Alpha-Stim
Celebrating 27 years
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US Government Federal Supply Schedule Date: August 29, 2005 “It is not possible to express in words how thankful I am to your company and Dr. Kirsch for the Alpha-Stim 100, and the incredibly positive and healing effects it has had in my life. That said, if my words might convince just one other person to try the device, who may be undecided, then I'll give it my best shot... Yours is a product that goes against the tide in our disposable culture: your Alpha-Stim 100 not only works, but it works the first time, and lasts a long time, and has incredibly broad application. I will never be without one again, and my only regret is I can’t buy ten of them to give to those several of my friends and family who each are locked in struggle with one or more issues of anxiety, depression, &/or pain. I know they would see the same kind of "get out of jail free"-card benefits that I have with this unit. I learned about Dr. Becker via his research on bone regrowth—clearly a man who has made a major contribution to medical practice across the country, as that widely recognized superior approach and subsequently was adopted by the AMA and hospitals across the country and around the world. It was that reputation that made me put aside my doubts and consider learning more about the Alpha-Stim. After years of being dependent on anti-depressants, I was becoming really weary of a “solution” which had helped me be more even-keeled and but at a price: I also felt I was under a kind of chemical blanket that left me less present for my own life and for my family. That and not being able to sleep well made me want to try the Alpha-Stim 100 as soon as I heard about it. After discussing it with my psychiatrist, we thought we’d give it a shot. Once I received the unit, I waffled a bit—I admit it—and decided just to test the basic claims about pain management or mitigation--which by themselves I found somewhat hard to believe. I wasn’t about to clip something on my ears and run a microcurrent through my brain until I had validated its effectiveness on something a little less scary, like cramped and kinked low-back muscles. I had been unsuccessfully nursing recurring back pain for more than three weeks, so I thought I’d try the Alpha-Stim on a real challenge. Running through the Pain protocol myself with the two probes--vectoring as described in your manual--in less than 60 seconds (which is roughly five different positionings of the two probes) around the pain in my back, I had to stop and think. Why the heck am I doing this, my back doesn’t really hurt. Well, it still doesn’t. And that pain is such a distant memory I’m not really sure what side of my back it was. Just to control for placebo, I tried it again a week later on a crick in my neck & shoulder I’d earned from hoisting my one-year old daughter up from the floor seventy-leven times a day. Again, within 60 seconds, I was in the same mental space of wondering why I was wasting my time with this silly device when my shoulder doesn’t really hurt at all. Phenomenal. As they say in the RonCo commercials Now How Much Would You Pay? But this doesn’t do julienne fries; it gets rid of pain without drugs. At that point it seemed idiotic to delay trying the unit on my depression. That being one of the things about depression, inertia, inability to move forward. Even to help yourself out of depression. How much this is actually worth is hard to calculate. How much is your mental health worth? How much is it worth not to be in pain? How much is it worth to your family. What are the societal costs to depression and chronic pain on an annual GDP basis? What about other "remedies" which are actually dependencies? If you’re on the fence about trying this device, I have to ask you to reflect on whether you’re just blocked by the situation you know, and the possibility of not being with the pains you are accustomed to is kind of frightening in its own way. "What would I do if I didn’t have the pain any more?" Just try it. When I began realizing what was happening as a result of using the unit, the first thing I did was laugh out loud. No veil between me and reality. Being present, happy, resilient. Feeling my feelings without getting sucked into a black hole. Just being healthy. I figured the Alpha-Stim was hopelessly overpriced when I bought it. Now I figure in a truly equitable world I’d pay thousands a year just to have it around, and with the money I saved on drugs and doctor visits, I’d spend more to give it away to others who couldn’t afford it. By the third night of using the device for the depression & anxiety protocol, I forgot to take my anti-depressant pill before going to sleep. Two weeks later I called my psychiatrist and said “we may have a winner, I’ll call you in a week.” If I had some time with Dr. Kirsch, I’d have several hundred questions to ask him about his research and this device. But my main thanks is that he toughed it out for all the years it took not only to cover the basic science but then the miniaturization, reaching an accessible price-point, and then the policy & regulatory process to make sure this device could become available to the general public. The device pays for itself a hundredfold both for my own new lease on life, but also as I see it in the faces and expressions of delighted surprise at the stable, centered, well-rested and happy husband and dad that you have given back to my family. I wish I could allow you to use my name, but in my line of work as you can understand even mentioning depression or anxiety can mean loss of possibility of promotion or employability. At some point I guess I'll stop caring about that, and then I'll write you another thank you letter. I encourage anyone in similar situation to try either of the Alpha-Stim products—with depression, the only thing you have to lose is the "bag of rocks" you’ve been hauling around. That, and no more monthly pharmacy bills. |
