My other friend, Elise, developed back pain on a Friday evening. It was so severe, she couldn’t even walk.  Although  she routinely uses acupuncture, chiropractic and hypnotherapy, she opted to go to the local ER because of the severity. She had X-rays, a CT Scan, was diagnosed with muscle spasms and admitted for two nights on IV pain medication.  On Monday, she visited me for a hypnotherapy session.  She limped up the stairs, obviously still experiencing a lot of pain.  After one hour, she walked out much more comfortably,  showing significant improvement.  Later, she visited an acupuncturist and got total relief. She later told me she got more relief from the acupuncturist and my hypnotherapy session than she did from her hospital visit.

Let’s compare the outcomes and costs:

Joan was incapacitated for about 6 hours and spent $175.00 for relief.

Elise was in pain for 72 hours.  She spent the same $175.00 for the acupuncture and hypnotherapy. (This is small town USA, not NYC).  But, her insurance company got stuck with a much larger bill for the care that essentially didn’t work.  Elise doesn’t know just how much that bill was because the insurance company and hospital didn’t share that information with her.   I do know that the average hospital stay is now $2,300.00 a day.  So, it is likely that those who pay insurance premiums, or taxes,  spent $4,600.00 for this one stay.

Traditional, Western medicine is very useful in many cases which require acute care.  But, doesn’t it make sense for us to empower ourselves by researching other evidence based options which can have far better outcomes, fewer side effects and save significant amounts of money?

I still remember an article I read many years ago that said many studies showed that the success of a prescribed drug was impacted by the words the doctor spoke when prescribing it. If a patient was told, “This is a miracle drug. It will make you well,” it was very likely to work wonders. If, on the other hand, the patient was told, “Let’s try this out. If you have……… this will help. Otherwise, we’ll try something else,” the treatment was likely to fail.

I now know the placebo effect is well documented and shown to have direct and measurable physiological effects.

I then learned about the “Nocebo Effect.” In Latin this means “I will harm.” This term refers to the adverse effects of expectations about disease, treatments, and pharmaceuticals. A commonly quoted story is about a man who lived in the 1970s who first won a bout with cancer. He was later told his cancer had returned and he had only a short time to live. He did pass away at the prescribed time. An autopsy showed that he did in fact have a minute tumor on his liver but it did not kill him.

In June of this year, a very vibrant, determined young woman, Jessica, was diagnosed with rectal cancer that had already spread to her lungs and liver. Early on, Jessica made the decision that in spite of her doctor’s dire predictions, she would survive and live a long and healthy life. The blog her mother created — Jessica’s Victory — reflects her expectation. She agreed to have chemotherapy and chose not to learn about possible adverse reactions. (This information was shared with her mother who could monitor Jessica’s well being). She researched and used acupuncture, proper nutrition, guided imagery, and participated in a Tong Ren group led by a healer and acupuncturist for people who were given no hope by their doctors. She was also given my Guided Imagery CD “Cancer Be Gone” by her oncology nurse at Portsmouth Regional Hospital. Six months have now passed and Jessica’s primary tumor is completely gone! She remains beautiful, full of life, and her cancer markers are very low. Many would call her a miracle.

Let me ask you this question. In your life, do you choose PLACEBO or NOCEBO?

There are two parts to feeling pain. The first is the site of the insult or injury and there is a transmission of the pain stimulus.  The second part is the brain acknowledging the pain.  The CD suggests that the only pain felt will be that which is a warning that something is amiss.  Therefore, the brain ignores everything else.  Pretty amazing isn’t it?

Check out the CD at “Preparing For Surgery”