Posted by Racer on September 8, 2008, at 12:39:55
In reply to Re: Brief immediate responses to meds?? - Advice Pls » Racer, posted by Four Feathers on September 8, 2008, at 11:11:10
> Thanks for the post Racer. I had considered the placebo effect and determined that this was not the case given the third-party comments I had received regarding my changes.
Actually, when I said I "get better" due to the placebo effect, I meant that I can be seen to be better. It's not just that I perceive I feel better, but full on do, so people do notice it.
Then again, when I am feeling confident about my doctor, I don't get the beneficial placebo effect. That only happens when I am afraid the doctor will "be mad at me" if I don't respond. I think part of the reason I go so far down when it ends is the sense that I've got no where to turn, you know?
And there have been some medications that had an immediate and real effect -- like Lamictal. When I hit 150mg, and again when I hit 200mg, I had about three days of feeling pretty darned good. And then crashed badly after those three days. Such a tease. Or Provigil, which tends to help within days, even though full benefits take a while to stabilize.
I dunno. I just threw the placebo idea out there to see if that could be part of it. Sometimes just knowing that I'm doing something that might help is enough to boost me long enough for the med to kick in. And then there are times when it's real and transient. I don't have any definitive answer, just offering some thoughts.
poster:Racer
thread:850938
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080903/msgs/850995.html