S07.E11: Jeanne's Story

[auntjess]

6 hours ago, crazycatlady58 said:

Now Houston has a lot of hospitals so mom may have been operated on in a nother hospital but still I would think arrangements would have been made.

Dr. Now operated on her mother.  She didn't seem that concerned, except that she was annoyed when her father kept calling her.
 

[auntjess]

6 hours ago, Jeeves said:

"I thought I was going to get weight loss surgery, but instead I'm having to go back to the hospital." Saying "hospital" like it was prison or worse.

It was worse.  It was a place with 1200 a day meals.  She wanted to go where she could eat what she liked.
And did you all notice how early in the show, she just dumped tons of salt on that breakfast her father fixed her.
I've never noticed another pounder use so much salt.

[CatherineM]

This episode hit a bunch of buttons for me. My husband and mother in law both have schizophrenia. She is also a hoarder. The good Schizophrenia meds came out in 1996, so when Jeanne was 16. Might explain some stuff. The average life expectancy of a person with schizophrenia is 52, due to the toxicity of the meds, likelihood of them causing diabetes and weight gain, and the large percentage that smoke (85-90%). 

As to her disability income, under the age of 30, it is much easier to qualify for SSD rather than SSI, because you need to have worked a fraction of the number of quarters. A few years of working at McDonald’s can do it. There aren’t social workers for SSD. You have to self report income changes, but might only get asked once every 7 years to have a doctor sign a form again. 

I also noticed there was a logo of a dog print on their minivan’s doors. Do you suppose they bred dogs?

[zillabreeze]

K.  Finally watching.

#1.  You guys are my peeps.  I watch other stuff on Wednesday night while reading the Live Chat like a crack ho.  Your snark determines if I record the next showing and when to FF.  I recorded for the Dr. Now beatdown.

#2.  Am I the only Texan here?  The Whataburger "lunch" needed more discussion.  Whataburger is the best.  Delicious!  But she ate two!  (Possibly three) of the double meat specialty burgers.  They are 1000 Cal each.  Large fries was 700.  Large soda 600. So, over 3000 Cal, if she only ate two.  Just two burgers, her tab alone was roughly $18

Mom had a single meal $9.  Call that a $30 lunch before the nasty little cupcakes.

$30 at Aldi's will feed me for a solid week!   

How do these people afford all this food?  If volume is what you need, then go with eggs, beans and chicken thighs. 

#3. Someone upthread mentioned GrubHub, etc.  Holy cow.  Once, I was feeling lazy and jonesing for a Whataburger.  Just burger at $9. I checked,  after service fee, delivery fee (two separate fees) and a tip.  It was $20.00.  Needless to say, I got my fatass in the truck.

Just one Whataburger (no fries or soda) makes me fall on the couch for HOURS, capable of nothing more than PTV.  And I'm a big eater.

#4. I'm a bitch, but I do take good care of my dogs.  Dogs love unconditionally.  They don't know if your slacking is why they have fleas or heartworm.  They will be excited to see even the most neglectful owner.

Haven't finished the episode, but already tired of the blaming & whining.

Edited March 15, 2019 by zillabreeze

[kicotan]

8 hours ago, sempervivum said:

I wonder if TLC has any kind of 'mission statement' about this show. I just don't understand why they would choose this person, it seems kind of cruel, honestly. I can understand showing some failures for the sake of pragmatism, but this verged on freak show, especially the way they waited til the end to show the extent of the almost 'Hoarders'-level of filth. 

Using the term “verged” is being incredibly kind.

TLC’s bread n’ butter are the “kind” version of a freak show.  A glimpse at the lineup brings you “Inseperable” about twins joined at the head, “30 inches and Turning 18”, “Little Life on the Prarie”, “The Little Couple” and “7 Little Johnston’s” (4 shows about “Little” people,) Dr. Pimple Popper, Sister Wives, My Big Fat Fabulous Life, etc.

All they need is the “Bearded Woman” and a “Dog Face Boy”.

[auntjess]

5 hours ago, CousinOliver said:

Jeanne will be lost if Mom dies first, but what if Jeanne goes first?   Will this be the best thing for her or the worst thing?  Maybe if Jeanne passes, Mom could get into a nursing home and just breathe?  I think this is the happiest possible outcome, unfortunately. 

I think this is best outcome too, because I can't see Jeanne ever doing anything to lose weight that involves eating less.
But Barbara's health could get better if she didn't have to wait on Jeanne, and she's not so old (mid 60s?) so she could get by, Social Security and part time job?
She certainly deserves a shot at a better life.

