CFS/ME an ideal facade for Munchausen syndrome by proxy?—“It can be so exhausting just to relax …”, 2025, Melfsen & Lucas (German)

Probably fine to discuss the paper and the authors logic and such — but maybe yeah it would probably be best to avoid speculating on what affected Mara and if her relationship with her parents has any effect on her condition. Atleast I wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing that.

 

I wonder whether a complaint to the journal would be in order?

I knew an adult who read her own highly identifiable medical case in a journal paper that had been written without her consent or knowledge and she was very distressed about it.

 

https://link-springer-com.translate...l=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

 

@Sasha @Yann04
You’ve made me reconsider my previous comments. I’m not sure if I should edit out the opinions?

 

That’s horrible

 

Wouldn’t someone who wants to fake an illness choose something that is less scrutinised than ME/CFS?

I vaguely remember someone mentioning they had an awful experience there as a person with ME on a facebook group.

I don’t like the fact the parents could consent for the childhood’s personal info to be put out like that.

 

I don't know. I'll flag the thread for the mods. Haven't come across this issue before!

 

Good idea!

 

"Many questions remain unanswered in this case. One of them concerns the validity of the diagnosis CFS/ME: Given its currently low validity, does it lead to its use as mimicry in the context of artificial disorders?"

This seem very confused. In what sense is there 'currently low validity' I wonder? It sounds like they are talking of a fashion in diagnostic couture. How would be 'used as mimicry'? I guess they mean being mimicked. Mimicking something of low validity doesn't make much sense. Maybe the translation is tricky here. 'Artificial disorders' is unfamiliar.

It seems very unclear to me how ME/CFS could be faked by someone else. A parent can bruise a child and claim they have a bleeding disorder. Or starve them and claim they have a wasting disease. But how can one person fake sensitivity to light and sound in another?

What I think the authors may be suggesting is that a child may feel compelled to ape her mother's illness and in doing so lost weight. That would not be MBP.

It may be best to avoid trying to analyse this specific case but I see general implications that perhaps one should have some sort of view on.

 

There does feel like a lot of back-filling of post-hoc justification to make them convince themselves the story fits /the chronology is physical illness came last.

I’m surprised someone could write the para about observing their behaviour when at the least the child has been made an inpatient (stressful) if not other stressors or fears likely meaning they’d feel the need to hug when they get to see each other etc. maybe that wasn’t the reason but the author should just know any normal person reading with empathy would need the line to confirm that was above and beyond that insight being factored in.

I agree that the abstract as it is with the title feels irresponsible- even if what is underneath were to be solid gold explanation it’s wrong because of its inference they will know it is having on others with me/cfs. If you don’t note a medical difference between me/cfs and Fdia then you are surely inferring that an fdia diagnosis could be a suspicion only based on the detail given

conbine that with the title and it’s dark ages stuff. Like the days where people justified maltreatment of pwme because some who are just malingerers did choose to pretend they had it’ - neglecting to realise that is fallacial thinking that means it’s incumbent on them to learn to differentiate and understand the condition better not less. So you’d expect detail to show this was well-justified