S06.E04: Liz's Story

[gardendiva]

3 minutes ago, dreadfulLeigh said:

She has zero self-efficacy. Everything happens TO her. She takes no actions for herself. Yeah, she didn’t lie to dr now, but that would require some thought energy output. 

This should have been more of a PSA for major depression than a weight loss show. 

There was a moment, when Dr. Now was disappointed in her for gaining 50 lbs when she was supposed to have lost 50 lbs, and he made some kind of statement to her about it and I swear she rolled her eyes. If I were Dr. Now, that would have been it for me. Her response was like a teenager being told to clean her room, but in reality she has a medical professional doing everything within his power to save her life. Her response showed that she really didn’t want this as much as Dr. now wants it for her. 

[BeeDeez]

I really like Liz. I sense a real innocence about her, and she seems genuine. I think Dr. Now could sense this too, he doesn't tell every person he is proud of them the way he told her. I wish success to Liz and her amazingly sweet mother. 

[xwordfanatik]

5 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I wish Dr. Now would sometimes focus on other things then just mobility. Some people have severe joint issues and its not laziness, they are just in too much pain to walk. Liz will likely be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. I would like to hear him talk about things like reduced medications, lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar. If these things are not happening than she is no better off than before the surgery. Human's aren't meant to carry 700 pounds and it is likely all her joints are torn and wrecked. It doesn't mean she can't walk at all-but I don't see why that is the measure of success here.

I do wonder if there is someone in her life that can help her get healthy food and not buy anything else. If the aunt is doing all the shopping and not buying the healthy food, Liz won't be eating it. 

The sad part of this show it that Liz will likely never have any sort of normal life. She won't have a career, go back to school, get married or have children. I feel profoundly sad for her and her wasted life. No matter if she loses more weight or not, she will be spending most of her time watching tv. I would be happy to see a story about someone who made some positive changes not related to just losing weight but this show seemed to change to just watching obese people shower and watching them fail. 

You made some very valid points.  I like to see other's opinions, so I can then catch things I might have missed.  

I have a daughter about Liz's age, and it's sad especially to think that Liz's mother is thinking about burying her only child.  

[SunnyBeBe]

I know this sounds morbid, but, don't you think it's odd that we don't see more featured patients die?  I wonder if seeing that would help obese viewers more.  I know that Dr. Now and Dr. Proctor are always saying that your longevity is very much at risk, your body can't take much more, you are close to being past the point of return, etc., but, are they really?  Are these patients really dying?   I recall one who did that was featured on this show.  It seems to me that she had lost a lot of weight, but, that she suffered from some kind of sudden illness.  

Did Liz really believe that she could die?  I'm not so sure. 

Edited February 1, 2018 by SunnyBeBe

[calpurnia99]

2 hours ago, gardendiva said:

 

People that get so large that they cannot leave the bed for any reason have something more severely wrong with them than your average emotional overeater and that should automatically be addressed alongside the medical issues. I know Dr. Now often sends patients for counseling, but it sometimes seems to be a last resort or afterthought. 

Exactly, you wonder when they first could not get up out of the bed, the first day that this happened, and why they did not get help at that time?  When it gets to the point where you finally can no longer walk and have to stay in bed and have someone bring you a diaper,  is that not hitting bottom? I don't know why she waited until she was 721 pounds to try to get help. There is something severely, severely wrong. 

[gardendiva]

2 minutes ago, calpurnia99 said:

Exactly, you wonder when they first could not get up out of the bed, the first day that this happened, and why they did not get help at that time?  When it gets to the point where you finally can no longer walk and have to stay in bed and have someone bring you a diaper,  is that not hitting bottom? I don't know why she waited until she was 721 pounds to try to get help. There is something severely, severely wrong. 

Eating yourself to the point of being bed bound has to be a form of mental illness. It’s not just depression, it’s not just food addiction...it’s like both of those conditions have been turbocharged in these patients. Along with that comes this amazing capacity for living in denial despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. When they can gain 50 pounds over a few months and they honestly thought they were following the plan. Their shock and amazement when they go into the appointment thinking they did well and finding out they gained an enormous amount of weight...that has to be evidence of mental illness too to some extent. It happens time and time again, and the sincere surprise the patients show at a large weight gain shows how powerful their denial is.

