The Obsessed Trainer
NATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY 2000 Mar / Apr VOL II NO 2.
Dr Vishpala Parthasarathy
'Naja / Lyco

I have a beautiful boxer dog called Churchill. We did not have to try and find him a mate- on its own, one day a breeder landed up at my doorstep, saying that he must have Churchill for his bitch named Gorgeous, so that together they could produce this phenomenal chain of puppies that he had been doing extensive research on. Now which owner can resist such an offer which puts her precious dog on such a pedestal? Not me. I only put my foot down on being offered stud fees- it went against the grain to sell his services. We insisted on getting one pup out of the litter.

And so, based on the fertility cycles, a date was set. And on the appointed time they turned up: Gorgeous with 2 men in tow. We, too, were ready with our garland and tikka and the ubiquitous sweets. Garlands were exchanged, tikka, that red auspicious vermilion spot, without which no Hindu wedding can be sanctified, was applied. The breeder, for whom mating only meant mathematical calculation of ovulation dates, the viscosity and colour of the mucous, and had long ago been robbed off any romance, looked on dazed at my juvenile antics!! Anyway he did not interfere even when the dumb photographs were being taken, the record for posterity. What to do? I was a first time bridegroom-mother and the enthusiasm showed. Anyway all went well and in 2 months time, on the 7th of Dec when Churchill turned 7, Gorgeous produced 7 perfect specimens of the boxer babies, each more handsome than the other. Now is this a coincidence?

A month later we went to pick up our grandson. The one who stole our hearts was the one who was an identical copy of Churchill "the stud" (his new nickname), as he went about his work with a definite swagger now added to his gait.

This little perfect specimen of dog-kind, attached himself to my sari and pulled it all the way in. Now who would have thought he would recognize his grandmother the minute she walked in?

Thus Boris came home. And what a home it now became-messy, but Oh! So exciting! And we forgot all about the breeder. We thought that was the last we would see of that handsome, but nonetheless, only a breeder.

But we were very mistaken. He was not a handsome breeder by fluke; but one who had distinct aspirations to the glamour world of films! And to this end he had been swallowing, all by his lonesome self, certain tablets, which created havoc with his system. So he lands on the door of our clinic one day, with a trouble sheet longer than my Boris' pedigree!!

And now began the Homoeopathic fun and games. "An aside: all this time, you must have been wondering why I was loading our NJH with little anecdotes about my personal life! But now you can see light at the end of the tunnel, and the preamble begins to take on an excitement.

The Story: 
Our breeder has a penchant for delving deep and mathematically into any problem. That we have seen. He also delved medically. And he decided that for his growth he needed some doses of Vitamins and Eltroxin 50mcg He took these from July to Sept 99. From Dec 99 he started developing palpitations, tremors, tachycardia and panic attacks. His anxiety for health and vigour, which was always on the high side, with more than a smattering of medical knowledge, now took on gargantuan proportions. He could not get to sleep and if he did, he woke up in panic, worse tea, worse proteins, which also he needed to keep his body in that trim fit conditions. It all became a huge cyclical mess!

He went to the endocrinologists who now put him on Trika and Inderal.
His cheeks began to sink; his face began to lose its youth. His mind went into bottomless questions: Am I going into thyrotoxicosis? Am I going to die? I have Thallasemia minor, Will this affect the other symptoms? Will this be cured?
His anxieties were palpable; his interest in health and medicine palpable!

Which nut of his own free will, likes to read medical things, leave alone take strong Eltroxin tablets. Medical knowledge let me assure you, is no fun at all. I still remember when I first began reading it, I thought every disease described was mine and every remedy of the Materia Medica fitted me. Every patient who came to you had the worst disease. It took a long time to steady oneself and get to thinking only about the relevant part. I do medicine because I am stuck with it. I cannot imagine anyone trying to read it as a hobby and train himself in it out of his own free will!!!

