S03.E06: Susan's Story

[feetcuzzyfeefee]

Susan looked like a text-book case of Cushing's Syndrome, which is a disease of the adrenal glands.  Lots of weight in the upper back, creating a hunch-back appearance, no-neck, head looks like it is coming from out of the area right above the collar-bones instead of on top of the shoulders, extremely round moon-face, and emotional problems.  Another give-away for Cushing's is a huge stomach and small legs.   When Susan complained about her leg paralysis and Dr. Now lifted up her dress/blouse to reveal her legs, I was not surprised to see how small they were.   When Dr. Now does tests, I wonder if he does test for Cushing's.   A lot of doctor's don't.  It's something you have to ask for, but most people don't know enough to think they might have Cushing's.   You can Google images for people suffering from Cushing's to see how similar they are to Susan.  (albeit a little smaller)

[alegtostandon]

Susan looked like a text-book case of Cushing's Syndrome, which is a disease of the adrenal glands.  Lots of weight in the upper back, creating a hunch-back appearance, no-neck, head looks like it is coming from out of the area right above the collar-bones instead of on top of the shoulders, extremely round moon-face, and emotional problems.  Another give-away for Cushing's is a huge stomach and small legs.   When Susan complained about her leg paralysis and Dr. Now lifted up her dress/blouse to reveal her legs, I was not surprised to see how small they were.   When Dr. Now does tests, I wonder if he does test for Cushing's.   A lot of doctor's don't.  It's something you have to ask for, but most people don't know enough to think they might have Cushing's.   You can Google images for people suffering from Cushing's to see how similar they are to Susan.  (albeit a little smaller)

 

I agree with you, feetcuzzyfeefee, it does look like Cushings.  Mr. Tostandon developed Cushings after being diagnosed with an adrenal gland disease, Addison's, and was put on high doses of prednisone.  Cushings is caused by too much of the hormone, cortisol, in your body. Cortisol regulates the way your body converts fats, carbs and protein into energy, as well as helps keep your blood pressure regulated & helps your body deal with any type of stress. 

 

Mr. Tostandon is no where near the weight of Susan, he has always been tall & thin, usually ranges between 180-190 lbs.  After starting on prednisone, we went up to around 220 lbs.  Most of the fat is focused on the back & neck, usually called a 'buffalo hump' and the abdomen..  That is exactly what Susan looked like.  Cushings could be caused by a pituitary tumor.  I wonder if they are checked for anything like this before the surgery.

 

Mr. Tostandon lost a lot of this bloat after he was taken off of prednisone & put on hydrocortisone, which is a more natural type of steroid. 

[feetcuzzyfeefee]

I hope he's doing better now, Alegtostandon.

[purpleflowers]

This episode was especially sad. I enjoyed reading everyone's take on Susan and her situation; there was a lot of interesting insight upthread. I also found it strange that the sister said her parents' divorce was the catalyst for her devastation and weight gain. I felt similar to this story as I did to Amber's: something traumatic or truly dysfunctional is missing from the story. Obviously, the father wielding a gun in front of them sounds absolutely traumatic enough, but the way Susan's mother has kept her dependent for all these years is truly sad and strange. I am curious how TLC found this family or how this family found Dr. Now and why they finally decided to make a change for Susan. I hope Susan can keep up her progress and finds health and happiness independent of her mother.

Edited February 16, 2015 by purpleflowers

[AdorkableWitch]

I totally got Susan's panic and emotional breakdowns. Food was her Xanax for a long time. Without food to dampen the emotions, they are hitting her full strength for the first time in years.

[Grasonville]

From what the sister said, Susan was devastated when her parents divorced and never recovered from this.  Based on what I saw, it was as if mentally, Susan stopped growing at this point. It seemed to me that the events that happened before the divorce would have been more difficult to handle and they would have welcomed the peace that came to the household without dad there pulling guns on mom and beating everyone.  I wonder where the dad is today.  I do not remember them mentioning him in present day.

 

Looking at the pictures of her as a child - overweight from the age of 8? and onward - I wondered if she wasn't sexually abused by a family member.  Young obesity can be a child intentionally trying to render themselves "unattractive".  If the father was accused and left on account of it - she would feel guilty for "telling" and Mom would feel guilty for "letting" it happen. (Not sure I believe the gun pointing tale)

Also - elder sister said it was like Susan was still wanting them to get back together - but they showed the father's face in the last family picture - makes me think he is now dead and that is why he could be shown (without permission).

