Sober Living Stories
Welcome to the "Sober Living Stories" podcast, a platform built on the power of personal stories. Each Tuesday, Jessica Stipanovic, your host, shines a spotlight on individuals who have undergone remarkable life transformations to inspire hope in listeners worldwide.
Each guest shares their story giving examples of bold beginnings disguised as endings and life lessons that teach how the darkest moments often hold the key to unlocking the brightest light.
This podcast inspires positive life changes. Whether you're sober curious, living an alcohol-free lifestyle, have overcome a challenge and lived to tell about it, or support someone who wants to shed a habit in light of a new one, our episodes promise to leave you feeling understood, hopeful, and motivated to create meaningful transformations in your life.
Join us for powerful new episodes every Tuesday where the most difficult life experiences serve to uplift and inspire. Regardless of your background or belief system, the "Sober Living Stories" podcast is your ultimate destination for uplifting narratives where hope shines from the most unexpected places.
In addition to featuring our weekly guests, each month on the "Sober Living Stories" podcast, we have the privilege of sitting down with a new author, delving into their story and the wisdom they've shared in their book.
Here's the exciting part: their book becomes the giveaway for that month.
Tune in every Tuesday for brand-new episodes and your chance to win the gift of a transformed life.
Sober Living Stories
OpiAID: Revolutionizing Recovery with Dino Miliotis
Fame can often mask the darkest struggles, and Dino Miliotis, a famous entrepreneur at a young age, knows this all too well. Tune in as the Sober Living Stories podcast host Jessica Stipanovic sits down with Dino Miliotis for a powerful conversation that sheds light on the complexities of addiction in the public eye, the silent battles behind closed doors, and the incredible resilience it takes to step into the path of recovery.
For over three decades, Dino Miliotis has been a formidable presence in the business world. His achievements have garnered him recognition on prestigious platforms such as Oprah, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Crain’s Chicago Business, and People Magazine. In 1996, he introduced the Bug-Ban bracelet to the world. Featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show he became an overnight success and his life was changed. That success came at a cost and he turned to drugs and alcohol to give him the edge to stay in the limelight. At that young age, he described it as trying to "catch lightning in a bottle."
Having become sober after 20 years of battling addiction, he is back in the spotlight for a different endeavor. Today, he serves as the spokesperson for OpiAID, a pioneering data science company revolutionizing the fight against the opioid epidemic with cutting-edge AI technology. In his own words, "OpiAID technology is a game-changer."
In a world where relapse is a real threat, and treatment can seem like a one-size-fits-all approach, Dino and I pull back the curtain on OpiAID's groundbreaking technology. Imagine a smart device capable not only of monitoring your biometrics but also of designing personalized recovery plans. Dino's involvement in this groundbreaking initiative is a full circle moment for him as he makes his way back into the spotlight with a "wearable" yet this time serving a community that helped save his life.
So, tune in, be inspired, and remember that redemption is not just a story for the few; it's a possibility for all.
To contact Dino Miliotis visit bookdinonow.com
Facebook
IG is @therealdinomiliotis
OpiAID website is opiaid.ai
Grab your gift for listening today! 👇
Join our FREE Sober Living Stories FB Group: Sober Living Stories | Facebook
Click Here: https://www.jessicastipanovic.com/the-7-day-happiness-challenge
A FREE 7-Day Happiness Challenge | a mini workbook filled with 7 pages of positive habits to help you create the best version of YOU.
Connect with me: https://linktr.ee/jessicastipanovic
Your story matters.
Welcome to the Sober Living Stories podcast. This podcast is dedicated to sharing stories of sobriety. We shine a spotlight on individuals who have faced the challenges of alcoholism and addiction and are today living out their best lives sober. Each guest has experienced incredible transformation and are here to share their story with you. I'm Jessica Stepanovich, your host. Join me each week as guests from all walks of life share their stories to inspire and provide hope to Sober Living Stories podcast. I'm excited today to introduce my guest, dino Miliotis. Today to introduce my guest, dino Miliotis. He has previously been featured on Oprah, forbes and People Magazine for his work as an entrepreneur. Today, we're going to hear his personal story and how he paired up alongside a science-driven company to use the power of AI to make a difference in the recovery community. Welcome, dino.
