Munchausen's by Internet - Faking Illness Online

[jholden40]

Here's a link to a radio programme that was on Radio Four in the UK this morning.
I've also included an abstract of the documentary (below link).

BBC - BBC Radio 4 Programmes - Desperately Seeking Sympathy

Why would a perfectly healthy person pretend they had cancer? Or pretend that were pregnant with a foetus that could not survive long after birth? Munchausen's disorder has been known about for years but it's spread to the internet. People are constructing elaborate false identities, faking medical misfortunes and then posting online support forums. Few forums have escaped the imposters in what has become an epidemic of fakery.

In this programme Jolyon Jenkins speaks to those who have fallen victims of this kind of deception, as well as tracking down those who have perpetrated it. He learns how people who have genuinely suffered from medical misfortunes go online to offer help to other sufferers, only to find themselves taken for a ride by fakers. For some, learning that they have been getting into a deep and personal relationship with someone who turns out to be an emotional fraudster, is traumatic. Entire online communities sometimes feel devastated to learn that they have been harbouring an imposter.

The deception is often highly elaborate. "Munchausens by Internet" sufferers often invent multiple online personalities (known as "sock puppets"): to support each other husbands, boyfriends, relatives and friends who pop up to validate the main character. In one case, the Macmillan cancer forum was hoaxed by a teenage girl who posed as the mother of a young girl, "Charly", with terminal cancer. Members of the forum were gripped for months as the Charly's fortunes rose and fell. Eventually she lost her brave fight against cancer; forum members painted their nails pink in tribute to Charly's alleged last wishes and others wrote poetry in her memory. When it turned out that Charly was completely fictional, Macmillan forum members, many of whom had cancer themselves, were stunned. Some still refused to believe they had been corresponding with a teenager.

Imposters are not always detected but when they are they usually disappear without a word. Sometimes they reappear later under different names, but tracking down the real person behind the fake is virtually impossible. Why do they do it? Not for money. In interviews with two sufferers, Jolyon Jenkins hears of their desperate need for attention, their feelings of inadequacy in real life, and of loveless childhoods.

Other questions are raised by the phenomenon: why are people prepared to offer 24 hour support to characters who they don't know, and whose very existence they take on trust? And given the psychological damage done by perpetrators, shouldn't forum owners take more care to check that they are not providing a home for this new kind of online fraud?

[DreamOn]

@jholden40 -- Very interesting information and makes a lot of sense, but I'm not sure why you posted it. Surely you don't suspect that anybody here at PR would stoop so low as to do such a dastardly deed. I would be thoroughly shocked!

[sophie30]

Interesting, not that most of us aren't already aware

[IGoeOn]

Many years ago (late nineties) I was on several eating disorder boards and this type of thing was RAMPANT. There were persons claiming to be at dire weights, a couple of fake suicides, a couple of individuals "mothers" came on. . One time a person posted that she was going inpt to a place I was about to check in - she wasn't there.

It's crazy. But incredibly prevalent. Good post @jholden40. Even though we all know this goes on it is good to be reminded.

[TenaciousE]

Here is an example of a more complicated case of this. There was a "Dr. Nase" who posed as an expert on Rocasea. Rosacea is a difficult condition to treat and it is emotionally painful. Not only did he claim that he had a cure for rosacea, he also claimed to have suffered multiple serious diseases, including several bouts of cancer. And yes, he had several supporting cast of characters. He was a prolific contributor on many forums. Eventually, he was exposed as a lunatic.

Main Page - Debunking Dr. Geoffrey Nase

This is a good and interesting thread.

[jholden40]

@jholden40 -- Very interesting information and makes a lot of sense, but I'm not sure why you posted it. Surely you don't suspect that anybody here at PR would stoop so low as to do such a dastardly deed. I would be thoroughly shocked!

@DreamOn
I wouldn't be shocked at all

[Good Apollo]

@jholden40 like in Fight Club but on the Internet... Seems obvious, am sure we have some of that on our very own PR.

