If anyone is addicted to Army Wives like I am,you probably suspected in the last Sun that Claudia Joy had diabetes. It was comfirmed last night.Just wondering what everyone thought about the episode. Was it an accurate dipiction of someone being diagnosed? I thought it odd that they didn’t include the A1C test in all the testing they did at fisrt
Melody, I’m going to be honest…except for the car crash, I thought that the whole thing was a little overdone. They made it sound and look as if diabetes was a death sentence, and it’s not. I questioned not doing an A1C also before telling her, it’s not that big of a deal to take some blood and confirm…and if they did it after a glucose tolerance test, her system is full of the sugary drink, whatelse is it going to say? I was disappointed in the idea that they made it sound so very, very awful, without adding any and we can do this for you…now for a whole week people will be thinking, if not questioning diabetics, about their (our) death sentence. I was glad to see that she is going to see a nutritionist…which is wonderful. I hope they show that part, not just leave it to our imaginations. All in all, I was disappointed. but it is TV and they can’t do it all in 50 minutes. Maybe some letters to the producers will help. It’s all part of education.
I agree,it was a bit dramatic the was they reacted. It will be interesting to see if they follow up with this story line,or just “forget” she has it.
Melody,
I am so addicted. I never miss it and when I have to, I DVR it. I knew last week she was going to be diabetic. When she mentioned how thirsty she was and when her eye sight was so blurry. Then when I saw the preview for this week, I was sure. It may seem a little overdone to some, but I related with how it happened because my story was so similar. We were on vacation and I was so thirsty and so very very tired and I was having difficulty seeing well enough to take my turn driving home. I thought maybe I had a film of saltwater on my contacts and even changed into new ones. I didn’t go to the Doctor until a couple weeks later. I have to admit that my Doctor also scared me and didn’t make things sound very positive. I was devastated more because I knew very little about diabetes and that scared me to death. I also really related because, in a sense, it is the end of your old life and at first, it’s hard to see that you will ever have some sense of normalcy again.
My only complaint was that, like most Doctors, they assumed she was a type 2. They assumed the same thing with me because I was 41 years old and I was overweight at the time. Turns out, I am a type 1.
I love that they are adding this story line. I can’t wait to see where they take it. If it’s done right, It could be a great teaching tool and it could reach out to loads of people. I hope they don’t disappoint me.
I’m with you Molly, let’s hope they don’t disappoint us. Many of my non-D friends asked me today about my diagnosis, and if the show was pretty true to form. I told them what I told you all here, that it was pretty good information, but a little overdone, and hopefully more factual as the show goes on. For it is too late to go back and undo any damage or mis information they gave last night…let’s just hope they don’t make it a “bad” thing to have it, or stigmatize her for being diabetic.
I don’t think they will make it all that bad. The Doctor ended by telling her that she could live a long and healthy life with diabetes if she did all the things that we do every day. I appreciated them sticking that in there. As far as Claudia Joy being so very distraught, I remember feeling like my life, as I knew it, was over. But you find out that your new life, though challenging, isn’t as bad as some may think. I think by showing the devastation, they will be able to put a more positive spin on the outcome. If they made it seem like it was no big deal, it would never get anyone’s attention.
I don’t think it’s that rare not to get an A1C at first, although it seems like the very most logical first step in diagnosis, because you find out not only if the blood sugar is chronically elevated, but how long it’s been going on. My husband was just diagnosed this summer and we had to specifically ask that he get an A1C done. When I was diagnosed 9 years ago, it wasn’t even presented as an option till several months down the road.