Fat and Blood: An Essay on the Treatment of Certain Forms of Neurasthenia and HysteriaMitchell, S. Weir (Silas Weir)
Science
Fat and Blood: An Essay on the Treatment of Certain Forms of Neurasthenia and Hysteria
Mitchell, S. Weir (Silas Weir)
Hysteria; Neurasthenia; Rest
At the fourth week the soup was given up; dialyzed iron was substituted
for all other forms. June 4, electricity was given up. The malt was
continued until June 20.
May 6, Mr. D. weighed in heavy winter dress one hundred and twenty-five
pounds; June 20, in the lightest summer garb, he weighed one hundred and
thirty-three pounds; in August his weight rose to one hundred and forty
pounds, and he has continued to gain. When last I saw him, a year later,
he was strong and well, had no cough, and had ceased to be what he had
been for years--a delicate man.
I am indebted to the late Professor Goodell for the following case,
which I never saw, but which was carried on with every detail of my
treatment. As the testimony of an admirable observer, it is valuable
evidence. Professor Goodell writes as follows:
"Some four years ago, Mrs. Y., a very highly intelligent lady, from a
neighboring city, came to consult me. She suffered dreadfully at each
monthly period, and had constant ovarian pains and a wearying backache,
which kept her on a lounge most of the day. She was also barren, and
altogether in a pitiable condition. After a two months' treatment she
returned home very much better, and soon after conceived. As pregnancy
advanced, many of her old symptoms came back, but it was hoped that
maternity would rid her of them. The shock of the labor, however, proved
too great for her already shattered nervous system. She became far more
wretched than before, and again sought my advice.
"At this time I found all her old pains and aches running riot. She got
no relief from them night or day without large doses of chloral. The
slightest exertion, such as sewing, writing, and reading for a few
minutes, greatly wearied her. Even the simple mental effort of casting
up the weekly housekeeping expenses of a very small household upset her,
and she had to give it up. The act of walking one of our blocks, or of
going down a short flight of stairs, or of riding for an hour in a
well-padded carriage, gave her such 'unspeakable agony'--to use her own
words--that she would have an hysterical attack of screams and tears. So
emotional had this constant nerve-strain made her that she could not
sustain an ordinary conversation without giving way to tears. Much of
her time was spent in bed; in fact, she was practically bedridden.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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