Nate Frey

I have to admit that when I first started the program I was a bit skeptical because I wasn’t noticing anything and began to think it was just torture to make you not want to do drugs again. But I was unclear on one thing, re-stims could also be memories. So the whole time I thought nothing was happening in the sauna the first few days I was actually having many re-stims, thinking about times of past drug use. But when I finally realized what a re-stim could be, about nine days into the program I noticed that I hadn’t even thought about any drugs in a few days and when I tried thinking of the memories I did have, I couldn’t even remember, nor remember the feeling of getting high…they were all gone and no longer had an effect on my mind. It was amazing to see so many results at once and I was happy and grateful to be doing the program. I have been gaining increasing amounts of energy and dramatic strength in my body back. In the beginning of the program, having to run on the elliptical machine before sauna was very hard. I was running slowly because of my lack of energy and when I was done my legs felt like jello. But after a few days, as each day progressed, I could feel the difference in my energy and stamina, and by the end, I was running twice as fast and felt like I had more energy after than before I started. This is one of the most important things to me because with my strength and energy back I can do anything and nothing can hold me back. From doing the program I feel like a new person and my old self again and with a clear mind and body I now have a second chance at life to get the things I really want out of it with the energy to do so.

The sauna program seems like the only and most effective way to get the drugs and toxins out of your body. I wish everyone could do it so that more people could experience life for what it is rather than being behind the mask of drugs.

By the 9th day I hadn’t thought about drugs for a few days. It was actually working, to my surprise, even if I tried to remember anything, I couldn’t. It’s like the memories had dulled out tremendously, and they had lost value to me. This was such an amazing feeling, I felt free of all those negative thoughts, I felt a lot lighter, like a heavy weight was lifted off of me and I was finally free! I felt clearer and stronger minded than ever! Now that my mind is clear and I can actually think for myself and now that I have all my energy and strength back, I feel like a new person. I feel like a kid again, and those were the best times of my life before doing drugs. I’m really grateful for this second chance I have been given to live the happy, prosperous life me and my boyfriend have been dreaming of. I feel more open minded and I don’t have any more negative thoughts flowing through my head. The sauna really rejuvenated my body, mind, and spirit. I’ve been so happy and laughing every day, all day. Not only do I feel 100% better, but I had a good time doing it! I can’t remember anything about drugs and I don’t want to remember, and I’ve replaced those thoughts with those of my future positive goals and my new perspective on living a healthier life. I wish this program could be available to every addict because I’ve seen people go in and out of a 5 day detox or 12 step program and just keep relapsing and its sad because they don’t know all those toxins are still in their bodies.

I feel like the sauna program is the most effective way to get rid of those toxins and cravings, and I’m so grateful for having come to the Alternative to Meds Center.

Now when me and my boyfriend go home, we will have the will, mind power, and strength to say “NO” to drugs and feel good about it as well. We will finally be able to start our lives together, clean and clear minded so we can make the right decisions for our selves. We want to have kids and teach them this happy, healthy way of life so that they will never have to go through the trauma of drug addiction like we both had to. I’ve definitely learned a lot while being here and I’m definitely going to take all of the knowledge I have learned home with me and try to teach others how to live a happy, positive life and let them know they don’t need anymore “happy pills” to feel good about life; it can happen naturally.

All I can say is how grateful I am to have gotten this second chance at life and for all the support my boyfriend and I received from our families and the staff here at ATMC!

I started to go to AA mtgs. over the summer—it was great to handle the alcohol abuse but the bulimia became more severe.  Finally, I arrived at ATMC (Alternative to Meds Center).  Here, I found a reason for my behaviors and an effective method to care for myself and gain some self-esteem. Also, I was able to safely taper off of 7 psychiatric medications!

During my time at ATMC, I have been working with a nutritionist who had overcome bulimia.  She has helped by talking to me as well as doing extensive testing to see where I was nutritionally deficient.  She found that I was lacking many nutrients that could cause bulimic tendencies to continue.  I have been taking supplements to boost my neurochemistry and to improve my nutritional state.  It was much easier to stop my body from having the need to purge yet it took about 3 weeks for my emotional being to stop the negative thoughts.

