There is a disease called fibromyalgia whose existence is questioned by a fair number of the medical profession. According to the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, they have a cure for it says the New York Times. So here we have a disease which might not exist, but there is a definite pharmaceutical cure for it?
Far be it for me to question whether the affected, and they seem to be predominantly middle aged women, suffer from the pain of this disease, even though it cannot be determined where the pain is coming from. It seems they most definitely do suffer pain.
The question in my mind is more the scale of the intervention by the drug company which brings out medication to treat something which might not even be treatable by virtue of the fact that the disease does not exist or the basis for the illness is still unknown. As they don’t know what causes the pain, the reasons for it could be quite different to what Pfizer might be treating.
At the same time, an article appears in the Independent online which discusses the possibility whether pain could be all in the mind. The story discusses twin doctors who decided to conduct an experiment using themselves as the guinea pigs.
Off they went to a Hindu festival in Malaysia where during the ritual people pierce themselves and claim that they feel absolutely no pain. The Western doctors, armed with healthy skepticism, went along to try it out.
One of the twins prepared himself for the event by taking part in the pre-event Hindu rituals. The other one arrived to the piercing event with no preparation but a sizable hangover. Strangely enough the twin who had gone into the preparation felt more pain than the one with the hangover. Nothing like a good bit of alcohol to anesthetise oneself!
But what the twins did find was that participants seemed to enter some kind of trance state and that they definitely did not seem to suffer from much pain. Their conclusion, as semi-scientific as it might seem, was that pain was based in the brain.
They also maintain that with the experience gained while treating patients, they have noticed that some people are able to cope with pain a lot better than others. Somebody with a sprain might be vomiting and pale faced, whereas somebody else with a far more vicious injury might be suffering far less.
I recall an incident myself where my elder daughter at age four or so had run into a sharp window frame in her rush to get to the local library. Those were the days when kids were excited to go and get a book! When the doctor was stitching up her forehead, on seeing my face ordered me to lie down because I was about to faint. Talk about transference of pain.
The other fairly good pointer about pain and its existence is with regards to experiments which have been done showing the placebo effect. This is where patients cease to feel pain, even though the pills they are taking have no medication in them. Sugar pills, so to speak.
A further fascinating study is by neurologist V S Ramachandran who has conducted extensive research into the pain people experience in their phantom limbs. People with amputated limbs, such as arms and legs, may feel pain in these limbs even though they no longer exist. Watch his excellent presentation at TED.
What he has discovered is that the person’s brain requires re-education so that it understands that there is no limb left to be paining. In the same way doctors have recently been prescribing cognitive behavioural therapy. Psychologists treat patients to ‘break’ the pain pathway to the brain.
If one looks at these few points, then it seems as if the whole question of pain could be quite an open area of science with many more solutions possible than allowing a profit seeking drug company ‘invent’ a drug for a pain which nobody knows where it is coming from. Where are the business ethics here people.
» left by robert melaccio sr. (268 days 19 hours ago.)
Drugs = Money it is as simple as that. Now do not get me wrong there are many drugs that have brought a better quality of life to people and prolonged life so I am not against drugs when necessary. For some it is their last hope. Yet, we must not forget the warning label that accompanies each. I live with pain each day and while I take an over the counter medicine regulary I am able to get by. Who knows in another 10 or 15 years if I'm still here? In my opinion pain is a part of life and certainly as we grow older. We should not look for the easy fix or any fix until reuired. Good article. RTM Respond to this comment
» left by Camille Strate(1,119) Camille Strate (268 days 16 hours ago.)
Anja~ Funny you should write about this particular subject, as I've had first-hand experience with several different diagnosis, none of which 'felt' right to me. Fibromyalgia was among them, although different docs had different opinions. In my estimation, it's a crapshoot. I believe there are loads of doctors (especially in the good ol' US of A) who see their patients as numbers, not people. I've also experienced this. To that end, I opted to take things 'in my own hands' and chose to address this malady from an 'introspective' place as opposed to taking the drugs that were prescribed. (have you noticed how the 'side effects' are often more horrendous than the actual 'disease'??? Anyway, it seems that the drug companies are more interested in taking our money than selling relief. They're also quite oblivious to the fact that tearing down the jungles in Brazil to get to their 'supplies' is in no way immoral or unethical. Did you say "business ethics"??? Hrrumph! I don't believe the drug companies even know what that means! Thanks for your eloquent input! Respond to this comment
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