intolerance, the root problem

Jendi: So now, she has to figure out about the food intolerances?

Joette: Yeah. That’s right. We are not finished here just because we’re seeing some good conditions here. The remedies will help with the skin but unless we address the essence of the problem, which is the food intolerances, his skin will likely never fully recover. And we don’t want him to live a life of abstinence in terms of his diet. His skin still responds to his diet. But remember, before he embarked on this method, it mattered not how carefully restrictive his diet was; his skin still tortured him. So Millie plans to refer to her notes in Good Gut, Bad Gut hoping to address this problem so that he will slowly be able to incorporate the more important aspects of his diet, especially dairy.

Jendi: That’s a great story because it not only illustrates that the wrong remedy doesn’t hurt them, it helps you find the other problems. It illustrates kind of slow and steady. You got to keep track of it and watch it. Don’t get impatient. A lot of things in there.

Joette: Right, right. Exactly, exactly. That’s why I love telling these kinds of stories. It really does help a lot. This is what I call a return to traditional family values where mothers and grandmothers cure their families themselves and throw away the drugs of commerce that have never been shown to cure such conditions in the first place. Remember, the first remedies Millie used didn’t really fail. They weren’t exactly right. They did something. We did see a little something. They were simply ill chosen.

Jendi: It was very important for her to pay attention to the details of the skin and also what he was eating and know what symptoms she had to address first. So she had to draw out the telling of most important systems and conditions from the case. And that’s something any mom can learn, right?

Joette: Right. It’s a skill learned and it’s the case in point. Even the wrong remedy choice can give us information that may have gone unnoticed or perhaps unavailable at the time. For those who are moms or grandmothers, I know what it’s like to have your child feel better after months of suffering. And now, imagine that feeling of knowing that it was at your hand. So the thing is that a lot of times, if we use a remedy that’s incorrect, it brings forth the awareness that, “Oh, my gosh! This is really worse at night. He can’t sleep.”

So then we have to look at a remedy that’s specific to that. In fact, she didn’t. She had not even noticed that until she had used those remedies and recognized that, “No, we’re not only not moving forward but boy, this is a nightly issue, an insomnia issue as well.” And then, of course, she started to look at it in the overall scheme of the timing and that it perhaps wasn’t grandma’s cookies and baked goods and diet soda perhaps. It had more to do with the time of year. That’s when petroleum came to mind.

So I know these feelings. Is there anything on Earth that’s a better high than curing your own child? I know many of you who listen to these podcasts have done it and there’s nothing like it. You get hooked. You can’t stop. Once you cure a bee sting, once you cure an ear infection, once you resolve a horrendous fever or eczema… eczema, for crying out loud. That doesn’t have an end naturally. Dermatologists tell us that children outgrow it. Well, no, it doesn’t. It’s not outgrown. It just shifts and becomes something else. You still have now the gut issue. And then in teenage years, what we often see is then there’s acne related to the food intolerances or there are stomachaches that are related to the food intolerances. So no, it’s not presenting as eczema for a dermatologist to deal with. But indeed, we have not gotten to the bottom of the pathology.

Jendi: And I do want to remind the listeners, if you like what you’re hearing in this podcast and the other ones, please share it with your friends, neighbors, your family, your coworkers, whatever. And I know whenever I learn things, then when another mom starts complaining about how their child’s feeling or they’re not feeling good, this all goes through my mind, like, “You need to learn about this from Joette.”

Joette: Right, right. Well, the goal of a good homeopath is to give just enough guidance so that at some point, as soon as possible, you as a mother or grandmother can gain the knowledge from the new protocols to be able to follow through on your own. That’s my role. So the role of the mother and grandmother is to do your homework and question, question, question. Even question me. I don’t have all the answers. I’ll be honest. I do the best I can in just getting out what I know. But just like Snowbell said to Stuart Little in the movie Stuart Little, I’m dating myself here, he said, “You’ve got guts, Stuart. You’ve got guts. You’ve got guts, spunk, and moxie.” And that’s the way I want mothers and grandmothers to approach their family’s illnesses.

Jendi: Thank you so much, Joette. This one again is full of information. I hope that they had a pencil and paper ready. If not, they can replay it and write things down, or there’s an accompanying blog post at JoetteCalabrese.com, right?

Joette: That’s right.

Jendi: Thank you so much.

Joette: No, thank you, Jendi. Nice talking with you.

Thank you for listening to this podcast with Joette Calabrese. If you liked it, please share it with your friends. To learn more and find out if homeopathy is a good fit in your health strategy, visit joettecalabrese.com and schedule a free 15-minute conversation.