The ATMC staff helps me on a daily basis.  T.J., a Chef and Estates Manager, taught me how to choose and prepare healthy alternatives in the kitchen.  Cassie, the Sauna and Supplement Supervisor, has been there for me to talk to.  She helped me deal with the pain associated with the pain and emotions of being an abuse survivor.  Isaac, the Program Director, helped me face my fears resulting in more self-confidence.  Emily and Mark have taken me to AA meetings and been there when I needed to talk.  Jason, the Course Supervisor, has taught me about the vitamins and supplements I take and how they work to rebalance my brain chemistry without the risk of side effects.  Also, I now know that proper nutrition and exercise can positively affect my overall condition and view on life!   Because the staff members have overcome similar issues they can relate to me and are always available for one on one help.

I am so happy that I came to Alternative to Meds Center—I no longer want to be “6 feet under” or to plain just disappear!  I want to live– happy and healthy!  I learned the life skills here to do just that and I am going home with the absolute confidence that I can be healthy and succeed in life!—Roni L.

Roni L
Age 31

While I have never required much sleep, I seem to be getting more rest out of the sleep I get and it seems like a more pleasant and peaceful sleep. My appetite has improved for a healthier and for a larger variety of foods that I am enjoying, to my own surprise and its wonderful enjoying food again.

My short and long term memory has improved, before the sauna program I was becoming notoriously bad at remembering the simplest things like names, phone numbers, part numbers, drawing numbers, etc (small trivial things that I use to retain without effort, my friends and co-workers call me the “library” because of my short and long term memory skills). While an erosion in memory may be acceptable to most people that are now “middle age” or have had problems with drug use, it is not acceptable for me. I have built a memory through association that allows me to recall old drawings and documents, remembering the drawing or document number, what information is in the drawing or document and usually what page the information is on that I may be looking for. I can remember hardware part numbers, diameters and lengths of items I have only used once, much like a filing cabinet of information.

Considering the advantages we have today that allow us to use the internet to search for the most trivial amount of information, I have always relied my memory to gain an edge over my competitors when being considered for a new job or when a group of engineers is being narrowed down close to the end of a project or when the companies I work for need lay off workers due to financial constraints, so a broad and expanding memory is very important to me.

I feel calmer and more relaxed. Over the past year or two I have tended to be somewhat of an angry, withdrawn, emotional “time bomb”, and while I always speak my mind and stand up for what I believe in, I find that un-angered, yet raw emotional reactions make it easier to spread my message to others, and when my mind is well adjusted those reactions flow like water. I feel like my personality is brighter and livelier and my sense of humor has improved, I laugh without reservation. My interaction with others feels less constrained and more comfortable.

Robin Anderson

Mary says that she feels so much better now, like a new woman.  So many health issues that she previous had, have just gone away.  It is really amazing the progress she has made in the short time she has been at ATM.  The doctor there told her that aspirin and antibiotics are “gut busters”.  I am just sorry that it took so very long for her to find the answer that she was looking for.  It appears that zoloft was prescribed in error, when in fact, her problems should have been solved in a different way.

Mary’s case manager told me that she has shown the most improvement of anyone who has gone through their program.  Mary told me that even the director of the program gets emotional when he talks about her success story.   She arrived in a wheel chair with a mask on, sensitive to so many scents and chemicals and so very weak.  It was hard for her to walk up to her bedroom on the 3rd floor.   She never slept well and was depressed.  Now, she is so much more healthy, with vibrant looking skin, healthy hair and eyes, able to go on walks and keep up with the others which she wasn’t able to do in the beginning.   She used to be allergic to shoes, from all the chemicals, and now, she wears shoes!  She used to be housebound, now she is not.  She has rediscovered her love of art and is painting on a daily basis now.  She goes up and down the stairs with no problem now.  She said that life is worth living now.  I just think it is so amazing.  One regret Mary has is that she wishes that Mom could see how she is now.  I think mom knows!

Ann

I have spent over 20 years professionally helping disabled individuals become employable and secure employment. I have worked with the products of our mental health system, and returned them to work. The direction the mental hospital had my daughter going was to turn her into a schizophrenic vegetable whose highest aspiration would be to possibly become a dishwasher (and whose wildest dream would be to be able to keep such a position, given negative public attitude toward the mentally ill).

With the help of the Alternative To Meds Center, my daughter is being freed from the harmful effects of the drugs she was forcibly put on, and being returned to her normal, bright self. Her aspiration, and always previously a very realistic one, is to become a nurse so as to help others. This goal will now again be obtainable, thanks to ATMC and no thanks to the drugs forced on her by the mental facility.

As an individual who has worked with the victims of our mental health systems, I would note that we are in desperate need of programs such as Alternative To Meds, and any others like it which may have the gumption to come along. This program is much more effective than the government funded programs. It is giving me back the daughter I raised, that she might be a productive citizen and not the zoned-out zombie and future state ward the government facility was turning her into. We very badly need just such effective means as offered by the Alternative To Meds Center to handle this very big problem.

