S06.E02: Janine's Story

[forensicfiles]

I thought her niece was rather large.

[Elizzikra]

23 hours ago, auntjess said:

I agree, and wonder if the adoption agency should have not mentioned her fat mother.  Maybe she'd have been okay, and probably better than she ended up.

They all say this, is it some time of food amnesia? Didn't I see something gravy when she was on the 1200 calories.

I asked about this somewhere else too, but is this what the Drs.Davis (Garth & his dad) used on their sister/daughter, and you inflated or deflated it, depending on how it was working?

I think it was good for the adoption agency to disclose what they knew of her birth parents’ medical history. It would have been better for them to give some context and help the adoptive parents deal with that knowledge in a more appropriate way but it was the 60’s. They didn’t do a lot of disclosure around adoption back then nor did they really know much about how to raise kids to deal with food and body image. I’m not sure we do much better on that count now.

[Elizzikra]

On 1/18/2018 at 9:03 AM, seasons said:

Wonder if they give you some Valium or something before swallowing the balloon. Yes, please.

I had a capsule endoscopy (you swallow the little camera and it takes a billion pictures while it travels through your digestive system). The thing Janine had to swallow looked like it was about the size of the camera capsule. I didn’t have anything with it but water. Then again, they didn’t inflate it once it was in my stomach nor did it have a string so they could yank part of it out after it was inflated. So maybe they do need to chill you out? Then again, you’d want someone to be awake and alert so they don’t choke on it.

Quote

Were these actually thoughts she had as a child or are they thoughts that she came up with as an adult and she claims she thought them as a child.  Specifically, I question if she really thought that her mom was starving her at age 10.  She appeared to be at least 25 pounds overweight.  How would a child of that size feel they were being starved?  I just don't believe she thought that as a child or if she did, she must have been a very unusual child.

I didn't find it all that unusual. Overweight people can still experience hunger. If her mother constantly had her on a diet, she probably was hungry at least some of the time. And as a child, I can see where she wouldn't have the verbal skills to express "I'm not satisfied with what I just ate" so she just goes to "I'm starving." I pretty much told my mother that I was "starving" every day before dinner when she wouldn't let me have a cookie...

As for how Janine was affording things, I wondered that too. I wonder if maybe her family had money and she inherited? If she was adopted through a private agency rather than the public child welfare system, that would have been expensive, even in the 60's. Inheritance plus disability and maybe Medicaid - she could have an ok income. 

Edited January 20, 2018 by Elizzikra
Added stuff once I figured out how to do it.

[Delete]

I'll have to send TLC a thank you card for helping me lose my appetite and for keeping me on track with eating healthy. The fat girl toilet wiping tutorial; the massive lymphedema MRSA sore, and the eggo waffle whipped cream breakfast was enough to make me say no to any snacking. 

[auntjess]

56 minutes ago, Elizzikra said:

It would have been better for them to give some context and help the adoptive parents deal with that knowledge in a more appropriate way but it was the 60’s.

I still think they shouldn't have been told.  The worst that could have happened, is that she turned out as big as she is, but without all the pills and hassle from her mother.

[Elizzikra]

Quote

I still think they shouldn't have been told.  The worst that could have happened, is that she turned out as big as she is, but without all the pills and hassle from her mother.

Agree to disagree then. I worked in adoption for a long time and I think that secrecy does more harm than good. I think adopted people and their adoptive parents have a right to whatever information the adoption agency has about the birth family. There was a very different perspective, though, in the 60's around adoption information sharing. If the birth mother had been an alcoholic (and for the sake of argument, let's say she was an alcoholic who managed to abstain during her pregnancy so there was no risk of harm to the fetus), I wouldn't argue that the worst that would happen from not telling the adoptive parents would be that the kid grows up to be an alcoholic too.

[Mu Shu]

On 1/18/2018 at 4:32 PM, ChicksDigScars said:

You're going to need this for the Assanti's. Rhode Island is a pretty long drive. 

 

Grab it before POTUS does.....

 

I'll show myself out.  Sooo going to hell. 

