The right to refuse medication

[Antoninus]

Does someone have the right to refuse to take medication if directed to do so by thier parents and they are under-age?

Im curious because my parents want me to start taking Zoloft for depression. Which is kind of funny because Im not really depressed anymore. I dont want to take the medication because of several reasons. One, as I mentioned before, depression is not so much a huge problem as of the last few months so it seems rather un-nessiscary(SP). Two, I do not like taking pills I dont absolutely HAVE to have. Its just...it doesnt sit well with me. Three, people I know have had bad experiences with Zoloft and its effects. A good friend of mine got SEVERE mood fluxuation when on the medication as the ammount of medication in her body changed with daily dosages. Annother friend turned into a COMPLETELY different person, his whole personality almost completely changed after being on the meds for a while.

So basically, I dont want to take the meds because I think that, at this point, they are excessive and I dont like the results that Ive seen in other people. My parents WANT me to take them because they think Im depressed. So can I refuse to take the meds, do I have that right?

[MoonKnight]

Well, from the birth date you provided in your profile your 18, not exactly under-age. So I guess you can refuse whatever you like, or dislike for that matter.

[Serendipity]

That's a good question. I'm not sure what the legal rights of a minor are in this situation (if you are a minor). If you're 18 you can tell them all to kiss your boot-eh.

I did just want to let you know, however, that I take Zoloft and I have absolutely no side effects. Medications react differently for each individual person.

[Ceres]

there isnt much they can do even if u arent 18, short of having u forcibly injected with the drug and i think that would require having u hospitalized. i would just maintain your reasons to them and doctors and refuse. lots of adults dont like to take drugs to correct psychological problems, so its not as tho you dont have valid reasons. just try to stay calm and reasonable with them and the doctor involved so you dont look out of control.
my own kids have been refusing to take medication since they were born ;) and ya know what? i found out kids dont actually NEED all those pain relievers and fever reducers and antibiotics we are all convinced are so important.

[Antoninus]

Im not 18 :doh2: I accidentally put that in my age thingy for my profile and I havent changed it back yet

I did just want to let you know, however, that I take Zoloft and I have absolutely no side effects. Medications react differently for each individual person. Yeah I figgured they wouldnt mess up EVERYBODDY, but like I said, my friend takes it and he turned into the Tasmainian Devil so it kinda put me off my stroke as far as wanting to take Zoloft goes

[Shanti]

Im not 18 :doh2: I accidentally put that in my age thingy for my profile and I havent changed it back yet

Yeah I figgured they wouldnt mess up EVERYBODDY, but like I said, my friend takes it and he turned into the Tasmainian Devil so it kinda put me off my stroke as far as wanting to take Zoloft goes
If you really are dead set against it, I dont see how they could force you other than tieing you down!

Seriously...a teen does have rights and the place to object would be with the doc prescribing them. State your reasons, do your homework as to side affects..take that with you and talk to him.
Tell him you rather do yoga or some other holistic thing!!!

[emmunite]

Depression is a difficult thing to manage....you feel fine for awhile...then boom...back down. If you are dead set against it...don't take it. But, talk to your parents as to why...investigate other methods of depression management...look into other medications that may have fewer side effects. I've been through a plethora of medications...takes awhile to get the right one. If the doc's insisting...see about finding another doc who you can relate to. Best of luck.

[CalisticSunrise]

I am not sure what under age laws are for that type of thing, but obviously a doctor will have to exmine you before prescribing it, i would talk to them about your concerns, he may agree with you... other than that i would seriously suggest if you do take something try to find something other than zoloft, that drug is very dangerous, and what you were saying about the bad side effects is very true. my uncle killed himself and the investigators said that zoloft was the main cause for him being suicidal. I hope everything goes well for you. and again if you are sure you don't want/need it talk to your doctor.

[WingedTigerChild]

I took Zoloft for about a day because as soon as I took it, my head literally felt like a bowling ball. I agree with the others. I would talk to your parents and your healthcare provider and perhaps see about a depression assessment, if you haven't yet had one.

[Valkie]

Don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet but... talk to your doctor. 1. Once you're a teenager, most doctors will ask you if you want your parents present and will fight for what they think is in your best interest. 2. there are other meds than Zoloft that may be suited better to your system/comfort level.

