Because I love her.

[gladius]

She is so well known here. She's hurting due to cancer. She is one of the most fabulous women I have ever met. Sexy, curvy, intelligent, witty, and more accomidating than I would prefer. I am posting this, to let her know, that I will always be by her side, and think of what something may have been. Even in the poopy condition she's in, her spirit is still bright, still sprinting.......but, she needs a good heart felt hug from us. You don't know her? Not a problem, just give her your prayer and petition to stay focused and positive.

[gladius]

You have, and will always remain, a friend of mine.

[chicagom]

what something may have been? bet the fiance would love to read that

[gladius]

the fiance knows. as for you?

[chicagom]

So why bring this all up again? Do you have some weird phobia that she'll come running back? Her cancer is HER issue......not something to get everyone to guess the name of some women you scammed.

[gladius]

I will surely let you broil in your own sentiments on that response.

[DuckiesDarling]

I hope that she can use the prayers and the good wishes in her fight.

[ZmbGirl]

Don't let this man fool you. He's a user and isn't worth anyone's time. As for the mystery woman, I hope she realizes what a jerk he is and gets well without his fair weather friendship.

[BiDaveDtown]

Who is the OP writing about? Does this woman really even have cancer?

[gen11]

So far, two shameful responses regardless of the opinion held of the OP.

[DuckiesDarling]

Seriously.. regardless of your opinion of the OP... is it necessary to be complete pricks in a thread about someone with cancer? Either post something supportive or just stay out of it. It's offensive and I can't imagine why anyone would just post in a thread as serious as this one to have a go at someone with no real concern for the actual matter at hand.. oh wait maybe I can.. it's familiar enough around here lately.

[tenni]

“She's hurting due to cancer.”

“is it necessary to be complete pricks in a thread about someone with cancer? “


Oh, the drama.
These two sentences are not exactly the same meaning. The first sentence does not state that the person “has” cancer herself.


Regardless it is unfortunate that someone is suffering from this site. There are probably others as not everyone emotes and gives/gets electronic hugs. I could guess who the OP is referring to. The accusations about how she was unfairly treated do not match the person that I’m thinking of though. I'd suspect this is overflow from the chat area? It is a mysterious thread. Where's Sherlock Homes when you need him?

[darkeyes]

For god's sake.. has compassion gone from this site altogether? Once upon a time no one would dream of being so ill-mannered and worse, heartless, as some posters on this thread. I feel for a woman who must surely be afraid, pained and feeling alone, as I do for all who go through the trauma of any serious illness, and I feel for all who love and are close to her.. I may not be able to pray for reasons known to most, but my hopes and best wishes are with her for a speedy and full recovery...

[void()]

“She's hurting due to cancer.”

“is it necessary to be complete pricks in a thread about someone with cancer? “


Oh, the drama.
These two sentences are not exactly the same meaning. The first sentence does not state that the person “has” cancer herself.


Regardless it is unfortunate that someone is suffering from this site. There are probably others as not everyone emotes and gives/gets electronic hugs. I could guess who the OP is referring to. The accusations about how she was unfairly treated do not match the person that I’m thinking of though. I'd suspect this is overflow from the chat area? It is a mysterious thread. Where's Sherlock Homes when you need him?


"Regardless it is unfortunate that someone is suffering from this site."; Does not say what you mean either.

Yes, I suffer from this site at times.

Perhaps, you could have more aptly stated; "Regardless it is unfortunate someone whom visits this site is suffering from ...".

Do not concern yourself over how I suffer from this site. I honestly, do not suffer from this site. I was merely illustrating, or elucidating a grammatical point for any whom may read. We all are not as well educated as other superior nations. It may take us a bit longer, still we get there. :-)


For god's sake.. has compassion gone from this site altogether? Once upon a time no one would dream of being so ill-mannered and worse, heartless, as some posts on this thread. I feel for this woman as I do for all who go through the trauma of any serious illness, and I feel for all who love and are close to her.. I may not be able to pray for reasons known to most, but my hopes and best wishes are with her for a speedy and full recovery...

Fran, my humanity has not left. I think I may know whom the op speaks about. If so it is not my place to call further undue attention to her, or her suffering. Doing so would empower the disease she may be facing off against. I can send well wishes and best hopes for anyone. Beyond that as the op chose to conceal this person's identity, not much else to offer.

