Patients Refusing Medications First and foremost, it is within a patient's right to refuse medication. Rarely are there exceptions to this rule. A court can order medication for a person, but even then, there are guidelines to forcing medication into someone's body. Reasons Patients May Refuse Medication - Medications that are used to treat paranoia can be very tricky to work with. You have a patient that may have serious delusions; the patient may feel as though they are being conspired against, as if you are trying to poison them. Think for a moment, it you were kidnapped and held against your will, and the kidnappers offered you pills, would you take them? That is most likely exactly how the patient suffering from paranoia feels. You may tell them the pills will make it better; however they may not believe that at all. It would have to be pretty difficult to hold out a hand and take pills from someone you think is attempting to kill you. - Many medications can simply make you sick. They may be designed to cure what sickness the patient is suffering from; however, some can make them feel so nauseous and cause vomiting and diarrhea to the point the patient refuses the medication, - You may have heard a patient say a medication made them feel loopy, well that may be very accurate. There are many medications that can put the mind into a somewhat altered state. A patient may feel as if they are not themselves. One patient said she was terrified of insects her entire life, and yet when put on a psychotropic medication, she didn't acknowledge the fear. According to her, she didn't acknowledge anything. She wasn't sad, nor happy, she was just blah, did nothing matter. She stopped the meds and refused to accept anymore, she felt it made her a different person. This is understandable, you may want a pill to help with depression, but you don't want to feel as if you've lost your identity. Very few people are anxious to consume medication that changes who they are. Related: What are the risk of Obesity? What are the Treatments? -
There are some people that do not like to take medication. This primarily happens in the male’s population; however, it can occur with either. In some cases, taking medication is like torture and the patient has no intentions of taking the drug, even if they are told it's essential.