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Anorexic Twins May Die from Overexposure
> 12/12/2005 2:02:21 PM

I woke up this morning looking at the latest media stars: two hideous, thirty-something, starving twins wondering is this the latest freakish reality TV show. These two women who should be raising children and wondering how to pay for their college and what to make for dinner are instead focused on how to get the extra poundage off their 60 and 40 pound frames. It�s painful to think that they have been featured on two 60 minute shows and covered all over the Australian news. What circus have these two pathetic creatures joined to garnish so much attention for what should be a relatively easy thing to do?

Let�s face it, if you want to starve yourself all you have to do is not eat. After the hunger pains are replaced by starvation euphoria, the body breaks down and death should occur within a month, maybe two. What incredible failures these women are that they have been on this starvation course for over twenty years and still have not achieved their goal. They say at 14 they decided that they wanted to starve themselves. I suspect that they were unable to stand out in high school through normal means: dating, being cheerleaders, on the student government, top in their class, being popular, etc. Fourteen, or there abouts, also signals a time when these twins might have separated themselves from each other � finding their own strengths, weakness, personalities and talents, but being too insecure to face the responsibilities of growing up they devised this �brilliant scheme� to achieve the attention they crave.

Now they are in their mid thirties and they haven�t achieved their goals, but have created a follie a deux; two crazies egging each other on, inextricably linked in the throws of the competition of starvation and exercise. The media is there, raising their ratings but where are the professionals. They are being cared for by the Bronte Foundation that has at its credo the �importance that sufferers of eating disorders can remain with their families and have access to treatment that is humane�. Perhaps this is why the women have not recovered. Why is it so important for the anorexics to stay with their families? They haven�t done particularly well connected with this family or with each other. Why not separate them as you would with a child that is hanging with kids that are bad influences? Limit their contact with each other and the family. If they insist on being in touch make it conditional on weight gain.

Clearly at their current weight they are a danger to themselves and should be institutionalized if they won�t participate in out patient treatment. They seem to have confounded the �experts� and the press is loving it, along with the freak show they are putting on.

Comments
Are you embarrassed at all by your "freak show" comment? Well since you are probably not I am embarrassed for you.If you hadn't noticed Anorexia is a "disease". That's right folks a disease and despite the fact its not pretty, its sad and it hard to look at its time to learn tolerance.Anorexia eats at your mind while you incapable of eating for your body. A sad but true fact. Its time to learn tolerance and have compassion for other's regardless of their diseases. However if you are incapable of that, the rest of us will be thankful for the Mother Theresa's of the world.

Posted by: Barbara 2/12/2006 8:22:31 AM
Anorexia is not a "disease". Doctors can call it what they want, but the true fact is, that if you wanted to categorize it into anything it's a mental illness stemming from an obsessive compusive disorder. Anorexia can't be spread, and you can't catch it from any one, and there's no such physical thing as anorexia. It's all in the head. And as far as the "freak show" comment goes, the media is exploiting these women with MENTAL ILLNESSES, and those women allowed it. So as far as I'm concerned, the only people who should be embarassed by the "freak Show" are the people who produced it to be as much.Yes we should have compassion towards all others, whether sick or ok. But I have a hard time having compassion for something someone does to themselves. If some person walks out infront of a train, do you feel sorry for them? And before you tell me I should be embarassed of my comments, in today's world there are tons of options for dealing with mental illness and other illnesses alike. Therapies exsist for just about anything you could name. Help has always been a phone call away.

Posted by: anti-Barbara 2/12/2006 5:50:27 AM
When an elderly person can no longer care for him or herself, we intervene. That's the course that should be taken with these poor twins. They're mentally ill. If not their family, then the state, ought to intervene, force feed them and place them on medication that will save their lives.

