mamadrama

Count me in the camp of thinking there may be more than one issue affecting skin lesion lady. While I do think her digging at her skin is probably making the things worse, or maybe even causing them altogether, I think the underlying itching may be legit. A nervous system problem, allergies, etc. I have mast cell activation disorder and it causes me to react to random things on different days. While Dr Sandra may be right, I do understand the frustration of hearing doctors saying it can't be physical and must be mental. I'd have at least tried her on some Zyrtec.

My little one went into cardiac arrest in his sleep and died. We didn't even know his heart was sick. @StatisticalOutlier As for "strangers" sending the family messages...Between comments on YT and my blog, as well as emails from my book readers, we had hundreds of people sending us messages about him-complete strangers who only "knew" him through pictures. We appreciated every single one of them. Sometimes it really is the thought that counts, even if it's just a passing one. When a parent loses a child you'll do your best to get through the day however you can. That your child's picture, or even just a "10 minute highly edited" video segment, registered enough to a stranger to make them want to reach out to you is comforting in a way that perhaps parents who haven't lost a child may not understand. There is no guidebook for child loss-even when that child is an adult. No magic pill to make things better. If Kevin's family is comforted by a sentence or two on the internet then more power to them.

Remember how on the old show TRADING SPACES they used to take people's nice piece of furniture and cut it up, paint it, etc? Then people got smart and thought that if they hid that piece they loved in their garage or in another room then it would be safe? Only it wasn't, because then the decorators just started pulling stuff out of other rooms. It's the same with reality shows. If you have ANYTHING that you don't want on the show then don't do the show-cause those fuckers WILL pull it out of the garage and glue fake grass to it.

The other bad thing is that if it had aired, per my contract I wouldn't have been allowed to get on social media or anything to set people straight. I wouldn't have been able to get on FB and be like, "Okay, I never said any of that, the show's just trying for drama," etc. It was basically a gag order. So not only could my story be manipulated to be something it wasn't, but I couldn't complain about it either. I thought I'd covered every conceivable angle before I signed on. I missed one.

Oh, no, it's a totally valid question and I realize now that I may not have been clear. I knew it was a paranormal-themed show before I agreed to be on it. The fact that it was paranormal was the reason they'd contacted me in the first place. However, when we went through the first few rounds of interviews (we had at least 3 before we even agreed to appear), my son wasn't mentioned at all. They told me what they were interested in out of me and we discussed a narrative that was true, but also condensed and interesting for an audience. His death wasn't even on the table because it really didn't have anything to do with the "storyline" (or whatever you want to call it). There was more than enough material for them to work with without him. When they started filming, however, one of the producers said that they'd read one of my books where I'd talked about my son and this is how it was presented to me: "We'd like to include his death in the show. We realize that SIDS affects many parents, and that it's something that isn't often discussed on television. Would you be open to talking about it on camera? We think people would really relate to your grief and it would help make you three-dimensional." Since there was nothing paranormal about my son's death, and the production team appeared very sympathetic and respectful, I agreed. They filmed me talking about the day he died and they took video of his little clothes and stuff. They interviewed our coroner and he referenced statistics and other "official" kinds of things. I was also told that they were going to offer a website address for SIDS information at the end. Nothing in the way of how it was presented, or how it was filmed, gave me cause for concern. Instead,they made it a freak show. The reason my stuff never aired is because my attorney threatened to sue for getting me to film under false pretenses. One of the producers stepped forward and said that they'd known his death was going to be a part of the show before they even contacted me (I've written a book about what happened) and that they never had any intentions of mentioning SIDS or the website-before I'd even signed on they knew they were going to embellish it and create a demon baby killer. It was a loophole that got me out of my contract.

I've been trying to raise SIDS awareness for years and I don't mind talking about my son's death at all. I made a YT video about it and I meet new people almost every day who are searching for information and find my confessional. Talking about it helps and raising awareness is one of the things I'm most proud of. But even though our livelihood depends on my book sales, I'll be DAMNED if I'm going to see the worst time in my life played out for schlocky entertainment purposes on the _______channel. He deserves way more respect than that.

