Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Natalie ._c- on May 6, 2011 at 1:25pm

Type 2's and obese people are relentlessly portrayed as ugly slobs who sit in front of the TV all day eating Twinkies, when it just isn't true. And all Type 1's are apparently children. Medical advice is outdated, and one-size-fits-all. And diabetics are unfairly singled out when the advice given really applies to the population in general, both skinny and fat. And the major medical sites are among the worst offenders.

I'd like to see diabetics portrayed as people first, who are just like everyone else, except that they have more medical paraphernalia, and have to deal with food and medication issues, including hypo- and hyperglycemia. But there is so much more to life than diabetes!

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Permalink Reply by Jeska on May 8, 2011 at 8:25pm

And all Type 1's are apparently children.

I know! Because apparently you just outgrow it, yeah? How's that for a cure lol
Jeez what do people think happens to those who were dx'd as children? Do people honestly think it just goes away once you become an adult? UGH lol!

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Permalink Reply by Scott E on May 11, 2011 at 8:08pm

You mean I'll outgrow it? When!? I've been waiting 30 years... :)

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Permalink Reply by Christina Conaty on May 7, 2011 at 10:28am

1. I only remember 3 Diabetics TV. One was Nell Carter on Gimme A Break. I am pretty sure they discussed her Diabetes in an issue. Also Ben Vereen on Webster was portayed as a type 1 who was mistaken for a drug user when someone sees him shoot up or he left a needle in plain sight, not 100% sure on this memory. I was not diagnosed at the time so I remember being very interested in the Webster episode. I wish I could find the episode and watch it because I have no idea if it was realistic (somehow I doubt it). There was also an episode of Grace Under Fire that was ridiculous! Her sister has diabetes and there is some sort of town crisis (flooding?) and she can't get to the drugstore so she has to exercise the whole episode in order to stay alive. I remember this really angering me when I saw it. They did explain anything accurately but I guess they were trying.

2. I would love to see a recurring character with type 1. I would love it even more if it was an adult or at least a teen. Please if they do this, talk to an endo and type 1 in order to get it right. Please show that we have lows and highs and while I would people to know all the reasons that it can happen, I would really hope they would show that sometimes the reasons are beyond our control and/or understanding.

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Permalink Reply by Terry Keelan on May 7, 2011 at 9:36pm

Isn't one of the characters on "Men of a Certain Age" a T1?

1. Current portrayals are shallow and caricatures. The character is either a slob or the subject of pity.

2. In a reality show, give us a person who is actually dealing with their condition, type 1 or 2, instead of someone who is out of control and desperate for help. In a fictional show, the same thing, but avoid the drama od the "diabetic coma"' the desperate need to inject, the crazy epileptic siezures, the helplessness and weakness, the inability to do anything to help themselves.

Terry

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Permalink Reply by Judith on May 7, 2011 at 10:00pm

Yes!, Terry. For instance, my husband,as an emergency manager and EMT, volunteers with a local volunteer mountain rescue team. One of his colleagues is a T1 since childhood and never misses a callout. I am always astounded at how well-disciplined and self-trained that he must be to do this in the wildly varying circumstances of an emergency rescue team---in the mountains!!! sounds like a great hero-type lead character to me!

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Permalink Reply by Christina Conaty on May 11, 2011 at 4:04pm

I sit on the fence here. I want people to understand that Type 1 does not mean fragile. However I do have seizures from lows and when people hear that they have one of two reactions: 1.OMG did you forget to take your ____(insert OJ and/or insulin)? 2. That doesn't really happen, Type 1's just have to take shots. As though insulin were a cure

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Permalink Reply by Ant97gtr on May 8, 2011 at 10:19pm

Great discussion topic! I apologise for my lengthy reply...

1) If I ever saw a diabetic in a television program I might be able to answer your question! I don't watch too much television and for the life of me I can't think of a single instance of a diabetic character. I am, however, a bit of a film buff and off the top of my head I can think of a couple of diabetic characters in a film - Con Air (Mike "baby-O" O'Dell), Panic Room (Foster's daughter) and The Next Three Days (Lara Brennan).
In all honesty, I didn't think that the diabetic characters I have mentioned were portrayed too badly. Con Air was probably the worst only due to the perceived short length of time before the character started suffering hyper symptoms - any uneducated person is probably thinking a diabetic can go into hyper shock in about an hour lol. That being said I thought the portrayal of the actual symptoms in this case wasn't too bad. I also thought the portrayal in Panic Room wasn't too bad albeit with a little creative writing (CGM watch for example). In the last one, The Next Three Days (based on a true story) I thought the portrayal of diabetes (and the use of it as a 'tool' by the writers - not sure how much of that is 'true') was excellent.

2) Considering the percentage of population with diabetes, I feel that it should be portrayed in television and movies more often. By its very nature, it lends itself as a 'tool' to a tv show writer - you know the emergency situation of got to get food, shot etc etc. Just for once it would be nice to have a lead character with diabetes just living their life. More often than not diabetes is either shown as an emergency (eg Con Air, Panic Room) or with complications (not even going to mention the name of THAT movie :-) ) which only enables the public stereotype. Show them shooting up before a meal, testing their BG levels etc all the while living a perfectly normal life - ie just make it a facet, rather than a definition, of the character (like The Next Three Days).

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Permalink Reply by Christina Conaty on May 11, 2011 at 4:00pm

When Panic Room came out the watch was a reality. Not as trustworthy one, but it was real. I would not call it accurate in any other way though. As I recall the child was suffering from a low blood sugar reading and the mother risks her life to get insulin for her. Not very accurate, am I remembering it wrong?

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Permalink Reply by Leo2 on May 12, 2011 at 6:25am

I don't watch TV except for news. So I can speak only to advertisements. The one in which the person is given an apple really incenses me. A 30 gram apple will shoot me up to 300. I don't like my family seeing that. They're getting wrong information.

What I want is information that this is an autoimmune disease like all the other autoimmune diseases we are getting. And programming? Let them hire some CDEs to go over scripts!

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Permalink Reply by Michelle on May 27, 2011 at 1:24pm

Just found a character who plays someone with diabetes who actually has it! It's Stephen Wallem, who plays Thor on Nurse Jackie. See http://www.advocate.com/printArticle.aspx?id=108787. I've never seen the show but I might check it out.

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