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Fim industry and diabetes

M

marko.cile

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello,

This is my first time posting here. I'm 24yo, and I was diagnosed with T1 about seven months ago, and for now I'm somehow keeping my glucose levels normal. As you can probably see in the title, I'm working in the film industry (DoP) and I find it hard to keep my glucose normal while working some long term projects. It feels like I'm starting to lose control, and cannot keep my glucose normal. If there's someone here who is also in film industry, please give me some advices, your exeperiences, tips&tricks, etc. :)

Thank you,
Marko
 
Hi @marko.cile Welcome to the forum :)

Whilst I don't work in the film industry, I can appreciate how working long hours can be difficult. Firstly is it easy to take breaks during filming ? If you can then of course testing regularly is going to help you see what's going on and also to take correction doses when you need them. A good investment is getting an Abbott Libre as it's easier to scan the sensor than stop for regular blood tests, the libre will help you see which direction your blood glucose levels are going in and it's easy to monitor your levels than stopping to test on your meter, you will be able to see patterns with your levels allowing you to make informed decisions about adjusting your insulin doses.
 
marko.cile said:
Hello,

This is my first time posting here. I'm 24yo, and I was diagnosed with T1 about seven months ago, and for now I'm somehow keeping my glucose levels normal. As you can probably see in the title, I'm working in the film industry (DoP) and I find it hard to keep my glucose normal while working some long term projects. It feels like I'm starting to lose control, and cannot keep my glucose normal. If there's someone here who is also in film industry, please give me some advices, your exeperiences, tips&tricks, etc. :)

Thank you,
Marko
Click to expand...

Hello!

I've been in the telly industry for about 25 years. First in studio and now in post. The studio work I did is closest to what you'll be experiencing: late and/or long hours, periods of staring at monitors or reading papers punctuated by running around and lumping large bits of cable and equipment - sadly neither of us are important enough to ask for a crew break, eh! :)) Can't agree more with JuicyJ's recommendation of the Libre! It's a real piece of life-changing tech - I hope you can get one. Nothing worse than leaving you're [blood] mark on a load of camera cable that had to be moved! :) And it's so much less fiddly than a test strip wherever you are.

Post-production is slightly better in that it's easier to get food when I want. When I work on location, though, I do have to carry a large Tesco bag of Lucozade and sandwiches. I always assume the catering truck is going to get stuck in traffic! It's relatively easy to pace up and down to lower the sugar levels than go hunting for catering and with the tv compounds in the sports stadiums you always have to get through multiple layers of security and queue up with the punters to get a bottle of fizzy drink so I find it best to have a least 2 bottles of Lucozade with me.

I'm sure you'll get used to the trying to estimate how much insulin and food to take. And don't feel ashamed of asking to stop for 2 seconds to check the sugar level! I know the gaffers love to take the mick, but you have to do what you have to do. Most takes won't go on for longer than a few minutes so I always used to think of that to ease any panic I felt about my levels. If they do go on for too long, there's always your 'terrible cough' that suddenly breaks out to interrupt everything!! ;)
 
I'm into folk, so nothing to do with the entertainment industry, but I often have to remember the military advice, prior preparation prevents poor performance - there is another P in there, but it is not necessary to make sense.
A small amount of time spent the previous evening or whenever you have access to what you need should really pay off on the next sortie when you have what you need and also what you might need.
For me, pulling out the other half of the cooked chicken and opening up the bag of salad and box of coleslaw under the gaze of what I have to think of as the Mars Bar Brigade repays all the times I feel that sitting in front of the TV would be nice. It makes going on until midnight far more comfortable, and stops the post sugar rush slump.
 
I was not in the film industry but in the UN circus doing Afghanistan, Iraq etc. It was challenging enough with irregular long hours, a lot of travelling and severe heat and stress. But I managed to stay on top of things and took each day as it came. Luckily I had a good consultant in the middle east who was supporting me via phone or skype and funny enough i wasnt the only diabetic floating around. Just try to plan ahead a bit. bring your own food if possible and dont feel too guilty if you need a bar of chocolate from time to time. Stress is one of the main contributing factors of high blood sugar.
 
Hey, not quite in the film industry, but I am a producer at an ad agency so I understand the pressures somewhat! It takes a fair amount of time to get used to how diabetes affects you, the signs of highs and lows on your body etc. You're only 7 months in so may just need a bit more time in general to adjust. It's not everyone's preferred strategy, but I find it really helps to be open about the fact I'm type 1. People soon get used to it and don't bat an eye lid if I excuse myself for a minute, test in front of them or inject. It also helps if you get to a point where you really need assistance, with a bad low for example.

As other people have said, try keeping snacks with you. Or even easier, glucose tablets/glucogel - quick to work and small to carry in a pocket. A CGM would definitely help and *should* be available on the NHS from 1st Nov (if you're in the UK).

Ultimately, no one you work with would want to feel responsible for you being seriously affected as a result of you not feeling you could treat your diabetes correctly, so sometimes you just have to be firm and say "I need 5 mins to sort this".
 
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