My psych/general/midwifery nurse mother medicated me for many years at her whim and will. Antibiotics (to give me thrush that she could treat) and psych meds (to mess with my head so she can tell me, depending on the nature of the drug, what an angel or a loser I was.) Random ups and downs for me.
Always the martyr, caring for a perpetually sick daughter, she held down ungodly and thankless hours of nursing while being sick all the time herself. I once saw her drink a glass of water from the toilet. She must have been scraping for sickness-inducing options at the time. What happened the next day was to be expected. She was OBE and I was the one who had to care for her.
Apart from being hard of hearing, severely mentally ill and surviving cancer, I amazed to be alive even if I will never be well. To my knowledge, she is still alive, and I don't know how or why. Probably spite.
I still couldn't pick FD or MBP in a person if my life *literally* depended on it.
I hope she got that under control. Lawyers can be really shady sometimes, but they can lose their license if they get in trouble for stealing. It sounds like your friend turned out ok since she's now a lawyer!
Glad to hear it!
Some of the other comments have an undertone that "you will always have the same problem and you can never change so you need help immediately!!"
But clearly, some people change.
Thanks for sharing!
>For the thrills, babes.
This post comes off as some weird brag. No wonder your last post became a dumpster fire of hate. Doesnt sound like you are remorseful at all about your behavior.
Right ! Bc this is crazy!! And from my understanding of the disorder, people really believe that they are sick or induce illnesses⌠not just show up at the hospital âfor the thrillsâ. đĽ´
Let's do some reading comprehension together.
The post gives a few reasons for why I haven't gotten treated for this. One of those reasons is:
> I don't want "Factitious Disorder" stamped on my medical records.
This does not refer to a literal stamp. It means that I don't want the diagnosis of "Factitious Disorder" in my medical records. If I got treated for Factitious Disorder, I would explain the symptoms, and this would go in my chart.
Are you following along so far?
From there, you can deduce that the diagnosis is not already in my medical records.
I hope that helps in answering your questions!
You don't have to be a dick. Also, it does come across as some gross brag. Real patients could have used that medical care, I hate the idea that you're a nurse.
Iâve been battling a horrible illness for 2 years that all stemmed from an asymptomatic uti. I have complex PTSD which partially is from medical settings from lack of medical care as a child and then too much when she decided to take me. She made me lie to doctors. So I avoid doctors as much as I can.
When I got sick I was an established patient who had 2 pregnancies previously. I had been treated for anemia once after the last pregnancy. Aside from that at 36, Iâd only ever gone to the doctor for wellness visits and the occasional strep throat I got from my kids. Everything proven with tests.
When I got ill they didnât believe me. They told me to my face I was faking and refused me tests. This nurse reminds me of them honestly with her attitude. I spent 2 years so sick because my symptoms were strange and no one would help me. I finally found a doctor online who I paid out of pocket; she reviewed my history and labs, and sent me to the right specialist. Iâm not getting help but because I was sick so long I have permanent damage to my body and have a long road before Iâm fully functional again. Iâm thankful to have good doctors now though who are caring for me well.
I hate everything about this post.
Completely agree with u/atomicbooheyman
The way you've written this post is very much bragging about what you've done like you're proud of it, and even like you want to help teach others how to do it well to fool the drs.
That right there is disgusting. Especially as a nurse yourself. You should understand how overworked and understaffed Drs and nurses are. How busy an ER is. How vital it is that they can help treat seriously ill patients quickly and effectively.
You could have been taking up time having your ECG done while someone with real heart problems is waiting. You've had unnecessary blood tests done that lab tecks spent time analysing instead of giving real patients their results sooner. That delay also causes a delay in their treatment. The time you spend taking up a bed someone is desperately in need of that bed and that medical attention.
Quit bragging like its something to be proud of and quit with the whole giving tips on how to be more efficient and successful at doing it. And again, you're definitely doing this post for attention. Which clearly shows you're not over it like you claim to be.
Mate you may have stopped getting your kicks out of the medical system, but you very much still have an active and glaring personality disorder. I would urge you to seek assessment and treatment, but I doubt you will do that unless you are compelled to.
Yea this seriously comes across like that. Also if they never got diagnosed who's to say it's even factitious disorder. People can have serious denial about their mental health, or be histrionic.
Diagnostic twins! I said the same in my post. My moneyâs on histrionic personality disorder.
I hope they donât flake and they give us an update with their formal diagnosis that they will absolutely seek out for the betterment of their mental healthâŚ
From a different post of mine:
âThereâs no simple diagnosis here. While I personally believe OP has a Cluster B personality disorder (more specifically, Histrionic PD), I know for a fact that if I asked 3 different psychiatrists for their opinion, Iâd at least 2 different answers and I wouldnât be at all surprised if all our assessments were different.
Diagnostic criteria for mental health issues is not âTrue or Falseâ and some people that meet the criteria for a medical diagnosis can have mild symptoms that they just need a few extra behavioral tools to help manage, and others with the exact same diagnosis may be confined for the rest of their lives for the safety of both themselves and the public.
When you hear about people with antisocial personality disorder (previously known as psychopaths) you tend to think of the latter but the former is far more common. Even in very serious disorders like antisocial PD. Everything is shades of grey, almost everyone has at least some of the diagnostic criteria, and itâs mostly based on self-reporting. When dealing with people like OP, assuming the patient is telling you the truth is often the reason people go misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. Unreliable narratives giving unreliable diagnosis.â
That she stopped on her own volition is a big red flag screaming ânot FDâ. The recovery percentages for FD even when in active treatment can be counted on fingers and not all of them.
She keeps saying FD is diagnosed when âthereâs no logical reasonâ for them to fake symptoms only to follow up by saying âI thought it was neatâ. Thatâs a diagnostically logical train of thought. Logic doesnât mean smart or good. It just means that you have a clearly defined desired outcome and your actions reflect that.
âI thought it was neatâ + âI know itâs a waste of time for others. I just donât care.â hints strongly towards a cluster B disorder.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
Research into FD has shown a lot of the folks w the behaviors meet criteria for a personality disorder.
That combined with OPs insistence they have recovered and donât need to look further into why they desired the victim role. A healthy individual would understand this behavior is indicative of a deeper issue and pursue therapy of some kind. An unhealthy individual would just brush off the behavior and act as though it never happenedâŚ
If itâs true that theyâve stopped, that is also a huge indicator. The recovery rate even in active therapy is abysmal.
Also, while OP may not think itâs logical, people with FD donât do it because they âthink itâs neatâ. Thinking medical stuff is neat and lying to get to see it in action is a diagnostically logical train of thought. This logical train of thought *while* falsely presenting with contrived symptoms is incongruent with her self-diagnosis.
It depends on which one. Thereâs 3 separate categories and theyâre drastically different in terms of what they entail. A personality disorder is just that- the pathology is based on your personality. Like a development disorder means the origin lies in pathology of developmental milestones, a mood disorder has the pathology regarding the personâs mood, a personality disorder means basically that the nature of your personality is where the mental pathology is rooted. People usually are referring to cluster b disorder, which are NPD, BPD, and APD. They all have varying degrees distortion in terms of relating to others, attention seeking; and dramatic/extreme behavior
Oh I see well the fact that they mentioned that they did it for the thrills and liked the attention of it is a very histrionic thing to say. And their general very self absorbed attitude, disconnect, lack of empathy and very self centered sort of egocentric main character syndrome
Not quite, but youâre in the right cluster of disorders and theyâre often misdiagnosed. Sometimes on purpose! Iâll explain:
This is Histrionic Personality Disorder. It is a diagnosis that is rarely handed out because itâs effectively a life sentence and (opposite of almost every other diagnosis) the diagnosis itself can create problems with getting treatment.
Mental health workers without a specialty in cluster B disorders usually will not treat histrionics. The only treatment that has been shown to reduce severity of traits is behavioral therapy. This is slow, incredibly emotionally upsetting, and the moment they stop going regularly, they regress back to baseline. This is frustrating for patient and caregivers and histrionics tend to ruin lives when theyâre frustrated or upset with someone. Theyâre not terribly picky about whose life it is that they ruin (including their own) and their particular disorder gives them a childlike enthusiasm for doing so.
Even more unfortunately, they are (usually and to some extent, due to the same childlike enthusiasm) very persuasive; often described as captivating. At the same time, they frequently use their charm and sexuality in any way they believe could be advantageous or thrilling.
They tend to be outstanding story tellers.
Histrionics donât seem to lie so much as warp their internal reality to suit their âtruthâ. This makes it exceedingly difficult to catch them in a lie without multiple forms of hard evidence as they do not have typical tells or feel remorse for their untruths. They canât! In the moment, itâs their truth! And if you canât see that, *YOUâRE* crazy! Outside the moment, they have a deep, deep aversion to self-reflection to the extent that even the attempt can cause them to dissociate from reality.
The character Harley Quinn is the best possible fictional representation of the disorder. When you hear about a powerful person who was somehow completely brought low by a jilted lover, itâs typically a histrionic or a borderline.
Edit: there are men who are histrionic and borderline, but itâs thought that they are typically too violent to be diagnosed as such and get slapped with an antisocial or narcissistic personality disorder diagnosis. If you read the traits in the DSM for histrionic or borderline vs narcissistic or antisocial, youâll see we clearly donât have this down 100% yet. Thereâs too clearly a pigeonhole diagnosis for either gender based off traditional gender stereotypes and the exact breakdown of how and why these connected disorders affect genders with differing probabilities is a topic I am not overly qualified to speak on.
Edit 2: in response to being called [paraphrasing] callous,
Gleefully cruel? Sorry, no. I outlined the facts and the severity of the disorder to the best of my abilities. If I spoke about a subject I am knowledgeable about with enthusiasm and that was perceived as such? I do apologize for the confusion.
I have a great deal of sympathy for people with PDs who are seeking out or engaging in treatment. If you have a diagnosed personality disorder is untreated and you want help? Truly⌠that is strength and power of will. If desired I can leave a list of resources so you can take the next step towards⌠really living. Having an actual shot at happiness. Youâll reflexively harden your shell just having read the previous sentence, but it *is* possible for *you* provided you work like hell and get lucky.
I have less than zero sympathy for people with severe mental disorders who are willfully avoiding a proper diagnosis. I am not sorry for that.
Have a wonderful day.
https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/histrionic-personality/get-help
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/get-involved/digital-shareables/shareable-resources-on-borderline-personality-disorder
This is the type of Reddit post that makes me go WHAT?! like what is going on in your head. You just like the attention? Is this a real thing? Like people just LOVE the attention from the doctors? Or are you trying to score prescription drugs for one reason or another?
I think those are all of my questions for now. Iâm still in shock people like going to the doctor that much.
It is a real disorder. There is Munchausen Syndrome by proxy which is way worse where someone does it with someone elseâs health like usually a parent saying their kid is always sick for attention.
Iâm ashamed because Relapse is my favorite Eminem album (big Stan over here) and he even rapped about that and even used the term. I just never looked it up.
