Diabetes Mellitus

35 year old lady, Mrs. V. B. G. (Patient reference number: L7997) reported to the clinic for complaints of cracks of the finger-tips and peeling of the skin from the same area since 18 years. She had been diagnosed as having Psoriasis and had received conventional treatment for 10 years without much relief. She would be very upset because of this since she would not be able to use her hands freely for her domestic work and would constantly have to be dependent on others for the same. She had also tried Homeopathy before but that had not helped her much. She also had a few scattered small lesions of lichen planus on the left leg.

She was a lady with an average built and normal appetite. She was very fond of pickles, rice, sour foods and green leafy vegetables. She would not like pulses much. Sweating was average but it would have an offensive odour. Stools would be unsatisfactory and she would pass stools about once in 2-3 days. Her sleep would be quite disturbed and she would not get sleep until very late in the night.

She was a housewife and stayed with her husband and two sons aged 16 and 14 years. She was of an irritable nature and would abuse the children when she would get upset. When things would not happen according to her will she would get very upset and would keep brooding about it. She would often feel stressed due to her younger son who had a very mischievous nature. She denied having any major stress of any kind.

Based on the above history, she was prescribed Carcinosin 200 along with another remedy that has been developed at Lifeforce for the treatment of psoriasis. About 6 weeks later she reported improvement of about 25% in her complaints. Another 8 weeks of medication made her more than 50% better in her complaints. The treatment was continued on similar lines and her lesions disappeared completely with another few weeks of treatment. She was very glad when she reported to us that she had never felt so well in her complaints in all these 18 years of her suffering. She was kept under observation for next 2 months after which her treatment was concluded.

Remarks: It is the beauty of Homoeopathy to consider an inseparable bond between the mind and the body and bring about cure from within the system which proves to be a permanent solution for the patient.

Mr. A. B. T, age 46 years, reported to us on 30th July 2004 with psoriasis all over his body except for the face, for 4 years. He had certain hyperpigmented patches as well as hypopigmented patches over his body. The skin on his palms had keratinized. His case was of a very extensive nature and the eruptions were spreading slowly to the unaffected areas of his body. Associated with this he passed very hard stools and his motions were unsatisfactory.

He also reported a weight loss of 12 kgs and his appetite was markedly reduced for the past 3 months. He had a remarkable craving for sweets. His sleep was always disturbed as he used to think about his routine things.

His case was evaluated in light of the following background:

He lives in India with his wife (who is a homemaker), and son (8 years old), and daughter (2 ½ years old). He was working with a charitable trust as a clerk. He had faced a lot of stress right from his childhood days. His father expired when he was too young and hence he had to shoulder many responsibilities at a very tender age of 10 years. Because of these circumstances, he felt very unhappy and moreover there was a feeling of loneliness which was very hard for him to overcome.

Even in his youth years after he got married there were constant conflicts between his wife and mother which made all the more tensed. He was very reserved by nature and hence couldn't disclose his feelings to others which bottled up within him. His mother expired 2 years ago and there ended the battle between his wife and mother, but his wife being of a very tormenting nature would always be after him and would be complaining of one thing or the other which did not allow him to be at peace whatsoever.

He was very sensitive by nature and would react even to the trivial things that occurred in his day to day life. He was very image-conscious also and would think all the time as to what others would remark about him and this was even for his skin complaints as to when people see these scaling of the skin all over his body he would feel very embarrassed. His anxious nature added to his stress and used to constantly think about various matters. He was very emotional by nature and would cry easily. At the same time, he was afraid of taking any responsibilities.

There was no significant past history in his case except for episodes of jaundice which occurred 2 to 3 times in the past 2 years. His father had Tuberculosis and his mother was a known asthmatic and passed off with cirrhosis of the liver. His brother had some skin ailment the exact diagnosis of which was not known to him. On his paternal side, his aunt was also asthmatic.

It was appreciated that the patient had undergone a lot of stress throughout his life. His system reacted to this stress and the inner vital disturbance was manifested in the form of psoriatic skin eruptions all over his body. This is a typical case of somatization of the psychological reaction where certain strong emotions precipitated the physical skin disorder of Psoriasis.

As understood in homeopathy, the treatment with oral steroids which he had received in the past was ‘suppressive' which eventually led to the spread of the disease on other parts of his body. He was still continuing with the local application of Ten ovate creams which we had advised him to taper and eventually stop it completely.

Treatment: A homeopathic remedy called Staphysagria (a specially prepared medicine from the seeds of the plant Delphinium Staphysagria).After receiving this treatment his psoriatic eruptions commenced to heal gradually, even the itching was alleviated to a remarkable extent.

