S05.E14: Steven and Justin's Story Part 2

[poeticlicensed]

Of all the M600PL episodes, I found this one to be the most disingenuous. Steven has been making the rounds, famewhoring himself out to any reality or talk show willing to showcase him. He fashions himself a celebrity. His looking in the mirror and the 5 minute redemption arc after 3 hours and 55 minutes just didn't do it for me. Steven is Steven, this is his life. Justin and dad just went along for the ride. I feel like his 4 hour freaking episode was a slap in the face to all those patients of Dr. Now's  who are serious about weight loss. Even Ow Mah Leg guy, while he was a huge baby, and I give a huge side eye to all the gofundme pages, it was clear that his family wanted to get him help and at some level he wanted help, he just didn't want to work at it and his family had zero tools or capacity to help. Steven , OTOH, was not stupid. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was trying to be as outrageous as possible to shock us, therefore making him a bigger celebrity (in his eyes). I feel duped by the show. 

[gardendiva]

I feel like I was forced to watch one of his YouTube videos that was 4 hours long. It was the most self indulgent famewhoring I have ever seen. It was as if they put him in front of a running camera and told him to do whatever he wanted and they would film it and put it on tv.

[Wings]

I haven't seen any success stories other than an episode ending with the person still obese but less so.  Steven is clearly bull shit and much is staged (ie phone call to police and dad).  I think they just put the cat in there for filming.  Why, I have no idea.  He never had a cat, then he did.  Might be Princess' cat.  

This is a cash cow for Dr Now, his son and TLC.  It is so boring.  Every show is the same old routine.  Steven does add some variety but still very much the same.  Dr Now has zero personality and is not likable in the least.  

[skippy]

Steven is mentally ill and addicted to narcotics. His weight is the least of his problems because there is a relatively simple, easy way to solve that problem...eat less. A person must feel miserably low and awful to even begin to deal with mental illness and drug addiction, and Steven will never feel miserable precisely because of the mental illness and addiction.  He has to want to heal but he never will as long as he has drugs.  Even if he could conquer his addictions, he'll still have mental illness and I don't think there's enough therapy in the world to help this wretched creature.  His father is the worst enabler I've ever seen.

[Thriftykins]

1 minute ago, wings707 said:

I haven't seen any success stories other than an episode ending with the person still obese but less so.  Steven is clearly bull shit and much is staged (ie phone call to police and dad).  I think they just put the cat in there for filming.  Why, I have no idea.  He never had a cat, then he did.  Might be Princess' cat.  

This is a cash cow for Dr Now, his son and TLC.  It is so boring.  Every show is the same old routine.  Steven does add some variety but still very much the same.  Dr Now has zero personality and is not likable in the least.  

How long have you been watching?  In seasons 2 through the current season 5, they only show 1 year of their weight loss.  These patients have 300 or more pounds to lose (300 is on the low end, most need to drop at least 400).  No matter how hardworking and compliant a patient is, they'll never get all that off in a single year.

 

The followup episodes tell a different story.  Christina started at 650 or so, then got down to 160, at which point Dr. Now told her she had lost too much and told her to gain 15 pounds by the next month.  Melissa, Henry, Paula, Donald, and a few more similarly go down to healthy weights.

[cpcathy]

As soon as I saw the cat, that's all I could think about. I do hope she was put in there for filming only, she was such a sweetheart, rubbing her face on the furniture. I was hoping Princess would take the TV and then go, "And I'm taking your cat!"

[Wings]

5 minutes ago, Michael Stabosz said:

How long have you been watching?  In seasons 2 through the current season 5, they only show 1 year of their weight loss.  These patients have 300 or more pounds to lose (300 is on the low end, most need to drop at least 400).  No matter how hardworking and compliant a patient is, they'll never get all that off in a single year.

 

The followup episodes tell a different story.  Christina started at 650 or so, then got down to 160, at which point Dr. Now told her she had lost too much and told her to gain 15 pounds by the next month.  Melissa, Henry, Paula, Donald, and a few more similarly go down to healthy weights.

I haven't watched many at all.  Just started this year and caught some re runs from earlier seasons but didn't see anything much.   I have my DVR set to record "Where are they now"  but nothing has come up yet.  

