Cannabis Indica
By Constantine Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of our Materia Medica
East Indian Hemp. Cannabineæ.
MIND [1]
Head feels very heavy, loses consciousness and falls.
Every few moments he would lose himself, and wake up, as it were, to those around him.
He forgot his last words and ideas, and spoke in a low tone with a thick voice, as if tired.
He begins a sentence, but cannot finish it, because he forgets what he intends to write or speak.
Inability to recall any thought or event, on account of different thoughts crowding on his brain.
He could not read, partly on account of dreamy spells, and partly because he had not full power of vision.
Very absent-minded.
Constantly theorizing.
His mind is filled with ridiculous speculative ideas.
Exaltation of spirits, with excessive loquacity.
Great exaltation of mind ; at times with enthusiastic language.
Exaltation of spirits, with great gayety and disposition to laugh at the merest trifle.
He could not fix his thoughts upon one subject.
Sudden transition from one fantasia, when completed, to another ; the general character may remain unchanged ; after visions of great sublimity usually follow visions of a quiet, relaxing and recreating nature.
Hallucinations and imaginations innumerable ; that he is gradually swelling, his body becoming larger and larger ; that some one calls him ; that he hears numberless bells ringing most sweetly ; imagines he hears music ; shuts his eyes, and is lost for some time in the most delicious thoughts and dreams.
Exaggeration of duration of time and extent of space ; a few seconds seem ages ; a few rods an immense distance. θ Delirium tremens.
It appeared to him that an occurrence which happened quite recently, had taken place long ago, and again that something that had to happen soon, seemed exceedingly tardy in coming.
A sense of having two existences ; double consciousness.
Fixed ideas.
Incoherent talking.
Laughs indiscriminately at every word said to him.
Uncontrollable laughter, till the face becomes purple, and back and loins ache.
Full of fun and mischief, and laughs immoderately.
Moaning and crying.
Great apprehension of approaching death.
He was in constant fear he would become insane.
Horror of darkness.
Anguish, accompanied by great oppression, > in open air.
Great mental agitation, anxiety, irritability, nervousness. θ Menorrhagia.
Nervous ; she trembles at least source of agitation. θ Headache.
SENSORIUM [2]
Vertigo on rising, with stunning pain in back part of head, and he falls.
Heavy pressure on brain, forcing him to stoop.
Dulness of head.
INNER HEAD [3]
Assists brain to labor after a debauch.
Violent shocks pass through brain, on regaining consciousness.
Heavy insurmountable pressure on brain, forcing him to stoop.
Dull drawing pain in forehead, especially over eyes.
Throbbing aching pain in forehead.
Jerking in right side of forehead, towards interior and back part of head.
Severe stitch in right temple, gradually changing to pressive pain.
Dull stitching in right temple.
Pain in whole right side of head.
Aching in both temples, most severe in right.
A sensation as of brain boiling over and lifting cranial arch like lid of a teakettle.
Feels as if top of head was opening and shutting, and as if calvarium was being lifted.
Dull, heavy, throbbing pain through head, with a sensation like a heavy blow on back of head and neck.
Heavy weight at back of head, from which pains shoot up sides of head to temples and vertex ; pain at midday forces her to cry.
Frequent involuntary shaking of his head.
Headache, accompanied by flatulence, continuing until he can pass wind upward or downward ; throbbing of occiput.
(OBS :) Megrim, or sick headache.
OUTER HEAD [4]
Scalp and skin of forehead felt as though tightly stretched over skull.
Crawling in scalp, on top of head.
Soreness of scalp to touch.
SIGHT AND EYES [5]
Dimness of vision.
Visual clairvoyance.
Sensitiveness of right eye to light.
Letters run together while reading.
Twinkling, trembling and glimmering before eyes.
Eyes are bright and shiny.
Injection of vessels of conjunctiva of both eyes.
Jerking in external corner of eye and eyelid.
HEARING AND EARS [6]
Hearing very acute.
Noise in ears ; like water boiling.
Periodical singing in ears during his dreamy spells, ceasing when he came to himself.
Ringing and buzzing in ears.
Throbbing and fulness in both ears.
Aching in both ears.
UPPER FACE [8]
Countenance dejected and careworn. θ Headache.
Wearied, exhausted appearance.
Drowsy and stupid look.
Pale face.
Tense feeling in facial muscles.
Skin of face, especially of forehead and chin, feels as if drawn tight.
LOWER FACE [9]
Dryness of mouth and lips.
Lips feel as if glued together.
TEETH AND GUMS [10]
Gritting and grinding of teeth while sleeping.
TASTE, SPEECH, TONGUE [11]
Every article of food is extremely palatable.
Metallic taste.
Stammering and stuttering.
INNER MOUTH [12]
Dryness of mouth, without thirst.
White, thick, frothy, and sticky saliva.
PALATE AND THROAT [13]
Throat is parched, accompanied by intense thirst for cold water.
APPETITE, THIRST. DESIRES, AVERSIONS [14]
Ravenous hunger, not appeased by food.
Desire for and dread of water.
