One of the people I work with came down with the swine flu earlier this week, and now I'm feeling distinctly unwell, too. It's definitely a flu of some kind, whether H1N1 or some other strain. CDC guidelines are essentially to just stay inside and hope I get better (unless it becomes serious enough to put me in the hospital). With my headache and lightheadedness I can't even watch TV, read, or work on any of my stalled game projects either. Too tired to do anything, and I've taken as many naps as I can. Yeah, this'll be fun... :(
Anyone else afflicted by the great hysteria-excuse of the year?
Not yet, but hope you feel better soon.
Back in March, I had a 3 day flu, which pretty much left me in bed. I could not eat, drink or do anything. I am 36 years old and I called my mom crying just to tell her how bad I felt.
Do you have a fever right now?
I had a 40C fever a week ago. But it passed over in a few days. From what I understand swine flu is just like normal flu. So just drink alot, don't wear too warm clothes.... you know the drill. Good luck!
What is the swine flu? ::)
I find it so stupid they make it sounds so dangerous..
I mean.. normal flu is just as dangerous..
If you get the flu, find some company near you that deals with alternative medicine..
They will most probably help you more than anyone else!
I have decided 100% that I wont take any vaccine.
Dont see no reason putting stuff into my body I dont even know what is!
But how do I know that the alternative remedies haven't been cursed by an evil wizard?
I think I'll play it safe and do what I always do when I get sick: sacrifice a dove to Imhotep so he'll drive out the evil spirits.
More people die per year from the regular flu than have died from H1N1 so far. The media is mostly responsible for this ridiculous hype. My girlfriend is a medical assistant at a pediatrician office and we were discussing the hyperbole surrounding H1N1 and how ridiculous it all is.
My wife is a nurse. The H1N1 is no different than the normal yearly flew. In fact she has dealt with hundreds of patients who have had the swine flu. She herself has had it and so has my 12 year old niece. It might be slightly potent than most strands, but it only truly effects those who have severe medical issues or sicknesses. In my opinion, its been hyped up by the media.
The University I attend, like a lot of others, have taken up a policy that if you feel like you have any type of the flu or flu symptoms, then you are excused from classes on the day you were sick. I'd bet over half of our student population has "had" the swine flu this year! :P
I was ill for 3 weeks, had it pretty hard on the first weekend then almost recovered only to get the whole migraine/cold/vomit situation for another week. Remember kids, roaches carry flu.
Well, technically the swine flu is more dangerous than the normal flu. It just so happens that a lot of people above 40-50 are immune to it, so over all the casualties don't exceed a normal flu.
But during a normal flu season, most of the severe cases and the casualties are found among the elderly. A normal seasonal flu does not kill off as many healthy young adults as the swine flu has done.
This being said, it's still much less dangerous than media makes it appear.
On a side note, I can't be vaccinated due to my egg-allergy.
I think pandemic awareness shouldnt be glazed over as 'media hype'
Swine Flu COULD be devestating since it was a new disease to which humans had little to no immunity.
Spanish Flu killed in the region of 50-100 million or about 3% of the population. If that same figure were to be applied today it would kill the United Kingdom.. about 5 times.
Also remember it is typically not the first wave of a virus which is most deadly. Viruses evolve very very quickly and it is very possible it will mutate into a more deadly form of the virus (in the same way the spanish flu did, although this was attributed to evolutionary conditions of the first world war).
Swine flu is also not just killing the elderly and infirm. There have been many cases now of healthy adults dying.
The death toll of swine flu has increased by 10% in the US in the last 7 days (to around 6000ish). Expect it to get much worse.
Snarky, if you're bored can you listen to things? There are plenty of entertaining podcasts to listen to. Radio Lab, Wiretap, This American Life. At least that's what I would do in your situation.
Quote from: Andail on Sun 01/11/2009 11:44:15Well, technically the swine flu is more dangerous than the normal flu. It just so happens that a lot of people above 40-50 are immune to it, so over all the casualties don't exceed a normal flu.
