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Heolderma suspectum
Proving Summary
 For more details please see the
complete
Monograph. The complete proving is also Published in
The Desert World: A Homeopath
Exploration.
Choosing the Remedy
In Medical Advances circa 1900, it was noted: “Heloderma should be placed with other polycrests like Naja and Lachesis- there needs to be higher potency provings”. A proving was conducted to help resolve this situation. In addition, very little research has been done on the Lizard family in the homeopathic literature. We feel that this is an important but neglected family. Heloderma venom is also unusual and unlike most other venoms.
Themes
A central idea of this remedy is expressed in the following: I am busy(industrious), centered(balanced) and speeding in my space but don’t bother me or I will get irritable and lunge. This idea was well expressed in the dream of prover #3 who dreamt that she was possessed by a scorpion and had to keep attacking others who would get into her space but when left alone she felt centered and at peace.
Lizard Themes
Animal themes were present throughout the proving. By the end of the exit group proving, participants predicted that the remedy was an animal, which had a tail, was involved in some type of construction (burrowing) and had the potential to be aggressive. The colors red, white, black and yellow also came out which match the colors of the lizard. The craving for eggs is also interesting in that this is the one of the primary foods that the lizard eats. Reptilian themes were also present involving a lack of maternal feeling, striking out and aggression.
There are two other lizard remedies, along with recent provings of alligator and dinosaur bone. Amphisbaena vermicularis is the snake lizard. It is made from the jaw containing poison, although the poison causes no local injury. The poison arrests the heart in diastole. It affects the spinal cord which does not respond to electrical currents. There is extreme and abrupt loss of power. There have been no formal provings. Symptoms include: Right jaw swollen and painful with lancinating pains; Ennui; Depression; Tender sadness which disposes one to be gentle and meek; sadness and lassitude in the morning; Impatience; Tenderness, gentleness; Sensation as if the feet were in the head; Headache with lancinating worse right; Vesicles and pimples; Twitching of the upper eyelids; Eyes painful and weary; Difficult swallowing, especially saliva; Tearing pain in abdomen’ lancinating as from a stiletto in the navel; Vertigo as if one would fall to one side; Weight in the forehead; Sensation of grain of sand in right eye; Protrusion of umbilical hernia; Cramp in left leg and painful large pimples on left side of upper lip.
Lacerta agilis is the green lizard of Europe. The remedy is prepared from a tincture of the whole lizard. A one man proving described in Allen consisted of symptoms following swallowing a whole lizard cut into small pieces.Symptoms include: Large vesicles under tongue; Constant accumulation of saliva in mouth; Violent eructations; Feeling of weight in stomach; Much nausea; Violent pressure in stomach; Pains in intestines relieved by drinking water and vinegar; Skin eruptions; Vesicles under tongue, increased mental acumen; Difficulty swallowing; Nausea and violent pressure in stomach.
Desert Themes
There were many desert themes present in the proving. These include Hyperactivity, Attack and defense, Water, Swelling, Restlessness, Diabetes and Coldness.
One of the most prominent themes was that of increased energy. This took on many forms which ranged from apprehensiveness and anxiety to mania. Key words that provers used to describe this state included anxiety, busy, industrious, working constantly, rushed, not able to shut off the flow of ideas, insomnia and agitation.
The idea of speed also expressed itself in the speech. Mangliavari’s case illustrates this with a seven year old boy who skips words and sentences in his speech. It is also seen in the rubric“Thoughts rapid and quick”. Gilatide, a peptide in Heloderma venom, has shown efficacy in the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder.
Central Motion
The central motion of the proving was that of a gyroscope. One prover described it as follows: Irritable with people; wanted people away from me; sense of well being; thinking felt sharp and clear; could see things well laid out; felt possessed; felt crazy; mind was racing; talked fast; people could not wait to get away from me in my environment; could not find center or get centered; feeling the need to get things done and accomplished; wanted to be by myself; rankled feeling; no one come and bother me as I have work to do; irritability; feeling of great centeredness and being herself; things shifting in head and finally feeling balanced; feel welcoming to others; feeling of quiet joy and connection to everything; need to do and not be interrupted; have found a balance point like a geographical place in my mind-at any time when I become aware of annoyance or feeling off balance, I can reach into my mind and touch the center and instantly feel balanced/connected like a gyroscope that may wobble but then rights itself and spins smoothly; sense of well being/wholeness.
Core Sensation
The core sensation had to do with balance. The idea of centeredness vs. being out of balance(expressed on the physical level of vertigo) seemed to come up repeatedly during the proving. For example, prover #2 described an unsettled feeling of “being out of balance” throughout the entire proving. A number of the provers described feelings of peace and contentment by the end of the proving relating to feeling as if they were coming into greater balance. In the initial proving by Babcock, unsteadiness of gait, ataxia the sensation of walking on sponges were prominent symptoms. He described needing to lift up his feet higher than usual and bring them down hard, in an effort to ground himself.
Miasm
There is some suggestion of that Heloderma suspectum lies in the Tubercular miasm, although syphilitic miasm is also possible.
General Characteristics
The main general characteristic of this remedy has been said to be its intense chilliness. It is one of the coldest of the remedies in our materia medica. It is an intense coldness from within outwards and can come in waves or cold rings around the body. This is similar to the feeling in Larrea tridentata. Flushes of heat are also present. Dryness is also another strong general characteristic.
Physical Characteristics
The physical center of the remedy seems to revolve around the upper respiratory system, nervous system and gastrointestinal system. Many of the participants developed upper respiratory symptoms. One participant also experience a cured symptom of chronic severe stabbing stomach pain. Symptoms also were generally worse in the morning. Chilliness was noted by several participants(the leading keynote of this remedy prior to the proving). One prover had a dream of being in snow and woke up with intense shivering.
Mental and Emotional Characteristics
Three of the provers felt more social by the end of the proving. Prover number five, in particular noted a significant change from isolation and being a loner to greater socialness and calmness. For several provers, this also took the form of connecting more to deceased relatives. Prover number one described feeling as if she was much closer to her patients after the remedy and could see more clearly. The animal is known for its solitary habits. The theme of aggression was also present. For the most part this took the form of irritability and the need to protect one’s space. However, a number of provers had violent dreams and one prover described aggressive feelings of wanting to punch others in the jaw. The aggression and irritability seemed to be without remorse or much emotion. In general the provers noted a lack of maternal feeling with this proving.
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