I want you to get the most out of your experience with Homeopathic treatment.
Here are a few things important to know as we move forward in your course of treatment.
What to expect at your Homeopathic Consultation
Because Homeopathy treats the “whole” being, the more information that you can provide me about yourself will help me in my evaluation of your case.
It will also aid me in my ability to more precisely prescribe the remedy that is a good “match” for you.
To better prepare you for our consultation, I have described below the kind of information that will be most useful to have when you come to your appointment.
General Information
Homeopathic practitioners are interested in knowing who you are on all levels. The practice of Homeopathy does not just compartmentalize physical conditions in a patient. Homeopathy goes beyond the physical being, and examines all aspects of the human condition, including emotional, mental and spiritual aspects that make you up as a person. It is therefore very important that in your consultation, I get as complete a picture as I can of you. All of the information gathered is vital to helping choose a remedy that is the best “match” for you. Here are some things to consider sharing during our first appointment:
- How vital and energetic do you feel?
- How does your sense of well-being change as a result of environmental or emotional factors?
- How are you affected in general by temperature, weather, time of day, activity level, eating and sleeping?
- What makes you feel better or worse?
In addition to information about your primary condition(s), as a Homeopathic practitioner, I need to know your overall assessment of your health, emotions, likes, dislikes etc., etc.
Describing Your Symptoms
The first thing I will be looking for is a list of the condition(s) that brought you to my office. I will want to know how long you have had the condition(s), any medications you are on, and the treatment your Dr. recommended for you. Any reports, test results, or other documentation is always helpful. If there is more than one condition, list them in order of importance.
Next, I would like you to describe, in your own words, as fully as possible, your thoughts and feelings about these conditions. The more precise you are, the better. I will give you some ideas of things I am looking for, but this is by no means an exhaustive list. If you think of anything that isn’t here, by all means, please include it. Here are some of the things I am looking for.
1) Character of Sensation
In other words, how does your condition make you feel physically? Does it feel tingly or is it burning? Do you have a sensation of numbness, crawling, pressure, or itching? Is there pain? Is the pain cutting, dull, aching or cramping? What are the sensations associated with your condition?
2) Location
Where is the complaint located? For example…”headache” is good, but adding the description, ”pain in the left temple” adds a more complete picture for me.
3) Discharge
Do you have any discharge from any part of the body? If so, where? Please describe it in detail. I am looking for color, consistency, quantity and odor of the discharge, just as an example.
Bring some of your Artwork
4) Modalities
What makes your complaint better? Here I would like you to think about what you do to make it feel better, lying on your right side, better at night, better when it rains, better when it is hot or cold, better when I am lying down as opposed to sitting up, sitting still, stretching, bathing, etc., etc., In other words is it affected by your position, or by motion or lack thereof. Is it affected by temperature, humidity, weather, sleeping, or eating? Anything you think of that makes it feel better, please list it.
What makes your complaint worse? Here I want you to think of what makes it worse. Again, is it weather related, movement aggravated, affected by your position, bathing, heat or cold, eating or drinking? Again, anything you can think of that makes it feel worse, please list it.
5) Related or Associated Symptoms
Does anything happen in association with your condition? For example, when you get a headache, are you nauseated? When you have PMS, does your skin clear up? Do you notice any patterns that occur with your condition?
6) Onset of Symptoms
Did anything occur in your life when your symptoms began? Here, I am looking for a possible connection between something that happened in your life with the beginning of your condition. Was there a significant emotional upset, a prolonged or pronounced stress, frequent lack of sleep, exposure to toxic substances, an injury, drug use, or surgery? Does anything you do, bring on a recurrence of symptoms?
7) Life History
While there won’t be time to discover everything about you and your life in our first appointment, important life events are an important part of the process in choosing your remedy.
Please tell me if there were any traumatic or emotional events, or significant occurrences, in your life when you grew up? (These can be good or bad or both.) How was your birth delivery? Were you early or late? How many siblings in your family? Did you get along with them? What are some of your favorite memories growing up? Anything you can think of is helpful.
8) Mental & Emotional
What makes you feel emotional? How is your memory? Are you able to be clear in your thoughts and communications? Are you creative? What are some of your talents?
9) Artwork & Dreams
Dreams, artwork, hobbies, and ambitions all fall under forms of personal self-expression. Who we are can often be revealed through any talents or gifts you have, and make up a part of the “complete” picture that makes up who you are. Please bring some of your artwork, hobbies etc., with you to your consultation if possible. OR, if not, please take a picture of any and of your projects. You may make a list of your hobbies and/or talents. Also, please share your favorite color, mode of art you like, etc., etc.
Past Medical Records
Previous medical records are always helpful. Please bring copies along with you if at all possible. The first determination that any Homeopathic practitioner (including myself) wants to do, is understand the condition you have and how it “fits” into your overall picture. It may be determined that a physical examination needs to be done and laboratory tests ordered as they are deemed necessary.
