I wish to lay my case before the worthy physicians of the Homoeopathic school, through the pages of the Homoeopathic Recorder, if it be not asking too much of your valuable time, so it may meet the eye of some one, or more, of my brother physicians, who may have had some experience in what is called intercostal neuralgia, from which I am now suffering. The case is a desperate one, and I think without a parallel, and perhaps of obscure origin, but I will give it as near as possible, hoping to gain some information for my own and others’ benefit, and perhaps awaken an interest in the cure or amelioration of the most painful of all diseases. I am fifty-seven years of age. My mother was forty-nine when I was born. She had been treated by an old regular with enormous doses of Calomel for cramps in the stomach before my birth. I was the youngest of fourteen in family, the eleventh boy. Afterwards it attacked the spine and intercostal spaces, and she was a bedridden wreck for over thirty years, all the time under regular treatment.
I was a fine, stout, robust boy till the age of six, when I took the scarlet fever. The same old regular was called, and did his awful work upon the poor little sufferer with his accursed dose of Calomel, and the result is yet clear in my memory. After many months of awful abscesses in and back of my ears and one eye, a large ulcer opened over the sacrum which was an open running sore for over two years, so the bone lay exposed, yet I came up from a skeleton to quite a stout boy, but always subject to lumbago. At about fourteen I had muscular and intercostals neuralgia develop. At about eighteen it attacked the nerve centres which would nearly cut off my breath for days. In later years it mostly left there to take up its abode in the lumbar muscles, to a prolonged and painful extent. Over two years ago, Dr. W.P. Roberts, of Boston and health resort fame, called on me and found me just able to get into my office on crutches and that was all.
He had a set of vacuum cups with him, which he applied, and in ten minutes I got up and set my crutches by, and have had no more use for them since to speak of. Of course I ordered a set at once and soon relieved any slight attacks that occurred.
But this present attack I think was induced by the grippe, which I had lately. It-took me in the intercostal space, right side, without warning, and rendered me totally helpless, so it was beyond the reach of anything; the agony I have endured is beyond any description. They called in an old regular, as there was no Homoeopath within miles of us; he was very clever; he told me I could do was to inject Morphia, which might bridge me over, perhaps. He came the next night to see if I would have another shot and I told him, “No, I thank you, for I have already suffered all the horrors of ten orthodox hells, combined with the tortures of the Spanish inquisition in getting over that one.” I would state that in early life I suffered somewhat from spermatorrhea after having a fever, I think; the neuralgia was worse afterwards, but recovered wholly from that. I have raised a healthy family, a daughter and three sons, although their mother died of consumption. The youngest one was poisoned to death, while away from home, with a dose of blue mass, given for a cold, so you can draw a faint conclusion of my opinion of the boasted regular practice. God forgive the invectives that arise without utterance. I have been a very successful practitioner in Homoeopathy for over fifteen years, have cured over 150 cancers and other formidable diseases, but this one beats me. Will some of the kind brethren give me their opinion of my case? and if they can suggest anything for relief of the painful malady from which I suffer I assure you it will be gratefully received. I am now taking Kali phos., I think with some benefit.
G. E. NEWCOMB, M.D.