As far as I know, the only way that someone is able to force you to take medication is if you are in a care facility or under court order (my brother has this one and goes back to constant care if he refuses).

[Hairball]

I don't know what the laws are in California, but in Ontario, as long is the child is able to undestand the issues, the possible benefits and side effects, as well as the consequences of doing nothing, they can decide for themselves.

[Starry Di]

btw, how'd it turn out?

[StephanieAine]

My daughter was on Zoloft for a while. She really didn't want to take it; she doesn't like the idea of medication, especially medication that involves psychological/brain chemistry/emotional sorts of issues.

Once she started taking it, it wasn't a big deal at all. The only thing that seems to be pretty common - regardless of whether it's Zoloft or another kind of antidepressant - is having two or three days of feeling sleepier than usual, and then that goes away and your sleeping/sleepiness goes back to normal. (My daughter really just felt like watching TV, sort of a "rainy lazy day" sort of thing... and of course, since she was sleepy, she did some napping. And slept in late. Other than that, totally normal.)

The Zoloft ***really helped*** with the depression. She was only supposed to take it for a short time, basically to elevate her seratonin to get her out of her very deep depression - so that she'd be stable and better as far as entering her counseling and therapy. I think they originally wanted her on the Zoloft for 6 months while beginning her counseling, and then go off the Zoloft once she was progressing. As it turned out, she did have to go off of the Zoloft earlier than the doctors had wanted because she did have some side effects:

The problem was that she was having some uncomfortable breathing - which actually may have been panic attacks. They stopped the Zoloft because even though they were just about certain that she was having panic attacks and it wasn't because of the medicine, they needed to be *sure* of the cause. Obviously, they had to guess - so they decided to do the cautious thing and stop the medicine (because apparently in a very, very small percentage of the time, people report similar effects). Anytime breathing is a complaint, well, it makes sense to me!

Because she had been on the Zoloft long enough to have benefitted from it (and was already into her work with her psychologist to deal with the depression and PTSD), stopping the Zoloft wasn't a problem for her. We wished she had been able to take it a bit longer, just to be on the safe side (after all, she was dealing with very serious depression) - and the medicine really helped her. Her outlook was so much better; she was so much *clearer.* Would have been nice if she had been able to stay on for the full time period.

(Interesting thing: she did have a relapse a while after that. And the doctors initially said that if she took the Zoloft while early in counseling, they were hoping to prevent relapses from happening too soon in her recovery. They hoped she'd be emotionally stronger and more confident etc. later down the road, so if she did relapse, she'd have an easier time of overcoming it due to having a better therapeutic situation. So, I do think that the relapse she had may have been less severe if things had gone the other way.)

I know it's scary to think of taking it, and I know it seems like something you don't even want to deal with (my daughter's greatest fear was that taking medicine would somehow affect her *self* - her personality, her uniqueness, her ambition... or something along those lines. She now realizes that sometimes medicines and therapy are the way to *ensure* that you feel like yourself, that you live your life the way you really want to live it, and that you're in charge of your life - rather than having things just *happen to* you. Know what I mean?)

Not sure if any of that info is of help, but I hope that it is. Best wishes to you,
-Stephanie

[Faeawyn]

Perhaps you could talk to your doctor about prescribing a different antidepressant. I take Effexor and it changed my life. I find it so frustrating when people who suffer from anger issues or depression refuse to take medication because they're afraid it will "change" them. The whole idea is to change you......from someone who loses their temper or someone who is depressed into someone who is actually pleasant to be around, happier about who they are, and easier to get along with.
The best thing to do is to find a compromise for you and for your family. Talk to your doctor and he should help you find something.

[morrigan]

maybe you should sit down and talk to your parents as to why you dont want to take the meds.. you have some very good reasons that they should understand.
I have in the past been given zoloft and it sent me nuts.. but then i didnt need meds i just needed to get some counseling to help me deal with the loss of my mother.. that was my experience with them i'm sure there are plenty off ppl who dont have a problem with them.. now i'm no dr but i would think side effects would be more common if a person was given medication they didnt really need or were given too strong a dose.. but like i said i'm no dr so i could be way off track with that..
your best bet would be to sit down with your parents and even with your dr and discuss it and then come to a decision about it