[zillabreeze]

2 minutes ago, kicotan said:

Using the term “verged” is being incredibly kind.

TLC’s bread n’ butter are the “kind” version of a freak show.  A glimpse at the lineup brings you “Inseperable” about twins joined at the head, “30 inches and Turning 18”, “Little Life on the Prarie”, “The Little Couple” and “7 Little Johnston’s” (4 shows about “Little” people,) Dr. Pimple Popper, Sister Wives, My Big Fat Fabulous Life, etc.

All they need is the “Bearded Woman” and a “Dog Face Boy”.

Someone once opined that after Carnival sideshows became insensitive and politically incorrect, reality TeeVee filled the void.

[auntjess]

4 hours ago, TurtlePower said:

When the dad died, what a shock. I felt very sad for them, especially at the end when Jeanne gave up on Dr. Now's program.

I think Jeanne was happy for the excuse to quit, because she'd been complaining for days about having to stay in the hospital until her mother was well enough to leave. 
When they'd been planning to stay in a hotel until her mother could drive, didn't she say something about being able to get something good to eat?                         

[auntjess]

3 hours ago, CousinOliver said:

Why couldn’t Jeanne shower?  She’s certainly not the biggest poundticipant we’ve seen, and god and everyone knows that we’ve seen many, many of them take showers.  

I think at the beginning, she said she'd gotten too big for the shower.  I don't know if for the shower itself, or if she was like Nicole, who was too big to get through the bathroom door.
She could certainly have washed most of herself at a sink or with a basin or bucket though.

[auntjess]

3 hours ago, KateHearts said:

It is weird that, presumably, these people know that there is a TV show dedicated to people in their situation and they don't watch and perhaps see that the successful ones work hard, exercise, measure their food, and take an active interest in their recovery.  Jeanne especially.

I went to one of the Facebook groups on this show, and someone there said Jeanne was a member, so yes, she knows.

[auntjess]

3 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Now, now, she only ate the whole pizza minus two slices. Moderation!

Her version of sharing with the family, I figured.

[DC Gal in VA]

40 minutes ago, Armchair Critic said:

Last night I got home late and caught the end, I figured I would catch a repeat at 8 tonight like usual. But maybe because it was such an awful episode they aren't repeating it tonight, they have a different episode on?

Started watching it online but I really don't want to see it up close, these people are turning my stomach. 

Oh hello my friend Armchair Critic! Are you on the East Coast or the "Other Coast?" When you talk about catching a repeat, are you talking about last night since the episode always repeats here?

Oh no no no, you MUST see everything up close. Why should we be the only ones who have to suffer!?😆

[CrazyInAlabama]

I bet someone could build an outdoor shower, with a raised floor, and wooden walls,  and she could use it most of the year.     

[zillabreeze]

Oh lawd!  Just hit the "Orange" comment  I think she just forgot to say "Julius" part.

Still made at Dairy Queen.  900 cal

[zengirl1215]

1 hour ago, fonfereksglen said:

The wounds shown brought back a lot of memories.  Apart from the obvious part of wound care such as antibiotics,  special salves in bandages,  etc., there is often the very frequent trips to hyperbaric chambers. Like 3 times a week for an extensive period of time.

My sad thought was Jeanne would have been too obese to lay comfortably for any period of time and would have bolted from that treatment as well.

You are absolutely correct.  The wounds she had were serious and though Dr. Now was able to contain them and get them to heal up somewhat, sadly if the infection returns, and she has no doctor to address it ASAP, things will be dire for her.  

[zillabreeze]

Lack of hygiene, lethargy is Depression 101, yet we never hear of giving the pounders depression meds.  Not a magic bullet, but why not try?

Also, we've all discussed how these people seem childlike or arrested...I've heard that addicts "freeze" in their maturity at the time that the addiction starts.  Wouldn't that be the case in food addiction, just like drugs or alcohol?

[ams1001]

8 hours ago, Natalie68 said:

I noticed all the burning candles.

I didn't notice the candles but with all the cobwebs draped across the walls that seems like a supremely bad idea.

7 hours ago, Jeeves said:

That was such a jolt - what a disconnect from reality. Not "I have another infection which has to be treated and this is a disappointing setback for my weight loss program." Just a childish tantrum: "I don't WANNA GO to the hospital! I want my WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY!" 