 

 

Can you imagine Steven ordering a pizza from Pizza Man Dan?  “HELLOOO?  I need a lahgh sahhsage pizza, a Lahgh pepparoni, 3 two liteh diet Cokes, three ordehs of breadsticks, chicken  pahm, and half a dozen cannoli.  Can you HEAH me Pizza man Dan?  I will be VEHRY angry if you don’t delivah it on time.  Oh, and can you give me 90 Percocet and 120 oxys?  And my fahtha will be calling you from fall rivah to pay with his credit cahd.  I am VEHRY stahved, and will be VEHRY angry if I don’t get my ordeh in 30 minutes or less” 

[auntjess]

1 hour ago, Elizzikra said:

Agree to disagree then. I worked in adoption for a long time and I think that secrecy does more harm than good.

OK.  But it seems like in this particular case, the mother obsessed about her weight from the beginning, and the poor child was lectured about it her whole life.
 

[bethster2000]

1 hour ago, Mu Shu said:

Can you imagine Steven ordering a pizza from Pizza Man Dan?  “HELLOOO?  I need a lahgh sahhsage pizza, a Lahgh pepparoni, 3 two liteh diet Cokes, three ordehs of breadsticks, chicken  pahm, and half a dozen cannoli.  Can you HEAH me Pizza man Dan?  I will be VEHRY angry if you don’t delivah it on time.  Oh, and can you give me 90 Percocet and 120 oxys?  And my fahtha will be calling you from fall rivah to pay with his credit cahd.  I am VEHRY stahved, and will be VEHRY angry if I don’t get my ordeh in 30 minutes or less” 

[Calicocats]

The mother may have had an eating disorder herself, if what Janine said is actually true.  It sounds extreme.  Over controlling what your kid eats never ends well- either in binge eating disorder or anorexia or bulimia.

I don't understand why some people need a bariatric ambulance and some can just (attempt, lol) to get on a plane.  I don't think she should have been flying.

These people are all seriously mentally ill- but there's little to no treatment here.  Now should have said- either go to the therapist or you're not my patient anymore.  Hell, a session with a good psychiatrist would have also helped Janine.  As annoying as they are, they are mentally ill and completely out of control by the time they get to Houston- so I think it's almost negligent to not treat that first and foremost.  

[Elizzikra]

8 hours ago, auntjess said:

OK.  But it seems like in this particular case, the mother obsessed about her weight from the beginning, and the poor child was lectured about it her whole life.
 

Yes - definitely not the right way to use the information and it clearly contributed to where she is now.

[alegtostandon]

The scene of her driving her cart a la Pauline Style down the street & thru the fast food drive thru cracked me up!

I am very claustrophobic & panic when flying...I've flown my whole life & this just started a few years ago. Dr gives me 4 Ativan pills 2 for each way.  Only problem is, I have to take them 1 hr before the flight, by loading time, I'm floating down the aisle! As soon as we sit in our seats, I'm out.  Can't imagine them trying to drag a 700 pound passed out person to their seat.

I don't understand these people who use "knee injuries", etc. as their excuse for weighing over 600 pounds. I was in a horrible car accident in my 20's, spent my whole 30's in & out of the hospital, averaging 2-4 surgeries a year, 2 on my knees. I actually went the opposite direction & dropped from 120 to 87 pounds, which also causes some horrible health issues. I've been able to gain & maintain a healthy weight, but have really had to work on it. I was told I'd be in a wheelchair by 40...like hell!  I guess I could have just laid in bed & ate, but I fought it & still walk on my own today. 

I also don't understand these people who expect their siblings to drop everything in their lives to follow them to Houston to care for them. I love my sisters and brother dearly, but unless it's an emergency, I could not drop my life to care for them. 

Edited January 20, 2018 by alegtostandon

[xwordfanatik]

9 hours ago, bethster2000 said:

One of my all-time favorite movies!  Love it!

[SunnyBeBe]

22 minutes ago, alegtostandon said:

The scene of her driving her cart a la Pauline Style down the street & thru the fast food drive thru cracked me up!