ETA.  He told a woman weighing 160 to gain 15 pounds?  How tall was she? 

Edited April 6, 2017 by wings707

[Lesia]

can you even imagine how he must have smelled, both when he went to see Dr. Now and then the drug counselors/therapists?  That's all I kept thinking.

Bleh- the greasy hair, the dirty clothes, the disgusting feet, the rotting flesh on his legs, oh, God I can't stand it.

what an utter waste of space. 

[Thriftykins]

Just now, wings707 said:

I haven't watched many at all.  Just started this year and caught some re runs from earlier seasons but didn't see anything much.   I have my DVR set to record "Where are they now"  but nothing has come up yet.  

Check your settings and make sure it's not set to record new episodes only.  Yesterday they reran Paula's story, then Christina's, then the followup that covered both of them.  You might be able to catch some of them On Demand.

 

Christina's story never stops amazing me.  She started out so much like Penny...  she gained 17 pounds in the first month.  She was admitted to the hospital then only lost 4 pounds over a month because her mother kept sneaking her food.  But then she turned it all around in a huge way.

[Hockeymom]

On a positive note, I loved Dr. Paradise!

I loved that after the golf cart fiasco, dad made him follow through with the appointment.  When Steven refused to get out of the car, Dr. Paradise gave dad the appointment in his place. I loved dad's tough talk! Can you imagine how dad would benefit from regular Skype sessions with the good doctor? I was not on team dad, but now I just think he's just an average Joe who's floundering around way over his pay grade.

I do have to say, (please don't kill me) it was dumb to put Steven on the back of a golf cart. I mean, they strap him down just lying on a gurney. I thought it was great that dad made him get involved in apartment shopping instead of just lounging at home. But a golf cart  jostling around all that fat? I do think he actually slid off. That's a lot of liability right there.

It looks like I was wrong about dad selling Steven's extra pills. Steven was scarfing them down! I was sure there was more to it. I think I'm getting soft, but he really did seem to be overcoming at least the drug addiction.

The cat. THE CAT!!! Who took care of Cupcake when Steven/John (what's up with that?) was in the hospital for a month? Princess did it when he was in detox, but they were over by then. And why send him home from detox instead of into some inpatient facility?

Did anyone notice, when he was having his intake interview, that Steven said something to the effect that he didn't want to be like those other celebrities.

And Justin. Poor Justin. Yes, the store was kinda lame. But he's doing something. He's out of the basement and he made friends.

Sure, there is a serious lack of business savvy. I gotta give the guy credit for trying to make a living doing probably the only thing he's qualified for and interested in. I hope he does well.

[AZChristian]

I love how he was threatening to call the police on Princess because she said she was taking the TV (which belonged to her company), but when a man showed up to take it, not one peep out of Steven's mouth.  What was he going to do?  Follow the guy and take it back?  Steven:  All talk, no action.

[John M]

10 hours ago, Diamond Dog said:

When do the benefits end? I was adding up all the ER, transport, 911, and hospital bills in my head, and it made me nauseous. Such abuse. Especially, the needless 911 calls. You'd think he'd get charged with abusing the service.

I can't find any clear information but isn't doctor/pharmacist shopping a crime? The best thing for him would probably be lock him in a cage for a few years with some prison guards that don't give a flying fuck about appeasing him and can just lock the door and walk away.

A few years without drugs, food, internet or phone would probably be the best thing for him. 

[HahYallDoin]

I feel just 'Blah' about the Assanti clan. I feel as though they are mentally ill and I can't muster up any hateful outrage nor any real sympathy.  Well, outrage on behalf of the nursing and EMS staff but as far as the brothers, I feel angry with them but not outrage. 

My outrage is directed towards James, Lisa, and the Juggalo crew!

If I'd watched 4 hours of Bayley wiping her father's humongous *ss or Nicole's defenseless children with their filthy feet and horrific surroundings, my blood pressure would be through the roof! However, for me personally, 4 hours of mentally ill and attention seeking brothers who aren't 'abusing' their own children and are 'just' a drain on 'the system' leaves me mostly 'meh.' 

TLC failed to shock me as much as they clearly intended. IMO, 4 hours of 'Ow, mah lagh, But its FRAAAAHD, You only gave me one little "reg roll", I promise Dr. I won't give him ANYTHING else' would have resulted in another 40 pages of commentary here. Also IMO, 'the powers that be' gambled on the wrong train wreck to keep us talking. 

