Where Can I Buy Some Placebo Pills?

[BPSCG]

In Severna Park, Maryland, it would appear (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/health/27plac.html?_r=1&oref=slogin).
Jennifer Buettner was taking care of her young niece when the idea struck her. The child had a nagging case of hypochondria, and Ms. Buettner’s mother-in-law, a nurse, instructed her to give the girl a Motrin tablet.

“She told me it was the most benign thing I could give,” Ms. Buettner said. “I thought, why give her any drug? Why not give her a placebo?”

Studies have repeatedly shown that placebos can produce improvements for many problems like depression, pain and high blood pressure, and Ms. Buettner reasoned that she could harness the placebo effect to help her niece. She sent her husband to the drugstore to buy placebo pills. When he came back empty handed, she said, “It was one of those ‘aha!’ moments when everything just clicks.”

Ms. Buettner, 40, who lives in Severna Park, Md., with her husband, 7-month-old son and 22-month-old twins, envisioned a children’s placebo tablet that would empower parents to do something tangible for minor ills and reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics and other medicines.

With the help of her husband, Dennis, she founded a placebo company, and, without a hint of irony, named it Efficacy Brands. Its chewable, cherry-flavored dextrose tablets, Obecalp, for placebo spelled backward, goes on sale on June 1 at the Efficacy Brands Web site. Bottles of 50 tablets will sell for $5.95. The Buettners have plans for a liquid version, too.

Because they contain no active drug, the pills will not be sold as a drug under Food and Drug Administration rules. They will be marketed as dietary supplements, meaning they can be sold at groceries, drugstores and discount stores without a prescription.

“This is designed to have the texture and taste of actual medicine so it will trick kids into thinking that they’re taking something,” Ms. Buettner said. “Then their brain takes over, and they say, ‘Oh, I feel better.’

[Soapy Sam]

She forgot the homoeopathic option.
Hey- I'm all for honesty in medicine.

[LibraryLady]

From the time I was three years old, I was told I was a hypochondriac. My brother told me about the boy who cried wolf. My teachers rolled their eyes when I complained about stomach pains. My mother absolutely believed me, since I was the only of her four babies who cried after eating, but the doctor insisted I was fine. This lasted through my twenties.

Then it was discovered I was born with a defective gall bladder. It was removed and I was fine.

Maybe the little girl isn't a hypochondriac and is feeling as frustrated as I did.

[CptColumbo]

"Where Can I Buy Some Placebo Pills?"

Right there in the candy aisle of the local store. They go by the name "M&Ms."

[BPSCG]

From the time I was three years old, I was told I was a hypochondriac. My brother told me about the boy who cried wolf. My teachers rolled their eyes when I complained about stomach pains. My mother absolutely believed me, since I was the only of her four babies who cried after eating, but the doctor insisted I was fine. This lasted through my twenties.

Then it was discovered I was born with a defective gall bladder. It was removed and I was fine.

Maybe the little girl isn't a hypochondriac and is feeling as frustrated as I did.See, this is the problem I have with this news story. Do you get a doctor to prescribe the placebo? Will a doctor prescribe a placebo if he can't find anything wrong? Or will he, instead, send the kid to a specialist who may find a real but difficult-to-diagnose problem like LL's? I'll bet the latter, because if it turns out the doctor had missed a diagnosis and had simply prescribed a placebo, he's opening himself up to a malpractice suit.

So this makes it easier for parents to bypass the doctor and do their own diagnoses and prescribe their own treatment. Plus it's a lot cheaper and less time-consuming than actually going to a doctor.

Just pray to Jesus you don't end up with a dead kid on your hands.

[Beerina]

If it's bed time, give 'em a Benadryl. It clears alergy nosies and also helps you sleep.

Indeed, if you look at a bottle of Tylenol PM, the "PM" part is Benadryl. It's the new wonder drug.

[LibraryLady]

See, this is the problem I have with this news story. Do you get a doctor to prescribe the placebo? Will a doctor prescribe a placebo if he can't find anything wrong? Or will he, instead, send the kid to a specialist who may find a real but difficult-to-diagnose problem like LL's? I'll bet the latter, because if it turns out the doctor had missed a diagnosis and had simply prescribed a placebo, he's opening himself up to a malpractice suit.

So this makes it easier for parents to bypass the doctor and do their own diagnoses and prescribe their own treatment. Plus it's a lot cheaper and less time-consuming than actually going to a doctor.

Just pray to Jesus you don't end up with a dead kid on your hands.

I think it's been established that praying to Jesus is a good way to end up with a dead kid on your hands.

I give my family doctor credit, because when I was in my late teens he did send me for a gallbladder scan. The equipment then just wasn't sophisticated enough--it needed nuclear medicine. Jesus versus technology--I'll take technology.

Parents really need to be proactive and not just feed them Benadryl.

[tkingdoll]

Meh. "Let mommy kiss it better" is free.

[Yalius]

Cebocap (http://www.walgreens.com/library/finddrug/druginfo.html?particularDrug=Cebocap&searchChar=C)

And it's even covered by my prescription drug plan as a nonpreferred formulary.

