Reprinted from “SIMILLIMUM,” Fall 1997 by author’s permission

A Case Of Alzheimer’s Disease

By Jennifer Smith N.D., DHANP

I received a call from a former patient concerning her 74-year-old father who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. My patient, who has had a positive experience with homeopathy, called to ask if I would treat her father.

She said he would not be able to come in for a visit as he had not left his house in five years. I told her it would be difficult to take his case without being able to spend time with him. She told me that his medical doctor was suggesting that he be institutionalized.

Her mother was very upset by this--but, at the same time, she was suffering from hypertension and could no longer care for him. He would become argumentative and at times he would even hit her. She said, “There is nothing to lose by trying homeopathy.”

I reluctantly said that I would take the case. However, I told her, it may be a long shot in finding the appropriate remedy.

Initial Interview 7-6-95 Phone Consultation

The patient’s daughter relayed the following about her father’s condition.
He:
- stays in bed most of the time with the covers pulled over his head.
- talks about the past a lot, especially about his ‘estranged’ son whom he feels let him down.
- has a lot of sadness about this.
- feels he was betrayed by the company where he had worked for many years.
- feels betrayed by his church.
- has violent dreams that he is being hit in the head with a pipe.
- dresses more warmly than what is needed.
- thinks people are making fun of him.
- often draws up into a defensive childlike posture.
- often thinks that my mother and I have poisoned him.
- has a fear of going outside.
- in the past, was very giving; he did a lot for his relatives.
- used to be a very kind and gentle man.
- was quiet and read a lot.
- was extremely religious.
- was in the service during World War II
- tended to be a loner with a few friends.
- often gets out of bed and counts money.
- desires: Ice Cream (3); Coca Cola (3); eggs (2); onions (2)
- is rarely thirsty
- has bowel movements daily, usually long and thin.

8-14-95 Phone Consultation

The patient’s daughter reported: “For weeks following the remedy he kept getting better and better. Now he is beginning to become hypochondriacal again. He drank 24 Pepsis in one day! He is convinced that he has brain cancer. He is extremely sensitive, and afraid of storms. He said we were never meant to be happy in this life. He’s still sharp and aware. He feels sad and old and that a lot of his life was wasted.”

Analysis

When in doubt (and I was) . . .wait. Twenty-four sodas in 24 hours is a lot of caffeine. I wanted more time. I felt I should not prescribe a remedy, since I did not really know how many of his symptoms could be from the excessive amount of caffeine. I told his daughter that I felt the best thing to do at this point was to wait at least a few days or a week, to see how things would go after the caffeine was out of his system. I didn’t receive another phone call until. . .

1-18-96 Phone Consultation

“My father says he can feel that he is going into the same place again. He said he has felt great until this past week and he can feel that his old symptoms are returning.

Remedy: Hyoscyamus 1M

The patient’s daughter called to make an appointment for herself, and reported on her father: “My father is still doing great! He jokes and laughs a lot. He is socializing and making friends. His hobby is rewiring lamps.”

Discussion

The intensity and violence of this case led me to consider an intense and violent remedy state:

Medical History - One kidney stone - Mumps (as an adult) - Surgeries: Inguinal hernia; cataracts removed (both eyes)

Family Medical History

Patient’s mother was strong and healthy
Patient’s father died of stroke when patient was 12.
He also had epilepsy.

Rubrics Mind:

Delusions, about to receive injury (1)
Fancies he has suffered (3)
Poisoned, thought he had been (2)
Forsaken (1)
Violent (3)
Suspicious (2)
Childish behavior (2)

Remedy Hyoscyamus 1M

7-17-95 Phone Consultation
The patient’s daughter reported:

“We gave him the remedy on 7/11/95. He participated in a conversation for the first time in 4 years! By July 14, he was his old self again! He laughs and jokes with friends. He attends church. All of the fears and paranoia are gone. He snapped out of it. It is so amazing! He had been this way for 5 to 7 years and in a few days he’s back to himself. He put a friend’s air conditioner together. My mother’s blood pressure went down to normal! Half of the state is lined up at the health food store asking for the homeopathic remedy for Alzheimer’s. His MD wants your telephone number. We told dad about homeopathy and that we had given him a remedy.”

Hyoscyamus.

It appears that the patient had been in this state for a number of years and was continuing to go deeper into it. I did not include the rubric, “striking,” (3), which was confirming of Hyoscyamus. Other remedies considered were Lachesis and Stramonium. Both of these remedy states include suspicion and violence. Stramonium also has childish behavior and delusion that he is about to receive injury. I chose Hyoscyamus because it was the only remedy in all of the rubrics I chose, and seemed to best cover the totality of the case. In working on this case, two things stood out to me. One was that, at one point, the patient himself could identify that he was going back into a worsened state. The other was experiencing that someone could be deeply within a violent state on one day and the next day after a remedy, be in a completely different reality. I never cease to be truly amazed with the law, like cures like. I feel this case shows the beauty of homeopathy in that we, as homeopaths, are not limited to a diagnosis. We do not have to surrender to the idea that a disease is “non-curable”; neither we nor the patients have to feel hopeless in the face of such a disease. We can simply try to identify a particular state of being that shows itself to be out of alignment with the true nature of that individual--and chose the simillimum to bring the patient back to health.

Jennifer Smith, N.D., DHANP, is a 1991 graduate of National College of Naturopathic Medicine. She practices classical homeopathy in Denver, CO, with a part-time practice in Charlotte, NC.

A well respected friend and RN asked this valid question: If this was as successful as it sounds, why isn’t it more well known? There are several answers, but here are a few:

First of all, consider the comment made about half the state being lined up at the health food store asking for the remedy to cure Alzheimer’s disease. People thought the remedy that helped Jennifer Smith’s patient would help them. That would rarely be the case. Each person must be seen by a professional to be matched to their own remedy. If several people with Dementia or Alzheimer’s took Hyoscyamus but it was no help, then they would think homeopathy was a hoax and give up.

An additional point to consider is some homeopaths are not as talented as others and the results are sometimes poor. A homeopathic analysis is extremely difficult and requires time, dedication, training, and experience. We encourage you to find a homeopath to do this. Check a very important link to the Registry of Classical Homeopaths on our website if you need assistance.