http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6389977.stm

Personally I would quite happy to be 'put to sleep' if I ever got to the stage of not knowing if I was on this earth or fuller's. I would no more wish to be a burden to the tax-payer than I would to any of my relatives.

But there seems to be some kind of emotional/moral block to the idea of euthenasia even if it is the express wish of the individual concerned.

With dementia projected to affect one in three of the population, either as a sufferer or a carer perhaps it is time to have another look at the ethical stance on this question.

Most of the older people I have asked about this share my view, - mainly because they don't wish to be a burden on those who love and care for them, rather than to end their own suffering, - which they are unlikely to be aware of anyway.

You can't make informed decsions once dementia has started and so other people could never be absolutely sure that's what you meant.

Also, you couldn't be sure that someone hadn't changed their minds if they had previously expressed a desire for euthanasia prior to getting dementia.

Also there is no way of knowing what suffering is actually taking place in the latter stages because communication is very much more difficult

Euthania without total and 100% reliable consent is a nazi-like response (may as well get it in early ;) )to people with dementia.

More funding for research and carer support would be a more contructive way forward.

Have look at these (http://www.dignityindying.org.uk/) links (http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/) for more information.

I have an advance directive (living will) in place and have done for several years even though im relatively young yet. whilst euthanasia ramains against the law, you are well within your rights to refuse treatment, including artificial feeding and hydration, and in the case of mine, being fed by someone because you cant do it yourself amongst other things. the advance directive states my wishes in this respect should i no longer have the capacity to make my wishes known verbally. there is also a big grey area regarding certain drugs, mostly opiod anagesia and the consequence of adequate pain relief Vs possible side effects. this aspect is also coved in my advance directive. Dementia is included (specifically so) under the conditions I wish my directive to be applied to

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum I have a very bad spinal arthritis which means I can't move my head or really any of my spine, I also have MS and a bowel desease and had my large bowel removed.

I have told my parents and my friends that I don't want to be paralised from the neck down and they all know that I find a way to end it, I have always belived that doctors should be there to relive suffering not to just extend life, its not fair that I should be expected to live when I can't interact with people or things, and if I say this when I am in sound mind then the doctors should carry out my wishes not what the law says.

Chris

My father passed away last year from vascular dementia. Before he got really ill , he asked my mum to give him all of his medication as he didn t want to live in that way anymore. I also believe he was trying to protect us from having to make some desicions about his care. In the latter stages of dad s life we were given the choice to prolong his life with tube feeding and hydration . We chose not to . Although we believe it to be the correct descision and one dad would have taken if he was able , it was an horrific thing to go through ,and a descision we have to live with for the rest of our lives.

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum I have a very bad spinal arthritis which means I can't move my head or really any of my spine, I also have MS and a bowel desease and had my large bowel removed.

I have told my parents and my friends that I don't want to be paralised from the neck down and they all know that I find a way to end it, I have always belived that doctors should be there to relive suffering not to just extend life, its not fair that I should be expected to live when I can't interact with people or things, and if I say this when I am in sound mind then the doctors should carry out my wishes not what the law says.

Chris


welcome to the forum Chris.

sorry to hear you are having a rough time of it. I sort of understand some of the things you are going through, I was poisoned by Carbon Monoxide, and was left with neurological damage, mobility problems, and have other, multiple disabilities. (including diabetes and epilepsy)

I'm in two minds, personally about euthanasia.

I definitely feel it should be an individual's choice. (My fear is that it may be pressed on granny, or great-aunt maud, for the sake of hurrying up the inheritance, or to take away a burden the next of kin might feel)

the other half of me firmly believes "where there's life, there's hope"...

I have had many people who have said to me "oh, If i had an accident, and had to rely on a wheelchair, I'd 'do myself in'!"

I'd say to them that, as frustrating as it can be at times,relying on a wheelchair, actually I have a reasonably happy, fulfilled life. I am articulate, I manage to support, voluntarily, a charity, and natter with friends on here,

I watched my mother, paralysed, in a waking coma, with brain damage for 2 1/2 years after a brain haemmorhage, which was completely heartwrenching, and hellish, and as I understand it, not what she had asked for in her directive (after my uncle was killed in a bike smash, dying of head injuries) however, as awful as it was to see her in that condition, I did not want to see her die.

