To know anyone irl with munchausens?

[Lw87]

Watching the gypsy rose doc, I'd never heard of munchausens disease before and can't even think I'd know anyone with it in real life

Has anyone actually had an RL encounter with someone with this?

One of the parents at my kids primary school years ago - she used to bring her daughter into school in a wheelchair and watch as the staff got the ramp out etc and took her in. One day at pick up time the little girl walked out of the school with the other kids. A few of the parents were visibly shocked and the mum herself looked mortified and went marching to the teacher to ask why her daughter was walking around. The teacher told her “‘Sarah said she doesn’t really need a wheelchair”. Same parent told everyone that her son had multiple life threatening allergies - one of which was peanuts. The school put everything in place to protect him including checking all children’s packed lunches and making kids wash their hands on the way into school. One day I saw them in town and he was eating a packet of peanut M&Ms. When she saw me she literally batted them out of his hand. He looked so shocked and confused.

Yes (by proxy) - a parent whose child was friendly with my DC at school.

The child apparently had every illness/affliction going, including at least one "incredibly rare" syndrome with debilitating symptoms at least on paper, but always seemed very healthy and symptom free, but with numerous adjustments required from the school. However, the parent was not consistent in adhering to the adjustments, with the child outside school being allowed to eat the food they were allergic to/do the activity that would aggravate the rare condition, all with no ill effect.

The penny eventually dropped when my DC, who was rarely ill, had to go to hospital for a series of tests for a potentially very serious, condition, and afterwards, the parent started a conversation to ask me how we had realised there was a problem and what the tests entailed. A couple of weeks later, their DC was away from school having exactly the same tests for the same condition (which it turned out the DC did not have).

@Becca19962014

I was accused of it for over three decades. The Drs insisted it was due to being fostered I actually have a severe medical phobia due to how I was treated, by everyone. Incidentally it was my (abusive) parents who gave them the idea I was making it up.

Even when diagnosed with my illnesses (all caused by an underlying genetic condition) I still got accused of it. In the end at my last hospital appointment having waited over twelve hours, no food or drink and had a hypo (which I was blamed for causing because I supposedly wanted to be admitted and couldn't "really" have diabetes) I lost my temper (dodgy blood sugars do nothing for my mental control) and demanded they rang my specialist in front of me after telling me they'd rang and he confirmed I was making everything up and was "fine and had tricked him into a diagnosis". They rang. It didn't end well for them. First, they never rang in the first place so lied to me, second they told him they could tell I was lying. The man was a specialist, one of the best in the world, they didn't stand a chance of convincing him with all his knowledge and test results and evidence that I'd faked it!

To be fair the specialist did warn me even with his details on my notes any diagnosis wouldn't be accepted.

The point is this is a highly damaging diagnosis to make. I've an aunt (now deceased) who had the same condition as me, and was diagnosed with it. Her cancer was missed.

I'm not denying it happens. It obviously does. But when you're admitted to a specialist hospital and every person you speak to had the same diagnosis which was wrong that's worrying.

I'm sorry you went through that, it's awful. I said in an earlier post that I know of two people who purposely fabricated their conditions. However I know far more people like yourself that have battled for years for a diagnosis without being taken seriously. Chronic illnesses, I think especially in women, are met with so much disbelief and judgement. I know people with chronic fatigue who were told they were just stressed and needed to exercise more. Also a friend who went through so much stress at work because they thought she was making up her symptoms (she worked in healthcare no less). Then I put off going to the doctors about a myriad of symptoms because of how I was treated as a teenager when I first raised it - 20 years later I built enough confidence (and anger from a doctor telling me I was imagining things) to go again and turns out I have an autoimmune condition.

My uncle has clinically diagnosed hypochondria, I remember him and my nan used to sit with a medical A-Z and self diagnose each other. When I was a child I remember "the woman that gave birth to me" (NC with her and can't call her by societies name) used to tell people all kinds of things about me. I was allegedly allergic to eggs, I had skin conditions, I'd been knocked over by a car, I'd had a terrible head injury and had to have a skin graft on my scalp was the best one. I would literally stand and try to speak with my eyes as a child trying to kind of say ignore her she's lying to anyone she was spouting her BS to.