Speaker 2:Hey, welcome, welcome. Thanks for having me. What a great day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what a great day. I'm so glad to get into this and to hear your story. So if you just want to start with how you overcame addiction and how it has brought you to the forefront of helping others. Do the same today. I'd love to hear that, and any inspiration you can give to listeners. It's all yours.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you. Thank you very much for that warm introduction. By the way, you know there's so many different ways people recover and so many different stories. You know I was addicted to alcohol and addicted to any substance really. I mean opioids and cocaine, I mean you name it. Whatever was there for about a quarter century which really started like when you, when you did your intro. It really started at the pinnacle of my career when I, when I invented this product called Bug Ban and it became, like overnight, a worldwide sensation I mean I was in 63 countries, I sold 30 million or more.
Speaker 2:It just completely changed my life a lot, in a good way. I mean I'm not knocking it. I mean I wanted to be successful, I wanted to be famous who are we kidding? But at the same time, there's an ugly side to fame and fortune and that's what I now understand is my greatest strength, especially to inspire others in the recovery community. So, you know, for me, I was young, I really didn't know what I was doing. I was catching lightning in a bottle, literally. And you know.
Speaker 2:Next thing, you know I'm in People magazine, I'm on the Oprah Winfrey show. I'm like wow, you know. I mean these are like surreal moments and what I found is, you know, having a sip of vodka or popping a pill. It just gave me that whatever shield of bravery. So, you know, I can light the camera in action and I'm just unaffected and I felt like I was polished and on and hit all the talking points and doing all the things that they expect you to do.
Speaker 2:Right, but you have to keep in mind, I mean, it's kind of a scary thing when it happens overnight. You know, you go and you fill up your car with gas at a gas station and people start running up to you. I saw you on the show, you know, and they want to hug you. They don't know, you know, I mean, I love, I love them, but but at the time I was just like whoa, whoa. You know, I don't know you. You know what I mean. You walk in a restaurant and you have a table, always people shaking your hand. You don't know who they are.
Speaker 2:I mean, for me, a lot of people should have these problems, but at the same time, I have a healthier respect, or healthier understanding, rather, of these real celebrities, the ones that we read about in the tabloids, that they have everything you can dream of and they, seemingly, are messing up their lives. They're in jail, domestic violence, you name it. I mean you know the tabloids but you know, if they're going through something similar as as as I went through, I can better understand how that happens. So it's not like oh wow, they had everything. What are they doing? They're destroying their lives.
Speaker 2:When you're in the height of your addiction, you don't think logically, you don't think the same anymore. I mean, I've said and done things that I'm so ashamed of, you know, and it took a while to let that go right, that baggage, but you know, you really. It while to let that go right, that baggage, but you know, you really. It's true, you have to forgive yourself, but I mean, I would never in my right mind do the things that I did, but at the time, all you're doing is you're just chasing your high, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it becomes the most important thing.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:For you, it could you know, it was that success that driven for someone else, it Absolutely up.
Speaker 2:I mean, don't think it did not affect my family. I mean I'm obviously divorced, my poor wife and what she went through, my poor family. But you know, at the same time it was kind of weird because as messed up as I was in the business world, everybody wanted to do business. I mean they knew I had a problem. Nobody ever came up and said, hey, you know, you've got a problem, you should slow down, you should stop, you should seek help. It was actually quite the opposite. I mean, they all wanted to do business with me, they all wanted to interview me, they want to take a meeting with me. And I'm thinking to myself well, I'm great, I don't have a problem, you know, because it's that reinforcement, right, it's the reinforcement. So you know, for me it took such a long time for me to hit that rock, rock, rock bottom that everybody talks about. And everybody's rock bottom is different. Mine was like really rock bottom. But you know, I I never thought that I would need professional help, I never thought that I would go through the doors of rehab. But listen, it's a different world now. Ok, you got.
Speaker 2:Let's talk about addiction for a second. I mean, you have designer drugs, synthetic drugs, drugs that are 100 times stronger than heroin, 50 times stronger than morphine, things that are killing kids. I mean, every four minutes somebody dies just on opioids. Somebody dies from an opioid related overdose every four minutes, and that's just.
