I had a teenage client recently tell me that taking a homeopathic remedy should feel like it looks on a video game- you get a health potion and you are revitalised.
Unfortunately, homeopathy is usually a lot more subtle than that, and the results come over time. So I thought I would discuss some of the ways that you can see a change after taking a homeopathic remedy.
A fever- particularly with kids, or if there has been a history of recurrent illnesses, a high fever after a constitutional homeopathic remedy is a great thing.
A discharge of some description- this could be a snotty nose, moving the bowels (if a history of constipation), or in very rare cases vomiting. This purgative effect is the body clearing something, and can also be a return of old symptoms.
Skin itch or rash- in some cases we heal from the inside out (known as Hering’s law), which can cause an eruption on the skin. In the case of itch this can be because the liver has been struggling and the body is now trying to activate its detox pathways. If your detox pathways are not working well then this comes out through the skin- which is sometimes why we work on the gut, kidneys and liver before going deeper for healing.
An emotional outburst. This could be tears – I had one client tell me she cried for hours after a remedy, but this was cathartic and she felt much better afterwards. Or it could be an outburst of rage, if you have been suppressing some well justified anger.
A return of old symptoms- something that you used to have that comes back. I’ve seen rashes, cold like symptoms, muscle aches, it could’ve anything, and usually it is short lived and not too intense.
It could be any of the above, or it could’ve something much more subtle.
I like to say that healing is forgetting. Every homeopath who has been practicing for a while will have had clients come back and say that either the remedy didn’t work, or that they haven’t noticed anything. Then, we ask them a series of questions about what they told us last time.
Homeopath– How is your back pain?
Client– I haven’t had any since I last saw you.
H– What about your headaches?
C– I had one a week after I last saw you, it was really mild and I didn’t need to take any pain killers.
H– the last time I saw you, you were waking up two or three time a night and having trouble going back to sleep.
C– I’m now sleeping all through the night, not even waking up once.
The above example is fictional, but reminiscent of what I hear regularly.
“It’s done nothing” is actually a slow and quiet forgetting of the niggles and pains you had before.
While a video-game like infusion of healing power would be amazing (I can imagine hearing a ZING as suddenly everything is fixed), the reality of homeopathy is much more quiet. A subtle change moving towards balance mentally, emotionally and physically, which also is hopefully longer lasting than the potion in a game!