[HahYallDoin]

About the Steven Jr/John name issue, did you catch Steven Sr. refer to Jr. as 'John' when he was on the phone with Justin? It was during the call Justin made to complain about the store being closed for a week. Maybe John is his middle name and as a child the family called him John rather than 'Jr.' At some point, John could have chosen to use his first name. 

[Kellyee]

Quote

Oh, how did you figure that out?  I own an ecommerce business and it was making me crazy that he was sitting in an empty store with all the inventory, when he could have been shipping the specialty products.  The whois does match him so that's definitely the right domain name.  Maybe he's going to expand into online sales.  I wish him luck. I really do. 

My first thought when Justin opened the store is that he would be better off selling on Ebay or working the flea markets. Less overhead cost and more potential to reach the people who will buy.

Dr. Paradise was really short. I was a little worried Steve might fall and land on him. He seemed like a good doctor though. He tried.

[EtheltoTillie]

3 hours ago, Michael Stabosz said:

He might.  He still needs to find his rock-bottom.  You're right: it doesn't seem to bother him.  Most patients seem to be fed up with the loss of mobility or the inability to care for their kids or shame at being taken care of.  He's still mobile, he doesn't have kids, and he doesn't seem to be bothered by living with and being supported by his father.

Justin is afraid of something.  He does not want to deal with whatever abuse he suffered in the past.  He was a sad character.

[AZChristian]

26 minutes ago, John M said:

I can't find any clear information but isn't doctor/pharmacist shopping a crime? The best thing for him would probably be lock him in a cage for a few years with some prison guards that don't give a flying fuck about appeasing him and can just lock the door and walk away.

A few years without drugs, food, internet or phone would probably be the best thing for him. 

That's what Dr. Now told him when he showed him the list.  "This is a felony.  You can go to jail for this."  I agree.  It would knock the snowflakeness right out of him.

[Hockeymom]

And why was there such an issue with the TV?

With all the money dad spent on everything else, why not just rent him a television? I mean, Steven is a complete jerk, but sitting in an empty apartment with nothing to do would drive me insane. Steven cannot afford to loose any sanity.

As others have said, who got him the cat? The food, litter, and collar? I was reeeeaaaalllyy hoping the cat "got out" somehow while he was hospitalized and was now cozy at home with Princess or one of the producers.

I kept waiting for Steven to lash out at it. It was actually giving me anxiety. The fact that the cat seemed to like him, is the only thing I like about Steven.

Edited April 6, 2017 by Hockeymom

[Wings]

I suppose the term "mentally ill" has a wide umbrella but I don't see mental illness here.   They are exhibiting behavior that falls in the asshole category from where I sit.  

[Hockeymom]

3 minutes ago, wings707 said:

but I don't see mental illness here.

Check out the pie video.

[Wings]

1 minute ago, Hockeymom said:

Check out the pie video.

Yeah, asshole acting crazy for attention.  His youtube followers have to be entertained, you know. ;^)

[LillysPad]

Steven's apartment is discussing. I paused it and I think I can see the cat litter box straight across from the cat's water dish and dry food. Yuck!  Yet the blurred canned food box (oh wait, is that a box of pop?)is against the other wall. 

And I have 2hrs and 27 minutes left.

[Thriftykins]

20 minutes ago, OwlBwise2 said:

Steven's apartment is discussing. I paused it and I think I can see the cat litter box straight across from the cat's water dish and dry food. Yuck!  Yet the blurred canned food box (oh wait, is that a box of pop?)is against the other wall. 

And I have 2hrs and 27 minutes left.

1 HR 27.  Don't count the stupid plastic surgery show they glue on to the end of it.

[LillysPad]

Just now, Michael Stabosz said:

1 HR 27.  Don't count the stupid plastic surgery show they glue on to the end of it.

Yep. That is what I did. haha.

I am now at the point where Dr. Paradise comes to his place. (I was reading the live chat last night.Just not chatting...hubby was watching something else at the time.) Steve IS high. 

[itsmyotherface]

Some answers re: Justin's store from  his Reddit AMA. 