Actually, in many ways it's less dangerous than the normal flue (lower mortality rates, less severe symptoms (in general), but a higher infection rate (which is lower than the pandemics of 1918, 1957, and 1968)). It is, however, vastly more popular among the cool kids (it has a different infection-pattern than the common flue).
Just to add another piece of useless information here: even with all the precautions we have nowadays, you have a bigger chance to be infected with HIV than with H1N1.
(http://www.leasticoulddo.com/comics/20091031.gif)
Quote from: Snarky on Sat 31/10/2009 22:25:27
With my headache and lightheadedness I can't even watch TV, read, or work on any of my stalled game projects either. Too tired to do anything, and I've taken as many naps as I can. Yeah, this'll be fun... :(
Anyone else afflicted by the great hysteria-excuse of the year?
Aw, hope it passes soon and you feel better buddy.
I can't remember ever having the flu in 27 years, so am unable relate to anyone's flu ailing, but the way some make it sound it is nearly death-bed serious for a week or more. I become ill maybe once every 2-3 years with a cold and sore throat for a couple days, but that is all really :-\
For this reason and many others I will not be vaccinated either, and I am quite happy to hear talk of the vaccine being made compulsory largely disappear, as I was not excited about potential complications of refusing it :P
Expect it to get much worse? Wow Calin, you really must buy into all the hype you read about on google. The CDC themselves have made it clear that overall it's harder to contract than normal flu strains and not a pandemic issue in its current state. The main reason the US Government is going apeshit is because The Obaminator is trying every angle he can to convince people that a nationalized healthcare system is the way to save us from all sorts of horrible things. Swine Flu this year is like Bird Flu last year and the year before and is just an irritating attempt to fearmonger the populace. Let's not get end of the world-itis and panic when we have millions of scientists around the world supporting medicine and cures. I seriously doubt we'd ever lose millions again to a virus with our current level of research and improved knowledge of medicine and hygiene*, but maybe I'm just an optimist?
And this is coming from a hypochondriac so yeah, I do read up on these things!
*Hygiene, especially keeping one's hands clean, has done more for general wellness than just about anything.
Snarky: Unless your normal flu symptoms are headache and disorientation (light-headedness) I'd say you don't have Swine Flu at all. The flu is associated with fever, runny nose, drowsiness, body aches and pains and sore throat. You could just have a case of the blahs!
The CDC said its not a pandemic? The WHO disagree.
As i said, If Swine Flu continues as it is then it will end up being relatively harmless. Killing only a few hundred thousand people.
If it mutates in the second wave.. anything could happen.
My point was more about dismissing pandemics out of hand as 'media hype'. The same thing happened in the 70s and it turned out to be more or less harmless. However if this was Bird Flu and not Swine Flu (and its only a matter of chance that it isnt) everyone on earth would have roughly a 1 in 8 chance of dying within the next two years.
I've just a regular cold. *achoo*
I wanna be cool and have the swine flu. :(
Jesus Christ! Alternative medicine, vaccine paranoia and now nefarious Obama conspiracies. Let's just throw in UFOs and the freemasons as well, shall we? ::)
Sometimes I wonder why I even bother with the internet. >:(
Quote from: Disco on Sun 01/11/2009 18:22:29
Aw, hope it passes soon and you feel better buddy.
Cheers mate! It seems to have peaked yesterday, so while I still don't feel like going out or anything, today I'm at least able to take in some entertainment.
Quote from: ProgZmax on Sun 01/11/2009 21:34:58Snarky: Unless your normal flu symptoms are headache and disorientation (light-headedness) I'd say you don't have Swine Flu at all. The flu is associated with fever, runny nose, drowsiness, body aches and pains and sore throat. You could just have a case of the blahs!
I have all the standard flu symptoms. The ones I mentioned (fatigue, headache, lightheadedness probably brought on by fever) were just the ones that meant I couldn't
do anything; not even watch TV.
Vaccine paranoia frightens me.
Vaccines have saved more lives than ANYTHING else... probably even more than antibiotics
We are supposed to be living in an enlightened age.. I feel a second Dark Age coming on.
Yeah.
