A call the midwife recent episode has an awful portrayal of a thyroid patient. Has anybody else seen it. I intend to complain but wondered what others thought. I was really upset by it.
To sum up she was portrayed as a difficault patient who pretended to be sick. Her concerns that her thyroid medication was not working was dismissed as blood described as spot on. She was shown to be manipulative, selfish and demanding. It was horrid.
must admit ,,, i was also very cross about that
I didn’t see it, but it agree that negative / incorrect portrayals need addressing. You are justified in your complaint!
Oh yes!, thanks for posting about this. I was really angry about it at the time too, but life got in the way and I forgot about it.
I usually quite enjoy the programme. It's interesting to get a feeling of how things were in the 'olden days'. Unfortunately, I think what was being conveyed was exactly what did happen then. And still does today. So was the BBC gaslighting thyroid patients, or telling it how it was?
i forgot about it too,, or rather i blanked it out , cos frankly i felt a bit humiliated at the time .
if she'd been 'a honest woman who was frustrated at not being believed' that would have been telling it how it was .... it was the fact that they chose to portray a character who was controlling/manipulating her son by lying about her ability to walk at all... ie with shades of munchousen's in there too . ... that was what was so out of order about it .
to have this impression given and for it to be linked so directly to thyroid disease is a problem for all of us , because this is exactly what people like Prof Simon Pearce believe, and are making policy based upon this belief , which affects us all .
so maybe i will get my pen out after all " Dear BBC....
You're so right! We need thyroid organisations like Thyroid UK, Thyroid Trust to contact BBC too.
Indeed, tatty. And as a bitter old mare, I will make another wax model and buy more pins...I want Prof SP to suffer from a thyroid complaint and then be told, on begging for further help when the pills don't work... 'you're in range, go away.' Ha! 👊
yes ..more pins .. i'm working on it too so i'll see you on the ducking stool no doubt
I watched that episode too but I thought the script was more about the fact that she had taken to her bed as a way of controlling and manipulating her poor son than anything else - I think it was just a coincidence that she was hypothyroid but then I had Graves rather than being hypo and haven’t had doctors telling me that there was nothing wrong with me - well apart from just before I was diagnosed at the beginning when I was told I needed my holiday.
Surely at that time would she have been prescribed ndt? When did Levo start being prescribed ?
At least she wasn’t told she had somataform disorder and was given antidepressants as seems to happen these days.
I'm not sure what date they were up to in that episode, but I think they may have been prescribing levo by then. I'd have to 'watch again' though, because I don't remember whether the doctor said the actual name of her thyroid medication or not.
It was in the early 70s. I was teaching in a very poor area back then and some of the stories bring back very sad memories of what it was like for s9me of those poor children - and their parents.
I’m afraid I was more aware of how manipulative the mother was - Im afraid I don’t know if her thyroid condition even registered with me, I was so incensed at what she was doing to her son.
I’ve just googled when was levothyroxine first prescribed, it’s been around for a lot longer than I realised
‘When it was first synthesized in 1949, levothyroxine represented a significant advance in the treatment of hypothyroidism, providing a safe and effective treatment option for millions of hypothyroid patients around the globe. This synthetic form of thyroxine is now one of the most prescribed drugs in the world.’
I had it in 1963 as a 4 yr old but hypo since birth - massive goitre and textbook symptoms - and still my mum was gaslit as a neurotic social worker. Must be a fair few children like me who ended up in LD institutions for life. I was so so lucky.
There was no need to have a coincidental thyroid diagnoses the programme could have worked better with no diagnoses rather than causing offence. She could just have been a controlling manipulative women in the script.
I’m afraid I completely missed the thyroid connection, I was just incensed that she was treating her son as she was. It was obvious that she was manipulating him. You’re right, why mention thyroid at all, she could as easily have been portrayed as a controlling manipulative woman.
Normally I ‘diagnose’ illnesses and conditions in programmes like that or on GP:Behind closed doors but her having a thyroid complaint didn’t even occur to me in that programme.
it most certainly was not what happened in those days. Unlike to day , GPs monitered their patients regularly, rarely, if ever did patients have to go through what folk endure today. Blood test were the norm for conditions like this but then GPs were not sold out to the NHS as they are to day. Whoever pays the piper calls the tune, I watched it all take place many, many moons ago and knew there would be choppy waters up ahead. We now have to pick up the price tag up, the doctors sold out when they agreed to the huge health centers, everything under one roof, much simpler and better for the patient, then more and more conditions introducedwhat we have now is the result. I did not see the episode but have seen other conditions misrepresented in a similiar manner.
