HOMEOPATHY: JUST GOOD MEDICINE
Carla Carmichael Homeopathy, Stirling, Scotland  UK

Being a Patient

Perhaps you are new to Homeopathy and therefore  wondering what it is like to have a consultation with a Homeopath. Don’t worry, I don’t bite, neither do I send you away feeling that you have wasted my time or  that your health concerns are just a mere figment of your imagination!  Perhaps  you have been a regular user, so this information should be familiar to you. As  you may or may not know Homeopathy is a very powerful and effective therapy but  it also demands a lot from you, the patient. One doesn’t get something in this world for nothing!

As a Homeopathic Practitioner I am faced with a challenging task of choosing precisely the correct homeopathic remedy/ remedies at each stage of your treatment, but you, as the patient also carry significant responsibility. As a patient, you must learn to observe areas of your life which are ordinarily ignored by most people, and this observation must be done with objectivity and impartiality.

It is not enough for you to merely keep a notebook of every detail and then leave it to me to decide which symptoms are significant and which are not. Remember you are composed of trillions of molecules and your symptoms are just manifestations of molecular errors that have occurred, and as such, are the basis for making a homeopathic prescription.

You are neither a ‘ROBOT’ nor a ‘WIDGET’, indeed, you are very much alive, though you may not feel it at times! The symptoms that are important to me are those which have meaning to you. They are not mere pieces of data to be reported out of compulsion to be “complete”. I am interested to hear about what has taken place in your daily existence, those which have some meaning to you, however small and irrelevant you may feel that they are.

You should accept the fact that you are a UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL and anything that you may regard as being some of your eccentricities only occur simply as a manifestation of your individuality. With this in mind, you should have an impartial attitude towards your self.  Symptom observations are just that and no more; they are observations.  No judgements are made about them. They are just the unique way in which your defence mechanism is attempting to maintain balance.

Your task is to report every deviation from your natural function, not only on the physical level, but on the mental and emotional levels as well.  As a Homeopath, I do not limit myself to merely your physical symptoms leading to a conventional doctors’ diagnosis. Much more important are the variety of symptoms expressing themselves in every aspect of your life – relationships, work stresses, reactions to environmental changes, food cravings, or aversions, quality of sleep, stamina, etc.

Small observations which seem insignificant to your GP may well be very crucial to me, particularly if it is something that has meaning to you. For example, suppose your GP diagnosed you with rheumatoid arthritis.  You would have spent the entire consultation time discussing your aches and pains with him/her and very little else! If it’s gone beyond the GP stage, you most probably repeated the same sort of information again to a Consultant!

Of course, I am also interested in this information to some extent, but much more of my time will be spent on other aspects of your life. For example, the most useful information to me might be that you are anxious - particularly about the future – are easily startled by sudden noises, can fall asleep only while lying on the right side, and have a strong craving for salt. Such pieces of information are irrelevant to your GP/Consultant, but they lead to the curative medicine in the homeopathic setting. 

If I am treating you for chronic disease, i.e. that which has been coming on over a number of years and sadly has worsened, please try to avoid being inpatient. Your first symptoms may have started 30 years ago or even longer! There are, of course, genetic factors to take in to account. Yes, we all inherit from the sins of our forefathers! No, don’t blame the immediate parents/grand parents; it goes way back before them.  Many people come to me, particularly in the UK, as a last resort. One cannot expect immediate relief from symptoms possibly caused by pain-killers, tranquillizers, cortisone drugs that you may have been subjected to over a long period of time etc. 

I am often asked if I have a medicine for Arthritis, Chronic fatigue, IBS etc. The answer is a categorical NO. There is no such thing in Homeopathy but there will be a medicine for you, who may be suffering with one of the above or any of the other disease labels.   Homeopathy does not have specific medicines to relieve pain, allay anxiety, counteract insomnia, etc. Homeopathic prescriptions are very individualised and they are always designed to bring about cure of the entire organism. The goal is harmonious functioning on all levels of being, not merely momentary relief of specific symptoms. Some times this process takes weeks or months and in more severe cases, it can take one to two years. The laws of nature proceed at their own pace, not according to yours, mine or anyone else’s time frame.  Nature doesn’t answer to impatience.

There are some patients who consult me with the expectation that I am their miracle worker. Oh, how I wish, but that is our Creator’s department, not mine! I  haven’t risen to those lofty heights.  I am just a humble human being who loves  and continues study Homeopathic medicine to help others.

From my own life experience, I do understand how frustrating it can be when you’ve tried every other therapy known to man, and you are still “sick” or you can be fine whilst  you have been popping the vitamin pills, or taking the herbal medicine, or having the acupuncture; but once you have stopped you find that the problem is  still there or it comes back!  You’ve already spent pounds on your health and   you are still not better! I know because I have been there too!

You may be wondering why it can take the length of time it takes me to find the indicated remedy. After all, you visited the GP and they just sent you out the door with an X or Y prescription, all within 10 minutes! Conventional drug prescribing requires relatively simple judgements. You may be disappointed with the systematic, painstaking process involved in homeopathic prescribing but I take much time because I care. I have also received poor treatment myself in the past, including Homeopathic!

Once I have prescribed and progress has been made, you still have responsibilities. No, you don’t get off the hook that easily! Once you start to feel well within yourself, you need to learn to listen to what your body needs. It’s easy, because if we all listen, it tells us. Don’t give it something it just doesn’t like, after all, your body is your temple and it should be safe guarded.

Two things that I ask of my patients are that they refrain, where possible from drinking strong coffee whilst they are under my treatment. Don’t worry you can go back to it at a later date if you so wish. The reason being is that coffee can and does antidote some homeopathic remedies. I also request that you refrain from using very strong menthol products such as toothpastes and mouth washes for the same reasons. Don’t worry there are alternatives that I recommend.

So, in short, Homeopathy is a demanding system not only for me, the prescriber, but for you, the patient. It is not a therapy in which you unthinkingly report the diagnosis of your GP, receive a pill/s, and are supposedly cured! It requires a good deal of objective self-observation, an attitude of sympathy and assistance for the task confronting me, the prescriber, a willingness to avoid interfering factors , and the wisdom to be patient during whatever healing crises occur. For most of my patients, these responsibilities are quite easy to meet, and the results are correspondingly gratifying.