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Risperidone Alternatives

Last Updated on January 8, 2024 by Carol Gillette

Alternative to Meds Editorial Team
Medically Reviewed by Dr Samuel Lee MD

Alternative to Meds Center seeks to provide information that may help anyone searching for risperidone alternatives instead of a lifetime of taking heavy medication.

Antipsychotics like risperidone may have been correctly prescribed for a crisis situation but a lifetime of medication may not be necessary or warranted. For many, there can be … there ARE better options.

Does Your Diagnosis Require Risperidone?


successful risperidone alternatives
For 15 years Alternative to Meds Center has assisted clients with antipsychotic withdrawal and antipsychotic alternative treatments. The success of our clients has been collected over time, making our published evidence regarding our clients’ successful outcomes recommended reading. If you ever wondered whether your caregivers missed underlying issues or misdiagnosed you completely, you are not alone. Medical case studies have documented these occurrences in striking detail, especially with misdiagnoses of schizophrenia.3 And, a study published in the 2021 Annals of General Psychiatry showed that in a cohort of 309 patients, a majority of schizoaffective disorders were misdiagnosed, in fact, 3 out of 4.7 There could be less toxic ways to resolve unwanted symptoms that could be preferable to continuing neuroleptic medications for the rest of one’s life. We have exciting information to share with you on the subject!
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Alternatives to Risperidone:  Long-Term Use Outcomes

holistic risperidone alternativesOver time, atypical antipsychotics develop several notable changing characteristics. One is that the drug stops working. Another is that risperidone may produce side effects that are very difficult to endure, and in some cases, may even become irreversible. (see Tardive Dyskinesia, below) Taking this type of medication may cause a person to feel driven to seek other ways to find stimulation.

A person’s choices when in a desperate mode may not be health-positive, such as craving cigarettes, recreational drugs, alcohol, or engaging in other behaviors that may put the person at risk. Alternatives to risperidone can help create a better pathway in treatment, without these negative outcomes often linked to antipsychotic medications, especially in consideration of many long-term studies on these phenomena.11

Alternatives to risperidone include:
  • Strategic diet changes can be a powerful tool for mental health with a focus on high nutritive values, amino acids, and elimination of refined carbs and sugars.6,13,16
  • Choose organic, unprocessed foods where possible to avoid toxic cumulative effects. Unprocessed, raw fruits and vegetables are associated with overall better mental health.24
  • Nature therapy, forest bathing, and experiencing nature are effective sources of calming symptom relief.9
  • Mindfulness meditation can bring about positive changes in mood, behavior, and improved well-being.10
  • Supplements have shown efficacy in reduction of symptoms in schizophrenia including essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids,13 ashwagandha, and ginkgo Biloba.12
  • CBT* (cognitive-behavioral and other forms of talk therapy) 13
  • Art, music, and other creative and recreational therapies.14
  • Physical exercise.15
  • Avoid stimulants, recreational marijuana, caffeine from energy drinks, and excessive coffee intake, all of which are linked to worsened psychosis symptoms.17,18,19
  • Test for and remove toxic accumulations from the body including mercury, lead, cadmium, and other substances linked to schizophrenia and other mental health conditions.20-23
  • Support a healthy robust gut microbiome with fermented foods, yogurt, and probiotics. A functioning gut microbiome plays a key role in the production and distribution of essential regulatory hormones and neurotransmitters necessary for mental health.25,26,27

*CBT has been well studied and found beneficial in patients with symptoms of schizophrenia.

Risperidone Mechanism of Action

Drug manufacturers market risperidone under various brand names like Risperdal©, Consta©, Quicklets©, etc., all of which share similar powerful properties. All drugs, including antipsychotics, operate much like a set of locks and keys to open, close, imitate, or influence certain nerve pathways and other regulatory mechanisms in the body. Complex domino effects are initiated, and alter how natural chemicals such as dopamine or serotonin, etc., are either distributed or blocked along the central nervous system (CNS) channels. When a drug such as risperidone blocks dopamine, the result is a blunting of sensations such as reward or pleasure. Researchers think that risperidone influences not only dopamine but also serotonin and adrenaline receptors. In the case of psychosis, this can sedate a person in a state of over-excitement or mania or quieten some hallucinatory characteristics that are associated with schizophrenia, or with agitated states of psychosis.1