-He got the money to open mostly by going to flea markets and selling things there. He also bought vintage toys at the flea markets and flipped them online. His dad did help some with the first months' rent. 

-The website is offline because it WAS a web store, but it was costing more money to keep up than he was making. He took it down, might bring it back up once the store isn't operating in the red. (But it's been a year, how is he paying rent now?)

 

He also admitted to having his PS4 set up behind the counter so he can game when it's not busy....

Edited April 6, 2017 by itsmyotherface

[Pestilentia]

Quote

Didn't Justin tell Steven at the end of the episode that the store was doing well?  I thought he said something like "We made $100 today" - like it was a big deal.  That doesn't even begin to pay the rent, much less allow you to buy more products for future sales.

I heard him as saying "I made $1100 (eleven-hundred) today."

Which I thought was a croc. I doubt he makes $1100 a month. But I already deleted the show so can't go check.

But at least he has an interest in something.

[okerry]

4 hours ago, Meowza said:

I think that Nat Geo Wild should contact Steven and have him appear on "The Incredible Dr. Pol." Here is how I imagine it:

The Uberlance transports Steven from Houston and dumps him in a cow barn in rural Weidman, Michigan

Camera cuts to scene of Dr. Pol and his son Charles on their way to a call. 

Dr. Pol: Ve just got an emergency call from a farmer who found a Manbearpig in distress inside a dairy barn

Charles: Holy *BLEEP*! So it's half bear, half man, and half pig! 

Vehicle pulls up at farm, Dr. Pol and Charles greet the farmer.

Farmer: I got up this morning and saw that most of my cows were eaten. Then I noticed this...this thing over here

Dr. Pol walks to corner of barn

Dr. Pol: Jiminy Christmas! It stinks in here! Vat in the vorld is dat? I don't tink it's a Manbearpig, it's someting else. A monstrosity, is vat it is!

Charles: Geez, Dad, what the hell is that?

Steven: My pain level is a nine!

Dr. Pol: I tought at first it was a Manaphant, but now dat I heard it make a noise, I definitely now know vat it is. It's a Rhode Island Manatee! I never see von before, only in textbooks back in veterinary college!

Charles: Dad, look at its legs, they're green! And how did it get an iPad?!

Steven: My legs hurt, I need a dilaudid pizza or I'll call the police!!

Dr. Pol: It's screaming in pain, dere's noting I can do but put it down. Charles, get the chains and the snare. We'll restrain it, and den put it out of its misery

Dr. Pol goes out to his vehicle and returns with a large syringe full of pink liquid, and you can guess the rest.

The world lives happily ever after.

Oh my god, you win the Internet today. That was priceless!

[Granny58]

14 hours ago, leighroda said:

I'm a nurse in Texas, but I don't work in a specialty that deals with narcotics (I do kidney dialysis), so I knew of the database, but I don't know how exactly it works. Dr now had that paper, but then said he was going to enter it into the database, and when he did Steven would never be given pain meds again (or something to that effect) so it sounds like he hadn't been entered in the database by any of those other doctors. What's the point of the system then? Did he have someone call all of the area hospitals to check for records? (I have had to do that before). It's very possible I missed a key piece of information because I was outraged at something else said and was furiously writing in the live feed thread.

I took that to mean if he gave him ANOTHER prescription it would go into the database and that would be the end of it for him.  

[silverspoons]

5 minutes ago, Granny58 said:

I took that to mean if he gave him ANOTHER prescription it would go into the database and that would be the end of it for him.  

Dr. Now mentioned having only one doctor prescribe when he was referring to the long list in the database. Either Steven had signed a pain management agreement at some point or Dr. Now was going to force him to was my feeling. My mom had a knee replacement gone wrong, MRSA, 5 surgeries and while my mom couldn't even drive, they had her sign a pain management agreement that only one doctor would give her medications and she had to pick a pharmacy and they do check the database. Crazy they did this for my 71 year old mom when she had never filled a pain prescription in her life before this surgery.  As much as Dr. Now wanted to get rid of Steven's addiction, I think he knew if Steven filed a compliant and turned in pictures of his legs, proof of the ongoing clots and whatever is growing on his legs, he would get pain meds again. At least if he was on a contract with one pain management clinic, the database is checked and he could not get away with the ER visits and Dr. Now could not prescribe him anything.  Steven never look clean or not high to me even at the very end. The camera also panned in on pills bottles every time they filmed his apartment. Even on his recent social media posts and he said this episode ended 6 months ago he still seem high.

