Alstonia constricta
Plant · Apocynaceae
Alstonia Constricta is suited to debilitated patients — particularly women — who suffer from profound weakness of the digestive and assimilative functions. The patient presents with pale face, dragging pelvic sensations, undigested diarrhoea, and irregular nausea, often after excessive iron use or exhausting illness.
Key symptoms
- Great debility from lack of digestive or assimilative power; not of purely nervous origin
- Empty, gone feeling in stomach or whole abdomen at irregular times
- Diarrhoea of undigested food immediately after eating; must leave the table
- Tearing, dragging-down sensation in hypogastrium as if everything would escape from the vulva
- Leucorrhoea and bearing-down worse by walking
- Nausea worse in the morning before breakfast
- Pale face, flushing on least excitement
- Sudden waking on falling asleep with violent palpitation and throbbing in blood-vessels
- Dirty white coat on tongue especially at base
Worse (aggravation)
- Exertion
- Walking (leucorrhoea and bearing-down worse)
- Morning before breakfast (nausea worse)
Better (amelioration)
- Lying down
Bitter Bark. Native Quinine Bark. (New South Wales and Queensland. A. scholaris, growing in India and Malabar, is probably identical in effects.) N. O. Apocynaceæ. Tincture of the bark.
Clinical
Debility. Diarrhœa. Dysentery. Fevers. Lactation, excessive, effects of. Leucorrhœa. Lienteria. Palpitation. Pregnancy, vomiting of Uterus, debility of.
Characteristics
Alstonia was proved by Dr. Cathcart, of Australia, who found it produce great debility and prostration, or low fever, often with diarrhœa. It is exceedingly bitter. Dr. Dietz, who has tested it clinically, gives the following as leading indications: Debility from lack of digestive power in the stomach or general assimilative power. Tongue generally has a dirty white coat, especially at base; though it may be clean. It has no relation to purely nervous debility. The nausea is < morning, before breakfast, or at irregular times, especially when depending on reflex irritation from disturbance of pelvic organs. An empty, gone feeling in stomach or whole …
Classical texts are in the public domain. Educational reference only — not medical advice.
