Why Florida Detox® and Dr Sponaugle?
PAINLESS DETOX
In 1998, Dr. Sponaugle designed a painless detox for rapid opiate detox, Xanax detox and Alcohol detox. Informed patients choose Dr. Sponaugle and the Florida Detox® team because our patients do not suffer painful opiate withdrawal or Xanax withdrawal symptoms.
SAFEST RAPID DETOX CENTER
Dr. Rick Sponaugle and Florida Detox® have a 13 year safety record having performed Rapid Opiate Detox on more than 5,000 patients, Dr. Sponaugle is the most experienced rapid detox physician in the world.
Safety should be your primary concern when choosing a traditional or rapid detox center. Some Rapid Detox Centers are dangerous, patients have died in Michigan and New Jersey. Make sure the Rapid Detox Center you are considering has a proven safety record and years of experience.
The safety of Dr. Sponaugle’s Rapid Detox was proven when he performed Rapid Oxycontin Detox on a heart transplant patient. Kansas City Heart surgeons chose Dr. Sponaugle and the Florida Detox team to perform Oxycontin detox on their heart transplant patient, one of their own ICU nurses who suffered an Oxycontin Addiction of 3,200 mgs a day. The University heart surgeons needed the safest Oxycontin Detox in America to protect their transplanted heart.
SCIENTIFIC ADDICTION TREATMENT – LOWEST RELAPSE RATE IN AMERICA
Detox is worthless if you continue to relapse like 80 percent of Americans. Why waste your time and money on drug detox, traditional detox or rapid detox if you are going to relapse? If your brain feels “more normal” on Oxycontin and your detox doctors cannot diagnose the cause of your Oxycontin craving, you will most likely relapse to Oxycontin.
Many patients who ultimately find Dr. Sponaugle unfortunately wasted thousands of dollars [our record patient Todd spent $900,000, see his video testimony] at traditional detox centers and Rapid Detox Centers only to relapse within months of their detox. Why do 80 percent of addicted patients relapse shortly after going through drug detox – because of untreated drug craving – their brain feels “more normal” – better balanced – less anxious – less depressed – more focused – on Oxycontin, Alcohol, Cocaine or Xanax.
Only 9 percent of Florida Detox patients relapse as compared to national relapse rates of 80 percent! The 91 percent success rate at Florida Detox® is accomplished through Dr. Sponaugle’s comprehensive brain wellness program which stops drug craving and ends the addiction cycle.
Dr. Sponaugle’s brain wellness program is based on years of research in which Dr. Sponaugle correlated the drug craving patterns of his patients with their SPECT brain scans, brain chemistry profiles and numerous biochemical deficiencies. This research has proven that drug craving is not psychological as once thought, it is biochemical in nature.
This research proves that addicted patients crave the biochemical effect of a drug that will temporarily balance their brain chemistry and brain activity. Addicted patients use drugs to stimulate underactive brain regions, and to calm overactive brain regions, as seen on their brain scans.
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You cannot “talk” patients out of biochemical craving with any more success than you can “talk” patients out of their diabetes – both diabetes AND addiction are a result of biochemical disorders. You can, however stop biochemical craving if you diagnose and treat the underlying medical disorders that alter brain chemistry.
Dr. Sponaugle has discovered hundreds of medical and biochemical disorders that cause biochemical craving and subsequent addiction. Sadly, these medical disorders are rarely diagnosed at other detox centers. When we stop biochemical craving, no longer relapse to drugs or alcohol.
Dr. Sponaugle Invited to Speak on Addiction Treatment at The White House
Dr. Sponaugle was invited to the White House to explain how and why his science based addiction treatment achieves 90 percent success rates as compared to 10 percent success rates at America’s traditional rehab centers.
Dr. Sponaugle explained to Deputy Chief Rubin Brazalis and the White House staff that the knowledge gained from his addiction research and that from scientists at the National Institute of Drug Addiction enabled him to stop the “biochemical” drug craving in his addicted patients.