From Robert & Anny's thread... I've had a few different television shows approach me over the years because of the books I write. Several years ago a popular one badgered and badgered my family until we finally relented to do it. I can't publicly say which one it is, but it's a paranormal-themed one. The payment was very small, but they did provide a bunch of perks, and we thought it would be free marketing for me. I watched every episode of every season beforehand, so between that and my 2nd full-time job of watching reality TV (ha) I thought we'd be fine. Like everyone else, I'd spent years making fun of these assholes who blame "editing." There were two reasons why we hesitated in the first place: my family/friends and my kid. The thing about this show is that it's not just you who is involved, but your family. I had to get my mom, husband, and a few friends involved as well. The other thing was that we KNEW we'd have to talk about the death of our son and that his "storyline" would be a big part of the show. I was actually okay with this because there's a lot of misinformation out there and I thought this might be a way of opening an honest discussion of SIDS. Filming was actually pretty fun. The production company was cool and everyone was very nice. There was no "script". We filmed for quite a while and our meals and stuff were covered. They usually rented AirB&Bs for the people, but my house is very big and there's lots of room for them to set up their equipment. It's also very private. Filming wrapped up, we all hugged, and they left. I didn't know when it would air, because the new season hadn't started yet, but everyone in my town was pretty excited. And then I got the email... People on the show don't get advanced screenings-most see the show the same time the viewers do. I knew that, it being reality TV, I wouldn't have a say in what was shown. I also knew that sometimes things are embellished or exaggerated. And, because of the subject matter, I knew there was a chance that we would all come out looking like complete morons. I was prepared for all of this. However, I was NOT prepared when one of the production assistants sneaked me an advanced copy (because they felt guilty, the said) and I watched them use the death of my son for over-the-top entertainment. SIDS was not mentioned. His premature birth and the seizures leading up to this death were ignored. Instead, a demon sneaked into his room in the middle of the night and killed him. Not only that, they took snippets of approximately 5 conversations between me, my mom, and my husband, and strung them altogether to make it sound like WE were the ones telling the story. I watched it, appalled, and was like, "I don't even remember saying the word 'demon'." Then we remembered during one of our lunches I had jokingly said, "I'm glad our toddler is out of the terrible twos. He was a complete demon." That's when I learned that if you're filming reality TV, you NEVER put your back to the camera. They use that opportunity for "frankenbites." This whole thing played out like a bad 80's horror movie, complete with stock music. It was awful. There's a little bit more to it,it wasn't just that one scene but I really can't say more about it, but in the end our attorney came through and we were able to get our entire part cut out. Turns out I had a big case for defamation of character. I didn't want money, I just didn't want people sitting back and laughing about the worst thing that ever happened to us. And they would have. I know this because if I'd been watching the show, I would've laughed, too. We all would have. We'd have loved making fun of those superstitious morons (because that's what we looked like) on this forum. Turns out I'm not the only person who got their part removed from the show. I did some research afterwards and found several blogs and videos about other families who said it was the worst decision they'd ever made. Wish I'd seen those first.

Sure, I'll take it to Small Talk.

I filmed with a production company for a popular reality show. Years of making fun of people on TV complaining about "editing" came back to bite me in the ass.

I'm shook, y'all, just shook. Didn't see that one coming at all.

I'm having trouble accessing this on my tablet so forgive me if this ground's been covered, but Porn Granny has been on Instagram telling people that the checkbook wasn't even hers, that she had to borrow it, and that the production company put her up to the whole "I'll write you a check to get lost" scene. I can believe that. (Have I told you all about the time when the production company wanted me to pretend that a demon had stolen into our home in the middle of the night and killed our child? They can some up with some weird shit.) The question is, were they ALL in on that? Cause Anny looked legit mad to me. Did she really get pissed or, when the cameras stopped rolling, did they all just sit back and laugh? I expect producer shenanigans, but this season seems to be way more manufactured than most. Blake and Jasmine seem like two totally different people off the show, they've screwed around with Juliana and Michael so much that even they're a little confused at the moment, and we all know that Angela wouldn't be in Nigeria unless someone else was paying for it. My last airfare from the southern US to Morocco was $2,500 and that was a deal-no way Meemaw is paying that or more several times a year. The only things I'm really convinced of at this point is that Robert truly is an ass (I refuse to believe he's that good of an actor), Angela really is Angela, Juliana did grow up poor (big city poor, not Karine poor), Michael is a douche, Jasmine is 60% non-recyclable, and Uncle Bo's not acting.