Speaker 2:In this country People can't grasp that. You know, I call it the death clock. It's kind of morbid how I explain it, but hey, you know, if, if, if that's going to make you stop and think, then you know, so be it. But um, these aren't things to fool around with and this isn't like a hundred years ago where you know you got a drinking problem and it still works. I'm not knocking it, but you have a drinking problem. And all of a sudden you see in the old movies oh, get them a cup of coffee, sober up, take a cold shower, and just you know, uh, the white knuckle thing, the grin and bear thing, uh, may be fine for some people, but for me I was just so far gone. There's just no way those things would have any effect on me.
Speaker 2:In fact, it would probably kill me, okay sure so, so I I needed to get help, and in a big way. So, um, I went to rehab, got out clean and sober, obviously, um, you know they, they gave me, they connected me with some counselors, um and uh, therapists that I can talk to, and, you know, I decided to go recover and out in the sticks, basically, you know, it happened to be in the middle of the COVID lockdown because I got clean and sober in July 7th of 2020. So everybody was still, you know, going through the whole world, stopped, basically for lack of a better word. And so, you know, I got rid of all my associates, got rid of my friends, walked away from my own empire, my own business empire. I'm now clearly divorced. You know there's nobody else around and I'm just alone with my thoughts.
Speaker 2:And, of course, you know, you get out clean and sober. You want to be good, you want to do the right thing, but in isolation it's really hard. The only comfort just if you imagine that I had was, you know, these binge-a-thons that everybody was watching. I'm like, well, I don't feel so bad that I'm a lazy couch potato because everybody is the whole world's watching something, the whole world's watching TV.
Speaker 1:How many years was it from the height of your success to when you sought treatment? How many years?
Speaker 2:1996. And I sought treatment in 2020.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So you know what is that? A quarter century, almost. You know you're talking about a handle of vodka a day and, just just as an example, whatever else is around. So if it was Vicodin, it just wouldn't be one or two pills, it'd be 17 pills. If it's Oxy, probably 10 a day. Cocaine, tons of it.
Speaker 2:So I wasn't really picky. I don't think a lot of people either their addiction are. But that's the way it starts and it doesn't just affect one class or or race or background, it's, it's an equal opportunity destroyer, as I explained. So it really did a number on me and I'm the guy who swore, I mean, I just can't believe it affected me. But you know, believe it.
Speaker 2:And thank God, everybody's becoming more vocal about it now, where either they've gone through it themselves or at least, at the very least, they know of somebody who's gone through it or is going through it. It's not as taboo anymore, but it still is. You know hundreds of thousands of people that suffer in silence, believe me. You know hundreds of thousands of people that suffer in silence, believe me. So here's the thing. So when I got these counselors to talk to, everything's a virtual kind of talk, you know, and you know, the gold standard in care is medically assisted treatment, and that's just a fancy way of just saying. It's a combination of counseling, behavioral health therapy and prescribed medications and that has proven for substance use to be the most effective treatment. Ok, and as effective as the treatment is, it still has a lot of shortcomings and I'll explain it because they happened to me. So I wanted to talk and explain how I felt to these counselors over the phone and all they were interested in is prescribing medication and saying well, this will take care of your baseline anxiety, this will take care of your baseline depression. This won't, you know, work for three months, but you got to take it every day. This one take in case there's an emergency and you really need it, but you really shouldn't take it. I mean, you know you get confused. I'm not going to lie. Okay, it was just like Whoa, you know what? What am I doing here? Right, but nobody really wanted to hear how I'm feeling. But actually, more importantly, I couldn't really vocalize how I'm feeling. You ever go to a doctor and they ask you from a scale of 1 to 10, describe your pain. Is it an 8? Is it a 9? You're like 7-ish. How are you feeling? I don't know. Well, what do you think your anxiety is? Right now? It's high. You know you really don't have an answer Right.
Speaker 2:And I was just really frustrated because, because these pills and the protocol that they had me on in isolation in COVID in my house, it was it was making me like a zombie. I mean, I didn't want to get up, I didn't want to do anything, I didn't want to take a shower, I didn't want to call anybody, I didn't even want to turn on the TV. I just stared at a blank screen for hours and, in the back of my mind, I couldn't wait to go to sleep. Is it nighttime yet? So I could sleep? Because when it's night, people sleep and I won't feel guilty.