I am very claustrophobic & panic when flying...I've flown my whole life & this just started a few years ago. Dr gives me 4 Ativan pills 2 for each way.  Only problem is, I have to take them 1 hr before the flight, by loading time, I'm floating down the aisle! As soon as we sit in our seats, I'm out.  Can't imagine them trying to drag a 700 pound passed out person to their seat.

I don't understand these people who use "knee injuries", etc. as their excuse for weighing over 600 pounds. I was in a horrible car accident in my 20's, spent my whole 30's in & out of the hospital, averaging 2-4 surgeries a year, 2 on my knees. I actually went the opposite direction & dropped from 120 to 87 pounds, which also causes some horrible health issues. I've been able to gain & maintain a healthy weight, but have really had to work on it. I was told I'd be in a wheelchair by 40...like hell!  I guess I could have just laid in bed & ate, but I fought it & still walk on my own today. 

I also don't understand these people who expect their siblings to drop everything in their lives to follow them to Houston to care for them. I love my sisters and brother dearly, but unless it's an emergency, I could not drop my life to care for them. 

I think that patients use all kind of excuses, like Janine used her mom and her injury.  I recall one lady on tv who claimed that a spider bite that occurred over 20 years earlier caused her morbid obesity.  Sometimes, I think they are actual delusions and other times, just lies they tell for so long, that they start to believe them.  And if no one ever calls them out on it, why not?  I'm surprised that no one ever challenges them and says, that's absurd.  Not true.  Who believes things like that.  You need to get real.  Well, Dr. Now does now, but, besides him, hardly anyone. 

I don't think any of the super, morbidly obese patients that we see on this show, like Janine, wear underwear of any type, including diapers.  I'm not aware of any that would fit them.  

[alegtostandon]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I think that patients use all kind of excuses, like Janine used her mom and her injury.  I recall one lady on tv who claimed that a spider bite that occurred over 20 years earlier caused her morbid obesity.  Sometimes, I think they are actual delusions and other times, just lies they tell for so long, that they start to believe them.  And if no one ever calls them out on it, why not?  I'm surprised that no one ever challenges them and says, that's absurd.  Not true.  Who believes things like that.  You need to get real.  Well, Dr. Now does now, but, besides him, hardly anyone. 

I don't think any of the super, morbidly obese patients that we see on this show, like Janine, wear underwear of any type, including diapers.  I'm not aware of any that would fit them.  

You are absolutely right, Sunnybebe, any excuse they can grab & run with. 

Everyone has something in their past. It's learning to accept it & move forward. Not to be a drama queen after just talking about the accident but when I was 18, I was "date raped" (not a term back in the late 70's) & ended up pregnant. I will not go into the whole story, but my dad arranged an adoption thru his attorney. Yes, it hurt emotionally, both the rape and giving the baby up, but I knew she was going to a great family. I guess I have a great family too because my dad made sure I received counseling. Again, I did not use this as an excuse to become morbidly obese. I continued on with life, have been very happily married for 34 years & even have a wonderful relationship with the daughter I gave up & the amazing couple who adopted her. We all have pain from our past, it's just not allowing it to run your life. 

This woman was the first I remember seeing wear underwear...we know Stephen did not! Most just pull their polyester black pants up minus undies. Not only did she wear undies, she wore a matching set! 

I have no words for the butt wiping kitchen tongs.

[SunnyBeBe]

Oh, Alegtostandon, thanks for sharing your story.  What an experience.  I can't imagine.  I bet you are able to help others with how you were able to deal with such an ordeal.  It's very inspiring. 

I must have have missed the scene with the underwear. lol  I did take a couple of breaks. 

[Kid]

19 hours ago, auntjess said:

I still think they shouldn't have been told.  The worst that could have happened, is that she turned out as big as she is, but without all the pills and hassle from her mother.