This thread is pretty terrifying to me ( I don't really know much at all about this condition). It is fascinating but tragic as well.

If you’re interested in Gypsy Rose then watch The Act on Amazon prime. You need to do the free one months trial of Starzplay but it’s well worth watching.

Yes my neighbour had it by proxy. Made her kid have a feeding tube and everything. I lived in a small community then and one day she took her kid to the Dr and the Dr took out the feeding tube saying she absolutely did not need it and my neighbour screamed the place down that the Dr was murdering her child. We all witnessed that kid eating normal food on multiple occasions. Anytime anyone in our community was diagnosed with something she said her kid had it too. Including when my friends child was diagnosed with autism, selective mutism, OCD and ADHD she claimed her kid had the exact same diagnosis. The weird bit was she actually had 2 kids and completely ignored one of them.

Where are you watching the documentary?

There was a school mum who supposedly had every single disability under the sun, but was the martyr about it. "oh you know me, I just get on with it". Despite walking completely normally and walking 20 minutes to school, her mobility was very limited apparently. The last I saw of her she was telling me that she was moving soon as she needed a fully adaptable bungalow as her mobility was so poor. Apparently all the specialists in the world in the hospital couldn't believe how well she battled on. It was all because of her positive mindset you see, disability wasn't a label to her

Gypsy manipulated a damaged young man into murdering her mother then they posted on Facebook that they'd killed the bitch or something similar.

She's been abused her entire life but this wasn't self defense. She's a victim but her abuse has made her extremely manipulative herself. She won't serve the full 10 years and she's getting extremely specialised help in prison- I think she's where she needs to be right now.

I know a girl who displays symptoms of munchausens by proxy. She is constantly posting things online about the health of her child, taking him to A&E, giving him gluten even though he shouldn't be eating it - so he has symptoms worthy of taking him in.

She's clearly very unwell and her parents have written several times on their own social medias explaining the situation - so we don't worry about the little boy.

I had another parent at school practically accuse me of Munchausens by proxy over a diagnosis my child had, she asked me how I had managed to 'convince' the Doctors to believe 'my' diagnosis, I said it was really simple , I took the child to the Doctors where the symptoms were obvious and we were sent to the nearest large teaching hospital for specific tests which confirmed what the Doctor saw.
She was very friendly with a TA at the school and I think she had managed to convince them and some of the other staff, that I was making it all up, given some of the looks I got for a while. DC's symptoms worsened before they got better, so all the staff witnessed them and the funny looks stopped.

@olympicsrock

I have seen patients who have done this. One patient went round A abs E departments pretending to have been raped. That was pretty distressing as a health care professional .

A major problem with these ones is when they follow it up with the police and ruin the lives of those they accuse and sadly this happens too particularly if a third party reports concerns then they feel they have to follow it through. It can get very very nasty. I know someone who was on the receiving end of this and ended up in a police cell then waiting for 2 years until the CPS decided on no further action.

Teacher here and one family I know of where the children were always ill, or broken bones but every illness or injury took ages to heal and the suspicion was they were tampering with the recovery. Children removed several times and then returned- when removed , they were healthy and recovered quickly from everything. Eventually they were fully removed for other reasons so it was never really addressed

Yes it awful mental illness. On the other end of the scale is parents fighting for help a not not being taken seriously. I sure the doctors suspected I was making stuff up with my eldest. Kept getting fobbed off until one doctor diagnosed a serious defect . On the same day that doctor found it a different doctor told us nothing was wrong with child. Life saving surgery was needed for this condition. I spent yrs believing i didnt have any mothers instinct because every dr appt i was told child had no problem.

I have a male family member who has continuous 'illnesses' and presents at A and E and Minor Injuries pretty frequently, although not all the time. Never anything really wrong, had 100's of scans, seen so many consultants, definitely doesn't feel great a lot but also has MH issues which have gone largely untreated.

