The specific symptoms of Munchausen syndrome depend upon the type of disorder that a patient chooses to fake. In most cases, patients complain of physical symptoms or exhibit signs of physical illness, such as chest pain, stomach problems or fever. Physical signs of illness may be genuine, but self-inflicted. For instance, a person may take laxatives to cause diarrhea. In other cases, symptoms are completely made up by the patient and have no basis in reality.

In general, people with Munchausen syndrome spend a lot of time scheduling physical examinations, hospitalizations and medical tests. Patients who have Munchausen syndrome may complain of dramatic symptoms that are inconsistent, especially when pressed to provide greater details. Symptoms also tend to be unresponsive to treatment or may become more severe after treatment has begun.

Patients with Munchausen syndrome may willingly undergo painful treatments just to gain attention. However, nobody knows why most patients with Munchausen syndrome falsify their complaints.  They may also suffer predictable relapses following improvement of their condition or may have new symptoms that occur despite negative test results.

Other possible indicators of Munchausen syndrome include:

• Constant requests for analgesics to treat pain. It is important to differentiate this from patients whose pain is being undertreated and are appropriately requesting analgesics and from those suffering from substance abuse or dependence.
  
  
• Extensive patient knowledge of medical terminology.
  
  
• Presence of numerous surgical scars.
  
  
• Symptoms that consistently appear only when the patient is alone or unobserved.
  
  
• History of seeking treatment in numerous hospitals, clinics and physician’s offices.
  
  
• Patient reluctance to allow healthcare professionals to consult with family members, friends and other healthcare providers.