[SunnyBeBe]

I suppose that a therapist could delve deep into these patients and who knows what might be in the mix, but, it seems that Dr. Now is pretty convinced that most of these patients can stand/walk, but, they refuse.  Some are just so used to being waited on, I think they don't want to give it up.  Plus, they may lose their disability benefits if they stop being disabled! And some just seem stubborn and don't want to do anything requested from them.  As far as the denial about food, I suspect much of that is just lying. I don't believe that they are unaware of their overeating.  I mean, their ignorance is just an act to me. But, yes, obesity is a serious disorder.  I think that the patient is not in a position to really know why they are eating themselves to death.  Apparently, they are hindered by a refusal to actually listen to medical advice and follow it. It really requires a new way of thinking, attitude adjustment and focused priorities.  That seems simple, but, it's really not. 

[Madding crowd]

Dr Now is convinced all of them can walk but how do we know that? I’m sure many of them have joint and ligament tears which make it difficult to walk. 

[Motor City]

gardendiva:

“When I heard Liz’ voiceover about how proud she was of the progress she has made in “her journey”, I just wanted to scream at the tv screen.  She personally has taken no responsibility or made zero effort in the whole episode.  Whatever progress she made was due to all the people that hoisted, rolled, dragged, washed, dressed and pushed her to that weight loss while she sat there, passively grimacing and moaning from her bed the whole time.  I know she was probably clinically depressed and unable to really fight for her life the way she should have, but maybe that should have been treated alongside her morbid obesity.  Until she gets her head on straight and understand where the food addiction comes from and maybe learn some different coping mechanisms, she doesn’t have a chance.

People that get so large that they cannot leave the bed for any reason have something more severely wrong with them than your average emotional overeater and that should automatically be addressed alongside the medical issues.”

Amen to that

[ShortyMac]

How has Liz lost 300+ lbs and not look any smaller?

[aliya]

2 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

How do they not have skin breakdown?  

 

I bet they do. I saw a video of Kenneth Brumley and they talked about skin breakdown. I believe there's even a quick shot of it. My goodness.

I'm watching Liz's supersize version now and just noticed that Dr Now said that lymphodema indicated that there was so much fat, there was no where else for it to go and it makes these masses.  I never heard this before and though I know he's told people the more weight they lose, the better their lymphodema will get, but I never put 2 and 2 together.  Geez. Just geez. 

Thinking about how they become bed-bound and don't do anything when it first happens - there must be a family issue going on. My son would shoot me before he let me just hang in the bed. I am contemplating retiring this fall and my son and I were skyping about it today (they did a terrible thing when they told us to use skype at work, now we chat all day). His first response to me was, "You need to find something to do so you aren't sitting in front of the computer all day." Other than Janine, and maybe Erica, these people have constellations of folks swirling about them - washing them, moving them around to avoid bedsores, getting food, preparing food. For a lot of these women, someone is getting the makeup and hair dye. 

If you are in an environment where the world stops for you, maybe staying in bed isn't that big a deal. No one tells you it's time to go the doctor before it gets worse, no one is knowledgeable or caring enough to say they won't enable anymore, everyone just lets you to stay in bed. Not addressing the weight issue before 600 pounds may be part of the mental illness of the obese person, but it seems that all the enablers have their own mental issues as well.

THE GLOVE -  Knowing that Liz's mom was on dialysis, I wondered if the glove had anything to do with it. I did a search for 'dialysis glove' (I didn't see what y'all were talking about before) and apparently dialysis makes the arm very cold and people wear gloves to help. I'm not surprised that the mom in this sad little family is wearing an ugly black winter glove instead of something cute and colorful.

Edited February 2, 2018 by aliya
lots of stuff

[lightninggirl]

9 hours ago, cpcathy said:

I was amused (dismayed?) by the hopeful voiceover at the end of the episode, juxtaposed over the shot of her staring blankly, in bed.

She has about the deadest eyes of anyone I've seen on this show.

[auntjess]

1 hour ago, Madding crowd said:

Dr Now is convinced all of them can walk but how do we know that? I’m sure many of them have joint and ligament tears which make it difficult to walk. 

I thought there was one person who really couldn't, and had a knee replacement.  Think it was a woman, but don't remember who.

49 minutes ago, aliya said:

If you are in an environment where the world stops for you, maybe staying in bed isn't that big a deal.

Except that every show begins with the person talk about how much pain they're in, when they wake up. 

