|
Mrs. F.H., a 55 year old French teacher reported with complaints of acidity
since last 6 years. She had also been facing difficulty in swallowing since the
last 6 months. There was inability to swallow solids and even liquids would go
down with some difficulty. Details of her complaints have been given below:
-
Blocked feeling in epigastric region
-
Acidity ending in vomiting.
-
Complaints worse from oily and spicy food and after eating in general, due to
which she had decreased food intake.
-
She would be better by cold milk and rubbing the epigastric region.
-
Waking up in the middle of the night due to acidity
-
Easy satiety and loss of 9 kilograms of weight in a short time
Endoscopy revealed changes of 'Beak-like narrowing' of the lower end of the esophagus and reduction in the motility of the Esophagus, which is diagnostic of Achalasia Cardia. The stomach and duodenum were normal.
General features: She had a liking for spicy, salty, non-vegetarian food and disliked eggs and sweets. Perspiration was normal and there were no complaints pertaining to stools or urine. She was menopausal since 3 years.
By nature, she was a sensitive, well-educated person and had good relationship with family members. She was very attached to her father who had passed away and missed him a lot.
Whenever she would get angry, she would throw things about. There would be easy anxiety if her family members would not arrive at home on time. She was quiet impatient and hurried in general.
Being very helpful by nature, she would go out of her way to help people. At the same time, a spendthrift that she was, she never saved anything.
The patient was friendly by nature and could make friends easily. She was very particular in general about various things. Fear of heights was a marked symptom.
There was history of suffering from jaundice and measles in the past. In her family, there was no other significant medical history except that her father had died of heart failure.
Her weight before starting the treatment was 44.5 kilograms.
Based on the above history, she was prescribed Alumina 30 for her complaints. A week later, she reported with no change in her acidity but reported feeling depressed in the morning. Treatment was continued on similar lines and another week later, she was about 50% better in terms of her acidity and had started eating better than before. She had also gained 1 kilogram of weight so far.
After about 2 months of regular treatment, she had started eating and drinking freely without any discomfort and had gained another 4 kilograms; her weight was only slightly lesser than normal now. Her treatment was continued for a few more months since this was a case with pathological changes in the body and it takes time for the pathology to be reversed. The patient continued to improve on the treatment and was very satisfied with the results.
|