Speaker 2:So it was a horrible existence to the point where I actually threw out the medication and I'm like, well, I got to use, I got to drink, I I'd rather do that than go through this. Think about that for a second. This, this rationale, right? And um, you know, I had a moment where, you know, I just stopped myself. You know what am I doing? And basically I decided instead to sit down, put my thoughts and my past experience in business and also my experience in suffering from addiction, put it down in a book, and so that kept me busy for about eight months, 12, 15 hour days, you know, and I kept my mind off of isolation and thoughts, of using and thought. I mean, I was one of the lucky ones but I could have been a statistic, trust me, right. And then when the book was published, where I thought, you know, do you know, mr Business, you know it's going to, it's going to be a whirlwind for the business community. Business community didn't care. Okay, that was 25 years ago, been there, done that.
Speaker 2:But what it did do is there was a huge outpouring of support from the recovery communities. I never knew existed, by the way. Okay, you know social platforms and they all have sober recovery, alcohol, na, you know all that stuff. All have sober recovery, alcohol and all that stuff. And me I just like got immersed in it and just started talking to people morning, noon and night, because of course, addiction and recovery is not a nine to five thing, it also happens after hours, ok, and so that gave me just kind of reinforcement that people needed hope, people need to know that if I can do it, they can do it, and just to kind of empower people any way I can.
Speaker 2:And you know, like I said, there's no one way to recover. But I do remember being frustrated with the fact that nobody really understood when I was saying that. You know, I feel withdrawals, I feel like drinking. They're like, oh, you shouldn't feel this way. This is your anxiety. You shouldn't feel this way. You're probably depressed. You may be bipolar. Let's try this and let's see what happens in two months. And, like I said, I'm one of the lucky ones.
Speaker 2:But now I understand why a lot of people relapse. I mean, the relapse rate is just what in the high 90s Scares me, right and so, and usually when you do relapse, a lot of times people come back even harder using, and that's where you get a lot of the disconnect, because that's where we get the overdoses. So it's critical that we we adopt some kind of program, some kind of protocol that's going to next week or next month. Ok, because you'll start rationalizing why. Well, maybe one more day. Well, I got a party coming up. How's it going to look for me Not popping a pill? How's it going to look for me not to have a glass of vodka? I'm going to be boring. I'm going to be a loser Ever have that happen, right? So I mean, that was always in the back of my mind is just like complete frustration at what existed currently. So fast forward.
Speaker 2:After I published my book sometime last year, I came in contact with a team and the president and CEO of a company called Opiate. I'm like, ok, you know, and apparently it's just a chance meeting, and we met and he started explaining about this technology that currently exists and that he's like you know you'd be perfect to talk about this because you went through it. Let me tell you what it does. Um, and, and my, my eyes just lit up. It was like a shazam moment. I'm just like like, wow, are you kidding me? So, basically, what Opiate is? It's a data science company. They built the largest database for behavioral health and substance use in the world. Okay, they're proprietary AI technology using algorithms. So if you take that MAT, that medically assisted treatment that I was telling you about, the one that I went through, that was so frustrating, imagine when they ask me how do you feel? Or if they ask me how anxious do you?
Speaker 1:feel.
Speaker 2:Or you know any of the above questions that are just iffy. If, using technology like this this is a Samsung Galaxy it would be able to tell the health professional exactly the level of withdrawal I'm experiencing, because, ready, this technology distinguishes withdrawal from depression or anxiety. It knows the difference. It's never been done before and I was just like what Boom?
Speaker 1:I mean this is so interesting to me because just with the introduction of AI on the whole, so why wouldn't it eventually benefit? And the recovery community and that right, there is a real distinction. You know that it's able to do that and I'm not surprised by that. I think this is really. I'm interested. Go ahead and speak a little bit more. I'm interested to hear more.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah so. So the way it works. I mean, you know health professionals. By the way, your average health professional has had eight hours of training in substance use disorder. Not knocking the health professionals, but they have a million other things going on. But this just shows you. Eight hours isn't enough to say, ah, you're anxious, oh, no, no, you have withdrawals. And I remember when I was going through it and I was trying to articulate to the health professional how I felt, they kept telling me something that really aggravated me. They're like you shouldn't be feeling like this. They kept telling me something that really aggravated me. They're like you shouldn't be feeling like this. You know what I mean. The averages tell us that you should be feeling like this. It must be anxiety, you know well, how do you know how I should be feeling? I mean, you know, I wanted to know about me. I don't want to know about what the averages and statistics talk about. Selfishly, I'm looking to recover. It's about me, right. Sure, talk about Selfishly, I'm looking to recover. It's about me, right.