Posted by: Dr. Ramjet 2/19/2006 11:17:52 AM
Lets hope and pray that these twins don't die too soon. It would be wonderful to see them recover and decide to live. It would be a huge change even if they were to gain and maintain their wight at around 100 pounds. That would be better for their 5ft four frames. Jamey

Posted by: Jamey 2/28/2006 7:36:58 AM
hi! am a girl with anorexia and im not sure if it`s a disease or a lifestyle...ive been on a hospitle two times couse ive almost died, and they said that it was a disease...but i don`t know and i don`t care...

Posted by: maria 5/17/2006 3:00:52 AM
The girls need to be put in a hospital right now. Some of us struggle about how to feed our children. Their mother must be in agony.
URL: yahoo
Posted by: Michelle 6/18/2006 9:32:09 AM
When people refer to anorexia as a disease they are correct and so are those who refer to it as a disorder. When you look up the word "Disease" it can be defined in three ways:1. An interruption, cessation, or disorder of body functions, systems, or organs.Synonym: illness, morbus, sickness. 2. A morbid entity characterized usually by at least two of these criteria: recognized etiologic agent(s), identifiable group of signs and symptoms, or consistent anatomical alterations. See also: syndrome. 3. Literally, dis-ease, the opposite of ease, when something is wrong with a bodily function (Dirckx, 1997). Disorder can be described as a derangement or abnormality of function; a morbid physical or mental state. So both terms are correct. However, the issue is not what the correct term is, but rather how to treat anorexia. I am in my 50's and had an eating disorder a few years back ~ it took about 5 years for me to finally start eating again. Now however the disorder has returned. I struggle with the idea of eating on a daily basis. I know what I am doing is harmful to my body, but for now it is my choice ~ fortunately I am in therapy and have brought up the issue with my therapist that I am back to not eating. Right now I also feel I can afford to do what I am doing because I had been on psychotropic medications which caused me to gain 60 pounds (over my normal weight). I finally stopped the meds and am on new ones so I feel I can lose a lot of weight before I am even considered to be in any danger. However, at the same time I know that way of thinking is wrong. I am starving my body and I know things can go wrong but I constantly remind myself that I was once down to 78 pounds, and that means I would have to lose almost 100 pounds to get back there.So do I know what the twins are going through? Yes I do. What they are presently going through is a power struggle ~ it is the only control they feel they have over their life. Are they going public to become freaks? No I don't think so ~ they are dying and they know they are. In their own way they are crying out for help by going public, even though they know their chance of breaking the cycle after all these years is probably very slim. However, they should not give up and just let whatever is going to happen, happen. They should begin to fight to live. I watch a show where they each ate some fruit ~ I found that amazing that they could just eat it as if they had never stopped eating. When I was in the hospital my psychiatrist told me if I wanted to go home then I had to drink a small glass of milk in front of him. I will never forget how hard that was ~ I did not simply drink the milk the way those girls ate the fruit! I shook all over and it took me 10 minutes just to pick up the glass and I cried the whole time. I took a sip and begged him not to make me drink it all. So that is the one thing about them that has me confused. On natonal TV they sat there and ate fruit with no hesitation. They spoke about how difficult they thought it would be because it had been so long since they ate, but then they just picked it up and ate it and went back for more. Even commented on how great it tasted. I know now, since I basically eat a rice cake a day, when I do take a taste of something, the flavors are so overwhelming it makes me glad I have chosen to stop eating. Food does not taste great to me!!So after watching this show they have shown they are capable of eating without difficulty. Granted it can only be in extremely small amounts, but they can do it. So for now I believe what these women need is to definately be hospitalized, be given small amounts of food (fruit, baby food, whatever)along with a feeding tube to help supplement their neutritional needs. While they are going through this they also need to be in heavy duty intensive therapy, as well as under the care of a psychiatrist who can treat them for the depression they are suffering from. Something in their past triggered this problem. Either thay are not admitting to what happened to trigger the anorexia or they have blocked it out of their memory. That is why they need intensive therapy, as well as psychotropic medication and monitoring. They know they are in danger and at this point I believe they really do wish to die. Do you think they enjoy living the way they do? I guarantee you they don't. It is very hard living as an anorexic person in a world that centers itself around food. Not eating is very hard ~ it takes a lot of work and effort in the beginning. Then it just becomes a way of life. It is a very sad life and unless you have been there you cannot in any way begin to relate to what they are going through. Should they be seperated? Well they are adults, but in my opinion it wouldn't hurt, because in some ways it does seem like they are trying to see who will die first. Right now they are their own worst enemies because they support each other in the need to not eat and in the need to take walks in order to help burn calories. Hopefully one of them will not die before the other realizes that she really does want to live. I pray they find the proper care and help, but even with intervention, they have got to want it and work at the problems causing the eating disorder. They have got to stop talking about what they are going through and start working at getting better. They can do it ~ like AA says, "one day at a time", well for them it is not only "one day at a time, but on bite at a time."

