Homeopathic treatment of Tricks (cat) for breathing issues

[merrynb]

In summary, my 12 yr old cat Tricks developed noisy, difficult breathing and snoring and I corresponded with Dr Jeff to identify remedies that might be helpful. We narrowed the choices down to Arsenicum album and Phosphorous, which both seemed to be good matches .

I started treating her this week with 30C Arsenicum. I dissolved a pillule in water in a 20ml dripper-capped bottle. I used a q-tip to (in theory) apply this to her gum, but in practise put it in her mouth wherever I could get to, and I also pressed it on her nose afterwards.

As we have been encouraged to do, I have waited and observed after each dose. It took 5 doses over 3 days before I felt sure she was improving. There had been a few little signs but nothing very clear till then. From that point I stopped giving any doses unless she seemed to be worsening again. To start with, she responded quickly and well to these additional doses, but in the last day or so, a positive response hasn't been so clear. I tried doing more succusses before dosing (eg 20-30) but that didn't seem to help. I then tipped out half of the water in the bottle, and re-filled it with water. I hoped that the increase in potency would help her move forward again but it didn't make as much difference as I had hoped. For now I am just continuing to observe and re-dosing if she's doing noisy breathing again.

Improvements I have noticed (not necessarily consistently): calmer, more relaxed, breathing more deeply and quietly, less impulsive, less easily panicked, less noisy breathing in general, including after eating and while grooming.

She is mostly sleeping quietly but still sometimes snores. Her breathing is still sometimes audible both while sleeping and when awake and I can still hear catarrah, though definitely less than before treatment. At times I can see her lungs are working hard still. Sometimes I can hear noises on both the in-breath and out-breath. The inbreath tends to sound more wheezy and the outbreath more of a crackle.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Thanks for posting about Tricks Merryn.

When was her last dose?

In lieu of new symptoms clues, you may want to wait 1-2 weeks since the last dose before redosing.

Also, now that we know, from your dosing experience, that she is susceptible to the remedy, and not hyper-sensitive to it, you may want to increase the size of the physical dose (meaning succuss 20x again but give her 2 cc instead of a Q-Tip dose).

Does that make sense?

Why do I say that that she is susceptible but not hyper-sensitive to Ars. 30c (and what do I mean)?

Dr. Jeff

 

[merrynb]

Ok, thanks.

I gave her another dose this morning as she was noisy breathing with both in and out sounds while just lying in the sun. Before doing this, I mostly emptied the bottle and refilled with  water and succussed 20x. Again, hoping a further increase in potency might do the trick. I'm still assessing the effect of this dose, but no obvious positive effect so far. She is still doing a wheezy in breath with a crackly sound on the outbreath. Not noisy, but still audible from where I'm sitting about 3-4m away.

Right, so you think I should wait for more symptom clues.

I'm not sure 2 cc would be achieveable! She is not a great patient, and even q-tip doses have been a bit challenging.

We know she is susceptible to it because she responded positively to start with. And we know she is not hypersensitive to it because of no aggravations. Correct?

 

 

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Exactly! Although she doesn't need to react positively to prove that she is susceptible. Any reaction will do.

Her response (good or bad) shows that the homeopathic medicine was similar enough to her own energetic imbalance to allow a response to it.

If the Ars were not similar enough, nothing would have happened (when using a diluted and potentised form of Arsenicum that is).

Also, diluting the remedy (changing the dose) does indeed alter the remedy action. However it does not change the potency. Succussing does that.

Dr. Jeff

PS-What will her BEAM and other symptom response in the next week or two tell you?

 

[merrynb]

Ok, got it.

I'm confused about the dilution vs succussing effects on potency. Both are involved in preparing the remedies. I thought it was really the successive dilution that potentised the remedy, while the succussing energised it.

I am using Nux v myself, and when it seemed to stop working, I tried succussing it more times before dosing, which worked to a degree. But when I diluted it more, that's what really made a significant difference

 

[merrynb]

Probably time I read the Organon!

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Fantastic Merryn (your desire to read the Organon)!

Yes, I agree.

Until you do so, I've started an Organon study forum thread.

<a href="https://www.holisticactions.com/forums/topic/organon-paragraph-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click or tap here to read</a> and comment on the first paragraph of the Organon.

Think of potency like energy. The effect of it can be modified by the milieu such as the amount of water you dilute it in.

You could dilute table salt (the source material for the powerful homeopathic medicine called Natrum muriaticum) as much as you like, but you'll still just have salt water.

Same thing for inactive starting materials like sand (Silica) or club moss (Lycopodium).

That is, unless the "inner spirit like essence" (H's words) are brought out by <strong>poten</strong>tizing.

Your succussions vary the potency by transferring the kinetic energy from whacks against your hand, book, counter, etc. to the remedy.

Clear as mud?