She does know that surgery happens in a hospital, doesn't she?

[junemeatcleaver]

2 hours ago, DropTheSoap said:

I’ve noticed that, also. TV and mobile phones/computers seem to be the only entertainment. No hobbies. No reading. Nothing but killing time from meal to meal. 

Didn't a woman this season play video games?  She met her boyfriend via Playstation Plus (I'm guessing PS Plus because it looked like she had a Playstation 4).  I know a lot of people don't think a lot of gaming, but it is a hobby.

We probably don't see them do a lot of hobbies because watching them read or game or crochet is boring.  It takes time away from the dysfunction and close ups of them shoveling food in their mouths.

Quote

I didn't notice the candles but with all the cobwebs draped across the walls that seems like a supremely bad idea. 

I thought that was straight up dirt, dust that got out of control

Edited March 15, 2019 by junemeatcleaver

[AZChristian]

We got home from Las Vegas around 4:45, and I started watching this episode right away.  You folks were right . . . Jeanne is a piece of work.  A BIG piece of work.

But I must say this:  I expected the house to be a lot worse based on what I read here.  Yes, it was filthy and cluttered . . . but nowhere near hoarder level.  I once had to report someone to CPS because I was so concerned for the health of their young daughter.  Their house was filthy, more cluttered than Jeanne's, and the cats' (plural) litter box was never emptied, and was kept under the kitchen table.  The straw that broke the camel's back and pushed me to call was finding out that the mother had lost the penicillin that the child was supposed to be taking for pneumonia.  (A person on an antibiotic HAS to take it until it's all gone.  But they had LOST it.)

CPS made a call to the house and saw the situation for themselves.  When they called me back, they said, "Yes, it isn't good.  But we see a lot worse.  We talked to the parents about cleanliness and advised them to get a refill of the antibiotic, but - as bad as it was - it wasn't bad enough to remove the child from the home."

Last year, I asked Adult Protective Services to evaluate my brother's living situation.  His place is as dirty as Jeanne's, and he really is near to hoarder level.  Again, I was told, "It's bad, but we see worse."

Based on what I've been exposed to, I don't think anyone can do anything about two adult women who choose to live in filth.

HOWEVER, I'd love to see the ASPCA get called to determine the health of the dogs.  Jeanne said she couldn't go back to Houston because they had no one to take care of the dogs.  Let them go into foster care, or removed permanently from the home.  Even if Jeanne ends up eating herself to death (sooner rather than later), the dogs deserve a better life.

[gardendiva]

58 minutes ago, kicotan said:

Using the term “verged” is being incredibly kind.

TLC’s bread n’ butter are the “kind” version of a freak show.  A glimpse at the lineup brings you “Inseperable” about twins joined at the head, “30 inches and Turning 18”, “Little Life on the Prarie”, “The Little Couple” and “7 Little Johnston’s” (4 shows about “Little” people,) Dr. Pimple Popper, Sister Wives, My Big Fat Fabulous Life, etc.

All they need is the “Bearded Woman” and a “Dog Face Boy”.

You forgot “The Man With the 132 Pound Scrotum”.

[Mrs. Hanson]

2 hours ago, aliya said:

Here's a thought - many (most? all?) of the obesees say that food is the only thing that they have to look forward to. None of them read; I think only Sean knitted, but I don't see any other crafts; none of them paint; or make models; or embroider; or any of the myriad of activities that people do to enjoy themselves. No wonder all they do is eat. 

I, like many people, have used/still use food as a comfort.  I get that - I am having a stressful day, some chocolate can go a long way.  I, like many other people, have a little thing called moderation and exercise in my day.  And lots of interests and hobbies, a circle of friends, lunch and thrift shopping with friends, etc.  But sadly many of these people have very unlikable personalities and frankly, how can you go antique shopping.thrift shopping/window shopping/paintball/whatever when you can't walk ten feet without being winded?

[zillabreeze]

54 minutes ago, junemeatcleaver said:

because watching them read or game or crochet is boring.  It takes time away from the dysfunction and close ups of them shoveling food in their mouths

Keeping your hands busy, helps with breaking all bad habits! 

Needlepoint, jewelry, making potholders, etc. don't require being in public. 

 If the TLC bunch truly wanted to help, as opposed to just running a sideshow, this would be addressed.  Along with depression therapy. 

There's never a chef to come in and show how to make good tasting foods that fill your ass up either.  Only once or twice have we seen a nutritionist show up.  Then, they only open the frig and shame.

