Walking into an emergency room is a bit like stepping onto a stage where anything can happen, except the actors don’t always remember their lines. From suspiciously dramatic limps that vanish when no one’s looking to symptoms that defy all known science, medical professionals have truly seen it all.
As it turns out, you can’t exactly outsmart people who deal with the human body for a living. And while some attempts at faking it are almost impressive in their creativity, others fall apart faster. Either way, these stories prove that if you’re going to put on a performance, maybe don’t do it in front of an audience trained to spot every little inconsistency.
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#1
Pediatrician here so my patient was younger (and I think influenced by Mom)
This 13 year old kept getting admitted for complaints that never made sense. Lack of smell. Dizziness. "Seizures" that would happen while he was walking/running. Heart felt hot, etc. Every specialist under the sun had seen him and cleared him. He had every test and imaging study you could think of.
There was a lot of social stuff going on and this was a hard family to discharge. He'd get admitted, we'd run a hundred tests and as soon as we were about to discharge him, some new symptom would come up.
The worst was once after I had already written the discharge orders and the nurses called to let me know the patient had gone blind.
I was grouchy that day and wasn't having it.
I went in with a rolled up piece of paper. I checked his pupils. I used a Snellen. I went through the whole rigmarole.
Then when I was talking to his mother, without looking I threw the paper at him hard and fast. He yelped and dodged it. I told Mom that they were going home.
To be honest I still feel a little guilty about it, and don't know what the right thing to do was.
This 13 year old kept getting admitted for complaints that never made sense. Lack of smell. Dizziness. "Seizures" that would happen while he was walking/running. Heart felt hot, etc. Every specialist under the sun had seen him and cleared him. He had every test and imaging study you could think of.
There was a lot of social stuff going on and this was a hard family to discharge. He'd get admitted, we'd run a hundred tests and as soon as we were about to discharge him, some new symptom would come up.
The worst was once after I had already written the discharge orders and the nurses called to let me know the patient had gone blind.
I was grouchy that day and wasn't having it.
I went in with a rolled up piece of paper. I checked his pupils. I used a Snellen. I went through the whole rigmarole.
Then when I was talking to his mother, without looking I threw the paper at him hard and fast. He yelped and dodged it. I told Mom that they were going home.
To be honest I still feel a little guilty about it, and don't know what the right thing to do was.
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35points
#2
A bit late to the party.
I had a patient who was supposedly comatose but was giving a few mixed signs when it came to making a definitive judgement. There is a test called a drop arm test, where you raise the patients arm over their head and drop it. A noncomatose patient will move their arm on their own to avoid hitting themselves in the face. But I had a different idea.
With the nurse in the room I said. "Okay. Our defining test. If his arm stays straight up unassisted he is comatose."
I let go of his arm and it stayed totally upright. The guy did himself in. I told him shortly after that the gig was up and he had no medical reason to be admitted.
I had a patient who was supposedly comatose but was giving a few mixed signs when it came to making a definitive judgement. There is a test called a drop arm test, where you raise the patients arm over their head and drop it. A noncomatose patient will move their arm on their own to avoid hitting themselves in the face. But I had a different idea.
With the nurse in the room I said. "Okay. Our defining test. If his arm stays straight up unassisted he is comatose."
I let go of his arm and it stayed totally upright. The guy did himself in. I told him shortly after that the gig was up and he had no medical reason to be admitted.
35points
#3
My mom had a patient who said she had passed kidney stones at home and needed pain meds. The lady actually brought in the kidney stones as proof. Patients don’t usually do this, and the stones were way bigger than people can pass on their own. My mom sent them to the lab and they came back as “geological origin.” Aka, crazy lady picked up small stones from outside to try and get meds.
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34points
While the stories of patients faking it might seem purely humorous, there’s a serious psychological and medical context behind them. According to the Mayo Clinic, factitious disorder is a condition in which individuals deliberately fabricate, exaggerate, or even induce symptoms to assume the “sick role,” often seeking attention or emotional care rather than material gain.
Unlike malingering, the motivation isn’t financial or practical. This disorder can take two main forms: imposed on self, where a person fakes or causes illness in themselves, and imposed on another, formerly called Munchausen syndrome by proxy, where a caregiver fabricates illness in someone else to maintain the patient role.
