Mrs. MAR visited the clinic in June 2000, seeking help for her inability to conceive. This was a case of secondary infertility because she gave a history of two missed abortions on July 11, 1996 and March 1, 1999. She had a D & C (dilatation and curettage) done after each episode of missed abortion.
She was extremely anxious to conceive. A sense of hopeless had set in and she was usually sad and depressed. She used to weep due to the sadness. This reached a point where she had now developed an aversion to coition due to her sadness.
She did not like her husband playing with other children and she would be filled with jealousy when she saw other mothers.
She was dark complexioned and grossly obese. She was constipated and had an aversion to sweets. Her menses were usually late, dark red and clotted.
This lady had come to Bombay to visit her relatives and while she was here, she was referred to me for the treatment of her infertility. She did not have her investigation reports with her but said that all the tests including the hormonal assays were normal. The ultrasound had shown Poly Cystic Ovarian Disease.
Her husband had also been thoroughly investigated and was found to have oligospermia (low sperm count) and hyperthyroidism. [All this was later confirmed when she sent a set of photocopies of the investigations.]
Treatment:
Syphilinum 1M (2 doses) were prescribed for her. This was followed one month later (July 2000) by Graphites 200, t.i.d. for the next 2 months. The patient’s husband was prescribed Thyroidinum 30 t.i.d for 2 months.
Follow up:
The patient conceived in October 2000, without any treatment by her gynaecologist. She was advised complete bed rest in view of the previous missed abortions.
She had a full term normal delivery in July 2001 and became the proud mother of a healthy baby boy.
Discussion:
Syphilinum was prescribed to the patient considering the history of 2 missed abortions. This is a miasmatic influence and the drug was given to counter the same.
A fat, costive female with delayed menses usually suggests Graphites as the remedy. This patient also had another physical general symptom- aversion to sweets, which helped to confirm the remedy.
The mental symptoms were not given much importance in this case because these were the result of the stress of the recurrent abortions and subsequent infertility. In this case, these symptoms can be classified as common symptoms.
In our clinic, we have found Thyroidinum to be a near specific in cases of oligospermia. We have had many patients whose sperm counts increased significantly after the use of Thyroidinum. ‘Arrested development’ is the key word for this remedy.