Clearly, TLC just wants to bark a sideshow, and we all show up.  I can't quit them though, so getting off my high horse.

A real public service would be The Obesity Channel, but sadly the ratings would prob be dismal.

Of course, I can't remember the names, but I have seen UK shows where they clean out the frig, go shopping.  Layout the fast food, talk about it's ridic Cal content and give options.

Work on a realistic plan, do some cooking.  The US needs that, desparately.

Edited March 15, 2019 by zillabreeze

[ams1001]

15 minutes ago, gardendiva said:

You forgot “The Man With the 132 Pound Scrotum”.

This reminded me, and I thought of it during the scene but didn't mention it in chat and then mercifully put it out of my mind until now, but when they first showed that thing on her leg I thought, "It kinda looks like a giant scrotum."

Sorry.

[Armchair Critic]

51 minutes ago, DC Gal in VA said:

Oh hello my friend Armchair Critic! Are you on the East Coast

Hey, I've been missing you in chat because now I have something on Wednesday nights. It sucks when life gets in the way of my tv snarking. Watching it online I had to stop it a few times because it was too gross. Who knew hamburgers and pizza could look so unappealing? 😫

Edited March 15, 2019 by Armchair Critic
Forgot to say I am East Coast baby!

[PrincessPurrsALot]

17 minutes ago, gardendiva said:

You forgot “The Man With the 132 Pound Scrotum”.

I never forget the man with the 132 lb. Scrotum but I often wish I could. 

[Armchair Critic]

52 minutes ago, DC Gal in VA said:

When you talk about catching a repeat, are you talking about last night since the episode always repeats here?

Here the next night at 8 they usually play a Super Sized version of the episode. But tonight instead they played the episode from 2 weeks ago that was about Tiffany

[zillabreeze]

38 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

We got home from Las Vegas around 4:45, and I started watching this episode right away.  You folks were right . . . Jeanne is a piece of work.  A BIG piece of work.

We need a DVR Live Chat 2.0

AZ, I feel your pain.  I lost a sister to addiction  & squalor.  Adults have choices.  The animals do not.  Thankfully, there were no children involved.  

I have no patience for people that succomb to their vices and take the innocent with them.

[Twopper]

Ack!!! This was distressing on so many levels.  

I was going to say I wished I were a fly on the wall when she and her mother watch the episode, and it reaches the section where the mom says something like "I would have never had her...."   but I thought better of being a fly in that hovel.

These comments may be disjointed as I saw the last 30 minutes last night, saw the first hour early this morning  and finally saw the middle a bit later.

What causes those big red splotches on her face?  I know she smoked, but I wasn't sure if she was a chain smoker; I guess that would be hard since she is more of a chain eater.

Go potty?  really?  my husband and I may say that in jest from time to time, but I wouldn't say it on tv. Dear heavens,  that was the worst butt wiping scene ever.   And is the portable toilet there because it will support her weight, and the regular one won't.  She seems a lot more mobile than she is acting most of the time; she did manage to walk from the car to the office so she can if she wants to.

Tattoo.  Checked that on the bingo card.

Mom looks exhausted.  She looks old and warn out, but I bet she is about 55.  A little speculation here about dear ole dad.  As far as I know Barbara had no other children.  I think she became pregnant about 15 or 16, and her mother ran the dad off.  This is also based on her saying she had loved him for 40 years; I think he may have been the only love of her life.

If my leg had a tendency to bleed I would not wear white pants.  I guess they were the only ones that fit.

100 pounds at age six is not chubby.  (My grandmother who was 4'10' was never 100 pounds in her entire life except when pregnant.)

Oh, yummy.  I love What-a-burger.   We used to stop at one on the way home from the beach when I was little.   So she ate 8 our of a dozen mini-cupcakes.  Dr Now will be so impressed with her restraint.  When she is eating the pizza there is a box of something else to her left.  I can't make it out, but she is eating from it at the same time she is eating the pizza.  A two-fisted eater!!!

So was the voice over about her fear of going to sleep and not waking put in there to foreshadow her dad actually doing that?

She wanted the car closer to the house.  The only way that would happen is if mom drives it up the ramp.  I will give her credit for telling her dad she loves him as she leaves and also over the phone at the hospital.   So her list of regrets will not include "I didn't tell him I loved him."

Well, of course, people are staring at the gas station.  You yelled for a large drink with sugar, smoked near the gas pump, and have an entourage of camera people following your car.

