# Another disability iritation - quackery **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 26, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292 "2017-04-26T15:20:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/21 "2017-04-27T02:43:43Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Did it work? (Did he get the beer?) Yes, it did! Heart attack denied! Diabetes got him down the road, though. Not enough Budweiser. I’m careful to not make that mistake. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/22 "2017-04-27T02:46:00Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Extreme blood pressure is absolutely real, measurable effect that can be ameliorated by just saying the magic phrase, “calm down.” Saying “calm down” is about the exact worst thing you can do to someone who is under a great deal of stress or suffering from a disorder (such as anxiety or panic attacks) which causes extreme hypertension. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/23 "2017-04-27T02:58:48Z")
I totally understand what you’re saying. Professionals that recommend stuff that has been proven not to work is bad enough, but a from a doctor, and while you’re dealing with intense pain is far worse. Hypnosis isn’t quackery, though. It’s actually a treatment that has been shown to work for pain relief. I don’t know specifically about migraines, but it has basically no side effects, so it doesn’t seem like it would hurt to try. I mean, hypnosis is used to reduce the amount of pain medication people take, or to aid in anesthesia. It’s a real thing. I also know that relaxation has long been shown to make migraines less painful, so if the hypnosis can do nothing more than that, it could still be helpful. In fact, pain in general is made worse by anxiety. That’s why a lot of pain management uses the same drugs that are used for anxiety disorders. I totally get that you are frustrated as hell about this. I’ve had migraines, and what you are describing is one of my biggest fears while having them. But, at the same time, I don’t want you to not try things that might work because you assume it is “quackery.” ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/24 "2017-04-27T02:58:54Z")
I can see how something like hypnosis might help a migraineur in one way I can relate to. When I get a migraine, I never know how long it will last. There is absolutely **no** abortive medication that helps me once I’ve got it. So when I get a migraine, strapping an ice pack to my forehead and lying down is my only option. One thing that contributes to my overall state of misery and likely helps make my migraines worse is my ever-present paranoia and anxiety that _this_ time, it’s never going away. I’m irrationally scared that my latest migraine will last forever. I say irrationally because I **know** logically that eventually, sooner or later, the migraine will pass. But that knowledge does little to nothing to temper my fears. Addressing my _reaction_ to the migraine seems like something I can do to mitigate the impact of it, however slightly that may be. I think the physiological manifestations of the mental stress are real and can exacerbate the original source of that stress, which is the migraine. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/25 "2017-04-27T03:19:26Z")
Have any of you folks with chronic migraines seen a cardiologist? Some people with constant disabling migraines that do not respond to any other therapy have been discovered to have small holes in the heart, and closing them ends the headaches, immediately and permanently. :eek: This is a procedure that does not always require open heart surgery, because it can sometimes be done through a peripheral vein. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/26 "2017-04-27T03:28:56Z")
**Nearwildheaven** I will put that on the list. Folks - I will say this about hypnosis - I am not in the suggestible group, so far as I know. I tried it years ago in college. I suppose I can try it. I have tried almost every thing else, even sex (and boy, if there’s anything a person feels less like doing, it’s going for the Big O, but I’ve done it). I still have a niggling feeling that it’s woo… I am working with meditation. Accept what you cannot change and all that. Sometimes I’m better at that than others. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/27 "2017-04-27T04:20:12Z")
Orgasm is NOT woo.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/28 "2017-04-27T06:03:55Z")
_snerk_ ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/29 "2017-04-27T06:13:24Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > Your SIL is a GP and using homeopathic vitamins? Shame on her and her medical school. Hey, leave her school out of it! It’s actually a good one. Knowing her she got that from one of the “medical visitors” (salespeople). It was back when she still hadn’t realized they were salespeople and believed every word they said. The woman seems to have a huge disconnect in the center of her brain. The Mommy part, the Daughter part, the Doctor part, the Wife part… only talk to each other occasionally. When they do she has these avalanches of understanding, but in the meantime, talking with her can be painful on the brain. She eventually dropped the homeopathic stuff, but I kind of wish I had watched that particular lightbulb. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/30 "2017-04-27T06:35:49Z")
**Sunny,** have you tried marijuana? There are strains specifically for relieving pain so you wouldn’t necessarily get the mind-altering effects. I’m so sorry you suffer with this. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/31 "2017-04-27T07:26:05Z")
Hypnosis can be incredible for pain relief. It can’t cure your disease. That doctor sounds like kind of a moron. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/32 "2017-04-27T07:28:31Z")
Unfortunately, I can’t use marijuana. I am going through SSDI approval right now. The feds don’t approve, regardless of what the states say. I’ve been advised to just say no. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/33 "2017-04-27T10:25:41Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Saying “calm down” is about the exact worst thing you can do to someone who is under a great deal of stress or suffering from a disorder (such as anxiety or panic attacks) which causes extreme hypertension. Frank Costanza: _ **“SERENITY NOW!!!”** _ ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/34 "2017-04-27T10:40:32Z")