I agree completely. Had they not told her history, she would’ve been fed normally and may have never gotten to that size.  Because, if the family who adopted her had no problems with addiction, she would not had the behavioral model. She may have inherited the genetic factors that contribute to obesity but, she would not also been exposed to living with an addict.  I think it is the combination of the genetic and behavioral that produces obesity to this extent. Just my opinion of course.

Edited January 20, 2018 by Kid

[Pepper Mostly]

@alegtostandon, thank you for sharing your stories. I appreciate your perspective, and your honesty. 

[xwordfanatik]

3 hours ago, Pepper Mostly said:

@alegtostandon, thank you for sharing your stories. I appreciate your perspective, and your honesty. 

I agree.  I'm very happy that you, @alegtostandon, have a good relationship with your daughter and her parents.  I'm guessing? that to have that is rare, but hopefully, not in these modern times.

@SunnyBeBe, I think you're on to something there.  Telling oneself umpteen times of a delusion, likely causes some of these (and other) individuals, to believe that it's really true and a fact.  

[Kid]

7 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I recall one lady on tv who claimed that a spider bite that occurred over 20 years

Sort of like how PCOS is the cause of morbid obesity. Any excuse will do but the truth.

[ThisGirlAsh]

1 hour ago, Kid said:

Sort of like how PCOS is the cause of morbid obesity. Any excuse will do but the truth.

Every time I hear that I can't help but laugh.  When I was diagnosed with PCOS I was told I was lucky because I was apart of the 1/3 of PCOS sufferers that was not overweight/obese.  But even then, just because I'm skinny does not mean I can just eat whatever I want (like most people anyways, but apparently it's easy to gain weight with PCOS).  But even then, yes people with PCOS can be overweight, but no doctor told me "Yeah if you're 400 pounds it makes sense because you have PCOS".  On what planet?  You know it couldn't possibly be because of eating white bread mayo sandwiches.  Nah totally not that at all.  I'll just blame it on my ovaries.

[magemaud]

10 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I don't think any of the super, morbidly obese patients that we see on this show, like Janine, wear underwear of any type, including diapers.  I'm not aware of any that would fit them.  

I was rather intrigued by the purple leopard print matching bra and panty set that Janine was shown wearing and wondered how she obtained it.  

[the-grey-lady]

So much to say, but I'll start with this:

"Bullimia is a very serious condition, but not one Janine is even close to having."

DEAD. I AM DEAD. DR. NOW MUST PAY FOR MY FUNERAL, STAT.

[gonecrackers]

Just about finished this & can't help but wonder how she kept that hair color going after months in the hospital. She couldn't take care of herself because in so much pain, yet she was able to dye her hair? Apparently, she wasn't able to brush it though.

The bulimic thing - she wasn't giving up a calorie, ever.  I give Dr. Now credit for self restraint on that one; he must have thought he'd heard it all until Janine came around.

You'd think after all that drama getting to Houston she would have been trying harder - or at all.

That balloon thing looked awful though.

[Aw my lahgs]

2 hours ago, magemaud said:

I was rather intrigued by the purple leopard print matching bra and panty set that Janine was shown wearing and wondered how she obtained it.  

I think she made it herself.

[kgg]

Like many of you, I started the episode rooting for her.  She came off as intelligent and earnest...at first.  When she started making all-or-none statements, like threatening to end her conversation with Dr. Now if he mentioned getting on a plane again, I knew she was just another jerk who wanted all the control.

This show has been going on for how long?  EVERYONE knows you have to show you can lose weight before you get approved for the surgery.  How are they all surprised?  How?  And what bugs me the most is when people lose weight in the hospital, it means they have LIVED the 800 or 1,200 calorie a day diet, so they can't plead ignorance when they go home and gain it all back.  Were you ever given a whole can of whipped cream while you were in the hospital?  No?  Then maybe lay off of it when you're at home trying to lose weight.  Janine wasn't as bad as Penny - who is, though? - but she definitely had that air of "I know better than you."  She's going to go to her grave "knowing."

Edited January 21, 2018 by kgg

[Gigglepuff]

On 1/18/2018 at 9:11 AM, Cherrio said:

She probably only had one box of waffles instead of two.

