Question
Can my doctor force me to take treatment if I don't want it?
21 January 2011. Related: Adherence, All topics, Changing treatment, Side effects, Support.
Hi thanks for all your answers to a great deal of my worries and concerns. I have a question for you:
Do I have the right to refuse treatment and if so what if anything can be done to stop me or is there a legal requirement by my HIV doctor to report that I have stopped attending clinic and am no longer on treatment thanks
Answer
Thank you for your question.
No-one can force you to take treatment. However, if you do stop treatment having started it you will become very sick very quickly and you will die. If your doctor is worried that you are making this decision because you are ‘not of sound mind’ or if they feel you are putting others at risk of infection, particularly if you get resistance to treatment having stopped taking the meds, then there may be a chance they could try to intervene.
Having said that, it is your choice to take treatment, or not to take it as the case may be. If you have valid reasons why you do not want to take it and you fully understand the consequences then your doctor cannot legally force you to take it.
What is it about the treatment that makes you want to stop it? Are you experiencing any side effects? Are you finding it hard to adhere to taking the meds every day? If you would like any information on treatment side effects, alternative treatments which may have less side effects or tips on how to take your meds then please do contact us again and I can send you any information you need. Alternatively if you are having trouble with your meds you can call the free i-Base Treatment Information Phoneline Mon-Wed 12-4pm for confidential information and support.
Hi Dorinda, thanks for your post. How are you now?
Usually, if you are an adult and you are well enough to talk about your treatment, your wishes need to be respected. If you clearly refuse treatment a doctor is not able to ignore your wishes.
Is the diabetes temporary or something that will be permanent? This might affect what you want to do now.
Your choices about challenging what happened will depend on which country you are in – because there might be different laws and rights. Every hospital should have a ways to give feedback, comments and complaints. Speaking to someone who manages patient rights at your hospital is a good place to start.
It is also worth talking to the doctor, perhaps with a friend who can support you.
I was recently in an E.R. hospital for a cold. But I aslo have COPD. I was not on oxygen and didn’t take steroids I only did the inhaler. Yes I was whizzing pretty good. They said I didn’t have covid-19 and that it was only a cold, the rhino.
The E.R. doc said he was admitting me and that I was going to get out on steroids. I said please don’t put me on steroids, several times to him, but I was ignored.
He did it anyways and with the first shot my blood pressure went up to 256/113, my blood sugar went up to 403, and I became diabetic, with shots of insulin every 4 hours.
Was he wrong for doing this because he made me sicker than I was.
Thank you for your advice
Hi Lily,
You can ask for another test to confirm the positive HIV result. You can read more about HIV tests here.
Hello,
I had a wound in my private parts which was so painfull that made weak and uncomfortable. I consulted a clinical officer and was tested of many diseases but none was found. At the end she refered me to another clinic where hiv was tested only to be told i am Positive. I explain to the doctor of the wound and he prescribed for me tablets for herpes soster and refered me to a gynekologist but the then gynekologist checked but it was not the herpes soster as the other doctor had concluded but the gynekologist said there was a growth where the wound was. I refused to be done an operation since it was already healing.
The wound healed. Now i don’t have anywhere painfull in my body. I have never felt sick again. I didn’t not see the reason why i should use the hiv medicine so i stopped immediately but i have never been sick for now 5 years. Not even headache or stomach problem. I haven’t reduced Weight, instead i am increasing Weight. My question is could the machines used in the Labs fake because whenever i visit the nurse they tell me the diseases is not detected. And mark you i left using the hiv medicine.
What should i do?
Thanks.
Hi Dan, thanks, the situation might be different for some other drugs, especially if you are an inpatient in hospital. Invega is a psychiatric drug and perhaps this was thought to be in your best interest, when the hospital had a duty to look after you. I am not going into the ethics for or against this as individual cases will be complex. Sometimes HIV drugs are given in similar ways, for example, to protect an infant if someone has a very high viral load and are about to give birth. In general, if you are not in hospital or prison, it is your decision to take or not take medicine.
In my experience yes they can… if you refuse medication lets say in a mental hospital setting they can get a court petition like they did to me and then you have to take the medicine till the doctor either changes it or till the court order stops. I remember being told if I don’t take the medicine they’d have to give me injections of Invaga.
Thank you,I will look further into the TDM Tests.Wondering why none of the HIV *specialist Ive seen never told me about this test?
Seems that with good labs that ive alway had, was good enough for *them to leave well enough alone.
Me,not so much…looking for more.
Thanks:)
Steve
You should only take lower doses when your doctor has tested the levels of drugs in your blood and agrees they are too high. Very few people are able to do this and usually it is as a result of problems with the liver or kidney meaning the body isn’t getting rid of the drugs quick enough. Taking a half dose when you are not certain of you blood drug levels could lead to serious resistance problems. You need a series of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Tests to know whether or not you need to reduce the doses you are taking. This is very important!
I have a friend that has been poz for 25 yrs now,5 yrs ago he started taking 1/2 dose HIV meds and labs have been better than it has been in over 15 yrs.
I have been on meds for 7 yrs now and have started dose reduction taking 3/4 dose.
I understand all the *negative facts that are stated everywhere,I also know that there is another side to that,which is fiding the *lowest dose that we can be on that still does the *job.
Are we *all the same because we have HIV?
I know for a fact we arent because people in my life take HIV meds(full dose)…
Others taking 1/2 dose…
And *several taking nothing and have doing this for over 10 yrs now and labs are not too shabby!
I think we should get to know the meds and then get to knowing what dose ml each person *really needs.
Thank you for hearing and helping us all,I just hope info I know to be true also gets heard:)
Scienece has done a lot to get us to where we are today, this is a challenging virus and 99% if not all people who are infected, would die within 20 years with the majority dying before 10 years (I read this through my research and experience, I live in South Africa). To hear people saying they will stop the medication makes me wonder if they know how serious the condition that they have is.
All you have to do is to be monitored by a doctor for potential life treatening side effects and your body will in many cases adapt to the medication and site effects will disappear as Charlotte explains.
The chances are that no one will follow you around to see if you taking your medicaton, you can even go to the clinic to collect it every month without using it. But one thing for sure, you will die in a short space of time and the death will be full of pain!