While we have no
specific proof this is her (as in, she never posts a photo or anything definitive), she makes friends on the forum that she meets IRL, and she and they sometimes slip up and refer to Paige by her name. That plus all of the details aligning with what Paige posts is enough to convince me.
First post she made in 2015, when Paige was 16, almost 17, detailing how resistant Paige was while in ED treatment. She's in residential and keeps sabotaging her progress. Mom is miserable, sometimes suicidal, and every time she gets Paige placed somewhere she has a miracle recovery until she gets discharged to do it all over. Mom has endometriosis and needs surgery but her whole life is devoted to making Paige stop killing herself. Paige takes advantage of mom being unable to physically stop her. The other two children have developmental/processing disorders and their own therapies take a backseat to Paige's constant screeching. Dad works and Paige tries to talk him into retrieving/discharging her occasionally.
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At home, Paige won't even drink water. (Mom explains over many posts that Paige is considered a "super refuser" and that at her worst she won't even swallow her own saliva, and that she secretly exercises whenever people aren't watching her.) Paige doesn't give a shit about consequences and knows how to manipulate everyone around her. [LSUYE = life stops until you eat] At residential, she's tube fed but still keeping herself sick. Parents have seemingly resigned themselves to the fact that she's never going to get better.
Paige gets sectioned when she starts self harming and giving herself infections
On Insta paige occasionally writes about how her numerous injuries as a teen were signs she had EDS. Mom explains the same injuries as artifacts of overexercise and throwing herself around. No weight gain despite being tubed.
Paige has been attending school outside of her residential on a very limited basis just to have a social life, but upon hitting 17 (which is apparently the age for medical consent in NZ) decides she's leaving residential, leaving school, and getting into a pastry chef course. Parents use the baking course as leverage - you eat or you don't go.
After her parents get her to eat food, Paige matter-of-factly tells them she's now a binge-purge anorexic so their efforts meant nothing. Purging has never been discussed by her team before.
Paige finds out she has a hereditary disposition towards heart issues; is furious when the doctors tell her that's not the reason she's sick. Paige decides to starve and dehydrate herself until she gives herself heart problems.
Despite just admitting to purging, Paige now claims the vomiting is not her fault
Back in hospital (for "gastroenteritis"), Paige is offended that she's on 24 hour watch and that includes following her to the bathroom, and that the doctors are ignoring her gastro complaints and treat her for her ED instead. Cries to mummy until the watch is lifted. Purges in the shower and gets caught anyway. Mom keeps her at the hospital even after realizing this is just more ED bullshit because at least she's not the one having to watch her.
Has a gastroscopy. Nothing is wrong. Paige is claiming her anorexia magically fucked off and now she's got only physical issues. Mom is skeptical to say the least. Paige uses this to divide her parents, with her dad saying to stop engaging with the mom because he believes her. Mom entertains the idea that it's gastroparesis based on what other posters say. Paige latches onto this and ends all treatment except those that might net her a GP diagnosis. Mom pretends to believe her in order to get her back on NG feeds, hopefully NJ feeds she can't purge. Tactic works and Paige agrees to a tube to keep her "gastroparesis" story intact
Annndd within two weeks she's sabotaged it and ended up back in the hospital with critically low potassium. Still claiming she no longer has an ED. Claims she vomits up her tube but just replaces it and carries on. Mom is now demanding NJ feeds.
Rediagnosed with a somatic disorder. Sure, jan. Doctors no longer believe her and tell her to just fucking eat.
Someone tries to get mom to see that her daughter is still purging, mom has a mild chimpout
Doctors will do no more testing, nurses don't want her in a wheelchair, mom does not understand. Paige is compliant with everything.
Mom still doubts this is actually recovery and calls Paige's version of events alternate reality. But still seeking testing and trying to get her into an intestinal failure center (they reject her as they only handle cases on TPN)
They get her into an observation on the children and family unit. Miraculously, with someone watching her 100% of the time, she gains. Mom is now half-convinced her gastro problems are real because she threw up her tube in front of nurses, etc. Dad hates having her at the hospital. Paige is in her element. Mom is happy to have a break from Paige. But Paige turns 18 and officially ages out of this service, too. Doctors declare her cured of her anorexia, and she gets a wig for her hair loss. Mom is 100% over Paige using her anorexia as an excuse to do nothing with her life.
Paige has an X-ray that shows gastric emptying problems (?) but doctors attribute it to an infection she picked up at the hospital. Note: mom has been asking for a GES by name so I don't think that's what Paige had here.
