Patient or Pretender: Inside the Strange World of Factitious Disorders [Paperback]

Marc D. Feldman (Author), Charles V. Ford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1995

As children, most of us played sick at one time or another to get our parents' sympathy and attention. In Patient or Pretender, psychiatrists Marc Feldman and Charles Ford take us into the strange world of people who take the game of playing sick to pathological, sometimes fatal, extremes. Driven by the need for attention, these people manufacture physical and psychological symptoms, often injuring themselves to get medical treatment. And, in the process, these "great pretenders" mislead and victimize their families and friends, baffle physicians, and wantonly consume precious medical resources.

Meet Jenny, the secretary who feigned breast cancer and went so far as to shave her head, lose weight, and even join a cancer support group. Then there is the mother who suffocated her own child so she could play the role of martyred parent. These compelling case studies read like medical detective stories, as doctors try to separate fact from fiction and explore the real causes of their patients' illnesses. Along the way, Drs. Feldman and Ford offer us insights, not only into the workings of desperate minds, but the human condition in general.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

According to psychiatrists Feldman and Ford, most of the patients featured in this engrossing collection about feigned illnesses shared a desperate need for attention, sympathy and drama. Recent research suggets they are subject to a brain dysfunction ("factitious disorder") that requires psychiatric care. The authors' medical mystery stories range from simulated breast cancer to near fatal faking of anemia by self-bloodletting. Other patients invent stomach disorders, bulimia, fevers, seizures, blindness, or insantiy, with some purposeful patients deliberately ingesting rat poison or drugs. Most cruel of all deceptions is a form of Munchausen syndrome in which a parent fakes the illness of a child. In a book of more interest to professionals, the authors recommend special training for practitioners who hope to treat these "real, not false patients" despite their calculated deceits. Author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Psychiatrists Feldman and Ford describe the bizarre phenomenon of patients who fake symptoms or serious illness (including cancer or AIDS) to get emotional support and attention. A patient's skill at convincing doctors often derives from experience as a healthcare worker or as a caretaker or relative of someone who is chronically ill. In its extreme form, known as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, this phenomenon leads patients to make a career of seeking hospitalization for themselves or their children, often disappearing when challenged and reappearing later at another institution. The authors stress the need for early detection and discuss the ethical and legal issues involved. Recommended for medical and large public libraries.
- Lucille Boone, San Jose P.L., Cal.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471120138
• ISBN-13: 978-0471120131
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #853,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compassionate book about intriguing psychiatric disorders., August 11, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patient or Pretender: Inside the Strange World of Factitious Disorders (Paperback)

Ford and Feldman have written a fascinating exploration of the complexities of factitious disorders, and they display a degree of clinical intuition seldom seen in today's world of high-tech medicine. Rich in anecdotes, this book holds the reader in thrall from the first page. Who could forget Jenny....or Abby...or the Gasoline Injector! Yet make no mistake: the authors do not use tabloid tactics to ensnare the reader. Instead, they teach us a great deal about psychic pain.

On behalf of those who feign illness, they reveal some of the reasons behind the desperate bids for attention. They also expose the frightening, criminal aspects of Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy, a disease often misinterpreted by medical practitioners.

This collaboration reminds this reader of the writings of psychiatrist and best-selling author, Dr. M. Scott Peck. Like Peck, the authors have the humility to admit their mistakes, and at times, they share a bit of sly humor with us. They never lose sight of the dignity of their patients, which affirms their connection to us all.

A book such as this is a remarkable find, as it is written with both scientific and literary expertise. The empathy of these academicians simply cannot be taught in medical school. You would not want to miss this one.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book could save some lives. Read it., August 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Patient or Pretender: Inside the Strange World of Factitious Disorders (Paperback)

I'm a nurse, and I'm here to tell you that a lot of us wouldn't have jobs if it weren't for factitious disorders. Anybody who has worked in a hospital can tell you that this is a huge problem. People regress when they don't get praise and love as children. They will do anything to go to the womblike environment of a hospital. I've known patients who shot themselves, overdosed, carved their skin to shreds-you name it. What's even scarier are the patients who can keep a "con" going for years, reading about medical problems and sometimes killing themselves trying to mimic those problems. It gets worse. I had a teen-aged patient whose mother was giving her "secret injections" while she was on our unit. We had no idea. Mom was there the whole time-wouldn't leave until we ran her off, then she signed the kid out AMA. Fortunately, the girl's friends took her to the ER a few weeks later, and guess what? She was almost dead from arsenic poisoning. How many times does this happen, and how many people get away with it? It's called Munchausen-Syndrome-By-Proxy. I'd been in nursing for years before I first heard about it. I hope that's not the case with today's new nursing graduates.

This is the best book I've ever read about MSBP, You don't have to be in the medical field to appreciate it. You never know when you might need this information.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heart Breaking!, September 5, 2004

By 

"skipzgal" (Natick,Ma. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patient or Pretender: Inside the Strange World of Factitious Disorders (Paperback)

This is a wonderful source of information on factitious disorders.I read this book in approximately two days, it was very difficult to put down. It saddened me to read not only about the victims of factitious orders by proxy, but also those who harm themselves due to this disorder. Dr. Feldman gives a very thorough and caring description of these disorders and how it effects not only the families and friends of those who have this disorder, but also gives a look at why those with factitious disorders harm themselves and/or others.