(doctor) How do you refuse treatment?!

(doctor) How do you refuse treatment?

I go to the doctor to get help with my diabetes but I always end up in these frustrating situations of refusing treatment. Flu shots, painkillers, cholesterol meds, like that. I live in California. Doesn't a patient have a right to refuse without being hassled? Can you be kicked out of an HMO or other program for NOT taking their pills? Thanks.

3 months ago
Clarification: I go to the doctor to get help with athlete injuries and montoring blood sugar control which I take very seriously. I am shocked at how many of you are so critical, shunning and pro allopathic meds in the alternative med section. Wow! LOL Thanks to those that were helpful.

I am "fortunate" in that I am allergic to so many things that I simply CAN'T TAKE THAT KIND OF STUFF and I scare most doctors...

I have not been kicked out of any health-care insurance plans; however, I have told many, many times "we don't pay for _______" (fill in the blank with whatever)

You have the right to refuse. I don't think your doctor intends to hassle you as much as the doctor wants to make certain he is protected from being sued in the event that something serious happened to you as a result. At least in Alabama, the doctor could have made a serious error if they didn't discuss all of the possible problems with Refusal of Recommended Treatment.

Here are my thoughts

(1) continue to see a "traditional medicine doctor" so that you can recieve needed blood tests, equipment for your diabetes, so forth & so on.... tell your doctor that you aren't comfortable with with the suggested medicine & thank him/her for the suggestion & tell them you are looking for better options.

(2) talk to your local health food store. Not the GNC type but the small mom-n-pop stores that sell food products as well as supplements and sponsor classes on wellness. They usually see an alternative medicine doctor themselves & know a few that they can refer you to. I use Golden Temple (in Bham AL) and have found the 2 owners to have had lots of wonderful advise and great suggestions. Bear in mind that the medical care practitioner will not be covered by your insurance & you will need to pay out-of-pocket

(3) some HMO or other insurance programs will kick out of the managment programs.. by that I mean that I have asthma... my health insurance provider enrolled me in an asthma management program & the nurses that I spoke to had many wonderful ideas that had to do with control of the problem instead of medicines to treat the problems. However, I simply wasn't able to take the perscribed medicines... even after several tries of several different medicines.... I was then advised by the insurance company that I would no longer qualify for the asthma management program due to my not taking perscribed medicines (I am guessing the Pharmaceutical Companies footed the bill for the employees & other costs of the program).... you may find that to be true with your diabetes

(4) read books... read all of the books you can get your hands on from your local health food stores about the topics that are of concern to you. Start with Nutritional Changes... as what goes litterly does come out in one form or another

(5) Cherries... I litterally LIVE on them!!!! A doctor from Pakistan is the one who suggested these to me for joint inflamation/pain... & they worked. 12 raw cherries = 1 700mg anaprox in terms of the effects. He also told me to add more onion (in my case lightly cooked) to help control my asthma. FlaxSeed... buy it whole & grind it up as you use it (1 tlsp daily). Avacodo... at least 2 a week (helps to protect or rebuild the parasympathetic nervous system... it takes alot of wear from pain).... Change any & all oils to GrapeSeed or Extra Virgin Olive Oil.... eat only Home-made peanut butter (grind your own with a little grapseed oil and unsalted, roasted peanuts.. no sugar)... ditch all sugar & synthetic sweetners and replace with Xylital (do this slowly as it can cause loose stool if not given time for the body to adapt)

Wow...there is so much he taught me... and it was individualized to my healthcare needs... the ones I have listed above would pertain to anyone (except maybe the onion for asthma)

My health has improved DRAMATICALLY with his advise & help along with the advise and help of the few doctors who aren't afraid of me....

For me these changes weren't rapid improvements..... but as an example, Sauted Onion (3 small onions per week in Winter & Summer and 6 per week in Spring & Fall) as a preventative measure for asthma.... has kept me out of the ER for 3 years now