[Miss Ruth]

15 hours ago, Dianaofthehunt said:

fliptopbox, no surgery for Steven. He's still much too heavy.

I've seen Dr. Now do gastric bypass/sleeve gastrectomy on people who weighed more than Steven did at the end of the show.  I think he didn't get the surgery because of his yo-yo "dieting" and his attitude toward the whole process.

[LuciaMia]

Quote

 

Quote

 

Lordy, somebody please explain the math when Dr. No confronts Steve on his drug seeking. At first I thought he meant the entire time he'd been in Houston. But just for one month? 1,300 of one kind of pills, 800 of another? I don't care what his tolerance is, with that amount he should be dead 10 times over!

That shot of Steve slipping off the golf cart and then his frenzied yells  of phony pain  definitely belongs to the ages.

Quote

and trying to cram a redemption arc in the last 5 mins?

Thats the point I hit the Off button. So desperate to show any kind of happy ending….uh, no, sorry. Don't believe it for a second.

[Hockeymom]

Given that Steven is so prolific on social media, has anyone seen him lately?

Does he look any thinner?

[itsmyotherface]

1 minute ago, Hockeymom said:

Given that Steven is so prolific on social media, has anyone seen him lately?

Does he look any thinner?

I'm betting he's still under an NDA with the production. You *know* they're going to do a follow up on him, since he got surgery, but not until after production ceased. The picture's he's put up are all pre-surgery. He didn't look significantly different in his live chat last night, but I'm betting that's because he only very recently got surgery. I'm guessing 1-2 months ago, though he didn't say.

[Johnny Dollar]

I would definitely watch a Dr. Paradise Show. With special guest Princess. 

[cpcathy]

4 minutes ago, LuciaMia said:

Thats the point I hit the Off button. So desperate to show any kind of happy ending….uh, no, sorry. Don't believe it for a second.

The fact that Justin was NOT having it, even for the camera, cracked me up. "I love you, bro." "Yeah." DENIED!

[LillysPad]

Dr. Now should use that mirror on other patients. Get your hands out of your pants when Dr. Now is talking to you Steven. Ewww.

That is a lot of pop cans. Two garbage bags full.

[Honey]

3 hours ago, Trees said:

Oh, how did you figure that out?  I own an ecommerce business and it was making me crazy that he was sitting in an empty store with all the inventory, when he could have been shipping the specialty products.  The whois does match him so that's definitely the right domain name.  Maybe he's going to expand into online sales.  I wish him luck. I really do. 

If you google Hobby Haven, Rhode Island, his shop comes up on the right-hand side of the page with a picture of his "business".  I clicked on "website", and it says it's currently unavailable.  Like someone else said, it doesn't mean the business is closed.  They probably just don't want to pay for web-site hosting.

3 hours ago, Johnny Dollar said:

Well that was a tremendous waste of four hours. These two episodes remind me of this season of The Walking Dead - a whole of talking with nothing changing. 

If Dr. Now had access to Steven's prescription history, why don't the hospitals he's been going to have that same info?  In NJ, they recently passed a law limiting opioid prescriptions to one five day supply at a time.  Or a half of a dose for Steven. I guess he won't be moving to Jersey anytime soon. 

Are you sure that's not just the amount that can be called in without a backup script?  New York is super strict, and up to a 5 day supply can be called in.  The most you can get at a time is a 30 day supply for controlled substances, and after that you need a new script.

Of course, all this could have changed within the past week, who knows?

[Toaster Strudel]

We've seen Steven consume large amounts of pepperoni cheese pizzas (no vegetables!) and drinking oceans of Coke.

Has he ever in his life, even accidentally, ingested vitamins from his food?  Or fiber? His constipation must be epic.

Steven's food groups appear to be sugar, starch, fat, salt, protein, calcium from cheese and sulfites from pepperoni.

Edited April 6, 2017 by Toaster Strudel

[Honey]

12 minutes ago, OwlBwise2 said:

Dr. Now should use that mirror on other patients. Get your hands out of your pants when Dr. Now is talking to you Steven. Ewww.

