The Placebo Effect: Nikki Lorenzini

When ever I hear the word placebos, I think of The Nutty Professor and that little green blob thing. I don't feel comfortable with that; even the idea of placebo and the possibility of it healing me or the idea of chancing my health with something that might not be a real drug. Yes, the article said that it was only tested on minor things like headaches and nothing major like cancer, but why chance constant headaches when there could be something seriously wrong with your health?

I have never tried any type of alternative medicine, and I am kind of skeptical of them at this point in time. Whenever I hear of alternative medicine, I think of Suzanne Somers trying to sell a new book she has written about how to cure cancer with some vitamin. Granted, she might be the extreme version of alternative medicine, and I am sure there is something to alternative medicine. Yes, nothing has been proven in the favor of alternative medicine, but there has to be some type of stock in it if people are still pursuing it. I am all for people going to find alternative ways rather than going through the main stream way of thinking. I know that the medical field has made great advancements with medicine, but how many pills can one person take without the patient having more problems than they originally had? I am starting to become convinced that people are becoming too dependent on getting prescriptions for headaches or their allergies and the medicine no longer working and making them even sicker.

I personally do think in some situations there is a good chance of mind over matter when you are sick. I personally would rather stick it out if I had a headache or cramps than to pop another Tylenol. Granted, they're no walk in the park, but there were times when all I did was pray myself through it and focused on the task at hand, and the pain was bearable. I do admit, I will take my Tylenol when I do not feel like putting up with. But do I agree with the whole placebo situation? No. Granted, if you are going into a test, you know that you have a 50/50 chance of getting a placebo. But I heard of a case where a women went to a doctor for bad headaches just to find out that they gave her placebos to make her feel better. I would be furious to find that out. If I was sitting through something that required taking a possible placebo to make me feel better, I'll sit it out and pray that God comes down and heal me.

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