/ A Life-Changing Week at Mount Med
A Review by Alice Dogruyol
/ Rest, Restore, Reset: My Life-Changing Week at Mount Med
I’ve spent a large part of my adult life juggling two constant companions: type 1 diabetes and the challenge of keeping my weight in check. It’s not just about willpower – it’s a daily balancing act of blood sugars, hormones and the stubborn realities of a messed up metabolism. I’ve been on enough ‘health holidays’ to know that most are either indulgent escapes with a side of yoga, or strict regimes that leave you counting the days until you can go home.
Mount Med was different.
This was a place that saw all of me – my medical history, my physiology, my fears, my hopes – and worked with it.
/ A Sanctuary That Feels Like It Was Built for You
From the moment I arrived, something shifted. Maybe it was the Tirolean air, or the soft, serene and beautifully decorated alpine lodge lounge. Maybe it was simply being somewhere designed with such care that you instinctively exhale. Every detail seemed intentional – as if the building itself was whispering, ‘You’re safe here. It’s time to look after yourself.’
/ Medicine with Heart
My days began with testing – not the rushed, tick-box kind I’m used to, but deep, meaningful diagnostics. ECG, blood test, metabolic analysis, body composition scans, all aimed at understanding how my body was really functioning. For someone who has lived with type 1 diabetes for a while now, seeing my blood sugar and ketone balance monitored with such precision was quietly moving. There was no judgement. No lectures. Just clarity and care.
/ Eating Without Fear
For me, food has always been a daily game of Russian roulette – a constant calculation of carbs, insulin and the risk of a spike or a crash. Even when I get it right, there’s always the mental load of managing it all. At Mount Med, that burden disappeared.
Every meal was like a love letter to my body: Michelin-star level in flavour and presentation yet perfectly balanced for blood sugar stability. No rollercoaster highs, no energy slumps – just calm, steady fuel. For the first time in years, I could simply sit, eat and enjoy without fear. And that, for me, was huge.
/ The Rhythm of Renewal
Each day unfolded with its own gentle, restorative rhythm – vitamin infusions fuelled my cells, fascia-release massages untangled months of tension, facials made my skin glow, time in the herbal sauna breathing in fragrant steam, and moments relaxing in the softly glowing Fire Room, helped me truly relax.
There was movement too: swimming in the warm pool watching snow drift past the windows, personal training sessions in a gym so advanced it could have been built for Olympic athletes. Yet every workout was adapted to me – my body, my limits, my needs. No pressure, no judgement. Just the quiet encouragement to keep showing up, one movement at a time.
/ What Made It Different
For me, it wasn’t just about the science (which I live for) – it was the human touch. The way Dr Alexander Papp spoke from both expertise and personal experience. The way the team remembered small details from our conversations. The sense that nothing was too much trouble, and no part of me – not even the most complicated medical history – was treated as a burden.
I didn’t drop a dress size in a week (that was never the point), but I left with the best HbA1c reading of my life, a steadier weight and something harder to measure: hope. My skin glowed, my energy was high and for the first time in years, I felt like my body was working with me, not against me.
Mount Med isn’t just a retreat. It’s a place that holds you, teaches you, and reminds you that with the right care, better is always possible – no matter how long you’ve been fighting the same battles.
Photocredit: © venni
