The ALPHA-STIM® 100
With so many products to choose from, believe it or not, it was a bit of a challenge to choose which one would be the first. In the end, I chose the Alpha-Stim 100® because it is a product/technology that really works and has quite a few benefits.
My initial reason for looking at Alpha-Stim technology was specifically as a way to relieve pain. Pain is a hugely complex issue. For anyone interested in diving a little deeper, there are a series of very interesting articles on the subject in the September 2009 issue of the magazine Scientific American MIND. Since a lot of pain signaling mechanisms are electro-chemical in nature, I felt that it made sense that a device that potentially disrupts those signals might be of benefit.
The Alpha-Stim was invented by Dr. Daniel Kirsch, a pioneer in the field of electro-medicine. For an introduction to the role that electricity can play in treating and healing various conditions in the body I suggest reading "The Body Electric
I won't go into detail about how it works because the Alpha-Stim.com website has plenty of information on that subject. What was, however, very interesting to me was the fact that there is quite a bit of published scientific research on it's efficacy. Again, for the details please visit their website.
There are three devices based on this technology available. The ALPHA-STIM® SCS (Stress Control System), The ALPHA-STIM® PPM (Personal Pain Manager) and the ALPHA-STIM® 100, encompassing all the functionality of both other units, and more expensive than the other two. I chose the ALPHA-STIM® 100 because I was interested in evaluating/using it for more than just pain. It just so happens that the ALPHA-STIM® 100 is also very effective in treating anxiety, insomnia and depression in addition to pain, all of which were affecting Julien in some way or another. The ALPHA-STIM® 100 was not cheap, costing $895 compared to $495 for the ALPHA-STIM® SCS, but when you are witnessing someone in severe pain for extended periods of time, no price seems like too much! I should also point out that the ALPHA-STIM® 100 can not be purchased without a prescription in the United States, but that should not present a problem to anyone who is working with a somewhat open-minded healthcare practitioner. For us, it just took a quick phone call to our chiropractor...
The ALPHA-STIM® 100 turned out to be quite effective, and is a great "tool" to have in the arsenal. We have not needed to use it in quite a while (thank goodness) and often find ourselves lending it to others for extended periods of time. All of them have reported that it has really helped!
October 4th, 2009 - 10:08
Love the new template! Also, I will add that I’ve know a man who used the Alpha-Stim for depression (clips are placed on the ears for 20 minutes a day–that’s it) and the results in 3-4 weeks were phenomenal. With no side effects. This was such a win because the man using it had been on and off prescriptive meds for depression and insomnia for years and couldn’t deal with the side effects. He was off meds when he tried the Alpha-Stim and was sleeping through the night in just three weeks. A woman I know used it for anxiety attacks that were so severe she had to take valium when they’d come on and in about 6 weeks on daily use they just stopped coming. Changed her life.