Stopping a prescription weight medicine because the coverage that paid for it has run out is your decision, and nothing below argues it either way. You can still finish it cleanly, so that the people who need to know have heard and nothing is left in the house that someone else could take.
Who needs to hear that you have stopped
Your doctor or your pharmacist needs to hear that you are stopping before you stop, and your pharmacist needs to hear once you have. Talk with your doctor or pharmacist before you stop taking any medicine your doctor prescribed, by calling the prescribing doctor's office or by speaking to the pharmacist where it was filled. Either one will do, so if you would rather not have that conversation with the prescriber, have it with the pharmacist. If the last dose has already gone, tell your pharmacist now.
A pharmacist can help you avoid things that do not mix well with your medicines, such as other medicines, supplements and foods, and a medicine you have stopped taking is one of the changes to tell your pharmacist about. Tell the pharmacist:
- that you have stopped the weight medicine
- every medicine you still use; if you use more than one pharmacy, even two branches of the same chain, tell each one
- any change to your insurance plan, policy or card, if the coverage ended because your insurance itself changed
- any allergic reaction or other problem you had with the medicine (see Reporting a side effect that has not gone away)
What happens when you stop a weight medicine
If you stop a weight medicine, you will probably regain some weight. Developing and keeping healthy eating habits and increasing physical activity may help you regain less weight or keep it off. Because obesity is a chronic disease, you may need to continue those eating and physical activity habits, and other behaviors, for years, or even a lifetime. None of them needs a prescription.
For activity, the federal recommendation is aerobic activity of moderate intensity for 150 minutes or more each week, with muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days each week, and you may need to do more than 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week to reach or maintain your weight-loss goal (see Why the same routine does less once you reach your goal weight).
How long anyone stays on a weight medicine is decided case by case. It depends on whether the drug is helping with weight loss and with keeping the weight off, and on whether there are serious side effects. If you have lost enough weight to benefit your health and are not having serious side effects, your health care professional may advise you to stay on the medication indefinitely.
What to do with the leftover box of medicine
Take the leftover box of medicine to a drug take-back location or send it off in a prepaid mail-back envelope, and get rid of it at home only if you cannot use either. A drug take-back program is the best way to dispose of most types of expired, unwanted or unused medicines, and each route works like this:
| Route | When it applies | How |
|---|---|---|
| A drug take-back location | Whenever you can get to one | Some pharmacies keep on-site collection boxes or kiosks, so start by asking the pharmacy that filled it. Your local law enforcement officials can tell you where to find a location near you, or the Drug Enforcement Administration can help you find an authorized collector in your community. |
| A prepaid mail-back envelope | Whenever you can use one | These are sold in places including retail pharmacies and online, and some pharmacies give them out at no cost. Put the unused medicine in, seal it, and mail it with the U.S. Postal Service. |
| Flushing | Only for a medicine on the FDA flush list, when no take-back option is readily available | To find out whether yours is on it, check the label or the patient information leaflet that came with it, or the list itself. |
| The household trash | For almost any medicine not on the flush list, when no take-back option is available | The four steps below. |
The household trash route covers pills, liquids, drops, patches and creams among other forms, and it runs in four steps:
- Take the medicine out of its original container.
- Stir it into something unappealing, such as cat litter, dirt or used coffee grounds. That makes it less attractive to children and pets, and unrecognizable to anyone going through the trash looking for drugs.
- Seal the mixture in something that closes, such as a resealable bag or an empty can, so it cannot leak or spill.
- Put that in your trash at home.
For a pen or a vial, read the disposal instructions that came with the prescription, or ask the pharmacist who filled it. Auto-injector pens count as sharps, and a sharp that is not in a sharps disposal container never goes in the household trash or recycling, or down the toilet. A used pen goes straight into a sharps disposal container (see Getting rid of a used needle, leftover vials and the box with your name on it).
The packaging is a separate job from the medicine. Cross out your name and every other personal detail on the empty packaging to protect your identity and privacy, then throw the packaging away.
A box kept in the house is a prescription medicine that someone else could take, and ridding your home of expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs helps prevent misuse and theft. If you think anyone else has taken some of it, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 right away, without waiting for signs of poisoning, and keep the box beside you while you talk to the poison expert; if the person is not breathing, call 911.
Whether your checkups end with the prescription
Your checkups do not end with the prescription, because none of them depends on the medicine you stopped. Preventive services include health care like screening tests, checkups and vaccines, and unlike the care you get when you are sick or managing a long-term condition, preventive care can help stop you from getting sick in the first place, or find health problems before they get worse, even before you have symptoms.
To find out which ones you are due, make an appointment with your doctor. Talking with your doctor or nurse is a great first step to getting preventive care, and they can tell you which screenings, vaccines or other services you need (see Weight care is not a checkup, so the screenings are still yours to book).
If you still have health insurance, most health insurance plans cover preventive services at no cost to you, usually without a copay or deductible. You may be charged a portion of the cost if a preventive service is not the main reason for your doctor's visit, or if you are seeing an out-of-network provider, so ask your doctor before the appointment what will be covered, or check with your insurance company.
Insurance through an employer or the Health Insurance Marketplace has to cover many preventive services under the Affordable Care Act. Depending on the plan and on factors such as age, the services available at no cost can include blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol tests, and counseling on topics such as losing weight and eating healthy. Medicaid and Medicare each cover certain preventive services at no cost as well.
If the coverage that ended was your health insurance itself, free or low-cost preventive care is still within reach:
- a community health center or clinic, which can offer affordable or even free preventive care
- your local health department, since many health departments offer free services such as flu vaccines and can suggest other free or low-cost care in your area
- a volunteer clinic, which some communities run free for people without health insurance
- your local hospital, since many hospitals hold free screening events, and its customer service or community outreach department can tell you what is available
If the prescription was written by the physician NicoCares put you in touch with, write to your care team through Spruce, the messaging app they use, and say that you have stopped, why, and whether any of the medicine is left; your pharmacist still needs to hear it as well. A message to the care team does not cancel your plan. To stop future charges, cancel by emailing [email protected] from the address on your account. Canceling does not refund a billing period that has already started or medication that has already been dispensed. A possible poisoning is never a Spruce message: if someone may have taken the leftover medicine, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222, or 911 if they are not breathing.