And if I don't know them, they're still welcomed to best hopes and well wishes. Apologies for making an obvious grammatical correction as a bit of a snipe. My only excuse is that it was succulent low hanging fruit. My human nature could not resist. I'll try being a better robot next time.

[tenni]

correction noted. ;)

"someone from this site is suffering."

Perhaps you may clarify if the person referred to in the OP actually has cancer? oh never mind.

[gen11]

Void: Somebody is asking for prayers and good thoughts for another person who is gravely ill -- and you split syntactical hairs? And hijack the thread to a totally different topic of your own interest? C'mon --- you've shown common sense up until now.

[Velorex]

Wow, I am completely stunned at how uncompassionate some people can be. Boo to those that don't show any mercy.

My prayers, hopes, concerns and thoughts go out for your friend. I hope she weathers the storm she is going through and comes out a better person.

I went through a similar thing in my life, and can bring some perspective to her if you want. I'm offering my suggestions and help if needed.

She already has one foot going in the right direction with a friend like you, that looks out for her and her well being, both physically and mentally.

I hope this post finds your friend just a little happier, a little saner, and feeling a little more loved, no matter the amount of pain she is going through.

Fight the good fight!

Peace my friend!

T

[_Joe_]

I don't even know what's going on, and today popped into chat and got accused of being this person. Accused of being an old-time troll that I haven't heard in forever.

I'm confuse.

[chook]

First up Gladius,nutme and whatever name you gave yourself in the past....if you want the best for this woman stay out of her life you have caused her enough grief in the past and it looks like you cant let things be. I know the woman in question and I know her damn well and she has told me that she has never felt better than the time you stopped bugging her and yes the poor woman has gone through hell and she didnt want to share her pain with anyone in here but now you fucking goose have gone and made an issue out of it....I hope you are fucking proud of yourself you idiot....why dont you just FUCK OFF and crawl buck to under the slimey rock that you crawled out of

Chook

[chicagom]

gladius is nutme/keefer/who knows how many other nicknames that have been banned here. I'm not unfeeling about someone who has any issues, medical or otherwise. But just be reminded of the source and that's all I think I need to say.

[ZmbGirl]

I agree with Chicagom and Chook. The source is well known and can't really be trusted. my best friend just went through breast cancer and I know what it's like to support someone. If she really needed support she would not be going to the source of this post for it.

[BiDaveDtown]

How do we even know that 1.This supposed person is actually a woman? and 2. That this person, whoever they are actually has cancer? Did you actually go with them to an actual doctor, actually see test results, and are those test results actually true and valid? This is the internet and people lie about all sorts of things on the internet including yes, having cancer or another disease/condition. Also people will claim that a friend or relative of theirs has cancer to get sympathy, attention, money, and material possessions. Case in point years ago on another message board a well known woman there claimed that her son had cancer. Some people there pooled together money and sent it to him, and one person even bought him a Playstation. Long story short. Her son was perfectly healthy and never had cancer at all.

[BiDaveDtown]