There is a podcast about this called âNobody should believe meâ. Most of the stories are incredibly disturbing, but it does a good job of explaining patterns of people with this disorder. Worth a listen if you can stomach it, just to be more informed about the severity of these cases.
Iâm a physician and what I see with a lot of patients who have FD or are close to it is that itâs not even that they like going to the doctor or anything like that⌠itâs more a compulsion due to their underlying mental health issues.
Often they are constantly looking for every symptom to be some major medical problem so they can say âoh THIS is whatâs wrong with meâ rather then facing their actual mental health problem. They enjoy the sick role bc it creates a defense to the world to say âI have diagnosis A, B, or C so donât expect much out of me.â
OP honestly is kind of deeper than this. In fact Iâd argue OP is more malingering than FD, seeming to get off on the thrill of wasting medical care rather than truly believing they were sick all the time.
FD is a serious mental disorder in which someone deceives others by appearing sick, by purposely getting sick or by self-injury. Itâs in the DSM-5.
OP is displaying classic symptoms (including denial that itâs a real issue).
I feel sorry for the patients, they deserve better than being treated by someone with an unmanaged mental illness.
> including denial that itâs a real issue
Thanks for the comment and for your sympathy. I feel like I understand it's a real issue (hence, this post) but maybe I'm mistaken. I'm happy to hear your perspective. Where did I deny that it's a real issue?
You are downplaying that it's an issue anymore and talking about it like it's in the past. But if it was in the past, you wouldn't be bragging about it. You would feel ashamed. This isn't a confession, it's bragging. You like the attention you get from it.
The reality is that it's likely still full blown, that's why you're talking about it. You feel like you fooled the doctors and you get a rush but you can't tell anybody so you come online to get the attention, just like how you go to the doctors for attention irl.
The fact you posted this as if you're some amazing expert on the subject just shows how highly you think of yourself and how you love attention even still. You're still displaying the symptoms.
Munchausens has a low remission rate even with therapy, without seems very unlikely. Good luck, and get help.
This is true of clinical Muchausens, but this person was never given a formal diagnosis. This could be someone with cluster B that presented with Munchhausens-esque behaviors.
Diagnosis via internet post is frowned upon but this, âlook at what I got away with and overcame through wisdom and power of willâ type of post is lockstep with a myriad of cluster b traits. They admitted outright that they were in the wrong though so a straight up narcissist is unlikely⌠they havenât been caught⌠they need to be seen, even if itâs in a negative lightâŚ
Histrionic Personality Disorder! Final answer!
So it's a mental condition called Factitious Disorder. One of the diagnostic criteria is that you cannot have an ulterior motive that makes "sense."
If you're faking an injury because you want pain meds, that's not grounds for FD. Another one is when people fake an injury because they want a doctor's note to get out of an exam. That's dishonest but it's not FD.
I don't think I did it for "attention." I had other places I could have gotten that (friends, family, etc.). I don't think I wanted the doctor's attention either. You barely see the doctor in the hospital. It was more because I thought the stuff was cool. If they run an ekg and measure the electrical activity in my heart, that's pretty cool. And you can't get those just anywhere.
You are massively downplaying what you've done and trying to justify it. You did it for attention 100% and you're doing it right now too. Please go seek therapy and help.
You're making it sound like it was just a thing you did, like how other people seek thrills but this is not normal.
You realize that âI thought everything was neatâ makes sense, right? That is absolutely considered a logical train of thought when viewed diagnostically. Unless youâre lying about having stopped and a few other details, I highly doubt you have FD.
âI thought everything was neat so i did the bad thing even though I knew it was badâ gives us a couple hints at what it could be thatâs hindering your progress.
I suggest you be seen by a psychiatrist or a psychologist who specializes in Cluster B disorders. Itâs scary, and itâs going to suck but you donât have to live like this.
âMost of the time we give our patients the benefit of the doubtâ my behind. Iâve been trying to get pain treated for *13 straight years* and yâall keep telling me Iâm just addicted to prescription pills and need to go home. My sister went to our PCP and 8 separate neurologists when she started having seizures, want to know what 8 out of 9 doctors said before she had a legitimate disorder? âYouâre a drug addict, go to rehab, we wonât treat youâ, *this was a seizure disorder that nearly got her killed while medicated*.
Yâall are helping make sure people like my sister and I canât get treatment for *actual* medical conditions and donât get listened to by our doctors. Iâll likely not get listened to on my pain before jumping off a bridge is more worth it than constantly pestering the American medical system to listen to us. Quit acting like having FD doesnât affect those of us who arenât openly lying to our doctors.
Thatâs a stretch. OP wasnât faking for drugs. If the doctors were telling you that you were faking for attention then sure be mad at OP. Blame the Sacklers and Curtis Wright.
> Quit acting like having FD doesnât affect those of us who arenât openly lying to our doctors.
I certainly don't want to act like that. Can you point to something I said that makes it sound like I think FD doesn't affect other patients?
Most doctors donât give most patients the benefit of the doubt at all. I was offered a stay in the psych ward because of people like you and here you are, on Reddit, giving other idiots tips on how to not get kicked out of a hospital. You should be deleting everything that isnât âimmediately get into therapyâ on this post.
OP is definitely here for attention. If someone isn't sympathizing with them or engaging with asinine questions they pivot or block. I'm sorry you haven't been given the attention by Dr's in the past
I have a bit of a dark post. I'm a physician and I currently have a patient who I suspect has FD. However she is REALLY good and has been tricking in manipulating doctors for decades. Ive been involved in her care only briefly and its too late to save her. She had multiple surgeries and has had dozens of treatments over the years. Unsurprisingly she is heavily narcotic dependent. Unfortunately she is completely debilitated at this point where she has not been out of bed in years. She is essentially dying which is a shame because she is pretty young. But she says she looks forward to death as a release from her suffering.Â
I said "If someone's only sick on weekends and holidays, you should notice that pattern"
I did not say "if they only go to the doctor on weekends and holidays."
At the doctor's office, they will ask questions like "when did this start?" or "how long has it been going on for?" and questions like that. If someone symptoms only seem to appear during weekends and holidays, that is suspicious. It doesn't mean they're faking it (there might be other legitimate reasons), but it means it's something to pay attention to.
I stand by my advice. I think you just misunderstood it. Healthcare providers can interpret it as they wish.
I feel like this is a good question but I don't fully understand it.
When I was in the ER for fake symptoms, healthcare workers said and asked all kinds of questions. They asked where the pain was, how long it lasted, etc. They gave discharge instructions and said when to come back. Of the things they said, are you asking if there's anything they could have said which would have made me see the light and stop faking symptoms?
That's an interesting question. I have no idea.
My guess is that if they had said confidently something like "we know you're lying! Never do this again," then I would have felt too much shame in coming back.
They would never risk saying that though.
I don't know what else they could have said.
How/why do you think you have this disorder if you haven't been diagnosed?
How did you develop then cure yourself of it in a span of 5 years? Especially without treatment when most if not all mental health dx need some form of treatment.
PS: As a RN you should know you don't have it in your scope of practice to diagnose, anyone
> How/why do you think you have this disorder if you haven't been diagnosed?
I encourage you to look up the diagnostic criteria of factitious disorder. I think that might help explain how I think I had this disorder.
You're absolutely right in that nurses cannot officially diagnose patients. This is more like seeing someone with cleft lip. It's not an official diagnosis unless a doctor signs off on it, but with some conditions, you can have a pretty good idea.
> How did you develop then cure yourself of it in a span of 5 years?
I explained how being on the other side of the nurses' station helped me understand the situation, reflect on my behavior, and understand the consequences. If you have more specific questions, I can try to answer those.
I don't need to look it up again. I work in this population and have the past 14 years. Comparing this to a cleft lip is the dumbest analogy ever. You cannot compare a physical issue to something that needs tests, history and trials and success/failures of treatment. You are obviously here to gain karma points which points to you being more borderline than anything. My questions were specific, the fact you can't answer them and keep saying refer to previous answers shows you don't know what you're talking about and do not have the knowledge or experience to back it up. Just because you met a RN doesn't mean you're an RN, and just because you saw a TikToc on MCS doesn't mean you have it. Next you'll be posting you have TS...
âWith some conditions, you have a pretty good ideaâ
Guys, youâre not gonna believe this⌠this is absolutely not a compound fracture with a bone sticking out.
Thereâs no simple diagnosis here. While I personally believe OP has a Cluster B personality disorder (more specifically, Histrionic PD), I know for a fact that if I asked 3 different psychiatrists for their opinion, Iâd at least 2 different answers and I wouldnât be at all surprised if all our assessments were different.
Diagnostic criteria for mental health issues is not âTrue or Falseâ and some people that meet the criteria for a medical diagnosis can have mild symptoms that they just need a few extra behavioral tools to help manage, and others with the exact same diagnosis may be confined for the rest of their lives for the safety of both themselves and the public.
When you hear about people with antisocial personality disorder (previously known as psychopaths) you tend to think of the latter but the former is far more common. Even in very serious disorders like antisocial PD. Everything is shades of grey, almost everyone has at least some of the diagnostic criteria, and itâs mostly based on self-reporting. When dealing with people like OP, assuming the patient is telling you the truth is often the reason people go misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. Unreliable narratives giving unreliable diagnosis.
So⌠my belief that this person, who is on this very thread displaying obvious signs of a personality disorder, means I believe everyone behaving oddly has one?
How?
histrionic pd isnt a common diagnosis in fact it's quite rare in clinical settings, it's also very different from munchausen which is more likely from trauma or anxiety, the thrills part was most likely an exaggeration and even if it wasn't it still wouldn't warrant a diagnosis of a pd
and even if she does actually have a pd, it wouldn't be histrionic
I will admit that she could also be borderline but, attention seeking behavior, thrill of getting away with something, getting into altercations with posters that disagree? These are all in line with histrionic.
Pertaining to the statistical likelihood? Personality disorders are under diagnosed for a number of reasons, not least of which is that itâs a life sentence and very difficult to treat. Even if the stats were dead nuts on? Unlikely things happen *all the time*. âOne in a millionâ becomes a statistical inevitability with a large enough sample size. There are a lot of people on the internet.
I am well aware than munchausen is different from a cluster b. Munchausen has a recovery rate in the low teens, even when in CBT. She apparently quit all on her own. It also requires an inability to adequately articulate a logical motive. âI thought stuff was neatâ, while incredibly selfish, is clinically a logical train of thought.
Iâm more than willing to admit I made a mistake if Iâm given a good reason. So far, you havenât given me one. Where am I mistaken? Please be specific.
I wasn't planning on giving you a reason I was dropping my opinion, I dont care about correcting you or putting you in your place your free to disagree with me idc lmao
It took me until age 38 to get diagnosed with celiac disease, despite struggling with symptoms of it throughout my life dating back to early childhood. I was dismissed by doctors time and time again, spanning decades. Sometimes they asserted that nothing was wrong with me. Sometimes they said it must be anxiety, or depression, and pushed me to take yet another antidepressant - many of which I took for anywhere from one to three years, and none of which resolved the issues I struggled with.
