Lycopodium: A Study
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 2004 Mar / Apr VOL VI NO 2.
Dr Vishpala Parthasarathy
'Lyco / Ars-a / Nux-v / Thuja

My topic for the 10^th SSMS was Lycopodium
Now why had I chosen to take Lycopodium

1. It is the No. one remedy which can come for all colitis cases - suited both emotionally and physically. It has some 300 symptoms delineated for just GI and Colon.
2. The other reason for tackling one specific remedy is to trace the study and understanding of a remedy which will stand us in good stead in the methodology of studying any and every remedy.
3. I am going to graphically bring out the picture before you of Lyco.
4. Lyco has remained a difficult remedy to study and use, because the commonly referred materia medicas portray only one aspect of Lyco - in the stage of decline- which we rarely come across, and the other aspect in the ascent or the evolutionary aspect -is not easily known. Only recent works have started exploring how the Lycopodium evolves.
5. The recent works include:

o    ICR Symposium volume

o    Catherine Coulter: Portraits of Remedies

o    Philip Bailey: personality types

o    Helped by our recent repertories

A small introduction to study of Lycopodium:
From what we know about Lyco, we wonder - Is it an Enigma? Is it a 2-faced personality? What is it? Why is it so confusing?

What if we had to use one symbol for Lyco - it would be Ostrich-Deception-whether self or others.

To begin at the very Origin:
Lycopodium comes from the words: Lycos: wolf - so is Lycopodium a wolf in lamb’s clothing?
Podos: Paw - does this mean the friendly paw - outstretched to all and sincere/ faithful/ stuck to none?

Lycopodium is Club-moss.
What are the characteristics of club-moss?
First -moss is one of the oldest forms of plant life. This spells survival, where it has survived for centuries without radically changing itself. One cannot survive unless one adapts to the changing environment or one is soon killed. NB: Lyco has little < environment
From these both emerge the strong Viability of Lycopodium- ability to survive in all circumstances:
Moss is green, uniform, undulating with the surface on which it grows, undistinguishable one part from another. So it is cool and green and serene.
The traits we get from this are:
Serene, stable, and Resilient.
We can easily lift it off the ground without struggling with strong roots
Thus, Detachable and Detachment.
Add these to the strong Intellect and you get a person brimming with Self-confidence
With this short introduction. Now move on to the study we can understand how each characteristic can help developed the basic traits of the remedy:

Graphics are good way to learn, so I give you the rest of Lyco through slides.

volution of Lyco: Childhood to Old age
Lyco Infant
Very sensitive to all sensory inputs.
Child startles with slightest noise or light; even doorbell.
Always hungry and cannot bear hunger. Likes warm food.
Very sensitive skin. Easy rash < warmth-so tying up in a bundle is worst for the Lyco infant.
Frequent block nose and snuffles. Offensive head sweats.
Occ difficulty in passing urine  screams before urination.
Suffers from recurrent diarrhoea and bronchitis, worse teething. Spasms ^3.
All this feeds his irritability.

Lyco Child
A precocious child, very intelligent, very bright. Observant. Memory is sharp. Does not easily forget what you teach him once. Bright eyes
Easily vexed. Sibling jealously, the birth of a younger one  bronchitis.
Vindictive if mishandled, but only to achieve his end. (opp Nat-mur, Tarentula- needless destruction. Nat - emotions guide. For Lyco intellect guides)
All through life his appetite remains healthy. Greedy. but Poor assimilation. Eats well yet emaciates legs down.
Ideas are his forte, so this precocious child develops greater attachment to father and to world of ideas. (opp Nat-m)
But father is rarely home and often moody- blow hot and cold. Confused  anxiety  increased efforts to please father.

Aggressive and dominating, so few children will play with him. But the Lyco learns fast: his irritability bounces back on him; so learns to control it and make friends
But in school, must excel  pushes himself hard.
But physical poverty does not support  Anxiety. Physical ailments- GI and Chest most vulnerable.

