When I first got to the Alternative to Meds Center I was really excited to be here. When I got here I had been clean off Oxycontin for a week, and I felt better but still very drained. I could not wait to start the neurotoxin removal program and I wanted to feel better. After doing treatment for a couple of days I started to notice a difference in the amount of energy I had and I was able to more activities, including running faster on the elliptical machine everyday. I was starting to be able to run faster, not get tired, and actually have more energy after running than I did when I first started.

Same goes for the , the first week when I got out, I was sleepy and drained but as time went on, I had more energy at the end of the day,  and would be able to shower, go for a hike, go to class, etc. without feeling tired! I loved the amount of energy I had and how much sleep I was getting as well as how healthy I felt and how healthy I was eating. I had noticed a dramatic difference in everything about myself after doing the program for one week, especially once I realized what re-stims actually were, that they could be memories of past drug use. The whole first week of detox I was getting flashbacks every day, all day, and I couldn’t stop thinking about doing 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 removal of neurotoxins 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 neurotoxin removal 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!

My name is Roni L.  I have suffered from bulimia and alcoholism since the age of 13.  I used alcohol as a way to escape from my memories of past abuse.  At the beginning, bulimia was a way for me to lose weight for sports.  Soon, I noticed that I was drinking two fifths of booze to get through the day.  Then, I was binging and purging four or five times a day to handle my self-hatred.

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 Supplement and detox 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.

I came to ATMC after being at another treatment center.  When I arrived I felt worthless and unfixable.  I have been a cutter since the age of six; I was also suffering from bulimia.  I have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety disorder, PTSD, as well as bipolar two disorder.  I had been taking various medications since the age of six.  While here I discovered that I could fix the way I had always felt by adding supplements and not medications.  I learned that I was lacking endorphins, serotonin, as well as GABA.  After about two weeks I began to notice a change in my thinking as well as my feelings. I told my dad that I seemed to be in a funk I did not know what was wrong with me; I was not depressed or anxious, manic or self-loathing.  At this point my father told me “Well you feel normal.” What a concept for the first time in my life I felt normal.  I only wish others could know how this feels not worrying about any side effects and truly being comfortable with whom they are.  It was scary to start this process but now that I am done I am so glad that my other treatment center sent me here.  I have all the confidence that I can live a normal life and that I can continue to live and love myself.  I truly hope others can gain this knowledge and find ATMC in order to make their lives better.

Roni L
Age 31

The detox has been hard but worth it, and while I am going to have chronic pain forever, the limited amount of pain medication that I am on allows me to dull the pain and not dull the rest of me, my emotions, my memory, my personality, etc. I am more like my old self than I have been for a long time. I have become much more alert and alive, my brain has awakened and my thoughts have much more clarity, almost as though the fog has lifted. I am returning to my former, feisty self. I feel healthier, waking in the mornings brighter and in a more positive frame of mind and much more organized with a definitive attitude as to what needs to be achieved on a day to day basis.

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 heavy metal removal, 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.

It took me a year and a half to taper off of benzodiazepines on my own. I had two more drugs to go but my resolve to keep going was fading fast. I became aware of Alternative to Meds Center and felt that it was a thread of hope. It seemed impossible that I could get off Buspirone and Zoloft in just four weeks, but it was worth a try. I was drug free in two weeks. Amazing. It would have taken me 14 months on my own. They gave me my life back sooner than I could have ever dreamed. I will always be grateful to ATMC.

Robin Anderson

Mary will be finally going home from Alternative to Meds Center (ATMC) this Thursday, Sept 17.   She has been there 2 months.  She initially went there to help her get off the antidepressant Zoloft.  She had been taking Zoloft for 16 years and her health had gotten worse over the years.  She has been trying to get off Zoloft for 5 years but has never been able to do it on her own.  ATM was able to get her off Zoloft in about 3 weeks.  They were able to determine that she had lead toxicity and also that her digestive system was unhealthy due to years of taking aspirin and antibiotics as a child.  IV amino acid drips helped her to get off Zoloft and heal her digestive system, and IV chelation therapy helped her to get the lead out of her system.  We think that the lead came from the lead water pipes in our Grandparents house we used to live in Vermont.  So there were a few issues going on.

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

My teen-age daughter was forcibly incarcerated in a mental facility and placed on psych drugs. I witnessed those drugs very much change her for the worse.

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.

Subject: Testimony of Greg West regarding Alternative to Meds Results

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 chelation 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 heavy metal removal 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 detox 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 detox 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.

Well I came into this program with a lot of HOPE and I gave it 110 percent and it all worked out. I was doing a lot of oxycontin like 5 to 800mgs a day so I had some work to do. I honestly was pretty skeptical of the whole program when I first started I detox, I kept an open mind, listened to my instructors, Jimmy, Cassie and Amanda and it all paid off. Some of the wins that I had were amazing. I’m a musician so my songwriting came back to me in full force after about 15 days and everything was sounding the best it’s ever sounded even all doped up, when songwriting is supposed to be the “Best”! My sex drive hit about 6 days in and whoa—my lady showed up about 3 days after that and I’m pretty sure she was happy to have the old me back! I have always been a good father but since after day 2 or 3 of the program I had this overwhelming urge to go home and be the best. My son is at a point where he really looks up to me; 13 and I just really want to show him how to be a good solid man.

I really didn’t know if that strong craving for oxy would ever leave my brain. Every morning for the first 3 ½ weeks it felt like a part of my brain was missing. The cravings are way down and my brain came back. So—yeah, I’m a believer in this program, the supplements, the nutrition are a huge factor in feeling good. I came to ATMC weighing 245 and now I’m at 219 and feel much better. Our chef, Maurice, really has this program down pat. He has given me the tools to take home also so my family can live a healthier, less weighed down life. Along with nutrition comes exercise, and I think this is the biggest key to feeling good.

So, basically, thank all of you guys for getting me back into fighting shape and for helping me get that huge monkey off my back. I don’t ever wanna be dope sick again and I think that alone is enough to keep my ass away from the devil “Oxycontin.”

In the beginning, I was angry all the time. I was told several times that I needed to fix my attitude, by several different people. I was punching walls, and wanted to run away. But the staff and my family made me stay, whether or not I liked how they did it or not, today I am SO happy to say I have finished the chelation program.

From day two things started turning on. I had done a program before, so I knew with my more recent drug history it would be a little harder this time. I’ve had some amazing, mind blowing wins, and it kills me to see other clients not working the program, and taking as much as they can out of it.

I am proud to say I am a completely different person today then I have been, for at least a year. I don’t sweat the little things anymore, and I love the people who have supported me.

My age, and being so young has made this a rather interesting process, since I’m in the house with most people at least double my age. I’m seventeen. And I am proud to say I have gotten my life on track, and won’t go astray later in life, and if I do, I now have people I know I can rely on to point me in the right direction.

Not only that, now I have a really strong set of standards and personal morals I have made based on observations I’ve made from myself and other clients while I’ve been here.

I could probably go on forever about how life changing this program has been, because it really has been. However, just by looking at me I’m sure you could tell, I smile, giggle and laugh easily.

I am ready to move on with my life, and face the world, which is a really big accomplishment, since I nearly got kicked out of the program several times.

I’m not alone in saying I wasn’t sure this day would ever come, but I am SO happy and honestly proud of myself that it has.