Dwarka diabetologist with 24 years of experience warns not to treat diabetes or high BP treatment like it's just fever

Often, patients start feeling better and assume diabetes and high BP are temporary, and they stop meds when symptoms ease, but that's a mistake, Dr Arora said.

Do you believe that medication for chronic diseases can be stopped once symptoms subside, or health markers temporarily normalise? Then, you should avoid making this mistake. In an August 3 Instagram video, Dr Brijmohan Arora, a diabetologist with over 24 years of experience, who practices in Dwarka, New Delhi, shared advice regarding the long-term management of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Dr Arora pointed out a frequent and dangerous misconception among patients who treat these conditions like temporary acute illnesses – they often assume that medication functions like a treatment for a fever or urinary tract infection, which can be discontinued once symptoms disappear or markers normalise.

Chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure require long-term management. Stopping medication without consulting a doctor can lead to serious complications, (Pixaby/Representational Image)

‘This mistake should not be made’

Dr Arora said in the video he posted in Hindi: “Many times patients take medicine and they feel that diabetes and high BP (blood pressure) are like a fever, and when it comes under control a little, they stop (the medication). This mistake should not be made.”

He explained in his caption that most patients think the treatment for high BP or diabetes works like a course of medicine for a cold, fever, or a urinary tract infection: “Most patients think diabetes or high BP treatment works like fever, cold, or a urinary infection — 'Numbers normal → Stop medicine'. But diabetes and hypertension are not short-term illnesses.”

These chronic metabolic diseases silently damage

He shared that these are chronic metabolic diseases that cause silent, progressive damage to vital organs and systems, including:

• Heart

• Kidney

• Eyes

• Nerves

• Blood vessels

Dr Arora warned that patients must avoid the mistake of discontinuing their treatment simply because their health markers have temporarily stabilised, and highlighted the difference between managing chronic disease and treating acute ailments. He warned that abruptly discontinuing treatment simply because health markers have stabilised is one of the top reasons he sees patients land with devastating complications, such as:

• Heart attack

• Stroke

• Kidney failure

• Loss of vision

He added: “Please don’t do this to your body. If your numbers are 'normal,' it simply means the treatment is working — not that the disease has vanished.”

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This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.