Hi Jiggy3
First of all I am very pleased to hear you have been feeling better! As has been said and as you recognise - this could either be conicidence (you might have improved anyway) or the effect of placebo - which - yes - is a powerful effect!
This leads me to take up your other point about HRT. The main way licensed treatments are approved by NHS for their efficacy is through placebo controlled trials. This is especially important for conditions which rely on the patient themselves to rate how they feel - which is the case for some menopausal symptoms such as anxiety, flushes, sweats, etc. Not only that the mind can actually control the body - the true placebo effect.
With HRT it has been independently established through placebo controlled trials - that the treatments do work for significant numbers of women over and above any effect which could be attributed to the placebo. In addition there are a variety of independent physiological measures that can be taken - for example - bone density, acidity of vagina (for Vagifem), etc etc - that don't rely on a woman's opinion.
No amount of personal testimonies can tell you or detremine if a product works! We could have pages of reports on here about the magnet and how it works - but if it is not shown in trials to work then if you are looking for a product to try - then this would not be the one.
When you say better than drugs - I presume you mean anti-depressants or similar? HRT is not in the same category - if you use hormones which are biologically identical to those found in our own body which many of us do - it is simply replacing what has become deficient in a similar way that those with thyroid conditions replace thyroid hormone.
If it worked as in had a regular and repeatable effect shown through properly designed trials - then it would be available on NHS as a very cheap alternative to HRT.
blossom60 - it's nothing to do with being open-minded - medicine is based on the outcome of trials. Anything else falls into the realms of belief.
Anyone who wants to read a straight talking site about magnet therapy in general might like to look at this:
http://www.sillybeliefs.com/magnets.htmlJiggy3 - you made an important point - and I hope your symptoms stay away
Hurdity x