So here was this man with blood surging up to his vertex from 10 in the morning to 5 in the evening. Only sleep brought solace, but where was that accursed sleep? His vision was blurred, his appetite was low, he was scared of eating, he got loose motions every day and he had no sexual desire for 3 months. His energy was down; his usual jog of 1hr 20mins tired him. And all the waking hours all he thought about was his health.

"You will help me, no, doctor? I am suffering because of my own stupidity. But doctor, you will be able to help me, no? Yes, I have faith in Homoeopathy.

All my life I have lost because of my own stupidity. I have really missed the boat. Why should I blame anyone else? Though why my father did not stop me when I went to Dubai. He should have made me stick it out here, and I too would have made it big like Shahrukh, who was my contemporary". (Shahrukh, in case you have not guessed, is none other than Shahrukh Khan the Numero Uno in the Hindi Film industry today).

Our patient's father had been a film writer. Thus he was born into the film world, on 15 Jan 1956. He was a child artiste and won some acclaim: as a hotshot kid whom everyone knew.

In 1977, when he was 21, after completing BA in English Phil and Psychology, he had film training with Shahrukh. But then nothing worked out. And he had the bug to earn money so went to Dubai. And by the time he came back in 1984, he had lost his timing. He tried films, but thinking that he was cut out for big things, he never took small roles. People promised but failed to deliver. Even his mentor ditched him; he got a bad role in Circus a TV serial. Some good scenes were cut off. One serial with 5 episodes too was also shot, but the money crunch made the producer ditch. Our patient's intense nature, of putting all his eggs in one basket did not pay off. But he is not a loser. He is still hopeful.

1994 Love marriage to the girl he was steady with since 1977. He had to wait till his father died in 1993, as he would not have agreed to the marriage, since the girl was a Christian. Now he has moved into her flat, since her parents have also died. Mother lives on Carter road alone. But most times alternates between his flat or his sister's flat ;6 months in the year she goes to the other daughter in Abu Dhabi. Patient has his own flat too, which he has converted to a kennel for the dogs. He has 2 employees to look after the dogs. He started dog breeding in 1989. 1996 he went full time with Boxers only.

Not settled, wants to make big time. Even got an opportunity to go to Gulf this year but declined, since his heart is set on acting.

Success is only in his dreams. For a daily living he took up his second love, which is dogs; he really knows a lot about dogs. That is his trait - to go deep into every subject, even ones we should not dabble in- like drugs!

During the interview he talked non-stop for an hour, without much prompting. He was medium built: 5'6" and 68 kg, black hair and some cavities. Stools tend to be loose with anxiety-2-3/day. Likes food normally but appetite lost with anxiety. Likes spicy rich food and sweets3. Loves children; almost brought up his 2 nieces. Loves dogs. Has fear of deep water, heights and most of all, fear of not achieving. Very anxious, worries3 with agitation and anticipatory anxiety, when feels helpless, like now. Very particular about things. In school he never liked maths, but now he tries to understand physics. He certainly has peculiar, strong hobbies!

Sleep very poor: 4-5 hrs and starts up with palpitation.
Dreams: As if Trapped and cannot get out, since all windows closed. This identifies with his current life situation as of now.
Sun < headache. Cannot bear too much heat?

Follow-Up Criteria:

1. Anxiety state
2. Panic
3. Palpitation
4. Pulse: 68-70/ min
5. Wakes throbbing
6. Die will
7. Fitness freak
8. Sleep 4-5hrs
9. Anxiety about future
10. No energy
11. Cannot run 1hr 20m
12. Gland pain Throat- thyroid
13. Diarrhoea < anxiety

Conclusion: 
What I learnt from this case was, that whatever the complaints, specifics do not work. Here Arg-nit was a fairly close remedy yet it did not make a dent. But the deep-acting remedy cleared up the right mental picture. Naja fitted the depression picture. But the constitutional was Lyco, which was given only when the old picture came back. The patient, who even on the phone complained to me for hours is now calm and positive of getting well....his reporting is now brief and only in short sentences. A remarkable case of obsession with health, physique and success.