Dr. Sponaugle further explained that AA based, 12 step programs attempt to coach patients through each day of craving leaving patients a set up for failing because they have to “white knuckle” through each day of craving.
Dr. Sponaugle explained that drug craving is actually biochemical in nature and that patients will crave the biochemical effect of any drug that temporarily balances their brain chemistry. He further explained that when the underlying cause[s] of biochemical craving is diagnosed and subsequently treated, addicted patients no longer need or crave drugs.
Dr. Sponaugle enlightened the White House staff regarding the many different medical disorders he has discovered can cause drug craving. These disorders range from inherited brain chemical deficiencies to pituitary tumors. This medical disorders are routinely overlooked at America’s rehab centers because they are too focused on talk therapy.
Dr. Sponaugle emphasized that there is no “disease of addiction,” a common myth propagated by addiction doctors. Rather, there are many disease states that cause drug craving and lead to addiction.
Patients are misdiagnosed as “drug addicts” by addiction specialists who lack adequate knowledge of brain physiology and biochemistry. Dr. Sponaugle explained to Bush’s deputy chief that he diagnoses medical disorders in patients who have attended 12 or more rehab centers only to be misdiagnosed as a drug addict.
America’s addiction doctors misunderstand the concept that patients use drugs and alcohol to balance their brain chemistry, not to get high. Dr. Sponaugle explained that some patients are trying to get high-er, to a normal if they have inherited an underactive reward center. This phenomenon is called Reward Deficiency Syndrome.
Other patients use drugs to quiet their overactive brain regions. Unfortunately, over time, the drugs used by patients to self-medicate will actually distort their brain chemistry to a greater extent than what they inherited. Their drug induced hormonal and nutritional deficiencies worsen drug and alcohol craving.
America’s addiction treatment centers fail to diagnose and treat drug induced deficiencies of brain chemicals, hormones and amino acids, therefore, patients fall into a “black hole” immediately following their drug detox. The black hole is described by alcoholics as the “dry drunk” syndrome. The “black hole” is the reason that sixty percent of America’s addicted patients relapse within four weeks of their detox!
At Florida Detox & Wellness Institute, Dr. Sponaugle begins correcting brain chemistry, hormonal and nutritional [amino acid] deficiencies during the patient’s drug detoxification process. He corrects over 65 biochemical deficiencies in the average addicted patient, many come in on Monday feeling depressed and suffering fatigue, but, they leave the detox unit on Friday feeling and looking 10 years younger.
Historical Perspective from Dr. Sponaugle
In 1998, I began my attempt to revolutionize addiction treatment in America. At that time, I assumed my mission was to utilize my cardiac care and anesthesiology skills to design a safer and less painful detox technique, because, the detox protocols in America had not changed for 50 years and were painful and dangerous, putting unnecessary stress on the heart.
I had no idea that ‘talk therapy’ and AA did not prevent relapse, that they had a 90 percent failure rate. I designed a more scientific, painless and much safer detox technique. My patients thought it was a miracle detox, especially if they had previously gone through detox at another detox center.
I soon learned, however, that detox and counseling was not enough, even when I referred my patients for 28 days of “treatment” at famous rehab centers in Arizona and Minnesota, they relapsed.
Within months of their detox, over half of my patients relapsed. They returned again and again for my painless detox, went to counseling after each detox, but, could not stay off their favorite drug or alcohol. It became obvious there was a missing link, brain chemistry – you cannot expect to change your addiction behavior if you don’t change your brain.
Having spent years in the medical and surgical arena, I had great difficulty accepting the horrific failure rate that psychiatrists and addiction doctors assumed was normal and blamed on the patients.I took it personally when my patients relapsed and began looking for the reason.
I prayed for wisdom and began reading neuroscience articles from American and European universities. All my patients who continued to relapse said they “felt more normal” on their favorite drug, couldn’t make it through the day without their Oxy or Roxy? But why did some love cocaine and others hate it? Why did some feel more focused on Vicodin and others more relaxed?
