For the past six months, my 17 year old daughter has been omitting insulin. Neither my husband or I knew, but have recently seen every single warning sign. Now I know this is VERY harmful and can ultimately be fatal, but I do not know how to address her saying that I know and that she needs immediate help. She is a very stubborn person though and will refuse, no questions asked, to go to therapy. This is not an option for her. What can I do to help my daughter without pushing her away from us and still support her? She needs change immediately, but do I just wait until this phase is over? What do I do?

You are correct to be alarmed. Skipping insulin can be extremely dangerous. Many teenagers skip insulin as a method of controlling their weight. It’s a serious and potentially fatal form of an eating disorder. Please consider whether or not your daughter’s shot-skipping could be a result of an eating disorder.

One way to help your daughter is to let her know that you’ve noticed that she’s been struggling more recently with getting her injections, and so you’ve decided that she should take a break from this exhausting and demanding aspect of diabetes management, and you’ll give her that break by giving her all of her injections. This way, she can “take a break,” but become healthier by getting all of her insulin because you are giving it to her.

You say that she’ll refuse treatment. However, she’s a minor and so she really does not get to make that choice. She may be very angry with you, but her anger is only an expression of how overwhelmed she is with diabetes (and maybe other things, too). No parent can allow a child to make life-threatening decisions without doing something. That’s why you’re reaching out to this web site. Please get her the help she needs so that she can be safe.

JWB