 Is it just me or is everybody noticing the incredible number of new knees being handed out? I know 89 year olds getting new knees and I know people in their early 50s getting new knees. New knees are everywhere!
Don’t get me wrong — a new knee is an amazing feat. I know people with one new knee and I know people with two new knees. Everybody is pretty darned happy with their new knees, no matter how many they have received! They are not quite like what was portrayed in The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, but I’m told from those who have had the procedure that it is life changing stuff. I recently suggested a homeopathic combination remedy for somebody who is waiting for their new knee. She has about 2-1/2 months to wait for her surgery and she is in some significant pain. She’s pretty skeptical of homeopathy and, to be honest, I wasn’t sure she was going to try the remedy. She agreed to try it. I suggested taking it twice a day. I also mentioned that sometimes some sort of relief can be felt pretty darned quickly. I guarantee she had zero expectations of receiving any sort of benefit. She took her first dose of the remedy and she headed home. Shortly thereafter, I texted her because I forgot to tell her how to get the remedies out of the self-dispensing tube*. Well, she responded that her stiffness had gone down substantially and that she was actually freaking out a little bit. I wasn’t surprised, but she was! (This was less than an hour after putting the remedy in her mouth.) What did I give her? I gave her a combination of Hypericum, Rhus tox and Symphytum. If you are on track for a new knee, I’m not suggesting this combination remedy will halt that process, but I am suggesting your discomfort may be lessened while you wait. And, who knows, if you start homeopathy early enough in the process, perhaps a new knee can be avoided, or, at the very least, postponed. Homeopathy is indeed the bee’s knees, as far as I’m concerned! Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits * These tubes can be very frustrating. The first time I tried it, I actually ended up using something sharp to widen "the stupid little hole” while I was cursing the entire experience. I guess I was in too much pain to read the instructions on the tube. To save you the annoyance, here is the trick: With the lid on the tube, turn the tube upside down and twist the lid. The pellets will fall into the lid. When the desired number of pellets have dropped, remove the lid and pour the pellets directly into your mouth from the lid. Voila! Remember, the homeopathic medicine is applied on the outside of the pellet, therefore it is best not to handle them -- the remedy acts best when it is allowed to dissolve directly into the mucosal lining under the tongue. From Boiron: "Can I touch homeopathic pellets or tablets with my fingers or hands? We do not recommend touching the pellets and tablets with your fingers or hands. Introducing any moisture to the pellets or tablets will begin the dispensing of the medicine, and any oils on your skin may coat them and hinder absorption once the medicine is in your mouth."
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 I recently heard someone say (or I read somewhere?) how we typically associate fall with death. But, in fact for trees anyway, autumn is the time when they don’t have to worry about putting out fruit or new leaves and can just concentrate on becoming strong. I like that. A time to hunker down and fix what needs fixing. Not by doing, but by resting. By just being. Historically, if someone were to say something needs fixing I would immediately think, “do something! Now!” I am starting to learn that isn’t always the case. Fixing can come in the form of understanding… or, accepting,… or, waiting patiently. Waiting isn’t really my strong suit. I like to have quick results… generally as a result of quick action. (I did say I am starting to learn, I haven’t yet mastered this idea.) Often, clients with chronic conditions want quick results from their homeopathic remedies. They have been suffering for years and want to see changes. I am happy to say that it’s not uncommon to be able to help guide people to some remedies that can at the very least help alleviate some of their symptoms quite quickly. However, more than once I have advised my clients to take their homeopathic remedy and then get back to living life and let the remedies work quietly in the background. Like the trees in the autumn; we can no longer see the fruits of the trees labors. We have to just trust that the tree is working hard within and, in time, we will then see the benefits of the tree’s “downtime”… the fresh spring buds or the delicious fruit it provides. In homeopathy, we need to give it a figurative minute (or a week or a month or a few months) to do its thing and then re-assess. Are the headaches happening less frequently? Is the acid reflux less debilitating? Can you eat a little of that troublesome food now and again without spending the next day in the bathroom? Can you walk a little longer without the knee hurting? For those of us who are still learning this thing called patience, the aptly named Bach Flower Essence Impatiens can come in handy. Who may benefit from Bach Impatiens? If you find yourself being quite brusque with people: the cashier doesn’t get through your grocery pile fast enough; your little one thinks he knows how to put his shoes on better than you and it makes you crazy as many minutes keep ticking by. Students who get frustrated with themselves for not grasping a subject quickly enough; those learning an instrument and find they are not ready for the stage as quickly as they thought they should be; people who toss and turn at night when they are trying to fall to sleep. Kids who continuously find it hard to wait for things: “When is dinner?” “When are we gonna…” Kids who rush through their homework and make mistakes. For people who find nothing is going right: “Nobody is meeting their deadlines and it’s making me angry. I’ll do it myself.” Drivers with “get-there-itis.” Workaholics. People who can never take a vacation because they feel like they can’t allow themselves to do such a crazy thing as relax. “I’ll relax when I retire.” For people who stutter or stammer, Impatiens can help you from getting impatient with yourself trying to speak as fast as you think you “should.” “Should” is a good word here. I have a mug that says, “Don’t should on me.” The main person who shoulds on me is me… Putting pressure on myself to get things done faster. Bach Impatiens has helped me a lot in this area. People who think their homeopathic remedy is not kicking in fast enough… How to take the Bach Flowers? You can take a drop on the tongue directly from the bottle, or, even better, put 2-3 drops in a water bottle and sip on it throughout the day to help remind you to take a breath. “Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.” — Unknown Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash  Photo by Julia Coyte The first time I saw an eclipse, I was in 4th grade. We had our pinhole cameras that we made at school, and we were warned of the dangers*, but I looked directly at the sun anyway. I’ve been paranoid for the 40+ years following that I did true damage to myself that day but fortunately the eye doctor has never found any problem. (Be sure to see an ophthalmologist if you have any concerns about your eye health.) Well, there was another eclipse today. The news keeps telling us that these eclipses are a once in a lifetime thing, and maybe I have just been lucky and have been in the right place at the right time, but I have now seen 3 big solar eclipses. This year we weren’t on the ball enough to get the special little glasses and we weren’t crafty enough to make the pinhole camera in time. But, what I saw this time that I didn’t see the other times were these crazy, crazy shadows. When I first noticed them I thought I was seeing things and then I thought I was having a dizzy spell.  My first glimpse of the shadows thinking something was wrong with my eyes. Photo by Julia Coyte Turns out I wasn’t seeing things. The trees made a pinhole camera for us. (I didn’t look very hard for an explanation of this, but I did find this article from a Singapore newspaper from 2019.)