[Yalius]

Durn it! Duplicate, ignore.

[Moochie]

From the time I was three years old, I was told I was a hypochondriac. My brother told me about the boy who cried wolf. My teachers rolled their eyes when I complained about stomach pains. My mother absolutely believed me, since I was the only of her four babies who cried after eating, but the doctor insisted I was fine. This lasted through my twenties.

Then it was discovered I was born with a defective gall bladder. It was removed and I was fine.

Maybe the little girl isn't a hypochondriac and is feeling as frustrated as I did.

What's hypochondria a symptom of? I think a parent who would stoop to feeding their child junk in response to real or perceived hypochondria is being a bad parent.


M.

[Blue Wode]

If you live in the UK, this is a good place to start:
http://www.fdhom.co.uk/buy.asp

[CaptainManacles]

I can certainly imagine a situation like LLs, but I also can imagine a situation where the kid is obviously being a hypocondriac. Kids are bad at lying, not only to others but to themselves, and it can often be really obvious, ala bart style, a boy saying "oooooh god, my ovaries", or a kid insisting that their runny nose is a sure sign of cancer. Though in such cases, I don't see the value in giving into their delusion by giving them a placebo.

[Ocelot]

http://www.coatesdentaldds.com/images/tictacs.jpg

[BPSCG]

http://www.coatesdentaldds.com/images/tictacs.jpgFor the kid with imaginary diabetes.

At least you better hope it's imaginary.

[TX50]

For the kid with imaginary diabetes.

At least you better hope it's imaginary.

I may be wrong (I usually am) but I seem to recall that the big selling
point of "Tic Tac" was that they didn't contain sugar; just chalk (or
gypsum or barytes or bonemeal, or whatever crap it is they're made of)
and aspartame.

[Earthborn]

You can buy some placebos here (http://www.prankplace.com/crazycures2.htm).

I also can imagine a situation where the kid is obviously being a hypocondriac. Kids are bad at lyingThere is a big difference between lying and being a hypochondriac (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypochondria). A hypochondriac isn't lying.

[Earthborn]

I may be wrong (I usually am) but I seem to recall that the big selling
point of "Tic Tac" was that they didn't contain sugar; just chalk (or
gypsum or barytes or bonemeal, or whatever crap it is they're made of)
and aspartame.I'm afraid you are wrong (as usual :) ). Tic Tacs are almost entirely made from sugar. Pill shaped sugarcubes is what they are. The only reason that they are advertised as having only 2 calories, is that they are so ridiculously small. And due to some bureaucratic oversight, they can be listed in the US as having no sugar:From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tic_Tac)
Each Tic Tac weighs just under 0.5g. Since US federal regulations state that if a single serving contains less than 0.5g of sugars it is allowable to express the amount of sugar in a serving as zero, and since a single serving of Tic Tacs is a single Tic Tac, Tic Tacs are labeled in the US as containing zero sugar.

[Ocelot]

I'm afraid you are wrong (as usual :) ). Tic Tacs are almost entirely made from sugar. Pill shaped sugarcubes is what they are. The only reason that they are advertised as having only 2 calories, is that they are so ridiculously small. And due to some bureaucratic oversight, they can be listed in the US as having no sugar:

Now that is an amusing fact I'll enjoy retelling.

[octogen80]

medical doctors can aso be quacks at times.I read a report that 64% of American doctors admit to prescibing placibo's at times.

[paximperium]

medical doctors can aso be quacks at times.I read a report that 64% of American doctors admit to prescibing placibo's at times.
Citation.

[Lothian]

Citation.I think this is the source (http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337/oct23_2/a1938). It is a subset of doctors.

Interestingly it was funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. I wonder what percentage of those "doctors" would confess to prescribing placebos?

[steenkh]

medical doctors can aso be quacks at times.I read a report that 64% of American doctors admit to prescibing placibo's at times.
Why would that mean that they are "quacks"? Have they prescribed placebo where normal drugs would have done a better job?

[Dragon]

Can we keep this thread on topic please folks? I'm sure I'm not alone in finding it very useful as a means of keeping up with this important case.

octogen80 - if you want to discuss the alleged quackery of American doctors then please start a new thread. I'm sure you'll get a response - just be prepared to provide evidence for your claims.

[King of the Americas]

From the time I was three years old, I was told I was a hypochondriac. My brother told me about the boy who cried wolf. My teachers rolled their eyes when I complained about stomach pains. My mother absolutely believed me, since I was the only of her four babies who cried after eating, but the doctor insisted I was fine. This lasted through my twenties.

Then it was discovered I was born with a defective gall bladder. It was removed and I was fine.

Maybe the little girl isn't a hypochondriac and is feeling as frustrated as I did.

Thank you for your post.

My little sister wore shoes that felt 'weird' to school for 2 days, before I took it upon myself as her big brother to investigate, only to find part of the stuffing still at the tip...

I am sorry no one listened to you.

---

*Now and again, a personal story, makes the perfect re-butte argument.

[Skeptic]

Then it was discovered I was born with a defective gall bladder.

Your tombstone will say, "I TOLD you I was sick!".