Prayer is often answered – with hard work. I had to work closely with my patients – they remain the best teachers, I asked them more questions, studied patterns in their mannerisms and behavior, research thousands of brain science articles and learn the biochemical effect of various drugs on the brain. I began matching choice of drug with personality profile – a few years later, brain scan with the brain chemistry pattern that matches the personality profile and the drug craving!
Now that’s some exciting and practical research that produces a common sense approach to addiction treatment. Thirteen years and six thousand patients later, I have proven there are multiple biochemical causes of drug addiction and alcoholism – biochemical abberations that can readily be treated if they are properly diagnosed. The good news – there is no incurable “disease of addiction.” There are many treatable causes of drug craving and addiction.
Dr. Sponaugle
As Founder and Medical Director of Florida Detox and Wellness Institute, I have performed more extensive testing on addicted patients than that of all the addiction treatment centers in America.
Many famous treatment centers do not perform even basic blood testing. How would they know what biochemical disorders cause drug craving and addiction if they have never looked?
In 2010, I treated 500 new addicted patients. I diagnosed nine of those patients with pituitary tumors, adenomas, tiny brain tumors that disrupt hormonal balance and brain function. These brain tumors can subsequently cause drug craving.
Some caused excessive production of thyroid hormone, hyperthyroidism. Patients with hyperthyroidism suffer with anxiety and insomnia. These patients are repeatedly misdiagnosed as drug addicts and alcoholics at America’s rehab centers because they self-medicate their overactive brains with Oxycontin, Xanax and alcohol.
One of these patients, a dentist from Miami, had spent $200,000 at a famous rehab on Malibu beach, four different $50,000 admissions over a two year period. Each time Jack returned for another rehab stent, the doctors told him he was a good dentist, but sadly, a drug addict. Jack abused Oxycontin to quiet the anxiety derived from hyperthyroidism.
Jack was thankful he found Florida Detox and Dr. Sponaugle. He has had successful removal of his brain tumor and no longer fights anxiety and OxyContin addiction.
This year, I diagnosed over 200 addicted patients with mold toxicity. MOLD TOXICITY distorts brain chemistry causing severe depression, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, anxiety, insomnia, rage control issues and in the worst cases, multiple sclerosis. One of four Americans, 24 percent, can not effectively remove mold toxins from there body, they do so 468 percent less efficiently.
Linda is a 42-year old gynecologist from Birmingham who became disabled at age 38, she could no longer practice gynecology. She was referred to me by a brilliant endocrinologist in Birmingham after four years of treatment by doctors at the University of Alabama failed to diagnose the cause of her demise. Linda came to Florida Detox and Wellness, so fatigued that she was almost wheel chair bound.
Because I have ascertained a brain chemistry pattern that is produced from excessive toxin accumulation in the brain, I diagnosed the cause of Linda’s demise on our first visit. Her subsequent testing revealed extraordinary high levels of three different mold toxins, thrichothecene, aflatoxin and ochratoxin. Linda underwent an aggressive intravenous detox regimen I have designed for patients who suffer from toxic accumulation of mold toxins, Lyme’s toxins, and solvent toxins like benzene, toluene, mandelic acid from skin exfoliants etc.
Linda is now full of energy, she no longer suffers depression or anxiety and her total body pain is gone, she no longer needs hydrocodone just to get out of bed in the morning. She claims that my brain chemistry optimization program has given her better ability to focus than she had in her twenties. Furthermore, it became obvious that God brought Dr. Linda to Florida Detox for her three children. They were also suffering with depression, ADHD symptoms and chronic fatigue, all three tested positive for mold toxicity and are responding nicely to treatment.
Please visit my blog for a few more interesting patient stories. You will see the brain scan that matches the distorted brain chemistry that causes craving for Oxycontin etc. The extensive knowledge we have obtained from our clinical research has empowered us to look much deeper below the obvious symptom of addiction into the multifaceted realm of medical and biochemical disorders that are the true cause of addiction in most patients.
