I Think My Friend May Have Munchausen Syndrome, What Do I Do?
Question by Shawna: I think my friend may have Munchausen Syndrome, what do I do?
Over the past few years I’ve become close friends with a woman around my age that moved in next door. In the beginning she seemed completely normal and healthy. She is married and has two very healthy young children. But over the years as we started to get closer she started constantly talking about her health and how sick she was. It started with depression and insomnia. Then became more serious talking about cancer in her back and deteriorating kidneys. She is frequently calling the ambulance and returning the same day because they couldn’t find any problem. She will stay in bed for days because she is in so much pain, yet the doctors won’t prescribe her any pain medication that helps (such as Oxycontin so she says…) She often will go to several different doctors trying to get answers or medication and there is always a reason she doesn’t have some sort of diagnosis or treatment. She will say that they are going to call her back and they never do, she’ll say they can’t give her answers on the phone, but she won’t go back to see that doctor. She has had multiple cat scans, mri’s, and every other test you can imagine but when they come back with no explanation she starts looking for the next test and the next doctor.
My question is how do I deal with this? I strongly feel she is misleading everyone that cares about her, I feel she is at a point where even she believes she is sick. But how do you tell one of your best friends you think she has conjugated the whole thing in her head?
It’s started to hurt people around her. Her kids never get to do anything with her often she doesn’t even get up. Her husband spends pretty much all his time taking care of her and can hardly leave the house. He family is afraid for her, and the friends that haven’t already gotten tired of the deception and stopped talking to her are starting to pull away.
I wish there was some sort of way to prove she wasn’t sick. I know all the doctors she has seen but I also know that they won’t be able to tell me anything. Other then describing to a doctor some of the so called “Symptoms” I don’t have any ideas…
Any suggestions are more then welcome.
Thank you
Best answer:
Answer by Autumn
hi. if she does have Munchhausen’s then there is little you can do. please don’t start telling people though that she has it as you don’t know that and people fail to understand. she may have health anxiety, health OCD, hypochondria or somatoform disorder or an undiagnosed physical condition.
Munchhausen’s is a serious illness in it’s self. there is nothing you can do to make it go away. you need to decide if your friendship is good for you or is it damaging your well being. if you decide that you want to continue to be close then my suggestion is to try and distract her if she starts talking about her health and steer the conversation in a different direction.
if she comments on it then you can explain to her that you want to have fun with her, you accept she’s ill but talking about it all the time isn’t going to help either of you.
i don’t envy your position but you sound like a good friend, A x
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