Ugh, Hilton Garden ad (we stayed in one recently as it was convenient and not bad).  The ad I really, really hate is the Haribo Goldbears one.

So she can blame her dad for serving her that really big breakfast.

Such an ungrateful wretch.  Without Dr Now she and her mom would most likely be dead from their infections.  I can't believe they needed lessons on how to clean her behind.

Ugh, the blood pouting out of her leg.  Speaking of her leg, why do her legs shake so much?

Wow, she is doing a craft in bed.  Not sure what it is.   And she can do one chore--feeding the dogs.  Well, since there are 9 dogs, I guess that is nine chores.  She needs to go out and walk up and down the ramp several times a day.

Boy her hostility to Dr Now makes me wonder how much more hostile she is to her mom and dad.  Probably at least 100x.

Whatever mom served with that ground beef --looks like pasta- is not on the 1200 calorie low carb plan. 

From some angles, there is a cross atop their house.

So is she wearing pj bottoms for pants at the 8 pound loss weigh in?

I am seriously considering keeping this on the DVR to watch whenever I start gaining weight.

I think Dr Now should have sent the therapist to see her while she was in the bed in the hospital and couldn't run away.

[Miracle Maxie]

1 hour ago, CatherineM said:

I also noticed there was a logo of a dog print on their minivan’s doors. Do you suppose they bred dogs?

On Jeanne’s car door was a paw print magnet that said “Who rescued who?”  There was something different on the driver’s side door but I couldn’t tell what. Despite the paw print magnet, I somehow doubt they’re involved in animal rescue. 

[Armchair Critic]

9 minutes ago, Twopper said:

When she is eating the pizza there is a box of something else to her left

Chicken wings. Ugh like I said it was too up close watching it online, you could see all the grease on her mouth when she was eating that. Gag!

[Twopper]

I meant to add that Dr Now made it sound as though Big Sandy is near Dallas.  It is about an hour and a half from Dallas, about 20 miles west of Longview.   My MIL was born on a farm in the same county.   Of course, Texas is so big that 100 miles is just a short drive.

[zillabreeze]

8 minutes ago, Miracle Maxie said:

On Jeanne’s car door was a paw print magnet that said “Who rescued who?”  There was something different on the driver’s side door but I couldn’t tell what. Despite the paw print magnet, I somehow doubt they’re involved in animal rescue. 

Were you not paying attention to the footage when Jeanne was at the shelter walking the dogs?  It was right between the 3 burgers and 12 cupcakes!

[ams1001]

52 minutes ago, Armchair Critic said:

 Who knew hamburgers and pizza could look so unappealing? 😫

After my post-McDonald's experience this past weekend I'm a little off hamburgers for a while (though I also had a couple chicken tenders so it could have been that...or hell, could have been something else entirely. Who knows).

21 minutes ago, Twopper said:

1. I was going to say I wished I were a fly on the wall when she and her mother watch the episode, and it reaches the section where the mom says something like "I would have never had her...."   but I thought better of being a fly in that hovel.
2. What causes those big red splotches on her face?  I know she smoked, but I wasn't sure if she was a chain smoker; I guess that would be hard since she is more of a chain eater.
3. 100 pounds at age six is not chubby.  (My grandmother who was 4'10' was never 100 pounds in her entire life except when pregnant.)
4. Oh, yummy.  I love What-a-burger.   We used to stop at one on the way home from the beach when I was little.   So she ate 8 our of a dozen mini-cupcakes.  Dr Now will be so impressed with her restraint. 
5. When she is eating the pizza there is a box of something else to her left.  I can't make it out, but she is eating from it at the same time she is eating the pizza.  A two-fisted eater!!!
6. Wow, she is doing a craft in bed.  Not sure what it is.   And she can do one chore--feeding the dogs.  Well, since there are 9 dogs, I guess that is nine chores.  She needs to go out and walk up and down the ramp several times a day.
7. So is she wearing pj bottoms for pants at the 8 pound loss weigh in?

1. I suspect if you were a fly in that house you'd have plenty of company.
2. I was thinking maybe rosacea or something.
3. One of my friends from college is 5 feet tall and was 95 pounds when we were in school. Even now after 20+ years and two kids I doubt she's 100 pounds.
4. My mom got those little cupcakes (with chocolate frosting, not day-glo blue) to have for dessert when we were there for dinner not too long ago. I had two, and I kinda didn't even want to finish the second. And I didn't even eat them right in a row.
5. I think it was like boneless wings or something. It looked like it was drenched in BBQ sauce or something similar (aka sugar).
6. I suspect "feeding the dogs" entails shoveling food from a giant bag into a giant bowl or three.
7. Her PJs were actually cute. They had a dog print pants and a t-shirt with a matching dog on the front. And yes, they were PJs. Because I've never seen a cutesy-print pants with matching top outfit like that that wasn't PJs (well, maybe in the kids' section).