#4
We have a patient at our primary care clinic who claims to be blind. He always comes in with sunglasses and a white cane. We were always suspicious though. Something definitely seemed off.
One day someone followed him out of the building. He walked through our nearly empty parking lot, and down the street a little ways to a car parked out of view of the clinic. He folded up his cane, got into the driver’s seat, merged into traffic and drove away.
One day someone followed him out of the building. He walked through our nearly empty parking lot, and down the street a little ways to a car parked out of view of the clinic. He folded up his cane, got into the driver’s seat, merged into traffic and drove away.
29points
#5
A surprising number of people try to fake being unconscious, but there's a simple test for that. Pick up their hand and drop it onto their face. If they smack their own face, they're unconscious. If they move their hand to the side as it drops, they're conscious.
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28points
#6
Called to a bar for a seizure. Waitress says she delivered his bill and he suddenly went to the floor having a seizure. Look over at him, and he’s laying there flopping his arms and Legs around, as he looks is right in the eye and screams over and over “I’m having a seizure!!”
We tell him to stand up so we can take him to the ambulance. He does and starts walking to the door. We tell him to hold up, gotta pay your bill first. Man, was he pissed at us. Waitress tells us he does this all the time. Well, not today. He still took a ride to the hospital though. The hospital has good egg salad sandwiches.
We tell him to stand up so we can take him to the ambulance. He does and starts walking to the door. We tell him to hold up, gotta pay your bill first. Man, was he pissed at us. Waitress tells us he does this all the time. Well, not today. He still took a ride to the hospital though. The hospital has good egg salad sandwiches.
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28points
Medical professionals are trained to detect these behaviors using careful observation and evidence-based tools. According to Merck Manuals, clinicians watch for patterns of deception that appear during patient evaluation, history-taking, and physical exams.
Red flags can include inconsistencies in patient history, like changing or exaggerated stories that don’t match documented records, unusually extensive knowledge of medical terminology or hospital procedures, and physical or behavioral cues, such as the absence of expected symptoms, complaints that only appear when unobserved, or tampered samples and manipulated devices.
#7
I had a woman come into triage in labor and delivery. We ruled her our for breaking her water. She was pissed that she wasn't going to get induced and be delivered. So after I left the room she flooded the bed, the floor and herself with tap water. Literally gallons and gallons of water, it was leaking out from under the door. SOO much water - It was like that scene in Coneheads. She said it was her water breaking. Again quickly ruled her out and told her she needed to go home. She subsequently urinated in the bed before leaving.
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24points
#8
Not a medical professional but work security in an ER, once had a guy come in, announce that he was going to have a seizure, then laid down slowly and comfortably in the floor and didn't start "seizing" until he was sure everyone was looking at him, then when the nurse (who knew he was obviously faking) said they were going to have to run a tube down his throat he was suddenly fine.
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24points
#9
When I was a labor nurse, the emergency room sent up a gal who said she was in labor. She was a sturdier lady so it was hard to tell. No prenatal care. No fetal heart tones. Did an ultrasound. She’d had a hysterectomy. She and her partner insisted we were wrong because they prayed and knew they were having their miracle baby. Good luck with that ma’am.
This person had a long mental health history. I have no doubt that she believed she was pregnant.
This person had a long mental health history. I have no doubt that she believed she was pregnant.
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22points
Motivation plays a critical role in understanding why patients behave this way. Charlie Health emphasizes that while people may fake illnesses for attention or to avoid responsibilities, the underlying reasons differ between factitious disorder and malingering.
Factitious disorder arises from an internal drive to assume the "sick role", with individuals unconsciously or compulsively fabricating symptoms to fulfill emotional needs. Malingering, in contrast, is deliberate deception with a clear external incentive, like avoiding work, obtaining financial benefits, or evading legal consequences.
#10
When I wanted to be a physical therapist, I volunteered at one of my local clinics. We had a lady who claimed she was in excruciating pain. She couldn’t walk more than 5 feet without literally screaming in pain in the clinic. She couldn’t even move her toes without yelling profanities. She kept talking about how her meds ran out and needed more. She also started talking about how her whole family thought she was dependent on substances, but she swore wasn’t.
