A case of vomiting from severe anxiety
James, age 28, consulted with me in January of 2010 regarding a severe case of anxiety leading to vomiting attacks.
"When I get nervous I get nauseous and often start to vomit for an hour or more. Then I don't feel well enough to eat for up to two days. "  After vomiting that severely he sometimes has traces of blood in the vomitus. If he drinks water he vomits it back up after a few minutes. He also gets very motionsick. This had been going on for at least five years.

Bad reactions to slight stress

Even slight stress can set off an attack of vomiting; for example, he had recently been getting ready to buy a pet hamster and built him a really nice cage, but was so worried about doing a good job and making sure the hamster would be happy that it set off an attack. To make matters worse, at this point he was thinking of proposing to his girlfriend and couldn't  quite stomach the idea of how and when to pop the question. He was also worried about planning the wedding and going on a honeymoon. But even the thought of being late for a ferry could set him off.  "It's the anticipation that gets to me," he said.

A case of unexplained movement disorder

A 68-year-old female consulted with me regarding a chorea, also known as movement disorder, which she has had for the past 15 or more years. She has seen many neurologists over the years and has also been seen at a University movement disorder clinic without any success or explanation. She tested negative for Parkinson's disease, Alzheimers and Huntingtons.

Her arms and hands move involuntarily and almost constantly. She may fling her arms out to the side, sometimes hitting people, she fidgets a lot, taps her fingers a lot, repeatedly slaps her hand down on the sofa or bed, may play with her wedding ring and place her hand under her husband's pillow on the bed rubbing the material, which drives him crazy.

A case of developmental delay and epilepsy

Sarah is a 14-year-old girl first seen in June 2011. The parents' main concern was the onset of brief, epilptic absence seizures lasting 15-30 seconds over the past two to three years. An EEG was negative. Then recently she was sent to summer camp, cried the whole time while there and upon her return started to experience full blown grand mal seizures, which are becoming more frequent, averaging about eight grand mal seizures every two weeks.

She has been home schooled since September 2010.

Epileptic Seizures

Sarah gets dizzy before a seizure and becomes very loud, can't control her voice, becomes overly social, saying hi to everyone. After a seizure she is sick to her stomach with vomiting and very weak, pale and lifeless for up to two days.

This is a case of a 4-year-old girl with mild eczema and occasional bouts of vomiting which illustrates that patience pays off in homeopathy.

I first saw Selina in August of 2011. Selina developed eczema on her wrists at age 2.5 with flare ups in the winter and improvements in the summer. During a recent summer holiday in Europe she developed eczema on her legs, a new area, and in the summer.

In April of this year Selina had a bout of vomiting that lasted for a week and required hospitalization for rehydration. During the holiday in Europe in the summer she developed another attack and vomited for two days. The vomiting was stopped with suppositories. Five days after the family returned to Canada it started again, Selina was again brought to a hospital for it.

A case of panic attacks in a young boy

Michael was nine years old when I first saw him in 1998. He had curly dark hair, large brown eyes and cherubic features. The mother had brought him to me as a last resort because he had been suffering from intense panic attacks and constant anxiety for about ten months now. He had seen a child psychologist for nine months already, with minor improvements.

"Michaels does not want to school because he is afraid that we'll die while he is away. He is also afraid that he will die. Any time he hears an ambulance he thinks they are coming for him because he is very ill or dying."

He was afraid to be alone, especially at night, and clung to his parents.

Robert was four years old when I first saw him in November of 2008. The chief complaint were asthma-type attacks of coughing and a tight  chest whenever he got a cold. The family had recently visited relatives in Newfoundland, staying in a damp basement. Robert got very sick and coughed terribly for ten days to the point of gagging. It can get so bad that he loses his breath. He may have reactions to mold and mildew as he is also worse at the daycare which has a musky smell.

I recently saw a cheerful 6-month-old baby with a very tired Mommy.

"Ashleigh is up every one to two hours at night, wanting to nurse," the mother reported. "I feed her, but when I put her down she's up and crying again shortly after. She wants to be held constantly. This goes on all night. "

Already during the pregnancy, our little baby afftected mom's sleep. "I didn't sleep well during the pregnancy, that's very unusual for me."

Pregnancy history

The mother's water broke one month early and it was discovered that Ashleigh was a breech baby. A C-section was performed and Ashleigh was placed in the NICU for one week as she was not feeding well. She was feisty from the get-go and ripped the feeding tube out of her nose.

She immediately wanted to be held constantly.

She got a horrible diaper rash after the family changed to cloth diapers. It was hard to clear up.