It's a bit like being caught between a rock and a hard place, I reckon!.

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum I have a very bad spinal arthritis which means I can't move my head or really any of my spine, I also have MS and a bowel desease and had my large bowel removed.

I have told my parents and my friends that I don't want to be paralised from the neck down and they all know that I find a way to end it, I have always belived that doctors should be there to relive suffering not to just extend life, its not fair that I should be expected to live when I can't interact with people or things, and if I say this when I am in sound mind then the doctors should carry out my wishes not what the law says.

Chris

Welcome to the forum.

I totally agree with you - I think we should all have the right to choose to end our lives if they become unendurable.

Problem is, lots of people see this as the thin end of the wedge, the thick end being that some people could be pressurised into a decision to suit the convenience of others, who don't want to be burdened with them.

I watched my mother die of cancer, suffering agony, and if the doctor hadn't given her a morphine overdose, I sincerely hope I would have found the courage to end the pain for her. I felt so relieved when she died, I wouldn't leave a dog alive in that condition, it seemed so wrong it can happen to people.

Such a hard subject to find an answer to. I don't think there will ever be the right one.

LibertyBells point about consent is a tough one to answer.
If I said I would rather be dead if I ever got 'taken down' by dementia, who's to say that I wouldn't have some happiness in my dementia?

Personally I think I feel like a lot of people, I don't want to be a burden on anyone. And I certainly don't want people to be responsible for keeping me financially.

It's a serious and interesting topic, and hopefully in this section it won't be trolled by sillyness.

I'm trying to make sure it won't ;)

My husband and I look after his dad, who suffers with frontal lobe dementia. I know for certain that had this illness been predicted then my father in law would have committed suicide. Now it is more the family that suffer to a certain extent, by that I mean he sees himself has the only sane person at his daycentre. therefore he does not see himself as ill in any way. We are the ones witnessing the real man getting lost inside a dying mind.

I'm sole carer for my ma-in-law, who recently started with dementia - I think it's the Multi Infarct Dementia, but it hasn't been properly diagnosed yet.

It's still at the mild stage, which isn't bad considering it's her 97th birthday tomorrow! But she does get severely confused sometimes and, although it doesn't last for very long, it's scary enough to prevent me leaving her alone for long, even with her personal alarm.

I'm refusing to think too much about it at the moment, and basically just hoping she dies before it gets too much for me to cope with. At least I have support and advice from my good neighbour, whose own mum has been suffering from MID for a good few years now, so I've got some idea what to expect.

I have been looking after my father in law for about a year. He had a fall in feb 2006. It was the cause for the dementia, but we later discovered it must have been coming on for some time prior to the fall.Looking back there were signs and little things that we dissmissed as "old age" but he was 72 at this point and nowadays that isn't really old age. A year and a half later and the difference is drastic! He has deteriorated at a frightening rate and gone from physically fit and mentally very sharp to disabled both physically and mentally. He now does very little for himself and only goes out with our company. He doesn' t know his address or phone number, have any understanding of the value of money

I have been looking after my father in law for about a year. He had a fall in feb 2006. It was the cause for the dementia, but we later discovered it must have been coming on for some time prior to the fall.Looking back there were signs and little things that we dissmissed as "old age" but he was 72 at this point and nowadays that isn't really old age. A year and a half later and the difference is drastic! He has deteriorated at a frightening rate and gone from physically fit and mentally very sharp to disabled both physically and mentally. He now does very little for himself and only goes out with our company. He doesn' t know his address or phone number, have any understanding of the value of money

How much support are you getting with this Nicola? Are you managing ok, or are you finding it hard going?

I am coping for now because we are getting home care to give the meds and once every six weeks we get a rest whilst he goes to respite in a lovely place.

My current plan is to be put to sleep in a dignified manner in Switzerland with a few close friends and rellies so they know it was painless.

Should get a free return flight also cos I'll be coming back in an urn.