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Community => Society and History => Topic started by: Askold on October 04, 2015, 02:02:00 am

Title: Mom refuses insulin treatment to 13 year old
Post by: Askold on October 04, 2015, 02:02:00 am

http://www.thejournal.ie/high-court-diabetes-insulin-injection-2365716-Oct2015/

Quote

As doctors had tried to convince the mother to allow insulin injections, she had replied: “I would rather want that my daughter dies at home than to give her insulin.”

Apparently she believes that Diabetes will "go away" if it isn't treated but giving insulin to the child would make her addicted to it.

...She is suffering from type 1 Diabetes, also known as "the lack of insulin is killing her and if she doesn't get insulin injections she will fucking die!"-disease.

(click to show/hide)

See, originally when I saw the title I just assumed that the kid has type 2 Diabetes, also known as the "AMERICAN-diabetes" where due to eating so much junk food your body is making too much insulin and has gained a tolerance to it. There are two ways to treat type 2 diabetes. a) change of lifestyle and diet that will eventually drop the insulin production low enough that the patient can survive without injections as the symptoms go away or b) extra injections of insulin to overload the body which will let you eat as much junk food and sugar as you want while treating the Diabetes.

Type 1 is a disease, which is mainly genetic, that used to kill everyone who got it before insulin injections were invented. Type 2 is mainly caused by unhealthy eating habits and although dangerous can be avoided even without injections.

But the girl is suffering from type 1. And either the mother has confused the two types or she simply doesn't understand how Diabetes works at all.

Anyway, the child ended up in a hospital via ambulance and when the mother STILL refused to allow injections the doctors did what they could to keep her alive and contacted authorities. A judge has, as a short term solution, given a court order to allow her treatment and given her a court appointed guardian until they can finish the case.

Glad to see that they were able to save her.

Title: Re: Mom refuses insulin treatment to 13 year old
Post by: lord gibbon on October 04, 2015, 02:11:32 am

And this is why we need to sign on to the rights of the child international compact. The idea of parental rights should be limited, because right now parents are allowed to harm their children like this.

Title: Re: Mom refuses insulin treatment to 13 year old
Post by: guizonde on October 04, 2015, 02:30:27 am

this is really wrong. like, dangerously wrong. harmful wrong, even. somebody needs a clue-social services to the face.

Title: Re: Mom refuses insulin treatment to 13 year old
Post by: dpareja on October 04, 2015, 04:05:27 am

Quote from: lord gibbon on October 04, 2015, 02:11:32 am

And this is why we need to sign on to the rights of the child international compact. The idea of parental rights should be limited, because right now parents are allowed to harm their children like this.

But (Article 14) then we wouldn't be able to indoctrinate our kids into religions before they're old enough to think for themselves about it! And (Article 16) we couldn't look through our kids' stuff whenever we want to!

(Actually, the US signed the Convention in 1995, they just didn't ratify it.)

Title: Re: Mom refuses insulin treatment to 13 year old
Post by: Canadian Mojo on October 04, 2015, 10:15:00 am

Quote from: askold on October 04, 2015, 02:02:00 am

Glad to see that they were able to save her.

No, she's fucked unless they pull mom right out of the picture permanently.

The girl is a minor and if the mother wants to be difficult she could cause irreparable harm with frightening speed. After the 'honeymoon period' where your pancreas is still functioning somewhat is over you are probably looking at two weeks at the high end and a maybe a few days before you would be too bed ridden to do anything to save yourself.

This of course completely ignores the far more insidious problem of simply not managing the disease well which sets the child up for problems down the road. Blindness, neuropathy, amputations, infections, injection site scar tissue (causes issues with insulin uptake -- too many bad sites and things become complicated), and a host of other fun things are the obvious physical issues. Then there are all the mental issues that somebody with support faces (stress and depression are pretty common) never mind the mental issues revolving around having your own mother essentially say "fuck you, you should be dead."

Personally, I'm inclined to cut out this woman's pancreas, hand her a glucometer and some insulin, and tell her she has to stick to her guns for about 72 hours before the choice becomes irreversible if she prohibits medical intervention.

Yes, I'm a bit of a dick.