A case of selective mustism
Chelsea was almost four years old when I first met her. She had curly brown hair and hung on tight to a stuffed toy throughout our visit. The mother had come for a consultation because Chelsea refused to speak to anyone but her. She attended a Montessory pre-school and would not speak to any of the other children or interact with them at all, even though she had been there for six months. She did not speak to the teachers either, who were quite concerned about the child. Chelsea did not even speak to her father. At this point she had been diagnosed with selective mutism.

A case of a boy with recurring infections and failure to thrive and a sister with mood changes and bed-wetting

Little Jaime, only two years old, has platinum-blonde hair, angelic blue eyes with enormous lashes and an almost translucent complexion. His also charming, green-eyed, four-year-old sister Alexa had come along for the visit and was fighting with her brother over the office toys the entire time.

"Jaime has had problems from birth. He was born underweight and has never really thrived. He has had many infections from birth, including a deep case of bronchitis just recently as well as ear infections. He is sick every six weeks."

He looked absolutely angelic, if a little pale. He has had chronic diarrhea from birth and has never had a normal bowel movement.

In 1996, the year I saw Mrs. Hamptom, over 6000 patients with diabetes were hospitalized for lower limb amputations. This number was expected to reach over 10,500 patients by 2006 and over 15,000 by 2015.
 
Prevention of suffering and reduction of cost of health care with naturopathy and homeopathy
If we as naturopaths and homeopaths could only work alongside conventional doctors in hospitals and clinics, so much suffering could be prevented and so much money could be saved. At the present time 40% of the provincial budget in BC is spent on health care and the majority of this money goes towards critical illness, chronic disease, including drugs, long term care, end of life care etc. Most of these areas could be served through preventative and collaborative care with natural methods.

A Case of Panic Attacks in a Young Girl

Isabella was nine years old when I first met her, a lovely young girl with long, blonde hair. She had been suffering from intense anxiety attacks as well as generalized anxiety ever since watching a Freddie Krueger horror movie three months ago. The mother was concerned that her reaction was this long lasting. At this point Isabella was unable to go to the basement alone, although it was finished. She was afraid of the dark and unable to sleep alone at night. She fearred that her family would get murdered. She did not have any of those fears prior to watching the movie. As if a Nightmare on Elmstreet wasn't enought, detailed questioning revealed the following story:

A case of IBS and migraines in a young girl
In February of 2009 year I received a phone call from a former patient of mine from Ontario asking for advice for his 12-year-old daughter whom I will call Lisa – not her real name. The young girl was suffering from irritable bowel syndrome as well as severe migraine headaches which would come on during the night, sometimes several times a week. She had been suffering like this for four years but was steadily getting worse over the past two years and especially the past few months. They had taken the girl to a couple of other practitioners in the area with some success.

A case of recurring warts and developmental delay in a child
This had to be the worst case of warts I had ever seen. There were hundreds of them, almost completely obscuring this young girl's ankels. No, I didn't know either that warts could grow on the ankles, but here they did. Warts on top of warts, next to warts and instead of warts. Resistant warts.
 
Riley's parents had tried everything to kill them, to no avail. They just came back time and time again. As usual, alternative medicine, and in this case homeopathy, had become the last resort.
 
Alas, even in homeopathy there are no wonder drugs for warts.

A Case of Anxiety and unexplained Vascular and Neurological Symptoms of the lower Legs
Patient is a 55 year old female health care professional. I presented this case at the Annual BC Naturopathic Convention in October 2010. It is a great example of the connection we had to nature on a deep level. It is written in the patient's words.
As a very young child, I spent a lot of time looking out the window, looking beyond, spacing out. My earliest memories are of sitting at a picture window at the edge of the sofa staring out.
I grew up in a large family with a lot of discord. I was the youngest of five children. I remember siblings coming and going, my mother going out. It was like a movie. I wasn’t included, felt left out. They’d go off skiing but I’d be too young to come along.

Acute psoriasis after dental post installation

A 43-year old woman consulted with me recently regarding the sudden appearance of a spreading rash on the back and right side of her neck. The condition started 2-3 weeks ago.

The rash looked like psoriasis and since I knew that the patient had no previous history of this condition I asked her if she had recently had an infection, for example tonsillitis. Sudden onset of  psoriasis may be caused by strep infections, this is also known as post-streptococcal or guttate psoriasis.

It turned out that she had a post for a dental implant installed in her left lower jaw three weeks ago. I suspected that she had developed an infection in that area. She also had pain in the left side of her face as well as a headache.