Diabetes on the big screen (cinema)
11/27/2016 12:50 p.m.
Dos películas con personajes diabéticos fueron el puntapié inicial de un intercambio entre pacientes, familiares y médicos sobre cómo es vivir hoy con esta enfermedad que afecta a más de 400 millones de personas en todo el mundo
La primera sorpresa aparece al ingresar al auditorio, cuando entregan la “pochoclera bajas calorías”. La caja de cartón imita a esas que se venden en combo junto con la película, llenas de palomitas de maíz. Esta, en cambio, tiene una barrita de cereal, un capuccino light, caramelos sin azúcar, un agua mineral, un sobrecito con una crema para piel delicada y varios folletos con información. Una leyenda, escrita bien grande, anticipa sobre el cartón lo que vendrá cuando se apaguen las luces: “Diabetes en el cine”.
Es que, como parte de las actividades por el Día Mundial de concientización sobre esta enfermedad —que es el 14 de noviembre de cada año— la Federación Argentina de Diabetes (FAD) convocó a compartir una tarde de cine donde esa condición con la que viven más de 400 millones de personas en el mundo fue “la” protagonista de la pantalla.
Para eso, se proyectaron versiones editadas de dos filmes: La habitación del pánico, que se estrenó en 2002, dirigida por David Fincher, con Jodie Foster, y Magnolias de acero, con dirección de Herbert Ross, protagonizada por Julia Roberts y Sally Field. En La habitación del pánico una mujer y su hija se ven obligadas a permanecer en una habitación de la que no pueden salir. Pero la hija es diabética, y sufre una hipoglucemia. En Magnolias de acero, estrenada en 1989, la protagonista, que tiene diabetes tipo 1, decide tener un hijo aunque su médico le ha advertido que pone gravemente en riesgo su vida.
Mitos y temores
Acompañada por su mamá, Micaela (16), diagnosticada de diabetes en abril pasado dice, después de ver Magnolias de acero. “No sabía que podía tener complicaciones en el embarazo. Me asusté”. En la película, la protagonista, diabética tipo 1, muere al año de tener un bebé por falla renal: la exigencia a su organismo apura la insuficiencia de sus riñones.
Pero Flor (31), que convive con la diabetes desde muy chica, tranquiliza a Micaela: “Es una película prehistórica —dice, riéndose—. Hoy no pasa eso. Son creencias antiguas. Hay muchas amigas y conocidas que tuvieron embarazos y bebés normales. Sabemos que es posible”.
Antiguas o no, la doctora María Lidia dice que persiste la creencia de que la maternidad es imposible en una diabética, y hasta algunos obstetras pueden desaconsejarlo.
“El embarazo de una mujer con diabetes seguramente requiere más trabajo del médico —afirma la doctora Ruiz—. Es un embarazo de riesgo. Lo ideal es planificarlo y seguir controles para mantener equilibrada la glucemia. Pero la diabetes no es contraindicación u obstáculo para tener hijos”.
La película da pie para repasar los conocimientos del auditorio sobre diabetes y embarazo: los hijos macrosómicos (esos que parecen sanitos porque pesan más de 4 kg al nacer) son resultado de embarazos de mujeres previamente diabéticas con hiperglucemias no controladas.
De todos modos, cualquier mujer no diabética puede tener diabetes gestacional a partir de la semana 24ª de embarazo: gestar un hijo aumenta la demanda de insulina al páncreas y en mujeres predispuestas eso puede agotar ese órgano de crucial papel en el metabolismo de los azúcares. “El obstetra tiene que pedir la curva de glucemia y hacer un seguimiento especial”, dice la doctora Ruiz. Generalmente el cuadro cede después de dar a luz, pero es un antecedente de riesgo a futuro.
Otro gran problema que se aborda a raíz de las películas proyectadas es la excesiva preocupación de los padres (más, de las madres) sobre sus hijos cuando son chicos o adolescentes. Sobre eso sabe mucho la profesora Judit Laufer, presidenta de la Federación Argentina de Diabetes (FAD) y mamá de un adolescente con diabetes.