Who fakes cancer on the Internet? Women Posted by Donna Trussell on November 29, 2012 at 9:09 am Faking illness has been around forever, but the Internet has ushered in new ways to seek attention, and to add convincing flourishes to the stories. These posers are few in number, but the trail of devastation they leave is huge. Real cancer patients and survivors like myself can not fathom such bizarre behavior. I’d love to wake up one morning and find out my diagnosis was just a bad dream, or a mistake at the lab. Most of us would give up every gift, every sympathetic gesture, every new friend if we could just return to the lives we had before cancer. To feel whole and vigorous again, to put death back into the mañana category — these seem like a distant, beautiful dream. Why would anyone willingly jump into the muck of cancer, even in jest? But they do. Especially women, it turns out. In Seattle’s alternative weekly The Stranger, Cienna Madrid reports on a 36-year-old patient with aggressive breast cancer that blew her world apart. For community and support, she turned to the Web. She blogged about her illness and joined online support groups. That’s how she crossed paths with a young woman impersonating a cancer patient. Three young women, in fact. They were more or less the same age — about 20 — and they all went to extraordinary lengths to buttress their tales of cancer, one even acquiring an oxygen tank and making a video. They presumably suffered from Munchausen syndrome (which affects women disproportionately) or perhaps Munchausen by Internet, a new phenomenon that some experts would like to see included in the next edition of the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). One study links the syndrome to narcissistic and/or sadistic personalities. The perpetrators easily fool their victims because humans fill in the details unconsciously, based on what they hope to be true. Palm readers and fortune tellers use the same technique on their customers. But why are the cancer fakers so often women instead of men? I asked Harriet Lerner, psychologist and author of “The Dance of Anger,” about Munchausen and gender. “Deception is a survival skill for humans and all other species,” Lerner responded. “I believe in some cases there is an element of turning ‘passive into active’ behind the story-telling. “That is, the person who builds community and sympathy with lies about her body/suffering, may be unconsciously attempting to bind a much earlier legitimate rage — a rage from back when she had a real and terrible truth to tell and did not have the language to tell it, or the consequences of telling were too great, or she did tell and she was not heard or believed. “When this history underlies the syndrome, it’s more a female story than a male one, (females are more on the receiving end of bodily harm, are more vulnerable to this, and to being disbelieved by authorities) just as it is more a female story to seek connection and community.” Men may go it alone, but women will seek each other when cancer takes them on an unwanted journey. Those fellow travelers can mean a lot, as survivor Donna M. LaVerde discovered when her friends began to die. As for the breast cancer patient in Madrid’s story, she’s still angry with the women who deceived her, but she’s trying to move on. Her mastectomy is done. Her skin is not so pale, and her red hair is growing back. She shut down her blog and made steps toward returning to normal life, to being “someone other than a cancer patient caught mid-waltz with Death.” The waltz itself changes you, even if you’re lucky enough to slip away, for a little while. I’m 11 years out from my diagnosis of stage III ovarian cancer. In the beginning, I too sought community online. I helped a few friends, hurt a few others. Eventually I drifted away, back to a life I hardly recognized, because I was so different. I still think of those women who helped me through. People traumatized by cancer won’t necessarily have the strength or objectivity to help you carry your burdens. Survivors usually mean well, but there’s a big difference between a group of women exchanging tips on breast-feeding and a group of women who are exhausted, who are living in pain, who are terrified they’re going to die before their kids reach a plateau.

[BiDaveDtown]