Tardive Dyskinesia Risks

Drugs such as risperidone can cause movement disorders like tardive dyskinesia, etc., especially over long-term use. Long-term antipsychotic use may lead to seeking risperidone alternatives to reduce such risks and to successfully avoid a lifetime of heavy medication.2,5

Treating the Root Cause Instead of Masking Unwanted Symptoms

finding & treating root causesAlternative to Meds Center has designed its programs on some simple but often overlooked principles. These principles make treatment with risperidone alternatives successful. One of the basic foundations of all treatment at the center is seeking to discover the reason(s) why a symptom or set of symptoms emerged in the first place. For example, masking the pain of a broken leg with opiates won’t set the bone. Similarly, medicating a person is sometimes considered necessary, but has no curative potential. Where the person is reacting to a toxic burden combined with past trauma, risperidone may numb the symptoms (at least for a time) but won’t address the toxic burden or relieve the past trauma burden. Purging toxicity from the system can help prevent the original problems from resurfacing. Counseling and initiating lifestyle changes can be extremely helpful as a part of relieving emotional fallout from past trauma. These are some examples of treating root causes, instead of only masking unwanted symptoms.

Misdiagnosis After Drug-Induced Psychosis

Not uncommonly, physicians may have prescribed antipsychotics after an episode of drug-induced psychosis, the attending doctor having labeled the person as suffering from a mental illness.8 Tragically, that may not have helped the person to find real and lasting relief that risperidone alternatives may be able to help provide.

Getting Off Antipsychotics Like Risperidone Does Not Need To Be Harsh…

Treatment no longer needs to subject risperidone users to the harsh symptoms of risperidone withdrawal. We have developed many clinically proven methods that allow side effects and symptoms to fade away. Alternative to Meds Center provides fresh, new ways to start feeling good again, and be more fully engaged in life without suffering from risperidone side effects and risperidone withdrawals. There are risperidone alternatives that can help.

Orthomolecular Medicine

vitamin supplements essential for recoveryAnother basic principle used at the center is found in orthomolecular medicine. This entails giving the body the nutrients it needs for optimal operation. Our clinicians perform lab tests to determine what nutrients are depleted. Then the clinical team designs the program needed to restore them. This important program aspect can create significant changes for the better in emotional and physical well-being.

As a note, the presence of toxins can block nutrient absorption. Toxins can include things like dental amalgam mercury, pesticide residues, past drug metabolites, and many other examples. Coal and other mining operations are linked with both physical and mental health erosion in both workers and the surrounding population.28 As a result, psychiatric issues occur at a higher rate than in non-exposed areas. These diverse examples of how one can become toxically compromised provided good reasons why we chose a holistic, multi-pronged approach to mental health treatment, and alternatives to medication as the only solution. Each individual brings forth their own unique history and profile. Pretreatment interviews and assessments help plan the pathway that can lead to bettered natural mental health in clinically proven, well-researched, safe, and effective ways.4

Alternatives to Risperidone May Provide Hope

Perhaps you or a loved one has experienced unsatisfactory results after being prescribed antipsychotic medication. There may have been several hospitalizations and other experiences that were not able to help. It is possible to better one’s state of health using natural methods instead of tying oneself to a prescription that one is not comfortable with.

Highly Trained Clinicians and Medical Staff

professional holistic detox sedona drug rehabAlternative to Meds Center has a full roster of highly trained medical staff, clinicians, and caregivers to ensure that each person receives the highest level of care possible. Our programs are inpatient with 24/7 oversight and management in a nurturing, compassionate setting. You can view the many services offered in-patient at the center on our services overview pages. You can find out more about neurotoxin removal, neurotransmitter rehabilitation, therapeutic massage, nebulized glutathione, Equine-assisted therapy, yoga, Qi Gong, IV + NAD therapy, colon hydrotherapy, and much more.