Edited March 15, 2019 by ams1001

[zillabreeze]

1 minute ago, Twopper said:

I meant to add that Dr Now made it sound as though Big Sandy is near Dallas.  It is about an hour and a half from Dallas, about 20 miles west of Longview.   My MIL was born on a farm in the same county.   Of course, Texas is so big that 100 miles is just a short drive.

Thank you.  I live in Dallas and was just fixin to have to Google Big Sandy.  Not a clue

[Twopper]

6 minutes ago, Armchair Critic said:

Chicken wings. Ugh like I said it was too up close watching it online, you could see all the grease on her mouth when she was eating that. Gag!

I think I am sorry I asked.  I thought maybe nuggets so I was close.   I notice she says she ate all but 2 slices of the pizza.   Heck, skip the wings and eat the whole pizza.   I just can't wrap my head around this eating.   I think we need to coin a word that encompasses a meal that lasts all day and into the night.   Breaksnacklunchsnacksuppersnack?

[ams1001]

6 minutes ago, Twopper said:

I meant to add that Dr Now made it sound as though Big Sandy is near Dallas.  It is about an hour and a half from Dallas, about 20 miles west of Longview.   My MIL was born on a farm in the same county.   Of course, Texas is so big that 100 miles is just a short drive.

That just kinda boggles my mind. My whole state is less than 100 miles wide (and less than 200 miles top to bottom). 

1 minute ago, Twopper said:

I think I am sorry I asked.  I thought maybe nuggets so I was close.   I notice she says she ate all but 2 slices of the pizza.   Heck, skip the wings and eat the whole pizza.   I just can't wrap my head around this eating.   I think we need to coin a word that encompasses a meal that lasts all day and into the night.   Breaksnacklunchsnacksuppersnack?

I don't even understand how chicken wings and pizza even go together. I mean, my dad occasionally orders wings when we get pizza but still. (Though I don't actually eat wings so I guess I'm not one to judge.)

[zillabreeze]

4 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I suspect "feeding the dogs" entails shoveling food from a giant bag into a giant bowl or three.

Probably "Old Roy" the  cheap crap choice of dog food for all backyard breeders & puppy mills

[Armchair Critic]

9 minutes ago, Twopper said:

I just can't wrap my head around this eating.   I think we need to coin a word that encompasses a meal that lasts all day and into the night. 

I think they were boneless wings like ams1001 said. I usually skip lunch and eat a late dinner and by the time I get home to eat it tastes even better because I am so hungry. But when you eat all day and in such large quantities like these people I wouldn't even think it tastes that good, she was just shoving it in for something to do at that point. I noticed she would eat 8 fries at a time and take huge bites of pizza like she just had to get it in her mouth as fast as possible like she was starving though. I would think you would literally bust a gut by being so full.

Edited March 15, 2019 by Armchair Critic

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, zillabreeze said:

Lack of hygiene, lethargy is Depression 101, yet we never hear of giving the pounders depression meds.  Not a magic bullet, but why not try?

Also, we've all discussed how these people seem childlike or arrested...I've heard that addicts "freeze" in their maturity at the time that the addiction starts.  Wouldn't that be the case in food addiction, just like drugs or alcohol?

Depression meds can be real triggers for weight gain.  I am under 5 feet tall, and was on Paxil for 8 years.  I was about 130 when I started taking them, and was 290 when I decided to wean off of them.  Within a year, I was back to about 145.  They can make you even MORE lethargic than the depression itself, and I found it harder to battle my compulsions while on them.  They did help my depression, but they negatively impacted other areas of my life.

[88Keys]

11 hours ago, junemeatcleaver said:

I don't like saying people are beyond hope, as long as a person has their mind and breath in their lungs, they're capable of receiving help, but Jeanne is totally stuck

Jeanne doesn't want to get help.  You heard her.  "Now is not the right time for me to give up food."  She doesn't WANT to give up food, because it's the only thing that gives her any joy.  

[Armchair Critic]

1 minute ago, 88Keys said:

She doesn't WANT to give up food, because it's the only thing that gives her any joy. 