[jcbrown]

3 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I know this sounds morbid, but, don't you think it's odd that we don't see more featured patients die?  I wonder if seeing that would help obese viewers more.  I know that Dr. Now and Dr. Proctor are always saying that your longevity is very much at risk, your body can't take much more, you are close to being past the point of return, etc., but, are they really?  Are these patients really dying?   I recall one who did that was featured on this show.  It seems to me that she had lost a lot of weight, but, that she suffered from some kind of sudden illness.  

Did Liz really believe that she could die?  I'm not so sure. 

I wondered that exact thing this week.

 

1 hour ago, ShortyMac said:

How has Liz lost 300+ lbs and not look any smaller?

I also wondered this. Was she like three feet tall? She looked the same size throughout.

[LuvMyShows]

10 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I wish Dr. Now would sometimes focus on other things then just mobility. Some people have severe joint issues and its not laziness, they are just in too much pain to walk. Liz will likely be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. I would like to hear him talk about things like reduced medications, lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar. If these things are not happening than she is no better off than before the surgery.

That was something nice about the recent Family By the Ton episode.  One of the family members who had the surgery, was told by the doctor that her blood pressure was now normal and she is no longer diabetic.  If I"m not mistaken, Biggest Loser used to show the improvements, in those sessions with creepy "Dr H."  By the way, does anyone know if that show is ever coming back?

4 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I know this sounds morbid, but, don't you think it's odd that we don't see more featured patients die?  I wonder if seeing that would help obese viewers more.  I know that Dr. Now and Dr. Proctor are always saying that your longevity is very much at risk, your body can't take much more, you are close to being past the point of return, etc., but, are they really?  Are these patients really dying?   I recall one who did that was featured on this show.  It seems to me that she had lost a lot of weight, but, that she suffered from some kind of sudden illness.   

 I have also wondered this.  I think there's probably an element of denial, even if someone says in their voiceover, "I know I could die if I don't change".  So many of them don't seem to have any major problems (besides the obesity) and I just don't understand how that's possible, but undoubtedly that contributes to their denial.

 

2 hours ago, ShortyMac said:

How has Liz lost 300+ lbs and not look any smaller?

I wondered that as well, and that is something that I have never wondered about before.  All the other times, even if you can't see the weight loss everywhere, you can at least tell somewhere, like face but not arms, or upper body but not legs.  Even with the short people that have been on the show, when there's a loss of this magnitude, it's definitely been visible.  Not sure what to make of that.

[auntjess]

1 hour ago, LuvMyShows said:

If I"m not mistaken, Biggest Loser used to show the improvements, in those sessions with creepy "Dr H."  By the way, does anyone know if that show is ever coming back?

No.
http://forums.previously.tv/topic/6854-biggest-loser-in-the-media/?do=findComment&comment=3453895

[missnoa]

11 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I wish Dr. Now would sometimes focus on other things then just mobility. Some people have severe joint issues and its not laziness, they are just in too much pain to walk. Liz will likely be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. I would like to hear him talk about things like reduced medications, lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar. If these things are not happening than she is no better off than before the surgery. Human's aren't meant to carry 700 pounds and it is likely all her joints are torn and wrecked. It doesn't mean she can't walk at all-but I don't see why that is the measure of success here.

I do wonder if there is someone in her life that can help her get healthy food and not buy anything else. If the aunt is doing all the shopping and not buying the healthy food, Liz won't be eating it. 

The sad part of this show it that Liz will likely never have any sort of normal life. She won't have a career, go back to school, get married or have children. I feel profoundly sad for her and her wasted life. No matter if she loses more weight or not, she will be spending most of her time watching tv. I would be happy to see a story about someone who made some positive changes not related to just losing weight but this show seemed to change to just watching obese people shower and watching them fail. 

I honestly don't know how some of these people CAN get up and talk the same amount/way people who haven't been that heavy. How are their bodies not permanently damaged, like their organs and their joints and stuff?

It also makes me so sad that so many of these stories involving women always start with molestation at a young age or rape as a teenager. It's the same on Intervention - if it's about a woman, you can bet money some kind of sexual assault occurred before they started on the drugs/drinking/etc.

[alegtostandon]

11 hours ago, Swiss said:

Lol...you are not going nuts.  I noticed the same thing about the glasses.  My sister and I have a texting conversation every Wednesday during the show.  We both commented on the tape on the glasses mysteriously moving to the other side.  This episode was sad.  Liz was sad, her mother was sad, the whole situation was sad.  Once the mother passes away, what will happen to Liz? It would be interesting if TLC did a followup show to see what becomes of her.   I'm betting she is just as big as in the beginning of the show.  She was not a good candidate for weight loss surgery.  