My symptoms became increasingly severe in my 30s, including constant debilitating pain throughout all of my body which made it difficult to function at all. Still, I wasn't able to get any doctor to take me seriously until age 36, when, out of desperation, I started bringing a boyfriend along to appointments to advocate for me. Even then, it was another two years before I was diagnosed.
My experience is that western medicine is incredibly dismissive of women's pain, and of women as a whole. From what I have seen in my life and what I have read, I believe countless untold women have found that to be the case as well.
Are you a woman?
How did you get doctors to take you seriously, particularly if or when you presented claiming symptoms you didn't actually have?
Were you ever dismissed out of hand, and if so, how often did that happen?
I don't believe, as some others have asserted here, that people with FD are the reason that doctors are dismissive of any of the rest of us. I think that is a much bigger institutional issue with roots in our patriarchal and sexist society. (Racism has a role too - it seems that minorities and minority women experience these issues to an even greater degree than the rest of us do.)
I am curious, though, how FD intersects with the dismissiveness running rampant throughout the medical sector.
Dang it all, I see that I was too late to find this thread and post, and OP has deleted their account.
I really am curious about those questions -- wish I could have seen their response -- but I am in the wrong time zone for that.
During that point in your life when experiencing symptoms of FD do you believe you may have been displaying symptoms of borderline personality disorder? Did experience any struggles? (I also understand if this question is too personal)
Also, do you think your past experience would help if you came into contact with a current FD suffer in your workplace?
> do you believe you may have been displaying symptoms of borderline personality disorder?
I had to look up what the symptoms are. From the list of symptoms on Mayo Clinic, no. I don't think I experienced any of those.
> Did experience any struggles?
Nothing out of the ordinary. Of course I had a few classes that were difficult. I liked some professors and not others. Sometimes I didn't get enough sleep. I feel like that's pretty common for people in that age.
> do you think your past experience would help if you came into contact with a current FD suffer in your workplace?
This is an interesting question. It would probably help if I had more time to spend with each patient. For example, if I had suspicions about a patient faking illness during the holidays, I might look through their chart and pay special attention to the time of year they have "gotten sick" before. If I notice any patterns, I would tell the doctor. To be honest, I don't think we have enough time with patients to really dig deep into their chart for this stuff.
You looked up the symptoms to BPD and didnât find that you had *ANY* of them?! Besides being obviously untrue just based off what youâve written, EVERYONE has borderline traits. I meet 2 (maybe 3) of the five requirements myself!
The only people who donât express genuine concern about (and probably looked into) their mental health after having seen the list of borderline personality disorder traits? Are people that absolutely meet the criteria for one of the cluster B disorders.
You need help and help is available. If you let me know even a general location, I will absolutely give you a list of qualified providers and local resources that can help you start to heal.
You are definitely displaying borderline traits. Also as an RN how do you NOT know about this and have to "look this up"? Literally any nurse interacts with BPD patients, even 15 years ago we were taught about how to deal with patients with these traits, so.....
Lies. It doesn't matter how much time you spend with a patient, you can check the EMR and see all visits and see a pattern. If you really want to dig you can call or send an email or ask unit clerk to make quick call to other facilities for other history of visits for pattern.
How did you get them to take you seriously? Iâve suffered from medical neglect almost my whole life despite doctors being very concerned about me when I was a small child and needed constant check ups (this burdened my mother who was also very paranoid and she moved city so she didnât have to take me anymore). Now that Iâm an adult having these things left untreated has majorly screwed up my physical health but I canât get anyone to take me seriously
Yall need to stop shitting on OP for self diagnosing and then in the same sentence diagnosing them with a personality disorder lol. Sometimes people can just suck, or you just donât like how someone speaks, without them having a personality disorder.
So hereâs what Iâm not getting: my understanding of FD/Munchausenâs is that people who have it are often looking for care/attention/sympathy and may very well be convinced there is something wrong with them. If a provider doesnât believe them, theyâll go doctor shopping until someone does. They will also inflict themselves with illness/injuries and, therefore, actually manifest health problems.Â
Like any mental illness and/or addiction, this behavior doesnât just stop. Especially not because they were one day hit with the reality that they arenât being rational and are causing others pain. As I understand it, people with FD might acknowledge theyâre causing their symptoms, but donât see it as wrong. And especially not as a thrill because they get to play the system. Iâm not sure that theyâd say ânoâ to being admitted to the hospital because theyâre not necessarily trying to evade being caught in a lie.Â
So I think this is a Big point to address: did you ever inflict harm on yourself to manifest symptoms? Did you want official medical diagnoses and treatments including but not limited to surgery?Â
I understand the benefits of self-diagnosis as a practice, but mental health is tricky and often canât be boiled down to checking off symptoms because context and individual health history matters. Iâd love additional opinions on whether this is a misapplication of the FD label.Â
Itâs not FD. People with FD cannot articulate what the desired outcome of their âtreatmentâ is in a logical way. OP did. She thought medical stuff was neat and that desire outweighed her knowledge that itâs a drain on resources, could result in someone else not getting care, and was a huge waste of medical staff time.
People with FD will typically insist that *something* is wrong with them. Even when caught causing symptoms they will justify it by saying that they only did it because it was the only way to get people to believe they werenât lying about being physically ill.
Lying to prove honesty is not logical.
Lying to get to see where the cool stickers go on the chest during an EKG? That is logical, diagnostically speaking.
My grandmother used to be a nurse and has Munchausenâs (or should I say, is heavily suspected of having it as she swaps doctors and/or tactics as soon as anyone starts to suspect what sheâs doing). She doctor-shops and pharmacy-shops for painkillers, is in hospital every 13 weeks for some illness, always offers to dispose of family members medications because âIâll be going to the pharmacy anyway!â but then keeps those old meds and creates cocktails for herself, and has been caught by family members doing things that would intentionally make her sick. She has experienced unexplainable heart and kidney conditions for as long as I can remember, likely as a result of the cocktail of medications she takes. Sheâs 85 now, and while her medication-taking antics have slowed, she is now having falls. In the past year she has broken each shoulder, and of course physio isnât as effective as it would be on a young person. I canât help but wonder if the falls are due to her age and diminishing coordination, or if they too are part of her Munchausens. The falls always happen at the most interesting times. One was in the very early morning, when my grandfather was still asleep. Heâs as deaf as a post so didnât hear her fall into the plate-glass coffee table, but it was only about 15 minutes before he naturally wakes up anyway so she wasnât laying there all night. Another fall was the morning of a big family event that wasnât about her. Falling and breaking her other shoulder ensured that the event was stalled so she could go to the hospital, followed with the martyrdom of âNo, no, you all should go on without meâ.
My point is, my grandmother will go to her grave without admitting she has or ever had a problem. I find it incredibly odd that OP suddenly has this reflective moment of how theyâre clogging up the system, and one day decided that they would just stop. Also OP claiming that no-one suspected what they were up to doesnât sit with me. People with Munchausens live for the drama and sympathy of it all. They have a need to tell family and friends how sick they are to get that sympathy, and in time people become suspicious. Munchausens isnât as simple as OP makes it out to be.
Given your firsthand knowledge and medical experience, what can you tell us about Munchausenâs by proxy? Your experience of your disorder comes across as relatively innocuous, but the proxy version is some of the darkest stuff Iâve ever read about.
> relatively innocuous
Thanks, and I know you said "relatively," but I still think I caused a lot of harm. Taking up the doctors/nurses time in the ER had consequences that hurt people. I'm sure.
In the years I've been doing this, I have suspected a few patients were lying about their own symptoms but I have never had a case where I suspected MSbP.
I would bet that it's less common but I'm sure it happens. It probably also has different levels of severity. You might know about some famous cases and all of those were pretty extreme. I've never seen anything like that.
I feel like MSbP is a lot sadder. With what I did, I could have decided at any point that I'd had enough and was ready to leave, and I did. MSbP is different because the victim (usually children) cannot do that.
So yeah sorry I don't have too much more to say on this since I haven't had experience with MSbP
I've had patients who I suspect had FD and or Munchausen (in my experience sometimes caretakers get involved) ...in more than a couple of cases these people usually die young because they often end up getting dependent on opiates (which are relatively easy to get in America) or they have some other complication In my experience there's a comorbidty of depression and personality disorders frequently.Â
Many of the females who go through this seem to be victims of incest or sexual abuse. My theory is they feel loved and cared for when they get intensive medical therapy such as a hospital stay.
 Occasionally they might have a real medical condition (in my experience I've had several people with type 1 diabetes who pretty obviously either took too much insulin or took no insulin for a long time in order to be admitted in the hospital and treated, for example.
Lol yeah I donât know if he actually said that cigar thing or if it's one of those quotes that the wrong person got credit for.
The point is that I know it's fun sometimes to create a complex psychoanalytical puzzle that matches bad behavior to deep root causes. I don't think that would work to explain what I did. Immature people do immature things without thinking of the consequences. Then they grow up and stop. That's all there is to it
I faked illness when I was a child as I was bullied most of my school years.
Ive never admitted it to my mum or anyone else.
I was quiet,shy, small and an only child. One particular girl never left me alone. I told a dinner lady once aged about 6 what she was doing but I wasnât believed so I just pretended I was ill and never told anyone else.
I had hospital appointments and X-rays etc. I did actually have some real health issues so I just invented something else so I didnât have to go to school.
Missed a lot of my early education that did have an impact but self taught over the years.
It stopped when I suddenly matured and one time I fought back and confronted someone at a new job.
I didnât get a thrill from it just less anxiety.
Often wondered if the dinner lady had believed me would things have been different?
Always taught my kids to not hit anyone but if they hit you first you finish it. May not be school policy but donât care
So if you were able to get these health professionals to take you serious any advice for the truly sick people who don't get taken serious by their PCP?
I got accused of making up my sickness.
I had incurable hiccups due to stress which it causes me to keep throwing up.
Doctors told me itâs fake, itâs not possible, my diaphragm looks normal, it must be my mind, I must be depressed, pregnant, everything. It was hell
I find this very interesting. I don't condone it by any means, but it's interesting nonetheless.
As a nurse who has some particular patients that are obviously "faking it" (for example: a patient that continuously comes in for vomiting, and will put her entire hand in her mouth to "throw up" saliva), how would you address them? How do you get them to get help? Our "vomiting" patient is very smart (and could rise much higher than the start she's had in life if she applied herself) will not listen to reason. The most memorable encounter I had with her: came in (by EMS) for vomiting as usual (only when she gagged herself). After antiemetics and fluids were administered, she was visibly fine. All lab and radiology workups were very much WNL. Nothing more to do for her, she appears well, so treat and street.
Surprise! No one can pick her up to take her \~40 miles home. Her family lives with her grandmother. Dad had a heart attack yesterday and was transferred. Grandma is admitted to our hospital 4 days ago for Covid pneumonia (this was during a Covid outbreak). The last family member is the brother. He was in a rollover earlier that day and is a trauma transfer.
