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TV cr*p about diabetes

mibby

Well-Known Member
Messages
51
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Is it just me? I have just watched a US drama where a diabetic man is killed by eating a packet of biscuits. Killed.

I also recently watched a British show where the plot revolved around a race against time to get a diabetic child her insulin before she, yes - you guessed it - died.

Honestly. Does this help anyone?
 
Although don't know the full story lines both scenario's are plausible, if a type 1 gorged on biscuits and failed to take any of their insulin then they'd experience extremely high bg levels and will be at risk of DKA, likewise if a poorly diabetic child failed to have their insulin administered in time then again they could develop DKA which is life-threatening.
 
Surely, if someone's blood sugars go high enough it puts their whole body under stress. Many people talk of palpitations when high, so for someone already at risk of cardiovascualr disease, or indeed someone who had already had heart attacks, a whole pack of buscuits, without appropriate blood management could just be catastrophic.

Thankfully for the very vast majority of us, particularly those on no or fairly gentle meds, we are more likely to suffer a hangover type of feeling and maybe an upset tummy than a catastrophe.
 

well, the stories may sound dramatic, and possibly were not explained well, but the effects of ketones, if you are type one, are dramatic, and fast - years ago i met a fellow patient waiting in the hospital queue, she had had D1 for 64 years and was discussing her early years as a child, and how one little boy she knew from clinic had gone downstairs xmas morning and found a hidden box of dates and had eaten a lot. He became ill very quickly and he died despite great efforts to save him. Pre diagnosis I had lots of symptoms the GP did not pick up on, then i went into a life threatening coma, with no symptoms anyone would recognise, no palpitations or anything like that, after a mild infection - if i had been on my own i would have died. DKA still kills a number of people every year.
 
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I can comment on this one from personal experience. My daughter has a rare syndrome which causes her to be permanently starving hungry, no matter how much she has eaten, therefore her access to food must be restricted, it must be locked away. She also has type 2 and is on both basal and bolus insulin as well as other meds, including Metformin.

5 years ago when she was 20, she was attending an art group for people with learning disabilities. I always made her a packed lunch, so I knew what she was eating (her calorie intake has to be strictly controlled). I got a (rather hysterical) call at home telling me that she was ill and that an ambulance had been called for her, she was pale, sweating, shaky and her heart was racing. I managed to find out what had happened in the lead up to this - she had said she was going to the loo and when she didn't come back after 15 minutes, the manager went to see if she was ok. She had managed to get into the staff food cupboard (left unlocked) found a large packet of custard creams, and had eaten the lot. When the ambulance came her bg was off the scale.
She required extra insulin at A&E and was there for most of the evening, about 6 or 7 hours - I can't recall if it was administered on a couple of occasions that night but she had made herself pretty ill.

I know the circumstances are unusual but it can happen. People with diabetes who have serious weight issues can eat large amounts of carby/sweet foods and their levels can shoot up making them quite ill indeed - I agree about the overkill in dramatic programmes but it's not always completely far fetched.
 
Another important consideration is that whilst the plot-line is, well, dramatic it is worth remembering the value in gives in contributing to the awareness of diabetes. Admittedly, it may be a little less representative of our own experiences and how we may wish for people diabetics to be perceived but nonetheless.
 
Many TV programmes are designed to be dramatic and stretch credulity. No one would sit down to watch an hour of someone trying to remember where they put their repeat prescription, phoning the surgery, having that annoying conversion with the receptionist, getting a bit irritated, muttering to themselves, testing their sugar, making a cup of tea and getting on with life in general.

Likewise, in real life my street hasn't been overrun by aliens recently.

TV is entertainment; factual accuracy gets in the way.
 
