March 14, 2016
Amy L. Lansky, PhD
I receive questions every day about homeopathic treatment, especially from parents looking for guidance about treatment of their autistic children. Naturally, I receive many kinds of questions repeatedly. In order to share information more widely and efficiently, I often encourage people to post their questions to my blog, Ask Amy. Here is a sample of an Ask Amy post that I thought might be useful to you.
Question:
Hi Amy.
I have a 10-year-old son with autism, and I did take him to a classical homeopath. His main issues are extreme controlling behavior; extreme lack of impulse control; severe constipation; very poor social behavior; and lack of focus/interest. He is very verbal and bright though. He responded very well initially to Tuberculinum and Lycopodium, but they now have stopped working for him and we don’t see any benefits from them. We are now trying Carcinosin (started) and Natrum Muriaticum (not started yet). But we don’t see the big gains we did when we initially started on Tuberculinum and Lycopodium. In fact he has shown regression in some of the behaviours we had eliminated earlier.
Are these two things common:
1. For a benefit to stop working?
2. Some medicines to cause regressions?
How long do people stay on a medication that works for them?
Thank you.
Answer:
These are indeed difficult questions, especially without knowing more about your son’s case. There are many possibilities, and I have several questions.
How long did you stay on the initial remedies, Tuberculinum and Lycopodium? Did the homeopath try many different potencies and dosing options before abandoning them?
Usually, if a remedy is doing well for a patient, one should not abandon it before trying other potencies and even methods of dosing. For example, if you were given dry doses, then switching to more regular liquid dosing may be needed. Sometimes you can try a shift from C potencies to LM potencies, or vice versa. Sometimes, even a small change in dosing (e.g., increasing the number of teaspoons given at each liquid dosing, or the number of succussions of the remedy bottle) can make a difference for sensitive patients. Also, most homeopaths tend to go “up” in potency when a particular potency stops having an effect, but going down to lower potencies can also be the solution. I believe that each potency level may address different aspects of the case.
Also, why is the homeopath using two remedies at a time? I see that he or she is giving both a nosode (Tuberculinum, Carcinosin) and a more traditional “constitutional” remedy (Lycopodium, Natrum Muriaticum). I understand the thinking, but it may be possible that it was really the Tuberculinum or the Lycopodium that was doing the work.
How long have you been on the Carcinosin and Natrum Muriaticum? A week? Three months? Sometimes it takes a month to see changes. And even the most subtle improvements can be signs of the remedy working.
As far as the regression. Unfortunately, this can mean many things, and it depends on how things progress.
For example, sometimes a correct remedy can cause old symptoms to return. However, if this is the case, then those symptoms should disappear within a few days, or at most a couple of weeks. Think of it as bringing up the symptoms and then more completely healing them.
Is it possible that you have introduced some new factor that is antidoting your son’s remedies or is a “maintaining cause” that is causing this regression? These factors could be new foods, supplements, changes in social milieu at home or at school, environmental, etc.
It’s also possible, of course, that the new remedies are simply incorrect and that your homeopath has to take a new approach.
This is the work of your homeopath and you must consult with them and ask these questions. Treatment of autism is difficult, complex, and may have ups and downs. And frankly, sometimes the homeopath just isn’t getting the case or doesn’t have the experience to handle it. I always suggest that you give the process at least a few months (ideally, at least six months) to see at least some forms of improvement and change, trust your instincts, and if all else fails, find a new homeopath if you need to.
However patience is always needed. This is a long-term process, not a quick fix.
I hope this is helpful!
~ Amy
For more by Amy Lansky, click here.
Great writing. Would love to hear to more cured cases for autism.
So – I directly copied and pasted text from Rachel’s reply. And it is easy for anyone to see if had changed the words. So how did I misquote? Please explain.
You say I mischaracterized. Are you saying Rachel’s words don’t carry the plain meaning that most of us that read English would understand? Please explain.
