Re: Chinese Alternative Medicine
 

For a lawyer, you do not read very critically. There are some rather key qualifications in there that make clear the Mayo clinic is not making and claims about the effectiveness of acupuncture:

And, of course, the key, "But Western-style medicine has found it challenging to design research studies to prove acupuncture's effectiveness."


Absolutely it would. There is nothing wrong with placebo, especially if nothing else has worked. But you probably want to try everything else that has had some statistically demonstrated success first.

What research? If you had some, this would be a more interesting discussion.

Re: Chinese Alternative Medicine
 

You're right, when I said "I"ve never tried it" and "I am clearly talking out of my ass" it was a subtle attempt to get everyone to do exatly as I secretly wanted, which is to finally kill off the acupuncture-industrial complex.

Re: Chinese Alternative Medicine
 

Accupuncture will help to unclog very precisely placed clogged pores and homeopathy will cure mild dehydration.

Why isn't that enough for you?

Re: Chinese Alternative Medicine
 

Scrap! Py!

You fucked the paralegal, didn't you. Good man.

Re: Chinese Alternative Medicine
 

Wait, your secret reason for posting was to kill off the acupuncture-industrial complex? Shit, I thought it was because you wanted to remind us why you never get laid. I need to refresh my critical reading lawyer skillz.

Re: Chinese Alternative Medicine
 

In communist China, ass sings out of you!

Re: Chinese Alternative Medicine
 

Wow, we had completely opposite take-aways from his posts. I'm not sure I'm using the term "take-away" correctly, but it was fun using it anyway.

Re: Chinese Alternative Medicine
 

Define "placebo effect."

I had severe bone pain, from the orthopod wrenching my poorly-set leg back into alignment. Pain meds weren't enough. Several hours later (long after the pain meds would have worn off anyway), I went to the acupuncturist, got needles and some god-awful powdered herbs, and 20 minutes later the pain was gone.

Not better, gone. If you've dealt with pain meds, you know that's not what they do -- they just take the edge off and make you groggy. This was very different.

I was very skeptical too, before I tried it -- child of a doctor and all that. But I was desperate, so I tried at the urging of a good friend.

Re: Chinese Alternative Medicine
 

One time, I was bashed into a wall when my horse threw me, and I went straight from the barn to acupuncture. I was hurting on the way in, and pain free on the way out. Placebo, schmacebo.

But even if there were no therapeutic effects, I would continue to go because it's so relaxing. Better than Xanax (not that I've ever had xanax, but I think it's some kind of sedative).

One acupuncture guy I see says it's most effective for treating back pain. Whatever -- I love it.

Re: Chinese Alternative Medicine
 

Yeah, really Adder. Take it to the PB. That's how we roll over there.

Re: Chinese Alternative Medicine
 

You know, it's really, really not hard to confirm these talking out your ass posts on PubMed. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez

Re: Chinese Alternative Medicine
 

Dalton said "pain don't hurt," and he had a PhD in Philosophy from NYU. Now, who do you think I'm going to listen to: you or Dalton?

Re: Chinese Alternative Medicine
 

You've always been a weenie, but when did you become such an insufferable weenie?

TM

Re: Chinese Alternative Medicine
 

I am not taking a position on acupuncture one way or another, but I am not sure your story actually debunks the possibility that there is a placebo effect with acupuncture.

Re: Chinese Alternative Medicine
 

It happened after he fucked the paralegal. This is Greedy's fault.