Thank you so much, Swiss! I'm so glad I was not the only one to notice it.

Regarding the mobility, it is very important to start moving after surgery, there's a concern with not only blood clots but fluid on the lungs. I am one who wants to stand immediately after surgery. My last surgery was just this past Sept. I know I frustrated the recovery room staff by demanding to stand up in there. I feel so claustrophobic if I don't.

From what I have gathered from what I saw last night & the bit I have seen tonight, there is no medical reason why Liz cannot stand...except she has not done it in several years. In my opinion, Dr Now is right in encouraging her.  She needs to get mobile in order to gain some type of normal life. 

[raiderred1]

Does anyone know when this taping took place? She lived in Freeport which was one of Hurricane Harvey's toughest hit areas, not mention Houston that wasn't spared either??

[sidka]

6 hours ago, raiderred1 said:

Does anyone know when this taping took place? She lived in Freeport which was one of Hurricane Harvey's toughest hit areas, not mention Houston that wasn't spared either??

I went to visit my folks in Houston about a week ago and actually drove to the parking lot Dr. Now's clinic is in (there's a chinese buffet across from it I grabbed lunch at, haha, the irony). That area of town fared very well during the hurricane compared to the decimated areas. The main medical center hub where St. Joe's Hospital is also seemed well. Houston is currently a patchwork of places that were untouched and other places that were obliterated. 

Edited February 2, 2018 by sidka

[Mothra]

I'm so glad other people noticed that Liz's glasses repair switched sides!  My first thought was that she has two pairs of glasses, each broken but on different sides.  But I think something like film was reversed?

I have often wondered why, instead of putting people in the hospital--unless they are in danger of dying or something--when they don't lose weight on their own, they don't send someone--it wouldn't even have to be a dietician, just somebody capable of following the doctor's diet directions--to stay at their home for a week who would point out to them where they're going wrong?  So many of these patients seem sincerely to believe that, for example, a meat-lover's pizza is fine on the diet because it's high-protein; it would be immensely cheaper and more effective, I think, to have someone on the spot 24 hours to supervise the diet in the home, with enablers being shown what to do, than put a person in the totally controlled environment of the hospital eating hospital food.

And what I'm ultra tired of hearing "I've worked so hard" and "there has a be a balance."

[88Keys]

2 minutes ago, Mothra said:

 

And what I'm ultra tired of hearing "I've worked so hard" and "there has a be a balance."

I've been thinking that we need a drinking game.  Drink once when someone says "this is my last chance."  Drink once when they say "I've worked hard," and drink twice if they say it but really haven't worked hard.  CHUG if they say "Ow, my legs!"

[magemaud]

Sad to say, but I think I have to put Liz's weight loss "Journey" at the top of my list of FORGETTABLE episodes. She wasn't whiny or dramatic enough to snark on and her attitude didn't inspire me to "root" for her. It was just a dull TWO HOURS of hearing the same stories and seeing situations they've shown over and over again, meanwhile she's sitting in bed where losing 300 pounds wasn't evident. Here it is Friday and there's only two pages of discussion about the episode. 

[auntjess]

I wonder why they didn't try hydro therapy to help her walk, since they were trying everything else.

[Mothra]

On 2/2/2018 at 1:33 PM, auntjess said:

I wonder why they didn't try hydro therapy to help her walk, since they were trying everything else.

I wondered about that, too.  There was one patient--sorry, can't remember her name, but she was resistant to everything and ended up dropping out of the program to continue on her own--who started exercising in a pool, and Dr. Now was quite negative about it.  It seems to me that non-weight-bearing exercise is exactly what these patients need, yet you never see him prescribing it, and I wonder why.

It was Pauline who exercised in a pool, and Dr. Now was not on board.