You see it all the time on Facebook – “Jennifer Smith likes ‘Prayers for Baby Christian’” pops up in your newsfeed; the page detailing the medical struggles of an innocent little child, born prematurely, who has lost his twin sister and undergone countless life-saving surgeries, only to battle a brain tumor. They’re stories that tug on the heartstrings of the people who come into contact with them. Whether you follow every detail and rally your friends for support, or just peruse the page, you become emotionally invested. The thought that anyone could suffer so much tragedy seems unbelievable – and in some cases, it is. A modern version of an old psychiatric disorder is emerging from within social networks and online support groups called Munchausen by Internet, or MBI. “It refers to people who go online and either feign, exaggerate, or in the most extreme cases, actually induce illness and present themselves to health-based support groups or special interest groups online in order to mobilize attention and sympathy,” Dr. Marc Feldman, a clinical professor of psychiatry and adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Alabama, who coined the term, told FoxNews.com. Feldman became interested in studying the disorder in 1998 after giving a talk on Munchausen syndrome, a condition which causes people to make themselves sick or lie about having an illness for attention. “Somebody came up to me after the talk and told me this involved story about a guy who was going online and claiming to be a monk in the Catholic church, and he told this story about having cancer and how due to his vow of poverty, he couldn’t afford medical care,” said Feldman. ‘If there’s a medical diagnosis, someone has faked it online’ For “Maria,” a 45-year-old bookkeeper currently in recovery, who chose to withhold her real name, a long history of Munchausen syndrome, starting in childhood, paved the way for her online deceptions later in life. “I have had some themes which I think are common with MBI patients; seizures, cancer, sex abuse. It started when I was around 11 with small things, and by the time I was 15, I faked my first seizure,” she told FoxNews.com in an email. Maria’s struggle with Munchausen syndrome even forced her to drop out of college. But once she was out of school, there was no one in her life to meet the emotional needs that had been fulfilled by faking illness, so she turned to the Internet, in particular, an online cancer survivors forum. Maria eventually stopped visiting the forum, but MBI reared its ugly head again with a new deception that involved posing as a child and forming a relationship with an unsuspecting victim. “It was a very complicated and involved fantasy that became almost real for me,” she wrote. “It involved posing as other people in addition to the main person, serious illness and serious emotional trauma. I don’t think it would be wise to get into the specifics of this, but this was MBI at its worst.” Social networks and online health forums provide MBI sufferers with a sense of human connection, while affording them the anonymity to choose a fake online identity. “They’ll sign onto a cystic fibrosis group where most of the members have cystic fibrosis or are family members of someone who has cystic fibrosis, and then make claims about their extensive illness that don’t ring true,” Feldman said. “The same thing happens on cancer forums, eating disorder forums – you name it – if there’s a medical diagnosis, someone has faked it online.” Feldman, who refers to MBI patients as “perpetrators,” said these people often have deep-seated personality disorders which prevent them from getting their needs met in healthy ways. But he said it was important to distinguish between MBI and malingering, in which people feign illness for a tangible goal like money. “I’ve had some of the perpetrators tell me their stories and it always comes back to this core of un-socially skilled or non-socially skilled, people who are alone and lonely, and find a shortcut to building a supportive community around them,” he said. Motivated to deceive For Maria, Feldman’s words rang true. She said her online deceptions were motivated by an extreme emotional neediness. “I didn’t do it as a trick,” Maria said. “I didn’t do it to see who I could fool. I most certainly didn’t do it to hurt anyone. I didn’t do it to make money. I did it to feel significant, to feel nurtured and loved, and that I am cared about. I didn’t know any other way to get those needs met.” Maria described the attention she would get when she was lying in online forums like a “feel-good drug” that always left her “wanting another hit,” but said keeping up with the lies was stressful. In 2010, when members of an online community became suspicious and started asking her questions, she finally decided admit her deception and get help. Maria was diagnosed and treated for borderline personality disorder, depression and anxiety. But a year later, she found herself in another cancer forum, lying to unsuspecting supporters, and was referred to Feldman by her therapist. “Once caught up in the game, it’s like I'm leading a double life,” she wrote in a journal entry shortly before she entered recovery. “It takes a lot of energy. Your mind is constantly working to figure out what to say next. And all for what? A virtual hug and a stranger saying they care?” Feldman noted that a major clue as to whether or not an online community member may be a MBI perpetrator is when new profiles or personas, called “sock puppets,” start to emerge to support the original deception. “You’ll often see the very same writing styles, grammatical errors, and typographical errors that reveal this is all really stemming from the same one individual,” Feldman said. “They’ll originally claim to be an individual with cancer, but then sign on as their mother who supports the deceptions and say ‘yes indeed, we’re all struggling with John’s cancer.’ And then sign on as a girlfriend who’s pregnant with his child, and so on.” “I’ve often said that if these MBI perpetrators would take their talent and use them in constructive ways they could accomplish anything because they are motivated, they’re verbally very skilled, they’re often high-energy to be able to juggle all these relationships,” he added. Accepting a diagnosis According to Feldman, MBI perpetrators are most commonly young women, but it’s hard to tell how many people are actually living with the disorder because many of them are reluctant admit their deceptions. “It usually isn’t treated because these individuals are not willing to access help,” said Feldman. “That is, they’re happy to claim a medical diagnosis they don’t really have, but they won’t accept a psychiatric diagnosis which they really do have.” Treatment for MBI can include medication to treat underlying mental illness, cognitive behavioral therapy and talk therapy. Maria said medication and therapy have helped her stop the pattern of online deceit for the time being. “Just like the alcoholic has the urge to drink, I have the urge to engage in MBI behavior,” she explained. “MBI has caused me a lot of shame and hiding. It has caused me to think I am a horrible person who didn’t deserve anything - even the air to breathe, but the idea of it crumbling meant recovery for me,” Maria said. “It meant growth. It meant new ways to get my needs met. It meant freedom.” For more information, log onto Dr. Feldman's website

[BiDaveDtown]

