Stories and testimonials like these make every client, every challenge, every success well worth it.  Read her story about OCD and Trich, and how amino acids saved her.

I’ve been asked to tell you how Dr. Oler’s guidance and Amino Acid Therapy has impacted my life. Before I can do that I think I have to try and give you an idea of what my life was like before I started taking amino acids. I was 11 when my Mom figured out I had OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and TTM (trichotillomania). We didn’t tell our family doctor for two years because my Mom used to be a nurse and didn’t want me taking drugs like Prozac. Instead, my parents travelled thousands of miles taking me to so many doctor’s I can’t even remember them all. They all said they could help me but they never did.

I might as well tell you now that I have an especially bad case of OCD. I washed my hands till they were raw. I counted. I straightened. I made lists. I changed my clothes constantly because OCD said they were contaminated. I had countless compulsions and rituals OCD said I had to do to bring the anxiety down. Just taking a shower took me one and a half hours and then I had to put towels on the floor to get from the bathroom to my bedroom because OCD said that the floor was contaminated and if my feet touched it I would have to shower all over again! I couldn’t read a book. OCD said that if I didn’t read the whole book right through to the last page the first time I opened it I would have to start at the beginning again.

One of the worst things was that I needed reassurance for all the terrible things OCD told me were going to happen. My Mom was the only one OCD would listen to and I asked her to reassure me hundreds of times a day. Bedtime was especially bad and sometimes it would take me over an hour to ask my Mom for all the reassurance I needed to be able to go to bed. I’m a really, really good athlete and I had to drop out of all organized sports because I was exhausted and too stressed. It was hard on my whole family to see me lose my future as an athlete. OCD got even meaner. If I made a mistake it would tell me I was going to go to hell. Worst of all, OCD would tell me my Mom was going to die.

Sometimes the anxiety was so bad I couldn’t go to school, I couldn’t eat and the only way I could sleep was if my Mom was lying down beside me. OCD had me trapped. Finally my Mom decided she had no choice but to take me to our doctor and sure enough I started taking Prozac and I started seeing a psychologist for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. My OCD got worse when I started the Prozac and the more Prozac they gave me the sicker I got until finally the psychologist said he wouldn’t do CBT with me anymore because I was too sick and our doctor said she was in way over her head and needed me to see a specialist. By now I spent a lot of time thinking about dying. I was exhausted. No one helped me. I just didn’t think I could do it anymore so I thought about how to kill myself.

My Mom didn’t want me to see the specialist. She asked our doctor how to stop the Prozac. It turned out my Mom had never stopped looking for someone to help us and she had just found Dr. Oler’s website. Soon I had an appointment with Dr. Oler because he knows how to use amino acid therapy to help people heal. It took a while for Dr. Oler to figure out how many of which amino acids I needed because my OCD is so bad. I take a ton of amino acids every day (including NeuroReplete, RepleteExtra, D5 Mucuna 40%, TyrosineReplete and CysRepelte) but it sure is worth it!

I’m 17 now and almost totally symptom free. In fact, I hardly think about OCD that much anymore and I’ve stopped pulling. My hands look normal now, my hair looks thick and healthy, and I can shower in record time. Before the amino acids a couple of doctors said I might not be able to finish high school. I’m in grade 12 now and on the Honour Roll. I’m really not sure what I want to take at university yet but I know now that as long as I have my amino acids I can manage university just like anybody else.

I’m not involved with sports anymore but I still work out at the gym regularly to stay in shape. I hike with my dog, love to bike, and really like to relax and tube down the river on hot summer days. I can travel more now. I feel like an ordinary kid and like to laugh and hang out with my friends.

I’m working towards my driver’s license. I’m taking a couple of workshops for teenagers to get ready for their first job and I’m going to take a series of workshops for teenagers to prepare to leave home. Before my amino acids I used to ask my parents if I could live with them forever because I couldn’t imagine how I could ever take care of myself. With amino acids I know I can take care of myself and even have a family someday if I want to.

I couldn’t have done any of these things before my amino acids. I spent most of my day trapped in OCD’s obsessions and compulsions. To be honest with you, I’m not sure I’d even be here anymore. Amino acids set me free and they probably saved my life. I really do get how lucky I am. I asked my Mom how I could thank her, and my Dad, and my doctors for saving my life. She said by being as happy as I can be and by making a decision to lead the best life I can possibly lead. That’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m leading the best life I can lead – me and my amino acids.