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That will not surprise doctors whose arthritis patients screamed bloody murder after Vioxx was withdrawn from the market after studies showed it raised the risk of heart attacks. People insisted that switching to cheap aspirin just did not relieve their pain and suffering. Maybe. But in light of Ariely's research, you've got to wonder. And patients who protest when their insurer makes them switch from a name-brand drug to a cheaper, biologically identical generic? "Many claim the generic is less effective," says Ariely, "but you have to consider whether that's an effect of the price. The placebo effect is about expectations, and we expect more-expensive medicines to work better." Maybe researchers would be interested in figuring out how to harness that effect if only it were patentable.

© 2008

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  • Posted By: lovinlife2fullest @ 03/26/2008 5:50:49 PM

    Five years ago, I was "diagnosed" with bi-polar II disorder. The Psychiatrist put me on anti-depressants....something to make me sleep...something to stabalize my mood...something to slow down my speech...ect. I took everything and anything that they perscribed. I honestly BELIEVED medicine was the only cure for what ailed me. After packing on 100 pounds and going through 2 years of never speaking my mind because I thought it was inappropriate to do so (according to doctors) I realized I was more miserable on medicine than before starting to take my "magic pills"! I started to eat healthy and incorporated exercise into my daily routine and took myself off all meds. I began to appreciate everything that makes me who I am and realized that I am the deciding factor in how I choose to respond to every situation. I know a lot of people in the mental health field probably think that I am just in "denial" and should go back on meds, but my family and I have never been happier with the wife...mother...woman that I am now....without the medications. I choose to BELIEVE IN MYSELF now and that is something that no anti-depressant can ever replace for me. As for the dopamine and endorphine levels raising.....EXERCISE AND EAT RIGHT...treat yourself to a massage....just treat yourself well. I am not sayingthat other medical procedures are not necessary for other individuals, because I believe there are many life-saving things that come from the medical community. I am just an average, everyday person who is living testimony that for some of us....maybe even many of us....BELIEVING in the power of what we have to offer ourselves is enough to change what other see as a detriment in our characters. We can let life pull us down or we can allow life's trials to make us stronger and grow.

  • Posted By: iamwhatineed.com @ 03/25/2008 10:02:51 PM

    From someone who relied heavily on Zoloft and Valium for a long period of time but is today completely pill free, I believe that there is a place for placebos, definitely. My dependence on these drugs in retrospect was to a large extent psychological and the actual chemical benefit negligible. The main comfort of having them was knowing they were there.

  • Posted By: hcassmd @ 03/20/2008 6:29:35 PM

    As a physician and expert in integrative medicine, I can attest to the power of placebos. The human body is truly remarkable in its ability to produce all of its own pharmaceuticals, and custom ones at that, tailored to your own physiology and biochemistry. So your brain can actually make its own pain medication! The endorphins are just like morphine- but made by the body, with no side effects and no withdrawal when you stop. In our attempt to look at patients more holistically (indeed the power of positive thinking is the secret to the placebo-effect), I urge readers to also consider their nutritional status as a key to health. Many people on prescription drugs (antidepressants, for example) experience fatigue, low energy, and moodiness, which are frequently confused for disease-symptoms. In reality, many of these people are actually experiencing a side-effect of the medication itself: nutrient depletion. In cases where an Rx is deemed appropriate, I urge patients and their healthcare provider to consider the role of diet and supplementation, and the enormous difference it can make on the patients' well-being, both physical and emotional. ~Hyla Cass, MD and author Supplement Your Prescription: What Your Doctor Doesn't Know About Nutrition.

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