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What's your personal experience with the placebo effect?

Did you ever get well because of a placebo effect? Did you ever try it on a family member?

Posted - March 1, 2017

Responses


  • 22891
    one time i did,  my dentist kept cancelling my appt and i had a gum infection , i did get antibiotics but they werent working, i couldnt seem to get an appt so i bought some garlic which is supposed to be good for infections and got rid of it that way
      March 1, 2017 4:55 PM MST
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  • Glad it worked, Pearl. I think garlic probably comes under old wives' cures. Let me tell you, those "old wives" were pretty smart cookies. A lot of the things they taught us were very effective. 
      March 1, 2017 4:58 PM MST
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  • Dear Didge,
    In my field as a retired health care professional there is (was?) a great deal of contempt for the placebo effect...that it only works if you are gullible; and for those with good sense, you will just go ahead and logically die on a prescribed scientific schedule...

    I love the placebo effect, and have given some thought to the possibility that it may be the ONLY real healing...as for personal experience, however, I am kinda cynical so it takes a HUGE effort to believe anything that strongly, easier to just suffer along with my ailments!

    This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at March 1, 2017 9:00 PM MST
      March 1, 2017 5:27 PM MST
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  • As my Japanese friends would say, "Wakari mashite!" ... I understand. But the cartoon is hilarious and the humour comes from the knowledge that it's not really a joke. I've known people like that. 
      March 1, 2017 6:34 PM MST
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  • 13395
    I think it was an inspirational thought that caused abscesses in my mouth to heal overnight. 
    I was about 16 or 17 I showed mum I had sores in my mouth so she made an appointment for me to see our dentist.  He examined my mouth and scheduled appointment next day for treatment. As I was leaving his office I kind of suddenly had the feeling that I knew those abscesses would be gone before next appointment. Next morning I could feel no trace of sores in my mouth; showed mom , she said keep appointment anyway. Dentist examined my mouth 3 times then he seemed to be angry like I played a joke on him.

    I believe  (spontaneous) healing can occur when one's mind is suitably inspired wheather it is faith in a pill or some other means to enable a placebo element to be effective. 
      March 2, 2017 6:55 AM MST
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  • Interesting experience, Kittigate. It's hard to udnerstand the dentist's anger: he shoiuld have been very pleased for you.
      March 2, 2017 9:40 AM MST
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  • 13395
    You might think so but I think he always seemed to relish the idea of torturing me for some reason but this time he lost the opportunity. 
      March 2, 2017 10:02 AM MST
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  • It's what dentists do. Did you ever read Marathon Man? They tortured a guy by drilling into the nerves of his teeth. Sadistic! (I don't mean the torture was sadistic: I mean that author was. He must have made every one of his readers squirm at the thought.)
      March 2, 2017 10:21 AM MST
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  • 3907
    Hello Didge:

    Somebody gave me some rat turds and told me they were chocolates..  Loved 'em..

    excon
      March 2, 2017 7:04 AM MST
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  • You have intresting friends, excon. :) 
      March 2, 2017 9:40 AM MST
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