I am going to start a new business transporting people to Houston to see Dr. Now.  Along the way, all pets will be rescued. I think the vehicle I have chosen will be both enticing and comfortable.

 

I'm sure there'll be no need for cinder blocks! 

[magemaud]

17 hours ago, Aw my lahgs said:

20 hours ago, magemaud said:

I was rather intrigued by the purple leopard print matching bra and panty set that Janine was shown wearing and wondered how she obtained it.  

I think she made it herself.

With her design background, you may be right. If that's the case, she could start a cottage industry making underwear sets for the morbidly obese. 

[ChristmasJones]

The worst moment in this episode for me was when she was getting ready for her call with Dr. Now and she said (direct quote- although if you listen closely to this segment you can tell that its a bunch of different quotes spliced together)

"I want to hear what he has to say, and see if we can work together. I know I still need help, and since I can't make it to Houston, I've been thinking... maybe he knows someone here that can help me or he can tell me what I need to do to start losing weight...just as long as it doesn't involve me trying to get on a plane again. There is just no way on God's green earth that I am putting myself through that again. Because I know I won't survive it a second time. So if Dr. Now so much as mentions the idea, the call will be over. So the ball is in his court. He can either help me or let me die."

When I heard that last sentence, I knew she wasn't the person she was pretending to be- with the facade of having everything together but just needing to lose some weight.  Talk about not taking any responsibility! Its completely Dr Now's fault- he either helps or lets her die.

Edited January 21, 2018 by ChristmasJones

[aliya]

42 minutes ago, ChristmasJones said:

 I've been thinking... maybe he knows someone here that can help me or he can tell me what I need to do to start losing weight...just as long as it doesn't involve me trying to get on a plane again.

I don't have a problem with that. The thing is - she doesn't pursue it. There are bariatric doctors in Seattle. Even if they won't perform the surgery at her size (and neither will Dr. Now),  she could have gotten on a diet plan, had local medical support and maybe even met some people in a weight loss support group, and dropped 100 lbs or so. But that doesn't occur to her because she knows Dr Now operates on bigger people and she's looking for the magic cure (not saying WLS is a magic cure, only that a lot of people on this show seem to think it is). 

And yeah - Short of a botched operation, Dr Now doesn't have anything to do with whether she dies or not. She does.

[Threnners]

The niece joined a M6LBL discussion group I'm in on FB and the amount of smoke being blown up that girl's rear end is unreal.  

Edited January 22, 2018 by Threnners

[ChristmasJones]

My problem wasn't with that entire quote- I just provided it for context. My problem was with the sentence "the ball is in his court..he can either help me or let me die." And she had a hostile tone when she said that.  That is some seriously messed up thinking, which should not be a surprise, but it was the first comment in this episode that revealed the mindset of this woman. She had a fake sugary-sweet way of talking at times, but you could often hear an angry tone underneath it. Also in that same comment when she suggested that maybe Dr. Now could "tell me what I need to do to start losing weight."   As if.... she has no idea what she could do!! I am certain that Dr. Now is completely used to, and expects, this type of attitude from these people.

[auntjess]

9 minutes ago, ChristmasJones said:

My problem wasn't with that entire quote- I just provided it for context. My problem was with the sentence "the ball is in his court..he can either help me or let me die."

You should post to 

[alegtostandon]

On 1/20/2018 at 3:41 PM, xwordfanatik said:

I agree.  I'm very happy that you, @alegtostandon, have a good relationship with your daughter and her parents.  I'm guessing? that to have that is rare, but hopefully, not in these modern times.

@SunnyBeBe, I think you're on to something there.  Telling oneself umpteen times of a delusion, likely causes some of these (and other) individuals, to believe that it's really true and a fact.  

Thank you all for your words of support. This had happened in the Bay Area, I'm in the Phoenix area now...She found me thru Facebook. I immediately started making mental plans on when I could fly to CA when she told me that she now not only lives in the Phoenix area, but 5 miles from me! I do not have any statistics on friendships built between the "families", but it is wonderful, we want to write a book to help others. Her parents live a few miles from me also. My dad flew out from Chicago a month after she found me & we all had dinner. It's been an amazing blessing.