Julianna looked pretty at the wedding. Can confirm that she is just as beautiful, maybe more so, in real life. Can also confirm that Michael is just as pasty and bleached doughy in real life, maybe more so.

I could totally see that happening.

They started using Air B&Bs because the television station (not the production company) is so limited in what they're allowed to show. If a person has a lot of artwork on the wall or personal family photos everywhere then they have to either get permission from everyone in the photos, as well as from the artists, or blur them out. Both are extra work. Obviously there are some prints, posters, etc. that are common enough that they don't need a license to show them, but there are just enough to make it a headache to film. Plus, the production crew needs extra time to set up, get lighting right, etc. With a rental they have far less work because there are fewer things on the wall to deal with and they can leave their equipment up. Personally, I find it hard to believe that Whitney is that clean. Smells fishy to me.

Husband walked in during the river scene, watched a few seconds, and said, "Ha ha,I like this new guy..."

Honest as in, when I'm watching it, I don't think she's putting on an act-I think she really IS a trainwreck and not just pretending.

As much of a clusterfuck that Darcy is becoming, she HAS been able to weasle her way onto the D List and get media coverage. And she's always traveling so she's either found the escort circuit or people are paying her for exposure. Either way, Homegirl's got ambition. If I didn't fear for her mental and physical health I'd applaud her for the climb.

At least Darcy comes across as honest-a mess, but honest. Jesse and Tom are just slimey fakes.

You know, there are women who have basically built careers out of playing , overdone, exaggerated femininity, ditzy "characters." But that's just it-they're characters. In reality, Charro, Dolly Parton, Marilyn Monroe and even Minnie Pearl to some extent, were intelligent and shrewd business women and behind the scenes they had their shit together. (I worked for a place in Nashville and I had NO idea that the soft spoken, blue blooded, well-dressed, authoritative, and insanely intelligent "Sarah Cannon" who came to our board meetings once a month was the hat-wearing country bumpkin I'd been watching on HEE HAW for most of my life.) It IS possible to take that stereotype and turn it into something that women and men want to root for. It's not a bad idea, and I could see it working for Darcy. Sadly, though, I don't think this is a "character" for her. She seems to be legitimately secure in the crazy decisions she makes and she appears to be going downhill fast.

1. Claims mom left her with abusive father, yet seems to have good relationship with mom. 2. Claims to only bathe once a month, yet nobody is recoiling and she looks clean. 3. Says she doesn't know if she can make it to car, yet appears to walk fine. 4. Claims not to know that fat free Ranch doesn't have fat. This chick filled EVERY BINGO card for the series: poor hygiene, inability to walk, abuse, abandonment, going to die soon, partner isn't romantic, unsupportive family...I think she played the show.

Same here. If my kids throw out a number then we know to take that as a starting point, not the final answer.

Oh dear, where to start... Gina's mom: Gina is lazy and she smells. Also Gina's mom: She's your wife! She shouldn't tell you that you're lazy and that you smell. You deserve better! So let me get this straight...Gina is overweight because she was jealous of all the attention her sister got when they were younger? Then why is her sister so overweight as well? Score one for Gina for making her sister's wedding all about her. /sarcasm Gina: OMG, I have to walk ALL THE WAY to the car and I am so tired and sick... Also Gina: Food's ready?! *bulldozes through everyone else to prance to the table/kitchen/etc* Seriously, she walks and gets around better than I do on my bad days. Run, Beth, run.

As someone with a lot of experience in this, I can say that Darcey's new extensions make her a long denim skirt away from my family's Pentecostal Holiness church's revival week...* *Not knocking the denomination, but half the women in my family sport the same holy roller look. Never thought it would become the next Hollywood fad.

I sat here and Googled that stuff last night and in my poor man's survey of the interwebs, I learned that there are at least 9 "normal" types out there. Interesting reading, but it embarrassed the hell out of my 12yo son when he came in and caught me.

Eh, I don't know. "Sluts" are generally just women who enjoy sex, aren't ashamed of their sexuality, and just happen to have had a number of partners in the past. Nothing wrong with that. That's not Whit's problem, though. Calling her a "slut" would imply that she gets around more than whatever magical number people pretend is average and that many people in her life find her sexually desirable and have acted upon that. She's just flat-out delusional.