EATING AND DRINKING [15]
While eating, his stomach felt swollen and his chest oppressed, as if he would suffocate ; was forced to loosen his clothes.
SCROBICULUM AND STOMACH [17]
Pain in cardiac orifice, > by pressure.
(In sick :) Sensation of warmth in stomach. θ Gonorrhœa.
ABDOMEN AND LOINS [19]
Flatulence on rising in morning. θ Headache.
Flatulent rumbling in bowels, at night.
Abdomen feels swollen ; > by belching.
STOOLS AND RECTUM [20]
Sensation in anus, as if he was sitting on a ball ; as if anus and a part of urethra were filled up by a hard, round body.
Painless yellow diarrhœa.
URINARY ORGANS [21]
Constant dull pain in region of right kidney, and in glans penis.
Pain in kidneys when laughing.
Sharp stitches in both kidneys.
Aching in kidneys, keeping him awake at night.
Burning in kidneys Urine : loaded with slimy mucus, after exposure to damp cold ; pain in bladder and urethra ; profuse, colorless.
Urinates frequently, but in small quantity.
Frequent micturition, with burning pain, in evening.
Has to wait some time before urine flows.
Has to force out last few drops with hand.
Urine dribbles out after stream ceases.
Urging to urinate, with much straining, but cannot pass a drop.
Burning and scalding, or stinging pain in urethra, before, during and after urination.
MALE SEXUAL ORGANS [22]
Sexual desire excessively increased ; satyriasis ; priapism.
Erections : while riding, walking, and also while sitting still ; not caused by amorous thoughts ; violent ; painful.
Penis relaxed and shrunken.
Uneasiness, with burning sensation in penis and urethra, accompanied by frequent calls to urinate.
Sharp prickings, like needles, in urethra, so severe as to send a thrill to cheeks and hands.
Gonorrhœa : unaccompanied by pain ; lightheadedness ; slight tingling, with inflammation around meatus ; slight burning during micturition ; discharge yellowish-white and very profuse.
Feeling in urethra as if there was a gonorrhœal discharge.
On squeezing glans penis, a white glairy mucus oozes out.
Chordee.
Itching of glans penis.
FEMALE SEXUAL ORGANS [23]
Sexual desire increased.
Very profuse menstruation.
Menses very profuse and painful, dark, but without clots ; lasting eighteen days. θ Menorrhagia.
Violent uterine colic, with cramps in extremities. θ Post post-partum hemorrhage.
Spasmodic uterine colic ; pains returning like labor-pains ; great agitation and sleeplessness. θ Menorrhagia.
PREGNANCY. PARTURITION. LACTATION [24]
Threatened miscarriage, with discharge of blood from vagina, in eighth month of pregnancy ; burning in making water, with purulent discharge. θ Gonorrhœa.
VOICE AND LARYNX. TRACHEA AND BRONCHIA [25]
Inability to measure compass and volume of voice when speaking.
RESPIRATION [26]
It requires great effort to take a deep inspiration.
Oppression of chest, with deep, labored breathing, < when ascending.
Feels as if suffocating, and has to be fanned.
COUGH [27]
Rough cough, with scraping immediately under sternum.
Hard, dry cough.
INNER CHEST AND LUNGS [28]
Stitches extending from both nipples through chest.
HEART, PULSE AND CIRCULATION [29]
Palpitation of heart, which awakens from sleep.
Pressing pain in heart, with dyspnœa, whole night.
Painful sticking as with prongs of a fork in heart.
Stitches in heart, accompanied by great oppression ; the latter > by deep breathing.
Pulse slow (as low as 46) ; rapid (as high as 160).
NECK AND BACK [31]
Chin suddenly drawn down to sternum, lasting three or four days, when it relaxed.
Pain across shoulders and spine ; must stoop, cannot walk erect.
Pain with drawing through lumbar vertebræ, on standing.
(In sick :) Warmth in spine extending to head.
Backache, < catamenial periods, which occur every two weeks, and are scanty.
UPPER LIMBS [32]
Agreeable thrilling through arms and hands.
Coldness of right hand, with stiffness and numbness of right thumb.
LOWER LIMBS [33]
Right limb feels paralyzed when walking.
Weariness in both limbs, almost amounting to paralysis ; < in left.
Agreeable thrilling in both limbs, from knees down, with a sensation as if a bird's claws were clasping knees.
Is unable to walk up-stairs on account of an almost entire paralysis of limbs, with stiffness and tired aching in both knees.
On attempting to walk, he experienced intensely violent pains, as if he trod on a number of spikes, which penetrated soles and ran upward through limbs to hips ; < in right limb and accompanied by drawing pains in both calves.
Shooting pains in joints of toes of left foot, < in great toe.
Aching and stitching pain in ball of left great toe.
Numb feeling of sole of left foot, then whole foot, increasing to a numbness of whole limb.
Pricking in feet.
LIMBS IN GENERAL [34]
Heaviness of arms and legs.
Paralysis of lower limbs and right arm.