When I was in my 20s to 40s I used to get exceptionally intense migraines, sometimes lasting over a week. This continued until my mid-40s, when they started to taper off, only to be replaced by visual “auras”. Coincidentally (or not), it was in my mid-40s that I became diabetic. And the more diabetic I have become, the more frequent the auras. I haven’t had a migraine in over 25 years. I know, correlation doesn’t equal causation, but I have to wonder whether there is some connection. I’m going to start keeping a record of my blood sugar whenever I get an aura. Oh, and auras, though distracting, are MUCH better than migraines. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/35 "2017-04-27T11:39:57Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I do not know these migraine sufferers who miraculously get better by being distracted. If it happens, I am happy for them. I am guessing that this is not true for those of us who fall into the chronic bucket. I don’t get \*better \*by being distracted, but I do get…well, distracted. I focus on something other than the pain in my damn head for a while. This is how I can work during a minor-to-medium-level migraine. Mind you, this is only after a decade of chronic migraine and, like you, soooo many drugs and quack “cures”. > [@](#): > > I want to get healthy. Yeah…don’t think of it as “healthy”. I mean, that’s like telling an epileptic to “get healthy”. Think of it as better. And remember that medical professionals consider a 10% improvement to be a good thing. So I’ve had to use a several treatments that each get me back 10%. > [@](#): > > I really, really try to take things in the spirit they are intended, but holy shit, does no one have a brain? I’m pretty sure the answer is generally “no”, with a few exceptions. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/36 "2017-04-27T11:41:58Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Have any of you folks with chronic migraines seen a cardiologist? Some people with constant disabling migraines that do not respond to any other therapy have been discovered to have small holes in the heart, and closing them ends the headaches, immediately and permanently. > > :eek: > > This is a procedure that does not always require open heart surgery, because it can sometimes be done through a peripheral vein. Yes, I have. I don’t have PFO. The percentage of people with PFO is pretty low, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/37 "2017-04-27T13:04:50Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > To anyone who is seriously suggesting that I consider hypnotism because what can it hurt - would you suggest it to an epilepsy patient? Someone with blocked arteries? Cancer? Why wouldn’t I? I would never suggest that someone rely entirely on psychological help for a physical ailment. But serious physical ailments have serious psychological components that need to be addressed. :shrug: > [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > If my attitude towards a medical professional who gives me advice I consider unprofessional seems to be less than upbeat, tough titties. The point being that the professional advice you received from a professional may not be as unprofessional as you assume. Sometimes experts in a field think about things in their field differently than lay people do. Your doctor could’ve been a total asshat idiot who thinks that you’re a malingerer who just needs mental help and no other intervention. OR Your doctor could be trying to help someone in a difficult situation where there’re not many useful options by suggesting a mostly harmless intervention which has helped other people deal with the major medical issues in their life. I wasn’t there. I only have the evidence you presented. There’s nothing in the evidence which rules out the possibility that the doctor was merely suggesting an _ **additional** _ treatment option. > [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > It is my personal opinion that telling me to get hypnosis is about the same level of medical care as the doctor who told my autistic son that he would pray for us, rather than helping me find him appropriate medical care. These two things seem world apart. Good luck. Sorry you think that doctor was an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/38 "2017-04-27T13:06:12Z")
Quackery flourishes the most in promotions for products to treat chronic, relapsing and remitting conditions that modern medicine often imperfectly alleviates (arthritis, migraines, MS and so on). Since these conditions often have periods where the patient feels better through the natural course of the disease, the supplements/drugs/“cures” wrongly get credit. Migraines (and I’ve been there) have so many possible triggers and treatments that it’s hard to say what will work for any given person. Best wishes to the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/39 "2017-04-27T14:47:55Z")
> [@PatriotX](#): > > Your doctor could’ve been a total asshat idiot who thinks that you’re a malingerer who just needs mental help and no other intervention. > OR > Your doctor could be trying to help someone in a difficult situation where there’re not many useful options by suggesting a mostly harmless intervention which has helped other people deal with the major medical issues in their life. What about possibility #3? He could be getting a little kick-back for referrals to the hypnotist, the same way some doctors get bonuses for pushing certain medicines. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292/40 "2017-04-27T15:54:16Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Saying “calm down” is about the exact worst thing you can do to someone who is under a great deal of stress or suffering from a disorder (such as anxiety or panic attacks) which causes extreme hypertension. One of the Lusitania passengers described in Erik Larson’s book “Dead Wake” was a young woman who’d suffered much of her life from depression. The headmistress of her school told her the solution to her problem was to cheer up and think happy thoughts. Larson dryly notes that this advice did not work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-disability-iritation-quackery/785292.md?page=3)