A war veteran who battled severe post-traumatic stress for years is hailing a £499 device being used by the NHS as a miracle cure.
Luke Dallison’s life has been transformed by a mobile phone-sized device.
The Alpha Stim attaches to his earlobe and passes a small electrical current through his brain.
Before using it, dad-of-four Luke, 33, was a broken man. Scarred by service in Afghanistan, he would duck for cover if a balloon burst.
The device is for patients with anxiety disorders in a handful of NHS hospitals.
But it may be rolled out further if it is officially approved by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – Nice.
The Sunday People’s Save Our Soldier campaign is fighting to get heroes with PTSD the care they deserve.
Luke, who sought help from 13 psychiatrists in three years, said: “I was suicidal. I couldn’t leave the house.
"No drugs or other treatments worked but my entire life changed after trying this little device. I truly believe it could save lives.”
His wife, Nikita, 28, said: “PTSD broke him into pieces. I lost my husband and our children lost their father.
“Medication and conventional treatment made him aggressive and suicidal.
“After the first time he used the Alpha Stim he was so calm and exhausted.
“He slept properly for the first time since he finished his tour in Afghanistan in 2013. I’d been dubious but it was a miracle.”
In February 2017 he met former Army Major Cormac Doyle, who set up The Bridge Charity for veterans with mental health issues, and began using the device.
Two months later he was discharged from the RAF Police after 13 years’ service.
Luke attributes his PTSD to the atrocities he saw while based at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan in 2012. He also injured his back from years of carrying heavy kit.
His PTSD was instantly diagnosed but he said he received minimal support and was “passed around like a broken toy.”
Luke, of Telford, Shropshire, said: “I’d stopped taking the meds. They’d turned me into a zombie.”
Nikita, mum to Elijah, six, Austin, three, Leyland two, and five-week-old Cohan said: “If he ever heard a balloon pop he’d crouch down and grab our kids to protect them.
"He couldn’t go into shopping malls, and he had constant night terrors.”
Luke’s back injury confined him to a wheelchair but since using the Alpha Stim he has found work as a risk consultant on major infrastructure projects.
His still uses it up to four times a day for 30-minute stints without side effects.
Alpha Stims could be rented to NHS patients for £70 – compared with £600 for a course of cognitive behavioural therapy.
For more on Alpha Stim and The Bridge Charity, see alpha-stim.co.uk and thebridgecharity.co.uk
