A guide to refusing medication inpatient, 1st draft.

In 1979, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit established in Rogers v. Okin that a competent patient committed to a psychiatric hospital has the right to refuse treatment in non-emergency situations. The case of Rennie v. Klein established that an involuntarily committed individual has a constitutional right to refuse psychotropic medication without a court order. Rogers v. Okin established the patient's right to make treatment decisions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Involuntary_treatment


They come at you with threats of injection but they need a court order and leave that part out and leave out alot of stuff including your rights.

Anyone with anything to add about dealing with the situation of being coerced to take pills inpatient please add it to this thread so we can put together a guide of some sort.

I got very upset when this injection threat was made at me but continued to refuse, I had to, they prescribed more drugs than I could handle and self preservation kicked in. No one told me about the need and difficulty in getting a court order for a person that is reasonably intelligent and INFORMED.

What I am thinking now is the most important thing is to remain calm in the situation and not behave in any way the could call an "emergency" when the injection threat is made.

This is just a rough draft thread to gather information, ideas and experiences.

Help find good links if you can too.

Looks like a guide was written a little already,

The Right to Refuse Treatment

It may seem odd that a person can be involuntarily admitted, or “committed,” to a hospital and then refuse treatment. But the right to refuse treatment is also fundamental to the legal requirements for psychiatric treatment.

Someone who enters a hospital voluntarily and shows no imminent risk of danger to self or others may express the right to refuse treatment by stating he or she wants to leave the hospital. But a person admitted involuntarily, due to danger to self or others, cannot leave, at least not right away. However, despite having the authority to keep the patient in the hospital, the professional staff cannot treat the person against his or her will, except by court order.

The concept of a right to refuse treatment was built on basic rights to privacy, equal protection under the law, and due process. In other words, involuntarily hospitalized patients still have a right to decide what happens to their bodies.

Read more http://careforyourmind.org/the-right-to-treatment-and-the-right-to-refuse-treatment/

It says nothing about the coercion , threats and other nastiness that goes on though.

Here is their guide for treating psychosis with disabling drugs "medication".



From this web page http://www.currentpsychiatry.com/home/a ... 02f88.html


So that is what they are trained to do. We know how it works the scribble down some assesment then move on to the one size fits all brain disabling drugs.

And look at this from that web page.


"Initial psychiatric stabilization

Agitation is diagnostically unspecific but can occur in patients with psychosis. Psychotic patients can become unpredictably and impulsively aggressive and assaultive. Rapid intervention is necessary to minimize risk of bodily harm to the patient and those around the patient. Physicians often must make quick interventions based on limited clinical information. It is important to recognize early signs and symptoms of agitation, including:

Restlessness (pacing, fidgeting, hand wringing, fist clenching, posturing) "


I made that mistake, I went voluntarily to the hospital but the "process" including the dehumanizing strip search and not being allowed to smoke all added to the nervous breakdown and alcohol withdrawal I was seeking help for all caused this "agitation".

I was not agitated till I was mistreated by them. When I first went to the ER I was calm thinking I would be alright, drinking would no longer help with the anxiety I was feeling and of course was causing it after doing it all day long for over a week straight. I was calm from the start and sober but in withdrawal looking forward to getting help with detoxification and back on the right path.

I got though the intake and first day with out any emergency treatment forced drugging.

It was 2 days in when I was already feeling better, had slept and started eating when they came at me with the one size fits all threats of injection and the state hospital to try and coerce the four drug cocktail of Haldol , 800 mg seroquel, trileptal and cogentin that I was refusing all of exept about 100 mg of seroquel to get to sleep. I remember biting the 200 mg tablet in half taking one half and giving the other half back to them along with refusing the other stuff. I thought they were civilized people.

After the threat of injection came my way I was restlessness (pacing, fidgeting, hand wringing, fist clenching, posturing)...

