Woman With Munchausen Syndrome Took 800 Laxatives Daily While Faking Cancer Before She Died

The case of an Australian woman who died after taking 800 laxatives a day because of an eating disorder has sparked concerns over drug regulations.

Claudia La Bella, 28, weighed just 77 pounds when she was hospitalized in June 2014 after pretending to have terminal ovarian cancer while hiding her eating disorder. She reportedly spent over $500 a week and bought up to 30 boxes of Dulcolax at Chemist King pharmacy in Hectorville, a suburb in Adelaide.

Coroner Mark Johns, during a court hearing Wednesday, floated the idea that over-the-counter laxatives such as Dulcolax and others like it should be restricted, 9 News reported.

"(Laxatives) should not be available for self-selection from pharmacy shelves or online stores and purchases should only be made following consultation with the pharmacist," Johns said.

La Bella’s husband, John La Bella, had no idea that his wife was taking so many pills and had been faking her cancer diagnosis for over two years, a court heard. He believed La Bella when she told him that her doctor prescribed the laxatives as part of chemotherapy.

"I trusted her. She's an adult, not a child. I took her word," John La Bella said during the court hearing.

According to tests results, Claudia La Bella took over 12 pills a day, which was more than the prescribed dosage of two to three tablets a day.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr. Maria Naso, who assessed the case, found that Claudia La Bella had anorexia nervosa and Munchausen syndrome, ABC News reported.

Johns said that the manager of the pharmacy where she bought the pills likely knew she had an eating disorder but continued to fill the prescription.

"In my opinion, she was plainly attempting to mislead the court and avoid responsibility for selling large amounts of laxatives to Claudia or her husband when she was well aware that Claudia likely had an eating disorder," Johns said.

He also suggested that in cases where a patient is suspected to have a severe eating disorder, a psychiatric referral should be made if the patient wants to be discharged from the hospital.