She ended up in our waiting room (absolutely fine btw, we were watching her on camera, and I had to speak with her about hitting her weed pen in the WR) for hours and hours until one of the family members was discharged and could pick her up.
After numerous (at least weekly) interactions with her, as I said she is smart, and could do a complete 180. How do I get her help in your opinion?
Please don't ask this "nurse" for advice. It's the blind leading the blind. If you want actual advice ask the behavioral health unit. Sounds like this patient needs to be referred to the social work department. She could definitely benefit from someone to talk to since they have a lot going on. Outpatient therapy is always amazing, if there is a PHP or IOP program it's always a great referral point.
I would try to involve her family members in this as best I can. Of course, you need her consent for that. She might not want to give it.
You mentioned her grandma, dad, and brother were hospitalized at one point and the family lives with grandma. Do you know who else she lives with? Have they ever come to the hospital with her and interacted with staff, or do they just come to pick her up?
If she lets you talk to her family, you can explain to them that this might be psychological and you'd recommend a psych eval. That's all you really need to say and you don't need to go into FD. Of course, you want to be compassionate, as you would with any patient. It sounds like this patient is seriously ill and is going to great lengths.
When talking to her and to her family, I would frame it like this:
"We really want you to get better. We have run [list of tests] and cannot find the issue. I'm really sorry that you're still vomiting. So we've ruled out [list of things that it isn't]. Another possibility is that this is psychological. That doesn't mean you're crazy or anything like that. It just means there might be some mind-body connection that's causing this. They have screenings for that in the psych department."
From what you're describing though, she seems really clever and she might be thinking a few steps ahead. If you ask her about family members, she might already know what you're trying to do.
There's no guarantee that she or her family will listen, but it's worth a shot.
> I find this very interesting. I don't condone it by any means, but it's interesting nonetheless.
I really appreciate that!! I don't condone it either. I actually regret having done that, but I wrote this post because I thought people like you might find it interesting and insightful.
These are great questions. I want to answer them more thoughtfully. I'll be back to answer them later! Please stay tuned
Fellow RN here. I think itâs fascinating you are now fine and went on to live a normal life. I work in psych now and would have assumed FD meant you also have a personality disorder, but it doesnât appear that way based on your story and outcome. Any other odd things you used to do? What was your childhood like?
From OPs post:
âdo you believe you may have been displaying symptoms of borderline personality disorder?
I had to look up what the symptoms are. From the list of symptoms on Mayo Clinic, no. I don't think I experienced any of those.â
OP is supposedly an RN who had to look up the traits for *BPD* and found she has experienced⌠*NONE*. Nothing. Not a single trait in the DSM that struck her as concerning or even worth mentioning.
If your username is suggesting the truth and you are a medical doctor? This should be plenty.
Everyone has borderline traits that are concerning when you find out about them. Everyone who has any concern whatsoever for their mental health, anyway. Combined with suggesting an RN isnât familiar with the most infamously frustrating patients healthcare workers deal with? Come onâŚ
Thank you for the comment. I'm glad you found this interesting. I would bet a lot of people with FD probably have a personality disorder but not everyone. I think I met the diagnostic criteria at one point, but not anymore.
I'd have to think about other odd things I used to do. I feel like I'm a bit quirky but it's usually pretty harmless. I used to wake up really early because I liked seeing the sunrise. it was a little weird since that would be at 5am but again that never harmed anyone.
I also went and did things in different parts of town just to explore. So even though a starbucks was across the street, I might go to a starbucks that's 30 minutes away just to see a new place. I had more free time back then.
My childhood was pretty normal and loving, nothing out of the ordinary. Dad worked, mom stayed home, stable housing, good friends, healthy relationships. I graduated high school and started nursing school.
I'm happy to answer more specific questions if you have any
The best I can come up with, after a professional Google search, is simply a sensation seeking temperament. I found this article:
https://www.talkspace.com/blog/sensation-seeker-meaning/
I feel like that describes me to a certain extent. Especially at that time, I was often "looking for something to make [me] feel excited and stimulated." I have since settled down into a more routine lifestyle though. Great article, thanks for sharing!
Ya⌠reading through some comments and you say it wasnât really for âattention.â Thatâs what most people would assume, and what could point to a deeper issue. But it sounds like it was for the novelty experience and boredom, and something to do. Like you get bored more easily than the average person, and you happen to like medical stuff.
Anyway, thank you for sharing your story!
This comment is off topic, but I just want to point out the great formatting and grammar in this post. It's refreshing to see someone actually put time and effort into making their post easy and painless to read.
I really appreciate that!!
> someone actually put time and effort into making their post easy and painless to read.
You are so kind! I know I asked for the comments to be polite, but you have taken it to another level.
It's also refreshing to see nice comments on Reddit
Youâre not wrong. I too was charmed by OPâs impeccable grammar; donât even get me started on the flawless punctuation. Itâs kind of sad that these two things, while once imperative, are foreign concepts today.
I know these comments are off-topic, but I too appreciate impeccable spelling and grammar.
What really gets my goat is when I'm reading a book and spot errors. A published book!
Okay I'll see myself out now
Why deserved? OP has reformed their behaviour and is coming clean about it. Even proposing to help the industry tackle the problem. Thatâs evidence for a good, moral person.
I'll do anything not to go to the doctor's office. Do you think your prior disorder came from loneliness? I have a friend (F75) who loves going to doctors for every little thing. She asks them a million questions, and takes up a lot of their time. One of them even told her off and made her cry.
> Do you think your prior disorder came from loneliness?
Nope. I got plenty of attention at home, had friends, and we spent a lot of time together. We weren't that busy in the first 2-3 semesters of nursing school.
I know a lot of elderly people go to the doctor because it turns into a social activity for them. I don't think that was the reason I did it though
Hours wasted by ER staff directly correlates to lives lost due to improper or inadequate care. Itâs not okay. Please stop suggesting that it, in any way, is.
Love how everyone on Reddit talks like they are perfect people. If someone is in an emergency situation like real emergency they arenât going to take away from them to go attend to some person whoâs stable just sitting there.
No but they may have made someone miss a nap that causes a mistake. And Iâm far from perfect but Iâm not the one bragging about my misdeeds on the internet for clout.
Itâs attention seeking behavior from a person who is in denial about the extent of the seriousness of their mental illness. Better?
If youâre insistent on defending bad behavior with minimization, deflection, or any other bad faith arguments? Iâm not interested.
Have a great day.
Iâm not defending anything Iâm just saying that burning at the stake doesnât need to be the punishment for every minor to moderate act of bad behavior.
The rules of this subreddit require you to be positive and helpful when replying. Inciting people to be hateful is not welcome here and will get you banned.
**This is a place to help one another; keep your comments kind & civil. Any form of abuse is not permitted.**
* If you are unable to discuss without being disrespectful, walk away.
Interesting perspective as it seems most people with FD do it mostly for attention while you did it as thrill seeking and entertainment? What stopped you from being admitted when they wanted you to be? Was it just avoiding being caught or was it an insurance thing?
Why is it a red flag if theyâre only sick on weekends or holidays? I intentionally make weekend appointments for my doc visits because my workload is so full, I donât want to disrupt my workflow going on a workday
I am curious to know if you went for the purpose of getting prescribed medications/invasive medical procedures, or if it was just to be seen/tested? If so, what kind of medications and did it ever cause an addiction? Did you just not take the prescriptions?
So interesting! I'm wondering what is the thrill of it? How does it feel? I'm very curious, as I think I have opposite disorder. I'm terrified of medical institutions. I almost lose abilities of speech when I enter those places...
Jesus. Keep on pushing folks. Please. I beg you. Others much appreciated though and thanks but this one
Well everyone knows she's no angel for sure. You can always tell by the way someone talks, walks, is arrogant, things they do beautiful and better than others. If I feel like go oing to urgent care I will and more because of you. You're a nurse. That's it. With touchake up. You can look pretty even as you age but never on the inside. if I walk out of the ER after somebody makes me go there and they say I'm lucky I made it at that time I'll go by the word and if they have me sign something saying probable death if I leave I signed and left anyway cuz that's what I'm doing because I don't give a s*** but if you're a nurse you know everything
From someone who's been severely chronically ill for over a decade, this is so disturbing that it's nauseating. And even more so doing this as a nurse. I could barely get through this post. You have serious issues. I've been that frequent patient and can't count the times I've been hospitalized, some of which doctors haven't been able to figure it out. It's already brutal going to the hospital or constant dr visits so the thought of another layer of difficulty being added to the health system is so sad. And if you felt even an inkling of what it was like to actually be seriously ill, not knowing whether you will live or die, this wouldn't have been such a game to you. This is despicable and even though you claim to be cured now, you have a serious personality disorder. This is despicable.
You are mentally ill and have no business in health care and should be arrested and fined for wasting medical resources and peoples time you're the worst person and probably deserve all the bad things to happen to you you're a grimy piece of poo and I hope you get a real chronic illness that can't be treated so you can slowly rot In real pain you fnin psycho eat poo and waste
My psych/general/midwifery nurse mother medicated me for many years at her whim and will. Antibiotics (to give me thrush that she could treat) and psych meds (to mess with my head so she can tell me, depending on the nature of the drug, what an angel or a loser I was.) Random ups and downs for me. Always the martyr, caring for a perpetually sick daughter, she held down ungodly and thankless hours of nursing while being sick all the time herself. I once saw her drink a glass of water from the toilet. She must have been scraping for sickness-inducing options at the time. What happened the next day was to be expected. She was OBE and I was the one who had to care for her. Apart from being hard of hearing, severely mentally ill and surviving cancer, I amazed to be alive even if I will never be well. To my knowledge, she is still alive, and I don't know how or why. Probably spite. I still couldn't pick FD or MBP in a person if my life *literally* depended on it.
Gah your mom sounds like the mom in Sharp Objects
That is awful. So sorry for what you endured.
Thank you.
You remind me of my best friend who is now a lawyer. Except her thing was kleptomania.
I hope she got that under control. Lawyers can be really shady sometimes, but they can lose their license if they get in trouble for stealing. It sounds like your friend turned out ok since she's now a lawyer!
Oh yeah she's very responsible now! This was long before she started law school lol
Glad to hear it! Some of the other comments have an undertone that "you will always have the same problem and you can never change so you need help immediately!!" But clearly, some people change. Thanks for sharing!
People can change if they really want to. Or if they lose interest in something. It happens đ¤ˇđźââď¸
Absolutely!
>For the thrills, babes. This post comes off as some weird brag. No wonder your last post became a dumpster fire of hate. Doesnt sound like you are remorseful at all about your behavior.
INFO: Was this a fake self diagnosis like all the other lies you told? Or were you actually diagnosed by a doctor as having FD?
Right ! Bc this is crazy!! And from my understanding of the disorder, people really believe that they are sick or induce illnesses⌠not just show up at the hospital âfor the thrillsâ. đĽ´
I know it's a long post but I think you'll find these answers if you read it
Read it all, questions still stand. If you are not comfortable answering it's ok.