They just said they would use violence against me to inject me with those nasty drugs that affect my heart rate, breathing, ability to think stay awake and cause all kinds of horrendous effects. Well so would that massive dose of pills Haldol , 800 mg Seroquel, Trileptal ... I continued to refuse but was very agitated again and scared

I noticed on my medical records they placed me on "assault precautions" I did make threats, I said you people better think about how you are treating me cause eventually I am going to be outside on the street with you on even ground... Thats the employee parking lot out back right ? It was horrible to be so abused I felt I needed to act that way but no way was I ingesting and feeling the effects of that massive drug cocktail on my body and mind OR risking my health by doing so. I was a self defense threat I guess.


None of this needed to happen , if I knew what I know now I could have just said don't waste your time with the injection and state hospital threats, I am an informed patient and know you people make that empty threat at everyone who doesn't like your pills and I know you need a court order and I get legal counsel so STFU I am going back to my room to chill after I tell a few other people their rights and how to exercise them. Have a nice day.

This guide to drug refusal needs more work but knowing the injection threat is very difficult for them to carry out should help with the other thing that is very important , staying calm in the face of all this.


Still waiting for input from others.

I guess what I can add to this is that a few years before the hospitalization I wrote of above, before I was also inpatient due to Clonopin withdrawal and they came at me with the injection state hospital threat then too right from the start. All I said was I didn't want brain disabling Abilify or anything else on the list of "choices" I just wanted Clonopin or Xanax. I was pretty much a willing pill taker back then , had not yet discovered the truth about psychiatry but I did call that human rights patient advocate number I saw near or on the patient bill of rights and they did call the hospital doctors and inform them I had called.

I tried calling that number during my final hospitalization that was years later in another state but no one answered just got a leave a message prompt .


This thread needs more information about using that resource. As I said I was still into taking pills in hopes of getting rid of that anxiety insomnia, anxiety insomnia I didn't see was actually made worse by all the pills at the time.

It was the final hospitalization I caused by foolishly drinking where I put up the fight against psychiatric drugging cause there was no way in hell I was going back to all that keep you sick massive drugging after being free of it for about 2 years and life was so much better.

Psychiatry is such bull $#%^, I can't believe I let those clowns keep me sick for so long. I had no idea, I thought doctors were honorable people. Nothing in my life before that taught me to watch out and the truth about psychiatry was not online all that much yet.

Is a very complex matter. Im not in US but in the west none the less.

I was also in alcohol rehab, but the funny thing is that I was deemed completely sane by the psych evaluating me. NO - NONE - ZERO indication at that time. It was as if drinking and then seeking treatment was seen as SANE. Very weird.

I want to share how these people think. I have a contact who tries to agitate me by staring me into my eyes(basically agressive behaviour), talking about my anxiety. She is trying to provoke a reaction. This woman believes in all kind of superstitous stuff, or a least is trying to sell it to poor mentally ill people. Its very bad behaviour to stare people down. Im trying to keep calm, and so far it has worked. Try to remain calm, at all costs.

I must say, that number one priority is to look at your surrounding family and friends and idenitfying abusive people there.Most psychiatrists are too lazy or downright mean, to question what these people mghts say about you.

Have a nice day

I hope that I am okay in posting this here, but while I have a feeling that not everyone follows the guidelines for psych meds (and yes, I won't use them unless it's an absolute necessity, and it hasn't been), but I kind of found this: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/294416-treatment

Now they are considered "Considerations". Sadly, I think, that most of them don't take 'consideration', and tend to just say "Whatever works to get them out of my hair!"

If they were actually followed, and the guidelines were to be followed, then I am sure they could be useful, however, it's sadly been the age of pushing pills and caretakers get off easy by doing less.

Please note, that this does NOT reflect any point that I think that all people who take up this field are bad, but just that our world of people have become so lazy, as they don't care about the people they actually take care of anymore, thus, basically, forcing people with issues, to try to keep themselves in check, when there is not proper treatment being provided.

They emphasize "stressors". I made it very clear which people in my life was stressors. I didnt matter. They twisted it around and accused me of being a liability to this person. I should have been less eager to share my problems and kept it to myself. Sadly, that is my experience.

"stop that fuc**** crying" - quote on of the nurses on the ward to a very sad patient/prisoner of doctors