House MD and misrepresentation

Olokia

I watched House MD last night and it made me :mad:

Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't seen Season 7 Episode 18


They had a woman come in because she was coughing up blood. She was a hoarder and her house was a mess, and she caught a disease off a raccoon.

They fixed her raccoon disease and she had a heart attack. They started investigating what hoarding + heart attack could be. They found out she had miscarried 3 times. They said the hoarding was due to filling a void with the miscarriages. So according to them what is heart attack + miscarriages (no other symptoms)......

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome!?

Where is the joint pain? The dislocations? The other main problems...
The heart problems and miscarriages are only a small problem, mainly to those with vascular type (the heart part anyway)..

I guess part of the reason I got annoyed with this episode (apart from the misrepresentation) is my own fear of the doctor saying I can't have children. I only have very mild Ehlers-Danlos as I have the joint pain (everywhere) but only dislocations in my wrist and some other small annoying things like insensitivity to Lidocaine. I had an ECG and my heart is completely fine. As my condition is mild, I should be able to have children but I am worried that I can't.

Mojisola

Olokia wrote: »

I guess part of the reason I got annoyed with this episode (apart from the misrepresentation) is my own fear of the doctor saying I can't have children. I only have very mild Ehlers-Danlos as I have the joint pain (everywhere) but only dislocations in my wrist and some other small annoying things like insensitivity to Lidocaine. I had an ECG and my heart is completely fine. As my condition is mild, I should be able to have children but I am worried that I can't.

I wouldn't worry about your own prospects for having children because of something you saw in a TV drama.

Olokia

Not just in the TV drama. Other threads on this site about Ehlers-Danlos. People saying it was unfair to the kids and it was too risky or something to me.

Mojisola

Olokia wrote: »

Not just in the TV drama. Other threads on this site about Ehlers-Danlos. People saying it was unfair to the kids and it was too risky or something to me.

But they're unqualified people just giving their opinions.

Talk it through with your doctor.

juno

Olokia wrote: »

Not just in the TV drama. Other threads on this site about Ehlers-Danlos. People saying it was unfair to the kids and it was too risky or something to me.

But people will say anything. Yes, you could potentially pass your condition on, but loads of other people can pass things on without knowing! So using that logic nobody should ever have children as you just can't be sure. And children can be ill or disabled for other reasons which aren't even hereditary.

There's a "moral dilemma" type question: If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had 8 kids already, three who were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally !!!!!!, and she had syphilis, would you recommend that she have an abortion?

If so, you killed Mozart.

So potentially your kids will be fine

dmg24

juno wrote: »

But people will say anything. Yes, you could potentially pass your condition on, but loads of other people can pass things on without knowing! So using that logic nobody should ever have children as you just can't be sure. And children can be ill or disabled for other reasons which aren't even hereditary.

There's a "moral dilemma" type question: If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had 8 kids already, three who were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally !!!!!!, and she had syphilis, would you recommend that she have an abortion?

If so, you killed Mozart.

So potentially your kids will be fine

That is very unfair on those who have had to go through the heartbreaking decision of terminating a pregnancy for health reasons. Absolutely horrible and out of context.

juno

dmg24 wrote: »

That is very unfair on those who have had to go through the heartbreaking decision of terminating a pregnancy for health reasons. Absolutely horrible and out of context.

I disagree. You're misreading it deliberately. Go and wind somebody else up by trolling elsewhere.

MrsManda

Olokia wrote: »

my own fear of the doctor saying I can't have children. I only have very mild Ehlers-Danlos as I have the joint pain (everywhere) but only dislocations in my wrist and some other small annoying things like insensitivity to Lidocaine. I had an ECG and my heart is completely fine. As my condition is mild, I should be able to have children but I am worried that I can't.

You need to speak to your doctor about your ability to have children as only someone who knows the condition and how it affects you personally will be able to tell you.
Are you concerned about being unable to conceive/carry a child to term or because of the fear of passing the condition on to the child? You need to discuss both with your doctor and perhaps get genetic counselling. Are you a member of the Ehlers Danlos Support Group?
It may be useful for you to talk to others with the same condition about their experiences though remember that just because someone with the same condition has one experience, doesn't mean you will as well.
http://www.ehlers-danlos.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Don't let TV dramas upset you, they're trying to fit an 'interesting' case into a 40 minute drama - they can't possibly carry out indepth examination, diagnosis and treatment and to be honest, they're trying to entertain not education.

Speak to your doctor and I hope you get the answers you need. I was worried about children myself and found myself worrying a lot less when I had had a discussion with my doctors - at the time I wasn't planning children any time soon but it was preying on my mind so I asked

sunnyone

I was diagniosed as HMS in my early teens 30 years ago, I dislocate and have many additional aspects of the condition and I have two kids, both have inherited it but they are fine with only a mild form of the illness though my daughter is having problems ATM because she wouldnt stop showing everyone what she could do as a child when she was warned it would cause her damage in the future.

I have lost many, many babies but thats down to my family make up since my sister didnt have the illness and she couldnt carry a baby to full term at all and the only living child she had was dmaged due to him being so premature.

Many people do still have families whilst having these conditions, talk to your treatment team instead of treating fiction as fact, the program is entertainment and not real life.

SingleSue

I wasn't diagnosed with HMS/EDS until this year and it was only discovered because eldest was diagnosed with EDS last year.

He appears to have it much worse than I have as he has complete dislocations of his hips, shoulders, wrists, knees...begger, every joint you could think of really, whereas mine have only ever been partial dislocations.

It is also believed my younger two have inherited it from me too....can you imagine my guilt, it is awful but I had no idea that I had an inheritable condition when I had the children, being ultra flexible was seen as a good thing when I was a child and not actually a problem (it was actually pretty cool being able to freak people out at the gym too!)

jetta_wales

I wouldn't have a child that was biologically mine if I knew I had a genetically dominant condition unless it was very mild, certainly not if it caused pain.