Unfortunately, most addiction specialists have made little effort to perform their own research, they wait for generic studies to come out of universities where doctors really don’t get to know their patients. Doctors at other treatment centers have not researched the biochemical causes of drug and alcohol craving because they were wrongly taught, the great myth, that drug addiction is the primary disease, an incurable disease.
Please do not waste your time and financial resources on nonscientific addiction treatment. Your addiction is a symptom of another biochemical issue that has changed your brain chemistry in such a fashion that your brain feels better on a specific drug. You may have inherited this from mom or dad or you could have acquired it from many different sources.
At Florida Detox & Wellness Institute, we diligently study advances in neuroscience and anti-aging/wellness medicine. We constantly perform new clinical research as we discover more causes of addiction. Our intense study of the brain and the endocrine system has empowered us to design the most comprehensive brain and body optimization program available to any addict or non addicted patient. This optimization of more than 60 biochemicals not only stops drug and alcohol craving, it is extremely effective in reversing the accelerated aging process caused by drugs and alcohol.
Our goal at Florida Detox is no longer to simply stop your craving and addiction cycle, we want to return your brain and body to a more youthful state. In my Brain Chemistry and Addiction workshop, I explain many brain health and anti-aging concepts that help the entire family become more healthy, including how they can prevent early memory loss and Alzheimer’s which has doubled since 1980.
Doctor Sponaugle’s Brain Chemistry & Addiction Workshop
In my family workshop, you learn that we have created 80,000 man-made chemicals since 1900 and that the top 100 synthetic chemicals are proven brain toxins. The accumulation of these neurotoxic chemicals in our brains is wreaking havoc on America and a major cause of the rise in mental health disorders – and subsequently, the rapidly increasing prevalence of addiction in America.
The National Institute of Mental Health states that the prevalence of depression, anxiety, panic disorder and insomnia disorders have tripled since 1980. Alzheimer’s has doubled and the prevalence of Autism in America has gone up ten fold, 1000 percent, since 1980.
These brain disorders are causation of addiction. I explain in the workshop how we can effectively prevent and treat these brain disorders, and, that if we properly diagnose them in addicted patients, stop their addiction.
In the workshop, I explain to families that we have uncovered various underlying biochemical causes of medical disorders that cause drug and alcohol craving, and as well, that we understand the concept, that your brain really does “feel more normal” on specific drugs or alcohol.
I also explain why Americans, have in more recent decades, acquired changes in their brain chemistry that transform personalities from fun loving, spontaneous and happy to individuals who are moody, irritable, stubborn, depressed and no longer enjoy socializing with friends and family.
We demonstrate how we can treat the underlying biochemical cause of the personality change including detoxification of underlying toxicity. This not only makes the patient a happy go lucky, person once more, it also stops their drug and alcohol craving – and prevents earlier memory loss and Alzheimer’s.
Dr. Sponaugle tells Ed’s story, the 94 year old gentleman he recently woke up from a two year cognitive coma with just seven days of his comprehensive brain- body biochemical makeover. Dr. Sponaugle discusses his protocol for brain health and explains that addiction simply jumps on a broken wagon, when we fix the wagon, addiction has no purpose in the patient’s life.
Dr. Sponaugle explains that classic psychiatric medicine uses BIG PHARMA medication which usually only treats the symptom and not the cause of anxiety, insomnia, depression and fibromyalgia.
In the workshop, Dr. Sponaugle demonstrates, with real patient case studies, the underlying cause, whether it be a gut full of Candida yeast and toxic bacteria from your excessive antibiotic prescriptions or toxins from the hidden mold in your bathroom, the brain chemical and hormonal deficiencies that change your brain chemistry, your personality and subsequently, drive your addiction.
Dr. Sponaugle explains how, working with you, we can cleanse your body of unwanted toxins and optimize your hormonal function and brain chemistry so that you become the twenty year younger and much more energetic person you were before you were sabotaged by extraneous toxins, or in some cases, Big Pharma driven American medicine.