Hygiene, vaccines, antibiotics and anesthesia are pretty much the four pillars of modern medicine (the fifth would probably be the somewhat more abstract "scientific, explanatory models of illnesses, enabling doctors to more accurately diagnose and treat patients"--or perhaps nutrition), and it's depressing that not all people appreciate how much better off we are for them.
Not that I have a problem with adults choosing, for whatever reason, not to get vaccinated--at least as long as they're not putting others at significantly more risk. Particularly something like the flu, which is always spawning new strains, so that a vaccine at best reduces the risk slightly, and which isn't too serious in the majority of cases anyway. It's the whole Jenny McCarthy, "vaccines are dangerous and not to be trusted" attitude that pisses me off.
It always amuses me when Jenny McCarthy's name gets mentioned when talking about medicine. Amuses me in a kind of horrified way (she's quite clearly Satan or something similar ;D (please, no religious debates or anything, it was just an expression people)).
Anyway, the flu sucks. Rest up and get well soon :)
Oh I'm all for vaccines for whoever wants them, I have all the standard stuff floating around in my system and get the booster shots on schedule :D I just don't much like the idea of a media frenzy causing the kind of mass-mindset where getting one becomes mandatory for every new scare that pops up.
I take quite good care of myself in regards to washing up and avoiding or carefully using public things, as I am compelled to do by the mild hypochondria, and prefer doing this rather than getting every new jab that is produced. I believe it promotes better hygiene and behaviour in the long run.
Whole my family had a flu somewhere in the end of August. Not sure which flu though. Someone infected us, but that was too hard to tell, who was first, since everyone was ill :). I hope that counts as a we've fulfiled flu's annual plan for us :=
Quote
The main reason the US Government is going apeshit is because The Obaminator is trying every angle he can to convince people that a nationalized healthcare system is the way to save us from all sorts of horrible things
Erh...nevermind. I guess Obama deserves his share of conspiracy theories...
Like Joseph, my girlfriend is a pediatric nurse, and we talked at great length about how H1N1 isn't the epidemic that the media is making it out to be. The symptoms are similar to the regular flu, aren't much stronger, and the death toll so far has been less than the number of people that die from the regular flu each year.
We have a theory: somebody, somewhere, saw that H1N1 is a child of the swine flu and other flu strains, so that person figured it must be a SUPER-strain of flu and much more deadly. All it takes is one media outlet to make it sound worse than it really is, and other media outlets pick up on that, strengthen the story, and report it. This continues to happen until people are scared out of their minds and start spreading rumors.
Case in point: my father said that he listened to the news and apparently only those with H1N1 could have the vaccines. Apparently he misunderstood a recent news report. Thing is, he would've told 10 other people, who would've made the story worse, tell 10 each of their friends, and so on.
We hear the "one in a thousand/million" stories on the news, for example the boy who was on the football team and was near death when he caught H1N1, but we tend to forget that these stories are the exception to the rule, not the other way around.
Quote from: Andail on Mon 02/11/2009 18:28:58
Quote
The main reason the US Government is going apeshit is because The Obaminator is trying every angle he can to convince people that a nationalized healthcare system is the way to save us from all sorts of horrible things
Erh...nevermind. I guess Obama deserves his share of conspiracy theories...
Okay we admit it! The truth is that the British National Health Service created Swine Flu in an attempt to kill Stephen Hawking.
Quote from: Ali on Tue 03/11/2009 09:04:50Okay we admit it! The truth is that the British National Health Service created Swine Flu in an attempt to kill Stephen Hawking.
That's not true! - There were other names on that list too (including - but not limited to - everyone who stands in the way of Blair becoming the next and first president of Europe)!
Quote from: Ali on Tue 03/11/2009 09:04:50
Okay we admit it! The truth is that the British National Health Service created Swine Flu in an attempt to kill Stephen Hawking.
Hey, come on, leave Stephen Hawking alone! You've already got Carl Sagan, how much more do you need?2?!
Quote from: Snarky on Sat 31/10/2009 23:29:05
But how do I know that the alternative remedies haven't been cursed by an evil wizard?
Hahaha, this is the single greatest one liner comeback I've read here yet! ;D
Made my day!