What do these trippy shadows have to do with homeopathy? Well, I’ve never looked into it until now, but there is one homeopathic remedy listed in most repertories for ailments from looking at an eclipse and that is Hepar sulph. While Dr. Murphy lists 26 remedies which may be indicated for ailments following sun exposure to the eyes, his rubric for affects from looking at an eclipse lists just Hepar and Sol. What other eye complaints might Hepar help? Turns out there are quite a few possibilities, but these are the most likely indications, according to Robin Murphy:
Calvin Knerr’s repertory lists a few more well indicated eye symptoms for Hepar sulph:
I see some of those paper eclipse glasses on sale on the internet — maybe I’ll buy a couple to leave in the drawer for the next time an eclipse rolls through town. Then again, if I had them, I may never have noticed these cool shadows. Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits  Amazingly to me, some homeopaths won’t tell their clients what remedy they have given them.
“Wow!” is all I can say. I’m in the more information, the better camp. Why would a homeopath not want their remedy to be known to the person taking it? Some homeopaths think it’s just not relevant. Some homeopaths don’t want their clients to get confused with such information, especially if they think the client will look it up and find unreliable information. Some homeopaths think they know best and their expertise shouldn’t be questioned. Some homeopaths don’t want their clients to be influenced with such information. (This is the only reason which holds any water for me — I can see how understanding the remedy and its actions might possibly interfere… but, not really — ultimately, the remedy works or it doesn’t… known or unknown. However, I do have a homeopath friend whose homeopath sends the remedies to my friend’s husband and he does whatever he does to cover up the names of the remedies so she has no idea what she is taking until the next time she meets with her homeopath. As a homeopath, I find this idea kind of fun and intriguing.) The most common reason I have heard about though is that the homeopath thinks the client would freak out at hearing they were taking a remedy made from… fill in the blank: Arsenic, Mercury, Hemlock, or they would read that the pleasant sounding Belladonna is made from the deadly nightshade. All scary sounding things to be certain. (Read Anger and Fear for more information on the homeopathic benefits of otherwise dangerous substances.) Other substances from which homeopathic remedies are made can sound pretty freaky, too. Take for instance, the group of remedies called nosodes. Nosodes are powerful remedies made from microbe cultures, viruses and pathological secretions and excretions. Similar to the power found in poisonous substances, there is likewise great power in bacteria and diseased tissue. You won’t find these remedies on your local health food store shelves; they are generally only available through physicians and professional homeopaths. When I first learned about nosodes, they kind of freaked me out. I actually thought to myself that I would be a homeopath who just worked with “regular” homeopathic remedies. Then I was suggested one to take by my homeopath and, boom!, any questions I had as to their safety and efficacy were vanquished. One nosode I have written about before is Ambra grisea, made from the secretion from the intestine of the sperm whale… here, here, and here. Bowel nosodes are a sub-group of these remedies. Bowel nosodes are made from pure cultures of bacterial flora of the intestinal tract. Bowel nosodes were originally discovered by Dr. Edward Bach (of Bach Flower Essence fame) while working as a bacteriologist in a hospital in London in the early 1900s. As legend has it, he got to the point where when he saw a high level of certain bacteria in a patient’s stool, he was able to say what symptoms brought the patient to the hospital in the first place. (For a little introduction to the Bowel nosodes, see here.) Remember, with all properly prepared homeopathic remedies, nothing of the original substance remains… unless you are taking very low potencies. (For more information on potency, see here.) Sarcodes are another strange-sounding group of remedies out there in the world of homeopathy. Sarcodes are made from healthy tissues. One example of these would be endocrine glands (thyroid, pituitary. etc.) made from the gland of a healthy sheep or calf, for example, and prepared into a homeopathic remedy. Homeopathic sarcodes have been used for a very long time as a means of rebuilding tissue and helping to repair damaged organs. Again, sounds kind of yucky but this sort of thing has been used in conventional medicine for years, too -- Armour thyroid, for example is made from dessicated porcine thyroid gland. So, similar but different because, of course, the homeopathic version is diluted and succussed. Like all homeopathic remedies, nosodes and sarcodes should be respected for their power and used judiciously, but fear should be set aside. A well indicated nosode or sarcode suggested by a professional homeopath can play a very important role in healing. There will be no keeping of the secrets around here. If you have any questions about any of this, book a free 15 minute phone call and ask away. Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits |
Julia Coyte, CHomI am passionate about homeopathy and I love sharing this passion. Having a working knowledge of homeopathy shouldn't be kept a secret. If people have the ability to help themselves, their children and their friends when they have minor ailments, life just gets better for everyone. That is the purpose behind Ruminating on Remedies. Archives
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