[numberthirteen]

@jholden40 -- Very interesting information and makes a lot of sense, but I'm not sure why you posted it.

Perhaps it struck a chord ?

Auto mitigation by internet proxy ?

Perhaps there's just a glitch in the Matrix ?

Tune in next week for the next episode of Soap [cue theme music]

[betsky]

@jholden40
I had encountered several parents who were eventually diagnosed
with "munchauser by proxy" when i worked in pediatrics.

These moms and one dad would bring their children in to the hospital complaining of a variety of symptoms, most of which were discovered false, therefore leading to the parent's diagnosis eventually.

It's the ones who would actually harm a child to "prove" they were sick that
REALLY got to me.

There was a case were the mom kept claiming her 3 y.o. would be short of breath, have asthma attacks etc..but no tests ever confirmed this. She brought the girl in and she was "blue" (skin color) her lips were purple and the mom was screaming how we should have listenened to her before. Of
course the girl was triaged to the front of the list, brought back to a respiratory room and everyone was ready , should she code, to do whatever it took to keep this child alive, as we did with every patient, but this girl had already been to the E.R. 12 times.
Within 20 minutes she "pinked up" and all her stats were wnr( within normal range) still a full workup ensued to find the underlying cause of her frequent but transient shortness of breath and the girl, tho 3 y.o., wouldnt't speak.

The team found yellow fabric in the girls front teeth, and several fibers in her
nose.
The mother had suffocated the child almost to death in the parking lot, this was discovered when C.P.S. and then the police were called in.
The yellow pillow was on the back seat, with the girls teeth marks on it.
Finally the mother confessed and the child was admitted to my floor for observation and cats scans , the scans discovered multiple healed fractures around the facial bones where the mother hit her to prevent speech and 11 older healed fractures, bruises etc..
The mother had also claimed previously her daughter was developmentally delayed and clumsy which was why she didn't walk or speek.

This was over twenty years ago and I STILL want to scream each time I remember it.

I ended up being given a 2 week suspension because after 3 days the child was discharged but into the mothers custody.
C.P.S. said they would "keep an eye on the situation" and the mother promised to attend a parenting course, so they gave her back this sweet angel.
I refused to. I just couldn't hand this baby over to such a person, and in so refusing, I was determined to be negligent in my duties and "disrespectful" to authority. oh well, I never regretted it then or now.

In person this disease is "almost" understandable(munchausers) but to pull
such elaborite sh** online, were you'll never really get physical support, a hug etc.. at least not other than "virtually" boggles my mind.

I guess I wonder, why bother?????
Betsky

[jholden40]

Perhaps it struck a chord ?

@numberthirteen
Well, it's given me a few ideas ...
@betsky
I suppose that for some individuals 'virtual' attention is all that's available. It's all very sad.

[Good Apollo]

@betsky don't know how y'all deal with that stuff. Takes a special type of person... Wife's best friend is a ER / cath lab nurse and it's in Oakland... Horror stories abound. I always thought the bad part of nursing would be inserting catheters or something... How perceptions change.

[numberthirteen]

Well, it's given me a few ideas ...

The prosecution gently rests its case.

[jholden40]

The prosecution gently rests its case.

@numberthirteen
Perry Mason by Proxy?

[UGAgal]

I was on a Board once (weightlifting and nutrtrition) and this woman talked about having a baby that died two days later.....things in her story never sat well and had lots of holes. Turns out it was a teenager doing the same as above. Playing and messing with emotions of others online. Man I Rememebr how upset I was when I read she lost her new baby bececause mine was only 4 months old at the time. Then to find it was a lie? Man I can't even tell you how bad angry and the emotions I felt because of it. I remember hugging my Madison over and over wondering why someone would pick a lie like that to mess with folks? I don't get people at times.

I understand on the Internet you can be who you want or share what you want or not wont since no one here really knows you. Sometimes that is good and sometimes it is sad. I have made great friends and seen some turn into bad things that I thought was a good friend to me. Reminds me you never really know who that person on the other end of the keyboard really is........

