4/3/2004: Stomach full o' coin
 

http://cellar.org/2004/stomachcoins.jpg

A frenchman walks into the ER at Cholet General Hospital in western France. He complains of stomach pain and couldn't eat or shit. And this is what they found: a stomach containing a 12 pound mass of 350 coins, assorted necklaces, and needles.

were the coins worth enough to pay for their removal?

But at least it was a <i>low-carb</i> diet. :rolleyes:

He didn't have to pay, he died.

for real?

i would normally assume you were kidding, but there's no smiley in your post.

You need to send that one on the the Darwin Awards.

The guy suffered from pica, a mental disorder that causes one to have strong urges to eat things not normally eaten. Severe cases tend to eat a lot of the same thing; in this guy's case it was small pieces of metal.

Mild (non-compulsive) pica is often reported in pregnant women. I knew a pregnant woman once who told me she really, REALLY wanted to go drink some Pine-Sol from the kitchen and she couldn't figure out for the life of her why.

Ok, I want either a DSM-IV referrence or a legitimate web link for that one.

I'm not calling bullshit, but damn, it must be pretty obscure. I never ran across it at the hospital.

My goodness!! I mean, I've heard of cravings, but yikes at that one! :eek:

Yet another reason to not get preggers, IMO. ;)

Pica: Dirt Eating or "Geophagy"

Interesting: they say it's not an "eating disorder". IMO, eating things that you cannot digest (or aren't supposed to eat), sounds a bit disorderly to me. :confused:

[cartman]Personality disorders piss me off.[/cartman]

It's yet another, in a long and growing list of, personality disorders. They know better yet do it anyway, and exhibit no measurable signs of any form of organic brain pathology.

So what is the colloquialism for these guys? Eaters?

I'm sorry but this is my hugest internet pet peeve in the world...

Don't use the phrase "preggers" or "preggo" when refering to a pregnant woman

You don't know how annoying it is, it sounds like 14 year old girls gossiping on AIM "like OMG did you hear kelly is so pregger" It's like nails on a chalk board to me :( I just cant stand it its so....ugh...

Yeah, by the time he went to the hospital, all the organs under his stomach had crushed for some time. Everything had shut down and was infected to the max.

OK, like, whatEVER.

I came across this disorder at Willard Mental Institution, where I interned for a (thankfully) short while. This guy somehow ate a pair of jeans! Not sure if he cut them up or what. I also found pica mentioned in DSM III:

"The essential feature is the persistent eating of a nonnutritive substance. Infants with the disorder typically eat paint, plaster, string, hair, or cloth. Older children may eat animal droppings, sand, bugs, leaves, or pebbles. Pica usually remits in early childhood, but may persist into adolescence or, rarely, continue through adulthood."

It is a pretty rare disorder.

Hey, welcome to the Cellar Cory, it's always good to have another nut wrangler around. :)
I must, however correct you. "nonnutritive substance" = "bugs", is definitely not true. I'll let the animal droppings slide though.:haha:

You have to be careful of the DSM. I only jokingly refer to it anymore. All it really is, is a catalog with which to systematically button-hole people so you can do what you want to with them.

The DSM-IV actually has caffeine addiction in it and the DSM-II had homosexuality listed as a disorder.

And I don't know if I'm too new here or not but, welcome and enjoy.

That's what makes it such a contentious "reference". Psychiatrists sit around and basically vote on what's an illness, and just like you cited, it changes with the (political) weather.

One of my pet peeves is when somebody tries to use their own anal-retentive pet peeves as leverage to alter the behavior of others. But of course, I'm just, like, the HUGEST pill! LOL! LMAO!

I seem to remember (getting old here folks, help me out), that some forms of pica indicate a specific nutritional deficit. This occurs sometimes with undiagnosed celiacs who have malabsorption problems. It is always useful to check out the physiology before calling something a psychological problem or disorder.

HAAAAAAAAAAA!! :haha:

I mean, like, gyah! It's, like, only the internet...hehe. :D

a stomach containing a 12 pound mass of 350 coins

"Hey, buddy, got any spare change?"
"Just a second..."

A friend of my mother's told us the story of that guy about a month ago.

Approximated, to the best of my recollection:

Mark: "And by the time that he went in for surgery, he had consumed 12 pounds of coins."
J: "Wow! How did he survive?"
Mark: "Well, that's the thing, he didn't."

I knew the name of the disorder before looking it up. I've dealt with several people with pica, but that's GOT to be the worst I've ever seen ...

The number is 307.52, incidentally.

Edited to add: pica is not a personality disorder, it's an eating disorder! And contrary to LadySyc's post, is about eating pretty much ANY nonnutriative substance, not just dirt. There is a phenomena related to pica that involves pregnant women having a craving for a certain white clay, but that's supposed to be linked to some mineral in the clay.

Welcome, new folks.

Oh, and with respect to the DSM ... I prefer "Big Book O' Crazy."

New Moneymaking Idea
 

How about DSM IV Trading Cards? This X-Ray could be the first in a series...

Pica pikachu!

That cartoon's not as funny as it might at first appear. My mum used to be a nurse in a large hospital, and every now and then some idiot would try to knock themselves off by swallowing Drano. They take days to die, and they suffer in excruciating pain! :vomit:

Not to sound too callous but I think it's that funny.

They know better, or at least better ways to do it. Any suffering is there own damn fault.

People who die by Drano are the ones that want it to be painful.

And actually, you don't see that very often. Caustic drain cleaners take away any possibility of an open casket funeral.