Did you ever lose something and think that you would never see it again? Well, it nearly happened to me. I thought we would never see the girlfriend and wife that I marriage 20 years ago.

Tiki, my loving wife, a devoted mother and grandmother, was lost in the world of addictive prescription drugs. At times, she was nowhere near reality. She experienced anxiety, depression and was losing focus on the things that meant the most to her like family, church, friends and her job. She begged and cried for more drugs—living for the times that I would dispense them to her as she could no longer be trusted to take them herself as prescribed.

Visits to the psychiatrist were all the same. “If these (prescriptions) don’t work we will try something else or adjust the dosages.” Going without the drugs, “cold turkey” and unassisted, was not an option.

Something had to give—and it did!

God sent our close friends to the rescue with help. Our friends were experienced and understood your program called “Alternative to Meds”. Of course, I don’t need to explain the program to you, but I want to say that it was one of the blessings of our lives and it works.

It was a painful night for us when we sat Tiki down and tried to make her realize that there was no other choice for us but to try this program. She had slipped away to the point that we just told her she would leave in the morning with the friend that knew the program. Even harder, was to tell our 17-year-old son what his mother had to do. We told him if all went well we would have her back in two to three months.

I witnessed a couple of important factors that might have saved Tiki’s life. She was influenced to face the facts and motivated to do was she was told in the program. She understood she had to be willing or she would fail. Second was the experience of your staff. They knew what to do and knew what they were doing. It seemed as if Tiki was having “one on one” care. The staff became her family and caregivers every day she was there. Their concerns for her were genuine and not just a job. They showed belief and confidence in the program and produced results. Tiki is living proof of it.

She was very scared at first, but who wouldn’t be? She was in a strange place among strangers. She was away from her family, friends and comfort zone. But she learned that she was not in a “lock down” facility where they play around with different medicines and experiment with her. She had freedoms and most important she was treated graciously and with respect. We were able to talk to Tiki by phone at will enabling us to comfort and encourage her.

As time went by Tiki became more comfortable in her surroundings. She was weaned off of the prescription drugs, replacing them with natural supplements and

healthy foods. We could tell in her voice that things were changing. Of course, there were the phone calls of being lonesome and homesick, but that was a good sign. She became even more determined to finish the program and to get her life back.

I was surprised that early in the program I was able to travel to California to spend time with Tiki away from the facility. What a joy it was to see her running down the street towards me that first visit. Tears of joy streamed from her eyes. We hugged and she wouldn’t let go. I immediately knew that progress was evident and I could see a difference in Tiki after just two weeks. She was excited to show me the house, her room, friends she had made and the staff. The visit and meeting the staff re-assured me and gave me confidence that Tiki was in the right place.

The first phase of the program, the Kilation treatments, helped wean Tiki off of the prescription drugs moving her toward natural supplements. You could hear the change in her voice when talking to her on the phone. After a month, she was encouraged to start thinking about the second phase which included sauna treatments. She wanted to move forward and do the treatment on her own. In fact, she felt so good after seven weeks, she realized she was very homesick and ready to come home and see her family.

It was decided that Tiki could try home out a couple of weeks during the Thanksgiving holiday with the understanding that she would need to return afterwards for more sauna treatments and the completion of the program.

Tiki arrived home after great anticipation and the excitement of getting to see her house, her family and her friends, but you could tell after a couple of days that more treatment was needed. After four days at home she wanted to return and start the sauna program. On the fifth day she was back on the plane headed for California.

It was sure hard for us knowing that she would be gone another three to five weeks, but this time we knew it was her choice to return, unlike the first meeting when she was basically given no choice.

Let me exclaim to you now, that six weeks after returning home the second time, my wife, and love of my life, is back! The sparkle is back in her eyes, a bounce is back in her step and the laughter that filled our house has returned with Tiki. She has found her focus, confidence and a filling of being alive again. Her spirit has been rekindled and she was excited leaving 15 pounds back in California.

If you had known the Tiki that left scared to death on her way to California with a supportive friend, and the one that returned, you would not believe they were, in fact, the same person. My wife is a real success story of the Alternative to Meds Program. The dedication of your staff to their clients influenced Tiki to have the “drive” to finish your program that ultimately became a “mission” to her.

We are so blessed. But by the grace of God, many prayers and my wife’s determination to get her life back, it is done.

Many thanks to everyone who helped,

Greg, Family, Friends and especially my wife