Speaker 2:So what OPA does we insert the technology in, let's say, a doctor's office, right? So what OPA does on its platform? It'll take all of the patient files, all of the charts that they call them, and it'll organize them in a specific way. It's like having a messy closet or an organized closet. You know where your suits are, you know where your shirts are, you know the color. They're organized by color.
Speaker 2:So you know when you go visit a health professional. At the very least you know how they shuffle through your chart and try and find. You know your background history. And then they've got about five to 10 minutes. It's like beat the clock to assess, using the background information in the chart and asking you questions like how do you feel? Tell me what you're feeling. Have you had a drink yesterday? Did you use today? Have you had thoughts of suicide? Have you felt depressed? I mean, you know, and if I'm nervous I may answer differently, because I have ego, I have feelings, I have fears, I have phobias all of the above. We're human right. What OB does is it organizes the charts at the doctor's office. Then we supply this smart device, okay, to the doctor's office that they give to patients. Now this takes my biometric readings every five minutes. Every sixth minute it transmits that valuable data to the database that will be.
Speaker 1:So it's a wearable, it's a watch.
Speaker 2:It's a wearable, it's a watch.
Speaker 1:I'm pointing to listeners because it's a watch. Okay, so all the technology is built within the system of the watch. So all the technology is built within the system of the watch.
Speaker 2:Some of the technology is built in the system of the watch and then the algorithm, the AI, is built into OPA's database. So what happens is it'll take the chart, it'll take the biometric readings, it'll transmit the information to the database at OPA and then OPA will use the ai. So now it takes the data it was given and it does something brilliant which is predictive and prescriptive. Okay, it takes my past experiences and behavior, along with my current biometrics, and it spits out predictions for me, real-time predictions. It'll tell me how I'm going to be feeling tomorrow, with uncanny accuracy. It'll tell me, given everything that I'm doing currently and how I'm reading currently. It'll tell me my chance of, as an example, overdosing tomorrow or experiencing heavy withdrawals tomorrow. And the funny thing is is like I don't want to be gloom and doom about predicting the future, but the best way to change the future is to alter right now. So it gives me everything that I need to be able to change the outcome of tomorrow right. So in the recovery, if you look at recovery, that's a critical time. That's a critical time when you go to a doctor's office. They want to know right. So just like if you're diabetic and you have a glucometer and it measures the glucose level in your blood. It doesn't just say high or low. It's not a guessing game. It gives you a number amount. Right, even as an alcoholic, if I blow, it's going to give me a number of. You know where I stand as far as a level of intoxication. But there is nothing yet that determines the level of withdrawal until now. Until now. So I might, as a health professional, treat Dino, the guy who's like real anxious and feeling, you know, withdrawal-like symptoms. I might treat him a little more seriously if I know his withdrawal level is way up here in the danger zone than somebody that's just kind of low. But I may be a worry ward, a hypochondriac, I may worry more than I should. So it distinguishes the difference. What does that mean? It means that we can save lives by targeting very quickly and providing doctors real-time decision-making tools. Okay, doctor ultimately makes the decision. But the reason it's embraced by the medical community is because this is a serious tool in their tool belt.
Speaker 2:Okay, there's no one way to recover, but you know it speeds up time. It's clarified. I mean there's clarity. There's no emotion in our technology. There's no bad days, there's no feelings, there's no ego, there's no fear. It just spits out accurate data about me. This wearable that I'm wearing knows me better than me. So if I'm not feeling good right now, but you ask me a question how are you feeling? And I say, oh, I'm fine, it knows I'm lying, okay, which is great. Which is great when it comes to treatment Okay, this isn't like an interrogation. This is the same lie, right, and we need to know what we're really dealing with and not guessing games, and that's why I'm so excited about this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know what would you say to cause I? I could hear the the like reverb already. You know, um, I, I, I'm excited about this. I love this. I think it's it's inevitable. It's an inevitable flow of, like the direction of, of where we are in life.
Speaker 1:And so if you think back to, like old school, 12 step, you know I that's, that is my, my path, right, so it's it's.
