Going off meds is 81-year-old’s choice

I’m 81. Since my last hospital stay I’ve been on blood pressure medication. My doctor believes in 120/80. A non-joiner and without friends, I’m a net nut. I’ve read that higher BP helps the aged with cognition and balance; low BP adversely affects vision. I’ve also discovered that going off BP medication increases probability of death by cardiac event, but reduces deaths from falls. I’ve told my doctor I’d like to go off the meds, but he’s not sympathetic. I’m not suicidal, but not afraid of death. I’ve had more joy in my life than any three other people, so am quite ready to go. Ethically, is it OK to go off the drug? How can I tell the family?

I am not qualified to offer medical advice. I could go on the internet and do research, but you’re 15 years ahead of me in that project. So what follows comes strictly from an ethical perspective.

Let’s start with the basic principle that you — not your doctor, not the hospital, not your family — YOU are ultimately responsible for your own health. Lots of other people may offer advice, support or even direct intervention (with your permission), but at the end of the day, your health is your responsibility.

Your doctor’s job is to help you stay healthy. Based on experience, education, and perhaps the marketing of Big Pharma, he has suggested that you take a drug to lower your blood pressure. But remember: a prescription is not “doctor’s orders;” doctors can issue orders to nurses and other health care professionals, but not to mentally competent adult patients. A prescription merely gives you permission to purchase the drug your doctor is suggesting.

The decision as to whether you take the drug is entirely yours, as is responsibility for the consequences of not doing so.

Ethically, there is an imperative to make that decision based on more than emotion. You’ve done your homework. I hope you’ve consulted more than Wikipedia, but it sounds like you’ve gone into this pretty thoroughly. You’re of sound mind, obviously! You sure don’t sound depressed. And you’re clear about how you want to manage your health.

Another ethical consideration is this. Taking the drug might lengthen your life. But not taking it won’t shorten your life. You’ll live as long as Mother Nature ordains, and that’s a decision you’re ethically competent to make.

You don’t need your doctor’s permission, but do tell him your decision. As for telling your family, I wouldn’t. Someone will likely try to bully you — the young are very good at telling the old how to live

Think of your life as a strip of elastic; ethically, there are issues with artificially snipping off the end, but none of us is required to stretch it out if we choose not to.

You don’t need your doctor’s permission, but do tell him your decision.

As for telling your family, that, too, is your call. But I wouldn’t do it. You’ll get them upset for no good reason, and if they’re like most families, at least one member will try to bully you into doing what you don’t want to. The young, I’ve discovered, are remarkably good at telling the old how to live.

You’re 81, entering the last few scenes of a wonderful drama. You know how you want to play those. Send your questions to star.ethics@yahoo.ca