Doctor in the House | Season 4 | Episode 3
Deirdre (56), Rebecca (25), Alika (18), Sam (16) and Mele (13) are from Whitehall in Dublin. Deirdre smokes 20 a day but thinks cigarettes aren’t doing her any harm. Deirdre had a health scare four years ago when she attended her doctor with chest pains and was sent straight to the hospital to get tests on her heart. It was discovered she had very high blood pressure and is on a high dose of medication but doesn’t always remember to take the medication. She does no exercise and gets out of breath very easily. Deirdre cooks for the three youngest children. They eat a lot of pasta with cream and soft cheese. They also eat takeaways about three nights a week including chipper dinners, kebabs and Chinese. The youngest two children don’t like it when the takeaways are ordered and prefer healthier, home cooked meals. Deirdre also gets through two litres are fizzy drinks every day. Eighteen-year old Alika is doing a beauty therapy course in Blackrock. She is up early every morning as she has a long commute. She doesn’t eat breakfast. For lunch she eats pasta or goes to the pub and has a wrap with chips and a glass of Coke. She regularly eats takeaways at home with her Mum. Alika has had bulimia for the last six years and has never had any medical or physiological help with this. She does no exercise. Rebecca is very health conscious. She goes to the gym 3-4 times a week and has a personal trainer. She mainly does weights. Her diet is restrictive as she eats the same things every day – two eggs and two rashers for breakfast, lunch is either a turkey burger or a tuna burger with sweet potato fries and a chicken stir fry for dinner. She says she can’t cook and rarely eats fruit or veg. Sam (16) is the only boy in the house. He is slim but he is a chocoholic and eats way too much sugar. He drinks about 15 cups of tea a day with sugar. Sam suffers with anxiety and is being treated in Temple Street for this. He spends a lot of time in his room playing online games rather than going out to exercise. Mele (13) would like her family to be healthier. She is quite active as she plays basketball in school and is on the rowing team. She loves to bake and cook. After being assessed by the experts, Deirdre finds out that she is in the highest category for obesity, and that she has already done damage to her eyes by not taking her blood pressure medication and if she continued like this she could end up blind. But the worst news of all, Deirdre finds out that she has full blown type 2 diabetes – something that needs urgent attention. Alika finds out the alarming news that she is insulin resistant. Professor Niall Moyna delivers the news to Alika that she rates in the bottom one percent for fitness for her age. Alika she is following her mother’s footsteps but if she continues with her poor lifestyle she will get to her mother’s stage at a younger age. Rebecca is surprised to find out her cholesterol is high. The family leave studio with a list of orders; no smoking, no takeaways, follow the experts’ plans and Amanda must address her diabetes urgently. She must also see a psychologist to deal with her food addiction. The pair spend the next couple of months doing their best to try to stick to their plan and avoid temptation. Amanda sees a psychologist to help deal with her addiction to food, and a diabetes specialist. After 8 weeks they return to the Consultation Room to find out whether their efforts have paid off