Meth Addiction

"I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) at age 13, after years of feeling sickly and doctor-hopping .  I felt totally exhausted and run-down with constant flu-like symptoms that left me sometimes feeling, at worst, like a human vegetable.  Granted, I had ups and downs where I felt more normal, but in general, it was obvious that I wasn’t keeping up with the rest. 

I had no idea then that I was dopamine and serotonin-deficient.  My drug of choice—methamphetamine—compensated for that.  From age 21-31, I depended on meth for my energy.  It got me through my days and completely put CFS behind me.  I knew very well, that this was not the long-term answer because the side-effects would ultimately kill me.  There had to be a better way.

However, most of the programs I found treated the addiction as a psychological and behavioral disorder rather than a physical deficiency.   They were built on the premise that you’re powerless over your addiction—once an addict, always an addict—a daily struggle for the rest of your life.  They teach you that you have no will power over the addiction.  Their focus on what they believe your problem to be is monotonous, and they provide no real solution.

NORA focuses on the solution.  They acknowledged that my problem was physical and not a weakness in character—that taking meth was my attempt to self-medicate.  They treated my bio-chemical imbalance with an amino acid IV drip, which eliminated withdrawal symptoms. I no longer have any cravings.  Within the 10-day period of treatment, I went through a total metamorphosis.   

Along with the IV treatment, they offer acupuncture and massage to assist with detoxing and healing.   Steve Sewell, the Director of NORA also provides amazing, daily one-on-one personal counseling, to help put your addiction behind you once and for all, and start a new life.

Today, only five months later, I have completed my High School Equivalency Diploma and am currently enrolled in school to get my Certified Nursing Assistant license.  I’ve also been watching my 95-yr-old grandmother four days a week, and work a part-time job.

NORA was a miracle for me!  I couldn’t have done it without them. 
Thank you, NORA!"

-Peace & Love, Jennifer B.

"My daughter used methamphetamines almost daily for about 10 years.  She was so easily agitated and irritable that I couldn’t hold a conversation with her without crying.  I finally tried cutting myself off, emotionally, thinking that if she was going down, I couldn’t let her take me down with her.  I’d lost my only child to drug abuse. 

I looked into several different treatment programs, but she wouldn’t consider any of them.  She said they just tore you down and labeled you as an addict with no power over the drugs.  She refused to participate because she felt they were so negative.  When I called several local rehab programs, they were very vague about information related to their recidivism rates.  One private counselor actually told me that she went to treatment at least 5 times before she successfully got off drugs.  Another counselor told me that she went to a well-known center for alcohol rehabilitation for a one-month program, and was drinking on the plane on the way home.  Another counselor from a prominent and well-known program  told me that I needed to totally cut my daughter out of my life—not even talk with her—until she was ready for treatment.  That didn’t feel very loving or supportive to me and I just couldn’t do it. 

Then I found NORA, with the help of my local Doctor of Natural Medicine.  After visiting their website and talking with the director, my daughter agreed to go through their program.  This was no small miracle!

Through the 10-day amino acid IV treatment, acupuncture, massage, one-on-one counseling, and follow-up, my daughter is building a new life.  She has a part-time job (24 hrs/wk), and will soon finish the required work to obtain her High School Equivalency Diploma.  After that, she plans to continue her education.  Her self-confidence is building as she accepts new responsibilities and experiences the positive outcomes of her efforts.  It has required a lot of patience and tough love to call her on the negative behavior patterns she’s developed over the years, and help her become accountable for making changes. 

We couldn’t have done it without the program at NORA.   This treatment helped her body balance its natural chemistry, and diminish and eliminate the cravings.  The follow-up supplements help her to stay healthy, motivated and happy.  The entire staff at NORA were wonderfully caring and capable--the director, doctor, nurses, acupuncturist, masseuse and office staff.  I am so grateful!  I have my daughter back, even though I fully expect she’ll be moving out on her own soon—and isn’t that what a responsible adult should be doing?!  So, don’t give up hope.  NORA worked for my daughter and it might help you or your loved ones, too. "

-Mary H., Daughter treated 11-07

"Steve Sewell what a great spirit you are. Its really refreshing to know that you are so adept in all the healing arts. You have found your calling and put together a program to take on the myriad of issues regarding the age old problem of addiction.

I found your treatment to be the most well thought out plan for the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual components that have enormous effect on the healing of the patient.

I am completely convinced Steve Sewell and his excellent staff, all with their own special gifts to offer the patient are doing the very best treatment possible. This treatment works period.
Shaman Steve the Eagle, I love you!"

-Tony

"This seems too good to be true, but it isn't. I forever expected to be an amphetamine addict - I am not anymore!"

