Letter to the Editor
Recovery from Munchausen Syndrome
Abstract
In 1998, I published an article in the SMJ entitled, “Breaking the Silence of Factitious Disorder.”1 Through the article, a patient, dubbed “Cathy,” sought to inform physicians not only about the range of factitious illness behaviors in which she had engaged, but also about her reasons for doing so. She noted that she had been hospitalized 30 to 40 times, undergone innumerable surgeries and diagnostic procedures, and been prescribed literally hundreds of medications by physicians who never suspected that she was the cause of her own illnesses. She conservatively estimated the costs of her care to date at $400,000. This brief letter reports on her recovery and provides further insights into the psychology of factitious disorder.This content is limited to qualifying members.
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References
1. Feldman MD. Breaking the silence of factitious disorder. South Med J 1998;91:41–42.
2. Schlesinger RD, Daniel DG, Rabin P, et al. Factitious disorder with physical manifestations: pitfalls of diagnosis and management. South Med J 1989;82:210–214.
3. Feldman MD. Playing Sick?: Untangling the Web of Munchausen Syndrome, Munchausen by Proxy, Malingering, and Factitious Disorder. New York, Brunner-Routledge, 2004.
4. Eisendrath SJ. Factitious physical disorders: treatment without confrontation. Psychosomatics1989;30:383–387.
