[OT] One More Medical Update

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
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wrote in message
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Joy wrote:

my feeling is that if a placebo works, it works, even if it is a
placebo. By the same token, a psychosomatic pain hurts just as
much as a "real" pain. The only difference is that a psychosomatic
pain can often be helped with a placebo.

Agreed, completely. But I'd add that "real" pains can also be helped
with a placebo. That's the amazing thing about the placebo effect. It
shows how powerful belief and attitude can be.

I don't agree that "real" pains can be helped with a placebo. If anyone
had given me a placebo when I was burning up with cancer pain in hospital
I think when I recovered a bit I would have done them some harm. At the
time I needed morphine - and more morphine - and even more.
Real pain, caused by real illness cannot be controlled by a placebo and it
is ridiculous to suggest that it can.

Tweed


Agreed With my migraines suffering before we were able to get them under
control. No placebo affect or effect would have worked in my case no
matter how hard I believed.
I do agree the the power of faith can do wondrous things

Christina Websell wrote:

wrote in message

I'd add that "real" pains can also be helped
with a placebo. That's the amazing thing about the placebo effect.

I don't agree that "real" pains can be helped with a placebo. If anyone had
given me a placebo when I was burning up with cancer pain in hospital I
think when I recovered a bit I would have done them some harm. At the time
I needed morphine - and more morphine - and even more.
Real pain, caused by real illness cannot be controlled by a placebo and it
is ridiculous to suggest that it can.

That's why I said that "real" pains **CAN** be helped with a placebo.
Of course not all illnesses can be cured with a placebo, but attitude
makes a big difference in healing, even in serious illnesses.

I took echinacea for colds for many years, and they always helped me get
over my colds more quickly. Then we find out that echinacea doesn't really
do anything to help the body deal with viruses. So wasn't that a placebo
effect? And yet it helped with real illness.

(BTW - I interpreted "pains" to mean illness as well as discomfort, but
perhaps that's not what the OP meant?)

Joyce

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
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"Jo Firey" wrote in message
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"Christina Websell" wrote in message
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"CatNipped" wrote in message
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The problem "going" was just a side issue and seems to have been helped
by, of all things, eating prunes rather than taking mega doses of OTC
laxatives!

If you don't like prunes much, dried apricots have the same effect. Eat
4 or 5 a day.


But do not forget what they are and happily munch on a whole bad of dried
apricots while on a long car trip. I love the darn things.

LOL! Did they block you completely? Or did you have the biggest bowel
movement of all time?

Tweed


First one then the other. Along with the very worst gut ache I've ever had
in my entire life. Surgeries included. I must have eaten a pound of the
damned things.

Jo

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
Joy wrote:

my feeling is that if a placebo works, it works, even if it is a
placebo. By the same token, a psychosomatic pain hurts just as
much as a "real" pain. The only difference is that a psychosomatic
pain can often be helped with a placebo.

Agreed, completely. But I'd add that "real" pains can also be helped
with a placebo. That's the amazing thing about the placebo effect. It
shows how powerful belief and attitude can be.

I don't agree that "real" pains can be helped with a placebo. If anyone
had given me a placebo when I was burning up with cancer pain in hospital
I think when I recovered a bit I would have done them some harm. At the
time I needed morphine - and more morphine - and even more.
Real pain, caused by real illness cannot be controlled by a placebo and it
is ridiculous to suggest that it can.

Tweed

I do believe that some people can use hypnosis or self hypnosis to help them
to deal with pain. But anyone who even suggests that another person should
be required to deal with it that way should be shot on sight.

Morphine is a good thing. And at its full and proper dosage.

Jo

Jo Firey wrote:

I do believe that some people can use hypnosis or self hypnosis to
help them to deal with pain. But anyone who even suggests that another
person should be required to deal with it that way should be shot on
sight.
Morphine is a good thing. And at its full and proper dosage.

Just to repeat, I don't want anyone to infer that I said people should go
without proper pain medication, just because some people seem to be helped
by placebos. For one thing, I don't want to be shot on sight. But for
another, that would be taking my comments out of context - I think there
are instances of people being helped by placebos, but that doesn't mean
everyone should depend on them. I was talking about minor pain, as well as
other illness (with or without pain), but maybe I had gone off the main
subject.

It could be that someday, humans can learn to control pain with our minds,
but we sure aren't there today. So I'll take the drugs, please. The real
stuff, that is.

Joyce