Oh, btw., if you already have the swine flu and don't buy into all that science crap but rely on homeopathy instead, Dr. Werner is happy to explain to you how exactly it works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0c5yClip4o
(Word of advice though: turn your brains off before watching this, otherwise you'll risk permanent damage to it.)
Mass is very tiny so you can cross out mass in e=mc²? I don't think that's how mass works, but more importantly, that's definitely not how multiplication works. But hey, what do I know? Stopped watching after that.
The basis of homeopathy is to dilute medicine so as to a give you a single molecule of aspirin, or whatever your drug is, to avoid waste (I'm not qualified to say whether this idea is silly or not). But it's usually diluted too much and you end up with just water.
I had swine flu and all I got was this slab of bacon....
Quote from: Lufia on Tue 03/11/2009 19:32:01
The basis of homeopathy is to dilute medicine so as to a give you a single molecule of aspirin, or whatever your drug is, to avoid waste.
Not exactly. It's based on like cures like, as in: if you want to cure a headache, you take something that
causes headache, then dilute it until the chance of a single molecule of the substance still being in the water is less than 1. The more diluted, the more "powerful" that "solution" is (and the more expensive). Homeopaths believe the water to somehow absorb the energy of the substance.
You don't need to be an expert to call complete bullshit on that either. Guess what's diluted when they produce sleeping pills? Caffeine.
But I really don't want to turn this thread into a discussion about homeopathy, so apologies. Just thought the vid is really funny in a sick and twisted, brain cell killing way.
Edit after Lufia's response:
Sure, there's nothing to say against taking the stuff to invoke the placebo effect, after all, it even works if you know there's nothing but water in the balls.
I only object to the steep prices, the homeopaths telling people it wasn't the placebo effect, and most of all: the minor issue that people with serious but perfectly curable illnesses rely on something that won't help them and die.
Is it? My mom used to take me to a doctor that dealt in homeopathy when I was a kid, I don't remember him saying anything like that.
Anyway, she took me there when I had a cold. Seeing how incredibly efficient medicine is against viruses, homeopathy is just as good and yummier. The other doctors around systematically gave out antibiotics. I think I prefer the alternative of little sugary balls and placebo effect.
Homeopathy should be illegal.
its medicine sold at very high prices with no proven effects.
It no you cant 'overdose on it' but you can fucking drown.
Ohh, but the 'lil sugary balls are sooo sweeet!
I could suck on them all night...
Meh, I've been sicker.
So far I've had a nasty cold, a really painful and bad ear infection, and a foreign object stuck under my eyelid, all in the past week. Bring on the H1N1, I think I'll be better off. :(
Quote from: Calin Leafshade on Wed 04/11/2009 15:44:16
Homeopathy should be illegal.
Illegal? Why? You believe it - take it. You don't - don't take it. Simple as that, why make it illegal? Illegal things are (usually) those who have proven BAD effects on something.
I think he was just trying to support his opinion demonstrated here (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=39258.msg516798#msg516798).
Well, either that or he's a hypocrite ;)
Quote from: Oliwerko on Thu 05/11/2009 05:56:16
Quote from: Calin Leafshade on Wed 04/11/2009 15:44:16
Homeopathy should be illegal.
Illegal? Why? You believe it - take it. You don't - don't take it. Simple as that, why make it illegal? Illegal things are (usually) those who have proven BAD effects on something.
Because authority has a responsibility to give us the facts.
I have no problem with people taking sugar pills to cure their cancer but it's irresponsible to sell things under the banner of 'medicine' if it has no proven effects.
You wouldnt expect to go into a hospital and then be given a medicine which has no clinically observable effects.
"And this will cure me, doctor?"
"yeah, fuck it... it might."
I'm also all for drug education. I think the government should research the effects of drugs, give us the information and then let us decide if we want to mess with our bodies.
Quote from: Calin Leafshade on Thu 05/11/2009 16:11:56
I have no problem with people taking sugar pills to cure their cancer but it's irresponsible to sell things under the banner of 'medicine' if it has no proven effects.