*This post was auto-merged. The following text was added 4 minutes after the last post:*

@jholden40
I had encountered several parents who were eventually diagnosed
with "munchauser by proxy" when i worked in pediatrics.

These moms and one dad would bring their children in to the hospital complaining of a variety of symptoms, most of which were discovered false, therefore leading to the parent's diagnosis eventually.

It's the ones who would actually harm a child to "prove" they were sick that
REALLY got to me.

There was a case were the mom kept claiming her 3 y.o. would be short of breath, have asthma attacks etc..but no tests ever confirmed this. She brought the girl in and she was "blue" (skin color) her lips were purple and the mom was screaming how we should have listenened to her before. Of
course the girl was triaged to the front of the list, brought back to a respiratory room and everyone was ready , should she code, to do whatever it took to keep this child alive, as we did with every patient, but this girl had already been to the E.R. 12 times.
Within 20 minutes she "pinked up" and all her stats were wnr( within normal range) still a full workup ensued to find the underlying cause of her frequent but transient shortness of breath and the girl, tho 3 y.o., wouldnt't speak.

The team found yellow fabric in the girls front teeth, and several fibers in her
nose.
The mother had suffocated the child almost to death in the parking lot, this was discovered when C.P.S. and then the police were called in.
The yellow pillow was on the back seat, with the girls teeth marks on it.
Finally the mother confessed and the child was admitted to my floor for observation and cats scans , the scans discovered multiple healed fractures around the facial bones where the mother hit her to prevent speech and 11 older healed fractures, bruises etc..
The mother had also claimed previously her daughter was developmentally delayed and clumsy which was why she didn't walk or speek.

This was over twenty years ago and I STILL want to scream each time I remember it.

I ended up being given a 2 week suspension because after 3 days the child was discharged but into the mothers custody.
C.P.S. said they would "keep an eye on the situation" and the mother promised to attend a parenting course, so they gave her back this sweet angel.
I refused to. I just couldn't hand this baby over to such a person, and in so refusing, I was determined to be negligent in my duties and "disrespectful" to authority. oh well, I never regretted it then or now.

In person this disease is "almost" understandable(munchausers) but to pull
such elaborite sh** online, were you'll never really get physical support, a hug etc.. at least not other than "virtually" boggles my mind.

I guess I wonder, why bother?????
Betsky

Oh my gosh this just made me throw up. What the **** is wrong with people? How could they do this!Mwhy would they do this? Oh my god.......l.

[numberthirteen]

@numberthirteen
Perry Mason by Proxy?

Rumpole dear boy, Rumpole.

[Roswell1947]

Perhaps it struck a chord ?

Auto mitigation by internet proxy ?

Perhaps there's just a glitch in the Matrix ?

Tune in next week for the next episode of Soap [cue theme music]

Number #1 comes to mind..

I like the new avatar BTW.
Who is it??

[H20shed65]

@jholden40

Great idea for a thread. I'd like to expand on it and share my experiences but tragically my cancerous, OCD, heart diseased brain tumor compounded with my sickle cell anemia & lupus has prevented me from doing so. My family members and friends, who will be joining PR over the next few days, may be better able to speak of my travails. Get well & sympathy wishes may be PM'd to my main PR user name....I mean @me.

[jholden40]

@Rowell10mg
Alfred Hitchcock

[Roswell1947]

@Rowell10mg
Alfred Hitchcock

Yes of course!
I was confused by the black bar on the left & the distortion
on his face to the right.
Jolly good show!

[IGoeOn]

@jholden40

Great idea for a thread. I'd like to expand on it and share my experiences but tragically my cancerous, OCD, heart diseased brain tumor compounded with my sickle cell anemia & lupus has prevented me from doing so. My family members and friends, who will be joining PR over the next few days, may be better able to speak of my travails. Get well & sympathy wishes may be PM'd to my main PR user name....I mean @me.

WELL PLAYED, FRIEND. Thanks for the giggle. I tried to top what you wrote but am lacking the skills after this very long Monday.

- wish I had gotten there first you clever biznitch.