[auntjess]

I thought her mother did end up backing off, surprisingly so.

Dr. Now should have had neurological testing done when she first complained, instead of brushing it off as in her head.

[Ocean Chick]

Not every overweight child is a sexually abused child.  I'm pretty sure that Susan overate to try to block out the abuse of her father towards her mother - a self-comforting type of thing.  I guess watching your dad hit your mom is a type of abuse, but it's not sexual abuse.

 

And on a shallow note - mom really needs a makeover.  That hair color and cut are really not flattering to her.  I think they make her look older than she really is.

[Taylorh2]

I just stared watching right now. Why is the name of the grocery store blurred out ?

[KarmaG]

I just stared watching right now. Why is the name of the grocery store blurred out ?

 

Could be for any number of reasons. The store doesn't want associated with the show, showing the name could equate advertising for the store which would conflict with paying sponsors of the show etc.

[auntjess]

I think blurring out is becoming pretty common.  I notice a lot of shows blur out writing and logos on teeshirts.

[scowl]

It's funny when they blur out the golden arches. Like we can't figure that out.

[Taylorh2]

You think that McDonald's wants their image on a show called "My 600- lb Life" ?  lol

[KarmaG]

I think blurring out is becoming pretty common.  I notice a lot of shows blur out writing and logos on teeshirts.

 

It has been a common thing for years, mostly due to sponsor issues. On Mythbusters they just use plumbers tape and cover logos on clothing, vehicles, computers etc.

[deedee2]

And on a shallow note - mom really needs a makeover.  That hair color and cut are really not flattering to her.  I think they make her look older than she really is.

 

I rewatched the show last night and had the same thoughts. There is simply no reason to have such a bad haircut. We need to cross-polinate with Stacy London's new show - Love, Lust, or Run.

[anstar]

I think blurring out is becoming pretty common

If the company in question won't be a sponsor, (ie: pay the show something), they get blurred.  No "free" advertising for them!

[lulu69]

Well, tlc did it again...gave us add'l info in the 'Supersize' episode that would have been important to know in the 1st place.

 

In the original episode, it was implied that Susan moved into the brother's house to gain more independence when in reality it was bc she couldn't make it up the steps to mom's trailer. Mom was still with her at the brother's! The plan was to move back to the mommy trailer when they could . Big difference & so much for gaining her independence.

 

In addition, the father IS still alive & as horrible as he is/was, Susan is still in regular contact w/him.

 

Wonder what else was deemed too 'insignificant' for the original episode?

[mmecorday]

In the "Supersized" episode (stay classy, TLC!) it was also mentioned that Susan was able to quit smoking while she was losing weight. I don't think her smoking habit was mentioned in the original airing.

 

Also, one of the pop-ups said that the scars on Susan's stomach were from boils that she had scratched. Um, ew. Didn't really need to know that!

[scowl]

You think that McDonald's wants their image on a show called "My 600- lb Life" ?  lol

 

Apparently they don't mind, otherwise TLC would blur out the golden arches enough so we can't see them. 

[auntjess]

On ‎2‎/‎12‎/‎2015 at 10:06 AM, PityFree said:

I am disappointed that Dr. Now didn't recognize her nerve problems when she first mentioned it.

I just rewatched some of these, and I wondered that too, because even when she was still with her mother, she'd been doing pretty well, and was more active than a lot the patients.

 

Quote

You think that McDonald's wants their image on a show called "My 600- lb Life" ?  lol

As Subway found out, there are worse things to be associated with.

Edited September 5, 2016 by auntjess

[iwasish]

On 2/12/2015 at 1:00 AM, non sequitur said:

I can't believe Susan's mother.  The grocery shopping trip at the first was painful.  There was no need to buy all of that high fat junk food, it was so excessive.  This is a clear case of someone needing to be in a different environment.  

 

I hope she continues to do well, she already seems so much happier.

She could barely walk in the store, they put a chair in the shopping cart so she could stop and rest...  two seconds later the mom asks her what kind of cake did she want????