Problems encountered when discontinuing the drug without a prescription

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When taking the drug, patients often face mild to severe side effects, which are unpleasant reactions that cause some people to suddenly stop taking the medication without telling their doctor. This can make the patient feel better, but it can also cause serious problems, even danger.

1. Why did the patient stop taking the medicine suddenly?

Patients often suddenly stop taking medication for a number of reasons such as:
Too many drugs: Many patients are prescribed more than one drug to take regularly. In fact, the more drugs prescribed, the harder it is to keep track of taking them, not to mention remembering how often and how much to take, leading to patients not taking their medications as prescribed. Serious side effects: Some medications have unpleasant or even dangerous side effects that make patients reluctant to take them. In some cases, a person should stop taking a medication that has harmful side effects, but you need to talk to your doctor to get a better prescription. Efficacy of treatment: Patients who do not notice any immediate effects from a particular drug may decide that it is not worth taking and voluntarily discontinue the drug. SEE ALSO: Should tonsillitis treatment be stopped when the child shows signs of recovery?

2. Harm of stopping taking medicine suddenly

The side effects of stopping the drug depend on the individual drug, but can include:
2.1. Worsening symptoms Some chronic conditions can be easily controlled if the patient takes the medication regularly, but can lose control if not. For example, diabetics who do not adhere to their medication are at increased risk of nerve damage, vision loss, blood vessel problems, and a host of serious, even fatal, consequences. If you feel better after taking a medicine, such as an antidepressant or an arthritis medicine, your symptoms may return when you stop taking it. Also, some conditions like hypertension and high blood cholesterol have no real symptoms at all, reducing your chances of sticking with your medication. Many people think they can stop treatment when they feel better, but this is not usually the case. Not only will your condition get worse, but you may also experience side effects from stopping the medication suddenly.
2.2. Recurrence Sometimes, medication is needed to prevent dangerous past health problems from recurring. For example, patients who have had a heart attack are often prescribed blood pressure medication. Without medication, they could have a recurrent heart attack. Therefore, patients need to strictly follow the dosage recommended by the doctor, abruptly stopping the drug, stopping halfway increases the risk of recurrence of the disease, which is very dangerous.

2.3. Adverse Drug Withdrawal Events These are adverse physiological changes caused by drug discontinuation beyond the likelihood of a return to the underlying condition for which the drug is intended to be treated. Medications that can lead to an adverse reaction on discontinuation if stopped abruptly such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, antipsychotics, Parkinson's medications, beta blockers, Clonidine, Corticosteroids , Opioids, H+ proton pump inhibitors,...
MORE: Can the drug be stopped after the asthma attack is over?

3. What should be done to limit the side effects of discontinuing the drug?

To minimize side effects when stopping the drug, patients need to take the following measures:
3.1. In the case of self-discontinuation of the drug, the patient should report to the doctor to know about unwanted side effects, the doctor will prescribe another drug or adjust the dose of the drug to the most appropriate. In fact, there are many factors that need to be considered before you stop any prescribed medication which is why it is important to talk to your doctor first.
3.2. Discuss medications with your doctor About 40% of people over 60 take at least five prescription drugs, including those they no longer need. There are many medications that only need to be taken for a short time and can be stopped if the condition improves.
3.3. Reasonable discontinuation Some medications can be stopped immediately without a special discontinuation schedule, but many require a gradual decrease in dose or frequency over a longer period of time before stopping the drug completely, often takes 2 to 6 weeks or in some cases longer. Tapering your dose gradually helps avoid unpleasant side effects that you might experience if you stop taking it quickly.

3.4. Learn about drug side effects if you suddenly stop taking them For example, suddenly stopping certain selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants prescribed to improve your mood can lead to depression. to a variety of worrisome side effects, such as anxiety, dizziness, irritability, fatigue. This is called antidepressant discontinuation syndrome. However, not everyone experiences this syndrome, only about 1/5 of patients. It's usually not dangerous and will usually subside after a few days depending on your medication, but there are ways to reduce its effects such as changing your medication or reducing the dose slowly.
Some patients want to stop taking cholesterol medications called statins due to unpleasant side effects such as muscle pain, liver damage or memory problems. But before stopping statins, talk to your doctor about side effects you're experiencing. Changing the dose, taking a different statin, or even a different cholesterol medication may be helpful to address these side effects.
Before the doctor prescribes the drug, they have to consider the drug, the dose to ensure the treatment as well as minimize the side effects for the patient. Therefore, you need to use the right dose, do not stop suddenly. If in the case of using the drug is not effective or experiencing unwanted side effects, you should contact your doctor or go to a medical center to examine and prescribe appropriate medicine.

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Reference sources: update.com, drugs.com