Dr. Jennifer Bahr, ND
@DrJenniferBahr
At only 5 years old Tyler was already on 2 psychotropic medications, and had been for over a year. They would work for about a month at a time and then inevitably needed to be increased or changed. It seemed that the increases were happening faster than could be explained by normal growth and the changing physiologic needs of a child. He was on a stimulant to help with focus and a sedative to help him sleep. Frustrated with worsening symptoms and concerned about long-term effects from the drugs, Tyler’s mom called my office hoping to find a different way.
Tyler’s primary challenge was rage. Not just anger, but rage. His moods were sudden and intense, often bringing whatever family activity was taking place to a sudden and screaming halt. Things had progressed to a point that he occasionally had to be physically restrained to keep him from unwittingly harming himself or those around him during an episode.
He already had a well balanced diet and was taking a high quality fish oil, multivitamin and probiotic supplement. They had helped some but he still had symptoms, making it a perfect case for homeopathic intervention. Homeopathy is a unique type of medicine that utilizes small doses of single substances found in nature which are prescribed in a systematized way. It focuses on characteristic symptoms that are specific to the individual rather than on management of a diagnosis alone. These symptoms are the external manifestation of an internal imbalance, and they guide an experienced practitioner to find a homeopathic remedy that will help stimulate the body to heal itself.
The fact that Tyler still had symptoms despite taking psychotropic medications and supportive supplements was actually helpful. It gave me the information to not only start treatment, but to assess if the treatment was working. This is a crucial factor to consider when using psychotropic medications. These drugs alter brain chemistry, and in response, our brains adapt and alter how we respond to the chemicals the drugs aim to block or increase. Abrupt discontinuation of psychotropic medications can have serious impacts on the mental and physical health of someone taking them. For Tyler, his symptoms were strong enough that we could see if he was responding to his new treatment protocol before working with his psychiatrist to slowly reduce the medications that he had been taking with limited success. This would prevent any rebound symptoms.
Over several hours, Tyler’s mom recounted all of the details of his physical and mental health. She shared a step-by-step account of what would occur in his rages. The only discernible trigger was Tyler not getting his way. Many parents will sympathize with this because this is what most kids get upset about. Tyler would very quickly escalate from being upset about a disappointment to having a rage fueled meltdown complete with screaming and crying. His face would turn bright red and his pupils would dilate. He would become violent, banging his head on the ground or punching holes in the wall. The only things that could stop the rages were being held tightly or doing something “dramatic” to help draw his attention elsewhere. Tyler also had some difficulty with sleep if he didn’t take his medication at exactly the right time. He would take a long time getting to sleep and would wake every 2 hours throughout the night. In addition he complained about itchy skin and loose stools.
My job as a homeopath is to identify a homeopathic remedy which matches the described symptoms of a patient. The remedy that is most similar will elicit the strongest healing response. In Tyler’s case Belladonna best covers the exact symptoms and displayed characteristics of his rages described above. As I mentioned previously, homeopathy works by stimulating the body to heal itself. Even though I focused on the rage symptoms for selecting the remedy, his health should improve overall. The body and mind are connected, and a healing therapy for one will impact the other.
Needless to say, the remedy I selected for Tyler’s case was Belladonna. He took a 30C potency every day. No other changes were made to his diet, supplement or medication regimen. This was important for evaluating the effectiveness of the remedy. At his first follow up 4 weeks later, Tyler had had no rages and his sleep and itchy skin were improved. By the second follow up, Tyler had reduced his medication for sleep by half and had a single small episode of anger, indicating that he was no longer responding to the original remedy. His symptoms as a whole did not change, so I increased his potency to a daily dose of Belladonna 200C. Since that time he has not had a single rage. He discontinued his stimulant and slowly weaned off of his sedative completely without any disruption in his sleep. His main symptoms have changed, and with that his remedy also had to change. These days Tyler is doing well in school and is a happy, energetic 6 year old.
One of the things that I love best about what I do is seeing the dramatic progress that can be made with accurate homeopathic prescribing. When Tyler’s mom first called me she asked the same question every mom asks: “Is there hope?” It is almost always said immediately before or after they tell me that their pediatrician told them their child would need medication for the rest of their lives. I am happy to report that within a year of starting treatment Tyler no longer needs psychotropic medications to maintain stable moods. So my answer is always yes. There is hope.
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Dr. Jennifer Bahr, ND is a licensed naturopathic doctor practicing in San Diego, CA. She focuses on the treatment of mental health and endocrine conditions with expertise in mood disorders and child/adolescent mental and behavioral health. She is also adjunct faculty at Bastyr University California and is the vice president and legislative chair for the California Naturopathic Doctors Association. Dr. Bahr received her Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine where she focused her clinical studies on homeopathy, nutrition, mental health, and pediatrics.