That is a lot of pop cans. Two garbage bags full.

And doesn't everyone sleep with 37 half-empty Coke bottles in bed with them?  Never know when your drugs may give you cotton-mouth, in the middle of the night.

[poeticlicensed]

55 minutes ago, Pestilentia said:

I heard him as saying "I made $1100 (eleven-hundred) today."

Which I thought was a croc. I doubt he makes $1100 a month. But I already deleted the show so can't go check.

But at least he has an interest in something.

I thought he said he made a hundred.

[Honey]

3 hours ago, Trees said:

• Golfcart - I agree that it was scripted and fake.  Steven had the ability to walk. He walked before that scene, and after.  No golf cart needed.

• The hair-pulling - I think they stole a segment from Part 1 and put it in to Part 2 and told Dr Now to say, "Oh and he's pulling out his hair again!"  His hair right before that scene and after - no bald stuff in front.  This is more TLC viewer manipulation/dishonesty.

• One of the old patients from an older series, the 23-year old gal, is noisy on Facebook. She and her new BF are doing the same thing as Steven - getting personal publicity for their new celebrity.  They said something along the lines of, per the TLC contract, if you go "out there" with your own updates, you are banned from the show - and that she chose this.  So now that you guys are saying Steven and Justin are going this route with their own "celebrity" status, I think we can be assured that TLC has lost their "cash-cows" (pun intended).

• They leave so much important stuff out.  All they need is one minute to show how Steven is getting food to his apartment.  What is he eating?  Who is preparing it for him?  I mean - this is something they devote HOURS to in every other show.  Because they pulled this guy into the program based on his media appearances, is this part of his package deal, like the fancy medical transport?  If they get to keep filming, will they send people in behind the scenes to do his shopping and cooking?  It makes no sense at all.

• Where did that cute cat come from?  Who went and got it for him?  Probably a "free cat" from Craigslist.  Who brought it to him?  Who pays for the cat food and litter?  Who scoops the litter boxes and feeds her?  A cat could certainly be happy getting to spend 24/7 with a guy who never leaves his bed, if he's nice to her.  But that's not all a cat needs.  Heck, the one shot of the cat box - the lowered side that allows the cat to step in easily was backwards - facing the wall.  And who took care of this cutie when he was in the hospital?

• Why do so many places, including Dr Now's office, allow him to walk in barefoot?  Even if he slipped on those booties they give you in the hospital, it would be better.

• Notice how he was squirting himself with (cologne?) before seeing people?  OK - he's not bathing. He stinks.  Dr Now and the therapist said nothing, nor did Dad.  Ugh. 

• IN the final scenes where he's "doing better" - what were all those prescription bottles all over his bed?

In my opinion, James (aka Ow Mah Legs!) was a worse person.  But this brothers episode was a more obvious and a dishonest manipulation of the viewer. 

The earlier shows at least seem to have some level of veracity.  Real people, limited resources, broken families, true struggles...

But the brothers episodes - there was so much fiction, scripting and set-ups to make it possible.  I have lost all respect for Dr & Son Nowzaradan and the TLC network.

Wait! So you had respect for TLC before this?  Lol  ;)

[silverspoons]

19 minutes ago, Hockeymom said:

Given that Steven is so prolific on social media, has anyone seen him lately?

Does he look any thinner?

He did a live chat on facebook last night. It was weird lighting and angle. Not sure if this is a spoiler or not.

Spoiler

He did have the surgery. I don't think he looked any thinner but is was basically only his face and shoulders and he wasn't wearing a shirt. He did say there is another episode coming but he wasn't sure when. The first two episode were Oct 2015-2016 and they still are filming.  He even seemed bummed that the surgery wasn't shown because he wanted to see it. He still seemed high and he was mad that so many people were angry with him. 100% clear he wants fame and thinks he has it now.

[IOU Payne]

Was Steven wearing a wig from the Freddie Mercury collection on this episode?  That clearly wasn't his natural hair.

I think the money from the redemption of the soda cans and bottles would have reimbursed the much-maligned taxpayers for at least one gratuitous drug-seeking ambulance ride.  Or a cleaning crew for his apartment.  

