Top 6 Safety Tips for Stopping Your Meds

Medically reviewed by Leigh Ann Anderson, PharmD. Last updated on May 18, 2022.

Stopping your medication abruptly may not only negatively affect your condition, it can be flat out dangerous.

1. Talk to Your Doctor First

Many factors need to be considered before you stop any medication that has been prescribed for you, that’s why it is so important to talk to your doctor first.

Discontinuing a medication abruptly can often be associated with unpleasant side effects and worsening of symptoms based on your drug treatment, its chemistry profile, and how your drug is broken down (metabolized) and excreted from your body.

Ideally, talk to your doctor about how, when (and if) to stop a drug when it is first prescribed.

2. Discuss Your Medications With Your Doctor

Roughly 40 percent of people over the age of 60 take at least five prescription drugs, including medications they no longer need. Some medications -- like sleeping pills -- should only be used short-term.

• How about allergy medications that may only needed in the spring or fall?
• Did you lose those few extra pounds? If so, maybe your blood pressure has dropped back into the normal range and you don’t need as much medication to manage your high blood pressure.
• Should you continue with your stronger painkiller, or can you back down to a milder, non-addicting NSAID like ibuprofen or naproxen?

Any of these can be reasons to discontinue your medication, but only if okayed by your doctor first. You may be able to save on monthly health care costs, too. Talk with your doctor to see if any of your meds can be cut down or stopped.

3. Stop for the Right Reason

According to a report from CVS Caremark, half of patients taking maintenance medications for chronic conditions will stop taking them within the first year of starting therapy. This "non-adherence" (not sticking to your treatment plan) results in roughly a $300 million charge to health care costs per year. Non-adherence can lead to worsening of long-term health conditions, increased hospitalizations, and worse outcomes overall.

If you feel better after taking a medication, say an antidepressant or arthritis medication, your symptoms can return when you stop taking the medication. In addition, some conditions, like hypertension and high cholesterol, have no real symptoms at all, lessening the chance you’ll stick with your meds. Many people think they can stop their treatment when they feel better, but this is usually not the case. Not only will your condition worsen, you may experience side effects from abrupt medication withdrawal.

If you read or hear news from the media about your medication that is concerning to you, do not stop your medication before you speak to your healthcare provider. The news reports, including those from social media, may be unfounded, or the particular concern may not be relevant to your condition.

4. Ask Your Doctor How to Best Stop Your Medication.

Some drugs can be stopped immediately without a special discontinuation schedule, but many medications require a taper, which is a slow reduction in dose or frequency over a longer period of time. Slow tapers help to avoid disagreeable side effects or even withdrawals that you might experience if you stopped the drug quickly.

If you are stopping several medications, you may want to taper them one at a time to avoid added side effects -- always check with your doctor.

5. Learn Your Medicine Side Effects if You Quickly Stop.

For example, abruptly stopping some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressants prescribed to boost your mood -- like Paxil (paroxetine) or Zoloft (sertraline) -- can lead to a host of disturbing side effects, such as anxiety, dizziness, upset stomach, or fatigue. This is called antidepressant discontinuation syndrome. Not everyone experiences this antidepressant discontinuation syndrome, only about 1 in 5 people. It is not usually dangerous, and typically subsides in a few days depending upon your drug, but there are ways to lessen its effect.

Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome may be more common with certain antidepressants that stay in your body for a shorter period of time, although longer-acting antidepressants may cause withdrawal side effects, as well. Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome can occur with many antidepressants, not just the SSRIs.

Examples of common antidepressants that can lead to antidepressant discontinuation syndrome include:

• Cymbalta (duloxetine)
• Effexor (venlafaxine)
• Lexapro (escitalopram)
• Brisdelle, Paxil, Pexeva (paroxetine)
• Zoloft (sertraline)

Some patients want to stop taking their cholesterol medicines known as statins due to bothersome side effects like muscle pain, liver damage or memory problems. Statins include medicines like atorvastatin (Lipitor) and rosuvastatin (Crestor).

Before you stop your statin, talk to your doctor about any side effects. Many people complain of side effects with these drugs and there may be an alternative plan. A change of dosage, a different statin, or even a different type of cholesterol medication might be helpful. These drugs are important heart medications and can be life-saving by lowering cholesterol and reducing the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

6. Chart Your Discontinuation Plan

If you are started on a new medication, you should ask several questions of your doctor and record the responses for future reference, including:

• Your dose and schedule
• Your expected outcomes
• Common side effects, including if the drug is abruptly stopped
• Cost of your drug and generic availability
• How long are you are going to take the medication?

You may need to switch drugs due to side effects or lack of effectiveness. If you are switching from one medication to another in the same class, you can usually switch drugs immediately or start the new drug at a lower dose while slowly tapering off of the first drug. However, this is not always the case, so you must consult with your prescribing doctor, especially if the drugs are from different classes.

Table 1: Important Classes to Avoid Abrupt Withdrawal

Learn More: Prescription Drug FAQs

See also

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• Imprint Code FAQs - For Oral Medications
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• List of Prescription Abbreviations: What Do They Mean?
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• Top 5 Ways to Avoid Drug Errors
• Top 9 Ways to Prevent a Deadly Drug Interaction
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• What are the risks vs. benefits of medications?
• What is the half-life of a drug?
• What is the placebo effect?

Further information

Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.

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