Edited February 7, 2018 by Mothra

[CaughtOnTape]

On 1/31/2018 at 11:47 PM, NeitherSparky said:

This one made me angry. At NO POINT did Liz prove that she could lose weight on her own at home, the ONLY time she ever lost was when she was in the hospital, and she was given the surgery ANYWAYS. Her family never gained a clue either, when she was supposed to be on liquids her mother gave her soup with noodles in it which of course Liz ATE. EATING SOLIDS THEN COULD HAVE SERIOUSLY HURT HER. I realise Mom couldn’t do much physically, as proven when she went ahead and gave Liz pizza when she in NO WAY should have been eating ANY kind of pizza - which is why Liz should NEVER have been given surgery in her current situation...Dr Now forced other patients to do a LOT more before he would do surgery on them, this episode made no sense! Seriously, I’m just...angry, and sad, right now. :(

This is about where I was with it.  I'm tired of watching these whiny children getting carted around by ambulance everywhere because they can't get their asses out of bed to take five steps while their family members feed them plates full of lard and complain they can't do anything because so and so will get mad.  Ambulance rides are expensive.  And that's on my dime.  I bet if they stopped her payments from the government she'd be up and outta bed without a problem.  Get your ass outta bed lady.  Jesus Christ.  I don't care if your dad ignored you.  Shit happens.  Man up for Christ's sake.

If you ask me, she realized at a young age that if she was pathetic and sad enough then people would baby her so she wouldn't have to do anything.  Her mother is at death's door and this chick still won't get up and walk down the hallway ten steps to make herself soup.  She quit on life a long time ago and nothing is going to save her at this point.  Let nature take it's course is what I say.

On 2/1/2018 at 6:21 AM, kj4ever said:

I really wish they'd have one episode just about the enablers.  I mean when someone is bed ridden just bring them healthy food.  When the Aunt was all "Oh you're in for it" if she doesn't get what she wants....Ummm just shut the door bitch isn't going to come after you or anything.  I just can't understand that.

This is also me.  Yell all you want honey...you're 700 lbs and it takes you 9 hours to get up out of bed.  Come and get me.  

[Swiss]

3 hours ago, CaughtOnTape said:

This is about where I was with it.  I'm tired of watching these whiny children getting carted around by ambulance everywhere because they can't get their asses out of bed to take five steps while their family members feed them plates full of lard and complain they can't do anything because so and so will get mad.  Ambulance rides are expensive.  And that's on my dime.  I bet if they stopped her payments from the government she'd be up and outta bed without a problem.  Get your ass outta bed lady.  Jesus Christ.  I don't care if your dad ignored you.  Shit happens.  Man up for Christ's sake.

If you ask me, she realized at a young age that if she was pathetic and sad enough then people would baby her so she wouldn't have to do anything.  Her mother is at death's door and this chick still won't get up and walk d

This is also me.  Yell all you want honey...you're 700 lbs and it takes you 9 hours to get up out of bed.  Come and get me.  

   So true...excellent post.    Your last line actually did make me laugh out loud!

Edited February 2, 2018 by Swiss

[MsVixen]

The main thing that was said about this episode was that Liz had moved in to take care of her mother.  Was Liz mobile at that time or did she eat her way into immobility while living with her mother?  If she was already at 700 pounds, how in hell was she going to take care of anybody?  Also, why aren't people telling someone like Liz that you are starting to get morbidly obese before Liz can't move?

One thing for sure, it's a good thing that Liz's aunt was there to wash Liz because I don't think I would be breaking my back to roll LIz up to get to any body parts.

[aliya]

On 2/1/2018 at 7:59 AM, SunnyBeBe said:

I realize that LIz had leg issues, but, to me, her inability to walk was actually mental  She could not accept the reality of responsibility of leaving her role as a disabled woman who lies in bed all day.  I suspect that she found that very scary.  Even if she loses weight, she'll likely develop symptoms about her legs that cause to still be unable to stand, in her mind.   

All of this.

[SunnyBeBe]

I suspect that Dr. Now does exam, tests, scans, etc. to ensure that there is no actual injury to the leg before encouraging and insisting the patient walk.  AND most of the time, the patient doesn't complain of any injury. They just say I'm not ready, it's too soon, it's hard, I don't feel like it,  etc.  imo, reflecting a psychological resistance to it. 

Edited February 3, 2018 by SunnyBeBe

[seniorpatriot]

On 2/1/2018 at 12:35 AM, Emmeline said:

I just find it difficult to imagine some of these people developing a normal life, working, etc.  Especially the ones that are somewhat alone.  Liz said she volunteered and did some child care in her youth, but never mentioned a regular job.  She was sedentary, a recluse and on government assistance.  Perhaps some of these people self sabotage because they can’t face having to support themselves.

I have thought this many times about a lot of them.

[seniorpatriot]

On 2/1/2018 at 12:00 PM, Maricopa said:

But the amount of money and effort poured into the vast majority of these cases...I wonder if it might be best for everyone to let Darwin take its course naturally. At least recently, it's encouraging to see a more holistic approach with therapy and nutrition education provided. 

