
The tragic story of a mother-of-six's battle with her weight after she ballooned to 49 STONE has been made into a poignant documentary.
Dominique Lanoise was house bound for 20 years and had to be fed and washed by her daughters because she was so incapacitated by her size.
Her struggles with food have now been charted in the film 600lb Mom: Race Against Time. Dominique died in March this year, aged just 41.
The fly-on-the-wall show reveals how she was put on a strict diet in 2011 to drop from 606lbs to the 500lbs maximum weight she needed to reach to qualify for gastric bypass surgery.
The mum lost more than 100lbs in 10 months but when she went for a hospital weigh-in four months later she had piled on even more weight.
Dominique's doctor found one surgeon who agreed to do the surgery when the mum of six weighed 600lbs.
He asked Dominique to lose weight in the three months before the procedure - but at the next check-up her weight had ballooned to 689lbs.
Doctors still reduced her stomach to the size of an egg and Dominique lost 55lbs in just four days.
But after being referred to rehab and hating it she checked herself out after two days. Just nine weeks later she fell ill and died on March 10, weighing 43 stone
Dominique first came to the media's attention in 2010 when she was forced to stay in Haiti for three months after the earthquake, because she was too heavy for commercial airlines. Instead she was forced to travel back to the US in a military cargo plane.
Despite doctors' orders to eat more healthily, she continued to indulge in her favorite Haitian dishes and sprinkled her meals with appetite-suppressing powder, wrongly thinking it would counteract the calories.
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She has been housebound for 21 years so her children have never had a normal life!
I don't mean to sound facetious, but I wonder if her death will mark the beginning of her children's lives?
Oh how her children will miss her walking them to school and preparing their meals for them and doing all the other things Mums do with their children.Fat waste of skin!!!
December 09 2012 at 9:35 AM Report abuse Permalink -3 rate up rate down ReplyAre you shitting me? tragic? I'm sorry, It is of course truly sad that she has left behind kids, never good. But she had warnings, was told to stop eating, she bought it on her self.
What story needs to be told? there are people out there making better life choices and suffering just as much who do not get a mention, I am tired of seeing people wasting their lives and being made tv stars.
The trouble and expense they cause not only their families but others, doctors hospitals, health insurance companies. We should stop giving them tv space, media attention etc. If you don't know eating that much and you allow your self to get to that size, I have no sympathy. It was her fault. lets stop glorifying bad life choices.
As usual compassion has gone out of the window due to the Dominique being obese. There are many factors which contribute to a person becoming obese and being mocked by society is just one. To openly call a deceased person a "greedy self obsessed tub of lard" is absolutely shameful. It's about time that some people learnt to keep their ignorant, judgemental opinions to themselves. Name calling is no way to state your opinion.
December 09 2012 at 7:57 AM Report abuse Permalink -3 rate up rate down ReplyOne thing alone makes you fat,GREED...
December 09 2012 at 10:36 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyOR possible that 7th bag of chips!!
December 09 2012 at 12:16 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate downShe was offered countless opportunities to obtain professonal help - and every time she overindulged, put on weight. She, and she alone, has to take responsibility for her lifestyle. It isn't Genetic, it isn't outside forces, it's ALL down to her. EG - she left rehab after 2 days...didn't like it.
Surely she could have made more effort for the sake of her children?
I often wonder how these people manage to get the food in the 1st place, she obviously can't get herself to the fridge or cupboards, and how can she afford so much food if she does not work. People should not be so weak and just tell these gigantic when they can get themselves around they can eat what they want , until then tough s**t .
December 09 2012 at 6:14 AM Report abuse Permalink +6 rate up rate down ReplyAOL say this has been turned in toa poignant documentary?
Rubbish what it is,Is a story of greedy self obsessed tub of lard that had NO respect for herself or her family, she put her family through a hell on earth each and everyday.
Maybe now she dead they can get back to work and pay back some of what the mother has taken for the tax payers. Or is her six offspring planning the same for there own future?
you are full of yourself arent you KLVPFIFE ,do you always talk bigheaded ,you should keep your thoughts to yourself instead of being nasty.those kids have lost their mum how do you think they feel reading what you and others like you say?
December 11 2012 at 7:57 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyJust why is HER situation more Tragic than all other deaths!!..the real tragic deaths are those of the members of OUR armed forces who die at a young age..having kept themselves fit!! Then die in OUR service...
December 09 2012 at 4:32 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyNothing to do with the story at all. Get off your soapbox and either comment on the story or just shut up!
December 09 2012 at 5:01 AM Report abuse Permalink -2 rate up rate down Replyi once weighed over 30st , then one day i had had enough so i ,lost 18 stone ,when i went to see my docyor about a tummy tuck i was refused one because i lost the weight on my own ,,yes that our NHS for you ,I would like to add i walked the weight off as well dieted i walked 6 miles a day every day for 15 months ,then i started to get a lot of back pain ,was sent to see consultant and was told to stop the walking or i would end up in a wheelchair ,so the weight went back on i am now disabled can hardly move just manage to get around my flat
i now suffer from acute lympodema , asthma ,high bp ,and many other illnessess . if i had known before i lost the weight how i would up now i would never have lost it because back then i could still go into town ,( i havent been out in 4 years ) and i could play with my grandkids on the floor ,i cannot do that anymore and that kills me ,,,,,, SO PLEASE DONT JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER READ THE STORY FIRST
You have difficulty moving around, why did that cause your weight to increase? The human body only stores fat when the calorie intake exceeds the energy used. Move less, eat less.