I've said this before on here but in a past season one of the women who was successful in losing a ton of weight was depressed, she said she felt like she lost her best friend when she gave up all the fattening food. These people's lives have become so small. that their only pleasure/entertainment/hobby is eating. I think we all have been guilty of making food our entertainment before but not to the extent of these people.

[zillabreeze]

3 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Depression meds can be real triggers for weight gain.

Oh dear. I knew that was f-d up when I typed it.  (Fellow depressive) Yup.  Some of those meds will pile on the pounds.  Some might not (damn, I wish) It takes what seems like forever to fix depression.  When I get there, I'll PM the answer 😁

I hold with the theory that depression has to be addressed with these folks BEFORE you just say "1200cal, and call me in the morning" .  

[aliya]

2 hours ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

But sadly many of these people have very unlikable personalities 

I'm gonna stop with that. How they get people to wait on them hand and foot instead of punching them out, I don't know.

[zillabreeze]

9 minutes ago, aliya said:

I'm gonna stop with that. How they get people to wait on them hand and foot instead of punching them out, I don't know.

They are on the planet Me.  I checked all over Trip Advisor and can't find a flight

[NeitherSparky]

11 hours ago, WonTon said:

Nice MST3K reference!

When I’m done building the Crow replica I’m currently working on he is so watching this show with me.

[ZeldaZee]

I've only just started watching Jeanne's episode (Amazon delays and my own lackadaisical attitude over the last few episodes). As of writing I'm only up to the initial Dr. Now consultation and forgive me if the next 45 minutes change my mind (or if I reiterate points already said by other posters)...

MAN I do not like this chick.

I'm sorry her grandmother thought "Mommie Dearest" was a childcare manual, and I'm sorry she was molested. No child should ever go through any of that. At the same time, so many of these stories have abuse/rape/molestation as the "trigger" for overeating that, well, it's kind of the baseline. I actually am pleasantly surprised when a subject WASN'T molested.

Still.

Many of these subjects have gone through horrible things and, if not taken control of their lives, at least don't bitch and whine so.Goddamn.much. I hope the crew in the ride to Houston got hazard pay. That whole "throw us in with the lepers" exchange really steamed my goat. Bitch, at some point you CHOSE to disable yourself. Those "lepers" didn't have a say in the matter and frankly their stories are far more inspiring than yours.

She is the unhealthiest subject I've seen, at least physically. The constant redness and wheezing, dear God. And that is SELF-INFLICTED. Considering how bad she looks and sounds I'm genuinely amazed she's made it to 39.

Again, as I write, I'm only 25 minutes in. Maybe I'll have a change of heart by the end but at this point I think I understand why Jeanne has no talking heads outside of her parents.

~ZZ

(PS: They had the sad flashback piano music but not a dedicated "chunk" of flashback photos/VO this episode– is this new? Like I said, I skimmed/skipped the last couple episodes.)

Edited March 15, 2019 by ZeldaZee

[ZeldaZee]

3 hours ago, NeitherSparky said:

When I’m done building the Crow replica I’m currently working on he is so watching this show with me.

Can I say how much I adore this? It's been a thing that if I'm dating a new guy, I take him to a RiffTrax Live. If he doesn't laugh, he's not worth another date.

~ZZ

[ProTourist]

New to this forum, but have been watching this series for the past few years online. I've watched Jeanne's episode twice, and would like to share a few comments.