One thing that has always mystified me is this: if these people lose 50 lbs/mo and have to comply with a diet post-surgery, why bother with the surgery? Why not just stick with the diet? I'm not being snarky, it just seems logical. What am I missing?

Because if they could do it without the surgery they prob would have. On the other hand even WITH surgery, a lot of them still find ways to cheat on their diets and still don't lose weight after a while and actually gain it.  Food addiction is as hard to break as a drug addiction. 

[SunnyBeBe]

It's my understanding that the surgery, provides the patient with more time to build new habits, sort through mental issues, get into a routine and experience what is possible.  And if the patient doesn't do those things, the benefits of the surgery may be lost in the long term.  But, they still have the benefit of there being less absorption of calories, right?  

[gonecrackers]

1 minute ago, SunnyBeBe said:

It's my understanding that the surgery, provides the patient with more time to build new habits, sort through mental issues, get into a routine and experience what is possible.  And if the patient doesn't do those things, the benefits of the surgery may be lost in the long term.  But, they still have the benefit of there being less absorption of calories, right?  

Mmmmm, I dunno about that; maybe it depends on what they're eating. I know someone who had the surgery who recently gained 40lbs. She eats very small amounts - but of 'comfort foods',  & frequently. It's not working obviously.

[Tabbygirl521]

On 2/1/2018 at 3:50 PM, calpurnia99 said:

Exactly, you wonder when they first could not get up out of the bed, the first day that this happened, and why they did not get help at that time?  When it gets to the point where you finally can no longer walk and have to stay in bed and have someone bring you a diaper,  is that not hitting bottom? I don't know why she waited until she was 721 pounds to try to get help. There is something severely, severely wrong. 

I wonder if somehow it helps keep them in denial to have their enablers keep feeding them, even after they become bedridden, etc.?  Like, “I must not be that bad because Enabler is continuing to act like all this is normal.” I mean, obviously these folks have some serious issue to begin with but maybe they have a greater capacity to stay in their own crazy world when they have an enabler. 

[Mothra]

4 hours ago, gonecrackers said:

Mmmmm, I dunno about that; maybe it depends on what they're eating. I know someone who had the surgery who recently gained 40lbs. She eats very small amounts - but of 'comfort foods',  & frequently. It's not working obviously.

If they've had gastric bypass, with actual shortening of their intestines, they are unable to absorb as much as before because there's that much less intestine to absorb it.  But like you I have a friend who had gastric bypass and managed to sabotage himself by eating nonstop, just in small amounts.  He kept the drink holders in his car filled with M&Ms, which he consumed literally one after the other until they were all gone.  He also found he could drink sodas, just a sip at a time.

This was particularly infuriating because there was a problem with his surgery, and he ended up almost bleeding to death.  And he ended up having a leg amputated because of diabetes.  When I visit him in the hospital, there's that fucking bottle of Pepsi on his bedside table.

He is from a family of very large diabetics, so to some extent his fate was sealed at birth.  And his addiction is such that he is apparently even now unable to help himself.  But it I didn't love him so much, I'd strangle him for all the shit he's putting his friends through.

[DNR]

Liz had such a bedazzling smile in her younger pictures.  Such a sad existence for such a young woman.  She surely needs antidepressants & therapy.  Don’t see a successful outcome for Liz. 

[Pentwater]

I'm wondering why Mama's eyes were beet red. Did she smoke a few bowls during the wait? Does anyone in that group have any manners? A sign of respect is to rise when somebody enters a room, and this bunch stayed planted when Dr N came in with the post-surgical (leg) news. OTOH, here I am, silly me, expecting day-to-day manners from people who are responsible for Liz weighing as much as she did. In some sick way, they, including Liz, enjoy the infamy that comes with having a 700-pound bed-bound pet. 

[Lynn]

With spending years bed bound, Liz's leg muscles must be quite atrophied. I'm wondering why they couldn't have set up some sort of pulley contraption in the hospital or at home to allow her to lift weights with her leg muscles. When I once had physical therapy for my back, there was a metal chair that had a leg extension that allowed me to lift and then lower my legs against resistance. She needs to create some muscle in her legs for them to lift and support 500 lbs. It's like asking someone with weak arms to bench press 200 lbs. Also, when Liz was on the liquid diet, she said she ate the broth from the different soups. And she did lose another 50 lbs.  I agree with a previous poster that they should have sent a practical nurse to the home daily for a few months to supervise and train the enablers.  Much cheaper than hospitalization.  And one more thing, Dr. Now has given lymphedema and sleeve surgery early to patients he considered near death.