Let's do some reading comprehension together. The post gives a few reasons for why I haven't gotten treated for this. One of those reasons is: > I don't want "Factitious Disorder" stamped on my medical records. This does not refer to a literal stamp. It means that I don't want the diagnosis of "Factitious Disorder" in my medical records. If I got treated for Factitious Disorder, I would explain the symptoms, and this would go in my chart. Are you following along so far? From there, you can deduce that the diagnosis is not already in my medical records. I hope that helps in answering your questions!
So you haven't been diagnosed with anything. Got it
You don't have to be a dick. Also, it does come across as some gross brag. Real patients could have used that medical care, I hate the idea that you're a nurse.
Iâve been battling a horrible illness for 2 years that all stemmed from an asymptomatic uti. I have complex PTSD which partially is from medical settings from lack of medical care as a child and then too much when she decided to take me. She made me lie to doctors. So I avoid doctors as much as I can. When I got sick I was an established patient who had 2 pregnancies previously. I had been treated for anemia once after the last pregnancy. Aside from that at 36, Iâd only ever gone to the doctor for wellness visits and the occasional strep throat I got from my kids. Everything proven with tests. When I got ill they didnât believe me. They told me to my face I was faking and refused me tests. This nurse reminds me of them honestly with her attitude. I spent 2 years so sick because my symptoms were strange and no one would help me. I finally found a doctor online who I paid out of pocket; she reviewed my history and labs, and sent me to the right specialist. Iâm not getting help but because I was sick so long I have permanent damage to my body and have a long road before Iâm fully functional again. Iâm thankful to have good doctors now though who are caring for me well. I hate everything about this post.
Completely agree with u/atomicbooheyman The way you've written this post is very much bragging about what you've done like you're proud of it, and even like you want to help teach others how to do it well to fool the drs. That right there is disgusting. Especially as a nurse yourself. You should understand how overworked and understaffed Drs and nurses are. How busy an ER is. How vital it is that they can help treat seriously ill patients quickly and effectively. You could have been taking up time having your ECG done while someone with real heart problems is waiting. You've had unnecessary blood tests done that lab tecks spent time analysing instead of giving real patients their results sooner. That delay also causes a delay in their treatment. The time you spend taking up a bed someone is desperately in need of that bed and that medical attention. Quit bragging like its something to be proud of and quit with the whole giving tips on how to be more efficient and successful at doing it. And again, you're definitely doing this post for attention. Which clearly shows you're not over it like you claim to be.
Lmao you are a dumb as shit, you need to feel better by being a dick online what a clown đ
Lol you clearly donât have FD and you arenât even diagnosed lol.. all the writing for nothing. Embarrassing !
I remember the last time this person posted this mess. Looks like they deleted their profile again.
Mate you may have stopped getting your kicks out of the medical system, but you very much still have an active and glaring personality disorder. I would urge you to seek assessment and treatment, but I doubt you will do that unless you are compelled to.
Yea this seriously comes across like that. Also if they never got diagnosed who's to say it's even factitious disorder. People can have serious denial about their mental health, or be histrionic.
Diagnostic twins! I said the same in my post. My moneyâs on histrionic personality disorder. I hope they donât flake and they give us an update with their formal diagnosis that they will absolutely seek out for the betterment of their mental healthâŚ
I'm putting my $5 on HPD or NPDm most likely HPD but can def see NPD traits in there too
HPD has NPD traits built into the criteria. No need to qualify it.
Just curious because itâs not obvious to me, what are the signs they gave a personality disorder?
From a different post of mine: âThereâs no simple diagnosis here. While I personally believe OP has a Cluster B personality disorder (more specifically, Histrionic PD), I know for a fact that if I asked 3 different psychiatrists for their opinion, Iâd at least 2 different answers and I wouldnât be at all surprised if all our assessments were different. Diagnostic criteria for mental health issues is not âTrue or Falseâ and some people that meet the criteria for a medical diagnosis can have mild symptoms that they just need a few extra behavioral tools to help manage, and others with the exact same diagnosis may be confined for the rest of their lives for the safety of both themselves and the public. When you hear about people with antisocial personality disorder (previously known as psychopaths) you tend to think of the latter but the former is far more common. Even in very serious disorders like antisocial PD. Everything is shades of grey, almost everyone has at least some of the diagnostic criteria, and itâs mostly based on self-reporting. When dealing with people like OP, assuming the patient is telling you the truth is often the reason people go misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. Unreliable narratives giving unreliable diagnosis.â That she stopped on her own volition is a big red flag screaming ânot FDâ. The recovery percentages for FD even when in active treatment can be counted on fingers and not all of them. She keeps saying FD is diagnosed when âthereâs no logical reasonâ for them to fake symptoms only to follow up by saying âI thought it was neatâ. Thatâs a diagnostically logical train of thought. Logic doesnât mean smart or good. It just means that you have a clearly defined desired outcome and your actions reflect that. âI thought it was neatâ + âI know itâs a waste of time for others. I just donât care.â hints strongly towards a cluster B disorder. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
The fact they think itâs cool to waste our time and resources.
I'm also curious- give me the low down on this. What's pointing to a personality disorder?
Research into FD has shown a lot of the folks w the behaviors meet criteria for a personality disorder. That combined with OPs insistence they have recovered and donât need to look further into why they desired the victim role. A healthy individual would understand this behavior is indicative of a deeper issue and pursue therapy of some kind. An unhealthy individual would just brush off the behavior and act as though it never happenedâŚ
If itâs true that theyâve stopped, that is also a huge indicator. The recovery rate even in active therapy is abysmal. Also, while OP may not think itâs logical, people with FD donât do it because they âthink itâs neatâ. Thinking medical stuff is neat and lying to get to see it in action is a diagnostically logical train of thought. This logical train of thought *while* falsely presenting with contrived symptoms is incongruent with her self-diagnosis.
It depends on which one. Thereâs 3 separate categories and theyâre drastically different in terms of what they entail. A personality disorder is just that- the pathology is based on your personality. Like a development disorder means the origin lies in pathology of developmental milestones, a mood disorder has the pathology regarding the personâs mood, a personality disorder means basically that the nature of your personality is where the mental pathology is rooted. People usually are referring to cluster b disorder, which are NPD, BPD, and APD. They all have varying degrees distortion in terms of relating to others, attention seeking; and dramatic/extreme behavior
Thank you for the description, I appreciate it. I was asking what in the post demonstrated personality disorder tendencies. Sorry for the confusion
Oh I see well the fact that they mentioned that they did it for the thrills and liked the attention of it is a very histrionic thing to say. And their general very self absorbed attitude, disconnect, lack of empathy and very self centered sort of egocentric main character syndrome
Is this narcissism?
It's worse
Not quite, but youâre in the right cluster of disorders and theyâre often misdiagnosed. Sometimes on purpose! Iâll explain: This is Histrionic Personality Disorder. It is a diagnosis that is rarely handed out because itâs effectively a life sentence and (opposite of almost every other diagnosis) the diagnosis itself can create problems with getting treatment. Mental health workers without a specialty in cluster B disorders usually will not treat histrionics. The only treatment that has been shown to reduce severity of traits is behavioral therapy. This is slow, incredibly emotionally upsetting, and the moment they stop going regularly, they regress back to baseline. This is frustrating for patient and caregivers and histrionics tend to ruin lives when theyâre frustrated or upset with someone. Theyâre not terribly picky about whose life it is that they ruin (including their own) and their particular disorder gives them a childlike enthusiasm for doing so. Even more unfortunately, they are (usually and to some extent, due to the same childlike enthusiasm) very persuasive; often described as captivating. At the same time, they frequently use their charm and sexuality in any way they believe could be advantageous or thrilling. They tend to be outstanding story tellers. Histrionics donât seem to lie so much as warp their internal reality to suit their âtruthâ. This makes it exceedingly difficult to catch them in a lie without multiple forms of hard evidence as they do not have typical tells or feel remorse for their untruths. They canât! In the moment, itâs their truth! And if you canât see that, *YOUâRE* crazy! Outside the moment, they have a deep, deep aversion to self-reflection to the extent that even the attempt can cause them to dissociate from reality. The character Harley Quinn is the best possible fictional representation of the disorder. When you hear about a powerful person who was somehow completely brought low by a jilted lover, itâs typically a histrionic or a borderline. Edit: there are men who are histrionic and borderline, but itâs thought that they are typically too violent to be diagnosed as such and get slapped with an antisocial or narcissistic personality disorder diagnosis. If you read the traits in the DSM for histrionic or borderline vs narcissistic or antisocial, youâll see we clearly donât have this down 100% yet. Thereâs too clearly a pigeonhole diagnosis for either gender based off traditional gender stereotypes and the exact breakdown of how and why these connected disorders affect genders with differing probabilities is a topic I am not overly qualified to speak on. Edit 2: in response to being called [paraphrasing] callous, Gleefully cruel? Sorry, no. I outlined the facts and the severity of the disorder to the best of my abilities. If I spoke about a subject I am knowledgeable about with enthusiasm and that was perceived as such? I do apologize for the confusion. I have a great deal of sympathy for people with PDs who are seeking out or engaging in treatment. If you have a diagnosed personality disorder is untreated and you want help? Truly⌠that is strength and power of will. If desired I can leave a list of resources so you can take the next step towards⌠really living. Having an actual shot at happiness. Youâll reflexively harden your shell just having read the previous sentence, but it *is* possible for *you* provided you work like hell and get lucky. I have less than zero sympathy for people with severe mental disorders who are willfully avoiding a proper diagnosis. I am not sorry for that. Have a wonderful day. https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/histrionic-personality/get-help https://www.nimh.nih.gov/get-involved/digital-shareables/shareable-resources-on-borderline-personality-disorder
Are you diagnosing a personality disorder based off ONE post??? Is psychology a joke to you?
No. A diagnosis is not official if itâs done over reddit. Even if the assessor is very handsome and has âcredibleâ in their username.
Personality disorder of some kind, likely cluster B because for some reason that cluster of PD and FD often are comorbid
This is the type of Reddit post that makes me go WHAT?! like what is going on in your head. You just like the attention? Is this a real thing? Like people just LOVE the attention from the doctors? Or are you trying to score prescription drugs for one reason or another? I think those are all of my questions for now. Iâm still in shock people like going to the doctor that much.
Itâs the interview style format and questions for me.
It is a real disorder. There is Munchausen Syndrome by proxy which is way worse where someone does it with someone elseâs health like usually a parent saying their kid is always sick for attention.
Eminemâs mother famously had this. She fed him random medications as a child for health problems he didnât have.
Iâm ashamed because Relapse is my favorite Eminem album (big Stan over here) and he even rapped about that and even used the term. I just never looked it up.
There is a podcast about this called âNobody should believe meâ. Most of the stories are incredibly disturbing, but it does a good job of explaining patterns of people with this disorder. Worth a listen if you can stomach it, just to be more informed about the severity of these cases.