Not totally true. I was on a dose of 300 mcg (ie above dosing range) for >10 yrs during Late 70s /80s and don’t recall being tested by GP after being discharged from consultant until I reached a fabulous GP in Manchester.
we recently watched zero day, a series with Robert De Niro. One of the scenes when he was losing his mind he was searching his bathroom cabinet and picked up a bottle of Thyroid S pills and threw them to the side and then picked up a statin. It was very odd. Spoiler he was being attacked by a neurological weapon.
This got me all aerated there were no links to hypothyroidism no mentions of it again. No signs of him having symptoms. Weird!
oh is that what they were ... my eyesight is crap ... lol
No, bae, he'd have no symptoms. He's on Thyroid-S, not levo. Good programme wasn't it? I enjoyed 'Leave The World Behind' too.
I wondered about that! Ah well. I guess the point of showing them (plot wise) was to make you wonder if someone had swapped out his medication for something that left him feeling confused but… meh.
I saw that and thought the same.
Not on topic, sorry, but this bit of your reply gave me goosebumps.This got me all aerated
My late mum used to say this but she pronounced it air-E- ated 😊
Totally off topic—but you prompted me to look it up 😂
I saw it but I felt it was reflecting a very anxious person with poor coping skills npt that tbe thyroid was being ignored.
I felt she was using her condition as a weapon due to anxiety.
My mom was like that the whole time I was growing up except she forever had a "virus" worse than everyone else.
You were lucky then, I never had a Mum.
I don't know that a narcissistic abusive mother is really so much of a benefit. Still recovering from my childhood decades later.
Me too, unfortunately . Good Luck with trying to wipe out the pain.
I normally watch the programme, but must have missed that one. More often than not I go to bed feeling deeply depressed at some of the stories.
Can you give me a rough idea when it was, I will catch up with it on BBC i Player.
I usually let the whole series slide, I no longer have a tv provider but can stream iPlayer, ( life is so much better without Sky!!!) and then I binge-watch the whole lot over a few nights… although I came to this series around halfway through and I think that one was about 3 or 4 weeks ago. I was annoyed at the time that hypothyroidism should be shown so negatively, but then that’s what I’ve come to expect from ‘drama’ programs, especially from the BBC… This is certainly not the first time they’ve cocked up over hypothyroidism, I remember an episode of Casualty that invoked a similar outrage some years ago and they never took notice of the many complaints, including mine, then and they’re still peddling the same sh*t today!
series 14 episode 7
I find much of the BBCs output trying.
I haven’t seen it, but your description of the plot sounds awfully similar to my own experience with it.
I have never watched that show but I would be interested in catching up on that episode.
Do you remember which episode it was or when it was shown please?
series 14 episode 7.
Thank you for that. 😊
thank you
I never watch it but that sounds awful
I will complain to the BBC. I don't watch it but it sounds very similar to how any character with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is portrayed. It's misinformation, ignorance, disability hate and misogyny.
Feel free to put the link in the comment field here (please), I'm planning to complain as well and hope many others do.....
Yes I saw that too. I don’t think it was a good representation at all.
I have made my complaint and said that there was no need for her to have a diagnoses, that it had caused offence and they would be better spending their energy with some investigative journalism into the dire state of thyroid care in this country. I was tempted to tell them that thousands of us had resorted to treating ourselves to get their attention on this but was worried about how they might portray that given track record.
I watched this episode. As well as being manipulative and wanting to keep her son tied to her apron strings, the poor woman was obviously struggling with hypo symptoms. Maybe liothyronine could have been discussed but they were obviously towing the NHS line that Levo fixes everything.
One of my thoughts was I hope my other half doesn't think I'm making everything up just because my bloods, according to the GP, are ok.
There was another episode a few years ago where Reggie was worried he was dying as he was tired and his hair was falling out. He got a hypo diagnosis and was told just take this little pill and you'll soon be back to normal. It was never mentioned again.
