Many people get addicted to prescription painkillers after being prescribed them by their doctor for the pain of surgery, an accident or injury. Some of the conditions they take the painkillers for are fairly mild – the person may have gotten away with something much lighter than OxyContin, hydrocodone or fentanyl or other drugs that can cause prescription drug addiction. In fact, two recent studies have shown that their pain may have been relieved with a placebo.

The first study gave placebos to people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). They told them the pills were placebos, but also told them that IBS has been helped by placebos. Not only did the placebos work, they actually had better results than recent studies done on the drugs doctors would normally prescribe for the condition.

The second study hooked people up to an intravenous drip and applied heat to their legs to the point of causing pain. The researchers then told the participants that they were putting a powerful painkiller into their IV. The pain abated. The participants were then told that the painkiller going through their IV had been stopped, at which point the pain returned to the pre-painkiller levels. But, the drug had not actually been stopped – they were still getting it.

The researchers, of course, concluded that placebos are often just as effective as dangerous drugs. And it doesn’t even matter if you tell the patient that it’s a placebo! Amazing.

If someone does get addicted, they can go to drug rehab – although it’s important to get rehab asap because the risk of serious injury or death is very real. But if you can avoid taking addictive painkillers in the first place, then there’s virtually no risk of addiction or any of the other problems.

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