PvtDeth t1_isdwbd6 wrote on October 15, 2022 at 5:46 AM

All these posts are citing the nocebo effect, but not in the context of the original question. Yes, nocebo is the opposite of placebo, but the question was >Can your body prevent a medicine from working because you strongly believe it doesn't work?

So, we know belief in a side effect can cause the side effect, but can disbelief in the beneficial effect of a medicine diminish that effect.

c3fepime t1_ismsrde wrote on October 17, 2022 at 3:37 AM

Yes- if you are in pain and you take a painkiller that you believe is ineffective, you will experience less pain relief.

One interesting example is to compare pain management after surgery in the U.S. versus Europe. Opioids are prescribed for post-operative pain something like 10x more commonly in the U.S. than in Europe. In Europe, often the combination of ibuprofen (or other NSAIDs) and paracetamol (acetaminophen) is the only pain medication given after surgery. In the U.S., if you just give ibuprofen and acetaminophen, most post-operative patients will report uncontrolled pain, and will require opioids to get it under control.

It has been suggested that one factor at play here is a cultural nocebo effect in the U.S. towards non-opioid pain medications, i.e., belief that they are "weak" pain killers that could not possibly be effective for post-operative pain since they are generally used for "mild" everyday aches and pains.

PvtDeth t1_isn0jbj wrote on October 17, 2022 at 4:55 AM

Thank you. This is great info. Anecdotally, it might explain why I don't seem to need much pain medication.