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Remedy and Dosage Assessment |
When we don't feel well, we want to get better as soon as possible. Here are guidelines to determine the frequency of the remedy needed to get well.
There are 3 levels of dosing:
1st is dosing listed on product label (which does not differentiate between products). This is fine for acute or 1st aid dosing.
2nd is dose listed online with the product, or with the included product flyer. This provides dosing specific for your product and also gives you dosing for ongoing use for chronic conditions.
3rd is individualizing your dose. Over time as you use the remedy, you can personalize the dose for your specific system. Information below provides tips on assessing your response to a remedy or producy. Information is included below on gradually increasing or decreasing dose to achieve your personalized dose.
CLASSIFY SYMPTOM TO DETERMINE DOSAGE
Think of your most pressing health concern and sort into 1 of 3 categories:
A) RECENT. Ask is the problem recent, "Did the problem just occur, such as an injury, trauma? Is this a first-aid situation, an emergency? Cold, flu? Recovery from surgery, dental work, etc.?"
B) SEASONAL. Ask is the problem a seasonal problem, "Does the problem occur at regular intervals, occur more during one time of the year such as hayfever / allergy to grass, tree, weed pollen?"
C) CHRONIC. Ask is the problem a chronic problem, "Have you had your health problem a long time? Does the health problem appear to be a chronic, degenerative, or hereditary problem?
EVALUATE and RECORD SYMPTOMS
In assessing the effectiveness of a single remedy or a combination product, use my systematic method of tracking symptoms:
First step: Write down current symptoms by recording or journaling. Information written down at the beginning creates a baseline.
The effectiveness of a homeopathic medicine can now be measured from this baseline.
To create your Baseline, write down:
1-the symptoms you are concerned about
2-when the symptoms bother you the most
3- what is happening prior to the symptoms.
I'll take as an example, an arthritis problem. The baseline might read:
-pain, stiffness, inflammation in joints [what symptoms are bothering me]
-worse in the morning [when they bother me most]
-inactivity precedes the stiffness and pain [what the situation is prior to the symptoms].
Keep your notes handy (maybe next to your remedy), so you can add information as needed.
In summary, your baseline is the information you record at the beginning of using a remedy.
This creates a reference point for charting progress. Having a tangible record of your symptoms will prevent confusion later.
Second step: In your journal, list the date that you take the remedy. Include the potency.
Include general time of day, if you feel it may be significant. For example, "May 6th took 3 pellets Rhus Tox 30C potency".
Third step: As you notice changes in your symptoms, take a moment to record what feelings, sensations, emotional changes and/or physical changes you notice.
For example, "May 7th felt stiffer in the morning; May 8th moving left shoulder was easier than usual. May 9th had a sense of well being, more strength".
Short notations are fine, just jot down your response or lack of response to the remedy.
In summary, baseline and journaling is used:
a) to note patterns in symptoms, modalities, etc. A helpful aid in remedy selection.
b) to chart response or lack of response to the remedy.
c) to measure progress in healing.
d) to determine if dosage should stay the same or change.
e) to know how to respond in the future to similar health situations.
f) when asking a health professional, such as myself, for additional assistance.
DOSAGE GUIDELINES
This section includes dosage guidelines for each symptom category.
Homeopathy products are sold in tablet, pellet, liquid or oral spray form.
One dose is generally considered to be -3 tablets / 3 pellets / 2 drops /or 2 oral sprays.
For example, if my remedy is in pellets and the directions say to take one dose 3 times a day,
I will be taking 3 pellets in the morning, 3 pellets around noon, and 3 pellets in the evening.
Do not confuse dose with potency. Online Potency Information
A. Dosage for Recent Health Problems such as sudden illness, injury, fever, coughs is one dose 3 times a day.
Question, "I am really sick, what do I do?
Answer, "Use my acute dosing of taking four additional doses in quick succession.
Quick succession means a series of 4 doses 15 to 30 minutes apart. If no response at all, review symptoms and try a new remedy.
If response is good, continue with the basic 1 dose 3 times a day.
Question, "I feel better with the remedy, should I stop the remedy?"
Answer, "A good rule of thumb is to continue 3-4 days after all symptoms are gone.
This method avoids rebound illness or lingering problems.
Use this rule of thumb for sudden illness, recovery from trauma, surgery, infection, injuries.
B. Dosage for Seasonal Health Problems such as hayfever, seasonal allergies is meant to gradually desensitize the body against allergens.
During the season, take one dose right before exposure, plus one dose right after exposure to the allergen.
C. Dosage for Chronic Health Problems is one dose 3 times a day. Homeopathy can help alleviate symptoms or provide palliative care multiple health concerns. Some long term problems will respond rapidly to homeopathics
and some problems need gentle nudging over a longer period of time.