“Hay relatos parecidos —dice Laufer—. El debut de una enfermedad inesperada, la urgencia de una internación o de un estudio de rutina. Un adulto que tiene que hacerse cargo de la situación, de los tratamientos, del cambio de hábitos, la diabetes y la escuela, la diabetes y el ámbito social. Pero según las distintas edades, y con un gran amor responsable, hay que plantearse el objetivo a lograr con el tiempo: que ellos vayan sean protagonistas de sus tratamientos”.
Las madres presentes admiten que no es fácil soltar amarras. En la película que han visto, la mamá de la chica diabética no festeja su casamiento y mucho menos su embarazo. La hija, que vive todo con más naturalidad, le dice: ”Nunca me preocupé por mí porque sabía que te preocupabas por las dos”. Y agrega que la madre reacciona así por celos: no puede “llevar la batuta”. “Le pone un límite a la madre —señala Laufer—. Empieza a hacer su propia vida”.
Las escenas de las hipoglucemias dividen opiniones. Las hipoglucemias, advierte el doctor Gabriel Litjeroff, director del Comité Científico de la FAD, se producen cuando el azúcar en sangre es menor de 70 mg/dl. Suelen ser temidas por sus síntomas: temblor, sudoración fría, mareos, palpitaciones, y —en casos graves—, pérdida de la conciencia. “Yo la vi muy exagerada”, asegura alguien. “Para mí estaban muy bien actuadas”, difiere otro de los participantes.
Una hipoglucemia puede ser leve, moderada o severa, pero tanto en el primero como en el segundo estadio la persona se puede comunicar. Sólo si es severa hay riesgo de desmayo. ¿Qué hacer frente a esos casos? En La habitación del pánico, la madre de la adolescente diabética negocia con un grupo de delincuentes que las mantienen encerradas que le pasen el kit para salvar la vida de su hija, con una hipoglucemia severa. Pero en la película no queda del todo claro qué le inyecta: “No es insulina, porque eso bajaría la glucemia todavía más —dicen los pacientes—. Es glucagón, exactamente lo contrario a la insulina, y está muy bien en estos casos”.
En Magnolias de acero, en cambio, la escena es distinta pero también va a dar lugar al debate. El personaje de Julia Roberts tiene temblores, sudoración fría, visión doble. Ella no se da cuenta de lo que le está pasando pero su madre sí, y le ofrece un jugo (correcto en hipoglucemias leves o moderadas). Pero tiene que forzarla a tomarlo porque la joven diabética, acostumbrada a decirle “no” a las cosas dulces, se niega a abrir la boca.
La glucemia puede bajar por distintas causas: se inyectó más insulina de la necesaria, no comió en horario o en forma suficiente, hizo más ejercicio (y el cuerpo consumió más energía), hubo errores en la medicación “y también puede ocurrir por causas emotivas, por estrés”, comenta la doctora Ruiz.
Uno de los aspectos que más complican la vida de los pacientes es enfrentar mitos, creencias y prejuicios sobre la evolución de su enfermedad. “Hay que educar, informar, comunicar. Hoy, con un control adecuado, tener diabetes no es sinónimo de que vas a quedar ciego, ni llegar a diálisis ni a una amputación”, aseguran desde la FAD.
El cine, inspirador y revelador
Son muchas las películas donde la diabetes se convierte en foco de interés de la historia.
Nada en común (Garry Marshall, 1986) Protagonizada por Tom Hanks, es la historia de un publicista exitoso que debe ocuparse de su padre, recientemente abandonado por su madre, un jubilado reciente que tiene diabetes y sufre una de las complicaciones de la enfermedad: el pie diabético.
El Padrino 3 (Francis Ford Coppola, 1990) Protagonizada por Al Pacino como Michael Corleone que, ya viejo y cansado, sufre diabetes tipo II y tiene una hipoglucemia causada por el estrés. En una escena bebe un jugo de naranja para subir su azúcar en sangre. Más Go ahead, it will be insulin -dependent.