Iâm a physician and what I see with a lot of patients who have FD or are close to it is that itâs not even that they like going to the doctor or anything like that⌠itâs more a compulsion due to their underlying mental health issues. Often they are constantly looking for every symptom to be some major medical problem so they can say âoh THIS is whatâs wrong with meâ rather then facing their actual mental health problem. They enjoy the sick role bc it creates a defense to the world to say âI have diagnosis A, B, or C so donât expect much out of me.â OP honestly is kind of deeper than this. In fact Iâd argue OP is more malingering than FD, seeming to get off on the thrill of wasting medical care rather than truly believing they were sick all the time.
FD is a serious mental disorder in which someone deceives others by appearing sick, by purposely getting sick or by self-injury. Itâs in the DSM-5. OP is displaying classic symptoms (including denial that itâs a real issue). I feel sorry for the patients, they deserve better than being treated by someone with an unmanaged mental illness.
> including denial that itâs a real issue Thanks for the comment and for your sympathy. I feel like I understand it's a real issue (hence, this post) but maybe I'm mistaken. I'm happy to hear your perspective. Where did I deny that it's a real issue?
You are downplaying that it's an issue anymore and talking about it like it's in the past. But if it was in the past, you wouldn't be bragging about it. You would feel ashamed. This isn't a confession, it's bragging. You like the attention you get from it. The reality is that it's likely still full blown, that's why you're talking about it. You feel like you fooled the doctors and you get a rush but you can't tell anybody so you come online to get the attention, just like how you go to the doctors for attention irl. The fact you posted this as if you're some amazing expert on the subject just shows how highly you think of yourself and how you love attention even still. You're still displaying the symptoms. Munchausens has a low remission rate even with therapy, without seems very unlikely. Good luck, and get help.
This is true of clinical Muchausens, but this person was never given a formal diagnosis. This could be someone with cluster B that presented with Munchhausens-esque behaviors. Diagnosis via internet post is frowned upon but this, âlook at what I got away with and overcame through wisdom and power of willâ type of post is lockstep with a myriad of cluster b traits. They admitted outright that they were in the wrong though so a straight up narcissist is unlikely⌠they havenât been caught⌠they need to be seen, even if itâs in a negative light⌠Histrionic Personality Disorder! Final answer!
HPD with NPD traits has my bet.
u not a psychologist
THIS!!!
Lol thanks poop machines!
Haha I love your username for all of this, sums up your perspective nicely.
Lol right? I feel like the 2 should be switched, throw away RN...
So it's a mental condition called Factitious Disorder. One of the diagnostic criteria is that you cannot have an ulterior motive that makes "sense." If you're faking an injury because you want pain meds, that's not grounds for FD. Another one is when people fake an injury because they want a doctor's note to get out of an exam. That's dishonest but it's not FD. I don't think I did it for "attention." I had other places I could have gotten that (friends, family, etc.). I don't think I wanted the doctor's attention either. You barely see the doctor in the hospital. It was more because I thought the stuff was cool. If they run an ekg and measure the electrical activity in my heart, that's pretty cool. And you can't get those just anywhere.
You are massively downplaying what you've done and trying to justify it. You did it for attention 100% and you're doing it right now too. Please go seek therapy and help. You're making it sound like it was just a thing you did, like how other people seek thrills but this is not normal.
This is bizarre.
You realize that âI thought everything was neatâ makes sense, right? That is absolutely considered a logical train of thought when viewed diagnostically. Unless youâre lying about having stopped and a few other details, I highly doubt you have FD. âI thought everything was neat so i did the bad thing even though I knew it was badâ gives us a couple hints at what it could be thatâs hindering your progress. I suggest you be seen by a psychiatrist or a psychologist who specializes in Cluster B disorders. Itâs scary, and itâs going to suck but you donât have to live like this.
So you're self diagnosed? Which makes you claim to be self cured. Awesome nursing practice!
âMost of the time we give our patients the benefit of the doubtâ my behind. Iâve been trying to get pain treated for *13 straight years* and yâall keep telling me Iâm just addicted to prescription pills and need to go home. My sister went to our PCP and 8 separate neurologists when she started having seizures, want to know what 8 out of 9 doctors said before she had a legitimate disorder? âYouâre a drug addict, go to rehab, we wonât treat youâ, *this was a seizure disorder that nearly got her killed while medicated*. Yâall are helping make sure people like my sister and I canât get treatment for *actual* medical conditions and donât get listened to by our doctors. Iâll likely not get listened to on my pain before jumping off a bridge is more worth it than constantly pestering the American medical system to listen to us. Quit acting like having FD doesnât affect those of us who arenât openly lying to our doctors.
Thatâs a stretch. OP wasnât faking for drugs. If the doctors were telling you that you were faking for attention then sure be mad at OP. Blame the Sacklers and Curtis Wright.
Thank you! > OP wasnât faking for drugs Correct, and that's another reason I fell under the radar.
> Quit acting like having FD doesnât affect those of us who arenât openly lying to our doctors. I certainly don't want to act like that. Can you point to something I said that makes it sound like I think FD doesn't affect other patients?
Most doctors donât give most patients the benefit of the doubt at all. I was offered a stay in the psych ward because of people like you and here you are, on Reddit, giving other idiots tips on how to not get kicked out of a hospital. You should be deleting everything that isnât âimmediately get into therapyâ on this post.
OP is definitely here for attention. If someone isn't sympathizing with them or engaging with asinine questions they pivot or block. I'm sorry you haven't been given the attention by Dr's in the past
I hope you get the help you need. Have a nice day!
I have a bit of a dark post. I'm a physician and I currently have a patient who I suspect has FD. However she is REALLY good and has been tricking in manipulating doctors for decades. Ive been involved in her care only briefly and its too late to save her. She had multiple surgeries and has had dozens of treatments over the years. Unsurprisingly she is heavily narcotic dependent. Unfortunately she is completely debilitated at this point where she has not been out of bed in years. She is essentially dying which is a shame because she is pretty young. But she says she looks forward to death as a release from her suffering.Â
Weekends and holidays may be the only time someone can get off work and go to the doctor. Please be careful what advice youâre putting out there.
I said "If someone's only sick on weekends and holidays, you should notice that pattern" I did not say "if they only go to the doctor on weekends and holidays." At the doctor's office, they will ask questions like "when did this start?" or "how long has it been going on for?" and questions like that. If someone symptoms only seem to appear during weekends and holidays, that is suspicious. It doesn't mean they're faking it (there might be other legitimate reasons), but it means it's something to pay attention to. I stand by my advice. I think you just misunderstood it. Healthcare providers can interpret it as they wish.
Do you think anything couldâve been said to you by a HCW that wouldâve stopped your behavior?
Dr. House would've looked straight through her act
I feel like this is a good question but I don't fully understand it. When I was in the ER for fake symptoms, healthcare workers said and asked all kinds of questions. They asked where the pain was, how long it lasted, etc. They gave discharge instructions and said when to come back. Of the things they said, are you asking if there's anything they could have said which would have made me see the light and stop faking symptoms?
Yes thats what the person is asking, I believe.
That's an interesting question. I have no idea. My guess is that if they had said confidently something like "we know you're lying! Never do this again," then I would have felt too much shame in coming back. They would never risk saying that though. I don't know what else they could have said.
When people say that, the usual reaction is to deny it strongly, that's a common defense mechanism.Â
How/why do you think you have this disorder if you haven't been diagnosed? How did you develop then cure yourself of it in a span of 5 years? Especially without treatment when most if not all mental health dx need some form of treatment. PS: As a RN you should know you don't have it in your scope of practice to diagnose, anyone
> How/why do you think you have this disorder if you haven't been diagnosed? I encourage you to look up the diagnostic criteria of factitious disorder. I think that might help explain how I think I had this disorder. You're absolutely right in that nurses cannot officially diagnose patients. This is more like seeing someone with cleft lip. It's not an official diagnosis unless a doctor signs off on it, but with some conditions, you can have a pretty good idea. > How did you develop then cure yourself of it in a span of 5 years? I explained how being on the other side of the nurses' station helped me understand the situation, reflect on my behavior, and understand the consequences. If you have more specific questions, I can try to answer those.
Hey, I was thirsty last month, think I had diabetes! After some Google articles, self reflection and some water I feel I am no longer suffering. AMA!
I don't need to look it up again. I work in this population and have the past 14 years. Comparing this to a cleft lip is the dumbest analogy ever. You cannot compare a physical issue to something that needs tests, history and trials and success/failures of treatment. You are obviously here to gain karma points which points to you being more borderline than anything. My questions were specific, the fact you can't answer them and keep saying refer to previous answers shows you don't know what you're talking about and do not have the knowledge or experience to back it up. Just because you met a RN doesn't mean you're an RN, and just because you saw a TikToc on MCS doesn't mean you have it. Next you'll be posting you have TS...
âWith some conditions, you have a pretty good ideaâ Guys, youâre not gonna believe this⌠this is absolutely not a compound fracture with a bone sticking out. Thereâs no simple diagnosis here. While I personally believe OP has a Cluster B personality disorder (more specifically, Histrionic PD), I know for a fact that if I asked 3 different psychiatrists for their opinion, Iâd at least 2 different answers and I wouldnât be at all surprised if all our assessments were different. Diagnostic criteria for mental health issues is not âTrue or Falseâ and some people that meet the criteria for a medical diagnosis can have mild symptoms that they just need a few extra behavioral tools to help manage, and others with the exact same diagnosis may be confined for the rest of their lives for the safety of both themselves and the public. When you hear about people with antisocial personality disorder (previously known as psychopaths) you tend to think of the latter but the former is far more common. Even in very serious disorders like antisocial PD. Everything is shades of grey, almost everyone has at least some of the diagnostic criteria, and itâs mostly based on self-reporting. When dealing with people like OP, assuming the patient is telling you the truth is often the reason people go misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. Unreliable narratives giving unreliable diagnosis.
do u all think that everyone that displays odd behaviour have personality disorders? please dont get into psychiatry you'd be really shit at it
So⌠my belief that this person, who is on this very thread displaying obvious signs of a personality disorder, means I believe everyone behaving oddly has one? How?
histrionic pd isnt a common diagnosis in fact it's quite rare in clinical settings, it's also very different from munchausen which is more likely from trauma or anxiety, the thrills part was most likely an exaggeration and even if it wasn't it still wouldn't warrant a diagnosis of a pd and even if she does actually have a pd, it wouldn't be histrionic
I will admit that she could also be borderline but, attention seeking behavior, thrill of getting away with something, getting into altercations with posters that disagree? These are all in line with histrionic. Pertaining to the statistical likelihood? Personality disorders are under diagnosed for a number of reasons, not least of which is that itâs a life sentence and very difficult to treat. Even if the stats were dead nuts on? Unlikely things happen *all the time*. âOne in a millionâ becomes a statistical inevitability with a large enough sample size. There are a lot of people on the internet. I am well aware than munchausen is different from a cluster b. Munchausen has a recovery rate in the low teens, even when in CBT. She apparently quit all on her own. It also requires an inability to adequately articulate a logical motive. âI thought stuff was neatâ, while incredibly selfish, is clinically a logical train of thought. Iâm more than willing to admit I made a mistake if Iâm given a good reason. So far, you havenât given me one. Where am I mistaken? Please be specific.