December 09 2012 at 12:26 PM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down ReplyI have M.S and although I was active and going to the gym, cycling and swimming in the bad winter of 2010 I slipped on the ice hit the curb and broke my spine in two places, I was in hospital for 5 months and wore a spine brace 24/7 for 3 months then I was weened away from it slowly over a 5 month period, I was in a wheelechair and couldnt even sit on my sofa I have balooned from a size 14 to a size 26 and I have developed numerious other conditions one being underactive thyroid and now heart problems. My wweight is almost 19stone and rising and although I have a little appetite the medical team and myself do not know the answer to me getting rid of this weight.
If anyone out there can help and not judge I would be gratefull.
Please dont judge this poor lady but just thank god it is not you....
Tough call, but try a different set of doctors, what have you got to lose
December 09 2012 at 6:16 AM Report abuse Permalink +2 rate up rate down ReplyHeather, I really sympathise. I've a neurological condition too & have been bed-bound since 2008. I can't exercise as I've little control of my body, have long but temporary periods of paralysis & general dysautonomia. I found it very difficult working out how to limit food without putting on weight yet still getting all the necessary nutrients. In the 1st year of being bed-bound I followed a 1000 calorie diet (dropped to 800 after 3 months) given to me by my GP & put on 2 stones. A normal weight-loss diet is around 1500 calories, so you can see how little I ate yet still put on weight. I wasn't even eating fatty food as I have a problem with my esophageal sphincter which is triggered by fats, so I've had no pies, cakes, sausages, chips, fried food, takeaways or crisps for over 20 years.
Because my symptoms worsen severely when I am moved, it puts me at a very high risk of stroke & heart-attack, so I can only be moved in emergencies; my wonderful GP & hospital consultant therefore arrange for all appointments &, where possible, treatments to be carried out at home. A consultant dietician visits me & through trial & error she's worked out a regime so I don't put on weight. In fact I've manage to lose most of the weight I put on in the first year but I cannot have more than 310 calories per day.
To give people an idea of how much that is, an average banana is about 140 calories, 2 Weeetabix (without milk) are 130, an egg is 85 and a slice of dry bread the same. A typical day's food for me is a single Weetabix with a splash of milk or a boiled egg, a bowl of veg puree cooked with stock & 4 grapes, plus nutritional supplements from the doctor that look & taste like juice. I drink water & herbal tea. Obviously the supplements are essential as there is no way anyone could get all the necessary vitamins and nutrients from such a small amount of food.
I know your eating pattern will be more messed up than mine as you have a thyroid problem but have you been referred to a dietician? If not, ask to see one at hospital as they know a lot more than GPs or consultants with other specialisms. It won't be easy as you won't be able to exercise much, if at all, but with help & determination there's a good chance a dietician could help you.
It really annoys & upsets me reading some of the comments from people on here. According to them, every overweight person is to blame for their weight, they are simply greedy pigs who deserve a rotten life, lots of abuse & ridicule, & a painful death. They cannot accept that there can be other factors than sheer greed involved. In my case, it wasn't greed as I hate eating. I can only eat mushy foods due to being unable to chew & sometimes swallow, but it feels weird just letting it slip down & it makes me gag, so I prefer to eat little instead. I've tried a naso-gastric tube but it wasn't for me. PEG feeding's been suggested but I really don't want it & it will be a last resort.
Don't give up hope, Heather. Good luck! :-)
I am really shocked at the comments on here. Yes it is awful that she got so big and if it was just greed then you would naturally feel little sympathy, but we cant just assume that this is the case. There is a condition where some people never feel full and can literally eat themselves to death. I saw a programme about it a few years ago and it was awful to watch. This lady may have had such an illness for all we know.
December 08 2012 at 4:49 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply"medical issues" are often just medical professionals labeling something with a fancy name so they can continue to get paid because there's no money in telling people to get off their fat a** and stop eating like a pig. Notice these ":medical issues" only surfaced relatively recently i.e. back in the day they understood boundaries and moderation. You're looking for excuses - in this case she had choices like everyone else and hers like many others led to her death - usually the simplest answer is the right one.
December 09 2012 at 12:01 AM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down ReplyI am not looking for excuses at all. I dont have a problem with eating too much (if anything my doctor thinks that I eat too little). The world has changed and our bodies are changing with it. There is a lot of crap that they put in food now that wasnt there before and we dont know what harm it is doing. It is not as simple as you seem to think it is. Oh and the staff at the centre that I saw were mostly volunteers. The ones that got paid earnt less than the average carer. So I dont think that they were doing it for the money.
December 09 2012 at 4:01 AM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate downHow many obese people were there in the 1940's and 1950's? How many obese people are there in the 1990's and 2000's?? Over 20% of the UK population is classed as "Clinically Obese" - and the number is rising.
As for the program re eating oneself to death - that might affect 1 person per 100,000. So why are the other 19,999 fat people Obese??? Too much junk food, too much cola/sugary drinks, too much booze, not enough exercise. This is the simple truth.
Would draw one fact to your attention - she went to rehab, lasted 2 days. Not much of an effort was it?
Most of my dad's side of the family were obese in the 1940/50s and they still are.......whereas, my mums side were thin!
I'm lucky enough take after mums side thank goodness.
As we all eat similarly, both the fatties and the skinnies, the way we metabolise has to be genetic.....doesn't it?
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