Yes, but wouldn't things such as acupuncture come under this as well? And 'normal' medicine often has negative side effects to consider. Something as simple as anesthetics can be life threatening - yes, patients are tested and checked but mishaps still occur. Honestly, I'd rather be sold ineffective medicine than medicine that leaves me worse off than before.
If you expect these 'authority' creatures to provide information about your drugs and your alternative medicines (whether or not they are actually 'medicines' or not is hardly for me to comment on) then remember that even the most mainstream medicinal treatments never seem to be 100% proven.
I don't usually enter these long and drawn out debates, as I am generally content to observe. So... yeah. That's my bit.
Homeopathy is something very specific.
and acupuncture does have proven effects i believe beyond the placebo effect.
but homeopathy is just a sugar pill or water with an active ingredient so diluted that the chance of there even being 1 molecule of the active ingredient left is on the order of 1 in billions.
Selling it as a medicine is fraud.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSKxz1BNU6s (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSKxz1BNU6s)
A quick wikipedia search (I am not expert on this subject, of course) suggests that the placebo effect is sometimes effective. Not always effective, but it seems to me (from what I have read, which is little) that all medicines can be labeled as 'sometimes effective'.
It seems to me that the human brain may play an important role in medicine, and if tricking someone into thinking they are taking something that will make them well is what actually makes them well, then it seems to me to be an effective 'medicine'.
As for youtube videos, one can find youtube videos that will tell you anything you want to hear. I am not trying to pass your point off as being irrelevant, naturally. To me it seems that there is not enough conclusive evidence about any of this to go around banning things. I have no personal agenda here - I'm completely without any experience with alternative medicines, but I don't think the term 'fraud' is completely accurate if the placebo effect is known to be an effective treatment.
And if we're going to get people to stop lying to us about the things that they sell us, I'm quite certain that we've got a lot more things that would need to be placed under review besides sugary pills.
Quote
but homeopathy is just a sugar pill or water with an active ingredient so diluted that the chance of there even being 1 molecule of the active ingredient left is on the order of 1 in billions.
Heh, and if we're analyzing, acupuncture is just sticking little pins into your skin. I can do that at home! ;D
Homeopathy is inherently unscientific, since the very theory behind it goes against both chemistry and common sense. If it works, it's purely placebo, or by way of the supernatural.
With acupunctur you can at best question the benefits; even if you don't believe in energy meridians and the holistic approach to medicine, the immediate release of endorphines is well documented (albeit not very revolutionary or difficult to achieve in other ways).
I'm surprised the FDA allowed homeopathic remedies to be sold in the US.
I'm not afraid. It'll die in the cold. If it won't, I'll just keep away from it.
Though the only infections here seem to be centered at the army stations in the north. I can't even feel sad because of that. Those idiots deserve to get infected with brain flue and everything, just to show how great an idea it really is to have 10 people sleeping in the same room with minimal hygiene conditions, tired and hungry.
That, and I do use the desinfection liquid the have at the uni. Not because of the flue, but because I hate touching surfaces that have other people's snot and everything on them and afterwards digging my nose.
Quote from: Calin Leafshade on Thu 05/11/2009 16:50:59
Homeopathy is something very specific.
and acupuncture does have proven effects i believe beyond the placebo effect.
but homeopathy is just a sugar pill or water with an active ingredient so diluted that the chance of there even being 1 molecule of the active ingredient left is on the order of 1 in billions.
Selling it as a medicine is fraud.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSKxz1BNU6s (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSKxz1BNU6s)
To clarify, acupunture is no better than homeopathy... Well, it has been proven that it *treats* the pains because the little nailings make the body produce endorphines, but that is almost equal to nothing.
It improves little pains, but it does not cure anything. It has a little analgesic value, no healing value at all.
Also, it has been proven that it doesn't matter if the acupunturist is an ancient asian master of the ki or the girl next door, it will cause the same effect.
So, yes, it should be banned as homeopathy if sold as a medicine.
Nacho, Advil has no healing value at all, it only masks symptoms (analgesic value). But that can be scientifically proven, thanks to the ibuprofen in the medicine.
