Hi all.
I recently returned from a 10-day stay at the N.O.R.A. clinic in Durango, Colorado. Here's the link: N.O.R.A. | Amino Acid Drug & Alcohol Alternative Therapy | Amino Acid Treatment & Recovery Center
Basically, it uses amino acids, vitamins and other supplements given by IV to repair brain chemicals damaged by alcohol and/or drug addiction. I picked it for that reason. I'd started having luck with using supplements to deal with my alcoholism but found I just could not digest all those pills. I kept thinking it would be helpful to take the supplements intravaneously, and it was.
N.O.R.A also includes other therapies, like accupuncture, massage and energy work (the woman who does the energy work is truly gifted!)
Anyway, I think the clinic is definitely onto something. The IVs helped my body and brain feel better. I did slip, drinking wise, when I got home, but not very badly and I picked myself up quickly.
A couple of points for anyone who is interested:
-- The IV treatments became painful for me. In order to find good veins, the nurses must have stuck me with needles a couple of dozen times over the course of the treatment. I still have pain in a couple of places, plus some bruising. So be prepared to deal with that if you try the place out. The IVs appeared to do their job in the end -- I felt better. But I think there must be a less physically painful way of administering them.
-- The place was sort of disorganized. No one made sure to arrange my various services and I needed the help because I was sort of out of it. The place didn't totally deliver in some aspects like that. If you're interested in details, message me and I'll be more specific.
Overall, my visit wasn't a great success, although it did help me stop drinking, at least so far. I was a challenging patient, I think. This is particularly because I'm pre-menopausal and my hormones decided during my visit to start going crazy. That made coping in general difficult. My drinking became a serious problem about the time I started having pre-menopause symptoms, and I realized during my time in Durango that I had never gone through a period of hormones surges without drinking! So, basically I was doing hormone surges in Durango cold turkey and it was tough!!!!
I was so stressed by the hormones that I decided to bypass the therapy offered. I just couldn't cope with spilling my guts to a stranger, although I've done therapy several times in the past. Anyway, I think my decision upset my accupuncturist, who was also to do my therapy. That stressed me even more. I can say, though, that he was really great at accupuncture. My accupuncture sessions were marred, I felt, by the therapy issue but the accupuncture still made me feel pretty darn good.
The cost for the program was $7,500. However, it is an outpatient program so I had to pay for lodging, food and a whole lot for airplane tickets. All told, I'd add another $3,000 to that.
Was it worth it? It's hard to say. The program is new and definitely, in my opinion, needs some real work to make it more effective. But I think it's on the right road. A patient who was winding up his stay as I was starting seemed to feel it was great. I think he planned to write a testimonal for the web site. I'm glad for him.
P.S. If you go, don't try to cut costs by staying in cheap hotels. We stayed at a Budget Inn that was a nightmare. You'll need some place where you can rest and relax. Also, try to bring someone who can act as an advocate for you. This will help you get all your services and deal with whatever problems might arise.
I recently returned from a 10-day stay at the N.O.R.A. clinic in Durango, Colorado. Here's the link: N.O.R.A. | Amino Acid Drug & Alcohol Alternative Therapy | Amino Acid Treatment & Recovery Center
Basically, it uses amino acids, vitamins and other supplements given by IV to repair brain chemicals damaged by alcohol and/or drug addiction. I picked it for that reason. I'd started having luck with using supplements to deal with my alcoholism but found I just could not digest all those pills. I kept thinking it would be helpful to take the supplements intravaneously, and it was.
N.O.R.A also includes other therapies, like accupuncture, massage and energy work (the woman who does the energy work is truly gifted!)
Anyway, I think the clinic is definitely onto something. The IVs helped my body and brain feel better. I did slip, drinking wise, when I got home, but not very badly and I picked myself up quickly.
A couple of points for anyone who is interested:
-- The IV treatments became painful for me. In order to find good veins, the nurses must have stuck me with needles a couple of dozen times over the course of the treatment. I still have pain in a couple of places, plus some bruising. So be prepared to deal with that if you try the place out. The IVs appeared to do their job in the end -- I felt better. But I think there must be a less physically painful way of administering them.
-- The place was sort of disorganized. No one made sure to arrange my various services and I needed the help because I was sort of out of it. The place didn't totally deliver in some aspects like that. If you're interested in details, message me and I'll be more specific.
Overall, my visit wasn't a great success, although it did help me stop drinking, at least so far. I was a challenging patient, I think. This is particularly because I'm pre-menopausal and my hormones decided during my visit to start going crazy. That made coping in general difficult. My drinking became a serious problem about the time I started having pre-menopause symptoms, and I realized during my time in Durango that I had never gone through a period of hormones surges without drinking! So, basically I was doing hormone surges in Durango cold turkey and it was tough!!!!
I was so stressed by the hormones that I decided to bypass the therapy offered. I just couldn't cope with spilling my guts to a stranger, although I've done therapy several times in the past. Anyway, I think my decision upset my accupuncturist, who was also to do my therapy. That stressed me even more. I can say, though, that he was really great at accupuncture. My accupuncture sessions were marred, I felt, by the therapy issue but the accupuncture still made me feel pretty darn good.
The cost for the program was $7,500. However, it is an outpatient program so I had to pay for lodging, food and a whole lot for airplane tickets. All told, I'd add another $3,000 to that.
Was it worth it? It's hard to say. The program is new and definitely, in my opinion, needs some real work to make it more effective. But I think it's on the right road. A patient who was winding up his stay as I was starting seemed to feel it was great. I think he planned to write a testimonal for the web site. I'm glad for him.
P.S. If you go, don't try to cut costs by staying in cheap hotels. We stayed at a Budget Inn that was a nightmare. You'll need some place where you can rest and relax. Also, try to bring someone who can act as an advocate for you. This will help you get all your services and deal with whatever problems might arise.
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