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I wish you to speak to Doct: Carmichael about your mother case - wch
I will endeavor to describe as nearly as I can -Last fall she had a Billious fever, of long continuance, and attended
by some symptoms exceedingly distressing indeed, altho' she had not at any
time as high fevers, as I have seen - the most distressing symptom, & the one
that was most obstinate, was a Nausea & sickness of the stomach accom-
-panied by a fullness & tightness extending up to the throat. these symptoms
were greatly increased whenever she took medicine of any kind, and not
'till late in the disease did any medicine operate freely - her son was
then with her, & after the most unremitting endeavors, & using a variety of
measures not now recollected, she recovered & was for 2 or 3 months in better
health, as she says, than she had been for 8 or 10 years -For some time past her billious symptoms returned, in the way she had
for many years been afflicted (for it has been believed that her Liver has
been diseased for [unclear] [several] y [e]ars) - the usual remedies were resorted to by her to
remove bile, and partial relief obtained, untill the last 2 or 3 weeks, when
the symptoms became pretty much as last fall, but perhaps not quite so bad.
She is now under the care of Doct: Oldham, who has bled her twice, and
prescribed different kinds of medicine - he thinks the blood discovered a high
state of inflamation - thinks the disease at present, proceeds from an irregu
-lar secretion of the bile through the region of the liver, which he thinks
inflamed, altho' there appears to be no swelling or enlargement of it, and
but rarely any pain in that part, or any other - she is at present evident
-ly under the influence of mercury altho' not much salivated - she seems
to have pretty generally a fever, but hardly ever a high one - she is al
-mostly constantly afflicted with the nausea & sick stomach mentioned
above, but much worse whenever she takes any kind of medicine - none of
which operates freely - Calomel particularly fails in that way, & produces
very distressing feelings indeed - a puke was tried yesterday, but afforded
no relief - whenever Calomel has been taken & aided by other cathartics
& her bowel has been evacuated - a great deal of greenish bile has been
discharged - she eats little or nothing, and appears to be getting weaker
every day -GJ
(20: Mar: '22)
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Messr:
to be shown to
Doct: Carmichael