Lyco Adolescence
Personality formed. Learns control. Drive from Environment  converts to self-drive.
He is the teachers pet. He is the smartest.
To compensate his poor physical prowess, acquires friends with physical prowess, but who are intellectually low, so he can dominate.
A good representative character is Dillon of the world famous Archie comics. Archie-Calc. Reggie- Plat
All his 3 worlds develop rapidly
World of ideas and images grow. Personality becomes more outgoing  action.
Books  intellectually strong. In right Environment, world of images and artistic also grow. A perfectionist by nature, child matures early, learns to control the environment to do his job better. Sets targets for himself. Tries to improve communication.

Father constantly critical: At your age- I could do this and this. You still cannot. Studies not enough. ? Physical prowess too. And sexual prowess?
Lyco has difficulties with girls. He begins to doubt himself and this is the beginning of his Anticipatory Anxiety.

His childhood traumas and lack of love taught him a great deal. He does not drown under the burden of childhood scars (unlike Nat).He converts it a learning experience. He matures. The adolescent stage really skips Lyco- no tantrums and depressive phases. The faster he learns the ways of the world, the easier it will be for him.

So he learns to stand on his own feet, fairly early. Internal drive ZOOMS to success.
He learns to suppress his emotions to focus on success. Learns single mindedness. (focused)
Lyco is never vindictive. Lyco learns to control his irritability so as to wait for a better time to pounce - a tactic. But his anger, irritability is always present, even if controlled.
He deflects what ever distractions come his way (opp Nat-m). Since he exercises such control, he may appear arrogant and intolerant.

Adult:
Successfully converts willful nature into WILL.
Masters anticipatory anxiety and irritability. Tantrums are never seen.
Moulds facts to suit him. To come up the corporate ladder he needs objectivity.
Low emotions, strong will. His feet are placed firmly on the ground.
His focus is the world of objectives helped by range, resolution, discrimination. Single-minded, clean path. He appears self-sufficient and emotionless.

Individuals exist only as siphons- for their functions towards work.
But he is able to maintain cordial relationship with all and get the work done.
His Bank, his aristocracy is his intellect.

He develops mentally at the cost of his physical development. Emotions are suppressed. Later, may become a jumble of Nerves. Ideas repeat constantly. Insomnia. Agitational Anxiety with restlessness. Unrefreshed sleep (Puls). Snappy, irritable.(comp Aurum- wedded to facts and power of money. Despotic personality)

Platina-emotional plane exaggerated. Sense of importance  vanity.
Lyco has love of power and money. Develops his acquired taste  a connoisseur.
Sexual side is very active. Many women. His detachment does not allow him to be emotional about 1 woman.

His main world is his WORK. (for Nat-m main world is emotions)
So he is intolerant of threat to success. < contradiction. Brooks no arguments. Domineering. Ambitious. Competent. Hard work and ability to carry people to Success.

The aspiring perfectionist phase of Lyco, is his zenith, his ceiling and after that, unless he rises himself further, which is usually not possible, he can only go into decline.

His central point is his self image. Any upset to that produces anticipatory anxiety. Therefore, stage fright etc in case he makes a mistake and his image suffers a setback
Lyco found more in professional class, less in business, working class.

Lyco old age
Before he knows it or can plan for it, he is in the final day in office and he is attending the farewell given for him. He has no time to adjust or focus or plan.

The next day he has neither an office nor a home. The grand palatial home which was his for so long, is taken away. He has to move to his small pigeon hole flat, which he had once just bought as an investment!

Now it hits him- -He is retired. Decline sets in. He has lost his power and his work. No one comes any more to see him. He feels useless. He is depressed. All the things and feelings he thought he had overcome, were only suppressed, and now come to the fore.

Now he feels lonely. There is no longer anyone in the next room, awaiting his pleasure. Now when anyone comes, he gets emotional. Rubric ‘weeps when thanked.’ Has its origin in this.

As the system becomes more and more weakened, all the suppressed emotions come out and the personality changes unrecognizably.

His wife , whom he had neglected all these years and yet was always waiting for him when he came home, is no longer available. In the day, she has built a life without him. Is it too late to build up a new relationship with her? He would have to try very hard.