Quote from: Andail on Thu 05/11/2009 17:24:06
Homeopathy is inherently unscientific, since the very theory behind it goes against both chemistry and common sense.
Yeah, I can accept that. This Water memory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_memory) concept seems more like flipping tarot cards to me than fermenting antibiotics.
My line of thought still stands, however: If the placebo effect
works (again, I've only quickly skimmed Wikipedia, which I assume is as reliable a source of reference as any) then can it be dismissed as a form of medicine? Seems unlikely to me.
It seems highly trivial to be suggesting that governments should spend their efforts deciding whether or not to make something that
might be a form of medicine illegal, instead of focusing on the great many other areas which seem much higher priority in my mind.
Apologies to Snarky for derailing his thread. And of course, Tuomas, please do make sure you don't dig your nose with other people's snot on your fingers. That's just asking for trouble.
Nacho, just read your post, but are you certain? Wikipedia says these WHO chaps published a report (if this holds any consequence or not) stating it as 'effective treatment' (whatever this entails) for a whole bunch of nasty things.
I'll try to stop posting in here now (as I'm clearly asking more questions than I am answering), but am interested to read other people's thoughts :).
Quote from: TerranRich on Thu 05/11/2009 17:38:32
Nacho, Advil has no healing value at all, it only masks symptoms (analgesic value). But that can be scientifically proven, thanks to the ibuprofen in the medicine.
And? I was just clarifying a point about acupunture. :)
QuoteHomeopathy is inherently unscientific, since the very theory behind it goes against both chemistry and common sense. If it works, it's purely placebo, or by way of the supernatural.
Damn, I hope it's supernatural. :)
As I was saying, you can't do a thing against viruses save treat the symptoms. A placebo is as good as anything in this case. And way better than stuffing yourself with antibiotics that would allow unrelated germs to develop a resistance, for example.
I'm not saying homeopathy can cure anything, but then we don't have a "real" cure for the common cold. It's better to stick to the placebo in such cases.
I feel i should clarify something about the placebo effect.
The placebo effect is not a positive effect. It is something that applies to clinical trials.
It does not heal you in any way it merely makes you FEEL better, and thus messes up any clinically results since alot of the results are based on how the patient feels.
the placebo effect does not rally your immune system to fight that virus. It simply makes you think you feel better because you have done something about it.. it is an entirely psychological effect not a medical one.
So even if homeopathy has some psychological effect (because it certainly doesnt have any medical ones) they do no good whatsoever for the affliction.
From wikipedia:
QuoteMechanism of the effect
The phenomenon of an inert substance resulting in a patient's medical improvement is called the placebo effect. The phenomenon is related to the perception and expectation which the patient has; if the substance is viewed as helpful, it can heal, but if it is viewed as harmful, it can cause negative effects, which is known as the nocebo effect. Placebo effects are a scientific mystery.[24] Their basic mechanism has been investigated since 1978, when it was found that the opioid antagonist naloxone could block placebo painkillers, suggesting that endogenous opioids are involved.
The terms 'medical improvement' and 'heal' are listed in here, making me think it
is a positive effect. Perhaps I have interpreted this incorrectly, however.
Quote from: Calin Leafshade on Thu 05/11/2009 18:41:31
the placebo effect does not rally your immune system to fight that virus. It simply makes you think you feel better because you have done something about it.. it is an entirely psychological effect not a medical one.
You're right when you say that positive vibes won't get rid of a virus, but keep in mind that many people suffer from psychosomatic illnesses. In these cases, placebos
can have a real medical effect.
Quote
I feel i should clarify something about the placebo effect.
The placebo effect is not a positive effect. It is something that applies to clinical trials.
Oh, on the contrary; placebo is benign in the sense that it gives the patient positive mental energy to heal. It doesn't mean that a specific kind of medicine can be marketed solely for its placebo effect; anything can be a placebo as long as the patient
believes it to have healing power.
Also, it should be noted that this mental energy is only one step on the path to getting well, and naturally a placebo pill can't cure more serious afflictions on its own. But it's nothing magic about the fact that in most cases, you need to believe that you can be well in order to get well.