The von bulow mystery or my secret condemns me (Barbet Schoede, 1990) with Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close, based on a real story, is the accusation and judgment of Baron von Bulow, accused of provoking the coma of his wife diabetic and millionaire byAn insulin overdose.
Balance point (Ernesto Parysow, 1998).With Oscar Frontini and Gerardo Kiessig.Argentine documentary who tells the story of a man who has the typical diabetes symptoms (thirst, frequent hunger and urine) not diagnosed.Then he discovers that in his work there is another diabetic and share experiences.
Chocolat (Lasse Hallstrom, 2000) with Juliette Binoche, a character that reaches a small French town and puts a chocolate store.Delicias tend to mercy to an old woman with type 1 diabetes, who hides the disease to her family.
Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000) with Guy Pearce, is the story of a man who loses his memory and, without knowing it, causes the death of his wife diabetic due to insulin overdose, since he does not remember how many times he injected it.
The good shepherd (Robert de Niro, 2006).With Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie.One of the characters in the film has diabetic foot.It takes it bandaged, shows great difficulties to move and walk with crutches.
Life of A Child (Edward Lachman, 2008).It has the trip of Nepalese boys with type 1 diabetes. It was shot for educational purposes, to raise awareness about the disease and gather support for an initiative of the International Diabetes Federation (FID).
The next three days (Paul Haggis, 2010) with Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks.She is accused of the murder of her boss.He turns a sentence of several years and, without looking to be acquitted, her husband will help her flee from jail.But it is diabetic: how to spend three days without insulin?
Tammy (Ben Falcone, 2014).With Melissa Mc Carthy, the diabetic character is the protagonist's grandmother, who plays Susan Sarandon.Pearl is a modern and rebel grandmother who has type 2 diabetes, but opposes treatment.
11/27/2016 12:50 p.m.
@fer - Diabetes Tipo 1 desde 1.998 | FreeStyle Libre 3 | Ypsomed mylife YpsoPump + CamAPS FX | Sin complicaciones. Miembro del equipo de moderación del foro.
Co-Autor de Vivir con Diabetes: El poder de la comunidad online, parte de los ingresos se destinan a financiar el foro de diabetes y mantener la comunidad online activa.
It will be that I am very sensitized with diabetes, but every time I hear more comments on movies and series that make some reference to diabetes, usually with little success ... comments of the style "You cannot eat cake because you are diabetic", or similar...
The explosion of content platforms on demand such as Netflix, Primevideo, HBO, etc ... have multiplied the series/movies, so it may be time to make a training plan aimed at film directors (and the general group, orStart to complain about the movies that do not treat the subject well, don't you think?
One of the most frustrating things of living with diabetes is the enormous amount of misinformation that circulates everywhere.It seems that almost all the people you know have some crazy idea about what the cause or how you treat it.
Where does this misinformation derive from?In many cases, the media.Television and films have used diabetes, either as a cheap way to increase drama or as a lousy careless auction in comedies for years.Accompany us while we highlight seven of the worst absolute guilty.
1 - Hansel and Gretel: witch hunters
This absurd action film shows what happens when you try to apply logic to the world of fairy tale.Hansel, played by Jeremy Renner, has become an adult "witch hunter" with a "sugar disease" caused by eating too many candies when he was a child.Between fights, he needs to inject insulin to lower his blood sugar.
Instead of controlling your blood glucose with a puncture on your finger or an alert dog for people with diabetes, Hansel is administered regular insulin injections when your watch alerts it, regardless of carbohydrate counting or physical activity level.We are not saying that we need to explain something complex as its insulin-carbohydrate ratio on camera, but they could have handled it a little better.
