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Hi Im 19 years old and I begin taking risperidone which is a atypical antipsychotic I was wondering how can I lose weight while being on the antipsychotic?
Switch to Paliperidone Palmitate or Latuda and get a lot of exercize,change your diet,more proteins and less carbs,take sugars completely out of the equation,favor green vegetables over fruits. It is normal you gained weight it is as you probably know one of the most common side effects patients taking these drugs experiment,on the long run you might even get diabetes.
It is still not clear whether the weight gain is part of the wanted effects,if it comes along with the metabolic and neurological changes triggered by a stable concentration of these molecules in your bloodstream,but you should probably complain with your doctor.Who gave you an antipsychotic without checking for eventual signs of intolerance,which show uo from the very first injection or pill,dose you take. Of course you might not feel like excercizing cause these drugs make you kind of sleepy and generally slow moving,so,I will be perfectly honest with you,there is not much you can do to lose the weight you gained so far.
Taking a dietary supplement is higly risky,such as phenylpropanolamyne,mazindol and other anorexiants,so you should ask your doctor if there are any of these drugs that do not interact badly with risperidone in one way or another,I would not set my hopes high tho.
Good luck.
Weight gain is a common side effect because it works on the receptors in the brain which manage mood through food intake. I'd stay away from any miracle cure products or anything that's an appetite suppressant and would recommend good old exercise, which has no contraindications to speak of.
If you're exercising outdoors, make sure you're wearing sunblock as sensitivity to sunlight is another side effect of this drug.
That's good. But if you are already active and are still gaining weight, you will have to either work out more often, or you could change your medication. Every person responds differently to each medication, and most people try a few different ones before they find the one that has the least side effects for them. You might want to talk to your doctor about this.
Unfortunately, as dappled said, weight gain is pretty much inevitable. I don't think a diet will be of much help, but try to limit your food intake. Also, of course you have to exercise more than others. You may want to get yourself a work out DVD, or just go for a run every morning.