WELCOME FRIENDS!

I started this Blog because God has sparked within me a desire to bring the message of health, hope and healing to all those who need it, but especially to those that have been touched by physical infirmities. At least some level of healing is available to all who ask, seek and believe!

Join me as I take a step of faith out of the boat and into the murky waters to begin my own journey of health and healing. We will be taking a closer look at how to find healing in our modern-day world and what God has to say about the process as well. Some of the posts will be on practical ways to achieve healing in our bodies; others will be inspirational and are meant to bring you hope. I think most of you will find that a lot of the information here challenges what you think you know about good health.

May Jehovah Rapha--God, Our Healer--open your hearts, minds and eyes as you explore this website. And may you never forget...to Always Hope.






Wednesday, July 3, 2013

DR. SPONAUGLE AND FLORIDA DETOX: THE BOTTOM LINE



I apologize for the delay in updates again. I know many of you are very anxious to hear "the rest of the story." I have just gotten back home from an extended stay at Shand's Hospital in Gainesville, FL where I was newly diagnosed with chronic gastritis and duodenitis. Upon endoscopy with biopsies, I also have findings specific to eosinophilic esophagitis and mast cells in my small bowel. I have lost 35 lbs in two months and have been going into anaphylactic shock just upon waking up without eating or drinking anything. I was on complete bowel rest during the week I was in the hospital, with a dextrose drip being my only food. I have only been able to tolerate organic chicken broth for the last two weeks. I was put on Zyrtec, Zantac and Singulair, proton pump inhibitors and steroids. A mast cell stabilizer will be next. I have been put on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)--an eating plan that has been used with great success over many years in order to heal people's guts. Disappointingly, I was told my gut would be healed in as little as "three days" by Dr. Sponaugle upon getting his specialized treatment at FDWI. Clearly, that did not happen.

While these conditions may be newly diagnosed, I was having symptoms of all these things during my time at FDWI. But the thing is, nothing is really diagnosed at FDWI besides Lyme, mold and occasionally, mycoplasma. Sure, everyone comes in with different issues which have been diagnosed by other doctors, but at FDWI, all of these things are just reduced to toxic brains and as a result, everyone gets the very same treatment--Vitamin C and amino acid IVs. The only variations I saw of this was a little more or little less of something like b vitamins or magnesium. I did see one girl get antibiotic treatment for mycoplasma after many weeks of the Vitamin C and aminos failed. She ended up having bad side effects in her tendons and left the clinic. 

The gut is NOT treated at FDWI. Even though it is considered the "second brain" and sends its own signals to the brain, it isn't even talked about there. While I was there, many patients absconded over to Lifeworks Wellness where doctors Springer and Minkhoff offer most everything Sponaugle does--and then some--with much better care and organization and at a MUCH better price. They at least acknowledge the HUGE role the gut plays in chronic illnesses and treat the patient accordingly. 


Most people with chronic issues and illness have leaky gut, yeast and dysbiosis of the small bowel. This isn't often a result, but a CAUSE of chronic illness. But healing the gut is not quick; it sure doesn't take "three days." The SCD diet, for instance, can take up to two years or more to work. Two years is not the type of treatment that Dr. Sponaugle deals in. His treatment is six weeks. He wants you in and out in that time and wants to take the next patient's money. If you don't respond to the treatment, then you didn't do something he told you to and it's your fault. This is at least how he seems to justify the MANY FDWI failures in his mind (please don't believe the ninety-something percent success rate that may have been quoted to you; there is nothing they can give you to back this up). That, and I truly believe that he just compartmentalizes because he is in denial that his treatments aren't as effective as he would like them to be. If the masses found that out, however, he would be ruined and thus, he's created a massive marketing scheme to perpetuate a mythical cure.

Don't get me wrong: there are multiple sides to Dr. Rick Sponaugle and like any mad scientist, he has Jeykell and Hyde tendencies for sure. For instance, he professes to be a Christian and has lots of artwork and scriptures on his wall that would suggest that. He has helped to build a church overseas (a picture and story of which he prominently displays in his lobby), and he does show moments of generosity to his patients: he gave my mother and me our first round of supplements for free. Yes, we had both just paid almost 10k each (that amount only covered IVs and what was supposed to be one appointment with Sponaugle per week, but even that didnt happen because he had a fit and took off for over ten days, seeing no patients during this time), but these brief moments of charity were overshadowed by his completely erratic behavior: yelling at patients, calling patients whiners, mocking other believers there by calling them "Chreeshtains" and using air quotes while doing it, badgering patients who complained that the treatment wasn't working for them, violating HIPAA laws right and left, firing staff members for their incompetence when he was the one changing the rules on them practically every day, berating and demeaning his nurses in front of patients and anyone else who was around (one time he got on my nurse Dennis so badly that Dennis chewed a bloody hole in his bottom lip), acting recklessly with medical treatments without doing his due diligence (the hospital where he was doing patients' rapid detox took away his privileges while I was at FDWI), and just on and on. 

The bottom line is, I am no better, and in fact worse, since the treatment at FDWI. I am also about 35K poorer. This has been the experience of every other person I still keep in contact with that I met at FDWI, with the exception of one woman who did feel like the treatment detoxed her from all the antibiotics she had taken over the years for Chronic Lyme. I am hoping these people will write their own accounts so I can post them here. 

