Munchausen by Internet: The Lying Disease that Preys on the Heart

[mariebailey, MSN, RN]

When I was doing my pediatric nursing rotation in school, I came across a patient whom I suspected was a victim of Munchausen by proxy. I went so far as to inform my clinical instructor of my suspicions & present her with statistics, and when I did, she said the treating physician suspected it as well, & it was being further investigated (whatever that meant). I have no idea what became of the situation, but I will never forget it. Health care providers are often culprits, according to the statistics I read back in school.

[mariebailey, MSN, RN]

[sharpeimom]

Good article! When I was 13 months old, I was a healthy, developing right on schedule baby and one day, with absolutely no warning whatsoever, I began having seizures, and suddenly woke up from a nap paralyzed on my left side. My mom was 30 weeks pregnant and the ER doctor quickly sent us to a leading Clinic about 100 miles away.

The Clinic was waiting and we were seen immediately. The on-call MD took one look at my mom's big belly and instantly came to a conclusion: Munchausen by proxy. She was immediately separated from me, social services called, and I was isolated. His theory was that since a new baby was to arrive soon, she didn't want her "old" baby anymore, so she had been making me ill somehow.

Fortunately, clearer minds prevailed soon. The chair of the med school pedi neuro dept. was consulted and he didn't feel either of my parents fit the profile. The MD who ordered the consult wasn't really expecting any neuro issues but was either being thorough or just covering his tail. I don't know which.

Tests soon showed I had a ruptured aneurysm in the left temporal lobe. Just another side of the Munchausen by proxy issue. By the time I was about four, the other parts of my brain had taken over.

I think that, plus caring for a mom in her final days of cancer (which was in her brain among other areas) caused me to give BTL more leeway than I should have.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

well i read this site almost daily for a few years and i have no idea who you are talking about. was this shoer recent and is the poster very popular and or infamous prior to this?

[mariebailey, MSN, RN]

His theory was that since a new baby was to arrive soon, she didn't want her "old" baby anymore, so she had been making me ill somehow.

That doesn't seem to sound anything like by proxy from the research I read. I can't believe your family had to go through that.

[sharpeimom]

That doesn't seem to sound anything like by proxy from the research I read. I can't believe your family had to go through that.

Unfortunately, they did. It just shows that sometimes medical professionals leap to some pretty outrageous conclusions. It didn't sound like MBP to me either. An aunt shared that story with me after my mom's death when a new neurologist wanted some additional history I had never been given. Neurology and neurosurgery have both emerged from the dark ages since then.

[RJmanuone]

phew man... this world is one strange place... hmmm

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

So...what happened? Any friendly person want to explain to those of us who are totally confused?

I agree. Curiosity is killing my cat here.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Fantastic article Tn - thanks. As to why this is such a popular topic at AN - any large website with many members will occas have someone who comes with a very sad story, is charismatic and instantly draws other posters in to their story. However, that said, when it is finally revealed that the poster is not what they appear to be, feelings can get hurt. And....what better target for these Munchausen by Internet posters then compassionate nurses?

[netglow, ASN, RN]

I agree. Curiosity is killing my cat here.

Everything about that is now deleted, I believe. And it's just too large to recount.

All I'll say is there were probably two issues, one that brought empathy from a few posters that I originally had not been aware of, and then another very recent issue that doubled down and was a *terminal* issue as Leslie has said, posted where the heart of allnurses resides IMHO.

Interestingly, several of this group, me included, just happen to share experience in a certain specialty. The poster probably figured that out too and chose "us".

This poster was not a new member, and had posted many postings typical of any allnurses members on the main forum.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

Pseudologia fantastica (pathological lying) seems to be closely related to Munchausen's.

There's a resident in the LTC facility where I work who is a classic pathological liar. He was best friends with Gerald R Ford. He grew up next door to the current governor. He can't drink water (only juice or pop) because of being water tortured by the Viet Cong. He'll be watching TV in the dinning room and suddenly say he knows some random actress on a commercial. And he always has some long, elaborate story about how he knows them. It's never anyone really famous, as that would stretch credibility too far. He's a very good liar.

I'm consistently amazed by how many of the CNAs believe his stories. I try to tell them he's full of it, but he's good at making his stories so detailed, and *just* believable enough....

[CYoungLPN, LPN]

Everything about that is now deleted, I believe. And it's just too large to recount.

All I'll say is there were probably two issues, one that brought empathy from a few posters that I originally had not been aware of, and then another very recent issue that doubled down and was a *terminal* issue as Leslie has said, posted where the heart of allnurses resides IMHO.

Interestingly, several of this group, me included, just happen to share experience in a certain specialty. The poster probably figured that out too and chose "us".

This poster was not a new member, and had posted many postings typical of any allnurses members on the main forum.

Was it that one person that died on here? I remember seeing something about one of the members dying like maybe a year or 2 ago it was like kinda all over the site...is that who y'all are talkin about? I can't for the life of me remember the name but if I see it I know I will recognize it

If not Im sorry I don't wanna be disrespectful to any member that did actually pass away