Stannum metallicum

Sinking, empty, all-gone sensation in stomach (Chel., Phos., Sep.).

Sad, despondent, feels like crying all the time, but crying makes her worse; faint and weak, especially when going downstairs; can go up well enough.

Colic > by hard pressure, or by laying abdomen across knee or on shoulder (Col.); lumbrici; passes worms.

Leucorrhœa; great debility; weakness seems to proceed from chest.

Prolapsus, worse during stool, so weak she drops into a chair instead of sitting down. While dressing in the morning has to sit down several times to rest.

Great weakness in chest, can hardly talk, with general debility, which centers in the chest.

Loose cough; with heavy, green, sweet expectoration.

Pains gradually increase to a great height, and as gradually subside.

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Another metallic remedy. The leading characteristic is great weakness in the chest (Argentum met.); so weak cannot talk. No remedy has this symptom so strongly as tin. It is present, not only in the laryngeal and lung troubles for which Stannum is such a great remedy, but in general debility. So weak she drops into a chair, < going down stairs (Borax; Calc. ost. up stairs). It is found in connection with uterine displacements and leucorrhœas of thin, debilitated subjects and has made brilliant cures in such cases. Of course in the lung, bronchial, and laryngeal affections, this symptom is very prominent. In these troubles there is generally very profuse expectoration with the cough, and the matter raised tastes very sweet, or it may be exceptionally salty. For the salty expectoration I would sooner think of Kali iod. or Sepia. In all three of these remedies the expectoration may be thick, heavy, and green or yellow in color. Both Stannum and Kali iod. have profuse night sweats, but the Stannum has greater sense of weakness in the chest (cannot talk) than any of the others. Another very characteristic symptom of Stannum is that the pains gradually increase to a great degree of intensity and then as gradually decrease. (See Platinum.) This pain is of course neuralgic, may be located anywhere in the tract of a nerve, but has been often verified in prosopalgia, gastralgia and abdominal colic.

These pains are ameliorated by pressure, like Colocynth and Bryonia; so if Colocynth fails, which is generally first thought of in abdominal pains relieved by pressure, Stannum may relieve, and especially if the attacks have been of long standing or the patient seems to have a chronic tendency thereto. If in children, the patient is relieved by carrying it over the point of the shoulder, the shoulder pressing into the abdomen. The Stannum patient is generally very sad and despondent, feels like crying all the time. (Nat. m., Puls., Sepia.) I have often verified the above symptoms and have seen equally good effects from the 12th, 30th, 200th and 500th (Boericke & Tafel) potencies.