The knowledge base of the medical community has exponentially grown when it comes to alternatives to Loxapine. There are more options for treatment now compared to 40 years ago when Loxapine hit the market.
In a crisis situation, a drug such as Loxapine may have had its place. But after the crisis passes is perhaps the best time to carefully consider other treatment options.
Is Loxapine the only option?
Our philosophy combines principles of orthomolecular medicine, and environmental medicine in a relaxed, client-centered approach for improved natural mental health. Each client receives a uniquely tailored program to reduce or completely eliminate medication safely.
For more than 17 years Alternative to Meds Center has focused on providing documented safe and effective alternatives to Loxapine and other drug regimens. Compassionate treatment is provided within a very comfortable treatment facility that is staffed with 50 professionals working for the best outcomes for our clients and their mental wellness. This may be an opportunity to find out more about drug-free options in mental health treatment and consider other strategies that may better suit your goals and current situation.
15 Years Experience by Professionals Who Understand Your Journey.
Alternative medicine encompasses a wide range of treatments supported by decades of clinical evidence for safety and efficacy. Pharmaceutical-based treatments often come to the market after a few weeks or months of clinical testing.
Where “mainstream” or allopathic medicine has largely become a symptom-management drug-based approach to health, natural medicine aims to encourage and support the body’s own healing mechanisms to engage and do the heavy lifting. Natural medicine is not intended to be a quick fix. It enables a healing process that may focus on many points that an individual may need to correct and rebalance. Several branches of natural medicine are used at Alternative to Meds Center to improve mental health naturally, without primary reliance on medication.1-4
Alternatives to Loxapine at Alternative to Meds Center
The following are some of the therapeutic options used as alternatives to loxapine at Alternative to Meds Center. More information follows below the list.
Alternatives to Loxapine at Alternative to Meds Center include:
Loxapine is a generic antipsychotic medication that has been used for nearly 50 years. It was FDA approved to manage (quickly subdue) symptoms of aggression, acute agitation, psychosis, and mania. These symptoms are frequently associated with schizophrenia, and with what is termed bipolar 1 episodes of psychosis. The drugmaker reported that 90% of the 3.2 million schizophrenia patients in the US exhibit agitation in their lifetime. Expressed in those terms, this usage gives Loxapine the potential for a very large market share.
All antipsychotics are primarily used to quell agitation, and this can be life-saving in a crisis. However, one cannot assign antipsychotic medication any capacity to fix underlying causes for such symptoms. In fact, their adverse effects (AEs) especially after long-term use may worsen the patient’s initial condition, and these AEs can become irreversible. Clinical research has demonstrated that natural alternatives to Loxapine may be a better choice for long-term health.7
Loxapine comes in capsules, oral concentrate, injectable form, and a hand-held inhaler for the aerosol (powder) version. Due to increased deaths, it is not approved for elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis. Drug manufacturers and the FDA have conceded that the exact mechanism of action of Loxapine is unknown.5,6
Orthomolecular Medicine as an Alternative to Loxapine
When a crisis erupts, such as uncontrollable aggression or psychosis, antipsychotic medication is considered a humane and fast option. However, mental health treatment involves more than such temporal needs. Over half of all Norwegian patients surveyed in a 2019 study said they would prefer a drug-free treatment plan if one were available. Drug-free treatment programs have been offered throughout Norway’s medical system since 2016.4
Orthomolecular medicine is used extensively in the field of mental health in some countries, where naturally occurring substances are used to correct vitamin and mineral deficiencies, as well as deficits in other essential nutrients vital to human health, including mental health. Correction of the diet is another important part of orthomolecular treatment. A low-carb diet rich in omega-3 oils and adequate protein, fresh fruits and vegetables is recommended. Avoiding sugars, and saturated fats have also been found therapeutic in treating schizophrenia and associated symptoms.27
A review published in the World Journal of Psychiatry showed that 19 out of 25 studies found one or multiple mental health improvements in patients suffering from schizophrenia were directly associated with a corrected diet alone.8
Natural substances have been extensively used for decades in orthomolecular medicine. In the treatment of schizophrenia-related symptoms, a large review of clinical research published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease reported positive results from many such substances. Some of those found helpful were Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs, ginkgo Biloba, and vitamin B6.19
Other orthomolecular research demonstrates natural substances can reverse symptoms of schizophrenia in a matter of weeks, such as vitamin C, niacin, and omega-3 fatty acids, taken regularly. The entire spectrum of vitamin B including folate (B9) in particular and vitamin D have also been shown helpful in treating psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia.20,21,26