I found the diabetic story on Emmerdale a bit confusing the diabetic woman was found to have retinopathy in one eye and has been wearing an eye patch for a few weeks until she has the surgery on it where she says they will cut her eyeball open. I thought the treatment for retinopathy was laser treatment
 

And that's the T1 plotlines - when it's T2 folk there's a lot of moralising about how they brought this disease on themselves from overeating. And you know - don't really deserve to live, or be respected as normal human beings. I'm re-watching 'House' episodes, now as a T2 diabetic, and I am appalled by how often that line comes up (they particularly had Chase the cute Aussie doctor coming out with these lines - too cruel to Australians!). But this idea often seems to pop up in medical and crime shows from the US. Especially disturbing when you consider the high levels of overweight/obesity in the US itself, and ditto T2.

I'm fairly immune to the idea that T2 is punishment for breaking two deadly sins - gluttony and sloth - but I do have a very nice cousin who was diagnosed with insulin resistance/prediabetes last year, and she is quite different to me and religious - and she had taken on the whole 'I have been slothful and gluttonous, and I am bad, I need to be a better person in order not to be prediabetic' thing, that has totally been supported in popular culture from what I can see, sadly.

No - it doesn't help anyone, indeed. Diabetes is an easy plot device - what scriptwriter can resist death by biscuits?! And gluttonous slothful folk getting the wrath of God upon us? Not enough, it seems.
 
I saw Star Wars last night. Personally, I found it a tad unrealistic, and was offended by how they portrayed history a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.

Tonight, I plan to watch TV and change channels until I can find something new that offends me.
 

Oh Torq!

It's not about offence, it's about the role of popular culture in feeding and informing. And it's really good that we talk about it.
 
Well I liked it lol ! And on a serious note, you make a fair point. Why would anyone think it strange that TV and films over exaggerate ? Have you ever seen any of the CPR techniques on Baywatch ? Shocking. There are elements of truth but ultimately, entertainment.
 
I'm just reminding everyone that this is entertainment. Let's not try to make it anything more than that.

Sure, I appreciate it when fictional storylines are theoretically possible, but that's just good writing.

Death by Biscuits?
A race against time for a child to get her insulin? (Sounds like a great plot for the next sequel in the Transporter series staring Jason Statham)

How can you do anything but laugh at those? To anyone finds those offensive, a word of advice: never see "Weekend at Bernie's."

Side note: I haven't actually seen Star Wars. Don't ruin it for me, lol
 

Hi torqy,

Here's a massive star wars spoiler for you...........
 
Ajay76 said:
I doubt they were aiming for factual accuracy, just drama
Click to expand...

Yeah, but many folk, me included, like a spot of accuracy in our drama! . Especially when it comes to TV dramas that deal with medical diagnostics.

And whether we like it or not, many people's ideas about the world and human nature are fed by TV and movie drama. I think that's great actually. I really really really like a spot of drama.

And stories have always informed us. My personal favourite realistic dramas (NOT Sci-Fi which I love btw) are ones where the writers, and the story editors, have worked drama in with the truth.

But yeah I know - a lot in the world is not about the truth. More's the pity!

Been binge watching 'Doc Martin' (tropical storms have come my way in the south pacific so we are stuck indoors) over these public holidays, and got very excited when I recognised a woman with diabetes (in season 2? I think. Such is binge watching) via her high irritation level combined with having needed to go to the loo rather a lot - I had never seen that in medical diagnostic drama (House has never gone there, for instance). I was very pleased the writers dealt with that 'symptom' - ie mood/personality change. (I have found that very hard to explain to my friends, and it was done well in this episode.) I mean what can be bad about depicting diabetes in pretty Cornwall? Not a lot.

They did have her nearly die of ketoacidosis though, with undiagnosed diabetes. Yeah yeah yeah - very dramatic. Doc Martin rushing in with a syringe of insulin to save her life. But I thought it pretty good nonetheless.
 
Funny you should mention Doc Martin, @AloeSvea - one of my favourite episodes was the old ladies who bought a tattoo gun over the internet and put "Do Not Resuscitate" signs on their chests. I was thinking of having it done, but then was told it would be ignored by first responders anyway
 

I shall look out for that episode - and think of you for sure! (currently at 2005 season 2 still - so got a long way to go! whew!)
 
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