REST. POSITION. MOTION [35]
Rest gives general relief ; great desire to lie down in daytime.
Standing : pain, with drawing through lumbar vertebræ.
Walking : cannot walk erect ; pain across shoulders ; right limb feels paralyzed ; is unable to walk up-stairs, or, attempting to walk, violent pains through lower extremities.
NERVES [36]
Trembling with mental weakness.
Thoroughly exhausted after a short walk.
Felt so weak that he could scarcely speak, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Catalepsy.
Exaltation of all powers of mind and body before fit. θ Epilepsy.
SLEEP [37]
Desire to sleep, but inability to do so.
Excessive sleepiness ; great desire to lie down in daytime.
Felt so weak that he could scarcely speak, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Starting of limbs while sleeping, which awoke him, when he feared he would have a fit.
Talking during sleep.
Voluptuous dreams, with erections and profuse seminal emissions.
Dreams : of danger, and of perils encountered ; of dead bodies ; prophetic ; vexatious ; melancholy.
In daytime, dreams, returning periodically, or dreamy attacks.
Nightmare every night, as soon as he falls asleep.
TIME [38]
Daytime : dreams.
Midday : heavy weight at back of head.
Evening : burning pain ; frequent micturition.
TEMPERATURE AND WEATHER [39]
Is not so sensitive to cold as usual.
Damp, cold weather : urine loaded with slimy mucus.
FEVER [40]
Loss of animal heat.
General chilliness.
Coldness of face, nose and hands, after dinner.
Increased heat of body.
Profuse sticky sweat standing out in drops on his forehead.
ATTACKS, PERIODICITY [41]
Every two weeks ; backache, < Catamenial periods.
LOCALITY AND DIRECTION [42]
Right : jerking in forehead severe stitch in temple ; pain in head ; aching in temple ; eye, sensitive to light ; limb feels paralyzed ; on attempting to walk, violent pains in legs.
Left : weariness and paralysis of legs ; numb feeling in foot.
SENSATIONS [43]
An indescribably "queer" feeling pervades whole body.
Feeling of lightness or buoyancy ; as if he was raised from ground and could fly away.
Sensation as if single parts became larger and thicker.
As if brain boiled over ; as if top of head was opening and shutting ; as if calvarium was being lifted up ; as of a heavy blow on back of head and neck ; as if he was sitting on a ball ; as if suffocated ; as if a bird's claws were clasping knees ; as if he had on a number of spikes ; scalp and skin of forehead felt as though tightly drawn over skull ; lips as if glued together ; as if anus and part of urethra were filled up by a hard sound body.
Stitch : right temple ; sharp, in both kidneys ; extending from both nipples through chest ; in heart ; in ball of left great toe.
Sticking : as with prongs of a fork in heart.
Stinging : pain in urethra.
Pricking : in feet ; over whole body ; sharp like needles in urethra.
Shooting : pains in joints of toes of left foot.
Burning : in kidneys ; frequent micturition with burning ; and scalding in urethra ; in penis ; of skin.
Jerking : in right side of forehead ; in external corner of eye and eyelid.
Drawing : pain in forehead ; through lumbar vertebræ ; pain in both calves.
Pressive : pain right temple ; pain in heart.
Pressure : on rain ; on skin excites burning.
Stunning : pain in back part of head.
Aching : pain in ball of left great toe ; in both temples ; in both ears ; in kidneys ; tired in both knees.
Soreness : of scalp to touch.
Dull : pain through head ; in region of right kidney and in glans penis.
Pain : in whole side of head ; in bladder and urethra ; across shoulders ; in cardiac orifice ; in kidneys.
Throbbing : aching pain in forehead ; pain through head ; in both ears.
Thrilling : agreeable, through arms and hands ; in both limbs.
Numbness : of right thumb ; of sole of left toe ; over whole body ; of left foot.
Formication : or itching on various parts.
Crawling : in scalp ; on top of head.
Paralyzed sensation : right limb ; right arm.
Tense : feeling in facial muscles ; skin of face feels as if drawn tight ; skin of head.
Heavy : pain through head ; arms and legs.
Weight : at back of head.
Warmth : in stomach ; in spine, extending to head.
Coldness : of right hand.
Itching : of glans penis Dryness : of mouth and lips.
TISSUES [44]
Loss of muscular sense ; anesthesia.
Pressure : on skin excites burning.
SKIN [46]
Pricking over whole body with numbness, often pleasurable.
Formication or itching on various parts.
Tension in skin of head and face.
Is very anemic. θ Menorrhagia Pressure on skin excites burning.
Anesthesia ; while standing is not conscious of touching ground.
STAGE OF LIFE, CONSTITUTION [47]
Affects persons of nervous and sanguine temperament most ; the bilious nearly as much ; the lymphatic but slightly, as with vertigo, nausea, coma, or muscular rigidity.
A woman, æt. 30. θ Menorrhagia.
Mother of three children. θ Menorrhagia.
RELATIONS [48]
Compare Cann. sat ., especially Chapter 48, for drug relations, as the comparisons doubtless apply to Cann. ind .