In the workshop, you and your spouse learn why you have had such a hard time fighting your drug or alcohol craving. Normally the wife or husband looks at their addicted spouse half way through the seminar and say, “I’m sorry, I thought you just wanted to drink or do the drugs, now I understand.” This is very powerful and many marriages are healed in the workshop.
You will also learn why you, “love” one drug and dislike another. You’ll see our clinical research explained in a way that makes your need for a drug or alcohol very clear. When Dr. Sponaugle uses the slides to explain the physiological concept, how the drug like Vicodin affects your brain, you and your family will understand why that particular drug had a “miraculous effect” on your specific brain chemistry and personality profile.
The good news is that the way Dr. Sponaugle explains it, everyone gets it, even that old school, grew up the hard way, dad. Before the workshop he said, ” I just need to kick your butt more often, you’ve had it too easy.”
In the workshop, Dad learns that the brains of our younger generation are under attack at a much earlier age from higher levels of antibiotics and toxins in our food and even the city water. Dad and mom learn that in the seventies, only two out of ten kids who tried drugs found them to be medication and became drug addicts, but, that today, when ten kids play with Oxycontin or Roxycodone, eight out of ten find the drug to be a medication for their brain.
Once you and your family have attended Dr. Sponaugle’s Brain Chemistry and Addiction’ Workshop, you will know why you “really like” Vicodin and Oxycontin, but, dislike the effect of Cocaine.
You will also learn how we can take your good, but, addicted brain and make it a great, non- addicted brain! In the Workshop, your family will learn the biochemical aspects of addiction, exciting anti-aging protocols and a total brain and body concept of wellness.
You will actually see functional brain scans that match specific personalities. You and your family will begin to recognize your personality profiles as Dr. Sponaugle describes the behavior patterns that match.
Dr. Sponaugle will explain specific brain chemistry/physiological issues whether neurotransmitter, hormonal, toxic or head trauma that cause brains to look abnormal on the functional brain scan. Then Dr. Sponaugle will explain the chemical and electrical effect that various drugs and alcohol have on the brain.
This will enable you to understand the precise brain effect the drug you use has on your brain. You will be able to correlate your personality profile with the matching brain scan. You will learn how different drugs release specific brain chemicals from the brain cell storage units called vesicles.
You will learn the mechanism by which drugs can either stimulate your underactive brain regions or quiet your overactive brain regions and how this depends on which brain chemical is released for activation of receptors on the second brain neuron. You will see studies that compare the power of food verses sex and cocaine in the activation of our pleasure center.
What is the addiction scourge all about?
In the last 12 years, we have found that 95 percent of all addicted patients, even chronic pain patients, ultimately use opiate pain pills and/or drugs like Ambien/Xanax and/or alcohol to balance their specific brain chemistry.
When we diagnose these issues and correct the brain chemistry. and subsequently, the brain’s electrical current which is modulated or controlled by the brain chemistry, we negate the patient’s need for drugs and alcohol. Our addiction evaluation includes testing of more than sixty different biochemical causes of craving for commonly abused drugs like Oxycontin, Roxycodone, cocaine, Xanax and alcohol.
When we balance your brain chemistry, hormones and nutritional deficiencies, you will have no more drug or alcohol craving! No more “white knuckling” through each day! You will also feel 10-15 years younger within the first few weeks of our comprehensive anti-aging, brain optimization and total body wellness program!
Call today, get started toward a younger, happier, healthier individual who doesn’t need drugs or alcohol to feel normal.
Please ask the Florida Detox call center staff to connect you with past patients, including doctors, who are grateful to have their life back. These patients want you to know the truth, that we are practicing the most intense, intelligent and comprehensive addiction treatment available as of 2010. They will gladly speak with you because they were once in your shoes, hopelessly craving and continuously relapsing to drugs and alcohol.
