Woman taking up to 800 laxatives a day

[davidc4430]

Woman taking up to 800 laxatives a day discharged from Adelaide hospital despite skeletal appearance

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-28/rah-discharged-woman-days-before-her-death-from-laxative-abuse...

Her husband must be a complete idiot.

[chameleon54]

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@not_for_sale2017 wrote:

Just out of curiosity, why do you think the doctor didn't detain the woman against her will?

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Who knows, maybe he had a golf appointment and the paper work associated with sectioning would have meant he would miss the first round.  It seems very strange from start to finish.

[myoclon1cjerk]

Dr: "Come back Mrs La Bella ! Your consultation's not over yet"
M.D.B : Sorry Doc. Gotta run!!"

[davidc4430]

Laxative abuser Claudia La Bella not detained in hospital as she 'didn't appear to have a mental illness'

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-29/laxative-abuser-claudia-la-bella-not-detained-in-hospital/9207...

maybe the doctor at the hospital was one of the highly trained ones we get cheap from india?

[davidc4430]

Laxative abuser Claudia La Bella never questioned over bulk purchases

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-30/laxative-abuser-claudia-la-bella-never-questioned-at-pharmacy/...

looks like a complete system fail as no one questioned this ladys health.

[davidc4430]

Selling $500 worth of laxatives a week to Claudia La Bella 'beyond words': psychiatrist

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-01/laxatives-should-not-have-been-sold-to-la-bella-psychiatrist-s...

if a doctor was telling a patient to take that many pills the public would be demanding he/she be struck off.

so should the phamasist who seemed to think it was ok to sell that many to someone.

[go-tazz]

Dr Nazo said Mrs La Bella had created an inescapable torment and her options were limited.

"She was embezzling money and had faked a terminal illness. She either had to die due to the illness,

tell the truth or have a miraculous recovery, thus rousing family suspicions," she said.

She said had Mrs La Bella been placed on a mental health order and diagnosed correctly she may not

have died when she did.

She set herself up and and tried to scheme her way out of a problem that she created and convinced others

that her issues where real and others are getting the blame?

The chance of her finding another way if she had been found out would've been high.

[janeababe]

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@davidc4430 wrote:

Exactly, so her husband and friends should have been asking questions. in all that time did her careing hubby not go to a doctor once where he could have asked questions?  They can ask all the questions in the world, but LEGALLY, the doctor can not answer them. Client treatment and any information about it is strictly confidential. It may aslo be on her medical records that her treating doctor is not to divulge or release any medical information relating to her, and that is her right to ask this.

i know doctors cant devulge personal info on patients but he could of had a general chat about his wifes symptoms and was taking huge amounts of laxatives normal for a cancer treatment.  Again, Unless the doctor was treating the wife in the presence of the husband, then the doctor can not have a general chat with the husband or other family members. We already know fromthe article, that the wife attended all medical visits alone.

i mean, even a moron would be worried if on the pack it said no more than 3 a day and she was taking 800!  The world is full of morons, David!  But not all folk have an idea about medical treatments.  This woman spinned a plausable yarn! .....  there are many many available drugs on the market that have a medical purpose other than that to which it is actually designed for.
If she told her hubby that the laxatives were to flush the chemo toxins from her system, then why would he question that?  he didnt know any better.

I'd be interested, though, if the Chemist and the husband ever had a *my wife takes these for her ovarian cancer treatment* conversation!!

I will say this though..... once the Hospital Doctor had a ultrasound film in his hand showing multiple tablets in her stomach, to which she claimed were pain killers, he should have had taken this further. THIS ALONE was a warning bell!  She needed a Mental Health Assessment. Surely there would have been a qualified Social Worker or Mental Health Team on duty, or on call. They should have not let this woman self discharge without being assessed.
If someone showed that they had a handful of undigested pills in their stomach, and the client said they were pain killers... the first thing coming to my mind would be *attempted suicide* (suspected overdose)  ...... but I dont see any mention of this concerns mentioned inthe article.

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[janeababe]

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@chameleon54 wrote:

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@not_for_sale2017 wrote:

I must have read a different article. She abused all those laxatives and the husband is an idiot? It states, "Mrs La Bella suffered from the factitious disorder Munchausen syndrome where a person repeatedly acts as if they have an illness when they are not really sick" and "The doctor had serious concerns and strongly advised against it but ultimately he sees no reason to detain her under the powers he can implement using an inpatient treatment order" .

Surely the husband and friends were sincere when they thought her frail state was due to cancer. And what was the doctor supposed to do, break the law? This is sad and tragic, but is an example of what can happen when a person has a condition such as Munchausens. I very much feel for the family and friends. They will forever be plagued with the "what if" thoughts, and will probably feel partly responsible.

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The article states the woman's weight was at a critical level and she was near the point of death. What the doctor should have done was section the woman under the mental health act and begin physical treatment and psychological assessment and counselling.  Actually, the assessment happens BEFORE being sectioned under the mental health act. The criteria around Sectioning someone under the Mental Health Act were changed/updated about 12mths ago, and Its actually harder to section someone now. (it was being abused by family members, getting their troublesome family member locked away for a week or two, while they toddled off on holidays).

This is what the laws around sectioning are for and would have saved her life. It would have also allowed the family to be made aware of the womans true conditions as it appears they either didnt see, or didnt want to see the real problems. .The woman said she had terminal cancer. She attended hospital for *treatments* and was losing weight. WHAT REAL PROBLEM DIDN'T THEY SEE ? They arent bleeding mind readers, professional doctors or mental health professionals! 
If she gave them no reason to doubt her in the past, why would they doubt her now?
I think you are being very unfair on the family and relatives of this woman. 

In my view the doctor was negligent in not sectioning the woman.

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[not_for_sale2025]

I just want to point out that many people with Munchausen Syndrome are brilliant at tricking and manipulating doctors, pharmacists, their family, and their friends. They have years of experience. Their intention is to get into hospital. Therefore doctors have to be very careful when they assess them and make sure they make the correct legal decision and the decision that is in the best interest of the person. Unfortunately, a worrying number kill themselves through misadventure e.g. they deliberately cause self injury that they miscalculate. Sometimes the doctors get it wrong, and that is concerning. But you will virtually never hear about the vast majority of cases where they get it right - that's not newsworthy.

[davidc4430]

The world is full of morons, David! 

So true, but lets hope those dishing out drugs arnt morons?

lets hope our doctors arnt morons too.

too bad this case seems to be saying "YES" they are morons.