My cough went through several stages

I didn't run this past week, because I rested from running and gave my body a chance to recover from a serious cough and drippy nose. My wakeup heart rate was in the high 60s and low 70s during the week, even though I slept well during the week. It is still high (61 this morning), indicating my body is still tired.

After my last run, which was on Thursday, December 30, I slept most of the next day and a good part of the first day of 2011. I didn't eat much during that time. I had a serious dry cough that sounded bad, happened frequently, but didn't bring up much phlegm. After a couple days of that, the cough changed to a wet cough, still occurring frequently, that brought up thick gobs of dark, greenish mucus. I started to get my energy level back, and I ate more food. After 2-3 days of the wet cough, it changed back to a dry cough that, infrequently, brought up small gobs of yellowish mucus. My energy level and my appetite continued to improve.

As a user of homeopathic remedies, I've learned to interpret changes in the symptoms of my illness as good news. The changes show my body is adapting to the illness and is starting to overcome the illness. As each change in my cough occurred, I took appropriate homeopathic remedies. Homeopathic remedies don't suppress or mask symptoms. The remedies do trigger my body to take action against the illness, and the symptoms change as the nature of the illness changes.

Three nights ago, a strange thing happened. I woke up, after about 3 hours of sleep, with a dry cough that wouldn't stop. It was like a continuous cough. The cough tried hard to bring up mucus, but nothing came up. I took a couple of remedies that didn't have any effect. I thought I was doomed to be awake the whole night. This was the first time I'd been kept awake by my cough. Then I tried Lachesis, and within 2 seconds the cough stopped, and I slept well the rest of the night. During the next night, I again woke up with a frequent, dry cough that wasn't quite as frequent or as intense as it was the night before. I immediately took Lachesis, but that remedy had no effect. After reviewing my homeopathic book for coughs, I took Rhus Tox, and within a few seconds, the coughing stopped, and I returned to bed and slept well. Last night the cough returned, not as deep or intense as it has been, and I took Rhus Tox, but that remedy had no effect. I took Phosphorus, and the cough went away and I slept well. I'm curious to see what happens tonight :)

There is a lot of contention about the use of homeopathic remedies. I've used them for over 30 years, and I know they work for me. However, as an electrical/computer engineer, I understand the physics involved, and I understand that the remedies are so diluted that there should be no molecules of the remedy left in the tablet. So, I use homeopathy and get the benefits of that approach to medicine, but I don't understand why the remedies work as well as they do.