On the 8th of March 05, when he reports for his regular follow up his psoriasis is over 70% improved. There are no eruptions coming up on his body. He still has unsatisfactory stools though overall he has is much better than before. He is advised to continue his treatment for further improvement.

Mr. D. P (Patient Ref. No. L-6827) a 22 years old male patient reported complaints of psoriasis for 3 years. He had extensive lesions on his arms, legs, abdomen, chest, back and a few lesions coming up on the neck and scalp for the last few weeks. Almost the whole of his body was covered with erythematous, scaly lesions that were itchy. In general, his skin was very dry. His complaints would get worse during winter and in monsoon. He had tried all forms of treatment including local steroids but had not been benefited by any of these.

His appetite was normal and he was fond of spicy and salted foods. He would sweat profusely especially on the forehead. He was an obese person with a fair complexion. His sleep would be sound and he would sleep on his abdomen.

He had completed his studies and was into his family business. He had a calm nature and would easily mix up with the people around him. He was a very expressive person and would express his feelings easily to the opposite person. He was very emotional too and would be easily affected by what others around him would say. He denied having any major tensions or worries in his life.

There was no history of any major illness in the past. His father had psoriasis and diabetes and his brother had suffered from vitiligo in childhood.

Based on these complaints he was prescribed Phosphorus 200 for his complaints. He was informed that an increase in the psoriasis was expected in the first few weeks due to the stoppage of the steroids that he had been receiving previously. This phenomenon is observed in many skin conditions when there is an increase in skin lesions due to the stoppage of steroids since their action is suppressive in nature. The relapse which occurs after the stoppage of steroids is sometimes more difficult to treat. In the case of this patient, there was a definite increase in the number of lesions after stopping steroids and the eruptions had spread all over the body. There was marked itching too. This phase lasted for about 6 weeks in the case of this patient after which the improvement began to show. In the next 3 months itself, his psoriasis was more than 75% better than before. His itching was almost gone and he was not getting any new eruptions either. At the end of another few months, his skin had returned to an almost normal state and he was leading a normal life.

Mrs. M. S., the a forty-eight years old lady (Patient reference no.: 5316), had an itching sensation with red spots around the ankle about 5 months before she reported to us. She consulted a skin specialist for this and he prescribed her some ointment but it continued to spread to the knees. Within a month, it increased and spread to the upper and lower limbs and scalp. A biopsy diagnosed the condition as Lichen Planus and she was given steroids (Prednisolone) for about 6 weeks it helped her for a couple of days initially but later the lesions appeared all over the body with intense itching and burning. Stress and lack of sleep were the factors that worsened her state.

In the meantime, she also developed Shingles (Herpes zoster) due to low body resistance and was prescribed antibiotics for the same.

There was no history of lichen planus or any other major illness in the family.

She also had hypothyroidism for 10 years and was on Eltroxin (Thyroid supplement) for the same and apart from this, there was no history of any other major illness in her past. She had had a hysterectomy 13 years ago and her ovaries had been removed 7 years ago. She also had complaints of backache and varicose veins since her delivery 25 years back.

She was a vegetarian, with a craving for all vegetarian, south and north Indian foods.

She would like winters and a less humid climate. Her appetite and bowel movements were normal. She would sweat normally previously but after the removal of her ovaries, she would sweat excessively. She would not get good sleep and would keep awake until 2-3 am.

She was a housewife and stayed with her husband and twin daughters. She had no other major stress as such except that she was worried about the marriage of her daughters. She was cheerful in general, but after her marriage, she had feelings of being exploited, misunderstood, and neglected; she would react by crying or shouting at such times. Reading was the only hobby that she pursued.

Based on this case history, she was prescribed Thuja 200 for her Lichen planus. There was an improvement in itching and burning within 2 weeks and the lesions gradually started reducing. Within four months of treatment, her lesions had settled down. The next course of four months medicines helped further. A few new eruptions that came on her palms and hands also improved within the next two months. With a total course of 8 months, the lichen planus lesions all over the body had settled down completely, and the hyperpigmented spots also lightened. There was no itching or burning. Her body-ache was also better.

This case illustrates, that steroids may help temporarily but they suppress the ailment, which aggravates the disease on discontinuation of steroids. Steroids also lower your immunity making you more susceptible to other diseases whereas homeopathy treats at the root level, eradicating the Lichen Planus from the system without any side effects in the shortest time duration and effectively.