[SunnyBeBe]

Does anyone know why Liz was unable to sit on the side of the bed?  When she was there, she would lay back, almost every time.  It was as if she didn't want her feet to touch the floor, so she would lay down. 

[Calicocats]

On 2/1/2018 at 12:35 PM, Madding crowd said:

I wish Dr. Now would sometimes focus on other things then just mobility. Some people have severe joint issues and its not laziness, they are just in too much pain to walk. Liz will likely be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. I would like to hear him talk about things like reduced medications, lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar. If these things are not happening than she is no better off than before the surgery. Human's aren't meant to carry 700 pounds and it is likely all her joints are torn and wrecked. It doesn't mean she can't walk at all-but I don't see why that is the measure of success here.

I do wonder if there is someone in her life that can help her get healthy food and not buy anything else. If the aunt is doing all the shopping and not buying the healthy food, Liz won't be eating it. 

The sad part of this show it that Liz will likely never have any sort of normal life. She won't have a career, go back to school, get married or have children. I feel profoundly sad for her and her wasted life. No matter if she loses more weight or not, she will be spending most of her time watching tv. I would be happy to see a story about someone who made some positive changes not related to just losing weight but this show seemed to change to just watching obese people shower and watching them fail. 

Sadly, if she has no education, she's probably not qualified to do a whole lot of jobs that don't involve standing for long periods of time.  I guess she could do customer service, but from what I hear, it's a plethora of snacking, so that probably wouldn't be very helpful.

I worked in a nursing home with a morbidly obese woman.  You legally can't stop them from ordering food most of the time.  This one would share lol.  I don't know her history- if she had savings or what, but she ordered in quite frequently.  They have rights, to a certain extent.  They're not all Assantis (kicked out for ordering pizza).  

I kind of liked this episode.  When she talked about how hard it is to face all the BS she had to deal with that she avoided with food for so many years, it was one of the most honest and accurate descriptions of addiction and the fear of recovery I've ever heard on this show.

I think the saddest part of the episode was it appeared the room she was living in before she went to Houston didn't even have a window.

Edited February 4, 2018 by Calicocats

[gonecrackers]

I think there was a window but it was behind to her left, so she couldn't see it. I wondered why the bed wasn't facing outward instead of to the side, since the TV was to the side of her as well.

All these folks have depression to a certain degree, but Liz seemed severely depressed. I hope she continued to work it out & find hope for herself.

Edited February 5, 2018 by gonecrackers

[joh]

Can anyone believe after she hurt her knee, she was told to REST a few weeks?  REST FROM DOING WHAT!!!  And while eating pizza, she said in her voice over " when mama is not feeling well, I don't like to bother her"  For REAL, you have been bothering her all your life.  Take a good look, your sweet mama have not been feeling well for years.  They show mama giving her food, but who is cleaning her BEHIND when Auntie is not around?

[joh]

3 hours ago, Calicocats said:

Sadly, if she has no education, she's probably not qualified to do a whole lot of jobs that don't involve standing for long periods of time.  I guess she could do customer service, but from what I hear, it's a plethora of snacking, so that probably wouldn't be very helpful.

I worked in a nursing home with a morbidly obese woman.  You legally can't stop them from ordering food most of the time.  This one would share lol.  I don't know her history- if she had savings or what, but she ordered in quite frequently.  They have rights, to a certain extent.  They're not all Assantis (kicked out for ordering pizza).  

I kind of liked this episode.  When she talked about how hard it is to face all the BS she had to deal with that she avoided with food for so many years, it was one of the most honest and accurate descriptions of addiction and the fear of recovery I've ever heard on this show.

I think the saddest part of the episode was it appeared the room she was living in before she went to Houston didn't even have a window.

To me, the saddest part was the Mother!  Very few people in this world have a perfect or so called NORMAL childhood. Stop, get help before you get to over 700 pounds! She is just a burden on her mother.  Eating pizza and saying " this is all we have to eat, because on the days mama is feeling bad, I don't like to bother her"  Poor Mama is saying "this is a brand new Liz" WHERE!  She don't need a WINDOW or PITY, she need an ass whipping.