Speaker 1:But you know, when we we came up with the opioid epidemic, it'd be hard to find anyone who's not an alcoholic or an addict in recovery or otherwise, who doesn't know somebody who's at least been affected by the opioid epidemic, whether it's a daughter, a cousin, a niece, an uncle, a dad, someone who's either in recovery or who's not even here anymore, somebody who has been gravely affected by it. And so I think that you know the medical side of it and the stigma you talked about, that you talked about. You know it's lessened, but it's still there. You know, and even the platforms, the social media platforms, that are now openly talking about all this, that is, you know, something new that may have been looked down upon years ago, like you know, this is, this is you know it's not how it previously was done, but I think it's such a smart and important move to pay attention to the, the tools that we have now, in 2024, that are serving the needs of the recovery community today.
Speaker 2:You know, and here's, here's, here's, here's the other thing that I didn't mention. So, as a patient, I keep the watch after my doctor visit and, like all visits, there's usually a follow-up. Could be two weeks, 30 days, what have you? Or let's just pretend we were in the middle of a COVID lockdown again, or I was out in the six. I was in a rural area where it's almost impossible for me to do a follow-up visit, right? I take this smart device home with me, okay, so this again transmits data every six minutes. It never stopped with the doctor visit, so we still have real-time information on a patient who's visited somebody for the first time and is expected to do a follow-up.
Speaker 2:You ever go to a follow-up and they say well, so how have you been doing? Have you been doing better? Well, I've had good days and I've had bad days. This will tell you exactly what the health professional needs to know, instead of this vague well, I have a good days or bad days, or it's not working, you know. This will tell you if it is or isn't and why.
Speaker 2:So this will be able to help people in rural communities that don't have quick access to health care. It'll be able to take care of people who don't necessarily like going out of their house, as an example, because you know, when you recover, a lot of people want to be alone. You know, I mean they want to protect their sober bubble, if you will. They don't want to be exposed to you know, billboards talking about you know, their favorite vodka, or they don't want to pass a bar. I mean. There's just a whole lot of reasons, and I went through all of it too.
Speaker 2:So what happens is that opiate will evolve into not only what it is now, which is technology that will be able to save lives in the first few weeks, days, weeks and months of recovery, but ultimately, this wearable is going to be available to the public, because 70% of people who suffer in silence, they don't visit a health professional at all.
Speaker 2:They choose to Google it or get advice from their friends, or try this or try that, and that's also where we're losing people. So imagine now having this device be available to John Q public, where they can literally interface with their friends and their primary care doctor or an ER, et cetera. So the future is here, and not only for short-term recovery, but also for those people who have been sober 10, 20, 30 years. Those are the ones we also have to watch out for, because they're the ones that have a tendency to relax and say, well, I'm fine, but you know, life happens, life happens and life is sometimes a series of unfortunate events. It's not one thing in your face that's going to trigger you to relapse, it's little things.
Speaker 2:A bad day could have been a death in the family, you could have been fired, you could have depleted your funds, who knows? But it's just like little little things and then they just compound and next thing, you know, you're like, you know what I'm going to use. You know screw it and and and a lot of times, because you've been sober so long. It's that little fentanyl pill or that little pill that you used to remember taking that was harmless, little pill that you used to remember taking that was harmless, that's the one that kills you.
Speaker 2:Okay, so this will ultimately this smart device opiate powered smart device is eventually going to become a wellness and lifestyle device for long-term care. So I'm so you know I saw this because I went through it, otherwise I'd never understand this complex technology. I'm so you know I saw this because I went through it, otherwise I'd never understand this complex technology. I'm not a scientist, I don't claim to be one, but you know I do love inspiring people and I have a story to tell and I have recovered and I've had my share of hard knocks and I'm telling you I wish this technology existed when I was going through my own recovery, because it would have been such a time saver.
Speaker 1:Sure, sure. Do you see, futuristically, people using technology like this who are not in recovery, but just people who need it for health? You know, we talked about a regular doctor visit where they ask the normal questions. I mean, do you see that as well?
