BIO BELOW FROM: http://floridadetox.com/dr-sponaugle/

Dr. Rick Sponaugle - Founder and Medical Director of Florida Detox^® and Wellness Institute

Click here to view Dr. Sponaugle’s Curriculum Vitae.

Dr. Marvin “Rick” Sponaugle is Board Certified in two specialties, Addiction Medicine and Anesthesiology. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and a member of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. Dr. Sponaugle is also a member of ACAM, the American College for the Advancement of Medicine.

Dr. Sponaugle is often invited to speak at physician meetings and national audiences on “Brain Chemistry and Addiction” and the topic of ”The Brain-Body Connection in Wellness.” Dr. Sponaugle was a guest speaker at the White House in 2008 where he met with Rubin Brasalis, Deputy Chief to President Bush. A list of Dr. Sponaugle’s past and upcoming speaking engagements can be located further down this page.

Dr. Sponaugle is the first addictionologist to correlate brain chemistry patterns with variations seen on SPECT Brain scans in addicted patients. He has matched these changes to specific drug craving patterns in his patients. This research has enabled Dr. Sponaugle’s patients to achieve much lower relapse rates because their drug and alcohol craving stops when their brain chemistry imbalance is corrected.

Dr. Sponaugle is also the first addictionologist to prove that imbalance of female hormones has causation in at least 60 percent of the addiction issues seen in middle age women. Dr. Sponaugle lectures on this phenomenon at national meetings and was a speaker on “Menopause Causing Alcoholism and Drug Addiction” at the annual AACC meeting [8,000 attendees] in Nashville, September 2011.

Dr. Sponaugle is the first doctor in America to determine a classic brain chemistry pattern caused by Black Mold Toxicity, the excessive accumulation of the Stachybotrus Trichothecene T2 toxin in the brain. Dr. Sponaugle’s research has clearly proven that changes in brain chemistry derived from hidden mold toxins causes craving for relaxing drugs and subsequently, alcoholism, Xanax addiction and Oxycontin addiction. Americans with HLA DRBQ genetics have difficulty removing these toxins from their brain and body.

Dr. Sponaugle’s clinical research has proven that there are hundreds of biochemical and medical disorders that commonly contribute to the drug and alcohol craving!! Yet, these treatable disorders are rarely diagnosed at America’s drug treatment centers. Since 1998, Dr. Sponaugle has attempted to change the paradigm of addiction treatment to a less judgmental, more scientific model – one that embraces the biochemical basis for addiction.

Dr. Sponaugle’s use of advanced brain science combined with integrative medicine principles for the healing of drug induced brain damage in thousands of patients has taught him how to more successfully treat multiple brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Autistic disorders, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Sponaugle is currently proving that these brain disorders can be more effectively treated with integrative medicine protocols than with pharmaceutical medications alone.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Dr. Sponaugle was born in Franklin, West Virginia. While majoring in chemistry at West Virginia University, Dr. Sponaugle was awarded the Alpha Epsilon Delta National Chemistry Honor Society, the Beta Theta Pi National Merit Scholarship and Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities.

After graduating with the honor of PHI BETA KAPPA, Dr. Sponaugle accepted one of four scholarships given by the state of West Virginia to outstanding pre-med students for enrollment at the WVU School of Medicine. After receiving his MD degree at WVU, Dr. Sponaugle attended the University of Florida where he performed specialty training in anesthesiology, cardiac-intensive care medicine and pain management.

In 1985, Dr. Sponaugle began private practice in Tampa Bay. He has served as Chief of Anesthesiology for two Tampa Bay hospitals, Medical Director of three surgical centers and the Medical Director of  the Watermark Pain Treatment Center.

Dr. Sponaugle accepts referrals from doctors throughout North America including University Medical Centers and Dr. Phil. He has been featured on numerous national media including the Dr. Phil show, Ricki Lake show, CNN Anderson Cooper, FOX News, ABC News, CBS News and NBC News and PBS.