I'm also an adult onset type 1 and know how hard this has got to be on a kid even under ideal circumstances.

Title: Re: Mom refuses insulin treatment to 13 year old
Post by: Ultimate Paragon on October 04, 2015, 10:48:04 am

Jesus Christ, this bitch makes anti-vaxxers seem like good parents!

Title: Re: Mom refuses insulin treatment to 13 year old
Post by: Askold on October 04, 2015, 12:51:10 pm

Mojo:

They took the girl away from the mother ASAP to make sure her mother's stupid beliefs don't harm her AND it seems likely that the judge will do something more permanent once the case is officially done.

Also, I am currently arguing with my wife over this case. She is a firm believer in zero-carb diets and believes that EVEN in the case of Type 1 Diabetes you can treat the disease without insulin as long as you keep away from sugar and carbs...

Yeah, we disagree over some matters of healthy diet.

Title: Re: Mom refuses insulin treatment to 13 year old
Post by: Barbarella on October 04, 2015, 01:19:20 pm

GAWD! Even with a low-carb diet, a person still needs insulin!

Mom might make more sense if this was type 2 diabetes, where the pancreas is hopelessly sluggish....but THIS kid has Type 1/"EMEGHERD! THE PANCREAS DOESN'T WORK AT ALL" diabetes....she NEEDS the insulin for life!

Some people shouldn't be parents. Every parent-to-be needs to take a test and get classes on "How to be a good parent".

Title: Re: Mom refuses insulin treatment to 13 year old
Post by: ironbite on October 04, 2015, 04:44:16 pm

THAT'S NOT HOW MEDICINE WORKS YOU STUPID BITCH!

Fucking hell insulin isn't a drug you use to get high.  It's a drug to SAVE YOUR FUCKING LIFE!  I am angry with rage!

Ironbite-fucking idiot.

Title: Re: Mom refuses insulin treatment to 13 year old
Post by: Canadian Mojo on October 04, 2015, 07:52:46 pm

Quote from: ironbite on October 04, 2015, 04:44:16 pm

THAT'S NOT HOW MEDICINE WORKS YOU STUPID BITCH!

Fucking hell insulin isn't a drug you use to get high.  It's a drug to SAVE YOUR FUCKING LIFE!  I am angry with rage!

Ironbite-fucking idiot.

<SNICKER> A mild low is remarkably like having a slight buzz so too much insulin will make you high.  ;)

For a short time, then it starts to suck.  :'(

Quote from: askold on October 04, 2015, 12:51:10 pm

Mojo:

They took the girl away from the mother ASAP to make sure her mother's stupid beliefs don't harm her AND it seems likely that the judge will do something more permanent once the case is officially done.

Also, I am currently arguing with my wife over this case. She is a firm believer in zero-carb diets and believes that EVEN in the case of Type 1 Diabetes you can treat the disease without insulin as long as you keep away from sugar and carbs...

Yeah, we disagree over some matters of healthy diet.

I know that they took the child away; I also know the danger that exists and how rapidly it can manifest itself if mom does manage to get the child back and hope the judge does too.

You can politely tell your wife for me that she is wrong. My blood sugar will continue to rise even if I don't eat anything if I don't have a baseline level of insulin in my system. Fasting is actually how you adjust your basal rates on an insulin pump. Not enough insulin and it will climb, too much and it will drop over the span of a few hours. It's never zero though. If the basal rate is dialed in correctly I can eat things without carbohydrates with impunity, but I need a base amount of insulin present in my bloodstream.

What she is suggesting has already been tried prior to the discovery of insulin. The standard treatment was to essentially starve the patient. They would last about a year. Oddly enough, the amount of time a person continues to produce insulin after getting diabetes (the honeymoon period) is also around a year. You do the math.

Her idea is not without merit for type 2's.

If she has any other questions about (type 1) diabetes I'd be happy to try and answer them.

Title: Re: Mom refuses insulin treatment to 13 year old
Post by: Barbarella on October 05, 2015, 10:26:54 am

I sometimes wonder if people like this woman, those "Just pray for all that ails ya" parents (with multiple kid deaths) and violent amateur exorcists are simply folks who want to murder while "looking innocent".