Half of doctors routinely prescribe placebos - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

ERCougar · 10-24-2008, 04:34 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/he...tml?ref=health

What does everyone think about this? I have my thoughts, but I'm curious to hear the patient side.

landpoke · 10-24-2008, 04:42 PM

I think this makes you quacks history's greatest monsters.

landpoke · 10-24-2008, 04:48 PM

P.S. I have no problem with this. Whole lotta self-diagnosis and hypochondria going on out there.

il Padrino Ute · 10-24-2008, 04:52 PM

I don't see this as something to worry about. If the patient feels that the treatment is sufficient, I say go for it.

I agree with landpoke in that there seems to be a lot of hypochondria out there.

ERCougar · 10-24-2008, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by landpoke

P.S. I have no problem with this. Whole lotta self-diagnosis and hypochondria going on out there.

Exactly. I have a hard time believing a doctor would ever prescribe a placebo for any serious illness. It's those high-maintenance patients that feel like they need something for everything that are getting placebos. It's better than giving them expensive and sometimes dangerous workups, and they're not going to accept the explanation that we're giving them a placebo and they'll get better just as quickly.

Here's a little trickier example for you, though. There are multiple studies that show no advantage to taking an antibiotic over placebo for bronchitis. Similar studies exist for sinusitis. Yet there certainly is a placebo effect, meaning that patients who take SOMETHING get better than not taking anything at all. This one's tricky, because there are occasional serious side effects that occur from antibiotics.

Hot Lunch · 10-24-2008, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by landpoke

P.S. I have no problem with this. Whole lotta self-diagnosis and hypochondria going on out there.

My father in law is a doctor and he has vented on a couple of occasions about times that no matter what he did or said some of his patients insisted that they had something wrong with them and wouldn't leave his office until something was done. He never revealed any info more than that or told me what the end result was but I could tell how frustrated he has gotten with patients insisting on some sort of treatment. There are some real whack jobs out there.

RockyBalboa · 10-24-2008, 07:10 PM

I would also think that addiction comes into play somehow.

The numbers of people addicted to prescription drugs leads desperate people to many Doctors offices for any little "sniffle" or "ache" trying to get their fix.

And some Doctors either not wanting to be a part of it or just wanting to get them out of the office prescribe the placebo.

Archaea · 10-24-2008, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RockyBalboa

I would also think that addiction comes into play somehow.

The numbers of people addicted to prescription drugs leads desperate people to many Doctors offices for any little "sniffle" or "ache" trying to get their fix.

And some Doctors either not wanting to be a part of it or just wanting to get them out of the office prescribe the placebo.

Not all drugs are physiologically dependency creating. Some are only psychologically so.

RockyBalboa · 10-24-2008, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archaea

Not all drugs are physiologically dependency creating. Some are only psychologically so.

Well duh, of course Arch, but I was just offering another perspective.

PaloAltoCougar · 10-24-2008, 11:05 PM

I'm curious how the placebo thing works here in California. I assume it's state law (but perhaps it's only Kaiser policy) that when one receives a new prescription, a pharmacist has to come from behind the magic curtain and patiently explain, with the weariness of a mother telling her kid for the 1,000th time why he has to take a bath, what the drug does, how to take it, and what the possible side effects may be.

I'd love to overhear the pharmacist make an honest presentation when a placebo is involved: "Okay, this drug does absolutely nothing, and has no side effects, unless you are allergic to water or sawdust, in which case you'll die, but that's okay since you're such a loser at life that there are multiple people on your healthcare team who have to participate in a charade so that you can delude yourself into thinking you're recovering from a nonexistent illness. Do you have any questions?"

Seriously, how does a pharmicist explain a placebo without either commiting an ethical violation or blowing the charade?

10-24-2008, 04:34 PM	#1
ERCougar Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,589	Half of doctors routinely prescribe placebos http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/he...tml?ref=health What does everyone think about this? I have my thoughts, but I'm curious to hear the patient side.

10-24-2008, 04:42 PM	#2
landpoke Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: North Central God's Country Posts: 1,534	I think this makes you quacks history's greatest monsters. __________________ I see a hobo. And when I see the hobo, I think to myself, "This man is poor. His monetary value is low, and my monetary value is high, and it's a shame that he is himself. What can I do?"

10-24-2008, 04:48 PM	#3
landpoke Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: North Central God's Country Posts: 1,534	P.S. I have no problem with this. Whole lotta self-diagnosis and hypochondria going on out there. __________________ I see a hobo. And when I see the hobo, I think to myself, "This man is poor. His monetary value is low, and my monetary value is high, and it's a shame that he is himself. What can I do?"

10-24-2008, 04:52 PM	#4
il Padrino Ute Board Pinhead Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In the basement of my house, Murray, Utah. Posts: 15,941	I don't see this as something to worry about. If the patient feels that the treatment is sufficient, I say go for it. I agree with landpoke in that there seems to be a lot of hypochondria out there. __________________ "The beauty of baseball is not having to explain it." - Chuck Shriver "This is now the joke that stupid people laugh at." - Christopher Hitchens on IQ jokes about GWB.

10-24-2008, 07:10 PM	#7
RockyBalboa Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Salt Lake City Posts: 7,297	I would also think that addiction comes into play somehow. The numbers of people addicted to prescription drugs leads desperate people to many Doctors offices for any little "sniffle" or "ache" trying to get their fix. And some Doctors either not wanting to be a part of it or just wanting to get them out of the office prescribe the placebo. __________________ Masquerading as Cougarguards very own genius dumbass since 05'.

10-24-2008, 11:05 PM	#10
PaloAltoCougar Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 580	I'm curious how the placebo thing works here in California. I assume it's state law (but perhaps it's only Kaiser policy) that when one receives a new prescription, a pharmacist has to come from behind the magic curtain and patiently explain, with the weariness of a mother telling her kid for the 1,000th time why he has to take a bath, what the drug does, how to take it, and what the possible side effects may be. I'd love to overhear the pharmacist make an honest presentation when a placebo is involved: "Okay, this drug does absolutely nothing, and has no side effects, unless you are allergic to water or sawdust, in which case you'll die, but that's okay since you're such a loser at life that there are multiple people on your healthcare team who have to participate in a charade so that you can delude yourself into thinking you're recovering from a nonexistent illness. Do you have any questions?" Seriously, how does a pharmicist explain a placebo without either commiting an ethical violation or blowing the charade?