In the decline, his sensitivity to sex comes in - thinks /dreams amorous. Restless, sleepless, loss of confidence. (Ac-Puls.)
His control systems are shattered. Always weak physically, he goes even weaker. All the symptoms described in the Materia Medica’s mostly relate to this phase of his life- the decline phase. Final phase is sadness, indifference, suicide. Delusions, paranoia. Avarice, misanthropy

The tremors, the involuntary movements, the head nodding- like in chorea, toxicity.
The involutionary melancholia, ischemia, senility. Ca liver, stomach. Puerperal psychosis. . . . .

These then, are the travails of the Lyco.
Now we will take 2 cases. Cases always clear the concepts and make them permanently etched in the brain.

Case 1: The Accuracy Freak
Mast J J M 8yr of age. He lives in Dubai Fa is a Christian and Mo, a Gujarati (now converted). This case was taken when I was in Dubai for a lecture on 21^st Nov ‘03.
He had the following complaint:

1. Since June 03 - recurrent URTI
   Day 1: he starts sneezing² early morning² , Day 2: dry cough² < 11-12pm³, < night with yellow expectoration², high fever < night, 11-12 pm
2. GIT - gases³ < 7-8pm, flatus and eructations Started since Feb 01/02- colic >Dysp. First vomiting starts and afterward both diarrhoea and vomiting³. Debility³, Restlessness³.
3. In1999 detected to have left kidney cyst (7x10cm) with very occasional pain.
4. Musculo Skeletal System- knee, back, calves, groins - pains and ache², shooting pain < running < playing football.
5. Past History of right nose bleed > cauterization.

Patient as a person:
Height 50"
Weight: 21 kg Lean, thin, does not gain weight easily.
Skin: Easy ecchymosis, bruises. TEETH: Carries.
Coldness: Palms. HEaT: Feet > rubbing on cold floor.
Perspiration: Scanty. DIGESTION : Flatulence < pm.
Appetite: N. Thirst: For sips.
Desires: Veg³, acid², fried, ice-cream³ salty³, sweets³, warm.
Stools: 1/day. URINE: N 5/day.
Sleep: Refreshing. THERMAL: Hot.

Life Space:
17/4/95 -Born.
Parents had a love-marriage. They met in USA while his mother was studying in wild life management, and married in 1989. Initially the family opposed as Mo was not catholic. Later on they left Catholic church and now both are Christians. In ‘93 parents moved to Dubai as MGF who lives in Mumbai, had a heart attack and wanted them closer to India. So Dubai was the best choice. Mother still continues to have an Indian passport and is very close to her family. She even had her delivery in Mumbai.

Mentals:
A very bright child. Very Intelligent and very particular about dates and times. For ex when Mother said he comes home from school at about 1 pm, he corrected her- Mamma, 1.20 pm! Memory-sharp³, immediate. Likes Maths, music and practicals. Perfectionist³. Irritable^3. Sulks and like to be consoled. Weeps² easily (alone). When angry, slams door, shut, sulks and talk , < touch³. Hates being hugged and kissed. Affectionate, has many friends, 1-2 close friends. Justice³. Fear of dark². Anxiety-anticipation². Soft when anxious. Worried-what happen to me if mother and father die? Likes company³. Likes- athletics³. Homesick³. Restless³. Will². Drive².

Structure: Evolving the traits (See Page No.121) Repertorial Totality:

1. Perfectionist3	11. Desire-acids3
2. Homesickness3	12. Desire-sweets3
3. Fear-dark2	13. Desire-salty3
4. Cries easily2	14. Desire-ice-cream3
5. < touch2	15. Thirst- for sips
6. Company desire for3	16. Flatulence-<pm
7. Anxiety-anticipatory2	17. Sneezing2-< am
8. > consolation2	18. Kidney-cyst
9. Restless3	19. Lean thin
10. Hot

Rubrics selected for repertorization Robin murphy:

1. Fastidious (1043)
2. Homesickness (1058)
3. Crying easily (1020)
4. Fear-dark (1045)
5. Touch-aversion to (1115)
6. Company- desire for (1012)
7. Sneezing-<am (1208)
8. Cyst (618)

