Placebo: Mystery or Miracle?

I recently read When the Music Stopped by Bob Cafaro, a cellist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. In 1999 he was incapacitated with a severe case of Multiple Sclerosis (MS.) When the Music Stopped is his account of how he defeated the disease.

One of the many subjects Bob investigated and applied is the placebo effect.  Most of us are aware of the placebo effect, but personally, I never thought about it beyond "nobody really understands why the placebo effect takes place."

The most common placebo effect is when a neutral substance, say cornstarch for example, is given to a patient who is told it is a medication for an ailment. Upon taking the placebo, and believing it is a genuine cure, the patient then recovers from the illness, as if a typical FDA approved treatment drug had been taken. 

In the clinical trials for one of the drugs which his doctor prescribed, Bob discovered that in one category of the trials, the number of people who benefited from the placebo was basically the same number as those who had actually received the drug!  (26 out of 87 benefited from the placebo, 26 out of 85 benefited from the drug!)  

Because he was so intent on curing himself, and avoiding prescription drug adverse effects, he decided to take a deeper look into the placebo effect in general.

Bob also discovered many researchers theorize when a patient is given a neutral substance, and told it is a cure for their ailment, once they take the placebo, and believe that it is the cure, their own body will synthesize the substances it needs in order to treat the condition.

So while that may very well be the case, the patient must still eliminate the lifestyle behaviors which may have caused the ailment in the first place.  So we just can't take a placebo, believe it is our cure, and expect the positive results, without also adopting a healthy lifestyle.  Of course, the same applies to prescription medications, they only help if they are taken as part of a healthy lifestyle.

There has been some astonishing research done on the subject of placebos, one of the more well known studies is that of Ted Kaptchuck, as documented in Harvard Magazine, in February of 2013. 

Ted Kaptchuk in his home office in Cambridge

Photograph by Jim Harrison / From Harvard Magazine

In the article, Ted Kaptchuck says "We were struggling to increase drug effects, while no one was trying to increase the placebo effect.”

One of the first surprising things that Ted Kaptchuck discovered is that the degree of effectiveness of the placebo administered is related to the perceived level of care they receive from the people providing the therapy. "The results were not surprising: the patients who experienced the greatest relief were those who received the most care."  

Then Kaptchuck's researchers were shocked by their next discovery: "Even patients who knew they were taking placebos described real improvement, reporting twice as much symptom relief as the no-treatment group."

Last year I sustained a serious spine injury: two herniated discs.  I never experienced such pain before in my entire life.  It was daily, it was unrelenting, debilitating, and inhuman.  But fortunately a year ago, November 16, I received successful spine surgery.  It has taken most of this year to recover. I still have other issues, one is peripheral neuropathy in my feet, which is also painful.  

So I decided to give the lifestyle / placebo approach a try.  Two days ago I limited my food intake by not consuming any carbohydrates or fats.  Just green salads and soup.  Then before I went to sleep, I put on two copper bracelets.  I said to myself "These bracelets are going to stimulate my body to treat my conditions, they are going to help me get to sleep fast, and sleep soundly, and when I awaken, I am going to feel great, because I am healing in every respect."

Well yesterday I woke up pain free, which has been a rarity for the last few years.  I had a great day, kept active, was careful about what I ate, and I tried the bracelet technique again last night.  Same results, I have far less pain than I would have on an average day.

Reverse Placebo Effect

The nocebo effect is when a person experiences harmful, unpleasant, or undesirable side effects after a placebo medical treatment. These effects are not chemically generated and are only due to a person's negative belief or expectation that the fake treatment or drug will produce bad side effects.

So in a way, even the nocebo effect illustrates the power of our thoughts and beliefs!

I don't like prescription drugs because of the side effects I suffer when I take them. 

Discussion of the placebo effect brings up terms like "charlatan" and "fraud."  But I question the accepted belief that I must take a refined substance in order to "correct" my body, even though the refined substance makes me feel terrible. I just can't accept the concept of taking something that makes me feel sick in order to improve my health!

There's a disclaimer paragraph in the materials you receive with prescription drugs which reads "Your doctor has determined that the benefits of this drug outweigh the adverse affects." But I've never yet had a doctor explain the adverse effects, then ask me if I think they are worth it!

So I like the concept of placebos, and if they work even if you know it's a placebo, well that's great, isn't it? I think placebos offer a great number of people relief from their ailments, without the uncomfortable and dangerous adverse effects of prescription drugs, although I am definitely not advocating that anyone stop taking their prescription medications without their doctor's approval.

I don't want to make a totally one-sided presentation, so I would love to hear your opinion on this.  Do you have any experience with placebos? If you could, would you offer a placebo alternative to a loved one who is suffering?

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I will be posting more as I learn more!