Dr. Jeff

 

[merrynb]

Yes, I get it, I just don't understand why further diluting the Nux v made a significant difference to my response. What would be your explanation for this?

It's now a week since I last dosed Tricks. She is doing well. Her response may be confused by Jenna doing EC/BC on her a few days ago, although my understanding is that the session was focused on fearfulness and vision rather than the breathing. And she was doing pretty well before that happened.

It sounds to me like there is significantly less catarrh in her airways, based on what I can hear from her breathing. I would rate it at 2/10 currently. She is still doing some noisy breathing at times but it's quieter. Sometimes it can change from minute to minute: noisy, quiet, noisy, quiet, which must be due to HOW she's breathing rather than any change in catarrh. Related to fear or excitement, is my feeling, which may just be her nature: quite highly strung and reactive. The main other time her breathing is audible is when she's falling asleep, but not always. One difference to previously is that sometimes the outbreath is audible, as well as the inbreath (previously it was usually just the inbreath I could hear). Another difference is that she is not generally breathing noisily after eating, whereas she always did before.

She is still being overly fearful although I have noticed a few tentative improvements here too. Possibly less sensitive to sudden/loud noises, in the house at least.

I'm not sure how to interpret these changes. She seems to be improving, or good at least, so I'm thinking no more dosing for now. Would you agree?

Re your previous suggestion to increase the dose, I'm wondering why you think that would be better than going to a higher potency? Can you explain?

Many thanks : )

from Merryn

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi again Merryn-

1)  Changing the dose (by adding/removing water and increasing/decreasing amount administered) can definitely change the action of homeopathic medicines.

2) You can modify dosing as long as the last used potency is still acting (meaning that you are continuing to see responses to the medicine).

Kent says to stick with the potency that last acted.

However, as with all medicine, it depends on context and individuality, e.g. a vital person with a serious dis-ease may do better with more frequent potency changes. Even if the prior potency is still working.

When starting out, it's safest to stick with the last potency that worked.

Dr. Jeff

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[merrynb]

Ok, thanks.

Update: About 8 days after the prior dosing, Tricks started getting worse again (she had been doing really well till then). I decided it was time to try the 2cc dose. I tried to use a plastic syringe, but Tricks hated it, and most of the remedy flew through the air. I wasn't sure if she got any at all, so I watched and waited, and gave her a qtip dose later on as she didn't seem to be improving.

Anyway... she had quite a bad aggravation for a while there and it was pretty worrying. I could hear a lot more mucus and she was breathing noisily most of the time. Fortunately I found that reiki helped her to clear the mucus  - it seemed to help it come up to her mouth so she could swallow it. She is a lot better now, but I'm still doing reiki when I can hear new mucus in her airways.

So, I don't think 2cc doses are going to work with her. She even resisted a qtip dose after that experience, and freaked out when I put a drop on her paw, hoping she might lick it.

One lesson I think I've learned from this it to wait longer before re-dosing even when symptoms are worse. I read in my Luc de Schepper book that you should wait for 2 days, as things may naturally resolve. He said the vital force waxes and wanes over time (my words). Not sure what you think of that?

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[Dr. Jeff]

The effect of the Vital Force (VF) does indeed fluctuate. Symptom improvement is not usually linear.

Curative processes do indeed increase and decrease over time.

As you said, it's always best to <strong>wait and watch</strong> if you are unsure of what her body is telling you.

That could be much more than 2 days depending on the strength (and activity) of her VF and the "pace" of the dis-ease.

One thing is for certain.

Her body tells you what it needs (through symptoms).

See you soon Merryn!

Dr. Jeff

 

[merrynb]

Thank you.  btw I have enrolled at Caduceus Institute of Classical Homeopathy : )

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hey Merryn-

Fantastic (about further homeopathy study)!

On the website it shows an interesting clinical curriculum.

I see that the instructor recommends the Kunzli edition of the Organon.

However, this edition <strong>does not have Hahnemann's wonderful preface</strong>. I strongly advise you read the preface as well.

It is so powerful that one of the translations even includes the prefaces from every edition (there were 6) of the Organon.

Dr. Jeff

 

[merrynb]

I asked Willa specially about the edition used, because I was concerned that it wasn't a 6th edition, but it is. She uses that one because she thinks it's easier to understand, but I already have the Wenda B O'Reilly one, and she said it was fine to use that

from Merryn

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Excellent.

The Kunzli translation is indeed nice and accessible (and the one with the green cover is also nicely portable), however, I'm glad that you already have an O'Reilly edition.

She categorizes the Organon nicely including her margin notes.

For example, Aphorism 3 note is simply:

<em>"Requirements of a medical-art practitioner"</em>

Regarding your online program, I'd love to help put a vet homeopath "spin" on your curriculum.

Perhaps we can discuss a bit more during Monday's meeting.

Dr. Jeff