Tyler77Senior Contributor
Medication OVER objection...
People with my illness are notoriously known to have poor compliance when it comes to treatment. Often, when released from the hospital, we pick and choose which medications to use, sometimes chosing none at all. This often results in destablization and rehospitalization. When admitted, you lose your rights to leave on your own accord. It is either the doctor who must say your safe to be released back into general pop, or sometimes it comes down to a judicial decision. Anyone in the hospital can call for "legal services" to help get them out of the hospital. But this often results in a courtroom hearing. The burden of proof rests with you and your attorney to prove you aree of sound mind and can see after your own affairs. Often, since the doctor is the professional in the room trained in mental ailments, the judge naturally weighs his opinion as more valuable and therefore often rules in the doctors favor. From my expierence, the whole hearing part is merely a formality, and your doomed to lose to the doctor time and time again. You can refuse medication when in the hospital, but the doctors can get a judicial ruling of medication over objection. So if it is believed you are spitting out your meds, you will recieve intermuscular injections, by force if necessary. First couple times I was in there, I fought them off believing it to be my right to declare what goes into my body, but they always win. Now, I put up no fight in the matters, because I know it will always end with me getting a needle, because they always have more people than I am capable of holding off.
Upon my most recent release, I entered into a outpatient treatment program where they come and check up on you at least once a week, at your residence. They assess you each time. Give you medication and leave. This outpatient program is court enforced. If for some reason, I do not meet up with them...if i try to avoid them, the police will get involved, track me down, take me to the hospital, and if I need a injection, I'll get one whether i want one or not. I've been in this program for 6 years now. Uncooperative and bitter at first, but now I've learned to get along.
I want to stop my shot, for multiple reasons. The first, is that it detracts from my intellectual capacity and limits my creativity when writing or making other art. The other reason is because in the time that I've been on the shot( I had 6 months off it once), I've regained 50 lbs. The only downside, is that the shot reduces greatly my paranoia and delusions. I am currently so heavy though that i think the shot is causing more harm than good and is putting me at risk for heart disease and diabetes.
I am not sure what I can do. It is up to my psychiatrist to decide my medication regime and currently it stipulates that the shot is part of it, in the court papers. I am thinking of asking her to try to give me a few months without it, to see how i do. I did that once for about 6-7 months and did quite well but ended up going back on it because the delusions and paranoia was really starting to aversely affect my life. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place here.
Whats your opinion on forcing medications on patients?
What do you think I should do?
