Vol. 22 No. 2 April 2002

My professional engagements do not permit me to spend much time in writing; the following case, however, I deem worthy of note.

Born of healthy parents, I remained quite healthy until my 23rd year. I had no trouble in getting over the diseases to which children are generally liable. Some of them, scarlet fever and measles, attacked me when I was already engaged in my professional career. I am now 57 years old. [Written in 1845.]

In the year 1808, while vaccinating children, I caught the itch from one of them. I hastened to repel this eruption as fast as possible, which I succeeded in doing within the period of eight days.

This suppression of the eruption was followed by a host of diseases: liability to catching cold; frequent catarrh; rheumatic complaints; toothache; attacks of hemicrania, with vomiting; continual heartburn; hemorrhoidal complaints, at times tumors, at times fluent; excessive emaciation; afterwards a pustulous eruption over the whole body; painful swelling of the joints, arthritic nodosities in different places; a copper-colored eruption on the face, especially on and about the nose, which made me look like a confirmed drunkard, etc, etc.

These affections tormented me more or less, until in the year 1833 I visited Hahnemann at Coethen, for the purpose of studying homeopathia with him. Hahnemann treated me for three weeks, and I continued the treatment at my native place. My health improved steadily, and at the end of a year I considered myself cured. This lasted until October 1836, when I was attacked with violent colic one night. The pain was felt in the region of the left kidney, lancinating, pinching, sore; retching ensued, resulting in vomiting of mucus, and lastly bile. I took a few pellets of Nux vomica 30c; after this the pain disappeared gradually, and the vomiting ceased. Next day I was well again. Two days afterwards I discovered gravel in the urine, and my sufferings had vanished.

One year elapsed in this way; however, I occasionally experienced an uncomfortable sensation in the region of the left kidney, especially when riding on horseback, driving in a carriage, or walking fast; I took at times Lycopodium, at times Nux vomica, in proportion as one or the other of these two remedies appeared indicated.

In November, 1837, I was suddenly attacked with vomiting, accompanied with violent lancinating, sore or pinching pains in the region of the left kidney. The horrible anguish and pain which I experienced extorted from me involuntary screams; I was writhing like a worm in the dust. A stone had descended into the ureter and had become incarcerated in it. Repeated doses of Nux relieved the incarceration, and I distinctly felt that the calculus was descending towards the bladder. After 24 hours of horrible suffering the vomiting ceased, the pain became duller and was felt in the region where the ureter dips into and becomes interwoven with the tissue of the bladder; it continued for three days and then disappeared all of a sudden (the stone had not got into the bladder).

Thirty-six hours afterwards the calculus entered the bulb of the urethra. I felt a frequent desire to urinate; the urine was turbid and bloody, until at last a calculus of four grains made its appearance in the urine. After this I frequently passed gravel and calculi, at times with slight, at times violent pains, sometimes accompanied with vomiting; I kept the larger calculi, with a view of using them hereafter as a curative agent.

On 15 February, 1839, I felt the precursory symptoms of a new attack, which really did break out in all its fury on the 16th, and continued on the 17th and 18th. I now caused 5 grains of my calculi to be triturated in my presence with 95 grains of sugar of milk, according to the fashion of Hahnemann, and took half a grain in the evening of the 17th, another half grain in the morning of the 18th. On this day I passed very turbid urine with a considerable quantity of gravel; however, in the region where the ureter dips into the bladder, I experienced an uncomfortable sensation, but was well otherwise.

On the 19th I was obliged to visit a patient at the distance of two miles; on my journey I felt that the calculus was descending into the bladder; the urine which I emitted shortly afterwards was very turbid and bloody. That same evening, after returning home, I left the stone in the bulb of the urethra, and on the morning of the 20th it came off during stool, but unfortunately got lost among the excrement. To judge from my feeling it must have been larger than any of the preceding calculi, and also rougher, for its passage through the urethra was very painful and followed by an oozing out of blood.

The uncomfortable feeling in the region of the left kidney never disappeared completely; it became especially painful when pressing upon that place, when riding on horseback or in a carriage, when taking exercise or turning the body. It seems to me that the whole pelvis of the kidneys must have been full of gravel and calculi. I now took half a grain at intervals of eight days; the result was that I passed gravel and small calculi at every micturition. On 30 November my condition got worse, and I continued to take Calcarea renalis praeparata.

In May the following year the troubles returned so I took a half grain dose of the remedy again; another dose on 3 June. On 17 June precursors of another attack; on the 18th vomiting accompanied by all the frightful circumstances which I have detailed above; the vomiting of mucus, bile, ingesta, continued at short intervals until the 26th; my tongue was coated with yellow mucus, and my appetite had completely disappeared. Bryonia, Nux vomica and Pulsatilla relieved the gastric symptom; on the 26th, in the afternoon, I passed a calculus of the size of a pea. I now resumed the use of Calc ren praep in half grain doses, at irregular intervals.

On 23 October I passed a calculus of the size of a pea, without vomiting; there were no other precursory symptoms except the uncomfortable feeling in the region of the kidneys a few days previous. I have felt well ever since and free from all complaint, although I continue the occasional use of half grain doses of Calc ren praep, lest I should have a relapse.

Every time I took a dose I found that the so-called tartar on the teeth became detached a few days afterwards. A short while ago a nodosity, hard as a stone, which had appeared on the extensor tendon of the right middle finger, about nine months ago, and which threatened to increase more and more, disappeared. I consider the tartar on the teeth, kidney stones, and arthritic nodosities very similar morbid products.

It is true the most suitable homeopathic remedies afforded me relief; the incarceration of calculi in the ureter especially was relieved by Nux, but they were unable to put a stop to the formation of calculi; this result was only attained by the preparation of Calc ren.

The Homœopathic Examiner, 1846