INTERVALS BETWEEN DOSES
The interval between doses can be measured in minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or longer.
If taking the basic 3 times a day the dosages can be spread out evenly in the day, or given close to the time that the symptoms are worse.
If the problem is worse in the late afternoon, you could take all 3 daily doses close together in the early afternoon, before you have symptoms. For allergies, take doses before and after exposure to the allergen. To avoid soreness after gardening, take the remedy before working.
In the arthritis example (see the evaluation section above), the person is worse after inactivity and in the morning, the person will find best results taking the remedy at bedtime to help prevent morning stiffness.
Question, "Can I go on a maintenance dose?" "What would be the maintenance dose?"
Answer, "You can use a maintenance dose for support of organs, glands and products that support the immune system.
Maintenance dose is generally one dose daily. Re-evaluate every month.
My Basics of Homeopathy newsletter includes information on when to take remedies, including timing of doses, myths about waiting after a meal, etc.
Also how to maintain the potency of your product; can you chew pellets instead of placing under the tongue; contamination; antidoting; how to give a remedy to a child or to a pet and more.
HOW TO MODIFY DOSE AND WHEN TO INCREASE OR DECREASE DOSE
I often find when helping clients that they have been too impatient and too quick in altering the dose.
Question, "I was doing well and stopped the remedy, now the symptoms are returning".
Answer, "When Changing Dosage, SLOWLY Increase/ or SLOWLY Decrease."
In this case, the customer had stopped the remedy too quickly (review A in the guideline section above).
For example, you are using Pertussinum and a chronic cough has gone away. Instead of abruptly stopping the remedy, you drop 1 day and redose, drop 2 days and redose and so forth. On the 5th day,you start to cough. This is your new dosage level, one dose every 4 days.
Question, "I feel better with the remedy, can I increase the dose?"
Answer, "No need to increase the dose, since your body is already responding."
Question, "When Can I decrease the dose?"
Answer, "You may decrease at anytime, but make the decrease very gradual".
As you record the increased dosage intervals you will have a frame of reference/ the dosage interval for the minimum dose needed to keep the body in balance.
When dealing with chronic, stubborn or complex health problems, your body will continue to respond to a homeopathic remedy when the change is gradual.
To summarize: If you responded to the remedy and are seeing improvement, do not stop the remedy all together.
Following are some examples of gradual increase and decrease of dose.
Example of a gradual increase
3 pellets daily for 2 weeks, then 3 pellets twice a day for a week, then 3 pellets three times a day.
If too strong of a response, go back to previous dose.
Example of a gradual decrease
3 pellets daily for 2 weeks, then 3 pellets every other day for a week, then 3 pellets every third
day for a week. If symptoms return, go back to previous dose.
WHAT IS AN AGGRAVATION AND HOW DOES IT HELP DETERMINE DOSE?
An aggravation in homeopathy refers to a strong response to a remedy. This is not at all a side effect.
An aggravation/strong response is uncommon. If it does occur it is within 24-48 hours, lasts from a few minutes to a few days and manifests as a slightly stronger symptom of the current health concern.
A strong response signals that the remedy has been correctly chosen and is addressing the illness or blockage to health. This "extinguish burst" is the increase in activity right before it is eliminated.
A homeopathic aggravation is NOT a side effect because the response is not causing a new problem,but is a natural response to the vibrational medicine as it pushes against a blockage in the body.
In the early years of homeopathy, homeopaths liked to see aggravations because they then knew the correct remedy had been given.Combination remedies use supportive remedies and low potencies
to correct problems without an aggravation. Aggravation may also be prevented by taking the remedy on a weekend or a less stressful day.
How does an aggravation determine dose?
If you respond strongly to a remedy with a temporary aggravation, then the remedy is correct and no further dosing is needed.
Often improvement is noticed soon after the aggravation. Include this improvement in your journal. Improvement may continue for some time.
Here is how you find your dosage interval following an aggravation:
If and when you notice symptoms returning, you take a second dose.
The time between the first dose and the new second dose marks the dosage interval.
For example, if it was 4 weeks between the first and second dose, the dosage interval is 4 weeks and the third dose should be taken in 4 weeks.
If the time and symptom return was not recorded, then the person most likely would be frustrated to see the symptoms return and not sure of what to do.
Written by Kathryn Jones DiHom in Homeopathy, M. Ed., WA State Health Counselor. Newsletter Copyright © 2005 Kathryn Jones
To cite page: Jones, K. (2020). Homeopathy for Health. Retrieved from http://www.elixirs.com