I've seen more people who attempted to kill themselves with toothpaste than Drano. (the toothpaste guy also drank several bottles of listerine and took an assortment of OTC meds, and washed it all down with tequila. I always thought that bourbon went with mint, but people do improvise.)

blue, its funny when it is a cartoon, not funny when it is real life. A lot of things work that way. Bugs Bunny touches high voltage wires: funny. Real life Joe does the same thing: not funny.

The time period I was referring to was 30 to 40 years ago. I don't have current knowledge of what people are using today.

Apart from Drano, people also consumed petrol, kerosene, insecticides, and various household cleaning agents. I guess they were in such a distressed emotional state that they did not think about the repercussions of what they were doing (ie. that they might not die quickly, and painlessly).

Seen it, done it. It's funny too.

After the fact.

speaking of cartoons, i've just spent much of the last 3 days watching a Tom and Jerry marathon on TV. if there is a way to die, T&J covered it at some point.

except for falling from cliffs, which was kind of Wile E Coyote's exclusive thing. (other types of falling are covered, however)

[quote]Originally posted by Clodfobble
[b]The guy suffered from pica, a mental disorder that causes one to have strong urges to eat things not normally eaten. Severe cases tend to eat a lot of the same thing; in this guy's case it was small pieces of metal.

Yes, I heard of a guy like that...He had a marked propensity for eating his words by nibbling on typewriter keys...You might say he was an elite amongst the picas! :beer: :beer:

owie

I have heard the story of some king in Europe that used to eat a page of the Bible every day. Would that fall in the category of Pica, or just silly?

Eating Bibles??! HOLY SHIT!!!:eek:

well, eventually, I guess that would be true.

And then we could refer to him as an Evangelical "Bible Dumper", huh? :D

Wolf, what does the DSM IV say about inveterate pun-making?

BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

:thumb:

Shoot on sight.

C'mon Woofie, the Disturbed Socialist Manifesto doesn't really mention shooting punsters on sight, does it? You, above all people, should know that it is an ingrained genetic disease and we can't help ourselves.

In any event, grizzly old veterans such as myself have a tendency to return fire rather accurately... then confiscate your weed and burn down your village.

Did you ever work the "Elopement Ward" at the Pittsburgh VA Hospital? You remind me of a certain committment officer that tortured the "High Porch" Platoon.

Luv' ya' anyway...

With all of man's science, research, and experience we have yet to discover a cure for the common pun.

(Nope, I've never spent time where the sky is brown and yellow and the plants are as smart as the people. ;) I suspect that commitment officers throughout the world share certain traits. )

[quote]Originally posted by wolf
[b]With all of man's science, research, and experience we have yet to discover a cure for the common pun.

(Nope, I've never spent time where the sky is brown and yellow and the plants are as smart as the people. ;)

The sky...Thank God! For a moment I thought you were referring to our underwear!:whofart:

You have underwear?:eek:

He must have moved to Pittsburgh from somewhere else. You know, like civilization?

Yes, all Pittsburghers are issued one pair for life, with Steeler logo of course... Istruction tag reads "Do not clean...ever. Wearing istructions; Brown in back, yellow in front." As to Woofies suppository that I must have moved here from another civilization, I was going to reply "Yes, from the hairy cavern of Uranus", but decided against it because it was a crappy remark and that kind of shit wouldn't be passed along by the anal retentive in the crowd.:beer

I'm surprised that with the Iron City Beer it isn't brown in front too.

I surmise you have tasted it too! Terrible beer, correctly referred to as Iron Shitty by the locals. It will have you begging the Lord for sobriety and Tylenol the following morning. Rolling Rock ain't bad, but most of us' Yinzer's prefer Coors or Bud, along with the mandatory shot on the side. :beer:

As to Woofies suppository that I must have moved here from another civilization,

Whoa there.

Big difference between a supposition and a suppository, man.

BIG difference.

That's why they're "brown in the back".:)

Extremely perceptive of you!
:rolleyes:
Please remind me to pitch my Dan Quayle Remedial Spelling Book at the next trash pick-up.

inuendo: (def) an Italian suppository.

Butt off course it is

Good one!


The Washington Post's Style Invitational asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition: I would spell your word inuend-OH!

This could be a new thread for all of the sicko's: Such as:

“Afropros”: Anything relevant to the black community.

“Alcoholyc” - A drunken man of the cloth.

“Arnold Schwanzenegger”: The well-hung, male porn star that lost the California governors race.

“Au Bone Pain” The café of choice for overworked porn stars, chiropractors, and those afflicted with osteopornosis.

"Osteopornosis": A degenerate disease, usually found in teenage boys, characterized by a stiffening of the bone.

“Aunticipation”: What you experience when you are getting frisky and inebriated with your mother’s sister.

“Asspoles”: Polish Assholes.

"Battoo" - Those hideous colored markings left on your skin after being beaten with a Louisville Slugger.

“Bleat their meat”: What lonely shepherds do for fun. (Baaad!)

C'mon guys, send those submissions in!!!

Most creative submission receives a trip to England to witness the “Crap Circles”: (The mysterious markings left in fields by terrified UFO abductees) , a book of “Early English Cliterature”: (Soft porn of the Middle Ages), and an overnight frolic with a
“Krakoe” (A drug addicted prostitute from a city in Southern Poland).

Do not suffer from a “Wimpulse” ( A sudden inclination to act spinelessly), send in your contributions! Beware of the Woofie though, she shoots punsters on sight. Have Fun...

Here's another image for IOTD in the "stranger then life X-ray" department!

"A Los Angeles construction worker who had six nails driven into his head in an accident with a high-powered nail gun is expected to make a full recovery, doctors said."

Let me try that as a gif.

Brains are wierd.

Well I find it a kind of strange to see so many nails pumped in that guy's hand in so different directions. He shouldn't have poured coffee over the Don's suit...