The only negative aspect of placebo is that it can make medical tests tricky to carry out, if you don't know how to do it right.
I'm not sure about this, but I'm pretty sure that mainstream doctors have been known to prescribe sugar pills.
And there have been many tests done to show the effects of placebo and nocebo, where the nocebos have made people suffer various symptoms of the effects that they were told the drug would give.
Mainstream doctors do NOT prescribe sugar pills. They use placebos in lab studies when testing medications and other similar procedures, as a control.
Quote from: TerranRich on Fri 06/11/2009 08:18:59
Mainstream doctors do NOT prescribe sugar pills. They use placebos in lab studies when testing medications and other similar procedures, as a control.
Once again I return to Wikipedia and once again it suggests the contrary:
QuoteDoctor-patient relationship
A study of Danish general practitioners found that 48% had prescribed a placebo at least 10 times in the past year.[2] The most frequently prescribed placebos were antibiotics for viral infections, and vitamins for fatigue. Specialists and hospital-based physicians reported much lower rates of placebo use. A 2004 study in the British Medical Journal of physicians in Israel found that 60% used placebos in their medical practice, most commonly to "fend off" requests for unjustified medications or to calm a patient.[99] The accompanying editorial concluded, "We cannot afford to dispense with any treatment that works, even if we are not certain how it does."[100] Other researches have argued that open provision of placebos for treating ADHD in children can be effective in maintaining ADHD children on lower stimulant doses in the short term.[101]
Well, I've never heard of U.S. doctors doing that, at any rate.
Quote from: TerranRich on Fri 06/11/2009 08:32:51
Well, I've never heard of U.S. doctors doing that, at any rate.
Seems to be more common than you might hope:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27342269/ (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27342269/)
Admittedly, only 2 percent of these listed admitted to using sugar pills, but they are not the only form of placebo.
Sorry I'm a little behind, but:
Quote from: Ben2400And 'normal' medicine often has negative side effects to consider.
Fuck yeah. Pay attention to any commercial break. Any medication promo spends more time explaining all the
numorous side-effects than the actual medicine itself.
And they should, but, holy shit, it makes you not even want to try. I don't think I really want to try a medication that has more of a chance of making me go blind and giving me the shits than it does helping me.
Not that I need any medication I see on television, but you should catch my drift.
I'd prefer to go for the Not getting sick option over the cure me option any day, and that's why I now hate fruit...
Quote from: Snake on Sat 07/11/2009 23:57:35
Pay attention to any commercial break. Any medication promo spends more time explaining all the numorous side-effects than the actual medicine itself.
I was once prescribed Tradolan retard for when the nerves in my back were shot.
Effect: Didn't help. Regular painkillers eventually did the trick for me.
Side-effects: Shaking, feeling cold, sweating like a guy who generally sweats a lot.. in a sauna, getting emotional to the point everything made me cry. I threw up and got dizzy and unable to function. I got very sleepy yet could not sleep. I also got diarrhea among many other things. Fuck that pill.
I... I think you were pregnant
Quote from: Haddas on Mon 09/11/2009 17:05:43
Fuck that pill.
Quote from: MrColossal on Tue 10/11/2009 05:31:37
I... I think you were pregnant
Then maybe it was the other way 'round with the pill...
Quote from: MrColossal on Tue 10/11/2009 05:31:37
I... I think you were pregnant
Awww crap! That explains the baby.
It's not mine this time, Haddas. I swear. (http://www.tpww.net/forums/images/smilies/shifty.gif)
Quote from: TerranRich on Tue 10/11/2009 17:29:42
It's not mine this time, Haddas. I swear. (http://www.tpww.net/forums/images/smilies/shifty.gif)
That's what you said last time!
Quote from: Haddas on Tue 10/11/2009 17:56:32
Quote from: TerranRich on Tue 10/11/2009 17:29:42
It's not mine this time, Haddas. I swear. (http://www.tpww.net/forums/images/smilies/shifty.gif)
That's what you said last time!
I thought that was me?
Eh, screw it.
You already did.
Wakka wakka!
Hardily Hoodily Hoo!!1