By Melissa Labelle, CCHM Student, Level 3 2025-2026
Initial Consultation: May 17, 2025
Background
Blood clots develop in the veins and arteries and serve to manage bleeding to prevent excessive blood loss during injury, such as a superficial incision or surgery. Blood clots can form quickly, or they can form over time, such as from atherosclerosis, the plaquing of the arteries.
A rapidly forming blood clot in an artery is called arterial thrombosis. An iliac artery thrombosis occurs specifically in one of the two iliac arteries, which transport blood to the lower limbs. A slowly developing blockage in the iliac artery is called Iliac Artery Occlusive Disease.
Pathological blood clots can be a medical emergency. By blocking blood flow, they can cause oxygen deprivation. Without oxygen, the body’s tissues will die. This can be as serious as a heart attack or stroke, depending on which organ is lacking oxygen.
Some contributing factors to developing arterial thrombosis include:
- Aging
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes
- Cigarette use
- Being overweight
- High blood pressure
Some methods of diagnosing arterial thrombosis include imaging, such as CT scans, MRIs, angiograms, endoscopy and ultrasound.
Some treatment options for arterial thrombosis include:
- Medications that slow and prevent blood clotting, called anticoagulants.
- Medications to dissolve blood clots, called thrombolytics.
- Surgical removal of the clot.
Common symptoms of iliac arterial thrombosis and artery occlusive disease include:
Worsening tingling and fatigue of the leg, alleviated when resting and aggravated when walking or standing. Blue discoloration and coldness of the leg, along with a feeble groin pulse.
Case Presentation
A man in his late 60s was diagnosed with an inoperable arterial clot in the iliac artery. He had also been diagnosed with diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea. He also presented with loss of voice, heartburn and sleep issues.
There was a history of smoking cigarettes for over 40 years.
Case Conclusion
This case demonstrates that a homeopathic remedy selected using the Classical Hahnemannian approach can facilitate changes towards a better state of health and provide symptom relief.
Introduction
This analysis outlines the treatment of a patient with a symptomatic iliac artery clot over the course of 11 months. The patient demonstrated rapid, remarkable improvement with homeopathic treatment alone. There was no change to diet, exercise or lifestyle, nor to medications affecting blood clotting.
Initial Consultation: May 17, 2025
Andre, a man in his late 60s, came for a homeopathic consultation after he had exhausted his resources with modern medicine and could no longer tolerate his symptoms.
He had been diagnosed with an inoperable clot in the iliac artery in August 2023. Andre had seen a significant decline in his health over the past few years leading up to the appointment, especially as it pertained to breathing and his ability to walk. The breathing issues were a result of COPD, and the walking issues were mostly from the clot.
Medications and Supplements
- Lipitor 40 mg (since 2012): Statin medication that reduces cholesterol.
- Metformin 500 mg (since 2024): Controls the amount of glucose.
- Pantoprazole 40 mg (since 2023): Reduces the amount of acid the stomach makes.
- Clopidogrel 75 mg (since 2024): A platelet inhibitor. It reduces the chance that a blood clot will form by preventing platelets from clumping together in the blood.
- Pramipexole 25 mg (since 2024): Also used to treat Restless Legs Syndrome.
- Pradaxa 150 mg (since 2012): Used to prevent blood clots and stroke in people with atrial fibrillation.
- Ezetimibe 10 mg (since 2024): Medication used to treat high blood cholesterol and certain other lipid abnormalities. Generally, it is used together with dietary changes and a statin.
- Spiriva 2.5 mcg (since 2012): A brand name for the medication tiotropium bromide, a long-acting bronchodilator used to manage COPD and asthma.
- Salbutamol 100 mcg: Used to prevent and treat wheezing and shortness of breath caused by breathing problems.
- B12 (self-prescribed): Used to help with leg pain. Generally, excess B12 will be easily flushed out in the urine.
Symptoms in Order of Homeopathic Importance
1. Chief Complaint: Diagnosis – Iliac Artery Clot
Sensation: Throbbing, jabbing, knife-like pains in the left knee, extending up to the groin and hip.
Modalities:
- Worse after sleep (rest).
