Weird possessiveness concerning health problems

[Andeza]

Two part question. First, do any of your PD people have this weird possessive quality concerning their health problems, real or otherwise and also extending to their medications... And Second, does it ever manifest in known or suspected cases of factitious disorder (formerly known as Munchausen)?

For example, my uBPDm refers to everything as hers. "My migraines," "my blood pressure," "my (insert prescription name here)," "my arthritis" "my depression" I think you get the picture. This didn't strike me as odd until I heard other people, non-pds, talking about their medical problems and referring to it as "the" instead. They were distancing themselves from the condition if I had to guess. Is this just my imagination?

[Poison Ivy]

I know someone with a diagnosis who seems possessive of it, although perhaps not quite in the same way you mean.  I'm not sure if she uses the word "my" when she refers to the disorder.  But she definitely seems to not want to give it up, so she's possessive in that way.  I think she feels comforted by having this thing that she can point to as a reason for why she behaves the way she does and why her life is difficult.

[athene1399]

I think she feels comforted by having this thing that she can point to as a reason for why she behaves the way she does and why her life is difficult.

Yes! "I can't help it because of x problem", whether it be medical or past abuse.

And yes to the Factitious. She's always using webMD, claiming she has something. uses that as an excuse not to work. Then hospital hops (a sign of Factitious) if the test come back negative for whatever disorder. Then eventually gives up. She also hospital hopes for pain pills. She usually never goes to the same ER twice (yes...the ER for non-life threatening stuff. Drives me crazy). She uses the diagnoses for attention. She has very attention-seeking behavior. Does minor Munchausen's by proxy on her daughter. That was difficult to put a stop to. Thank God it wasn't too overboard (she just exaggerated the symptoms to make it seem more serious. Like if SD had a cold BPDm would post online like SD was dying). And it's all so she can get attention on social media about what illness she or her daughter have. Or how alike they are because they have similar illnesses. Although we were able to shut down the one illness SD didn't have by taking her to the doctor ourselves. Now she knows the truth and pushes back on BPDm when she would tell people she still had the illness. she would say "no mom, I grew out of that years ago."

I'll have to pay attention to the "my x disorder" to see if she does that. And see how others talk about it. Interesting point!

[Oscen]

Yes, I have some experiences of this, not identical but similar.

My uNPDM is possessive about health conditions not so much to use as excuses for herself, but to try to control others.

For example, she's been on medication for depression for years.
One by one, all four of us daughters were diagnosed with it too.
She acted each time like it was more pain and sufffering being heaped upon her - there was a real lack as far as I could see of actual sadness or empathy towards us.

She is also unable to respectfully distance herself from our own expressions, experiences and treatments of the illness.
She instead expects us to be deferential towards her and allow her to define what it is we think and feel and how we should treat it, due to her own long experience with it.
Never mind the fact that she clearly isn't dealing well with it and is thus not really a great role model.
One of my sisters said she wanted to go off medication because she thought it wasn't helping her, and my M complained to me about it angrily behind her back, saying that it was a personal attack on her for how she's dealt with depression over the years.

Lastly, I also had asthma as a kid, and M was also very weirdly possessive about that.
Any time I'd cough or splutter, she'd say "it's your asthma" in a really angry, threatening voice, like it was my fault.
This was happening well into my twenties - if I had a cold and my breathing was audible, I'd be too afraid to Skype her.
Partly it was my fault, as I didn't take full responsibility for my treatment.
One of the reasons I didn't take responsibility was because M and my asthma were so psychologically entwined within me, I had basically confused the two in my mind; I felt like my asthma was caused by M. I felt like I only had asthma when M said I did, and if I took my inhalers, I felt like I was being controlled by her to do so, so I resisted.

[P&K]

Not possessive in the way you describe 100% of the time but if you are experiencing xyz, they are too/had it before but much worse. Or if this doesn’t gain attention, you must be weak or need to get over it because they weren’t affected nearly as badly as you seem to be. This doesn’t include the regular rotation of ailments they choose from. I can recite the monologue from memory.

However, I’ve also seen straight up denial if someone suggests the pwpd is unwell and should stay home. My pwpd loves to make up allergies despite eating those very things unawares or someone witnesses them consuming said item the day before(claimed chocolate allergies to avoid eating cookies I made and enjoyed by the rest of the family). I’ve taken to just letting them spew their garbage and trying not to roll my eyes too hard when I can’t avoid them in a group setting.

The other side of this coin is that no one can treat an ill family member better than they can because they know everything about anything. 
Good luck getting them to actually go to a doctor or be honest with one though! My pwpd mostly stopped it with me when they found themselves unable to argue with sound logic or gain my sympathies. I would argue malingering at best, factitious at worst. My best advice is just don’t engage or redirect to medical professionals because you can’t help them. 

[2_exhausted]

Hi-

I have a Neuro disorder which I will sometimes refer to as " my %#$&()++". I do this because hardly anyone, even physicians, know of it, plus it is also a term which is a symptom. The disorder has it's own code, and it took 7-8 years to diagnose.

My family  or other PDS, love to exaggerate, or inflate, their illnesses. They also want me to think they are VERY ILL...but I am a nurse....so I ask certain questions and it just annoys them.....

They all want to downplay my disorder, my response is, " you may examine me after you finish med school, complete a neurology residency, and a two year post grad fellowship, until then, I am going what the Dr's at Ivyleague hospital say". They do not like this statement.  Gee, I wonder why??