Edited January 22, 2018 by alegtostandon

[QuinnInND]

1 hour ago, Threnners said:

The niece joined a M6LBL discussion group I'm in on FB and the amount of smoke being blown up that girl's rear end is unreal.  

Well, the size of her ass is pretty unreal too. Hence the need for the large amount of smoke. I know the way out.  

[Pentwater]

Regarding her air travel: FFS, why didn't somebody at the gate take one look at her and tell her nope, not happening, you stay home. For all of the good it did her to travel to Houston, she should have stayed home. I really wanted to slap the food out of her porky fingers and then slap her face until she really had something to cry about.

[supahfly]

4 hours ago, ChristmasJones said:

My problem wasn't with that entire quote- I just provided it for context. My problem was with the sentence "the ball is in his court..he can either help me or let me die." And she had a hostile tone when she said that.  That is some seriously messed up thinking, which should not be a surprise, but it was the first comment in this episode that revealed the mindset of this woman. She had a fake sugary-sweet way of talking at times, but you could often hear an angry tone underneath it. Also in that same comment when she suggested that maybe Dr. Now could "tell me what I need to do to start losing weight."   As if.... she has no idea what she could do!! I am certain that Dr. Now is completely used to, and expects, this type of attitude from these people.

Yup...that “ball is in his court “ thing was classic.   All addicts are actually the same, they just have a preferred medium...whether food, drugs, sex, hoarding, etc.   They are manipulative, self-loathing, have zero sense of personal responsibility, self-pitying and delusional.  They think nothing of abusing or taking advantage of the people that try to help them.  They all have someone else to blame their self-destructive shit on and they have zero ability for self-reflection.  Okay...I’m getting off the soapbox now.  Anyone want to borrow it now?

[Calicocats]

9 hours ago, magemaud said:

With her design background, you may be right. If that's the case, she could start a cottage industry making underwear sets for the morbidly obese. 

Please, God, someone needs to make this happen!  I'm so tired of seeing these people's asses!

[gonecrackers]

It amazes me how much they'll do naked, or almost so, in front of a camera. I think they get to a certain stage & just don't even feel human anymore, so they don't care.

[seniorpatriot]

Well, I may get screamed at for this, but I actually don't find janine to be all that bad. Here's why. I knwo she is like all the other obese people on this show in that she is very mentally ill and over ate herself into the shape she is in, but hear me out. 

She DID try at least to get herself to some help (Dr Noe) without anyone helping her. Yes, she failed (the plane), yes she whined about the pain (how could she NOT be in pain) but she didnt ask for any help from her relatives to try to get there. I thought that was more than any of the others ever do. Of course she complained about a lot of things like all of them do, but overall I thinks he is really trying and most of it is on her own.

Most of the obese people of this show just lay around and expect others to do it all for them.

[gunderda]

On 1/18/2018 at 3:34 AM, jennblevins said:

The picture in the ad pretty clearly showed the balloon pill on a string ... just thinking about swallowing that is making me queasy. 

I couldn't watch her try and swallow that... It made me gag.  I can't even swallow a tiny aspirin! 

On 1/18/2018 at 9:20 AM, dahling said:

Speaking of all the people responsible for pushing her on/dragging her off the planes, I thought they were all remarkably kind to her.  The worst she was treated during the whole show was the guy who yelled at her in SeaTac when she almost ran him over. 

I was pleasantly surprised with this also.  Especially the first lady, trying to encourage her. 

On 1/19/2018 at 1:15 AM, magemaud said:

I’d be pretty pissed if I was a passenger waiting for them to preboard Janine, especially for the first flight when  she had to be taken off after her meltdown. I can only hope that production allocated plenty of time for the camera crew, airport personnel and fire rescue to film those scenes without inconveniencing everyone else on the flight. 

I kept having this same thought also.... I get so anxious if my flight is delayed because there were a couple years were I had TERRIBLE luck with getting delays that made me miss flights and all kinds of stuff...

