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Casualty episode sat 22nd June

SchmIlls

Member
Messages
11
Location
Manchester
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
hi I’m wondering if anyone saw this episode?

I was confused about the story with t1 diabetes. She was found with a bg 1.7 and hypoglycaemic and was later fitting. Then she was told that fiddling with her insulin to lose weight was really dangerous ...?

I’m wondering if casualty has messed up the diabetic storyline yet again. As we know, only taking too much insulin makes a t1 hypo and that would make you gain weight in an ongoing scenario, not lose it.

Cheers!
 
Hi, I concur with you regarding the Casualty type 1 diabetes story line, but I never watch Casualty. If someone was fiddling with their Insulin, ie by not taking it, then that would lead to a dangerous hyper, very high BG's and that can lead to weight loss.
Some of these researcher's need replacing ! Have you complained to the BBC about the misleading content ?
 
I think the storyline was a tad confused for most - I read between the lines that the girl was actually using her insulin to self harm and they seemed to muddle up the eating issues with deliberate overdosing on insulin. I have had diabetic patients deliberately overdose as suicide attempts, but never to "lose weight", although i understand that there is a "black market" for metformin for this reason.......... Casualty is really not medically accurate as far as A&E goes - just imagine an A&E Consultant (Mrs B) tottering around in high heels with floaty white blouses and similar wholly inappropriate attire.........never seen it happen in near 40 years of medical practice
 

I have heard of Casualty, even seen snippets in the past and read about how inaccurate it is, that's why I steer clear of the programme, it doesn't interest me at all.
 
Despite the BBC stating that the have experts in all disciplines displayed, they don’t have a clue about most things. Every medic, Midwife and nurse I know shouts at the screen and rolls their eyes at the utterly stupid things they do.
 
It's called Diabulimia, and is a mental health disorder related to other eating disorders.I don't know how realistic a portrayal it was, but it does happen
 

Sadly diabulimia, where the person with diabetes neglects to take their medication can be very effective for weight loss, although that weightloss of course signals they are in a dangerous place, but as someone who suffered an ED many, many moons ago, I can understand how seductive that could be to some.

It's sad Casualty got the details wrong, but at least they addressed that meddling with insulin can result in a dangerous scenario.
 
lessci said:
It's called Diabulimia, and is a mental health disorder related to other eating disorders.I don't know how realistic a portrayal it was, but it does happen
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But with diabulimia patients stop taking insulin so they wouldn't have a hypo.

Sounds to me like Casualty got muddled. ..
 
Well that was nearly 50 minutes of my life i will never get back..
Saw it on catchup..

To sum up what I witnessed...

Troubled T1 teen fostered out to care & disenfranchising herself from any form of help.
She somehow runs into the side of a bus, injures her arm & the nurse in attendance of the accident happens to be a passenger on the bus heading to work.
Bearing in mind this girl resents her T1 & keeps it close to her chest, she happens to be sporting a diabetic bracelet, the nurse treated her hypo before the ambulance arrives.
Foster mum shows up at A&E (the girl resents her even more.) & the teen gives this nurse of which has been recently been diagnosed with the early onset of dementia putting her job in jeopardy. (I kid you not!) the "run around." Sabotaging her drip & It seems more like the kid had issues being in foster homes & blamed her diabetes. She kept spouting about being fed up of "counting calories.??" (Yep, calories.)
The nurse works out that the kid's uncontrolled condition may have affected the girls eyes, hence the collision with the bus.

It all turns out OK in the end when the nurse lets the foster mum talk the hypoing teen into unlocking the toilet door...

Meanwhile another patient with a pancreatic tumour? lets it slip to her HCP son in attendance, his dad did not die before he was born...

(Edited for clarity & dodgy typo.)
 
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Jaylee I think you should summarise every episode every week - that way we won't ever have to watch or listen to it......
In our house, no-one watches deliberately - it's on in the background some Saturdays while we are waiting for something else to start or finishing dinner, so details get missed -and some of us like to see just how inaccurate it is sometimes, as the portrayal of an A&E couldn't be more inaccurate, to be honest!
 

Well sorry about the "spoiler." I watched it out of curiosity after reading the thread & feel it wasn't about "diabolimia."
If anything? It may have been closer to diabetes "burnout.?"

However I felt the T1 subject was shoehorned in to further complicate the issue the charactor had with the cynicism of drifting from care to care..? The foster mum seemed to want to make a longer term go of it. But by this time the girls emotions were frayed??

What do I know, I'm a "sci fi" fan..
 
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I just thought the comment made about fiddling with your insulin to lose weight when the girl was hypo was a typical bit of casualtyitis - a sad condition for which there is no cure
I’m aware of diabulimia and it’s great to raise awareness but not if it’s given with the wrong message/symptoms/warning signs.

Anyhoo nice to see you all here and thanks very much for the replies
 
Circuspony said:
But with diabulimia patients stop taking insulin so they wouldn't have a hypo.

Sounds to me like Casualty got muddled. ..
Click to expand...
With diabulemia insulin is stopped forcing the body into ketosis. So when the bg was checked it would have been sky high.
I appreciate casualty raising awareness, but not when the facts are so off if you see what I mean.
 

I kind of got the impression the character was just trying to "punish" the system she was put into by circumstances unknown?
She was also T1. So that side of appointments & wot not had also made her cynical too..
The girl mentioned loosely about the HCPs, weight & "calories." In her final scene after upping her dosage & escaping to a toilet cubical locking herself in.. & seemed to blame her T1 for not being placed long term with a family..? Yet was determined to shut folk out with some rather cruel devices. (Blaming the foster mother for the death of the biological daughter.)

It was a hamfisted attempt at writing a plotline for a regular charactor in the series (the nurse.) Inspite of declining health issues herself...?

The story was a mess.

I prefer watching a crew fight an alien invasion on a starship.
 
Knikki said:
Fair point, does make you wonder if a similar conversation is being had on another forum about another long term illness where Casulty has maybe got the wrong info/idea?
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Possibly a demtia or Altziemers forum. The nurse "Buffy, Duffy?" Was apparently "previously" in the early onset...
Her manager was trying to undermine (bully.) her position whilst all the shenanigans with the T1 was happening...
 
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