A man in his mid-30's we'll call Rashad consulted with me complaining of severe burning pain in his face. It began suddenly about a half-year earlier. He just woke up one morning and it felt like his face was on fire. The episode lasted nearly a week then disappeared. Ever since, the burning returns without any discernable pattern either in terms of the timing, duration or the area of the face, excepting the fact that it was always symmetrical. Along with the burning, his face felt extremely dry and the skin stretched tight.
Rashad went to a dermatologist who put him on a series of medications: analgesics, anti-anxiety pills, muscle relaxers and even steroids, but these had no effect on his condition. An antidepressant lowered the intensity of the burning, but it still was barely tolerable and appeared randomly.
Aside from some eczema, which began at birth and which he still treats with topical steroids one or two times weekly and with medicated shampoos, there was no other history of skin issues. Otherwise, for most of his life Rashad had been quite healthy. But about a year before the burning appeared, Rashad had developed severe pain in his groin region that was equally mysterious and unendurable.
Visits to a number of physicians, various possible diagnoses and prescriptions including Valium, opioids, gabapentin and a nerve block gave no relief. The 5th doctor he consulted finally diagnosed the issue as an atypical presentation of Peyronie's disease (a disorder of the connective tissue characterized by a build-up of plaque in the penis). Rashad was prescribed an anti-inflammatory that finally did reduce the pain.
That prescription, though, coincided with the onset of the facial pain. Concerned that the anti-inflammatory was the cause, Rashad switched to another medication, but experienced no improvement. Subsequently, he began treatment with the dermatologist.
From a conventional medical perspective, Rashad's peculiar facial condition was idiopathic. That is, it was spontaneous and without known cause. It would also be possible to label it an autoimmune reaction in which the body is attacking its own tissues and creating an inflammatory condition. Yet, taken in context of his medical history, it logical to assume the problem was the result of long-term suppression of the eczema along with the series of medications for the Peyronie's. It calls to mind the term 'progressive vicariation' which was coined by the German homeopath Hans Reckweg. Simply put, as symptoms are suppressed with toxic substances such as steroids, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories or psychotropic medications, they are pushed into other, more vital organ systems, progressively creating different, usually more serious symptoms.
In Rashad's case, the symmetrical nature of his symptoms is a clue that they are a manifestation of a toxic nervous system. They still appear at the superficial level of the skin, but they ought to be taken as a warning. Unfortunately, his initial allopathic treatment was purely symptomatic, only offering more suppressive medications. Ultimately, this would result in even more serious, degenerative pathologies down the road.
Reckweg's therapeutic approach would be to detoxify his system with a series of homeopathic formulas designed for that purpose. Another approach, the one I chose, was to understand the condition not only in the context of his history of suppressive treatment, but also in terms of Rashad's overall constitution, and to prescribe a 'constitutional remedy' based on that.
Rashad mentioned that when he was occupied with work, his symptoms seemed to almost completely disappear. But when not otherwise occupied, especially on the weekends, it would be much worse. He would be come quite irritable, not feel satisfied with anything and isolate himself. At times, he would even question the existence or purpose of God.
"Everything in the world seems to irritate me - if someone is speeding on the highway or if the garage door doesn't open on the first push. And it all gets worse when the face is burning.... I'm not very social, even if the face is feeling ok. I get too irritated. Just coming home from work, I feel irritated. I don't want to talk or laugh. Basically, I just don't want anyone to bother me!"
As a young man, leaving his family behind and immigrating alone to the United States was a great struggle. "Everything I had to do was by myself. I'm the only one and everyone around me was just pretending to be helpful. I had to struggle to support myself, to pass my studies, to be successful at work. I stopped counting on others. It is rare I'll ask for help - even to ask for a glass of water. Others are not reliable. They don't stick to what they say".
"It has forced me to develop tremendous discipline. I wake early, 4:30 in the morning and if it is 4:35, I'll be upset. I'll feel like I'm a laggard, that I'm lazy. I'm a person of routine, wake at 4:30, drink water at 5, eat 6... I'm like a robot. I never let myself go free."
"I've been very successful in my career and received many promotions. But I worry that everything will be negatively affected if I lose my discipline and start lagging. When something needs to be done or I set a goal, I do it. Even at the gym, I push myself to the limit. And when I see others who don't have the discipline, I become greatly irritated."
Rashad talked of his ambition to climb the corporate ladder, to become a director. "I'm not emotionally driven and never make decisions based on emotions. I want a perfect life - career, house, finances. I've accomplished a lot, everything according to plan." That is, everything had gone according to plan except his first marriage.
They had met at a conference and their life together was compatible at first. But then he discovered that she was a habitual marijuana user. He felt it made her lazy and undisciplined, exactly the opposite of what he wanted in a partner. Again, Rashad found himself needing to do everything on his own because she was not reliable. For him, the situation became intolerable and they parted ways.
Anyone who has studied even a little homeopathy is familiar with the remedy Bryonia alba. Its common name is Wild Hops and it belongs to the squash family (Curcubitaceae). The main keynote for Bryonia is 'worse by motion and better by rest' and can be thought of in physical complaints, acute or chronic, where even the slightest motion aggravates. Another attribute is dryness, especially of the mucous membranes.
These qualities are also reflected on the mental and emotional levels. People needing Bryonia on a constitutional level tend to be resistant to change and have a dry, materialistic outlook. They are sensitive to being disturbed and quickly getting irritable over minor things. Typically hard workers , they are very concerned about financial security even when there is no scarcity of resources.
In the homeopathic repertory, these traits are expressed by the following rubrics:
mind; DISTURBED, averse to being
mind; IRRITABILITY; trifles, about
mind; INDUSTRIOUS, mania for work
mind; FEAR; poverty, of
Another aspect of Bryonia character, very relevant in this case, is their attachment to being home. In the repertory, this is represented by its inclusion in the rubrics:
mind; HOMESICKNESS, nostalgia
mind; HOME; go, desire to
This is a facet of the sensitivity to disturbance and poverty since the concept of 'home' can be understood to represent a place where one can remain undisturbed and also be provided for.
In Rashad's case, it is of particular significance since perhaps the most defining period of his life occurred when he had to leave the safety of his home to make his way alone in a foreign country. This is what forced him to develop a mechanism to cope with his new circumstances, that is to say, his 'Bryonia' persona.
Rashad was prescribed a daily dose of Byonia in LM (50 Millenial) potency. A month later he reported that the flare-ups in his face were less and shorter in duration, but he didn't notice any change in his irritability. By the second follow-up appointment, there was a significant reduction in the number of days he experienced the burning. He was also surprised that his sleep had improved and that overall he felt more relaxed and less irritable. He no longer felt a constant need to rush to get things done.
Five months after beginning treatment, the facial pain was only about 20% of what it originally was. He still felt quite relaxed and his sleep was excellent. He also started to notice a reduction in the pain associated with the Peyronie's. He was hopeful that soon he would be able to reduce and eventually eliminate the anti-inflammatory medications prescribed for that condition.
The overall improvement on the physical, mental and emotional levels bodes well for continued improvement. Just as importantly, it will halt the process of 'progressive vicariation' and stimulate a natural detoxification ('regressive vicariation', in the language of Reckweg) that will reverse the progression toward degenerative disease.
Julian Jonas, CCH is a homeopath in Santa Fe, New Mexico specializing in the constitutional homeopathic treatment for chronic and acute conditions. He can be reached at the Center or Homeopathy of Northern New Mexico: www.centerforhomeopathy.com, homeopathnm@gmail.com, 505-557-6470.