And does Cupcake call the Humane Society begging for catnip?  If so, her human has been a bad influence on her!

[Miss Ruth]

 The funniest line of the show for me was when the doctors at the detox facility told Steven he couldn't have his tablet, phone, etc, and Steven said, "I have to be able to contact my people."

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Honey said:

The website Hobbyhavenri.com is shut down.

Oh, how shocking. 

There's no way TLC wasn't in charge of making that sad trombone of a "hobby store" happen for Justin. They had to find something to film him doing instead of "exercising" his remote control car, staring at his computer, or slaving over a hot stove preparing his Chef Boyardee ravioli in a can. 

[Nancypants]

OooI'm telling you! An Exorcist!

[dahling]

So, one little golden nugget I uncovered in this 4 hour turd bomb. When Dr. N was skyping with Justin, Justin said he was pretty sure he hadn't gained. Dr. N responded that that was very unlikely, because people who are 600 pounds are not maintaining. They're either gaining or losing.  This is so true of me, even though I've never been 600 pounds. I have very rarely managed to maintain in my life... maybe for a couple of years here and there, but the battle with food always comes roaring back. I gain and gain and gain until I decide to lose. I'm at the end of a 3 year weight loss journey right now and beginning to transition into a maintenance plan, and that scares me worse than dieting. Eating the exact amount I need to exist, no more, no less, that is like a white unicorn. Seriously. And I thank Dr. N for saying it/confirming it. It helped me. 

[RubyRena17]

Steven's dad (Sr.) smokes. He was smoking while moving Steven's stanky crap into the second apartment. I do not think he is evil. He's just a working class shmoe who is away from home, frustrated, angry and finds himself in the absolute worst of predicaments without real insight.

Only God knows, but my little end scenario goes like this:  Steven Sr. will die soon of a stroke or heart attack. His sons won't get to the hospital, let alone even plan or pay for a funeral. They will fall apart. Steven will subsequently die of about 15 or more causes (there are just SO many overwhelming things wrong with him). Justin will be alone in his haunted house and basement to continue his playing with his toys and collectibles. He will continue to gain weight until he too becomes immobile and dies of about 6 causes. He will end up in a potter's field maybe. Only dad should maybe have a small headstone/marker, but that won't happen. And who would even visit? The End. Five years or less.

But strange things happen. Bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. Look at Angelina Jolie or Carrie Fisher. Who saw their situations coming so soon? How many really nice people do you know that wind up with cancer or autoimmune diseases? Or are valiantly fighting their diabesity?

I should not judge, BUT 4 FREAKING HOURS OF MISERY DISEASE ADDICTION INSANITY UGLINESS ANGER AND INACTION?

[MegD]

1 hour ago, Honey said:

4 hours ago, Johnny Dollar said:

Well that was a tremendous waste of four hours. These two episodes remind me of this season of The Walking Dead - a whole of talking with nothing changing. 

If Dr. Now had access to Steven's prescription history, why don't the hospitals he's been going to have that same info?  In NJ, they recently passed a law limiting opioid prescriptions to one five day supply at a time.  Or a half of a dose for Steven. I guess he won't be moving to Jersey anytime soon. 

Are you sure that's not just the amount that can be called in without a backup script?  New York is super strict, and up to a 5 day supply can be called in.  The most you can get at a time is a 30 day supply for controlled substances, and after that you need a new script.

Down here in Alabama, opioid and several other types of drugs that have addictive risk to them (or are frequently abused) can only be written for a 30 day supply (and you can't fill a new one until day 30) with no refills. For a little over a year, they have stopped allwoing call in or e-prescribing for those drugs. You have to have a paper prescription. I understand from working on e-prescribing stuff for my dad, he may now have been granted the ability to e-prescribe or call in a very limited amount of those drugs so that doctors can call in prescriptions on weekends out of the office. But I think it's really no more than can be taken properly before the office reopens. Dad won't go near a lot of opioids so I'm not absolutely sure on the regulations.

[Banshee]

Dang, I missed the last hour or so of Steven's story because my husband got fed up and he wanted to watch "Black Sails" (great show, btw; too bad it's over). So I recorded the rest of it, and I'm watching it now. But people were tweeting the clip where Steven falls off the golf cart, so I saw that part on Twitter without sound.