Whether your goal is to taper risperidone fully or reduce dosage levels safely, we are able to provide the best facilities in the world to help you to accomplish the task. Our clients enjoy a beautiful and non-toxic environment that we designed to support recovery. The center has provided help to thousands of clients over the past 17 years with an extremely high success rate.

Alternative to Meds Center invites you to call and find out more about the services and programs that are offered at the center. The center staff creates a program that is as unique as each person and their reasons for wanting treatment are. We provide excellence and efficacy in risperidone alternatives, demonstrated by Alternative to Meds center’s remarkable successes for our clients each and every day.

1 (800) 301-3753 for Risperidone Alternatives Help

Sources:

1. Ito H, Takano H, Takahashi H, Arakawa R, Miyoshi M, Kodaka F, Okumura M, Otsuka T, Suhara T. Effects of the antipsychotic risperidone on dopamine synthesis in human brain measured by positron emission tomography with L-[beta-11C]DOPA: a stabilizing effect for dopaminergic neurotransmission? J Neurosci. 2009 Oct 28;29(43):13730-4. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4172-09.2009. PMID: 19864585; PMCID: PMC6665007. [cited 2022 June 28]

2. “Risperidone” information guide published online by NAMI [cited 2022 June 28]

3. Duwe BV, Turetsky BI. Misdiagnosis of schizophrenia in a patient with psychotic symptoms. Neuropsychiatry Neuropsychol Behav Neurol. 2002 Dec;15(4):252-60. PMID: 12464752. [cited 2022 June 28]

4. Orisakwe O.E. “The Role of lead and cadmium in psychiatry” NIMH, North American Journal of Medical Sciences, published online 2014 Aug 2014 [cited 2022 June 28]

5. Cornett E, et al., “Medication-induced Tardive Dyskinesia: A Review and Update.” Ochsner Journal, published online 2017 Summer PMID 28638290 [cited 2022 June 28]

6. Aucoin M, LaChance L, Clouthier SN, Cooley K. Dietary modification in the treatment of schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A systematic review. World J Psychiatry. 2020 Aug 19;10(8):187-201. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v10.i8.187. PMID: 32874956; PMCID: PMC7439299. [cited 2022 June 28]

7. Ayano, G., Demelash, S., yohannes, Z. et al. Misdiagnosis, detection rate, and associated factors of severe psychiatric disorders in specialized psychiatry centers in Ethiopia. Ann Gen Psychiatry 20, 10 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12991-021-00333-7 [cited 2022 June 28]

8. Bacon A, Granholm E, Withers N. Substance-Induced Psychosis. Semin Clin Neuropsychiatry. 1998 Jan;3(1):70-79. PMID: 10085193. [cited 2022 June 28]

9. Li Q. Effets des forêts et des bains de forêt (shinrin-yoku) sur la santé humaine : une revue de la littérature [Effect of forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) on human health: A review of the literature]. Sante Publique. 2019 May 13;S1(HS):135-143. French. doi: 10.3917/spub.190.0135. PMID: 31210473. [cited 2022 June 28]

10. Keng SL, Smoski MJ, Robins CJ. Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: a review of empirical studies. Clin Psychol Rev. 2011;31(6):1041-1056. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2011.04.006 [cited 2022 June 28]

11. Goff DC, Falkai P, Fleischhacker WW, Girgis RR, Kahn RM, Uchida H, Zhao J, Lieberman JA. The Long-Term Effects of Antipsychotic Medication on Clinical Course in Schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry. 2017 Sep 1;174(9):840-849. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.16091016. Epub 2017 May 5. Erratum in: Am J Psychiatry. 2017 Aug 1;174(8):805. PMID: 28472900. [cited 2022 June 28]

12. Sarris J. Herbal medicines in the treatment of psychiatric disorders: 10-year updated review. Phytother Res. 2018 Jul;32(7):1147-1162. doi: 10.1002/ptr.6055. Epub 2018 Mar 25. PMID: 29575228. [cited 2022 June 28]

13. Morrison AK. Cognitive behavior therapy for people with schizophrenia. Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2009;6(12):32-39. [cited 2022 June 28]

