Multimorbidity After Surgical Menopause Treated with Individualized Classical Homeopathy: A Case Report

Abstract

Classical homeopathy was shown to be beneficial in climacteric syndrome in many studies, but the clinical effect is unclear. To inspect if individualized classical homeopathy has a role in treating complaints after surgical menopause through real world case, we present a case of a 54-year-old Russian woman treated with individualized classical homeopathy for multimorbid conditions after surgical menopause examined for changes from homeopathic treatment. We assessed changes in climacteric symptoms, changes in comorbidities, and the general well-being of the patient. The woman had severe climacteric syndrome, pelvic inflammatory disease, dyslipidemia, obesity, hepatic steatosis, pancreatic lipomatosis, gall bladder disease, and mild subclinical hypothyroidism to begin with. She was treated with individualized classical homeopathy and followed up for 31 months. She was relieved of the vasomotor symptoms and psychological disturbances of climacteric syndrome, her weight reduced, the ultrasound scan showed absence of lipomatosis/gall bladder disease/hepatic steatosis. Blood tests showed reduction of thyroid stimulating hormone and a balance in the lipid status. Individualized classical homeopathy may have a role in the climacteric syndrome and comorbidities after surgical menopause. The efficacy of homeopathic therapy in climacteric problems must be scientifically investigated further.

Menopause is more than Hot Flashes: What is Missing in Homeopathic Research? A Narrative Review

“…Though observational studies have shown encouraging results in reducing the severity and frequency of hot flashes in women treated with homeopathy, few RCTs have shown positive results; some have small sample sizes, most of them do not use a homogeneous classification of women according to international standards (STRAW þ 10), 47 and the longest follow-up is two years (a case report by Mahesh and colleagues). 48 An open, multi-national, prospective, pragmatic and noncomparative observational study by Bordet et al 49 included 438 menopausal women and concluded that 50% of the patients who had had daily hot flashes at baseline no longer suffered them at the final homeopathy visit. The number of diurnal and nocturnal hot flashes fell significantly between baseline and follow-up visits (p < 0.001).…”

“…Though observational studies have shown encouraging results in reducing the severity and frequency of hot flashes in women treated with homeopathy, few RCTs have shown positive results; some have small sample sizes, most of them do not use a homogeneous classification of women according to international standards (STRAW + 10), 47 and the longest follow-up is two years (a case report by Mahesh and colleagues). 48…”

“…An observational study by Nayak and collaborators showed an improvement in menopausal symptoms as well as a decrease in levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) in climacteric women using IHT. 53 Furthermore, for two case reports (Sharma 54 and Mahesh et al 48 ), in addition to the routine clinical, gynecological and homeopathic consultations, laboratory parameters (fasting glucose, lipid profile, follicle stimulating hormone [FSH]), gynecological ultrasonography and the Papanicolaou cervical screening test were included. Sharma reported improvement in menopausal symptoms and in chronic cervicitis after the IHT.…”

“…54 Mahesh and colleagues reported weight loss and improvement in lipid profile. 48 Broadly, in most of the studies, the primary outcome is reduction in the frequency and severity of hot flashes; other menopausal symptoms were assessed secondarily as a part of the symptoms evaluated in the menopausal assessment scales (i.e., vaginal dryness, lowered libido, headaches, fatigue, poor concentration, sleep disturbances, mood changes, cardiac symptoms, muscle and joint pain, and so on), with minor attention on their individual improvement. In the best cases, internationally validated scales for menopause or for quality of life have been applied, but in other cases, nonvalidated self-assessment questionnaires or personal diaries and registries have been used (►Table 1).…”

“…Though a high prevalence of obesity, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance in menopausal women has been demonstrated, only the two case reports, 48 54 one observational study 53 and two RCTs 51 52 in homeopathy have evaluated the lipid profile. Pre-clinical studies of homeopathic medicines have shown positive results in this field.…”