Potential Differential Field:

1. Hot (361)	2. Desire- sour (546)
3. Desires- ice-cream (542)	4. Desires- salt (545)
5. Desires- sweets (547)	6. Lean (579)
7. Flatulence <evening (1280)

Remedies which emerged form repertorial filter:
Calc-carb 25/13, Caust16/9, Phos 29/13, Sil 14/10, Lyco 22/12, Nat-mur 25/12, Bry 14/8, Puls 24/11, Ars-alb16/8, Bell 11/7, Nux- vom 11/7

Remedy Selected:
Acute - Ars-alb - Fastidious. Time Modality and location. Constitutional - Lyco. Covers the personality and the way he plans life at such an early age. Few friends though mixes.
Inter-current - Tub-b

Treatment :

Date	Symptoms	Remedy
23/10/03	Cold	Ars-alb 30 HS SOS
24/10/03	>. Acute phase better, so now give the Anti-miasmatic	Tub-b 1M 1st dose
31/10/03	Constitutional single dose in the quiescent phase.	Lyco 200 1st dose
3/11/03	From 23/10-30/10 Steroid inhaler tapered 2-1-0 > 3 No cough, sneezing, wheezing . Appetite improved, gas > (Ars was repeated to take care of untoward action of steroid withdrawal)	Ars-alb 30 HS SOS
7/11/03		Ars-alb 30HS SOS
10/11/03	Cough of and on < exertion. nose bleeding < am	Lyco 200 2nd dose
21/11/03	Cough >, sneezing	SL
28/11/03	>	SL
5/12/03	> >. (To complete the action of the Constitutional and the underlying Miasm)	Tub-b 1M 2nd dose
12/12/03	Cough + < am < evening, shooting pains upper and lower extremities < playing2, restless +, sleep less. Feels hot especially feet-rubs on cold things. Appetite good , weight increased . Rt eye tired and puffy	Ars-alb 30 1P=3
26/12/03	?conjunctivitis.	SL
14/1/04	> >. But still has occasional leg pains. (Rpt Lyco to see if Lyco will help the leg pain.)	Lyco 200 3rd dose
21/1/04	>. But leg pains ct when plays too much. IC to complement action of Lyco	Tub-b 1M 3rd dose
28/1/04		SL
20-4-04	>	No need to rpt
	>. Had a mild cold but recovered in 2-3 days on own. (His resistance has built up to a level where he is able to take care of his mild problems.) Watch for a couple of months. No repetition, unless immunity down.

Case 2: A Control Freak
Mr KM, 41 yrs, CA, Hindu. Non Vegetarian came to me on 14^th March 2003 with the chief complaint of:
1. Heaviness all over abdomen < am. Eructation < dairy products, < dal, Flatulence < cauliflower, < cabbage. Burning Sensation on empty stomach. Mild nagging pain > night. These complaints are there almost everyday since 1999 Increased since Jan 03.He has visited almost all the Gastroenterologists-some diagnosed it as liver malfunction , some said the problem is with the Gall Bladder but there was no relief.

1. Since 1999 even the Triglycerides and Cholesterol are very high.
2. Chest pain referred by GB spasm < 8 pm on 25^th Jan 03 .
3. Nose Allergy, Sneezing with redness of eyes once a month for 4days <Kerala³ from hay, dust, pollen.
4. Giddiness <afternoon²<3-6pm 1/3mth since 2001.

Patient as a person:
Stocky. Oily Skin. Scabs on Chest and loin.
Persp: Scanty. App:Good. Thirst: Profuse 1 litre/day.
Craving: Butter³, cheese³, chicken³, chocolate³, coffee³, egg³, curd³, fish³, fried³, ice-cream³, pungent³, salt³, sweet³, hot³ "straight from tava".
Stool:2/day, unsatisfactory. H/O Constipation, SCOPR with occational bleeding .
Urine :Normal. Sleep:8 hrs, on abdomen.
Thermal:C2H3.