Support Gut Health — A Practical Alternative to Loxapine
The gut is commonly referred to as “the second brain,” because of its enormous importance to mental wellness. Medical researchers have long suspected that gut health has something to do with mental health, but studies were few and conclusions were ambiguous. A brand new review published in the 2022 Journal of Microorganisms has found significant associations between the state of the gut microbiota and symptoms associated with psychosis, schizophrenia, depression, and others.22
Keeping your gut healthy is part of a drug-free strategy to support both physical and mental health. Adding fermented foods. adequate fiber and probiotics in the daily diet are good strategies for gut health, which in turn can reduce and even prevent symptoms associated with mental disorders.23,24
Exercise as a Drug-Free Mental Health Therapy
Exercise as a therapeutic intervention was examined in the same body of research mentioned above that also showed its beneficial effects on cognition, quality of life, and reduction of both positive and negative symptoms of psychosis in schizophrenia patients, including those who were previously treatment-resistant. Exercise has demonstrated improvements in schizophrenia patients in many other research projects as well. For instance, one study showed that exercise improved both positive and negative symptoms as well as hippocampal plasticity in the brain. As a response to a 12-week aerobic and weight-bearing exercise program, researchers found increased hippocampal volume and other benefits in schizophrenia patients such as improved quality of life, improved cognitive ability, better cardiovascular health, weight loss, improved mood, and other improvements.8-11
Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong — Effective Alternatives to Loxapine
Yoga has been around for thousands of years. In the past decades, therapeutic yoga has been closely studied in clinical trials and shown to be beneficial for general symptoms of depression. But when tested specifically in schizophrenia patients, their quality of life scores improved even more compared to the benefits of aerobic exercise. Yoga was found to have a stabilizing effect on recovering schizophrenia patients in the trial. Researchers also found that telomerase activity increased by 43% as an after-effect of 3 weekly yoga sessions.13
Similar results were found for Tai Chi and Qi Gong in studies published in the Journal of Psychiatric Clinicians in 2013. The mindfulness aspect of these exercises was associated with many positive changes, including improved sleep and mood, described as being equal to or better than medication, relaxation exercises, and cognitive behavioral counseling.14
If a drug could supply all those benefits, who would say NO?
Unfortunately, there is no drug that can. But thankfully, drug-free alternatives can and do deliver these remarkable benefits every day at Alternative to Meds Center.
Toxic Causes of Mental Health Symptoms
Testing for toxic accumulations, including heavy metals, in the body, is a fundamental pillar of treatment at Alternative to Meds Center. Suicidal ideation is high in countries where toxic chemical exposure is rampant. These are important data, and should NOT be overlooked.
It has been well established that the intricate biochemistry and neurochemistry of the human body can be disrupted and injured by toxic exposures. We are bombarded daily with chemicals in the home and workplace, toxic cleaning products, neurotoxic food additives, flame retardants, pesticides, flavor enhancers in processed foods, particulates in the air, and other exposures. Neurotoxic injury is commonly overlooked in assessing psychiatric symptoms.
The good news is that neurotoxic injury such as dementia or cognitive dysfunction is potentially reversible, according to clinical research. Neurotoxin removal can then provide much in the way of relief, through cleansing methods including IV treatments, the use of sauna, oral chelation protocols, nebulized glutathione treatment, and other methods to deep-clean toxic residues from the body.12,15-18
Addressing Root Causes
Natural alternatives to loxapine or other medications are a practical approach to mental wellness. For centuries, mental illnesses have been beset by a lack of understanding, leading to many dead ends in treatment. A car mechanic doesn’t add experimental concoctions to the fuel tank and then wait to see what happens. A good mechanic looks under the hood to see what is there that shouldn’t be there, and what is not there that should be there, finds out when the problems started, uses diagnostic testing, and by finding the root causes, works to actually locate and correct the sources of the problem.
That’s a rough analogy but fits well enough. A series of lab tests, interviews, and other assessments can reveal many valuable pieces of information that can lead to treatment strategies to correct the problems that are manifesting. A pathway to improvement can emerge clearly provided there is enough information to work with.
Using CBT and other personal and peer counseling, helpful types of interventions can emerge to address non-biological aspects of mental wellness. Providing a safe, social atmosphere for recovery is highly beneficial and is proven to help stabilize a person who is recovering from trauma and stress of many types and origins.25
While a prescription of loxapine or other sedating agents may be necessary for a dire crisis, a holistic approach to symptoms and chronic conditions requires observation, information, and a series of practical strategies that can actually locate and address the contributing factors. The holistic approach is comprehensive. That is what gets results in treatment.
