Speech #9: The Nocebo Cure

A librarian was told that there was formaldehyde in his new library bookshelves. Formaldehyde is a suspected human carcinogen and the librarian knew this. Soon he was suffering from a headache, aching joints, and labored breathing.


But then he heard there was no formaldehyde in the shelves, and the symptoms disappeared.


But in reality the shelves contained formaldehyde all along but the librarian didn't know that and he remained symptom free.

---

Mister Toastmaster, fellow toastmasters, honored. Most of you know about the placebo effect.  A doctor may give you a placebo pill and tell you that it will make you feel better; and it will.   It is simply the power of suggestion.  It can be used positively placebo, or negatively nocebo.  Placebo/nocebo positive/negative.

--- 

Is the nocebo effect real? Let me first read from an article aimed at plastic surgeons.


The nocebo effect is a well known causation of, and contributor to psychosomatic conditions which can make life a terrible ordeal.


The vast majority of treatment-resistant pain syndromes ... are either directly caused by or contributed to by psychosomatic factors.


The most common symptoms include headaches, back pain, fibromyalgia, ulcers, GI discomfort, jaw pain, and carpal tunnel.


There are many situations which may cause a woman to suffer a nocebo effect related to a surgical breast procedure including:

  1. Diagnosis of breast cancer can create a severe effect on the mind and body.

  2. Reading inflammatory information suggesting that breast implants might be harmful to the patient’s health.

  3. A warning from a doctor or radiologist that breast implants are dangerous.

---

The nocebo effect can be evil.  A class action lawyer was interviewing women with silicone implants. He said, “Have you experienced any discomfort?”  The woman said, “No, none at all.”  The lawyer exploded, “WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH YOU? YOU MUST BE STUPID.”   

PAUSE

Soon thereafter, the woman did experience pain.  Her suffering was real, but it was not caused by the silicone, it was caused by the nocebo effect.

---

More than half of all health products list headaches as a side effect. When a new drug is tested and test subjects are asked about side effects, they often mentino headaches. Therefore headaches are among the listed side effects, which by the nocebo effect causes headaches in other people in the future.  In that sense, if you are one of the test subjects in a drug trial, your headache can actually be contagious.

---

What can we do?  We can’t sue doctors for delivering a bad news in the form of a diagnosis. Nor can we sue a drug manufacturer for putting warnings on a pill bottle.


But there is a simple cure.  

  1. motivation

  2. corroborating evidence

  3. the burden of proof

It's more than just being skeptical. Let me elaborate.

  1. Will the source profit by making you scared?  If so, then his motive is suspicious.

  2. Corroborating evidence. You already have a lifetime of experience. You know how the world works. That’s what we call common sense.  Use your common sense to judge.  Do your life experiences tend to confirm or refute the claims you are asked to believe?

  3. Keep the burden of proof with the source. Sources commonly pose questions that you can't answer. That is a con man’s trick   He is trying to shift the burden of proof to you. Don't fall for it. Demand proof from genuine experts not motivated to scare you. Ignore celebrities and politicians.

---

If you remember those 3 rules, you will be resistant to being scared unnecessarily. Drug ads on TV won't scare you. Predatory lawyers won't scare you. Neither will predatory doctors, journalists, TV producers, authors, demagogue politicians, or your neighborhood gossip monger. 



Dick’s Intro


Dick Mills is a retired engineer, a sailor, a pilot, an exterminator, a fireman, a blogger, a carney, and a toastmaster.


The title of his speech is:

The Nocebo Cure

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The nocebo effect is a well known causation of, and contributor to psychosomatic conditions which can make life a terrible ordeal.


The vast majority of treatment-resistant pain syndromes ... are either directly caused by or contributed to by psychosomatic factors.


The most common symptoms include headaches, back pain, fibromyalgia, ulcers, GI discomfort, jaw pain, and carpal tunnel.


There are many situations which may cause a woman to suffer a nocebo effect related to a surgical breast procedure including:

  1. Diagnosis of breast cancer can create a severe effect on the mind and body.

  2. Reading inflammatory information suggesting that breast implants might be harmful to the patient’s health.

  3. A warning from a doctor or radiologist that breast implants are dangerous.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life as a Nomad

  You all know the word nomad.   You’ve seen films about nomads perhaps narrated by David Attenborough. But have you ever actually met a true nomad in real life?   Yes, you have.   Libby and I lived 12 years as nomads aboard our sailboat. Madam toastmaster, I would like to share some of that experience. I define nomads as: 1. People almost constantly on the move. 2. Whose movements are annual and repetitive. 3. They have no mailing address. Among boaters, we were called cruisers, not nomads.   We were the elite.   But on land and with no mailing address, we were among the most despised segments of society.   How so?   Consider the pejorative words synonymous with nomad.    Migrant, vagabond, hobo, rambler, rover, wanderer, transient, tramp, bum, derelict, outcast, drifter, loafer, in England traveler, and in Australia swagman. On the other hand, people who travel but are presumed to have a mailing address get more resp...
Read more

The Cape Fear Incident

  It was late November 2005 and our first year living the cruising life.   Libby and I were heading south for the year on our sailboat with winter nipping at our heels.   It was cold, drizzly, miserable morning.   We planned to decide in Beaufort NC, whether to continue inland on the ICW, or to go out to sea via the inlet at Beaufort. Just as we got there, the sun came out.   There was a brisk wind blowing from the North.   Ideal conditions!  So, I made a snap decision; let's go out to sea.  Bad decision. One should always check the weather report and carefully plan a route before going out to sea. Shame on me.  It was a splendid afternoon out on the ocean, although a bit rough.  We made good speed with the wind and waves behind us.     On our GPS chart plotter, I made a straight line course from our current position to Fernandina Beach Florida, 400 miles away.   Bad decision.  Imagine yourself using the map app ...
Read more

The L Word, libertarian

  When the cat’s away, the mouse will play. Madam toastmaster, fellow toastmasters, honored guests. Many of you know that my wife Libby is away up in Vermont.  I’m going to take advantage of that to speak about my personal politics.  Libby normally forbids me from talking about religion or politics in public, but while the cat’s away, the mouse will play. PAUSE I believe in minimum government.  You can call me libertarian. PAUSE Because that word libertarian is widely misunderstood, I first need to spend some time explaining what I am not. I am not, repeat not, one of those libertarian militia crackpots.  Nor am I a member of the Libertarian party with a capital L, I’m libertarian with a small l.    Nor am I an anarchist.  Anarchy means zero government, not minimal government. PAUSE So how much government is minimal?  Theorists dating back to the founding of our country say that the minimum is security, both foreign and domestic.  Foreig...
Read more