this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2023
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[–] Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone 53 points 11 months ago (6 children)

What's really crazy is that sometimes the placebo can still bring people relief even after knowing that it's a placebo

[–] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 30 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I recommend that everyone swallow a tictac placebo every day for exactly this reason. It cures everything.

[–] Natanael@slrpnk.net 16 points 11 months ago (1 children)

No you should buy my snakeoil for that

[–] Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 11 months ago

But does it come in a big bottle?

[–] Silverseren@kbin.social 13 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Yeah. Though you ethically can't try to use placebo as a medical treatment, because it's inconsistent in whether it does anything and is essentially trying to not treat the patient at all with known methods of treatment.

[–] Successful_Try543@feddit.de 10 points 11 months ago

It is not completely excluded. For cases where the 'standard' treatment did not work or does not exist, placebo treatment can be used under the condition, that the patient is informed that they will be given placebo.

[–] MxM111@kbin.social 1 points 11 months ago

There could are trials on healthy people.

[–] LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago (2 children)

And the larger the pill, the better the placebo effect. That’s why we now have testicle sized pills.

[–] ving_thor@lemmy.one 4 points 11 months ago

Good news! It's a suppository.

[–] Default_Defect@midwest.social 2 points 11 months ago

Somewhat unrelated, but the biggest pills I take aren't even the medicine, but are the supplements to make up for the loss the medicine causes.

[–] MxM111@kbin.social 1 points 11 months ago

If you know that placebo works, and know that it is placebo, then of course!

[–] ApathyTree@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 11 months ago

I wish that worked for me. I’d love to have someone give me a BS miracle drug sugar pill and actually be able to believe them. Even subconsciously. But subconsciously, I automatically disbelieve miracle claims (and even most efficacy claims) until looking at the clinical trial data.

Years of chronic pain and gobs of different meds to control it, most entirely ineffective but with side effects, does things to a person already inclined toward doubt. I’m also prone to nocibo responses, like the guy in the comic, but I think it’s sensations that are always there, I’m just being asked not to ignore the state of my body like I usually do, so I actually notice them.

[–] joyjoy@lemm.ee 0 points 11 months ago (2 children)

You just described the placebo effect.

[–] IanSomnia@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago

No he didn't. You don't have to know that you're taking a placebo for it to be a placebo. You just have to know you took something. Most people think the placebo affect is negated once it is revealed you have taken a placebo. His comment highlighted that the effect can persist despite ones knowledge that it is a placebo.

[–] Bonehead@kbin.social -1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Just remember that the placebo effect is only effective in a small percentage of the population, and is consistent with any other substances that may induce this phenomenon. That's how they know when something actually works...it works in the majority of people, not just that small percentage.

[–] LurkyLoo@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

Yeah that's not quite it. Placebo is actually present for most/the majority of people, but they (researched of various kinds )are looking for effects that are above and beyond the level demonstrated by the placebo alone.

One fun thing to think about is that most (maybe all) treatments include some degree of placebo effect inherently.