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Do you have experience with the placebo effect?
I’ve read that the placebo effect can have a tremendous impact on those who struggle with PD. Even if you know that you’re receiving a placebo, it can have positive effects on the body. For this reason, I’ve often contemplated coming up with placebos for my Dad (diagnosed in 2013). Do you have any experience with the placebo effect? Do you think CBD is a placebo? What other ways might we explore our relationship to the body’s self-healing potential?
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2 Replies
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I don’t think the placebo effect works if you know it is a placebo. The point of the placebo effect is that it occurs only when the patient believes they are taking something that works, as in a double blind study (or for example if you read about something in a nutrition mag and believe it, even if there is no scientific validity.) I believe (don’t have science to back it up, not sure there is any) that pure CBD is a placebo; however if you mix it with some THC you can get the so called “entourage effect” . How to mix it seems to be trial and error, but 2.5 to 5 mg THC mixed with CD (perhaps 5-10 mg ) could be a starting place. This should be done under medical supervision imo, and dosed by a doctor like other meds are dosed. My personal experience is that pure CBD does little to ameliorate the symptoms of PD, namely anxiety , tremor , pain and insomnia.
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I was diagnosed in 2010. I think my mood affects my experience of Parkinson’s but if one knows it’s a placebo then I can’t imagine it having a positive effect. I would love to be fooled into thinking something was a positive intervention, whether it’s pill or an activity. Optimism and hopefulness and acceptance all seem important. For example, I recently was seen as eligible for Dbs, and I found myself feeling more positive with the hope of some relief from tremor and slowness. But that hope didn’t translate into reduced symptoms. The placebo effect makes sense, Parkinson’s symptoms increase with psychological factors like stress. My symptoms correlate directly with tension and concentration. I don’t know if this response to the question. But hope is such an important factor in our quality of life. What have people done to increase their sense of hope and avoid too much discouragement?
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