- Worse lying on the left side (affected side).
- Worse sitting with legs straight out.
- Better sitting with the knee bent up and thighs apart.
- Better walking (painful first steps).
Concomitant/accompanying symptom:
Sensation: Constant dull aching.
Location: Left knee to groin and hip.
2. Temperature
Warm-blooded, but feet are cold (internally and externally) all the time, especially the left foot.
Prefers ice-cold drinks.
3. Chief Complaint: Leg Weakness
Sensation and location: Leg weakness from knee to groin and hip.
Feels wobbly, must hold onto something and loses balance.
Modalities:
- Worse walking.
- Better resting.
4. Tingling
Sensation and location: Constant pins and needles in the feet.
Confirmatory: Historical symptom of pins and needles in the left leg and both feet.
5. Leg Spasms/Cramping
Location: Can happen in both legs or either leg.
Modalities:
- Worse at rest (staying in the same position).
- Can wake him from sleep.
- Better standing (changing position) and walking (at its worst, he needs to walk).
6. Sleep
- Waking without reason 2–3 times per night, often unable to fall back asleep. Gets up and stays up.
- Sticks right foot out of the covers.
- Moving around during sleep.
7. Arthritis
Sensation and location: Constant stiffness and aching in the fingers and knees.
Modality: Better moving them.
Sensation: Aching fingers.
Modality: Worse in damp weather.
8. Swallowing Food and Drink
Sensation: Feels like food gets stuck in the throat.
Modality: Worse with the largest meal of the day.
9. Anger
Wants to be alone in quiet when angry.
Modality: Anger is worse with lack of sleep.
10. COPD
Sensation: Shortness of breath and tightness in the chest.
Modality: On slight exertion.
Differential
While Rhus-tox, further down the chart, shares some of the sensations and locations of the discomfort with the chief complaints, the etiology is more about an acute strain or sprain. Rhus-tox is better with continued motion, which matches the symptom of the throbbing pains. The patient is actually worse with continued motion for the leg weakness.
Sulphur has better drawing up of the limb in general, which is the case for the patient. The cramps in the legs are worse when walking for Sulphur, whereas the patient needs to walk to relieve the cramps. Sulphur’s leg weakness is better by walking, whereas the patient’s weakness is worse from walking.
Like Sulphur, Lycopodium has weakness of the legs better from walking, which is the opposite of the patient. Also similar to Sulphur, the cramps are worse walking, which again is opposite to the patient.
Lachesis, which is much further down the chart, seemed well indicated given the tendency for food to get stuck in the throat and the leg pain requiring the patient to sit with his legs bent up, along with its affinity for the blood system and tendency towards blood clots. It has the tottering gait, weakness in the legs and leg spasms that come on during the night.
Remedy Selection
In The Organon of the Medical Art, in Aphorism 7, Hahnemann states:
“Since one may know a disease only by its symptoms, when there is no obvious exciting or sustaining cause (causa occasionalis) to be removed, it is evident that only the symptoms, together with any possible miasm and additional circumstances, must guide the choice of the appropriate, curative medicine (par. 5).
So it is the totality of symptoms, the outer image expressing the inner essence of the disease, i.e., of the disturbed vital force, that must be the main, even the only, means by which the disease allows us to find the necessary remedy, the only one that can decide the appropriate choice.
Briefly, in every individual case of disease the totality of the symptoms must be the physician’s principal concern, the only object of his attention, the only thing to be removed by his intervention in order to cure, i.e., to transform the disease into health.”
Hahnemann is stating that we must use only the symptoms of disease in order to determine which remedy to select.
Natrum muriaticum has electric shock pains in the legs and also in the groin and hip. It has weakness of voice and loss of voice, which gets worse the more he talks. It has tingling in the extremities and weakness of the legs. We find the sensation of food getting stuck in the throat and, of course, the very uncharacteristic COPD symptom.
Overall, Natrum muriaticum covers the main symptoms. There do not appear to be any contraindications.
In a differential, looking at the main symptoms outlined in the case and the additional symptoms and constitution of the patient, we see that both Natrum muriaticum and the patient tend to be very thirsty and crave salt and spicy foods.