Paige tanks her potassium, mom now convinced it's bulimia. Sometimes. Paige pukes on the doctor and still gets discharged. Mom thinks that, in particular, is not voluntarily because she would never~ Mom wants Paige out of her house because Paige constantly demands more "stuff" and more attention and resents anything the other kids get.
Another gastro - another bulimia DX
Another gastro - this one gets his hackles up because they go in demanding an NJ and nothing less. Mom talks about scrubbing vomit off the walls of her house. Doctor ultimately says NJ tube won't make a difference.
2016 ends on a happy-ish note when Paige "graduates" the high school she barely attended. Parents see all the other kids graduate and reflect on the might-have-beens and how Paige's nonsense affects their other children, but are also happy she seems to finally be moving forward with life and will be attending her pastry course.
In January, Mom announces that Paige really did have the gastroparesis (but that she's staying on NG tube feeding and later a PEG tube if necessary. Paige is eating and drinking, attending her culinary program, and no longer exercising. Mom is now fully convinced all of Paige's problems are real and after-effects of her ED.
The other shoe drops. Mom starts a new thread (first in over a year) to talk about how shit life is. Paige's stomach and intestines no longer work but the hospital will won't NJ tube her. Keep telling her shit will improve if Paige eats and doesn't purge. Paige plays on their emotions because she is soooo scaaared now.
Paige convinces mom she's really for real dying. Mom buys a wheelchair and writes paige's eulogy (!!!)
Late 2017, Paige gets approved for the Sad Walrus Tube Combo. On realizing that the NJ tube will prevent her from purging everything, Paige admits it was all a lie for attention but mom, now convinced Paige is really sick, dismisses this.
NJ tube in but NG removed, Paige starts "blacking out"
Within a few weeks Paige dislodges her new NJ tube (incidentally while her friend who has an ED is staying over, what are the odds!)
When it's replaced, mom says the doc pierced her septum and threaded it through both nostrils. I'm guessing they actually bridled her because I've never heard of them just straight up doing that but hell, maybe. Paige tries to ruin a family vacation.
Mom's beloved dog dies on her birthday and her bother is sickened by his classmates. Paige gets annoyed at the fact that the attention is not on her and pukes up her NJ tube then comes in with it dangling out of her mouth. Paige's doctors give her permission to insert her own NGs from now on. Mom is aware Paige is still eating/drinking things that make her sick and refusing to change her diet but thinks it's just her being stubborn and 19. This is about where Paige's current IG starts.
Paige's real "health problems" begin in Feb 2018 with cellulitis and seizures, now that she can't just keep starving herself for mummy's attention.
Paige moves out with a friend - mom is happy-ish.
April 2018, Paige is diagnosed with epilepsy. Comes home for a visit and family find she's abusing her medications including morphine. After much arguing, Paige moves home. There's much to do about the morphine dose which is reduced from 10 mL every 4 hours to 4 every 6 despite paige's screeching.
And in August, mom says that the mystery casts were, in fact, to keep paige from infecting her lines after she fucked with her PICC.
Mom takes some of the blame for being complicit and "advocating" for Paige all the time
Paige gets a case of the pukies whenever they try to raise her feed rate. Mom chimps out, hospital tries to section Paige, mom chimps out even more. Hospital tries legal proceedings under the apparent assumption that Mom is mbping Paige.
Mom realizes Paige is sabotaging her own care for attention. Hospital gets her under 24/7 watch.
Paige won't let anyone clean her, makes mom do the job. Mom realizes this total lack of hygiene is why Paige always has UTIs and various infections. Mom takes time off of being Paige's whipping boy to deal with her own health. Paige has a meltdown and cuts off all contact with them. Mom happy.
Mom finally cuts Paige off entirely when Paige lies in court about her upbringing being abusive
And here it is. Under 24/7 obs, Paige gains weight. With her ability to handle her own meds taken away, her potassium stops crashing. Mom realizes she has "anorexia with a healthy side of munchausen" and when Paige admit that this was all for attention back in 2017 she was, in fact, telling the truth for once. Father and middle daughter still believe Paige and it's ripping the family apart.
Paige tries to sweet talk her way back into the family - family realizes it's because she's left stashes of opiates at their house and she has become a drug seeker. Dad still wants to be part of her life. Mom does not.
Her last post, just a month ago. Paige came back into their lives and immediately fucked up. Mom realizes she's happy being sick, that being sick is what gives her life purpose, and she has munchausens. She decides to no longer post on an ED recovery website as her daughter's weight is restored and stable but it's made no difference, and so she cut her out of her life.