Typing in 'make a complaint to the BBC' on your search engine will take you to the correct page on the BBC site.
I did watch the whole episode, and like some others, I didn't feel that the thyroid problem was being ignored or that she was being gaslit, the story line was about her manipulating the people around her, especially her son. If anything she was gaslighting her health care team by telling them that she couldn't walk when clearly she could.
I wasnt saying that she was gas lit. I was saying that I was by the fact they chose to portray such an awful woman as a thyroid patient.
Apologises for the misunderstanding and I am sorry that you felt gaslit. I didn't feel that they were portraying her as a thyroid patient, I felt they were portraying a very manipulative woman, who just happen to have a thyroid disease.
Yes, I think the instances of hypothyroid characters portrayed on TV have always been unpleasant, aggressive, fat or lazy, nothing positive. In a subtle way people will start to associate those portrayals with thyroid issues if it is always unbalanced. They daren’t use menopause for these characters now as there would be complaints.
Like most serious conditions, tv and films never do their research. Insulin dependant diabetes is a perfect example; Nicolas Cage has a diabetic sidekick trapped on a hijacked flight, all the while going "IF I DON'T GET MY INSULIN WITHIN TWO HOURS, I'M GONNA DIE". They portrayed him as if he was going hypo (low blood sugar, far more dangerous than hyper, which inuslin would help with; no diabetic has died from a 2 hour delay in their insulin!), and in Coronation Street years ago, and Jonathon Creek, diabetics were seen to collapse, then inject insulin!
No wonder most people have the wrong idea about certain conditions, and the poor knowledge they have can even be dangerous.
funny because that’s the vibe I feel like my doctors offices have about me. Like I enjoy hearing myself whine or something. I’ve had a problem for 35 years with no answers or treatment, what kind of shape did you expect me to be in? Maybe doctors oughta judge themselves for not figuring it out faster instead of judging patients like us who are literally suffering. Ugh. I’d be upset seeing such a portrayal as well. No one would maker fun of a pregnant woman for that, why a thyroid patient?
Hi,
I didn’t see it but perhaps you should complain. People that watch the programme might think it is true and relevant today, and develop negative feelings to those that suffer with the condition now.
TTxx.
There is an anonymous blogger in the US, either a male or female (won’t say but definitely sounds male) endocrinologist who is followed by many other endos. This endo considers any patient asking for T3 testing or Liothyroninemor NDT to be a manipulative neurotic doctor shopping hypochondriac and will purposefully prescribe for failure. “Improvement” with T3 must be “all in the mind” or from “something else”.
We have seen typical, research supported improvements in the US cancer groups (all hemi- or total thyroidectomies) in cognition and focus, blood pressure, glucose levels, fatigue, etc yet the profession still refuses to evaluate patients objectively or provide education to patients as is done for almost any other condition or chronic disease. We just aren’t sexy enough or expensive enough to get the appropriate attention. We are fortunate in the US that our GP’s (PCP’s) are not restricted from either testing or prescribing, and we can fire the doctors who don’t support our health. Unfortunately, many here in the US simply can't afford health care. My co-pay for NDT just increased 8 times despite a substantial increase in my already expensive insurance premium (and I am not at all wealthy).
Patti in AZ
My wife watches this and I just happened to be in the room when this scene was broadcast. I don't this was as bad as suggested. The woman had taken to her bed because basically she didn't want her son to leave home to join the army. She did mention hypothyroidism in her rant but it didn't sound that it played much importance. Best to pick your battles carefully with clear evidence.
Yes, I noticed that - and thought oh! Yes, here we go, that sounds familiar, the same old responses. Yes complain.
I gave up watching the programme several series ago because it's become a platform for the BBC to preach to their audience as if they need to know it all - not done in the same diarised way the original source was. It has taken Netflix to portray the awful consequences that our young people are subjected to online, rather than the BBC, therefore reducing the potential audience to those who can afford to pay for it (I'm not one of them).
How body temperature is affected by thyroid hormone
Thyroid and other autoimmune diseases patient survey from the University of Cambridge
All the symptoms of underactive Thyroid 
Thyroid Patient Canada Article.
Updated diagnosis of autoimmune thyroid disorder 
