Customer Reviews

Patient or Pretender: Inside the Strange World of Factitious Disorders

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

My mom told me to read this, and I thought,hey, is this going to be some heavy stuff, but I really got into it and I read it twice. It really bothers me to read about how some people hurt their kids and thats hard to understand, but I felt sorry for these people and maybe I'll look out for people like that when I can. My friends read it and said they would give it five stars. I'll do a project at school and let everybody know about this disease. I used to think people were phony when they tried to fake being sick, and I know people who do it to get out of going to school. But I didn't know that people can have major problems that makes them do things (like faking.) We need to know that these people need us to care and help them. We always say to just get a life, but now I feel like they need help to get a life. I like these doctors because they explain things so well and I was sorry when the book was over. I really felt sorry for the guy whose mom didn't want him.

I would recommend this book to anyone that is trying to understand the strange world of Munchausen. Excellent reviews of cases of this syndrome. Easy to understand and read and keeps the reader interested. You will come away with a better understanding of why these people live in the bizarre world of Munchausen syndrome.

This book Patient or Pretender is an extensive study about Munchausen Disease. This is when a person pretends to be
ill to receive attention. It is a mental illness in that the person craves attention and would do anything to get it,
even hurt themselves. My take on the prognosis is that it is very hard to cure. The patient usually leaves treatment
as soon as he is found to be pretending about his illness. These patient's rarely seek psyciatric help.
This was my first purchase on Amazon. I found everything I needed in the description of the book on line. I knew it
was about the subject that I was interested in. The used book place that mailed me this book couldn't have been nicer. He kept me up to date on line regarding when I could expect my purchase. It came on time.

The book is kind of graphic, which doesn't really appeal to me, but it is interesting for those who want to learn more about factitious disorders.

This book is very readable and uses case histories to teach about the factitious illnesses. As I have a family member who appears to suffer from this, it is helping me to understand her better and to come up with an approach to perhaps helping her. Even without the personal interest, it is valuable to know about this illness as we may meet people in our daily lives who can draw us into artificial dramas that we should avoid.

I work in the emergency room of a very busy hospital so I get to see everyone who comes in. After a while you get to know who the "regulars" are. It becomes very frustrating because you know these people are faking it. They are wasting our nurses & doctors time while people in the waiting room sit and wait for hours on end with real problems.
But you can't turn people away. Whether someone is faking it or not, they have to be seen.

There is a psychological condition in which a person knowingly fakes an illness by simulating symptoms of a serious disease. The purpose? To attract attention. These patients, some of whom actually make themselves ill, seem to become sick in order to achieve such gains as emotional fulfillment, sympathy, and power over their doctors and their family and friends.

I recommend this book to everyone who works in the healthcare system because I'm sure you have seen these types of cases before. Excellent read!

MSBP is a bogus diagnosis often used when Doctors are worried Mothers may file a malpractice suit, because the medical profession has caused devastating harm to a medically fragile child.
The book is based upon an a false, or non existant speculation; indeed no evidence was ever produced by the founder of this so called disorder. Furthermore, he shredded his creditibility along with his notes.
Let's call child abuse, child abuse, but what about power and control Doctor abuse towards Mothers?