I started feeling for her a little, she seemed nice and like she was going through some mess.
But then once the doctor walked out of the room, her and I got to talking about music. I told her my uncle was in a blue grass band and she mentioned how much she LOVED bluegrass.
She loved it so much that the prior weekend, her and her husband spent 14 hours at a festival. She was tired was carrying chairs around and dancing. And they were traveling to go to another one the day after her appointment.
When I asked her if she had any pain during the festival, she said “oh none at all. It was a fantastic weekend” and then realized she gave herself up and got real quiet.
I started feeling for her a little, she seemed nice and like she was going through some mess.
But then once the doctor walked out of the room, her and I got to talking about music. I told her my uncle was in a blue grass band and she mentioned how much she LOVED bluegrass.
She loved it so much that the prior weekend, her and her husband spent 14 hours at a festival. She was tired was carrying chairs around and dancing. And they were traveling to go to another one the day after her appointment.
When I asked her if she had any pain during the festival, she said “oh none at all. It was a fantastic weekend” and then realized she gave herself up and got real quiet.
22points
#11
Had a prisoner once that was faking full amnesia including name. I told him there was a nerve in his ear that if he put his finger in his ear and couldn't remember his name that he was for sure faking because it even worked with severe dementia. Finger in ear... remembered name; finger out of ear... cant' remember who he was. Insta discharge back to jail.
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22points
#12
I posted a while back but will post it here again. It wasn't super obvious at first, but after looking into her records it became clear:
So this happened a few months ago on my psychiatry rotation in medical school.
There was a patient at an inpatient psychiatric facility for intimate ideation. She constantly insisted that she had a mass on her breasts and demanded to be physically examined only by male doctors. When the psychiatrist I was rotating under declined to perform a physical exam, she asked me to do it during my daily patient interview. I also declined physical exam, but had a bit of a hunch to check her medical records.
It turned out she had an ultrasound done a week before that found only normal breast tissue without masses. However, apparently this this lady had frequented many doctor's offices with various complaints of an unspecific nature and would usually focus on breasts or female private parts complaints when she visited male physician's offices.
We diagnosed her with factitious disorder (formerly known as Munchausen syndrome) and histrionic personality disorder. It seems her goal was mostly attention from medical professionals (she had lots of issues), but we also had to be careful to make sure she wasn't fishing for a lawsuit. Patients like her are why doctors document everything meticulously.
So this happened a few months ago on my psychiatry rotation in medical school.
There was a patient at an inpatient psychiatric facility for intimate ideation. She constantly insisted that she had a mass on her breasts and demanded to be physically examined only by male doctors. When the psychiatrist I was rotating under declined to perform a physical exam, she asked me to do it during my daily patient interview. I also declined physical exam, but had a bit of a hunch to check her medical records.
It turned out she had an ultrasound done a week before that found only normal breast tissue without masses. However, apparently this this lady had frequented many doctor's offices with various complaints of an unspecific nature and would usually focus on breasts or female private parts complaints when she visited male physician's offices.
We diagnosed her with factitious disorder (formerly known as Munchausen syndrome) and histrionic personality disorder. It seems her goal was mostly attention from medical professionals (she had lots of issues), but we also had to be careful to make sure she wasn't fishing for a lawsuit. Patients like her are why doctors document everything meticulously.
21points
Finally, detecting these behaviors relies heavily on proper training and experience. Psychiatric Times notes that healthcare professionals develop these skills through medical school curricula, residency programs, continuing education, and specialized forensic psychiatry programs.
Training emphasizes pattern recognition, multidisciplinary approaches, verification of patient history, behavioral observation, and standardized assessments. These strategies allow clinicians to identify red flags without prematurely accusing patients, even when the fabrication is subtle or cleverly executed.
#13
Well... not a doctor, but in school a friend decided he had enough of it for the day and go to the infirmary pretending he was blind. I was in the infirmary for a cut, so i watched the whole thing. At first he pretended he was blind from both eyes, after the nurse asked how he get to the infirmary alone, he changed to only the right eye, she goes to get a flash light and when she asked again he said it was the left eye. Then she moved a finger in front of him, and both his eyes made the following movement... she placed a band-aid on his forehead, moved to treat my cut and said to him "i fixed your mind's eye, you can go back to class now".