Speaker 2:I do. I do. You know the the. Here's the thing, though with with all the tech space, it's still a relatively small space and a lot of people when they tout ai, it's it's not really AI. It's more like bots, which are FAQs, that chat, gpt, whatever they call it. That's not really AI either. It's just a compilation of stuff that exists. That's just kind of like that file, like that closet, organized, closet. It'll just take what exists already and just put it in sentences. This technology is a little different because with the biometrics and the algorithm, it starts knowing you and your patterns and it starts predicting outcomes. That's the difference.
Speaker 2:But you know, the fact that we can distinguish withdrawal from anxiety is a game changer from anxiety is a game changer. And the space is so big. There's so many applications to this. But OPH, true North is to have people come home at night. It's. True North is to influence and assist in recovery of substance use disorder, and then it's going to be alcohol and then it's going to be stimulants. So you know, obviously all three. Most people aren't really exclusive to one thing. They do multiple things, like I did, and that space is big enough globally where you know the application is endless, but you got to stick and focus on one thing Right now we want people to come home at night.
Speaker 1:Sure, sure it's interesting work, for sure, to see where that's going to go, it's going to be interesting to watch, and anything that helps people you know and saves lives is an incredible investment not only investment financially, but investment of time. Absolutely, there are tons of. I love what you said about this isn't like a 9 to 5. This is a 24-7. Whether you're in addiction active addiction or you're in recovery, it's a constant. It's 24-7, it doesn't shut off, and I think the online platforms and the digital world has really helped with that, you know, and whether it was the start of COVID that really made people like sign on, when they said, hey, you don't have to go back to work, you can stay here and, and you know, it just became so much more acceptable.
Speaker 1:I know it did in my world as far as recovery, like I wasn't even thinking about recovering online or recovery online until then. And then I haven't put it down yet because it's been, it's opened so many doors, it's been like crossing over to an entirely different world of people, community, and it's just been incredible, you know.
Speaker 2:And there's something to be said about that, you know, and it certainly is a time saver, but let's not also discount the power of human interaction, especially personal face-to-face interaction. It's healthy. You don't want to become I'm not knocking these people, because I could be one too but you don't want to become a basement dweller. You know what I mean. You want to get out there in the sunshine and talk to people and go to places and ultimately, guys, whoever's in the early stages of recovery you will be able to go to a restaurant or go to a bar, like I do, and sit at the bar and order a meal and they'll bring me my iced tea and they'll bring me my club soda and I'll socialize with people who are having a drink in front of me. And you know what? It doesn't bother me. I don't have a problem with the substances out there, like alcohol. I have a healthy respect. It's just one battle that I can't.
Speaker 2:For me, I'm allergic to it, but for somebody else who can do it responsibly, I mean, what am I going to do? Just shut everybody out of my life? I mean, life happens like I said, so you'll be able to start exploring your, your tolerance of things. It just makes it a lot better. You know, having a wearable and having almost like a like a buddy, like a coach, you know on you at all times.
Speaker 2:Because here's the thing I mean you ever go down a street and you have navigation and you'll hear red light camera ahead or accident reported ahead in a half a mile. Right Now it's not like you're going to crash into the car or you're speeding or you're going to go through an intersection, but that reminder just kind of like made you focus on the intersection right, makes you focus on where the car is, because obviously it's a safety measure. It just got you back to focus, because everybody has a tendency not to be focused. It's the same thing with this I'm 10 years, sober, clean and sober. I'm 20 years, clean and sober. And this thing, if I'm having that withdrawal and it detects something weird happening in my system because it knows me better than I do.
Speaker 2:Right, I'll feel a vibration, so it gets my attention and it'll ask are you okay? You want me to call somebody? You want to connect with somebody? It'll tell me maybe I need water. It'll tell me that, hey, you know what? You haven't been sleeping enough. You need more sleep. It's just the wildest thing in the world. Ai is here, and I don't mean like Terminator 3, rise of the Machines kind of thing.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, they're taking over. That's not what this is about. But our AI is in the medical space. Okay, ultimately, you have to have a health professional, a human being, in the loop, okay, so all we're doing is giving just remarkable, accurate data and decision-making abilities in just like seconds to a health professional who ultimately makes the decision. So there's no machine that's going to take over. There's no, you know, whatever. That's. That's our true North. I mean, if we really want people to come home at night, that's where it ends. That's where AI ends. We have no, no interest in creating a robot that's going to take over a doctor's office.