Münchausen by Internet From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Münchausen by Internet is a pattern of behavior in which Internet users seek attention by feigning illnesses in online venues such as chat rooms, message boards, and Internet Relay Chat (IRC). It has been described in medical literature as a manifestation of factitious disorder or factitious disorder by proxy.[1] Reports of users who deceive Internet forum participants by portraying themselves as gravely ill or as victims of violence first appeared in the 1990s due to the relative newness of Internet communications. The pattern was identified in 1998 by psychiatrist Marc Feldman, who created the term "Münchausen by Internet" in 2000. It is not included in the fourth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). The development of factitious disorders in online venues is made easier by the availability of medical literature on the Internet, the anonymous and malleable nature of online identities, and the existence of communication forums established for the sole purpose of giving support to members facing significant health or psychological problems. Several high-profile cases have demonstrated behavior patterns which are common among those who pose as gravely ill, victims of violence, or whose deaths are announced to online forums. The virtual communities that were created to give support, as well as general non-medical communities, often express genuine sympathy and grief for the purported victims. When fabrications are suspected or confirmed, the ensuing discussion can create schisms in online communities, destroying some and altering the trusting nature of individual members in others. People who demonstrate factitious disorders often claim to have physical ailments or be recovering from the consequences of stalking, victimization, harassment, and sexual abuse. Several behaviors present themselves to suggest factors beyond genuine problems. After studying 21 cases of deception, Feldman listed the following common behavior patterns in people who exhibited Münchausen by Internet: Medical literature from websites or textbooks is often duplicated or discussed in great detail. The length and severity of purported physical ailments conflicts with user behavior. Feldman uses the example of someone posting in considerable detail about being in septic shock, when such a possibility is extremely unlikely. Symptoms of ailments may be exaggerated as they correspond to a user's misunderstanding of the nature of an illness. Grave situations and increasingly critical prognoses are interspersed with "miraculous" recoveries. A user's posts eventually reveal contradictory information or claims that are implausible: for example, other users of a forum may find that a user has been divulging contradictory information about occurrence or length of hospital visits. When attention and sympathy decreases to focus on other members of the group, a user may announce that other dire events have transpired, including the illness or death of a close family member. When faced with insufficient expressions of attention or sympathy, a forum member claims this as a cause that symptoms worsen or do not improve. A user resists contact beyond the Internet, by telephone or personal visit, often claiming bizarre reasons for not being able to accept such contact. Further emergencies are described with inappropriate happiness, designed to garner immediate reactions. Other forum members post on behalf of a user, exhibiting identical writing styles, spelling errors, and language idiosyncrasies, suggesting that the user has created fictitious identities to move the conversation in their direction.

[BiDaveDtown]

