Quote From: drgnj66I have a friend with a child with PWS, or so they say. She is 13 and weighs about 300 pounds. She really doesn't act obsessed with food, until it comes to meal times....her Mom has custody of her and appears to feed her whatever she wants. She is diabetic, and appears to be very un healthy. My friend, her DAd, is afraid of his ex wife, so he does nothing to help the child either, but is getting concerned, as his daughter can barely fit in the car! She is almost too big for the seat belt. As a friend I'm not sure what to do, because in my opinion her Mom is abusing her by not taking care of her, but how can one prove it? When she is with her Dad, she eats what he tells her to eat, which are healthy usually non fat foods, or foods with no sugar...so her obsession's seem to be more of her Mom's, if that makes sense. There has got to be more people with this disorder, don't doctors know about it? and where do these kids go once they're adults? This girl is badly retarded, yet no one will do anything for her. They keep pretending she will one day be okay. They even let her trick or treat, which I thought was horribly abusive to her. But am I too concerned? at the rate she is going, she'll probably die before she's 20...is this common? Is it a hopeless disease? I am thinking of ending the friendship, because I cant take watching her grow up like this. Is there anything I can do? Thank you
Hello:
It does sound like your friend's child may have PWS. Unfortunately, many, many doctors have never heard of it and it goes undiagnosed constantly. It is a shame because there are some treatments now that have proven effective to help with body composition, energy, growth and metabolism that is life-altering for the better!!!
Please have your friend watch the Dr. Phil show. Also, if he wants, he can take her to a geneticist and ask for a methylation test that will identify all three types of PWS. She CAN live longer and healthier, although it is still a heartbreaking disorder, it doesn't HAVE to be deadly.
Thanks for writing.
Sincerely,
Joyce
(Original Air Date: 11/03/05) What if you were so obsessed with eating that it almost killed you, or craving food so badly that you yelled, kicked and screamed when you couldn't get enough. Nichelle's 6-year-old daughter has Prader-Willi Syndrome and constantly wants to eat. She once threw a fit so loud, the neighbors called the police. Can Nichelle learn to control her own temper when her daughter has a tantrum? Then, Dr. Phil follows up with Kathy, an anorexic whose condition was so severe, she weighed only 68 pounds. She spent three months in treatment, but her struggle is not over yet. Can her family learn the difference between supporting her and enabling her? Talk about the show here.