On 1/20/2018 at 9:24 PM, gonecrackers said:

Just about finished this & can't help but wonder how she kept that hair color going after months in the hospital. She couldn't take care of herself because in so much pain, yet she was able to dye her hair? Apparently, she wasn't able to brush it though.

I was wondering that myself - who was dying her hair!!?? She had to have had some sort of nurses aid or something...

[alegtostandon]

19 minutes ago, seniorpatriot said:

Well, I may get screamed at for this, but I actually don't find janine to be all that bad. Here's why. I knwo she is like all the other obese people on this show in that she is very mentally ill and over ate herself into the shape she is in, but hear me out. 

She DID try at least to get herself to some help (Dr Noe) without anyone helping her. Yes, she failed (the plane), yes she whined about the pain (how could she NOT be in pain) but she didnt ask for any help from her relatives to try to get there. I thought that was more than any of the others ever do. Of course she complained about a lot of things like all of them do, but overall I thinks he is really trying and most of it is on her own.

Most of the obese people of this show just lay around and expect others to do it all for them.

She did try to do it 'on her own' but this was after her family declined to help her...I believe she said something about them saying they had their own lives and were too busy. 

I tried to start out being supportive of her but she ended up being like all of the others. She refused to change her eating habits, thought the surgery would suddenly cure her cravings for corn dogs, a carton of ice cream, 5 waffles & canned whip cream. Once her diet was forced to be changed in the hospital, she "developed" bulimia. 

Like others have said, I don't know why she could not see a bariatric doctor close to her, work with them on losing the amount of weight Dr Now required then head to Houston.  

I know someone who had this type of surgery done last Nov. He was not grossly overweight, but enough to where the weight was affecting his gall bladder & needed to lose the weight quickly.. I believe he started out around 350 lbs. He's lost all of the required weight. His insurance would not pay because he was under a certain weight, so he paid cash. He's doing great today.

There are some people I see sitting in Dr Now's "weighting" room who do not look obese..not sure if they're patients

[ChristmasJones]

6 minutes ago, alegtostandon said:

Like others have said, I don't know why she could not see a bariatric doctor close to her, work with them on losing the amount of weight Dr Now required then head to Houston. 

This would be the most sensible thing to do... and Dr. Now could require it if he wanted. But.... if he did, we would not have these 2-hour episodes to watch.  It seems that in the cases of the people on this show, Dr. Now (as a producer of the show) is making a decision to prioritize entertainment value over the medical well-being of these patients. 

Given what we saw Janine go through in her attempt to fly down there.... this is a clear case where Dr. Now should have forced her to work with a local doctor to get to her target weight first.

[Trillium]

1 hour ago, seniorpatriot said:

Well, I may get screamed at for this, but I actually don't find janine to be all that bad. Here's why. I knwo she is like all the other obese people on this show in that she is very mentally ill and over ate herself into the shape she is in, but hear me out. 

She DID try at least to get herself to some help (Dr Noe) without anyone helping her. Yes, she failed (the plane), yes she whined about the pain (how could she NOT be in pain) but she didnt ask for any help from her relatives to try to get there. I thought that was more than any of the others ever do. Of course she complained about a lot of things like all of them do, but overall I thinks he is really trying and most of it is on her own.

Most of the obese people of this show just lay around and expect others to do it all for them.

Having to do things on her own is probably the only reason she’s still alive. Is she had an enabler, she’d never get out of bed. 

[scowl]

1 hour ago, seniorpatriot said:

Most of the obese people of this show just lay around and expect others to do it all for them.

When I run around the waterfront in my city I see very overweight people, week after week, struggling to run and get exercise. I'm always impressed by how much determination and motivation they have. 

[SunnyBeBe]

I try not to see things in just black and white.  MOST people have redeeming qualities and Janine is no exception.  (I have to say a little prayer, when I say that and think about Steven, though  Boy, he really pushed my buttons.   lol)  

I suspect that what is so annoying to a lot of viewers is that the sick, super, morbidly obese person, who is asking for help, due to impeding death, has the nerve to INSIST THAT THEY know more about diet, calories, nutrition, etc., than the experienced bariatric doctor.  I mean......if their way worked at all, they wouldn't be in their condition.  

