You may experience complications when you stop taking medication on your own

Some chronic diseases require long-term drug treatment to stabilize symptoms, but for some reason, the patient's voluntary discontinuation of the drug will cause many complications. Quitting taking medication can make the symptoms worse, potentially affecting the patient's health, even life.

1.1 Medicines to treat high blood pressure Antihypertensive drugs for patients with high blood pressure help stabilize blood pressure. Commonly used drugs such as ACE inhibitors (coversyl, enalapril...); calcium channel blockers (Amlodipine...); beta-blockers (propranolol...); angiotensin II receptor blockers (losartan; telmisartan...) these blood pressure drugs can be taken for life, so do not stop taking them on your own.
If you suddenly stop taking blood pressure medication, it will cause your blood pressure to spike, which is very dangerous. Sudden increase in blood pressure, the vessel wall is easily broken due to the weaker vessel wall, unable to withstand the sudden increase in blood pressure, this is the cause of bleeding and other life-threatening complications of the patient. patient.
In addition, if the patient stops taking blood pressure medication, it will cause blood pressure to rise again and lead to many dangerous complications of hypertension such as myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, peripheral artery disease. ..
1.2 Antidepressants Patients with depression are often prescribed tricyclic antidepressants (nortriptyline, clomipramine) or other groups. The stability of the patient while taking the drug helps the depressed patient to enjoy life more, sleep better and have more positive thoughts. However, if you are being treated and suddenly stop taking the drug, it will make the patient's mental state worse, untreated depression makes the patient worse. labour. Therefore, it is very important to maintain medication on time and follow-up visits.

1.3 Thyroid medications Thyroid disease includes hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) or hypothyroidism (reduced thyroid function). For each case, it is necessary to use different drugs, but in any case, do not arbitrarily stop using the drug without the consent of the treating doctor.
Discontinuing antithyroid drugs in the treatment of hyperthyroidism can cause a number of consequences such as: Thyroid storm This is a condition in which thyroid hormone is released into the bloodstream causing a variety of symptoms dangerous to the patient's life requiring emergency treatment; Increased heart rate due to increased thyroid hormone; tired people; weight loss...
Discontinuation of thyroid hormone medication in the treatment of hypothyroidism reduces the amount of thyroid hormone causing decreased heart rate, fatigue, loss of appetite; weight gain; sexual dysfunction, memory problems, depression...
1.4 Epileptic drugs When taking anti-epileptic drugs such as carbamazepine, if you suddenly stop taking them, you will be at risk. muscle will immediately have a seizure. This is often due to the patient's subjectivity, when the symptoms disappear, they immediately stop taking the drug. This is very dangerous, making it more difficult to control seizures, especially when patients subjectively think that they won't have a seizure anymore, but when traveling by means of transport or in dangerous places, they may have a seizure. Seizures immediately lead to the risk of accidents affecting the patient's life.
Therefore, do not stop taking antiepileptic drugs on your own and always be aware that seizures can occur at any time.
1.5 Aspirin For people with a history of cardiovascular disease or stroke, the risk of blood clot formation is prescribed aspirin. Low-dose aspirin prevents the risk of blood clots, at this dose aspirin has no anti-inflammatory effect.
Patients should not stop using aspirin at the indicated dose for cardiovascular diseases, so the risk of acute cardiovascular events, especially myocardial infarction or recurrent cerebral infarction may occur. out when the drug is stopped.
1.6 Anti-inflammatory steroids When taking high doses of corticosteroids or using them for a long time, it is necessary to gradually reduce the dose before stopping completely, to help the body adapt gradually and not suddenly stop. Because this drug is essentially a hormone secreted by the adrenal gland, so if you are taking a high dose or for a long time, your body is adapting to that dose in your blood, if you stop suddenly, your body cannot adapt. lead to the very dangerous cushing syndrome.
Therefore, before stopping the drug, it is necessary to reduce the dose slowly so that the body can adapt and excrete the necessary amount of hormones for the body.
1.7 Antibiotics Currently, with a high risk of drug resistance due to many reasons, indiscriminate use of antibiotics is a cause of drug resistance. This is very dangerous for future drug use.
When suffering from bacterial infections, doctors usually prescribe antibiotics for 5 to 14 days with the aim of treating and killing all bacteria. But when taking about 2 to 3 days, the symptoms are gone, then immediately stop the drug.
This can lead to bacteria that have not been completely destroyed, mutate themselves to become resistant to antibiotics, and when they flare up again, it is difficult to respond to previously used antibiotics.

To limit side effects caused by abrupt discontinuation of the drug and to be safer when taking the drug, the patient should:
Follow the doctor's instructions on the dose and duration of the drug. Do not arbitrarily prolong the duration of taking the drug or suddenly stop taking the drug or increase or decrease the dose without consulting the treating doctor. before stopping taking the drug. When taking and after stopping taking the drug, if you see any disturbances or unusual reactions in the body, you should consult your doctor immediately. When you are taking a medicine to treat a disease and if you read the warning information about that drug and feel that it may be dangerous, you should not stop taking it halfway, but should wait for the decision of the treating doctor. Because when choosing a drug, the doctor has to weigh the benefits and risks of the drug. Not taking the medicine exactly as prescribed or stopping suddenly without consulting a doctor, in some cases, can lead to unforeseen complications. So do not be subjective or feel troublesome but stop taking the drug yourself to lead to unnecessary complications.
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