Community Chat

[chickenbutt]

I kind had to FF through some of the time when he was eating.  Early on, there was a dinner scene.  She gave him this HUGE plate of food (I mean, like enough for 3 meals!).  He wolfed that down and then she asked him, as we learned that she does at every turn, if he wanted more.

Of course he wanted more, so she brought him another HUGE plate of food.  He ate all that and then she asked him if he was ready for dessert (I was queasy by then) and, of course, he did.     So, she brought him, I swear, a whole quarter of a large pie.  Looked like a banana cream or something like that.  That went down quickly.

I guess one builds up to it, but it's really kind of hard to imagine how somebody can get that much food in them.

As for turning him over - it took a few people to do that.

[febe1]

I almost got sick when I saw James' legs. They were the worst I've ever seen. And I never saw before the way his GF was stuffing cloths into his wrinkles. I couldn't watch him eating. And his mealy mouth GF. James was stuck in that bed; he couldn't do anything to her. I'm surprised CPS didn't interfere with daughter abuse.

Dr. Now was the angriest I've ever seen. It made me laugh when James told Dr. Now that he had to eat something, and Dr. Now was so angry he told him that he didn't have to eat anything and had 800 pounds of food in him.

I find that James and some of the others have an attitude they are entitled and they are entitled, and they didn't have anything to do with their condition.

I realize it's an addiction, but I also know they made choices over many years to become bedridden. They shouldn't act like they're suddenly surprised to be 600 lbs. The tragedy is the "failures" will die and they've chosen food over living.

[catlover]

her name was Penny-epic failure........................

[catlover]

so true...........I have never seen Dr Now so angry!

For heavens sake the man even drove to his house to see him.............EPIC failure-such a shame with the tens of thousand of dollars spent on his hospitalizations and for what? I wanted to slap him across the room when he said he wanted a nutritionist-really... are you serious???????????? And when he stuffed himself with the chinese food and said he would just double up on his exercises...............and then GF asked do you want to do some weights and he answers-no-not right at this minute.

I felt bad for him when I started to watch the show-but by the end-I did not feel bad for him at all.

The GF said she felt so trapped-she just wants to leave and she can't...........yes you can honey-you can actually WALK out that door and find and make a real life for yourself.

[chickenbutt]

I vaguely remember Penny.  All I really do remember is that she was infuriating.

As for James' legs - I know!    That was beyond horrible.   I've not seen anything like that.  Furthermore, he kept referring to the cellulitis.  Now, there must be different kinds of cellulitis because I had cellulitis once and I was on my way to either losing a  hand, an arm, or dying in very short order.

I had been playing with the dog (this was over 20 years ago) and my hand got somehow under him ground into the dirt.   Bacteria got into my knuckles.   I didn't know about this. Washed my hands, of course.  Next day my hand was blowing up like a purple blob and the pain was unbearable.  As I was known to do, I still went to work that day.   It was horrible.  That's a whole other story!

Went to the doctor after work and he told me what it was.  Gave me a big shot.  Told me that if it wasn't improving by the next morning I HAD to go to the hospital.  It didn't improve and he met me there.  Put me on an IV, red line was going up my arm (it was that old 'red line to the heart' thing we used to hear about).

Anyway,  I tell that story because I don't understand how he is just able to live with cellulitis for months/years.   I was told that I could have died and not in a month or a year, but soon, if it wasn't treated.   But I surely would have lost my hand or my whole arm if I waited much longer to even go to the doc.    It was quite scary - and massively painful!

[Kachina624]

My guess is that Dr. Nowzarden's patients are Medicaid recipients and are on welfare and/or food stamps.  I've never seen one yet that didn't live in marginal housing, often a low end apartment.  Many seem to have a spouse or family member who does nothing but care for them.   They'd have to be desperate for whatever money TLC pays them to agree to some of the humiliating filming of them nude.  I know I surely wouldn't. 

I assume there's a lot more preparation that goes on behind the scenes.  He tells then to eat 1200 calories and sends them out the door seemingly clueless as to how to do it. Surely they must have some dietary counseling.   Many obviously need therapy long before he suggests it.  Most of the interaction between doctor and patient seems to be, "How are you today?  I'm fine, how are you?  I'm doing good"  Over and over. 

[chickenbutt]

I've seen different times when he really does describe what foods to eat and not to eat.  Additionally, he sends them out with some written stuff that is very specific about dietary expectations.

There is just so much that I guess they want to show, some of this gets pared way down, in lieu of stuff like the drama and struggles.

[mamaslittlepotatoe]

It was actually a weight gain of 158 pounds in 4 months, not 2 months.

[momtochloe]

I have watched this show before perhaps it's actual inception as Dr. Now was truly on the cutting edge of this technology.

There used to be a program from I believe a clinic on the east coast called Brookhaven(?) that specialized in morbidly obese patients (to be honest, I had never seen folks that overweight before).  The clinic was started by a doctor who felt terrible that a good friend of his passed on because of his obesity.  The tough part of watching that show was that he would let patients do whatever they wanted to do (including ordering in food from pizza places and the like.  One patient would roll through the halls in her wheelchair taking orders and it was heartbreaking to see some patients not wanting to order something but didn't have the strength to say no). 

The doctor always looked so sad and defeated which would infuriate me as you're a medical doctor trying to help overweight people for heavens sake.  How on earth could you let a delivery service have access to your hospital?!?!!?

I have noticed that Dr. Now is getting more aggressive in speaking to those patients that are not cooperating.  I know these shows are heavily edited and it wouldn't make for good TV if they go to counseling first.  To be honest, I'm not sure what is driving these shows anymore in terms of the sheer size of these folks and the issues that go along with it or watching the family dysfunction. 

[chickenbutt]

I totally remember that Brookhaven show!    I watched every episode.  

I remember when some of those patients, WHILE in the hospital were calling in delivery food, like they were being sneaky with security cameras picking up every bit of it.  D'oh!  

Anyway, it was tough to watch.  I did enjoy the show, though, from a clinical POV.