Mental Illness Phony Cancers and Self-Inflicted Acid Attacks: A National Outbreak of Munchausen’s? By Maia SzalavitzSept. 22, 2010 The stories boggle the mind: in August, a 28-year-old Washington woman claimed to be the victim of a mindless acid attack, and almost won the ultimate prize in attention-seeking — an appearance on Oprah — before admitting she had actually disfigured herself. Another woman, a 23-year-old Canadian, faked terminal cancer. She shaved her head, starved herself, tattooed “won’t quit” on her fingers and solicited thousands of dollars in donations for a fake charity, before turning herself over to police this summer. But, wait, there’s more: another woman in New York City recently faked leukemia to wheedle the community into paying for her dream wedding — complete with a honeymoon in Aruba — before she was revealed as a fraud and lost her husband, too. And September saw the revelation of another case in Colorado, a woman who also pretended to have cancer and raised some $60,000 from friends and neighbors before being unmasked. What’s going on? Is the tanked economy creating incentives for scammers? Or are we in the midst of a national outbreak of Munchausen syndrome? Munchausen’s is the most severe type of a group of illnesses known as factitious disorders, whose sufferers fake illnesses to gain goodies or attention. I spoke with Dr. Marc Feldman, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Alabama and one of the world’s leading experts on these disorders. According to Feldman, who runs Munchausens.com and has written several books and numerous scientific papers on the topic, factitious disorders are far more common than you might think. Experts believe they account for billions of dollars in unnecessary health spending. Q: Why would a woman [Bethany Storro] throw caustic fluid on her own face? Do you think she has Munchausen syndrome? A: My gut tells me that this is a combination of malingering — which is feigning, exaggerating or self-inducing an ailment to get money or drugs — as well as Munchausen’s. There’s probably a dual motive. She said it was partly a suicide attempt and partly that she wanted to have her face redone. I wouldn’t take that at face value, so to speak. There are probably deep-seated issues that she’s only barely aware of that made her resort to such drastic behavior rather than just seeking help. Q: Is the risk of permanent disfigurement an unusually extreme ploy to get attention? A: It’s certainly uncontrollable when you use a caustic substance. But a lot of people do it. Feigning an attack *is* unusual. [However], a lot of people show up at dermatologists’ offices with strange rashes that they have induced themselves. It’s one of the more common of manifestations of Munchausen’s. Q: What’s the difference between Munchausen’s and malingering to get money or a dream wedding? A: The difference is in some cases very subtle. In malingering, people [are] after some external gain. Typically, that’s disability payments or donations of money or narcotics. In Munchausen syndrome … the goal is purely emotional satisfaction, often involving getting attention and sympathy. According to the American Psychiatric Association, you can only have one or the other. But I’ve been [studying] this for 20 years and I almost always find the two together — at least when a case reaches the public eye or court, then you see the combination routinely. Q: How common are these disorders exactly? A: In hospital [studies], it’s estimated that between 1% and 5% of patients have to some extent faked or exaggerated their illnesses. In psychiatric hospitals, it’s a little higher: 6% to 8%. In the general population, the only good study was one where in a family practice clinic, they asked 350 consecutive patients to fill out anonymous questionnaires in which they were asked questions like “Have you ever done anything to deliberately prolong an illness?” Seven percent said they had, including doing things like exposing themselves to substances they were allergic to. [One expert] has said that manufactured illnesses take $20 billion from the health care economy. Q: Are factitious disorders becoming more common? If so, why? A: We seem to have a mini-epidemic right now. There are at least four cases that I know of in the last month that have reached national attention. The Internet has [also] affected it massively; I’ve written about “Munchausen’s by Internet.” I think with the advent of so many specific interest groups and health-based support groups, this behavior has really reached new heights. (More on Time.com: Photos: Portrait of Schizophrenia) I think it is increasing because it’s so easy to do now. If you are bored, you can assume a new identity. If you decide you’ve got cystic fibrosis, [there are groups that] will instantly accept you because their very reason for being is to offer support. So you’re guaranteed acceptance and everyone goes along. If you are discovered to be lying, you can sign out and click on a new group and decide you have anorexia. Q: Do you think people with Munchausen’s are responsible for their behavior? A: Sometimes people will ask, “Are these patients or criminals?” The answer is often both. You can be a patient and a criminal at the same time. For example, pedophilia is certainly a mental disorder, but [molesting children] is certainly a crime. The [responsibility] ultimately lies with the patient. But Munchausen’s in theory could be a mitigating factor. They still need to be punished, but maybe not quite so severely if Munchausen syndrome is involved. Munchausen’s is often described by sufferers as addictive or compulsive. They feel that it’s truly irresistible. There’s a need to explore that further: is that an excuse or is it really the case? Q: What causes it? A: At the root of most cases are personality disorders, particularly borderline personality disorder [a condition characterized by wildly unstable emotional states, interpersonal relationships, self-image and behavior — think Glenn Close's character in