[Kellyee]

I finally watched it. Two hours of Liz sitting in a bed with the same facial expression passively watching the world go on around her. I don't understand how she got approved for surgery when she didn't lose a single pound unassisted by the hospital or rehab facility. In the past, Dr. Now has forced patients to show they can lose weight on their own without help before approving them for surgery. For Liz, it seemed like Dr. Now's standards kept dropping every time Liz failed to comply. 

Do you think some of these people actually get addicted to being helpless in a bed? Liz didn't seem motivated to really want to walk at all. And it annoyed me that she kept going on about her mother, when it was her aunt who was coming over every day to wipe her ass.

I don't see this situation ending well. They cut off the two hours before Liz's cravings came back. She has no self control and not much apparent motivation. The weight will probably come back the minute she can get her hands on more pizza. Despite losing half her body weight, Liz was still laying in bed when she could at least be sitting in a chair for several hours each day.

[lovesnark]

2 hours ago, Kellyee said:

I finally watched it. Two hours of Liz sitting in a bed with the same facial expression passively watching the world go on around her. I don't understand how she got approved for surgery when she didn't lose a single pound unassisted by the hospital or rehab facility. In the past, Dr. Now has forced patients to show they can lose weight on their own without help before approving them for surgery. For Liz, it seemed like Dr. Now's standards kept dropping every time Liz failed to comply. 

Do you think some of these people actually get addicted to being helpless in a bed? Liz didn't seem motivated to really want to walk at all. And it annoyed me that she kept going on about her mother, when it was her aunt who was coming over every day to wipe her ass.

I don't see this situation ending well. They cut off the two hours before Liz's cravings came back. She has no self control and not much apparent motivation. The weight will probably come back the minute she can get her hands on more pizza. Despite losing half her body weight, Liz was still laying in bed when she could at least be sitting in a chair for several hours each day.

Yes, I believe they do. My mother in law is completely addicted to being helpless in every aspect of her life. She's not bed bound, but she now insists on using a wheelchair instead of her walker because she wasn't getting the attention she craves and being forced to walk was making her better. She lives in an assisted living facility and is now on the 'No EMS unless life threatening' list because she made her caregivers call 911 so often for essentially nothing. She called my husband a couple weeks ago insisting he take her to the hospital RIGHT NOW because her leg hurt. He told her no. In the span of half an hour, she went from wailing about the horrible pain she was in to sitting in the dining room eating cake. She has elevated victimhood to an art form and many of the people we see on this show have done the same. Being a victim is their identity.

[auntjess]

4 hours ago, Kellyee said:

inally watched it. Two hours of Liz sitting in a bed with the same facial expression passively watching the world go on around her. I don't understand how she got approved for surgery when she didn't lose a single pound unassisted by the hospital or rehab facility.

I wonder if the exception was made because the mother and aunt were desperate, and unable to cope, and maybe knew someone and did some special pleading.

[seniorpatriot]

On 2/3/2018 at 12:41 PM, gonecrackers said:

Mmmmm, I dunno about that; maybe it depends on what they're eating. I know someone who had the surgery who recently gained 40lbs. She eats very small amounts - but of 'comfort foods',  & frequently. It's not working obviously.

soda actually expands the small pouch your stomach is after the surgery so you are able to eat more, then of course there are thing slike milk shakes that go down pretty easily too. high in calories but easy to absorb.

[Kellyee]

Quote

I wonder if the exception was made because the mother and aunt were desperate, and unable to cope, and maybe knew someone and did some special pleading.

All these people are desperate, and Mom and Aunt looked too poor to have any special connections. I suspect that they needed the surgery to keep the show going, so an exception was made. Either that or Liz was so close to death that they decided to take a chance on the surgery. But it was definitely different than the rules people have been held to in the past. As Dr. Now says over and over, the surgery is no magic bullet. She will eventually gain weight back if she has no self control. Or worse, kill herself overeating with a tiny stomach.

Quote

soda actually expands the small pouch your stomach is after the surgery so you are able to eat more, then of course there are thing slike milk shakes that go down pretty easily too. high in calories but easy to absorb.

I know someone who gained back a bunch of weight, and soda was involved. Also, one chicken mcnugget is not what the doctor prescribes, but its what my friend was eating after surgery. 

Edited February 5, 2018 by Kellyee
addition

[gonecrackers]

5 minutes ago, seniorpatriot said:

soda actually expands the small pouch your stomach is after the surgery so you are able to eat more, then of course there are thing slike milk shakes that go down pretty easily too. high in calories but easy to absorb.

Yes, soda & milk are part of the problem.