This is not Munchausens though, they aren't faking their illness, they feel very ill and then seek help, it's just that their illnesses are linked to their MH conditions, so dizziness, breathlessness, weakness, balance and so forth. These conditions also fluctuate so if they want to do something fun, they often find a way, or travel, or holiday, but the rest of the time are 'disabled' by them.

It is very tiring to be around this for a lifetime and I find myself losing attention when they yet again tell me about their life-threatening trip to hospital (which leaves them absolutely fine!)

I do believe that women are often under-diagnosed though, especially for chronic illness. I have a friend who felt very ill, and exhausted and just not 'there' somehow, and her doctor convinced her, as did others around her, that it was just her depression returning coupled with low iron. I remember saying to her 'but you aren't depressed'! She said 'I know'. She eventually had a very dramatic episode, got taken to hospital, diagnosed with a brain tumour and has since died. She was lovely, I miss that friend. I don't think it would have changed anything as it was such an aggressive tumour but I just remember her distress at being told it was just her depression coming back when she and I knew she wasn't depressed.

I watched a documentary on it ages ago on Amazon prime, can't remember the name but it was so shocking. It told both sides of the story, from one family falsely accused of M by proxy when their baby actually had a serious genetic illness that eventually killed him, the drs blamed the mother and said she was causing his illness. The saddest part was visually you could tell this baby had Genetic illness so it was appalling she was accused. Then it told real cases including hard to watch footage a Dr secretly filmed in hospital one night. The baby in questions heart rate kept going erratic and dropping but they couldn't physically tell why on tests except a CCG. So the Dr noticed it always happened when the mother was alone with him so he set up a camera and filmed the mother smothering the baby until his heart rate shot up and then she stopped and comforted the crying baby. Was hard to watch.

🤷🏻‍♀️ it was in her medical records
I think it was in the early 90’s she got that label and turned to homeopathic remedies and attention
She had a lot of unnecessary surgery and medication from the late 60’s on

Yes, someone at the DCs primary school. Lost touch now, but still hear things through mutual friends. They were mainly focussed on their child's mental health. They went through a messy divorce and really needed professional support which they were unable to access. Issues were projected onto the child.

Child ended up with several diagnoses that are inaccurate and which have now limited their life choices.

Some really sad stories here. Noticed also that pretty much all (bar a couple) cases are about women who are afflicted with this. I wonder whether it affects women more than men, and if so, why?

Yes I do. I know someone who has both and loves her and her dh to be ill all the time. I think it also has to do with the fact they are claiming disability money so they “have “ to be ill .

Yes I know someone I think struggles with this. We have several (obvious) disabilities and illnesses and it took me a LONG time to realise her interest was in symptoms mirroring rather than support. It was a very confusing and painful experience as I thought it was friendship and some of it was.

Yes my mother has it and it has impacted all of our lives for many many years.

@Tuesdayschildisfairofface I’ve not checked but you remind me of another poster who had mild EDS who always goes on about the fact that she has it mildly means no one else could be severe. Mum friends daughter has it severely, she has all the things you listed as making people fake.
Do you really think in the U.K. she would have a feeding tube surgically made for shits and giggles? The doctors have to be sure they are doing the right thing.

You always seem to come on here and spout that you haven’t seen people in U.K. or clinics. We’ll if you’re mild you won’t be in hospital and someone with e PEG you won’t see and the sickest are at home or in other clinics for their specialty for that surgery they’ve had.
It’s great you are mildly affected but you spouting things like this is the reason my lovely friend god considered for FII, but her daughter is genuinely ill and has the surgeries you state weren’t needed. Perhaps you can write to her NHS consultants and ask why they did surgery with no medical evidence on this child?

Yes some people have a social media presence, I guess if you are disabled and dependent on family then having no career and life and having a following makes you feel like you have a purpose in life?

But please look outside your own box. Just because you haven’t seen in doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.