2 - do no Harm
This NBC's short duration drama told the story of a successful neurosurgeon afflicted with a evil divided personality that took control of 8:25 p.m.at 8:25 am.Although people with DM 1 who experience a blood sugar level are often completely different people, that was not what put no Harm in the Hall of Shame.The protagonist explained his inability to be on duty in the afternoon by saying that he has diabetes, and despite working in a hospital, nobody tells him how absurd that excuse is.
All about the way the program handled type 1 diabetes was crazy, from the huge blood glucose reader that somehow showed numbers with infrared light to the ignorance of wide range of medical personnel on how thedisease.In the first episode, he was declared "hypoglycemic" with a blood glucose of 315 and told him that he was about to suffer a "diabetic shock" if he did not take 20 insulin units.This is too much for a reading of 315.
3 - The Big Bang Theory
Personally, I can't stand the successful NERRD exploitation comedy of CBS, but many people seem to like it.However, they lost more than a couple of spectators with diabetes in 2014. In an episode of season 8, Penny is counting on a previous work in Cheesecake Factory, where he successfully convinced a "chubby" table to ask for more dessert.Then he continues and says "One of them even had an insulin bomb!"
This is an excellent example of lazy writers who use diabetes as a joke.Representing those who live with diabetes as deficient in self -control is one of the worst stereotypes that the condition has.There is absolutely aReason why a person with diabetes cannot eat a dessert from time to time, especially if their glucose levels are under control.Embarrging the sick of a chronic disease is really too low.
4 - Big Nothing
It is a bit silly to try to rebuke the crime feat of 2006 Big Nothing for its lack of realism, but the way the film manages diabetes is quite ridiculous.The film, directed by Jean-Baptiste Andrea, tells the story of a group of small scammers in the city that are entangled in a blackmail scheme that goes wildly control.When a corpulent FBI agent with diabetes gets involved, the group takes it by force by giving it a giant palette.
It is a lousy joke, but it is not medically precise.Yes, excessive sugar intake would eventually lead the agent to a diabetic ketoacidosis, but that would not happen for some time, and as a homicidal weapon, it is not as effective as a bullet in the head.
5 - Hannah Montana
If you ask many people with diabetes, what probably irritates them to hear is: "Oh, can't you eat candies?"Depending on the way you handle your low levels, many people with type 1 diabetes do not even want to eat sweets for fun since they use them to raise their blood sugar level.One of the most atrocious examples of this stereotype occurred in an episode of Hannah Montana in 2010, in which the secondary character Oliver reveals that he has diabetes.
The plot focused around Hannah and his friends who learned about his condition and essentially avoided that he consume sugar because he says he can no longer consume it now that he has diabetes.The original version of the episode contained tons of erroneous information (as well as Oliver who diving in a garbage dump to get a caramel bar!), But after protests, Disney withdrew it from the broadcast and returned to record several scenes to eliminate theMaterial with greater inaccuracy.
6 - With Air
One of the most notorious representations of diabetes in the cinema came with the Simon West action film in 1997. When the thugs take control of a plane full of criminals that were transferred to Alabama, a passenger (Mike “Baby-Or ”O'Dell) take away their syringes and insulin.Of course, because we have to increase the drama, he instantly enters diabetic shock and the only cure is injection.
We can understand why Hollywood continues to represent diabetes in this way.In the case of a typical type 1 diabetic, if you experience a sudden event that threatens your life, a sugar collapse would be treated with juice or glucose tablets.But drinking a large glass of orange juice is not as striking as they stab you with a needle, so we see scene after emergency insulin injections scene and that the patient recovers completely in a matter of minutes.
7 - The Walking Dead
During the sixth season of the successful AMC program, the robust survivor Daryl was wandering the forest when he was captured by a trio of other survivors.One of them, a woman named Tina, has type 1 diabetes. When he escapes and flees with her bag, Daryl finds her insulin and, because she is a good person, she returns it right in time before she passed out.An injection and she gets up and is ready to continue.