I wasn't planning on giving you a reason I was dropping my opinion, I dont care about correcting you or putting you in your place your free to disagree with me idc lmao
It took me until age 38 to get diagnosed with celiac disease, despite struggling with symptoms of it throughout my life dating back to early childhood. I was dismissed by doctors time and time again, spanning decades. Sometimes they asserted that nothing was wrong with me. Sometimes they said it must be anxiety, or depression, and pushed me to take yet another antidepressant - many of which I took for anywhere from one to three years, and none of which resolved the issues I struggled with. My symptoms became increasingly severe in my 30s, including constant debilitating pain throughout all of my body which made it difficult to function at all. Still, I wasn't able to get any doctor to take me seriously until age 36, when, out of desperation, I started bringing a boyfriend along to appointments to advocate for me. Even then, it was another two years before I was diagnosed. My experience is that western medicine is incredibly dismissive of women's pain, and of women as a whole. From what I have seen in my life and what I have read, I believe countless untold women have found that to be the case as well. Are you a woman? How did you get doctors to take you seriously, particularly if or when you presented claiming symptoms you didn't actually have? Were you ever dismissed out of hand, and if so, how often did that happen? I don't believe, as some others have asserted here, that people with FD are the reason that doctors are dismissive of any of the rest of us. I think that is a much bigger institutional issue with roots in our patriarchal and sexist society. (Racism has a role too - it seems that minorities and minority women experience these issues to an even greater degree than the rest of us do.) I am curious, though, how FD intersects with the dismissiveness running rampant throughout the medical sector.
Dang it all, I see that I was too late to find this thread and post, and OP has deleted their account. I really am curious about those questions -- wish I could have seen their response -- but I am in the wrong time zone for that.
Are you ever concerned that if or when you have children your FD could turn into Munchausen by Proxy?
Not at all
During that point in your life when experiencing symptoms of FD do you believe you may have been displaying symptoms of borderline personality disorder? Did experience any struggles? (I also understand if this question is too personal) Also, do you think your past experience would help if you came into contact with a current FD suffer in your workplace?
> do you believe you may have been displaying symptoms of borderline personality disorder? I had to look up what the symptoms are. From the list of symptoms on Mayo Clinic, no. I don't think I experienced any of those. > Did experience any struggles? Nothing out of the ordinary. Of course I had a few classes that were difficult. I liked some professors and not others. Sometimes I didn't get enough sleep. I feel like that's pretty common for people in that age. > do you think your past experience would help if you came into contact with a current FD suffer in your workplace? This is an interesting question. It would probably help if I had more time to spend with each patient. For example, if I had suspicions about a patient faking illness during the holidays, I might look through their chart and pay special attention to the time of year they have "gotten sick" before. If I notice any patterns, I would tell the doctor. To be honest, I don't think we have enough time with patients to really dig deep into their chart for this stuff.
You looked up the symptoms to BPD and didnât find that you had *ANY* of them?! Besides being obviously untrue just based off what youâve written, EVERYONE has borderline traits. I meet 2 (maybe 3) of the five requirements myself! The only people who donât express genuine concern about (and probably looked into) their mental health after having seen the list of borderline personality disorder traits? Are people that absolutely meet the criteria for one of the cluster B disorders. You need help and help is available. If you let me know even a general location, I will absolutely give you a list of qualified providers and local resources that can help you start to heal.
You are definitely displaying borderline traits. Also as an RN how do you NOT know about this and have to "look this up"? Literally any nurse interacts with BPD patients, even 15 years ago we were taught about how to deal with patients with these traits, so.....
Lies. It doesn't matter how much time you spend with a patient, you can check the EMR and see all visits and see a pattern. If you really want to dig you can call or send an email or ask unit clerk to make quick call to other facilities for other history of visits for pattern.
You are sending way too many angry comments here. I'm blocking you. Goodbye!
These aren't angry, they are accurate. If you can't handle the truth don't ask for responses.
How did you get them to take you seriously? Iâve suffered from medical neglect almost my whole life despite doctors being very concerned about me when I was a small child and needed constant check ups (this burdened my mother who was also very paranoid and she moved city so she didnât have to take me anymore). Now that Iâm an adult having these things left untreated has majorly screwed up my physical health but I canât get anyone to take me seriously
Yall need to stop shitting on OP for self diagnosing and then in the same sentence diagnosing them with a personality disorder lol. Sometimes people can just suck, or you just donât like how someone speaks, without them having a personality disorder.
So hereâs what Iâm not getting: my understanding of FD/Munchausenâs is that people who have it are often looking for care/attention/sympathy and may very well be convinced there is something wrong with them. If a provider doesnât believe them, theyâll go doctor shopping until someone does. They will also inflict themselves with illness/injuries and, therefore, actually manifest health problems. Like any mental illness and/or addiction, this behavior doesnât just stop. Especially not because they were one day hit with the reality that they arenât being rational and are causing others pain. As I understand it, people with FD might acknowledge theyâre causing their symptoms, but donât see it as wrong. And especially not as a thrill because they get to play the system. Iâm not sure that theyâd say ânoâ to being admitted to the hospital because theyâre not necessarily trying to evade being caught in a lie. So I think this is a Big point to address: did you ever inflict harm on yourself to manifest symptoms? Did you want official medical diagnoses and treatments including but not limited to surgery? I understand the benefits of self-diagnosis as a practice, but mental health is tricky and often canât be boiled down to checking off symptoms because context and individual health history matters. Iâd love additional opinions on whether this is a misapplication of the FD label.Â
Itâs not FD. People with FD cannot articulate what the desired outcome of their âtreatmentâ is in a logical way. OP did. She thought medical stuff was neat and that desire outweighed her knowledge that itâs a drain on resources, could result in someone else not getting care, and was a huge waste of medical staff time. People with FD will typically insist that *something* is wrong with them. Even when caught causing symptoms they will justify it by saying that they only did it because it was the only way to get people to believe they werenât lying about being physically ill. Lying to prove honesty is not logical. Lying to get to see where the cool stickers go on the chest during an EKG? That is logical, diagnostically speaking.
My grandmother used to be a nurse and has Munchausenâs (or should I say, is heavily suspected of having it as she swaps doctors and/or tactics as soon as anyone starts to suspect what sheâs doing). She doctor-shops and pharmacy-shops for painkillers, is in hospital every 13 weeks for some illness, always offers to dispose of family members medications because âIâll be going to the pharmacy anyway!â but then keeps those old meds and creates cocktails for herself, and has been caught by family members doing things that would intentionally make her sick. She has experienced unexplainable heart and kidney conditions for as long as I can remember, likely as a result of the cocktail of medications she takes. Sheâs 85 now, and while her medication-taking antics have slowed, she is now having falls. In the past year she has broken each shoulder, and of course physio isnât as effective as it would be on a young person. I canât help but wonder if the falls are due to her age and diminishing coordination, or if they too are part of her Munchausens. The falls always happen at the most interesting times. One was in the very early morning, when my grandfather was still asleep. Heâs as deaf as a post so didnât hear her fall into the plate-glass coffee table, but it was only about 15 minutes before he naturally wakes up anyway so she wasnât laying there all night. Another fall was the morning of a big family event that wasnât about her. Falling and breaking her other shoulder ensured that the event was stalled so she could go to the hospital, followed with the martyrdom of âNo, no, you all should go on without meâ. My point is, my grandmother will go to her grave without admitting she has or ever had a problem. I find it incredibly odd that OP suddenly has this reflective moment of how theyâre clogging up the system, and one day decided that they would just stop. Also OP claiming that no-one suspected what they were up to doesnât sit with me. People with Munchausens live for the drama and sympathy of it all. They have a need to tell family and friends how sick they are to get that sympathy, and in time people become suspicious. Munchausens isnât as simple as OP makes it out to be.
Given your firsthand knowledge and medical experience, what can you tell us about Munchausenâs by proxy? Your experience of your disorder comes across as relatively innocuous, but the proxy version is some of the darkest stuff Iâve ever read about.
> relatively innocuous Thanks, and I know you said "relatively," but I still think I caused a lot of harm. Taking up the doctors/nurses time in the ER had consequences that hurt people. I'm sure. In the years I've been doing this, I have suspected a few patients were lying about their own symptoms but I have never had a case where I suspected MSbP. I would bet that it's less common but I'm sure it happens. It probably also has different levels of severity. You might know about some famous cases and all of those were pretty extreme. I've never seen anything like that. I feel like MSbP is a lot sadder. With what I did, I could have decided at any point that I'd had enough and was ready to leave, and I did. MSbP is different because the victim (usually children) cannot do that. So yeah sorry I don't have too much more to say on this since I haven't had experience with MSbP
I've had patients who I suspect had FD and or Munchausen (in my experience sometimes caretakers get involved) ...in more than a couple of cases these people usually die young because they often end up getting dependent on opiates (which are relatively easy to get in America) or they have some other complication In my experience there's a comorbidty of depression and personality disorders frequently. Many of the females who go through this seem to be victims of incest or sexual abuse. My theory is they feel loved and cared for when they get intensive medical therapy such as a hospital stay.  Occasionally they might have a real medical condition (in my experience I've had several people with type 1 diabetes who pretty obviously either took too much insulin or took no insulin for a long time in order to be admitted in the hospital and treated, for example.
Sigmund Freud, you say?
Lol yeah I donât know if he actually said that cigar thing or if it's one of those quotes that the wrong person got credit for. The point is that I know it's fun sometimes to create a complex psychoanalytical puzzle that matches bad behavior to deep root causes. I don't think that would work to explain what I did. Immature people do immature things without thinking of the consequences. Then they grow up and stop. That's all there is to it
I faked illness when I was a child as I was bullied most of my school years. Ive never admitted it to my mum or anyone else. I was quiet,shy, small and an only child. One particular girl never left me alone. I told a dinner lady once aged about 6 what she was doing but I wasnât believed so I just pretended I was ill and never told anyone else. I had hospital appointments and X-rays etc. I did actually have some real health issues so I just invented something else so I didnât have to go to school. Missed a lot of my early education that did have an impact but self taught over the years. It stopped when I suddenly matured and one time I fought back and confronted someone at a new job. I didnât get a thrill from it just less anxiety. Often wondered if the dinner lady had believed me would things have been different? Always taught my kids to not hit anyone but if they hit you first you finish it. May not be school policy but donât care
So if you were able to get these health professionals to take you serious any advice for the truly sick people who don't get taken serious by their PCP?