Speaker 1:Right, right. So yeah, I think when we talk about recovery there's different components, and you had talked about this being. You know there's that physical, spiritual, mental component that we need to all touch on. This really takes care of that physical and mental. It's like a combination almost, and then it's up to the individual to forge their path spiritually how they see fit, go to community how they see fit if it's locally and they want that face-to-face and that support.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I think it's an excellent addition to the recovery world, a hundred percent. And, like you said, you know, everybody's recovery and it's going to be different, it's individualized to some people will never have to go to the hospital, they will never have to go to a doctor, recover on their own um in community. And then there'll be some people who cannot do it without a hospital visit or a doctor advise, and I think that's an important distinction. And, you know, because it is individual, it's what you come in on, it's the quantity, it's the level of care that you need so that you can be safe until you get well. You know, and I think this helps with that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a real good point.
Speaker 2:And even in recovery. If you do go into rehab as an example, like I did, you know it's such a great thing, it worked for me, and as great as it is, what I quickly understood is that they were treating everybody the same. Ok, so you know I suffered from, you know, alcohol and some opioids, but never fentanyl, that kind of stuff which I didn't know anything about until I went in and started getting exposed to people who were addicted on fentanyl and they were proclaimed dead maybe four or five times. And the first thing they did when they came back to life is they're feeling their sock because that's where they hid their stash. You know, I'm like I mean, just think about it. You come back to life and the first thing you're thinking about is oh my God, did the paramedics take the stash that I had hidden in my sock? Right?
Speaker 2:And so there was this kid who was just like really in bad shape let's call him John and you know I stayed, you know, one bedroom from him and he just had a hard time and you know I recovered, was recovering quickly, because I embraced it and I kept trying to get him out of his shell and he was slowly getting out of his shell and he was starting to smile and you know, I was encouraging him to talk in group and you know, and like the 10th day I didn't see him anymore. And I went around to the counselors and they were, you know, somber mood and I'm like what happened to John? They said he didn't make it, and that's when I understood we were all treated the same. Imagine something that distinguished my withdrawal levels okay, while in recovery, versus John. We may have been able to catch him in time.
Speaker 2:You see, and that's why this is important to understand, there's no take two pills. Call me in the morning. You know, a 100-pound person could take two pills. A 300-pound person could take two pills. What do you do for the 100-pound person? You cut them in half. I mean, you ever notice? You ever see a prescription that's tailor-made by height and weight? No, so this has so many applications, it? No, so this has so many applications. It's just crazy. It boggles the mind. And the exciting part and thank you for having me share this is I just want to let people know that opiate's here and there is hope. There's technology that's our friend. There's technology that understands who we are and how we may need to recover and how we may need to recover, and it just cuts down a lot of wasted time. That are life-saving moments, I think.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. I was really intrigued when I heard about it. I'm so grateful that you came on to share about it in its early stages and I look forward to having you on as it progresses so you can keep us up to date.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. There's some good stuff happening this year that I still can't talk about it, but they're just like big big milestones and couldn't be prouder.
Speaker 1:I'd love to share them with you. Excellent, so where could listeners find you? Could you actually please talk just for a second about your book and where they can find that?
Speaker 2:Sure, the book is called there Is no Box, and it's available on Amazon or Barnes Noble. It's available at Walmart most stores, but you can find it at Amazon. You can follow me on Instagram the real Dino Miliotis or Dino Miliotis on Facebook. And then, as far as the technology for opiate, this one's real easy. It's opiateai, opiateai, and that'll give you all the information on what we're doing. It's here now. It's working now. We're implementing it in health professionals, medical offices now. But it's important like anything else. Like the pharmacy commercials that you see on TV, they target consumers. It's important for me to speak to my people, our consumers, so that they know that they can ask for this technology by name. And if their health professional doesn't know about it or doesn't have it, hey, give them the website, have them contact us, and then we can get them integrated.
Speaker 1:Great. I love how you say yeah, it's for us, yeah, and thank you so much for coming on here. Thank you, I enjoyed it.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much. I love what you're doing. Keep it up, Keep doing what you do, and until next time I mean thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for tuning into the Sober Living Stories podcast. If you have been inspired, consider subscribing and sharing with anyone who could use hope in their lives. Remember to stay tuned for more inspiring stories in the episodes to come. To view our featured author of the month or to become a guest yourself, visit wwwjessicastepanoviccom.