If you are under the age of 18, and you
disclose information to your doctor
concerning a drug addiction, are they
allowed to tell anyone? Especially your
parents?
|
nikki_caro
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 22 Aug 2003 Posts: 4921 Location: Right here at work!
Posted: 09-24-03 16:50pm
If they are concerned for your health and
you need help then I think they will
contact an authority of some sort. If
they say you smoke weed, then no. I dont
think they do. I also think they might
refer you to places like a rehab, then you
should notify your parents.
|
hmrjnh
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 26 Aug 2003 Posts: 30
Drug Addiction Posted: 10-15-03 11:41am
Christian,
you do not have to tell your doctor
anything that you don't want to.
Sometimes if you have an addiction, it is
better to get someone elses help and
opinions other than your doctor. If you
need help there are many ways of obtaining
that help. If you seriously think that
you have an addiction that you have no
control over it might be helpful for you
to look into narcotics annonomis meetings.
You can meet people at these meetings
that are in the same boat that you are in,
and can help you make decisions about your
addiction. There is a level of
confidentiality that you and your doctor
have, however as nikki stated, being a
minor they are obligated to let your
parents know if they feel that you are in
serious danger of hurting yourself. But
you may want to think about telling your
parents about your problem. If they know
now, they will be able to help you and get
you into the treatment that you need
through their insurance. They love you
and im sure they don't want to see you
hurt yourself. It isn't a good idea to
hide this from your parents. They will
only want to help you not hurt you.
I am only saying this because I have been
there. I was addicted to heroin for 8
years and I hid it from my parents and
everyone else for that matter. In the
long run I was only hurting myself and
others around me that loved me. I never
did tell my parents, it took my
exboyfriend (who was using with me) to
tell them that I needed help. I regret
not telling them sooner. If I had told
them sooner I wouldn't have lost those 8
precious years of my life that I wish I
had back.
So bottom line, if you think you have a
problem, it is best to tell someone sooner
rather than later, because you might not
live till later. God bless and please
look into na meetings, they saved my life.
I have been clean for 1 1/2 years now,
and I credit alot of my recovery to na and
aa. Take care