"My life before receiving treatment at the N.O.R.A. Clinic was a desolate nightmare. I literally gauged my life and activities by how many Adderall pills I had left in my prescription.

I was doctor shopping, spending everything I earned on prescription amphetamines. I literally had been on some type of amphetamine everyday of my life since the age of 12 - I am now 36.

This [amino acid] treatment has 100% made amphetamines a thing of the past. Believe me, I had tried to quit but the lethargy and depression was too incredible to overcome. This treatment was only 10 days, but I feel better than I ever have in my life!

This [amino acid] treatment is a purely physiological, scientific approach. I researched this for an entire year before coming. Our bodies need amino acids, they are what is basically the building blocks of the human brain!

I promise whatever your addiction may be, this treatment is the #1 most important step in recovery. I needed to replenish my body from what years of stimulant abuse depleted me of. The therapy, the IV drip, the support, is all inclusive.

I had emotional baggage literally fade away with the guided imagery and intensive therapy sessions.

This seems too good to be true, but it isn't. I FOREVER EXPECTED TO BE AN AMPHETAMINE ADDICT - I AM NOT ANYMORE!

I am free of addictions, free of toxic emotional baggage. I am now free to be the person I was meant to be!

I will happily talk with anyone about the treatment, it will change your life!"

-Heather W., Sandy, UT
Treated February '07

"I had been a chronic relapser for 10 years. I tried over and over to try and stop but it only got worse. The alcohol and drugs were killing me. My body was deteriorating and more health problems were arising. I had chronic lethargy and depression. I knew I needed to heal my brain and my body of the nutrients I was deficient of. There are only two places in the country that do the IV Amino Acids. I knew I needed Intravenous because some Amino Acids are poorly absorbed when taken orally. Taking them orally could have taken many months to be effective.

I began the IV Amino Acid treatment and after 3 days I had no physical cravings. I learned an incredible amount in the 10 days and I have Steve (Director) to thank for that. My brain was healed from the Amino Acids and my spirit was healed through the counseling and guided imagery. As we know, recovery is a continuous process but I feel what I received in 10 days would have taken at least a year elsewhere.

I’m so glad I chose NORA in Colorado. The atmosphere was so relaxing and I felt completely at home. The nurses were so compassionate and talented. Thanks so much Bart (RN) and Molly (paramedic) for making me feel so comfortable – you both are wonderful! Steve, thanks for ALL your help and hard work. Your dedication and perseverance is amazing. Thank you for helping me become clean and sober, full of so much energy and happiness that I have never known. Thank you Jana (Recovery Coach in Pagosa Springs) for all your encouragement and support. I couldn’t have done it with out you! I was truly blessed by angels….thank you all for my new life!"

-Laura D., New York
Treated June '06

"Two months ago I participated in the intravenous amino acid therapy program at the N.O.R.A. clinic in Durango, CO (formerly of Pagosa Springs). I did the treatment with the hopes that it would help me overcome my severe addiction to alcohol and drugs. I am elated to report that I have been clean and sober for a little over two months and am feeling better than I can remember feeling in my adult life.

My alcoholism had reached such a chronic state that I had begun to believe that I was beyond help and that an alcoholic death was simply my destiny. I had tried numerous treatment centers (6 in 18 months) and different programs (inpatient and out). I had gone to A.A., N.A., and C.A. twelve step meetings, but nothing seemed to work. My condition seemed hopeless.

I had over 14 emergency room visits in twelve months, I had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C and my abnormal liver enzymes were off the chart. In all reality I should have died a dozen times over. More than once my parents received a call from an emergency room doctor saying “There is no logical reason your daughter should still be breathing but…”

My life had fallen apart. I dropped out of Graduate School, lost my job, car, place to live and all self-respect in a matter of months. I was smoking crack, injecting heroin and at my worst, drinking over a fifth of hard alcohol a day. I had every reason to quit (foremost being I was going to die) but could not seem to stop. Toward the end of my using, my cravings were so severe that I was drinking hairspray, rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, air-freshener- anything I could find with alcohol in it.

When I started the amino acid program it truly seemed like the only thing I hadn’t tried and I was skeptical. In the first three days my cravings ceased almost entirely. I experienced absolutely no withdrawal symptoms, which is amazing because in the past I had been so shaky I couldn’t hold a glass of water and experienced Delirium Tremors so severe I was almost placed in the psychiatric ward of a hospital. I felt none of the anxiety or consuming cravings to use that I ALWAYS had when I detoxed previously.

Today my life is wonderful. I have a job I like and a serious relationship with another person that I love. I am moving into my own apartment this week and am supporting myself. I have more energy and am sleeping better than I can ever remember. Most importantly I am no longer killing myself with drugs and alcohol.

