placebo effect from capsule digestion?

[astudentforever]

i've noticed lately that when i take a pill i will get a slight effect almost instantly - usually within 5 minutes. a slight increase in energy would probably be the best way i can describe it. i'm pretty sure my drugs aren't being digested at that point, though - so is my brain associating the digestion of pill capsules with the impending effects of my supplements (which have mostly been energy-increasing lately)? does anyone have any data on this?
thanks.

 

[ebola?]

I don't have any specific studies handy, but anecdotally, this is a common experience, brought on by anticipation of (in some cases, excitement over) impending pharmacological effects and classical conditioning between ingestion of the pill and later effects from the drug.

ebola

 

[astudentforever]

i don't feel like it has to do with any mental conditioning though - i feel like it must be related to the break down of the gel capsule because it happens when i'm not thinking about/expecting any effects. i will just notice that i suddenly have a little more energy and it's only been 5 minutes since i took the pill. if i noticed the energy while i was thinking about the pill or anticipating the effects, then i would understand how it could be mental. but just knowing that i took the pill wouldn't trigger a delayed placebo effect that only shows up a few minutes later when i'm not even thinking about the pill/haven't been thinking about it much, could it?

 

[endotropic]

i don't feel like it has to do with any mental conditioning though - i feel like it must be related to the break down of the gel capsule because it happens when i'm not thinking about/expecting any effects. i will just notice that i suddenly have a little more energy and it's only been 5 minutes since i took the pill. if i noticed the energy while i was thinking about the pill or anticipating the effects, then i would understand how it could be mental. but just knowing that i took the pill wouldn't trigger a delayed placebo effect that only shows up a few minutes later when i'm not even thinking about the pill/haven't been thinking about it much, could it?

So your hypothesis is that the material making up the gel capsule is pharmacologically active? Why don't you use a gel cap made up of a different material and see if you still get the effect? Or better yet take an aspirin gel cap and see if you still get the stimulation from the gel cap dissolving.

 

[astudentforever]

i don't have any other kinds of gel caps or know anything about what they are made of, but yeah i guess ideally that would be the way to find out. i was hoping someone here might know instead though.
it's not that i think it's 'psychoactive' per se, but maybe my brain/body has a strong association with gel cap dissolving leading to increased energy since i have been taking a lot of energy enhancing supplements lately.

 

[sekio]

because it happens when i'm not thinking about/expecting any effects.

The beauty of placebo/nocebo is that they happen regardless of you being conscious of the effect or not. It's a result of your brain being put into a familiar 'state' by your actions and surroundings.

but maybe my brain/body has a strong association with gel cap dissolving leading to increased energy since i have been taking a lot of energy enhancing supplements lately.

This is likely to be the case. Physical responses to some situations can be quite powerful. For instance, sometimes I get edgy and stimulated no more than a minute after consuming a caffeine pill, even though it is very unlikely it has even dissolved, just from the expectation that it will wake me up in a few minutes.

Another common example of this is seen in opioid addicts who go to pick up more dope. Sometimes they'll feel better just having it in their possession, even if they don't take any.

 

[astudentforever]

i'm like that with weed - i actually feel better just knowing i have it (when i'm fiending) than i do when i smoke it.

 

[Hammilton]

I know that when I've been out of subs and fiending hard, just getting a bag of dope would put me right for a couple hours. I would become giddy at the prospect of no longer being sick.

 

[ParappaTheRapper]

i've noticed lately that when i take a pill i will get a slight effect almost instantly - usually within 5 minutes. a slight increase in energy would probably be the best way i can describe it. i'm pretty sure my drugs aren't being digested at that point, though - so is my brain associating the digestion of pill capsules with the impending effects of my supplements (which have mostly been energy-increasing lately)? does anyone have any data on this?
thanks.

Placebo is definitely a factor, but if you are mindful of your consciousness and use a variety of things i think its easy to tell a shift from time to time..