Life space:
24/3/62 : Born in Kerala.
77: Passed SSC with 54%.Was a brilliant student, but overconfident.
79: HSC, 54%. Only wanted to become Doctor. But did not get admission. Disappointed
82: BSC Physics 67%.
86: CA was suggestion of father .But is very happy that he is not a Doctor, who have to be more saintly and not money-minded like him.
87-97: Chief Executive in Kotak Mahindra.
94: Arranged Marriage. Also started his own business as always wanted to be on own.
02: Loss in business, lot of complication, stress³.

Mentals:
By Nature he is very Particular, Punctual.Impatient. Short tempered. Caring, loving, accommodating. Goes out of his way to help people.Worries a lot- about health or could be anything .Fear of darkness, snake, ghost, death, poverty³. Anxiety³business, health, family. Stubborn.Behaviour aggressive³, hurry^3,fastidious³.

This is a case where a business minded person, having passion for money, very fastidious, suffering from IBS and they cannot help though visited best of Gastroenterologists, not better none of them could study the mind which only a homeopath can do. And that is what which helped in this case.

Structure: To put all the facts and Evolve traits in 1 page (see Page No. 121) Repertorial totality:

·         A/F Disappointment 1033

·         A/F Business 1009

·         Fear poverty of 1050

·         Money passion to make 1084

·         Fastidious 1043 Ø Domineering 1034

·         Anger easily 995 Ø Anxiety health 1001

·         Hurried 1058 Ø Fixed Ideas1061

·         Milk Agg 543

·         Stools Unsatisfactory 1270

Potential Differential Field:

·         Cr salts Ø Cr icecream

·         Cr sweets Ø Abdomen Heaviness

·         Chest Pain Ø Eructation Amel 1376

Remedies:
Lyc 26/10, Ars-alb 24/12, Nux-vom 23/11, Puls 18/9, Sulph 18/9, Nat-mur 18/8,Ign 16/9, Sep 16/10, Lach 1/7.

Remedies Selected:
Acute : Nux-vom
Chronic: Lyc
Intercurrent: Thuj

Treatment :

Date	Symptoms	Remedy
14/3/03	Tender lower abdomen as if a sore wound. Irritable. Stools semisolid, satisfactory.	Nux-vom 30 1st dose
21/3/03	>50%.Tenderness >50%, Flatulence >, Stools semisolid, satisfactory.	Nux-vom 30 2nd dose
28/3/03	Flatulence <evening3 but no trapped sensation.	Lyc 200 1st dose Nux-vom 30 3P SOS
31/3/03	Throat irritation >warm	Ars-alb 30 3P 1P=3 Lyc 200 2nd dose
9/4/03	>3 Flatulence +.Stool unsatisfactory	Lyc 200 3rd dose
23/4/03	Was >3.Loose Motions since 3 days .Flatulence +	Lyc 200 4th dose
25/4/03	Sneezing3 sudden<dust.Abdomen >70%	Sabad 200 2P 1P=3
26/4/03	Sneezing >75%	SL
5/5/03	Stomach heaviness +,Stool 2-3/am, Fatigue	Nux-vom 1M
12/5/03	Flatulence 50%, Heaviness +, Acidity>50% (to complement the action of Nux-v)	Sul 30
22/8/03	Fever 100, Tired3, cough>warm, Sprained back, Bodyache3.	Eup-per 200 3P 1P=3
20/9/03	Better	Tub b 1M 1st dose
27/9/03		Lyc 200 5th dose
13/10/03	Sneezing3 with headache.Throat pain.Similar complaints he had 10 yrs back.? HERING. need to watch.	Sac-lac 200
14/11/03	Flatulence +, Bowel not clear	Lyc 200 6th dose
17/12/03	Was >80%.Again complaints + (? Intercurrent required)	Thuja 200 1st dose Lyc 200 6th dose
16/1/04	Sinusitis	Kali-bi 200 3P 1P=3
25/1/04	>	Lyc 200 7th dose
25/2/04	>3. His Cholesterol and triglycerides levels have normalized after 5 yrs!	Sac-lac 200
21/4/04	>3 Flatulence >50%	Thuja 200 2nd Dose
28/4/04	Now patient still under observation.	Lyc 200 8th Dose