S/O: 90210 had a character with IF (long and pointless. :)

DrRx · November 2012

Ok, ok. I know. 90210 = awful TV. However, I find it entertaining, and since I was a faithful watcher of the original for 10 years (yep, that's right folks. All 10 seasons of it!), I started watching the new one and it was pretty awesome/awful as well.

Anyways, one of the characters (Silver--The little girl born of Kelly's mom and David's dad from the original) has the BRCA II gene and has decided to have a baby ASAP because she wants to get the double mastectomy ahead of time. So, they started the season with her gay best friend who offered to donate his sperm for her inseminations.

Well, that didn't work we found out in this week's episode, and Silver goes to see a "fertility specialist". (Um...wouldn't she be seeing them for her inseminations?) So, at the consultation, nothing is discussed as to WHY she's not getting pregnant, but the MD suggests an "IVF protocol." The MD says that there are some risks associated with it, and that he'll give her pamphlets about it, but that it would be her best chance to get pregnant. She asked what it consisted of, and he said "you would get a daily shot of estrogen and then we harvest your eggs. We fertilize the embryos and transfer them back in."

She does this for about 3 or 4 days (no more than a week, per the timeline of other events, etc) and while she is at an event with her friends, she walks funny and says her leg hurts. Her friend suggests she gets it checked out, and they go to the ER. A few hours later (again, per the timeline of other events) she tells him that she had a blood clot due to the estrogen and is now on blood thinners. She tells him that she had "overstimulation" and that they are going to harvest her eggs now. However, this is her one and only shot a being pregnant since it is dangerous for her to do it.

Ok, I know that it is a stupid soap opera, and that it's not meant to win any awards or anything, but OH MY GOD! Talk about watering down what IVF means. While I appreciate that they might be trying to bring awareness to IF (maybe?) they have given such inaccurate information that I feel does more harm than good. People, who have no idea what IVF is all about (again, small demographic who watches this) will think that IVF isn't really that big of a deal or as involved. Or that it's just a way to get pregnant. Like, it's NBD. No talking about the emotions that one experiences while going through IVF, and definitely no talking about how it isn't a walk in the park.

Am I always going to see IF on TV shows and feel like writing a letter? I'm not saying that the show had to spend extra money on an MD consult, but couldn't they reach out to a regular woman who has gone through IVF? I feel like the show did a Cliff's Notes on IVF.

ANYWAYS, sorry for the ridiculous long post. However, I don't really have many people to share my observation with because I don't really know anyone IRL who has done IVF, and/or watches 90210. I figure with you ladies, at least I got 1 of the 2. Smile

LnR70707 · November 2012

I know what you mean. I see IF glossed over time and time again on TV and it drives me nuts. How I Met Your Mother pissed me off for a while, both with Lily's struggle to get pregnant (IF doc after 6 months, made testing look like NBD) and Robin's sudden sterility (one blood test = no kids EVER). Supposedly The New Girl also has a recent IF storyline building, one blood test can tell how many eggs you've got left!

lovebug33 · November 2012

It's like when I see teacher shows and want to bang my head into a wall because what they do is so not reality!

ChicagoWeded2007 · November 2012

Yeah, as I said in my post below, it really does drive me crazy. Many people learn all they know about IF through tv shows and they get really inaccurate information and they judge infertile people based on that inaccurate information. The shows really gloss over the emotional repercussions of IF and the never talk about the financial cost! And they also don't represent how long these treatments actually take. Like, oh, I'll just get a shot and BOOM! baby. Plus, no one understands that IVF has a low chance of multiples compared to IUI -- the comments on articles are always criticizing people for getting IVF because of the risk of multiples.

The How I Met Your Mother treatment did really piss me off too.

Saraevh · November 2012

WAY annoying. I haven't watched Grey's since I saw a preview for an episode about someone (I think one of the doctors) delivering their baby at 23 weeks and it making it. I can't relate to that (thank GOD and I hope I never can), however at the time I had a friend who delivered around that time and I was just sick over it. Seeing that preview just pissed me off.

And I'll third the whole teacher thing too. What, you mean you guys don't have your kids sitting in perfect rows while you sit at your desk in front of the classroom all day long? I tttttotally did that when I was a teacher!

OceanBreeze1 · November 2012

OMG, 90210 is my guilty pleasure and I was totally mumbling at the TV during all of that! I wanted to vent to someone about it, because it was just so absurd and unrealistic -- and I didn't even go through IVF!

While I appreciate more shows incorporating IF storylines, sometimes I think it'd be better if they didn't make it all seem so quick and easy and NBD.

Aegis2005 · December 2012

I'm late to this post, but I was grumbling watching this week's 90210 episode myself.

Mrs.McIrish · December 2012

I am totally just lurking but OMG. As someone who is BRCA1+, the whole thing makes no sense on that end either.... You can have kids after a mastectomy if it was prophylactic and with BRCA2, the rate of ovarian cancer is less likely than BRCA1 so you can wait to remove ovaries until 40s. Glad I stopped watching.

DrRx · December 2012

MrsLee04:
Don't feel bad, I watched all the of the 1st 90210 and so far all of the 2nd (although I haven't seen this week's episode yet). I know so much that I remember that this is actually the 2nd time they've touched on IF. On the old one Kelly was diagnosed with endo after having a m/c with Brandon and was told she may never have kids. I'm sad that I remember that!

I remember that! Although, I think that I recently (and my recently, I mean in the last 2 or 3 years) saw that very same episode. I'm not sure if they do anymore, but they would play those episodes on SOAP and it was like taking a walk down memory lane watching the episodes. From the clothes they wore, to the music, to the "serious" topics of the day... Smile

Want a personalized experience?

S/O: 90210 had a character with IF (long and pointless. :)

Re: S/O: 90210 had a character with IF (long and pointless. :)

Choose Another Board

Search Boards