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uncontrolled experiments
Apr. 24th, 2005 11:28 amI have been doing science for something like 30 years. I know the value of a good control experiment. Let me phrase that more strongly: I have learned that experiments without good controls are often worthless. When I test a new formula in the lab, I know there are interactions between formulas, materials (some of our suppliers are frighteningly unreliable), test equipment, and even the weather. I can't sort out what might be responsible for a good result, or a bad one, from a single "test of a new formula," or "test of a new material." It's impossibly frustrating. Or just impossible. The frustrating aspect comes in when I try to explain to my colleagues (who should know better!) why I'm working for weeks to get a reliable result, when I had an unreliable result in hours. When half the time, the reliable result is in the same direction as the unreliable one! *rolls eyes*
Experimenting with chronic pain treatment causes different kinds of frustration. I need to experiment on myself to know what helps, what's useless, what hurts. I know I don't respond to most drugs like the "standard patient," doctors like to think of with my official diagnosis. Diagnoses. (If there even is a standard patient, anywhere, for anything.) Every time I try something new, I need to be excruciatingly careful of making things worse. I don't have a whole lot of functionality to spare. This approach is not compatible with controlled testing.
Last week, I put one of my medication patches in the refrigerator. I'm concerned about the adhesive melting in the oncoming hot weather. The new generic patches come with a warning not to refrigerate them, saying you're supposed to keep them at 10-25 degrees C. Suspecting the manufacturer had only tested the patches after storing them at controlled room temperature (and labelled the package cautiously), I wanted to check for myself. So, yesterday morning, I took the patch out of the refrigerator, let it warm to room temperature, and put it on. It stuck fine. I've been having spectacularly high pain levels. I don't know if chilling the patch interfered with the drug delivery mechanism, so I am getting less medication. I don't know if I am just having a lot of hand pain because of driving, and food prep, and failure to deal with the temperature change effectively. I don't know if I am just having a lot of head pain because of driving, and muscle spasms in my neck, and a mistaken attempt at massage therapy on Thursday. I don't know if I should put another patch in the refrigerator, to try some other time, when I'm not having pain flares. If there is such a time. If I were in control of this, I wouldn't have *any* pain flares.
Experimenting with chronic pain treatment causes different kinds of frustration. I need to experiment on myself to know what helps, what's useless, what hurts. I know I don't respond to most drugs like the "standard patient," doctors like to think of with my official diagnosis. Diagnoses. (If there even is a standard patient, anywhere, for anything.) Every time I try something new, I need to be excruciatingly careful of making things worse. I don't have a whole lot of functionality to spare. This approach is not compatible with controlled testing.
Last week, I put one of my medication patches in the refrigerator. I'm concerned about the adhesive melting in the oncoming hot weather. The new generic patches come with a warning not to refrigerate them, saying you're supposed to keep them at 10-25 degrees C. Suspecting the manufacturer had only tested the patches after storing them at controlled room temperature (and labelled the package cautiously), I wanted to check for myself. So, yesterday morning, I took the patch out of the refrigerator, let it warm to room temperature, and put it on. It stuck fine. I've been having spectacularly high pain levels. I don't know if chilling the patch interfered with the drug delivery mechanism, so I am getting less medication. I don't know if I am just having a lot of hand pain because of driving, and food prep, and failure to deal with the temperature change effectively. I don't know if I am just having a lot of head pain because of driving, and muscle spasms in my neck, and a mistaken attempt at massage therapy on Thursday. I don't know if I should put another patch in the refrigerator, to try some other time, when I'm not having pain flares. If there is such a time. If I were in control of this, I wouldn't have *any* pain flares.
