A Legal question on taking your insulin shots.

[Rob43]

Hi, I know of a lady that is a type 2 diabetic that has stopped here daily insulin shots and refuses to take them because she says she tired of taking them after eleven years. Would this be considered a form of Suicide and could the Police force her to take them?


Thanks, Rob

[MJB]

I doubt there is anything anyone can do short of appealing to her or her family.

Do you know anyone who eats fast food daily? Could that be considered a form of suicide? Of course not.

Edited to add, I am not a lawyer or any sort of expert. Just my opinion.

[Lloyd]

It is highly unlikely that a T2 would die from not taking the shots, she would just have high glucose and complications down the road. She will likely die a very unpleasant death from complications eventually (renal failure or something).

[Huckleberry]

I don't think an able adult can be forced to take any medication, as long as they aren't harming anyone but themself.

[pooh3465]

Sounds kinda like a cry for help I think her doctor should have her start seeing a counselor. I have heard of people selling there needles in the 70's and being forced to go to the hospital everytime they needed a shot but I have never heard of anyone being forced to take thier insulin.

She will probably make herself sick enough to throw it into type one and be stuck with type one the rest of her life.

Maybe she should try some support groups it sounds like she needs someone to vent to. I have been taking insulin for 31years and when I was a teen and trying to kill myself,(child abuse), I would go into ketoacidosis every other month....so I understand how she feels but its just getting over the hump and accepting the diabetes.

Just pray for her and encourage her it's a personal problem she is going to have to face and survive. maybe introduce her to the forum it has helped me many times to talk to the people on here.

:marchmell this is my new favorite icon lol April

[Funnygrl]

It's a slow, painful form of suicide. No one can force you to receive treatment for a medical condition if you don't want it and you're deemed to be competant.

What a stupid thing to do though. I don't like taking insulin, but I never understood how it could be a big enough deal to stop taking it and risk my life over.

[Funnygrl]

Sounds kinda like a cry for help
Agree.

She will probably make herself sick enough to throw it into type one and be stuck with type one the rest of her life.
Disagree. People don't change types. Though she is probably hurting her pancreases ability to make insulin by forcing it to keep up.

[JediSkipdogg]

There are thousands of people like this out there with every medication. They simply refuse to take it for one reason or another. There's nothing you can legally do about it unless you can get a judge to order her to take it (which generally only happens when a person is a threat to others), and that's not an easy process.

All you can do is offer your support and knowledge and hope that will do some good.

[susique333]

I know what youre asking. My best GF lives up in Sag Harbor and her MIL was type 2. Refused to go on insulin and was doing not so good on diet alone. She took a turn for the worst with a heel infection and had a foot amputated and at that time she went hog wild. She threw the diet out the window & in came the Candy, Cake, Breads, you name it. Her entire family went crazy trying to talk some logic into her but to no avail. She eventually had cardiac failure at 56 yrs of age. I cant imagine putting my family through something like that. I wonder if it is depression that fuels the being obstinate?

[BlueSky]

..... I cant imagine putting my family through something like that. I wonder if it is depression that fuels the being obstinate?
Its a sense of bewilderment and helplessness, which leads to deep depression. Back in South Africa we had a domestic worker who went through this. Florence was in her late 30's, very overweight, and she had poorly controlled T2 diabetes.

While she was working for us, her kidneys failed. We provided all the support we could and took Florence to the hospital on numerous occasions. But she she wasn't able to make sense of what was happening to her and was totally overwhelmed by it. About 18 months after going onto dialysis, Florence, who was still in reasonably good shape, told us that she wanted to go home so she could die with her family around her. "Home" was a remote African village, with no access to medical care.

Florence knew that she wouldn't last long without dialysis. But her quality of life was such that she didn't care. She was very depressed. We tried to talk her out of it, but Florence had made her decision. She went home, and we heard from her son a few months later that she was dead. Very sad, but people make their own decisions. And there is not much that can be done about it.

[buddy7]

Florence had made her decision

A very touching storey indeed Blue sky, when that time comes, what can be a more better place, but with your people and love ones.

B/7 ESSEX UK.

[parrotletzoo]

It's not illegal to refuse medical treatment. Her choice.

[Jill-O]

That's so sad! Don't let that kind of a situation stain your own way of thinking, Rob. I swear, my insulin shots are no where NEAR the least pleasant thing I have to do each day. That poor woman has a lot of problems besides diabetes. It's just such a non-issue to take these (completely painless) shots. It's actually more cumbersome to apply deodorant but I'll keep doing that as well as taking the shots.

[sofaraway]

I don't know about in the US but in the UK you could section someone under the mental health act and part of it forces people to take the prescribed medication. So unless this lady is mentally ill there is no way anyone can force her to take insulin.

[DISCODIABETIC]

as long as she is informed of all potential complications and results of her decision, no it is just her choice.