The treatment is no “Magic Bullet”- working a program of recovery is still an essential part to maintaining sobriety. I go to A.A. regularly (at least 4 times a week). I am counting to take the amino-acid supplements orally. With this said, I do honestly believe that I would have had no chance at life whatsoever with out the “jump-start” of this treatment. I am immensely grateful to the program and the wonderful staff for helping me achieve a new lease on life. I highly recommend the amino acid therapy to anyone looking for a way out of the hell of addiction."

-Emelia A., Utah
Treated May '05

"My entire life has changed so much for the better! There are no longer battles within myself or outside of myself. I feel the Amino Acid Drip was the solution for me!"

"I had been clean and sober for almost a year before deciding to do the Amino Acid Drip. I had done a lot of inner healing work over the course of 15 years dealing with the childhood pain of being raised by a family of alcoholics and being one myself. I would have brief times of sobriety for 3 to 6 months and sometimes even more. However, I would start to get cravings again and they would always win. Sometimes a place or a certain situation would get me going. Once I started it was hard to stop.

I also battled clarity and direction in my life. I had always been very successful but also always felt a bit scattered and not as focused as I would have liked. Throughout time I realized I had been battling ADHD for many years. Doctors tried to put me on antidepressants and they made me feel like I was going insane so I never stuck with them.

All my life I have been searching for some kind of balance with my emotions, my hyper-ness, and my addictions, but didn't know what the answer was or if there even was one.

I had a friend over the years that was a severe addict and I had just about given up hope on. After watching him go through the Amino Acid Drip, I saw a BIG change in him that almost seemed unbelievable. It got me excited that maybe this has been what I was looking for to balance the chemical and physical issues that had been plaguing me for as long as I can remember.

Well, it has been just under 2 years since I did the Amino Acid Drip and it turns out that this was the missing link in my healing process. My entire life has changed so much for the better. I am clear, focused, calm, peaceful, and very balanced. For the first time in my life, I am experiencing a true happiness coming from deep within me and I wouldn't change a thing. There are no longer any battles within myself or outside of myself.

Sometimes I wake up and need someone to pinch me because I almost can't believe this is my wonderful, happy, awesome life!!!

Best of all, I no longer have any cravings for any kind of drug or alcohol and the mere thought of drinking or using makes me feel sick to my stomach. I wouldn't want to sacrifice the incredible feeling of sobriety.

It has taken me over 40 years to get to this divine place in my life and I feel the Amino Acid Drip was the solution for me and I strongly feel that everybody would benefit from it in one way or another.

I owe my wonderful life and my balanced way of being to Steve and the team at the N.O.R.A. clinic. Thank you for everything!"

- Stuart R., Colorado
Ttreated July 2006

For Steve:

CONTROL

What’s on my mind I can hardly think.

My thoughts change daily every time I blink

I am losing my thoughts I feel out of control

I feel as if my mind just fell into a black hole.

Pieces of me are so scrambled around

The scrambling so loud I can hardly hear a sound

Then along came you to quiet things down

You fixed all the scrambling and lowered the sound

You put the pieces together and turned me around

You brought light to my dark

When I thought there would never be another spark

You brought me control and pulled me out of the black hole

You reached inside of me and brought out my soul

And along with that you brought me control.

-Austin

The Real Deal To Heal

"I moved to Pagosa Springs, CO approximately two years ago. One of the reasons I moved here was because I had Leukoplakia (which is a pre-cancerous condition, located in the mouth, which can become fatal). The future did not look very bright for me, so I wanted to come here so I could have some beauty, peace and tranquility, in my life before it was over.

Upon everything I had learned, Pagosa had a variety of alternative medicine, healings of all kinds, so I started trying many of these things to try to heal. I figured why not, I had nothing left to lose. I had little success, and then a miracle happened. I was fortunate enough to run into an organization known as NORA (National Organization for Recovering Alcoholics). By the way, alcohol and nicotine are the leading cause of Leukoplakia, so as you can probably figure out by now that I also had addiction problems. After talking to Steve Sewell, nutrient specialist at NORA along with affiliated medical doctors and nurses, it was suggested that I should get ten IV drips for ten days.

Conclusion: After the IV bags and various amino acids, I no longer have Leukoplakia.

I no longer have addiction problems.

I can think more clearly than I ever had before.

I have all the energy I need and I feel ten years younger.

So, I just wanted to say, Thank you Pagosa Springs and most of all Thank you Steve Swell, (NORA); Dr. Dan Hepburn, MD; Peggy Gillean, RN."

-Sincerely, Phil E.

An edited version of this letter was published in the Pagosa Springs Sun newspaper in March 2005