Posted by: Renee 7/13/2006 10:11:24 AM
In case no one told you, any mental illness is a type of disease. I think that people only think that they have choosen to loose weight through an "ana diet" while the disease, the illness, was already in their mind hinernating until it was given reason to manifest itself. Studies have shown that many mental illnesses lie dormant in the brain until triggered by a particular unique event in one's life. Anorexia nervosa is a disease that becomes a lifestlye. One cannot be helped unless they want to be. All these posts are doing is attracting more attention to them. If you want to do that then keep posting and discussing these poor women. But aren't they going through enough?

Posted by: Tink 9/4/2006 11:37:15 AM
I am so glad that so many people responded to this harsh blog entry about the twins. I sincerely hope that you would not be this negative and hurtful to someone with a different type of psychological disorder, which is what anorexia is. Somehow I can't imagine you (the author) speaking that way about someone with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Posted by: Miss. Carter 11/12/2006 5:44:59 AM
As a treater for women with eating disorders I have to say I find most of these comments crazy. I also find it inapropriate considering all those with eating disorders that have read it, and shared parts of their story, which now others with eating disorders will read and compare their stories too, in turn not helping anyone. In case people do not realize this, many eating disorder websites have been taken off the web for that very reason. A person with an eating disorder does not think the same way as you and I would. As someone said above, it affects your brain and way of thinking. There was a study done in 1950 by Ancel Keys about the effects of starvation which you may find very interesting. You should take a look. http://www.possibility.com/epowiki/Wiki.jsp?page=EffectsOfSemiStarvation

Posted by: Jen 11/13/2006 12:36:46 PM
Don't criticize what you can't understand.If you have never experienced firsthand the suffering, the pain, the frustration, and the sadness of a mental illness, do not be critical. To say "But I have a hard time having compassion for something someone does to themselves.....in today's world there are tons of options for dealing with mental illness and other illnesses alike. Therapies exsist for just about anything you could name. Help has always been a phone call away"...To begin, anorexics don't starve themselves for the hell of it. Just as type I diabetics don't choose to not produce insulin. It doesn't work that way. Just like any other disease (huntingdon's, cushing's, lupus, cystic fibrosis, etc) or ailment (the flu, a cold, etc), mental illness is not something that is caused by the individual. Anorexics starve themselves -- this is a manifestation of their illness and something most people can't truly understand because they haven't experienced it. It all seems irrational to others but it's not the individual's fault. Sure, help may be a phone call away - but that doesn't solve the problem. You can see the best oncologists iin the world...but that doesn't mean you will survive cancer. You can see a low-regarded oncologist...and beat cancer and live to be 100. Diseases affect people differently. Recognize this, have compassion, and try to understand...because you never know what will be thrown your way.

Posted by: brandi 11/16/2006 2:11:31 AM
yo screw you all who think badly of anorexia. you have no freaking clue what anorexia does to people. i happen to have it, and NO it was not because i didn't acceptance in high school or whatever load of bull you wrote (in response to comment number 1). it's a freaking disease. do you think peopple want this? eating disorders are a lot different than crash diets. so before you go around screaming that these two obviously ill and in need of help twins are just doing it for attention and that you shouldn't feel bad for them, have a little compassion. and think twice before you speak because you obviously know nothing.