The patient, in anger and in general, likes to keep to himself. He generally does not voice his grievances and keeps everything in. More interestingly, the patient can hold a grudge for months. He can go without talking to someone out of anger, which is very characteristic of Natrum muriaticum.
The patient is very tidy and organized, pointing to a remedy in the mineral kingdom. Natrum muriaticum covers not only the main symptoms but also some generalities of the patient, indicating this could be a remedy he needed for many years.
Natrum muriaticum, the homeopathic remedy made from salt, carrying the molecular composition of NaCl, was originally proved by Samuel Hahnemann himself. We find much of this remedy’s Materia Medica in Hahnemann’s Chronic Diseases.
“We do not with our small dose supply the salt that the system needs, but we cure the internal disease, we turn into order the internal physical man, and then the tissues get salt enough from the food. Drugs must all be administered in suitable form. We may need to go higher and higher until the secret spring is touched.”
— James Tyler Kent
First Prescription: June 10, 2025
Natrum muriaticum was given as 2 pellets dissolved in 6 oz of water. One teaspoon daily.
Within a few days, the patient reached out to inform me that he had noticed a remarkable decrease in his leg pain.
First Follow-Up: September 13, 2025
The patient had added magnesium supplementation to his diet at the beginning of September, which had resulted in him being able to fall right back asleep after waking.
The patient stated:
“Leg is going excellent, can walk around no problem if it wasn’t for my breathing.”
He noted that the colour had come back in his foot over the previous 1–2 months. Previously, his foot would turn blue, so this indicated an improvement in circulation.
When asked about the jabbing knife pains, he replied:
“Don’t get the knife pains any more, no cramping nothing. No more aching.”
He noted that even his neighbour had mentioned he was walking better.
The feet now felt the same temperature to the touch, whereas previously the affected foot was colder to the touch. He no longer needed to sit or sleep with his knee bent.
He noted having more patience with his wife and overall being in a better mood. A decrease in the aching in his joints was also noted.
His throat symptoms, however, had been worsening, and his COPD symptoms were unchanged.
Subsequent Follow-Ups and Treatment
During subsequent follow-ups in December 2026, January 2026, April and May 2026, the patient returned for follow-ups for his other symptoms, and the arterial blockage symptoms did not return.
As of today, November 2026, his clot symptoms have not returned, though he has yet to have medical imaging of the region.
During 2026, the patient was treated with Causticum for his worsening throat symptoms, which temporarily provided slight relief.
Lachesis was then prescribed based on the COPD and throat symptoms. The patient was later diagnosed with a cancerous tumour of the larynx, and Radium bromatum was prescribed along with Lachesis when he underwent radiation.
Summary
This case demonstrates how a long-standing pathological process can be altered by homeopathic medicines, and how rapidly this can occur.
A patient with a diagnosed arterial clot, who was told that nothing could be done to alleviate his symptoms, was able to become symptom-free in relation to the clot in a matter of weeks.
This demonstrates that well-indicated remedies selected based on a Classical Hahnemannian method can act very profoundly.
Homeopathy is an incredible system of medicine that affects not only the physical but also the mental state of the organism.
Sources
- Hahnemann’s Chronic Diseases
- Cleveland Clinic – Arterial Thrombosis
- Cleveland Clinic – Blood Clots
- Cleveland Clinic – Iliac Artery
- Center for Vein Restoration – How Long Does It Take for a Blood Clot to Form?
- PubMed Central – Research Article
- RadiologyInfo – Iliac Artery Occlusive Disease
- The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica, by Constantine Hering, M.D. http://www.homeoint.org/hering/index.htm
- Homœopathic Materia Medica, by William Boericke, M.D. http://www.homeoint.org/books/boericmm/index.htm
- Bönninghausen’s Characteristics Materia Medica & Repertory. http://www.homeoint.org/books2/boenchar/index.htm
- Lectures on Homœopathic Materia Medica, by James Tyler Kent, A.M., M.D. http://www.homeoint.org/books3/kentmm/index.htm
- http://www.homeoint.org/allen/n/nat-m.htm
- http://www.homeoint.org/books2/bogersyn/mmmeznat.htm#natrummur