For Women
If you are a woman, are you emotional around your cycle? What age were you when it started? Describe your cycle; how many days between cycles, duration, flow, PMS. Was your cycle regular? Describe your pregnancies. How many pregnancies did you have? Have you had any miscarriages? How many children do you have? Did all your children go to term? Did you have morning sickness? Were you overly emotional? Did you have any cravings? If so, what were they?
Homeopathy is Safe for Children
For Children
It is helpful and suggested to have both parents present for the Homeopathic consultation when a child is to be evaluated. If both parents cannot be present, it will be very helpful to have a letter, from the parent not attending the consult expressing and summarizing any issues and concerns they have for the child. When evaluating a child, all input is important in making an accurate assessment for the benefit of the child. Please bring in illustrative copies of your child’s artwork to the consultation. Again, anything that reveals the natural expression of the child is important in the case. On the day of evaluation, please allow the child to dress in a way that is comfortable for him. Choice of dress can provide a window into the child’s nature and preferences.
Length of Visit
Homeopathy for a chronic disease, i.e. Arthritis, Celiac disease, etc., will take approximately 2-hours.
Acute diseases, colds, flu, and the like, will usually be a shorter visit. During this visit, the concentration will be only on the issue at hand. Chronic symptoms will be put to the side and only those symptoms that have arisen at the time of the acute disease will be considered. Your symptoms will still need to be related to me as precisely, and with as much detail as possible. The physical exam is usually limited to those procedures necessary for that particular acute condition. Here again, lab tests or x-rays may be ordered as needed to clarify the condition.
Taking Your Homeopathic Remedy
Please note that each individual responds to their prescribed remedy differently. The effects are gentle and gradual, although sometimes, we see more rapid or dramatic changes occur. Since the remedies work to improve your general health, you should not be concerned if local, minor symptoms do not change immediately. Patience is necessary in Homeopathic care.
Sometimes, temporary minor aggravations of symptoms or recurrences of previously experienced symptoms will occur. Please note that these are not side effects of the remedy, but an indication that the body is responding to the stimulating effect the remedy has on the overall system. Please do not hesitate to call if you have a reaction that concerns you. I will try to respond as quickly as possible.
People with chronic symptoms improve over widely varying periods of time, usually 3-24 months depending on the case. As was mentioned earlier, changes in your overall health and well-being, can be subtle and sometimes imperceptible. It can be difficult to “tell” if it is working. (This is why patience is needed.) It is easy to abandon the process when you think it is not working, but many times, the Homeopathic remedy works on a cellular level and remains imperceptible until it’s work is done there.
Remember, Hering’s Law of Cure
- Healing progresses from within toward without; from the deepest level, (mental and emotional) to external (skin and extremities)
- Healing progresses in reverse order of the original appearance
- Healing progresses from above down; from upper parts of the body to lower parts
You may notice different things happening and have no idea it is part of the remedy working. Keep a record of anything you notice that might not be “normal” for you, and go over it with me on our follow-up appointment.
For Acute cases: Based upon the information you provide, you will be prescribed a Homeopathic remedy. This remedy will act to stimulate the healing process in the body. How to take your remedy will be given to you at time of consultation. You should notice improvement within the first 24-hours of taking the first-dose.
For Chronic cases: Dosing instructions for Chronic cases vary on several factors and will be given at time of appointment.
Homeopathy; Gentle, Effective
Follow Up Appointments
During the time you are taking the remedy, regular follow-up visits are strongly recommended to give me an idea of how things are progressing. They will help me assess your progress and evaluate your response to the remedy.
Even when you are doing well or continuing to make progress, it is important to keep your follow-up appointment.
The follow-up appointment will help nurture the healing process by keeping me up to date and help me assess whether to “tweak” your remedy or change it all together.
This is also a time to discuss things that happened during the “in between” of your appointments. If you kept notes during this time, the follow-up is the best time to share them.
Everything is important when you are on a remedy.
The reason the first appointment is so long is to give me a baseline from which to work with you, and each follow-up appointment will help me see your progress and decide whether or not your remedy should stay the same or needs to have some changes made to it.
The follow-up visits are scheduled at varying intervals or as needed. Usually, they go anywhere from three weeks to six months depending upon the individual characteristic of each person’s progress.
Once you are making steady progress on your remedy, your remedy will also help you resist disease in the future by increasing your resistance to emotional stress. Of course, diet and lifestyle must also be factored in to the equation.
Sometimes, a follow-up appointment seems unnecessary when we feel good and are making progress. We are all used to the conventional idea of going to the doctor only when we are sick.
However, our observation has been that those patients who return for their regularly scheduled follow-up appointments complete their Homeopathic treatment in a shorter time and with better results.
Although you may be taking Homeopathic remedies and be under active care for as long as two years, (sometimes more,) it is important to keep in mind that the ultimate goal of Homeopathic treatment is to reach a high level of health and allow our bodies to take care of its needs naturally without the crutch of constant allopathic care.
For More Information
AMCofH offers Introductory classes in Homeopathic Theory. Please ask if you would like more information. Homeopathic study groups are also available. It has been my experience that the more individuals learn about Homeopathy, the better they are able to assist the progress of their own treatment. Another way to learn about Homeopathy is through the many books that are available. Click here for a list of recommended books and resources.