Posted by: Christina 11/17/2006 6:01:35 AM
Those twins, along with anyone here or elsewhere choosing not to eat-- DO NOT HAVE A DISEASE. You have a weakness, like alcoholics or binge eaters. I know-- I was one. I was close to 400lbs, and while my peers in support groups whined and complained about their "disease", I got increasingly upset and stopped going. Then, I changed my lifestyle and dropped over 150lbs. Likewise, someone with anorexia can grow up and go eat a cheesburger. I know it's not as much fun when you can't blame your behavior on outside factors, but that's reality. Plenty of Drs need to make money off weak people who do not want to work hard and DO IT. Eat, Don't Eat, Don't drink... these are choices we make... not impulses driven upon us with no choice. My Father is slowly being crushed by Parkinson's. He did not choose it. He can't make an action and stop it (like a lifestyle change did for me). THAT, like Cancer, is a DISEASE. Sorry this isn't PC, and throws water on the fire of the Helpless Victim Society we live in, but you weak people need to grow up. Or, just keep doing what you are doing (just as I used to over-eat) and DIE for it.... but don't ask for people to give sympathy for you. It WAS MY FAULT that I was morbidly obese. If you choose not to eat, that's YOUR problem, so stop whining to the rest of the world.

Posted by: meddows 11/19/2006 3:10:25 AM
Hey I understand you guys are anoexric but you need to stop that's not really how you want to be is it I am not anoexric but people think i am I probably eat more then them but I can't gain weight you guys can. Just eat foods you should start by eating salads and then slowly if you feel your goin to vomit hold it in or drink something then later you'll be able to break the addiction.Trust me

Posted by: Krystal 11/20/2006 2:07:25 AM
I don't think anyone would be paying attention to these 34 year old children, if they were not freakish. Don't be so touchy as to dismiss the person with the freak show comment.Consider these comments and tell me they are not out of their minds, not just mentally ill but damn crazy, addicted to heroin and ATTENTION. If they were completely ignored by us and the media, (won't happen freaks sell). I wonder if they would then decide to eat. They weren't addicted folks when they "made" the choice to do this 20 years ago. They just wanted to feed on the "attention" drug.A Terrible OrdealAccording to their mother, Moya Wallmeyer, the twins' anorexia started off as a way of getting attention. They have also exhibited some dangerous behavior and have had a number of run-ins with the law, involving petty thievery, dangerous driving and drugs.Earlier this year, Clare received a two-month jail term for stealing chewing gum, a soft drink and a blender. Rachel received a 21-month suspended jail sentence for driving offenses, theft and for pushing a man who she said insulted her off a railway platform. In 2003, Rachel was involved in a police chase through the city of Geelong when she ran a red light and lost control of her car. She was also charged with injecting heroin in public.Earlier this year, the girls were on Australia's version of "60 Minutes." They revealed that they had never been in love, never had a job, and never gone to college, and that they believed that it was just a matter of time before they died. But at least, they said, they will die together.

Posted by: SJ Bobbins 11/23/2006 5:16:12 AM
my gecko is anorexic

Posted by: mel 11/29/2006 9:10:12 AM
why are you attacking these poor girls??they don't hurt anybody but themsleves.poor things should've gotten help before it ever got this bad.they're suffering from a metal illness, not a physical one.it just happens to severely affect their physical health.it's robbed them of a happy life.and now the insider is making it so much worse.if you ask me,they're feeding off each other's illness.they need to recieve treatment seperately.

Posted by: meghan 1/27/2007 1:17:32 AM
does anyone know how they are doing now?

Posted by: claire 2/6/2007 5:53:40 AM
I have a question. On tv these women look like they can barely hold their heads up, and just walking is an effort. I know some of it is probably for show,it is tv. But how the hell are they out driving around town, shoplifting(you know everyone in the store is staring), and pushing men off railway platforms? Sounds like attention grabbing to me.

Posted by: 11/14/2007 8:45:20 AM