1. I don't think Jeanne and her parents would qualify as hoarders, unless nine dogs would count as hoarding them. I think they are slovenly and lazy, and accept to live in squalor, but don't seem to hoard anything that I've noticed.
2. The marks on the walls have impressed me as cracks in the paint and/or plaster, not as cobwebs. In my experience, cobwebs usually form in corners rather than across a wide wall.
3. I didn't notice candles burning anywhere in their home, but did notice lamps with bare bulbs, no shades.
4. The general public does tend to stare at obese people, and sometimes to make rude remarks as well. Even if they are clean and well-dressed. Even if they don't have camera crews with them, or are not engaging in hazardous activities such as smoking near gasoline pumps. We have seen many of the patients who hate being in public for this reason. Think of Kandi and Brandi, and how they had to get a fast food fix to steady their nerves, before they could allow themselves to be seen at the supermarket.
5. I don't like Jeanne at all, but tend to believe the back story she told about herself and the traumatic experiences, even though she tells lies. People don't abuse themselves to this degree, such as eating up to six or seven hundred pounds, without hating themselves; and they don't hate themselves for no reason.
6. Although some patients can succeed on the diet with just the printout and the brief explanation from the doctor, I think many of them, especially the less-educated ones like Jeanne, need more detailed training, to make sure they really understand the hows and whys of it. Like a one-hour sit-down with a dietician who takes it down to the nitty-gritty, and an illustrated guidebook that shows how to weigh and measure everything, the best ways to shop and cook, etc. And a notebook to use for food journaling that they would bring in with them to each appointment. A real starter kit, to maximize the patients' chances of compliance. A poundicipants' bootcamp. 😊
7. People like Jeanne who, I think, eat themselves into oblivion out of deep psychological disturbance, cannot simply flip a switch within their minds and change from eating 20,000 to 1,200 calories a day, no matter how well-trained they might be. They cannot just "snap out of it," to quote Cher in Moonstruck.  😉  If they could, they probably would not need Dr. Now. As some others here have said, they need the psychotherapy first, and probably something more intensive than what the program's usual on-camera therapists can provide. For patients like Jeanne, a year or more of this type of therapy might be needed before they would be ready for the diet.

Even though I don't like Jeanne, or her parents,  I don't think she had much chance of success. Some of the patients, including her and Sean, are just too damaged. Although I don't like it when they lie to the doctor, weight loss is not one-size-fits-all. Dr. Now's program is not going to work for everyone. For people like Joe Wexler and this season's Justin, it works. They can reboot their lives and start over. But not everyone can achieve this type of behavior modification on their own or with an occasional therapy session. If they can survive, in my opinion, they need an analyst and the willingness to do that type of soul-searching hard work. The type where you feel worse before you get better.

Cheers everyone.

[Mothra]

11 hours ago, JJ1 said:

But this is something I’ve noticed about so many people today. And, NO, I’m not talking politics here. Just ordinary people who choose to blatantly lie about the simplest of things and then get furious if someone calls them on it.  I will never understand how they think everyone is supposed to believe everything they say, even if it is obviously a complete lie. 🤔

I think you're right.  It's hard to understand--but maybe it isn't--why a poundicipant who comes to Dr. Now because "this is my last chance" blah blah blah would not want to be as truthful as possible so he can give them the help they need (tm).  But we all know these guys *must* be aware that they are eating way, way more than other people, just by seeing what their family members are eating.  Are they ashamed?  How can they be ashamed after being weighed in at 600-plus pounds?  Is denying their (obvious) eating habit the last shred of what they perceive as self-respect they have to discard--is this "hitting bottom?"  Have we *ever* seen a patient of Dr. Now's admit fully what they're eating and how much?

Maybe at this point in filming they don't realize they're going to be shown naked, on the toilet, being wiped and washed, and they believe that if they describe their eating habit as what they think a dieter's eating habit ("if I'm hungry, I'll have an orange" from someone who never allows herself to feel hunger in the first place) should be, Dr. Now will respect them because they know about dieting?  Is there a clinical psychologist posting here?  And if not, why not?

[Guest]

I finally watched this episode and felt the same way about it as when I watched Sean's episodes: devastating sadness. Jeanne and her parents were just broken human beings. Poverty, mental illness, lack of education, isolation—there was nothing in that household that suggested to me they knew one moment in their lives that had anything remotely to do with the meaning of joy. Nothing. That human beings have to live their life in such a state of sorrow and depression is nothing short of inhumane to me. Of course everyone has personal responsibility over their lives but, in this case, so many factors prevented them from making better choices. It just doesn't seem like it was possible for them to turn their lives around and it's far too late now. Their house seemed to be the physical manifestation of their emotional lives. It was just a complete tragedy.

Jeanne is going to die from her overeating. Full stop. Same as Sean did at his young age. There's no turning back for her. And while she was mostly unlikeable, I have no snark for her. Only sympathy. 

One thing I found odd was her insistence on asking the first responders if her father died peacefully and then making sure to reiterate that he did to Dr Now. I don't know if she was insinuating that he might have taken his own life, which seems possible given his mental health issues, but it sure seems like she was. 

The poor dogs are all flea ridden—and with fleas come intestinal parasites and I would be willing to bet that a good deal of them also have heart worm disease. I also spied one of them who appeared to have an old leg injury that had never been addressed medically and whose leg was now permanently deformed. I don't doubt they "love" these animals but they are doing wrong by them. That they know know better is equally depressing.