Are drugs a placebo?

Ace Modder

Ace Modder

Ace Modder

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Hi

I have never found that any drugs actually make a difference to me when I'm ill or I have a condition.

For example:

  • Headaches - paracethomol - never worked for me
  • Cold/Flu - the usual drugs to reduce the symptoms never work
  • Hayfever - tried many, many different drugs both over the counter and also perscribed, has no effect!
My hayfever atm is doing my head in, I've just used 8 tissues to wipe my nose, watery snot just running out of it like a tap and my eyes are itchy as hell, nothing works!

I think that many drugs (other than specialised drugs) are mostly in effective and people believe in them because of the placebo effect.
 
Lemsip seems to work for me for a cold, the paracetamol and ephedrine work well. Tried diazapam once from docs, very nice, really zonks you out.
 
Although placebo is a reality, to say that all drugs are is ridiculous! The drugs that you mentioned aren't going to smack you in a face with their effects, so perhaps you require a larger dose or a stronger drug in the first place.

GiraffePencils said:
Are Drugs a placebo?
Presumably you've never had to take antibiotics? because if you had you'd notice the affect they have on you
Click to expand...
This too, or never been under local or general anesthetic?
 
Some may be, but then also drugs are not tried on every single human being so there may be some people that react differently.

However a lot of drugs do have an effect on the body.

Over the counter analgesics and NSAIDs will never be as effective as stronger opoid-based ones, but they do have a tangible effects nonetheless. It is likely to be more subtle however.
 
GiraffePencils said:
Are Drugs a placebo?
Presumably you've never had to take antibiotics? because if you had you'd notice the affect they have on you
Click to expand...
Anti-biotics do work, they are one of the what I'd call a "specialist" drug, it is effectively topping up soemthing your body needs to fight infection, so that drug is one of the ones I feel is very real and works.

But I feel most of the stuff over the counter is a waste of time for me. Maybe my body doesn't react much to chemicals - all people are different. Same way that if I drank 3-4 cans of red bull 1hour before wanting to sleep it wouldn't affect my ability to fall asleep but for other people they are "wired" and cannot sleep at all.
 
I find that paracetamol, ibuprofen etc. never seem to have too much of an effect for me, I think it varies person to person.
 
No it's biology and chemistry you may have resistance to the effect or dose, but you are human like most of us and we all essentially work the same.


Lol most of us...
 
Ace Modder said:
Anti-biotics do work, they are one of the what I'd call a "specialist" drug, it is effectively topping up soemthing your body needs to fight infection, so that drug is one of the ones I feel is very real and works.

But I feel most of the stuff over the counter is a waste of time for me. Maybe my body does react well to chemicals - all people are different. Same way that if I drank 3-4 cans of red bull 1hour before wanting to sleep it wouldn't affect my ability to fall asleep but for other people they are "wired" and cannot sleep at all.
Click to expand...

Well over the counter stuff is weak, due to it being too easy to kill yourself with serious drugs.

In terms of pain relief, I too find most over the counter stuff pointless, but using Paracetamol for controlling a fever, Ibuprofen for the anti-inflammatory properties etc etc is defiantly useful.

Everyone is different, I would have agreed with you on the caffeine front a year ago, but since cutting almost all caffeine from my diet I sleep a hell of a lot better than I used to. And I used to feel I slept fine! haha
 
No, they aren't placebo. The stuff you get off-the-shelf (and even over-the-counter) is relatively weak, but can still be effective. For example, paracetamol and ibuprofen are both very effective at bringing down a fever -- this time last year I had a severe throat infection with a 39-40 degree fever and was alternating them, and the drop in temperature was measurable about an hour after taking them. That most certainly wasn't a placebo effect.

I also use paracetamol and ibuprofen as a first line of defence against migraine, which for me always starts as a very specific tension in my neck and shoulders. If I take P+I before the migraine has started, I'll be fine. If I take them *after* it's started, they do nothing. Same goes for normal headaches: if I take them before the headache is bad, it'll usually go off. If the headache is bad then they might take the edge off it but they won't be as effective.

As for hayfever, I've found that if the pollen count is going to be high, taking the one-a-day tablet in the morning before I've been exposed to the pollen helps more than if I take something *after* my symptoms have started.
 
Ibuprofen <3
I have hayfever, ear and sinus issues and Ibuprofen helps greatly due to it's ant-inflammatory properties.
 
I took magic mushrooms once at school and I can tell you that that's one powerful drug. The things you see (and also don't want to see...)
 
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