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21points
#14
My grandma used to work with a lady at a hospital funny enough, that would always say she got an on the job injury and needed to take a few weeks workman's comp. A doctor there would somehow always giver her a note and she would get a free week or two vacation, come back for a month, and do it again, obviously milking the system.
One day her boss said "Ok, but there's nothing for you to do here on light duty. Usually we'd send you home until you're better but we're going to have you come in until you're better." "But there's nothing for me to do!" she said. He told her "I know, bring a magazine or something. It'll be a long day sitting in the break room."
She lasted two days and never pulled that stunt again.
One day her boss said "Ok, but there's nothing for you to do here on light duty. Usually we'd send you home until you're better but we're going to have you come in until you're better." "But there's nothing for me to do!" she said. He told her "I know, bring a magazine or something. It'll be a long day sitting in the break room."
She lasted two days and never pulled that stunt again.
18points
#15
I worked as a nurse on a cardiac floor. Chest pain was the biggest thing people would use seek prescription meds, because if nitro isn't working we also give oxygen and other controlled substances while turning it into an emergent situation. We even have an acronym for it. MONA: Meds (prescription), oxygen, nitroglycerin, aspirin. All are interventions for a heart attack.
When you have a heart attack, your cardiac tissue releases these markers. Kind of a distress signal. We can pick these up on a blood test. Sometimes a heart attack can be seen on an EKG.
If a patient had a history of negative tests and/or multiple admissions and all their vitals were normal and I expected they were faking it, I would ask them if it hurt when I put my hand on their chest. They would *always* say yes, and then I could happily inform them that this likely wasn't cardiac but muscular pain since heart attacks won't cause pain when your chest is touched. I would suggest a warm compress and some tylenol and their pain was always mysteriously gone within seconds of my announcing that it couldn't possibly be related to your heart. 🤷‍♀️
After a while you do get very used to the signs and symptoms of people *actually* having a heart attack. There's just no faking that level of panic or the look on their face.
When you have a heart attack, your cardiac tissue releases these markers. Kind of a distress signal. We can pick these up on a blood test. Sometimes a heart attack can be seen on an EKG.
If a patient had a history of negative tests and/or multiple admissions and all their vitals were normal and I expected they were faking it, I would ask them if it hurt when I put my hand on their chest. They would *always* say yes, and then I could happily inform them that this likely wasn't cardiac but muscular pain since heart attacks won't cause pain when your chest is touched. I would suggest a warm compress and some tylenol and their pain was always mysteriously gone within seconds of my announcing that it couldn't possibly be related to your heart. 🤷‍♀️
After a while you do get very used to the signs and symptoms of people *actually* having a heart attack. There's just no faking that level of panic or the look on their face.
18points
Whether it’s a dramatic fall that conveniently disappears when no one’s looking, or a symptom that defies all logic, these attempts reveal just how attuned medical professionals are to the human body, and human behavior. It’s a mix of observation, experience, and sometimes, a healthy sense of skepticism that keeps them one step ahead.
Not every fake attempt is the same, of course. Some are painfully obvious, others surprisingly inventive, and a few are almost impressive in their audacity. Reading through these stories gives you a window into both the creativity and desperation of people trying to bend reality, and the sharp eye of those who see right through it!
#16
Not a medical professional, but a coworker of mine. Let's just call her Linda.
Was involved in a minor car accident, her car was able to be driven away, went to the doctors and must have laid it on thick to try and get some sort of compo payment.
Came back to work cause obviously the doctor wasn't having her nonsense but played the victim for months on end (until I'm guessing her insurance compo failed to pay out) claiming that her spine was no longer connected.
I called her on it too, said well Linda you're doing ok for someone who should be at least paraplegic if your spine isn't connected.
She just gave me a dirty look and said 'That's what the doctor said, my spine isn't connected anymore'
And I just stand there looking at her like ಠ_ಠwhile the supervisor panders to her every need, oh don't worry Linda, everyone else can pick up extra work, oh no don't try to pick that up just sit down, you just relax.