14. Choi J, Taylor B, Fiszdon J, et al. 31.1 COMBINING EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY, RECREATIONAL THERAPY, VIRTUAL REALITY GAMING TECHNOLOGY, AND PSYCHOSOCIAL REHABILITATION TO PROMOTE PHYSICAL EXERCISE IN SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS. Schizophr Bull. 2019;45(Suppl 2):S139-S140. doi:10.1093/schbul/sbz022.127 [cited 2022 June 28]

15. Girdler SJ, Confino JE, Woesner ME. Exercise as a Treatment for Schizophrenia: A Review. Psychopharmacol Bull. 2019;49(1):56-69.[cited 2022 June 28]

16. Włodarczyk A, Wiglusz MS, Cubała WJ. Ketogenic diet for schizophrenia: Nutritional approach to antipsychotic treatment. Med Hypotheses. 2018 Sep;118:74-77. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2018.06.022. Epub 2018 Jun 20. PMID: 30037619. [cited 2022 June 28]

17. Hedges DW, Woon FL, Hoopes SP. Caffeine-induced psychosis. CNS Spectr. 2009 Mar;14(3):127-9. doi: 10.1017/s1092852900020101. PMID: 19407709. [cited 2022 June 28]

18. Hasan A, von Keller R, Friemel CM, Hall W, Schneider M, Koethe D, Leweke FM, Strube W, Hoch E. Cannabis use and psychosis: a review of reviews. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2020 Jun;270(4):403-412. doi: 10.1007/s00406-019-01068-z. Epub 2019 Sep 28. PMID: 31563981. [cited 2022 June 28]

19. Curran C, Byrappa N, McBride A. Stimulant psychosis: systematic review. Br J Psychiatry. 2004 Sep;185:196-204. doi: 10.1192/bjp.185.3.196. PMID: 15339823. [cited 2022 June 28]

20. Environmental Exposures and Depression: Biological Mechanisms and Epidemiological Evidence Annual Review of Public Health Vol. 40:239-259 (Volume publication date April 2019) First published as a Review in Advance on 2019 Jan 11 [cited 2022 June 28]

21. Collaborative on Mental Health and the Environment Mental Health and Environmental Exposures from the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative, November 2008. [cited 2022 June 28]

22. Arinola G, Idonije B, Akinlade K, Ihenyen O. Essential trace metals and heavy metals in newly diagnosed schizophrenic patients and those on anti-psychotic medication. J Res Med Sci. 2010 Sep;15(5):245-9. PMID: 21526091; PMCID: PMC3082825. [cited 2022 June 28]

23. Orisakwe OE. The role of lead and cadmium in psychiatry. N Am J Med Sci. 2014;6(8):370-376. doi:10.4103/1947-2714.139283 [cited 2022 June 28]

24. Brookie KL, Best GI, Conner TS. Intake of Raw Fruits and Vegetables Is Associated With Better Mental Health Than Intake of Processed Fruits and Vegetables. Front Psychol. 2018 Apr 10;9:487. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00487. PMID: 29692750; PMCID: PMC5902672. [cited 2022 June 28]

25. Järbrink-Sehgal E, Andreasson A. The gut microbiota and mental health in adults. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2020 Jun;62:102-114. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2020.01.016. Epub 2020 Mar 9. PMID: 32163822. [cited 2022 June 28]

26. Golofast B, Vales K. The connection between microbiome and schizophrenia. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2020 Jan;108:712-731. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.011. Epub 2019 Dec 9. PMID: 31821833. [cited 2022 June 28]

27. Munawar N, Ahsan K, Muhammad K, Ahmad A, Anwar MA, Shah I, Al Ameri AK, Al Mughairbi F. Hidden Role of Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis in Schizophrenia: Antipsychotics or Psychobiotics as Therapeutics? Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Jul 18;22(14):7671. doi: 10.3390/ijms22147671. PMID: 34299291; PMCID: PMC8307070. [cited 2022 June 28]

28. Drew Harris, Timothy McMurry, Amanda Caughron, et al., Characterization of Mental Illness Among US Coal Miners JAMA Research Letter May 25, 2021 [cited 2022 June 28]

Originally Published Feb 24, 2020 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.

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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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