So in the first place, if a person with Daibetas suddenly fainting is likely that his glucose is low, not high, and they certainly did not prick his finger to check his level.It is not that it matters much, in the long term;Tina is killed at the end of the episode, in which the zombies are eaten in a greenhouse.How exactly he managed to maintain his cold insulin during the two years since society collapsed is amystery.
11/08/2020 12:51 p.m.
@fer - Diabetes Tipo 1 desde 1.998 | FreeStyle Libre 3 | Ypsomed mylife YpsoPump + CamAPS FX | Sin complicaciones. Miembro del equipo de moderación del foro.
Co-Autor de Vivir con Diabetes: El poder de la comunidad online, parte de los ingresos se destinan a financiar el foro de diabetes y mantener la comunidad online activa.
Yes, there are more and more series on TV that someone faints and is fair is hypoglycemia.I tell my boy that diabetes chases me even on TV.
Yesterday I saw Julia Roberts's hypoglycemia again, Sally Fields gives her sugar and juice (this part) and says Sally Fields that Julia Roberts is missing "a little insulin."
11/09/2020 10:08 a.m.
Lada enero 2015.
Uso Toujeo y Novorapid.
Very good.Thank you.
The most I remember most is with Air ... and M made bad, something so basic and with so much budget in between.
In Spain I remember the group of Group 7. I believe, but m wrong, that in one of the scenes at full hypo takes something sugary, correct, but immediately later insulin is injected ...
By the way, the protagonist is a police and diabetic inspector (I do not know if this detail is real or only used with dramatic dyes by the director)
11/15/2020 5:52 p.m.
Yesterday I saw "Greenland: the last refuge" (2020).It is an asteroid movie that will collide against the earth.The protagonists are a father, a mother and a child with DM1 (wears insulin bomb).
It seemed to me that the diabetes issue is well treated, Peeeeeeero there is a pair of details that give to think.
I don't want to gartain the movie.If you like this genre, it is distracted.
11/16/2020 1:50 p.m.
DM1 desde abril 2018.
Toujeo y Fiasp.
Primero, Dexcom G4, luego, FreeStyle 2 (SS), ahora, Dexcom One (SS).
robfaber said:
very good.Thank you.
The most I remember most is with Air ... and M made bad, something so basic and with so much budget in between.
In Spain I remember the group of Group 7. I believe, but m wrong, that in one of the scenes at full hypo takes something sugary, correct, but immediately later insulin is injected ...
By the way, the protagonist is a police and diabetic inspector (I do not know if this detail is real or only used with dramatic dyes by the director)
You would be surprised by the Diabetic Police inspectors, in the real world clear
11/16/2020 10:10 p.m.
DM3c desde 2018; hb 6 % (feb.. 2022) (tresiba+fiasp+metformina)
palomilla said:
yesterday vi "Greenland: the last refuge" (2020).It is an asteroid movie that will collide against the earth.The protagonists are a father, a mother and a child with DM1 (wears insulin bomb).
It seemed to me that the diabetes issue is well treated, Peeeeeeero there is a pair of details that give to think.
I don't want to gartain the movie.If you like this genre, it is distracted.
Yesterday I saw your message and I went to see it this afternoon, I liked it a lot.Clarify that the only diabetic is the child, that with your message I thought that the whole family was diabetic.
PS: What problems have the insulins caused ...!
11/17/2020 10:21 p.m.
FER FER: I do not know why the film rectors are so donkey and do not advise on people who know about Diáttes notCall Diábetes Gestational, my doctor Dr. Paolillo, he took me first he quoted me 15 days after I started my diabetes, then at two months, then three months later at 6 months and then he told me we see you insideOne year, you are going to make your laboratory glycemia every two months, every 3 you make your glycosylated emotions, and I do not wantThat he becomes aware and does not believe that he is played.
In Tom Hanks's film, if he has a gangrenned foot that is a condition in which he takes a long time with her.In Hansel and Gretel's, another stupidity diabetes is a hereditary condition Diábetes does not come for eating sweets.
11/24/2020 3:02 p.m.