As noted above, many drugs should not be stopped abruptly without the advice and supervision of a physician, especially if the medication induces dependence or if the condition they are being used to treat is potentially dangerous and likely to return once medication is stopped, such as
diabetes,
asthma,
heart conditions and many psychological or neurological conditions, like
epilepsy,
depression,
hypertension,
schizophrenia and
psychosis. The stopping of
antipsychotics in schizophrenia and psychoses needs
monitoring. The stopping of
antidepressants for example, can lead to
antidepressant discontinuation syndrome. With careful physician attention, however, medication prioritization and discontinuation can decrease costs, simplify prescription regimens, decrease risks of adverse drug events and poly-pharmacy, focus therapies where they are most effective, and prevent cost-related under-use of medications. Medication Appropriateness Tool for Comorbid Health Conditions in Dementia (
MATCH-D) warns that people with dementia are more likely to experience adverse effects, and to monitor carefully for withdrawal symptoms when ceasing medications for these people as they are both more likely to experience symptoms and less likely to be able to reliably report symptoms.
Anti-hypertensive drugs The latest evidence does not have evidence of an effect due to discontinuing vs continuing medications used for treating elevated blood pressure or prevention of heart disease in older adults on all-case mortality and incidence of heart attack. The findings are based on low quality evidence suggesting it may be safe to stop anti-hypertensive medications. However, older adults should not stop any of their medications without talking to a healthcare professional. == See also == •
Chemical dependency •
Drug detoxification •
Drug tolerance •
Hangover •
List of investigational substance-related disorder drugs •
Neonatal withdrawal •
Post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) •
Rebound effect == References ==