The Good News at Alternative to Meds Center
You are invited to call us to find out more details about programs we offer that use alternatives to loxapine for therapeutic benefit. We realize that not every person will be able to entirely eliminate antipsychotic medication, but most can benefit from reduction or cessation if alternative medicine and other drug-free therapies are adequately applied, to enable and support the process safely. Our clients’ success speaks for itself. Please call us today and find out more.
13. Vancampfort D, Vansteelandt K, Scheewe T, Probst M, Knapen J, De Herdt A, De Hert M. Yoga in schizophrenia: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2012 Jul;126(1):12-20. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2012.01865.x. Epub 2012 Apr 6. PMID: 22486714. [cited 2022 Nov 3]
15. Genuis SJ. Toxic causes of mental illness are overlooked. Neurotoxicology. 2008 Nov;29(6):1147-9. doi: 10.1016/j.neuro.2008.06.005. Epub 2008 Jun 24. PMID: 18621076. [cited 2022 Nov 3]
16. Rajkumar V, Lee VR, Gupta V. Heavy Metal Toxicity. 2022 Sep 18. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan–. PMID: 32809755. [cited 2022 Nov 3]
17. Harmer B, Lee S, Duong TVH, Saadabadi A. Suicidal Ideation. 2022 May 18. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan–. PMID: 33351435. [cited 2022 Nov 3]
22. Tsamakis K, Galinaki S, Alevyzakis E, Hortis I, Tsiptsios D, Kollintza E, Kympouropoulos S, Triantafyllou K, Smyrnis N, Rizos E. Gut Microbiome: A Brief Review on Its Role in Schizophrenia and First Episode of Psychosis. Microorganisms. 2022 May 29;10(6):1121. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms10061121. PMID: 35744639; PMCID: PMC9227193. [cited 2022 Nov 3]
Originally Published November 3, 2022 by Diane Ridaeus
This content has been reviewed and approved by a licensed physician.
Dr. Samuel Lee
Dr. Samuel Lee is a board-certified psychiatrist, specializing in a spiritually-based mental health discipline and integrative approaches. He graduated with an MD at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and did a residency in psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. He has also been an inpatient adult psychiatrist at Kaweah Delta Mental Health Hospital and the primary attending geriatric psychiatrist at the Auerbach Inpatient Psychiatric Jewish Home Hospital. In addition, he served as the general adult outpatient psychiatrist at Kaiser Permanente. He is board-certified in psychiatry and neurology and has a B.A. Magna Cum Laude in Religion from Pacific Union College. His specialty is in natural healing techniques that promote the body’s innate ability to heal itself.
Diane is an avid supporter and researcher of natural mental health strategies. Diane received her medical writing and science communication certification through Stanford University and has published over 3 million words on the topics of holistic health, addiction, recovery, and alternative medicine. She has proudly worked with the Alternative to Meds Center since its inception and is grateful for the opportunity to help the founding members develop this world-class center that has helped so many thousands regain natural mental health.
Medical Disclaimer: Nothing on this Website is intended to be taken as medical advice. The information provided on the website is intended to encourage, not replace, direct patient-health professional relationships. Always consult with your doctor before altering your medications. Adding nutritional supplements may alter the effect of medication. Any medication changes should be done only after proper evaluation and under medical supervision.
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Orthomolecular medicine
Orthomolecular medicine is used extensively in the field of mental health in some countries, where naturally occurring substances are used to correct vitamin and mineral deficiencies, as well as deficits in other essential nutrients vital to human health, including mental health. Correction of the diet is another important part of orthomolecular treatment. A low-carb diet rich in omega-3 oils and adequate protein, fresh fruits and vegetables is recommended. Avoiding sugars, and saturated fats have also been found therapeutic in treating schizophrenia and associated symptoms.27
The gut is commonly referred to as “the second brain,” because of its enormous importance to mental wellness. Medical researchers have long suspected that gut health has something to do with mental health, but studies were few and conclusions were ambiguous. A brand new review published in the 2022 Journal of Microorganisms has found significant associations between the state of the gut microbiota and symptoms associated with psychosis, schizophrenia, depression, and others.22
A good mechanic looks under the hood to see what is there that shouldn’t be there, and what is not there that should be there, finds out when the problems started, uses diagnostic testing, and by finding the root causes, works to actually locate and correct the sources of the problem.