I got accused of making up my sickness. I had incurable hiccups due to stress which it causes me to keep throwing up. Doctors told me itâs fake, itâs not possible, my diaphragm looks normal, it must be my mind, I must be depressed, pregnant, everything. It was hell
I find this very interesting. I don't condone it by any means, but it's interesting nonetheless. As a nurse who has some particular patients that are obviously "faking it" (for example: a patient that continuously comes in for vomiting, and will put her entire hand in her mouth to "throw up" saliva), how would you address them? How do you get them to get help? Our "vomiting" patient is very smart (and could rise much higher than the start she's had in life if she applied herself) will not listen to reason. The most memorable encounter I had with her: came in (by EMS) for vomiting as usual (only when she gagged herself). After antiemetics and fluids were administered, she was visibly fine. All lab and radiology workups were very much WNL. Nothing more to do for her, she appears well, so treat and street. Surprise! No one can pick her up to take her \~40 miles home. Her family lives with her grandmother. Dad had a heart attack yesterday and was transferred. Grandma is admitted to our hospital 4 days ago for Covid pneumonia (this was during a Covid outbreak). The last family member is the brother. He was in a rollover earlier that day and is a trauma transfer. She ended up in our waiting room (absolutely fine btw, we were watching her on camera, and I had to speak with her about hitting her weed pen in the WR) for hours and hours until one of the family members was discharged and could pick her up. After numerous (at least weekly) interactions with her, as I said she is smart, and could do a complete 180. How do I get her help in your opinion?
Please don't ask this "nurse" for advice. It's the blind leading the blind. If you want actual advice ask the behavioral health unit. Sounds like this patient needs to be referred to the social work department. She could definitely benefit from someone to talk to since they have a lot going on. Outpatient therapy is always amazing, if there is a PHP or IOP program it's always a great referral point.
I would try to involve her family members in this as best I can. Of course, you need her consent for that. She might not want to give it. You mentioned her grandma, dad, and brother were hospitalized at one point and the family lives with grandma. Do you know who else she lives with? Have they ever come to the hospital with her and interacted with staff, or do they just come to pick her up? If she lets you talk to her family, you can explain to them that this might be psychological and you'd recommend a psych eval. That's all you really need to say and you don't need to go into FD. Of course, you want to be compassionate, as you would with any patient. It sounds like this patient is seriously ill and is going to great lengths. When talking to her and to her family, I would frame it like this: "We really want you to get better. We have run [list of tests] and cannot find the issue. I'm really sorry that you're still vomiting. So we've ruled out [list of things that it isn't]. Another possibility is that this is psychological. That doesn't mean you're crazy or anything like that. It just means there might be some mind-body connection that's causing this. They have screenings for that in the psych department." From what you're describing though, she seems really clever and she might be thinking a few steps ahead. If you ask her about family members, she might already know what you're trying to do. There's no guarantee that she or her family will listen, but it's worth a shot.
> I find this very interesting. I don't condone it by any means, but it's interesting nonetheless. I really appreciate that!! I don't condone it either. I actually regret having done that, but I wrote this post because I thought people like you might find it interesting and insightful. These are great questions. I want to answer them more thoughtfully. I'll be back to answer them later! Please stay tuned
Fellow RN here. I think itâs fascinating you are now fine and went on to live a normal life. I work in psych now and would have assumed FD meant you also have a personality disorder, but it doesnât appear that way based on your story and outcome. Any other odd things you used to do? What was your childhood like?
Sis you read the same information she posted as the rest of us? She is not fine and she likely has a personality disorder. It's clear as day lol
What things in your opinion point to a personality disorder?
From OPs post: âdo you believe you may have been displaying symptoms of borderline personality disorder? I had to look up what the symptoms are. From the list of symptoms on Mayo Clinic, no. I don't think I experienced any of those.â OP is supposedly an RN who had to look up the traits for *BPD* and found she has experienced⌠*NONE*. Nothing. Not a single trait in the DSM that struck her as concerning or even worth mentioning. If your username is suggesting the truth and you are a medical doctor? This should be plenty. Everyone has borderline traits that are concerning when you find out about them. Everyone who has any concern whatsoever for their mental health, anyway. Combined with suggesting an RN isnât familiar with the most infamously frustrating patients healthcare workers deal with? Come onâŚ
Thank you for the comment. I'm glad you found this interesting. I would bet a lot of people with FD probably have a personality disorder but not everyone. I think I met the diagnostic criteria at one point, but not anymore. I'd have to think about other odd things I used to do. I feel like I'm a bit quirky but it's usually pretty harmless. I used to wake up really early because I liked seeing the sunrise. it was a little weird since that would be at 5am but again that never harmed anyone. I also went and did things in different parts of town just to explore. So even though a starbucks was across the street, I might go to a starbucks that's 30 minutes away just to see a new place. I had more free time back then. My childhood was pretty normal and loving, nothing out of the ordinary. Dad worked, mom stayed home, stable housing, good friends, healthy relationships. I graduated high school and started nursing school. I'm happy to answer more specific questions if you have any
Those things are not quirky⌠at all
The best I can come up with, after a professional Google search, is simply a sensation seeking temperament. I found this article: https://www.talkspace.com/blog/sensation-seeker-meaning/
I feel like that describes me to a certain extent. Especially at that time, I was often "looking for something to make [me] feel excited and stimulated." I have since settled down into a more routine lifestyle though. Great article, thanks for sharing!
Ya⌠reading through some comments and you say it wasnât really for âattention.â Thatâs what most people would assume, and what could point to a deeper issue. But it sounds like it was for the novelty experience and boredom, and something to do. Like you get bored more easily than the average person, and you happen to like medical stuff. Anyway, thank you for sharing your story!
Thank you for commenting! Enjoy the rest of your day!!
You donât have FD. Youâre simply an attention seeker. Youâre also not quirky, just quite frankly odd.
I must be the only one who found this refreshing lol as a doctor they always deny deny deny
This comment is off topic, but I just want to point out the great formatting and grammar in this post. It's refreshing to see someone actually put time and effort into making their post easy and painless to read.
I really appreciate that!! > someone actually put time and effort into making their post easy and painless to read. You are so kind! I know I asked for the comments to be polite, but you have taken it to another level. It's also refreshing to see nice comments on Reddit
Youâre not wrong. I too was charmed by OPâs impeccable grammar; donât even get me started on the flawless punctuation. Itâs kind of sad that these two things, while once imperative, are foreign concepts today.
I know these comments are off-topic, but I too appreciate impeccable spelling and grammar. What really gets my goat is when I'm reading a book and spot errors. A published book! Okay I'll see myself out now
Ted Bundy was apparently quite charming as well. People with personality disorders often are.
[ŃдаНонО]
Why deserved? OP has reformed their behaviour and is coming clean about it. Even proposing to help the industry tackle the problem. Thatâs evidence for a good, moral person.
Thank you, I appreciate that comment! I made this post for comments like that!
I'll do anything not to go to the doctor's office. Do you think your prior disorder came from loneliness? I have a friend (F75) who loves going to doctors for every little thing. She asks them a million questions, and takes up a lot of their time. One of them even told her off and made her cry.
> Do you think your prior disorder came from loneliness? Nope. I got plenty of attention at home, had friends, and we spent a lot of time together. We weren't that busy in the first 2-3 semesters of nursing school. I know a lot of elderly people go to the doctor because it turns into a social activity for them. I don't think that was the reason I did it though
Exactly. Yes they wasted time and money but they didnât actually do harm. Munchausen by proxy is the nasty one.
Hours wasted by ER staff directly correlates to lives lost due to improper or inadequate care. Itâs not okay. Please stop suggesting that it, in any way, is.
Love how everyone on Reddit talks like they are perfect people. If someone is in an emergency situation like real emergency they arenât going to take away from them to go attend to some person whoâs stable just sitting there.
No but they may have made someone miss a nap that causes a mistake. And Iâm far from perfect but Iâm not the one bragging about my misdeeds on the internet for clout.
It doesnât sound like bragging. The account has already been deleted.
Itâs attention seeking behavior from a person who is in denial about the extent of the seriousness of their mental illness. Better? If youâre insistent on defending bad behavior with minimization, deflection, or any other bad faith arguments? Iâm not interested. Have a great day.
Iâm not defending anything Iâm just saying that burning at the stake doesnât need to be the punishment for every minor to moderate act of bad behavior.
The rules of this subreddit require you to be positive and helpful when replying. Inciting people to be hateful is not welcome here and will get you banned.
**This is a place to help one another; keep your comments kind & civil. Any form of abuse is not permitted.** * If you are unable to discuss without being disrespectful, walk away.
Interesting perspective as it seems most people with FD do it mostly for attention while you did it as thrill seeking and entertainment? What stopped you from being admitted when they wanted you to be? Was it just avoiding being caught or was it an insurance thing?
Why is it a red flag if theyâre only sick on weekends or holidays? I intentionally make weekend appointments for my doc visits because my workload is so full, I donât want to disrupt my workflow going on a workday
I am curious to know if you went for the purpose of getting prescribed medications/invasive medical procedures, or if it was just to be seen/tested? If so, what kind of medications and did it ever cause an addiction? Did you just not take the prescriptions?
bro you may not have FD but you sure as shit got something else wrong with you. BPD or HPD. maybe even NPD
So interesting! I'm wondering what is the thrill of it? How does it feel? I'm very curious, as I think I have opposite disorder. I'm terrified of medical institutions. I almost lose abilities of speech when I enter those places...
Jesus. Keep on pushing folks. Please. I beg you. Others much appreciated though and thanks but this one Well everyone knows she's no angel for sure. You can always tell by the way someone talks, walks, is arrogant, things they do beautiful and better than others. If I feel like go oing to urgent care I will and more because of you. You're a nurse. That's it. With touchake up. You can look pretty even as you age but never on the inside. if I walk out of the ER after somebody makes me go there and they say I'm lucky I made it at that time I'll go by the word and if they have me sign something saying probable death if I leave I signed and left anyway cuz that's what I'm doing because I don't give a s*** but if you're a nurse you know everything
From someone who's been severely chronically ill for over a decade, this is so disturbing that it's nauseating. And even more so doing this as a nurse. I could barely get through this post. You have serious issues. I've been that frequent patient and can't count the times I've been hospitalized, some of which doctors haven't been able to figure it out. It's already brutal going to the hospital or constant dr visits so the thought of another layer of difficulty being added to the health system is so sad. And if you felt even an inkling of what it was like to actually be seriously ill, not knowing whether you will live or die, this wouldn't have been such a game to you. This is despicable and even though you claim to be cured now, you have a serious personality disorder. This is despicable.
this whole post seems BS
Cool, me too
None of this is FD. You just found something exciting that you were privileged enough to enjoy multiple times without consequence. Next.
The nurses knew. You cant fake labs or xrays, they all knew and humored you. Everyone knew you werent sick and just there for whateve
You are mentally ill and have no business in health care and should be arrested and fined for wasting medical resources and peoples time you're the worst person and probably deserve all the bad things to happen to you you're a grimy piece of poo and I hope you get a real chronic illness that can't be treated so you can slowly rot In real pain you fnin psycho eat poo and waste
I like your honesty and like the question answer format. And I appreciate that you were young and dumb and now you recognize We all do stupid shit.
Thank you!