Gelsemium is the main remedy for headaches better by urination. What is the Gelsemium headache? It’s the back of the head coming to the forehead. It feels maddening, the headache. There are two remedies listed for maddening headaches: Belladonna and Gelsemium.

Now, it is two entirely different things, though. The Belladonna headache is maddening. You see the person. They don’t want to move. They are lying there and it’s like, "I’m going to go crazy." You’re seeing the intensity behind it.

Gelsemium is a weak person. Weak willed and so just the opposite. There is a weakness so when they say that they have a maddening headache, it is like, "Oh, God, I think I’m going to go mad."

You see the difference? Two different ways of going mad. One is out of the intensity of the pain, and one is out of the weakness and inability to deal with the pain.

For acutes it is one of our biggest remedies. Usually, the acutes are slow onset over 2 or 3 days, and there is great weakness and even trembling. If you see influenza where the main thing is the weakness that is mostly going to be Gelsemium. Especially if there is thirstlessness with it and chills up and down the spine. That is mostly going to be Gelsemium.

Weakness in the chronic condition is all three: mental, emotional, and physical. If you have a chronic case come in with great weakness, Gelsemium is one of the main remedies to think of. Especially when the weakness is mostly in the lower extremities and the knees are trembling. The legs shake from the weakness. The headache like we said is occiput to forehead with heavy eyes, droopy eyes. Or sometimes with the illness, either with the acute illness or in the chronic state, they say they can hardly lift their head up off the pillow, or they don’t have the strength to keep their eyes propped open, so they have sort of a sleepy look with their eyes sort of half closed. They have the sensation that the heart will stop and it makes them want to do what? Jump up and move around. Which is the opposite of what remedy? What was the remedy we said had the feeling that if they moved the heart was going to stop? Digitalis. In the acutes, there can be and in the chronic state alternating flushes of heat and chills, especially chills up and down the spine.

Headache can be pounding. Can be hammering and it can confuse you with Natrum Mur because it is one of the 10:00 A.M. headaches. 10:00 A.M. is mostly Natrum Mur, but it can also be Borax, and Gelsemium, and Cedron, and a bunch of others. With the headache, they will often have dyplopia. The headache is so bad they see double. Or, like we said, maddening headache.

Now, those are the ways the weakness comes on in the physical condition. Emotionally, they are very weak and so they take on the tendency for cowardice like Lycopodium, so Lycopodium and Gelsemium are two of your main, very timid, very cowardly remedies. Also, it especially has this characteristic of trouble from anticipating things. While they are anticipating things, they have diarrhea, frequent urination. They can get so scared that they can’t speak. They can be the type that before a talk, Lycopodium before a talk, what will Lycopodium have? Gas and rumbling in the stomach. Gelsemium is the type that can have aphonia from fright. They get so scared they can’t talk. Argentum Nitricum before a talk gets so scared that they have diarrhea. Gelsemium can have that too, and it’s the remedy that is in the repertory for diarrhea before the battle, with soldiers.

Differentiate diarrhea of Argentum Nitricum and Gelsemium. Argentum Nitricum gets it, even if they are anticipating something that they like to do. They can’t figure it out. They get so worked up when anticipating something. They can get the diarrhea even if they are going out to a movie. But that is because they get so, they are so extroverted though, the Argentum Nitricum. They are so enthusiastic about everything.

Stage fright. If you look at just stage fright, the main remedy for that is going to be Gelsemium and you can use it acutely in people, don’t use it over and over in performers that have problems when they are performing. It is not that, but it is a one-time thing to help somebody. You know, the first time they are going for a major performance, you can use Gelsemium acutely there, and it will really help people get through. I remember before the first time I had to give a big public lecture, and I took a dose of Gelsemium and just floated through.

How about something like going for a job interview? Yeah. It can be that. If it is a real acute state like, and especially if they get that kind of anticipation, and they get a sort of trembling feeling or trembling internally or trembling externally, you can give Gelsemium and it will really have a good affect. You can really save people just by giving that one dose. They can go in and they can get their job that one time, and then they never have to have another interview. So, not only are they worse from stage fright, but from all frights, and if you see chronic conditions coming on from a fright, think of Gelsemium. Or Aconite or Opium. Think of all of those.

They have a specific fear of falling. If you see paralysis from fright, that can be Opium or Gelsemium either one.

Now, on the mental plane, they are people that are timid. They don’t want to confront things, and they have this weakness, so what happens is they give up work. I haven’t seen enough, but I suspect that we may find a lot of SSI patients. Medicare patients that are going to be Gelsemiums. They are the type of person who gets this weakness and gives up work and they just don’t want to go back to work. In Greece, they are the guys who are sitting around in the little coffee houses all day long. They are there every day, day in and day out. That is about all they can do. They just don’t have the inner strength to go back and start working. Either the physical strength or the mental strength or they can’t face it emotionally.

1. Neurotic, hysterical subjects especially women and children. Nervous symptoms predominate in all complaints.

2. Mental and bodily lassitude; dull, drowsy, dizzy; wishes to be let alone; may be desire to throw herself from a height; or desire for expression in speech or writing with sense of increased power especially of memory.

3. Complaints from mental emotions especially psychic diarrheas.

4. Complete relaxation of the whole muscular system with entire motor paralysis; general tremor; lack of muscular co-ordination.

S. Spasmodic conditions or partial and local paralysis; in groups of muscles; professional neuroses (e.g. writer's cramp).

6. Dull, tired headache at base of brain; or beginning nape of neck or occiput and extending over head to one eye (gen. right) or both eyes; commences with blurred vision and accompanied by vertigo; < 10 a.m., > profuse urination.

7. First stage of fevers; asthenic tendency; patient languid and listless, wishes to be let alone; frequent, soft pulse; prostration, vertigo; more or less aching in back and limbs; little or no thirst; slight sweat; chills run up and down the back.

8. Acute catarrhal conditions with watery mucous discharges; much sneezing early a.m. Influenzas with coryza.

9. Female disorders with severe neuralgic pains shooting into back, hips and down the thighs. Excellent at parturition in atonic conditions.

10. Modalities; < warm, moist, relaxing weather. < Mental emotions; tobacco smoking; thinking of ailments; heat of sun and in summer yet locally heat often > pains; < motion except heart symptoms; > stimulants.

Keynote: Paralysis.