Give me a C, give me an R, give me an EST

October 2, 2005

Scleroderma and the power of the placebo

From the article "Big Pharma Bad Karma" on www.goanimal.com:

"...disease by definition

To understand Big Pharma’s power over our health, it’s important to understand how disease is managed in large populations. Most medical conditions are defined by a set of numbers. If we broaden the range of those numbers, even slightly, and apply it to a population of millions of people, the consequences can be profound.

For example, think about the numbers that are attached to your blood pressure. If it’s above X, you’re officially "diseased" and a candidate for medication. If it’s below X, you’re "healthy." But X is determined, not by some perfect medical formula, but by consensus within the medical community. Exact cut-off points are debatable and relative.

This is where Big Pharma steps in. If they can expand the statistical definition of a disease, even by a small margin, they can cash in. One or two percentage points, spread across America or better yet, the world, adds up to millions of newly created patients. Thus it comes as no surprise to hear that Big Pharma has become an active participant in the process of defining disease. By pouring money and influence into experts, conferences and journals, Big Pharma stretches the definitions and expands the patient pool.

the power of suggestion
It would be one thing if human disease was a matter of absolutes, but it's not. Social and cultural forces play an immensely powerful role in determining how we interpret our physical experience. Is obesity a disease? Workaholism? Weak sexual desire? Social anxiety? It’s easy to imagine situations in which any physical sensation or experience of the human body might be labeled as health or disease, depending on the context.

Our health is the product, not simply of genetics and biochemistry, but also of human influence. As intensely social animals, we pay close attention to the physical well-being of our families and friends. If people in the tribe speak of getting one disease or another, we naturally begin to wonder if such afflictions are part of our experience as well. If everyone around us is complaining about headaches or low back pain, we may very well decide to join the gang.

Have you ever noticed how trendy diseases can be? One month it’s eating disorders, the next month it’s carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia or irritable bowel syndrome. None of these conditions even existed 100 years ago, but now they’re "epidemic." Similarly, medical students frequently observe how closely their physical sensations parallel the conditions that they're studying. "Med student's disease" is legendary.

Big Pharma is well aware that disease is creatable; they know full well that their customers are vulnerable to suggestion. By manipulating images, ideas and narratives, they shape the way people think about their bodies and in turn, their health..."

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What does this have to do with anything you ask? Well just yesterday I saw another desperate post on one of the BB's I belong to from a woman who's relative is in bad shape from sclero. I suggested to her weeks ago: 1) See your assigned Drs.; 2) Find a way to see a sclero "expert"; 3) If you couldn't get satisfaction from these 2 sources call the RoadBack people. If I was on my last leg, that's who I would call. They believe you can cure this with antibiotics. Probably not the ideal situation for a "last resort" because it can take months to kick in. But standard medicine will admit they can't "cure" this. She reported that the relative had contacted the antibiotic folks and got herself on a program but gave it up because her normal Dr. told her it wouldn't work. These people were doing nothing else for her and then they had to say that the little bit she was doing wasn't going to work anyway. What is up with that? Aside from the fact that an infection triggering a sclero patient's body to go haywire to begin with is not completely out of the realm of possibility, there is always the placebo effect to consider.

The Placebo Effect has a negative connotation however, I recently read an article by a mainstream health practitioner lamenting the use of alternative meds because it robbed physicians of "the power of the placebo". He believed that a MD has an invaluable role in prescribing meds just because his status as an authoritarian will cause patients to believe in their cure. A bit backwards, if you ask me.

Sangeeta Iyer, in their online Bryn Mawr article in the http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro00/web2/Iyer.html Healing is Believing: The Placebo Effect says this about placebos:
"...The power of the placebo and its effects on the human body call to question the power of the mind and general medical practice today. The power of a thought, although delusional, has the ability to create physical changes in the body. To diminish painful symptoms that would otherwise need expensive medications. Why is this type of treatment not cared to be prescribed as often? Why is it being overlooked by medical practicioners throughout the nation even though it provides measurable results just as any experimental drug?..."

TODAY'S LESSON: Don't let an MD rob you of your hope!

Posted by Sclero Crusader | Filed under:

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