Posted 10/6/2014 10:53 AM (GMT 0)
I would like to share my personal experience of using the alpha stim over the last 6 months. Like most people that suffer anxiety I was open to try anything that could help. On my numerous Google searches the alpha stim would often pop up in the results but I found very little information regarding its efficiency and for the price it wasn’t something I was going to buy if it was just a gimmick. A lot of forum posts seemed to only tell of a few instances of its use and either raved about the device or simply said – it makes me dizzy!! But more often than not the posts would be limited to just a small time frame – which in my opinion didn’t give enough evidence to prove success or failure.
A brief description of why I have come to use the Alpha Stim. 18 months ago from out of nowhere I had a panic attack whilst on an aeroplane whilst departing to go on holiday. For the week away I put this down to a one off and didn’t suffer any fall out to this attack. Unfortunately I had another panic attack coming home on the plane. When we landed I almost instantly developed serve anxiety. The anxiety I believe happened because I was then unaware of when the next panic attach would occur as the these 2 were out of character.
I spent 6 months on propanol and had counselling and started to feel much better. Unfortunately after a nasty illness the anxiety came back and this time it was horrendous. I was unable to work – I had to be looked after by my parents (I moved out a decade ago!!). It got to the point where I could not function at all – I was then looked after by the crisis team for a few months as the severity of the anxiety had led me down the dark path of contemplating suicide. I wasn’t suffering depression, I was suffering anxiety which was crippling me. After a few months on a high level of sertraline, clonazpam and propanol my life started to return to some normality and I was able to return to work. Unfortunately the dosage to keep my stable was so high that I was a walking zombie. It was at this point that I started to look for an alternative to the medicines i was currently on as i couldn’t see the point of being alive but in a state where i wasn’t me.
So it was at this point that I found the alpha stim. Having checked their official website it appeared all far too good to be true. All the testimonials where pointed at it being a miracle device..... well after 18 months or so suffering and with different approaches to this disease I was very sceptical and wanted to find more information before parting with a great deal of money. I found the alpha stim mentioned on many sites but the responses were limited. I got the impression that it either helped people so they didn’t return to the forum or people used it for a very short time and then dismissed it without allowing it time to work.
After discussing the device with my wife who at first moaned at the price we both realised that ‘IF’ it did work it’s not a lot of money. I am aware that I am very lucky in the regards that I could afford to take the risk so I purchased a refurb SCS unit. The first day it was used straight after work, that night I was recording a band and for the first time in 18 months I had zero anxiety. When I told my wife she just hugged me and cried, it was unbelievable it had worked. For me though the proof was in the long term results of its use. I had to remove the placebo effect etc. I started to keep a diary of how I felt everyday and how long I used the machine for. After 2 weeks I realised I had 5 days of no anxiety and the other days where it was low and very manageable.
After about 4 weeks it appeared that I was slipping back and my anxiety was again rising. The manual that comes with the device states on higher levels use for 20mins, lower settings an hour a day. This is what I had been following but I stumbled across a website that questioned the time usage, and it appeared to not so much go against the official manual but another method of using the device. This was keep it on until you feel better. Almost forget about the time – just keep it on until the anxiety subsides. If this is 20 mins great if its 2 hours then so be it. After I changed my methods I started to see improvements and the lowering of my anxiety.
A lot of people on the forums mentioned being dizzy etc. This is when you use the machine to high, for me best practise is to start on 0 – move the dial up to the point where the dizziness hits then turn down a bit. Doing it this way, I can have the device on for an extended period of time without even noticing it.
So in conclusion I can honestly say this device does work for ‘me’. I would never give false hope that this device will work for everyone etc but I can honestly say after months of use it has helped me no end. Having hit rock bottom and found a way out I believe it’s important that I write this post in case this can help someone else. I don’t work for the company or in any way been asked to write this post by anyone affiliated with the company and I hope people reading this believe this fact.
I know I am a one post member and you may see this post on other sites, I am just keen to share my positive experience of this device. If anyone would like to talk to me about this device PM me or reply to this post.