Todd Noble – Case Study 44 Rehab Programs Before Florida Detox
Todd had been through 44 alcohol detox and rehab programs over 32 years of drugs and drinking. Todd now has no alcohol or opiate craving, he has stopped drinking 38-40 cups of coffee per day and is now down, from sixty cigarettes a day to six.
Todd can relate to you and best explain the difference in our drug and/or alcohol treatment verses non scientific treatment at other detox centers. He can validate the success we have in stopping the drug and alcohol craving. We stopped Todd’s craving ion one week, before Dr. Sponaugle’s addiction treatment, Todd had never been off drugs or alcohol more than one week since the age of 12 unless he was locked up in a drug treatment center.
ADDICTION EXPERTISE – Dr. Sponaugle says, “Detox alone is worthless. Detox with counseling is not much better because it has proven to fail 80-90 percent of the time. Successful addiction treatment requires intensive work, adjustment of multiple brain chemistry issues, those inherited and those created by the drugs and alcohol. To achieve 12 percent relapse rates, we must correct multiple hormonal and nutritional deficiencies. Frequently, we must diagnose subclinical infections. Common examples are infections that you are unaware you have contracted from mosquitoes, ticks, horses, household pets and other people. These undiagnosed infections steal your energy, causing your immune system to work in overdrive. The infections also suppress your brain’s pituitary gland and create hypothyroidism, adrenal shut down and ovarian/testicular suppression.”
The pituitary gland and hypothalamus are the only part of the brain unprotected by the ‘filter’ commonly known as the blood brain barrier. The pituitary gland quickly succumbs to infectious inflammation and shuts down production of multiple hormones: growth hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone, ACTH (which stimulates adrenal gland production), LH and FSH (which stimulate production of testosterone, estradiol and progesterone). If you are female, you must read “Hormones and Addiction”, an article Dr. Sponaugle recently presented at the American Academy of Anti-aging Medicine (AAAM) Spring conference. Dr. Daniel Amen, neuroscientist, psychiatrist and founder of the Amen Clinics in California liked the scientific article so much, he posted it on his website. click here to read article
Melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH) is also deficient in patients with severe pituitary suppression from mold toxicity and infections. We can not make enkephalins or endorphins without MSH or DHEA. This is yet another reason infections and toxicity cause pain syndromes, fibromyalgia syndrome, joint/muscle stiffness and concomitant anxiety and insomnia disorders. Adrenal shut down leaves you without your ‘get up and go’ chemicals. Ninety percent of your epinephrine or ‘pure adrenaline’ is made in your adrenal glands. Only 10 percent of your norepinephrine is made in the adrenal glands, 90 percent is made in your brain’s central nucleus called the locus ceruleus. Cortisol is another important hormone made in your adrenal glands. If your cortisol level is suboptimal you will suffer lethargy, fatigue, increased physical pain and lack of zest for life.
At Florida Detox and Wellness Institute, we frequently diagnose infectious toxicity in chronic pain patients who have traveled America seeking diagnoses from prestigious institutions such as Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, Stanford and the like, only to be dismissed by mainstream medicine and told, “it is all in your head” or “you simply must live with your pain and take opioid pain medication the rest of your life”. These patients often suffer from Stachybotrus [black mold] or Aspergillis mold toxicity or systemic fungal overgrowth. Others suffer from undiagnosed Lyme’s, Bartonella, Babesia, Mycoplasma or stealth viral infections such as Epstein Barr, Cytomegalovirus, Herpes I, II and VI,or West Nile. When these patients are treated with high dose intravenous vitamin C and other modalities, their pain stops and they no longer have a need of Xanax for sleep and Oxycontin for pain.
You can not win the pain and addiction game when you are treated by addiction doctors who know minimal neuroendocrine immunological science and are unaware of the commonly associated infectious diseases that frequently cause chronic pain syndromes. Research well, and pray that God will grant you the wisdom and discernment to choose an addiction treatment center that practices with passion and excellence – one that will set you free and serve to greatly improve your quality of life. God bless.
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