Was involved in a minor car accident, her car was able to be driven away, went to the doctors and must have laid it on thick to try and get some sort of compo payment.
Came back to work cause obviously the doctor wasn't having her nonsense but played the victim for months on end (until I'm guessing her insurance compo failed to pay out) claiming that her spine was no longer connected.
I called her on it too, said well Linda you're doing ok for someone who should be at least paraplegic if your spine isn't connected.
She just gave me a dirty look and said 'That's what the doctor said, my spine isn't connected anymore'
And I just stand there looking at her like ಠ_ಠwhile the supervisor panders to her every need, oh don't worry Linda, everyone else can pick up extra work, oh no don't try to pick that up just sit down, you just relax.
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18points
#17
I am kinda late but...
I am an X-ray tech, and when I was a student these 2 people came in, a man who was pushing a woman on a wheelchair with an ankle boot.
Anyway, they came in with a prescription for an ankle xray. They ask if she has to take off the boot and I said yes because obviously it would superimpose on the anatomy. She all of a sudden starts crying saying that it was too painful. No tears. The man said she broke her ankle in 3 places some time ago and her ankle becomes curved when she takes the boot off. Okay dude....
Ankle xrays are easy; take off your shoes and socks, 3 views, boom, done. But no says she cannot get on the exam table and she needs people to hold her ankle together. We literally had 4 xray techs working this HIGH PROFILE case. One to hold the digital cassette, one to hold her ankle in place. One to hold THE CHAIR we HAD to put her ankle on, and one to push the button to shoot. We did this all while she was screaming in pain and she even said "END ME PLEEEEEAAASSSEE..."
The funny thing? All the xrays showed no abnormal findings. No old fractures, no screws or plates of any past surgeries. Literally a perfect intact ankle.
They wanted pain meds for sure. They looked like illegal substances users and had a plan to get more. So annoying.
edit: grammar and spelling.
I am an X-ray tech, and when I was a student these 2 people came in, a man who was pushing a woman on a wheelchair with an ankle boot.
Anyway, they came in with a prescription for an ankle xray. They ask if she has to take off the boot and I said yes because obviously it would superimpose on the anatomy. She all of a sudden starts crying saying that it was too painful. No tears. The man said she broke her ankle in 3 places some time ago and her ankle becomes curved when she takes the boot off. Okay dude....
Ankle xrays are easy; take off your shoes and socks, 3 views, boom, done. But no says she cannot get on the exam table and she needs people to hold her ankle together. We literally had 4 xray techs working this HIGH PROFILE case. One to hold the digital cassette, one to hold her ankle in place. One to hold THE CHAIR we HAD to put her ankle on, and one to push the button to shoot. We did this all while she was screaming in pain and she even said "END ME PLEEEEEAAASSSEE..."
The funny thing? All the xrays showed no abnormal findings. No old fractures, no screws or plates of any past surgeries. Literally a perfect intact ankle.
They wanted pain meds for sure. They looked like illegal substances users and had a plan to get more. So annoying.
edit: grammar and spelling.
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18points
#18
Lady kept putting cut-up plastic pieces up her uterus. You read that right. Not in the private parts, the uterus. Wanted to be perceived as a medical mystery. Surgery to remove it. Complains of more plastic coming out hours later. Doc says "I took pictures, there is no more plastic", tells her to stop doing it. She requests a new doctor, and another surgery occurs. More plastic.
This is called Munchausen/factitious disorder. Incredibly frustrating to deal with as a provider.
This is called Munchausen/factitious disorder. Incredibly frustrating to deal with as a provider.
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17points
#19
Not a medical professional but ——— When I was visiting a small town in North Carolina I had to go to the ER because of a kidney infection and I remember out of nowhere they did this thing where they placed a fist on my kidney and lightly punched it with their other hand and the pain was so searing and awful that I just screamed and cried. They told me it was to make sure I wasn’t faking it for the medication.
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16points
#20
Not quite the same thing but in the ER. A woman came claiming she was in labor so got her on her way to L&D, L&D sent her back saying she was faking it and needed to go to the psych ward... quick physical exam showed that was false because the baby was crowning. Sent her back to L&D and from what we heard baby was delivered in the hall on the way there.
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15points