I also suspect that the patients like Janine, exhibit such resistant behavior, due to them feeling they are being DEPRIVED.  It's like they really feel they DESERVE to eat their favorite foods.  And, it's just unfair to deprive them.  How that is really not true and how it only FUELS their disability, is just not something they can reason with.  That's why the mental health professionals could help.....IF they would accept it. 

Edited January 22, 2018 by SunnyBeBe

[magemaud]

13 hours ago, Calicocats said:

23 hours ago, magemaud said:

With her design background, you may be right. If that's the case, she could start a cottage industry making underwear sets for the morbidly obese. 

Please, God, someone needs to make this happen!  I'm so tired of seeing these people's asses!

I looked around the internet and found several websites devoted to underwear for the super obese. One of them, "On the Plus Side," goes up to size 8X. I have no idea what Janine's measurements are, but here's their size chart: https://www.ontheplusside.com/size

[gigiann]

I have a family member (sister) who has been heavy all her life except for a few years in her 20's when she went on a diet and lost 100lbs or so.  (she is now 67 yrs old)  As she has gotten older she is now up to approx. 350lbs and has diabetes, arthritis, sleep apnea. etc etc etc and she has taken to seeing a therapist.  She told the therapist her weight problems stem from being sexually abused as a child and an abusive marriage...(she divorced over 40 years ago).  I asked her who sexually abused her and she said our grandmother's 3rd husband reached down her blouse as a child.  I call BULLSHIT!  We only even saw him a few times during those years and he would have been in his 80s based on her timeframe for the abuse.  Not one other person in our family has ever made any statement like this about him and she has never mentioned it until this year.  Now that doctors and family are telling her she needs to lose weight to keep her health in check.  I honestly think she is trying to take the heat off her eating habits as an excuse to not take responsibility for how she eats.   It makes me wonder if these other people make up a bunch of this stuff...like diet pills at 4 years old!  Not even back in the 60s would a dr do that to a child!! 

I wonder if it is a way to take the responsibility off themselves and put it on someone or an incident as an excuse.

Edited January 22, 2018 by gigiann

[SunnyBeBe]

I agree that it's hard to tell if the patient is really being candid about their background.  No way to know for sure, but, I do believe those that claim abuse.  The harm in not believing them, is greater, to me.

I tend to doubt people who describe things in detail that happened when they were very young.  I just don't think that most humans remember details, events, comments, etc.  when they were very young.  I've read some professional material on it, but, that's just my take on it.   I suppose that a mental health professional could help her work through her issues, even if they didn't happen just as she said. She may have conjured things up in her mind and that's her truth, so, if she's suffering, it still needs to be dealt with.  Sometimes, kids have false memories and the harm is just as damaging, as if it really did happen. 

[aliya]

3 hours ago, gigiann said:

 She told the therapist her weight problems stem from being sexually abused as a child and an abusive marriage...(she divorced over 40 years ago).  I asked her who sexually abused her and she said our grandmother's 3rd husband reached down her blouse as a child.  I call BULLSHIT!  We only even saw him a few times during those years and he would have been in his 80s based on her timeframe for the abuse.  Not one other person in our family has ever made any statement like this about him and she has never mentioned it until this year.  Now that doctors and family are telling her she needs to lose weight to keep her health in check.  I honestly think she is trying to take the heat off her eating habits as an excuse to not take responsibility for how she eats. 

This reminds me of Ruby. Many of her shows  were about her trying to find some secret in her past that, in her mind, would tell her why she overate. By time went off the air, she still hadn't found out her 'secret.' The truth was, she overate because she liked food.  OK, most of us do. What she needed to do was just tell herself she like to eat, it was a problem as far as her weight and health were concerned, and she needed to make changes. What may have started her on the road to obesity was secondary (in my opinion) to her just watching her diet.