the film Fatal Attraction]. These are people who have long-term maladaptive ways of getting their needs met or handling stress. They use action instead of words, typically self-defeating actions. Often, they have been hospitalized in childhood for legitimate medical problems and unexpectedly found that the hospital was a warm and nurturing place. They go on to seek opportunities to get medical attention over and over. In other cases, they may have grudge against the medical profession and see this as a way of getting even. Q: How do you treat Munchausen’s? A: We know from clinical experience that heavy-handed confrontation leads only to denial, to the patient eloping from the hospital, or to threats. It’s been tried for eons and almost never works. People have instead recommended supportive confrontation where you say, “We agree with you that there’s a serious problem here, but it’s not a physical problem. It’s an emotional problem, which we want to work with you on.” That fails less often [than tough confrontation]. (More on Time.com: Invisible Wounds: Mental Health and the Military) There’s also face-saving strategies that may work. You can say this: “We’ve applied every possible treatment except one. Unfortunately, if we apply the last one and you fail to improve, we will know that you’re doing it to yourself.” [That sometimes allows them to accept help.] [Not many treatments have really been studied]. I usually recommend very frequent psychotherapy, 45 minutes twice a week [and sometimes use medications to treat co-existing problems]. Q: It seems patients with Munchausen’s tend to pick particular diseases to fake, like cancer. A: It’s [because] in cases of cancer, there is this heroic quality to the cancer survivor, and we view with admiration those who fight hard. It’s laudable. For these patients, it’s an enviable ailment to have. They know they’re not going to die, so they get the benefits without the drawbacks. Another favorite, believe it or not, is AIDS. Q: What happens if someone has a real disorder that doctors can’t diagnose and is mistakenly labeled Munchausen’s? A: The most famous case involved a patient of mine named Wendy Scott. She always asked me to use her real name. She’s deceased now because her legitimate medical problem was misunderstood to be further evidence of Munchausen’s. She’d had 650 hospitalizations throughout Europe and Scandinavia and 42 abdominal operations. She had Munchausen’s but she’d gotten over it and hadn’t done anything to herself in more than 10 years. Then, she started to have belly pain. She went from doctor to doctor. Many said that they could feel a mass but most believed it was scar tissue [from all those operations] and sent her on her way. They figured they were being duped. We got her here in Birmingham at the university and discovered immediately that she had metastatic carcinoma of the bowel. It may sound unbelievable, but [here's how she beat the Munchausen's]: for four years, Wendy did nothing but get hospitalized. She was in the U.K., living in a homeless shelter and she adopted a kitten. She was an intense pet lover and she realized that if she were hospitalized again, none of other residents would take care of her kitten. So she didn’t get hospitalized again. When we had her here [in the hospital], we brought in a kitten in defiance of policy. [Her pet] had been the cure for her. Q: What’s the most extreme case you’ve ever seen? A: Probably Wendy’s. I guess the most extreme ones are those that result in death. There was a patient who created nodules under her skin by injecting talcum powder. She was found dead in an ER bathroom [because it got into her bloodstream and] traveled to her lungs and killed her. I also had a patient in a legal case [who had been] pepper-sprayed by the police when she resisted going to a psychiatric hospital. She went on for two years, scabbing and scarring her face [claiming that this was caused by scratching in reaction to the spray]. She sued the police and the pepper-spray manufacturer. [For some reason] she then decided to drill a hole into her skull. She used a plant mister to spray week-old urine and saliva into her brain matter, creating a brain abscess. She [eventually] admitted the truth. [But it wasn't the brain abscess that killed her]. She died because she was seeing 21 different doctors. She took her medications as prescribed [and the combination] killed her. Q: Why does it seem like most people with Munchausen’s are women? A: Women and nurses are particularly high-risk groups. There are a few theories. One comes from a feminist perspective and suggests that women are negated and their needs are frequently ignored and so some decide that the only way that they can get their needs met is by appearing to be ill. [The only study on this] came out almost 20 years ago. It says that the ratio of men to women in terms of factitious disorders — the milder cases — is three women for every one man. When it comes to full-blown Munchausen’s, it’s 2-to-1, male to female. But in my experience, which is considerable, I have very, very rarely encountered a Munchausen’s patient who wasn’t female. Maybe they are more willing to come forward. But I’ve seen two to three male Munchausen’s patients, compared with hundreds of females. I’m not sure that that old research reflects reality. Q: Do you think we’d see less of this if mental illnesses were less stigmatized? It seems as though these people are creating physical illnesses because they don’t want to be seen as mentally ill, to some extent. A: Our society understands the language of physical distress much more than it understands emotional distress. If you call your boss and ask for a few days off for your emotional [health, you're not likely to get them]. If you cough into the receiver and say you’ve got the flu and don’t want to infect everyone else, you will get days off.

[chook]

BiDaveDtown......Mate for fuck sake find yourself a good doctor and stop wasting yours and everyone elses time here.........you poor sick fuck


Chook