You say there is plenty of evidence that the ‘remedies’ are effective. But all you can offer to support this assertion is a webpage put up by Dana Ullman. I suppose the uninitiated might be impressed by his sciency-sounding article, and long list of ‘references’, but anyone with a real background in science is not.
Finally, you make the claim that what you call ‘allopathic’ medicine has a standard model of masking symptoms (instead of treating the condition?). Please explain and provide evidence that this IS a standard treatment practice. And by standard is meant that this is what commonly is done, not just in a few examples that are exceptions.
Sorry, I see the new comments in a list, not with under the ones they are in reply to. I thought you were replying to the piece itself. Yes, you quoted Rachel, who was being snarky too, just in a far more subtle way. You were quoting the person who did the mischaracterizing in the first place. 😀 Sorry for the “misquoted.”
I love the absolute dismissal of a “sciencey-sounding article” with a long list of scientific references. For your information,*I* have a “real background in science”: a degree in Physics from the #1 college in the country according to Forbes, along with work experience as an engineer and IT specialist. “Anyone with a real background in science” actually INVESTIGATES the science. They don’t dismiss it out of hand.
You’ve got to be kidding about providing evidence that meds are standard allopathic treatment. 😀 😀 😀 Ever been to the doctor with a chronic condition of any kind? If you haven’t, just ask ANYONE YOU KNOW about their experience. 😀 😀 😀 Yeah, no. If you need PROOF of that which is self-evident, you’re clearly here just to yank chains. You’ll have to try somewhere else. Have a nice day!
Try something stronger, or maybe weaker, or different remedies, or go back to the old ones. Remedies can cause symptoms to get worse, or sometimes you may see things get slightly better. All these are signs of the remedy working. It could take a very long time, or you may see improvements very quickly. If you need to change your homeopath, and let another one have a go. If it’s not working, it’s quite likely to be your fault.
I have to say, this is a fairly common situation with homeopathy – keep at it, and don’t give up, even if it doesn’t seem to be helping – it will eventually. Or it might not.
“Remedies can cause symptoms to get worse, or sometimes you may see things get slightly better. All these are signs of the remedy working.”
So no matter what happens, it means the ‘remedy’ is working?
“It could take a very long time, or you may see improvements very quickly.”
You could say the same thing about doing nothing at all.
“If it’s not working, it’s quite likely to be your fault.”
So with not one shred of evidence to show these ‘remedies’ are effective, we can still say with certaintity that if they don’t work, the problem MUST be the patient doing something wrong.
“. . . keep at it, and don’t give up, even if it doesn’t seem to be helping – it will eventually. Or it might not.”
Well that covers just about all possible outcomes. Remember, if the ‘remedy’ doesn’t solve the problem, the fault lies elsewhere.
How can anyone believe in this stuff?
I am sure you are well aware of the fact that you are misquoting and mischaracterizing the material. But, hey, as long as you bill yourself as “cerebral” it’s all good, right?
If your cerebrum were TRULY working, you would note that there is plenty of “evidence to show these ‘remedies’ are effective” (https://www.homeopathic.com/Articles/Homeopathic_research/Scientific_Evidence_for_Homeopathic_Medicine.html) — you just choose to ignore it because it doesn’t sit well with your assumptions. That’s not how science works. Nor is it how healing works.
“How can anyone believe in this stuff?” It’s simple. They tried it and it worked, often when nothing else did. That doesn’t mean that the answers for chronic problems are necessarily simple and straightforward, thus blogs like this exist, but that does mean that it’s worth looking for them — especially as homeopathic treatment can lead to long-term resolution of symptoms and a complete restoration of health. How often can allopathic medicine, with its standard model of masking symptoms with powerful pharmaceuticals (many of which have unintended consequences that make further disease likely — such as the wholesale destruction of the microbiome when antibiotics are taken) make that claim?
Um, that was kind of my point.