If you stop taking Aubagio (teriflunomide) suddenly, several important things can happen that affect your health and the management of multiple sclerosis (MS). Aubagio is a disease-modifying therapy designed to reduce MS relapses and slow progression by modulating the immune system. Because it works by suppressing immune activity, stopping it abruptly can lead to a rebound effect where MS symptoms worsen or relapse frequency increases. Additionally, since Aubagio has a long half-life in the body, its effects linger for weeks or months after discontinuation.
Here’s what happens if you stop Aubagio suddenly:
**1. Risk of Disease Reactivation or Relapse:**
Aubagio helps control inflammation in MS by reducing immune attacks on nerve cells. If you stop taking it without tapering or medical guidance, your immune system may become more active again quickly. This can cause new relapses—episodes of neurological symptoms like weakness, numbness, vision problems—or worsening of existing symptoms because the underlying autoimmune process is no longer suppressed.
**2. Prolonged Drug Presence Despite Stopping:**
Teriflunomide stays in your body for an extended period due to its long half-life (about 18-19 days), meaning it takes months for most of the drug to clear naturally after stopping. This means some immunosuppressive effect continues even if you have stopped taking pills daily; however, this also complicates switching therapies because residual drug levels might interact with new medications or increase infection risk.
**3. Potential Side Effects May Persist Temporarily:**
Side effects such as hair thinning, diarrhea, headache, nausea and fatigue sometimes occur with Aubagio treatment but usually improve over time once stopped. However, because teriflunomide remains in your system for weeks after cessation, these side effects may not resolve immediately upon stopping.
**4. Need for Accelerated Drug Elimination Procedures if Urgent Discontinuation Is Required:**
In cases where rapid removal is necessary—such as severe adverse reactions like liver toxicity or pregnancy—a special elimination procedure using cholestyramine or activated charcoal may be used to speed up clearance from the body within days rather than months.
**5. Increased Infection Risk During and After Treatment:**
Since Aubagio suppresses parts of your immune response to prevent MS attacks but also reduces ability to fight infections somewhat during treatment—and this suppression lingers post-discontinuation—you remain vulnerable to infections even after stopping medication abruptly.
Because abrupt discontinuation carries risks both from disease reactivation and lingering drug presence with side effects and infection susceptibility issues:
– It’s crucial never to stop Aubagio suddenly without consulting your neurologist.
– Your doctor will guide whether you need gradual tapering (though typically not required), monitoring strategies during washout periods.
– If switching therapies is planned due to inefficacy or side effects like significant hair loss or liver enzyme elevation detected on labs—this must be carefully coordinated.
– Regular blood tests are needed before stopping and during follow-up care.
– Any sudden worsening neurological symptoms after stopping should prompt immediate medical attention.
Stopping any disease-modifying therapy like Aubagio requires careful planning under medical supervision because uncontrolled MS activity can lead not only to symptom flare-ups but potentially irreversible disability progression over time if left unmanaged properly.
In summary: Abruptly halting Aubagio risks triggering increased MS relapses while leaving residual drug circulating that prolongs side effects and immunosuppression; therefore always discuss changes with healthcare providers who will tailor safe transition plans based on individual health status and treatment goals.