There are pictures of many people on the FDWI site that Dr. Sponaugle claims to have healed, including my own mother, but this is just because they get you to sign a release for your photographs the very first time you see anyone and they are quite persistent about it too. As an attorney, I wasn't going to sign anything until I saw results and was sure I wanted to recommend the treatment, but my mom went ahead and signed and handed it in before I could tell her not to. Other patients have called me asking how to get their names and pictures off the FDWI website. My experience there has been the experience of many. I would be very wary of all the positive posts you may be seeing out there. I am not at liberty to discuss much about this but I can tell you that Dr. Sponaugle is extremely literate when it comes to Internet advertising and using it to his advantage. There are all sorts of ways to push good reviews on sites that may not have been written by actual customers. There are also ways to push up sites that you want seen by potential customers and push down sites that might contain harmful information about you or your business.  

So please, if you just cant wait for the updates, I would tell you do not buy into the hype. You can make yourself a lot worse by going to this clinic and you're going to spend a lot of money. If you want to try Vitamin C IVs, I am sure there is another holistic doctor closer to you that does them. They may not be as strong, but quite frankly, you don't need them to be. As far as amino acid IVs, you should NOT do these if you have any metal amalgams in your mouth, possible heavy metal toxicity, or any number of specific gene mutations that may affect specific areas of your methylation cycle. For more information on the dangers of amino acid IVs with glutathione in them, join Frequent Dose Chelation on Yahoo and research Dr. Andy Cutler. For more information about gene mutations and the methylation cycle, see the work of Dr. Amy Yasko and join the CFSYasko group on Yahoo. 

I cannot recommend this treatment because it didn't work, is dangerous, and I found the doctor to be very erratic and reckless. In my future posts, I will talk about how he prescribed my mother thyroid hormone because he believed she was Type II Hypothyroid, even though her TSH was at a .1 (.5 being the very lowest it should have been). This was after we explained that our family has a history of autoimmune disease, and specifically Grave's Disease, which would mean that she could have easily been HYPERthyroid, not Type II HYPOthyroid. Instead of doing any due diligence and sending my mom to an endocrinologist, he prescribed the thyroid hormone. After a week on this, my mom was much worse. He could have put her in thyroid storm and killed her. Fortunately, my mom quit taking the meds and we went to see an endocrinologist on our own. Sure enough, she had the antibodies for Grave's and the radioactive iodine scan came back positive as well. At our next appointment, we reluctantly told Sponaugle about us seeing an endocrinologist and had to listen to him for 10 minutes fly off the handle about why he knew better than all these other doctors and how irritated he was that we went behind his back. When he finally calmed down, we told him what the actual results of my mom's tests were and that she did have Grave's and not Type II Hypothyroidism, and he just changed the subject. That is but one story of many.

I want to make it clear that I am not a woman scorned. I am not mad, upset or regretful that I went and got this treatment. I feel like it was part of God's plan for me because He has allowed me to go the long way around on the journey to my miracle. I met other patients at FDWI that I feel humbled and honored to know and their stories are now woven into my own. I also feel like my experience can and will be used to help others as they are so desperately searching for the cure for their loved ones, or themselves. I want my mistakes and set backs to be out there for others to ponder as they are making very important, and potentially life-altering, treatment decisions. That is the whole point of this blog.


Always Hope


47 comments:

  1. WOW.... im so sorry to hear how horrible this place is. I had my suspicions and you confirmed it. Have u tried other places? Im looking into holistic "detox" centers like these below. Most of these have a spiritual basis too!

    CHI in Michigan: http://www.creativehealthinstitute.com/detox_rebuilding.html They have an ND here who knows SNPs too

    OHI in Cali and TX: http://www.optimumhealth.org/program/ohi-program.htm

    Bella Vita in Cali: http://modernmanna.org/categories/BellaVita-%252d-Lifestyle-Center/

    TrueNorth in cali: healthpromoting.com

    Id love to know your opinion on these if u check the links...and if u have any other suggestions (Im trying to heal from bad GI issues and food intolerances, mycotoxicity, autoimmune issues, and possibly lyme)

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    1. Hey Bee.....I just got on this site investigating Dr. Sponaugle. I saw you listed OHI (Optimum Health Institute) as a consideration of holistic detox. I went to OHI several years ago. I love the place - but it is not a place to address serious issues. Just a place to relax, get centered again, have RAW food (only) prepared for you, drink and take enema's with wheat grass and learn how to make sauerkraut. You have the choice to sign up for classes in how to eat, yoga, colonics, etc. But there are no doctors there that take tests and advise you what to do - just nurses that keep watch. It is a two week program in which I went home after one week because I detoxed too fast and became violently ill and no one knew because I was in my room crying. Another attendee was the one wondering where I was and came knocking on my door. So, it is just a place for healthy people to have a chance to detox and relax.

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  2. So glad you posted this as I have heard similar stories from people who have gone to this clinic. Important to get the word out and share so others don't waste tens of thousands of dollars on treatment that is abusive and not working for many.

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    1. Thank you for stopping by and for your comment, Heather. I do feel it's important that whatever one's experience at a place like this, the truth should be told. Many people, and even some of the commenter's here, have spent all the money they had and then some buying into what I feel like is a greatly-hyped treatment that can be done at your local holistic doctor's office for a mere fraction of the price.

      Sponaugle says he has a special formula he uses, but one elderly gentleman that was being treated for Alzheimer's while I was there never really got any better on this "special formula." When he went back home, he went to a local holistic doctor who basically gave him the same type of IVs he was getting at FDWI, along with other treatments for his actual diagnosis of Alzheimer's, and he is practically a new man!

      I have kept in touch with at least 10-12 families since my time at FDWI and with the exception of my one friend who really felt all the IVs detoxed her from her many years of antibiotic treatments for Lyme, the rest have had a return of, or worsening of their original symptoms.

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    2. I tuned in and am dismayed to see the Florida treatment was not successful. I wonder if there are discussions about Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker's successful treatments in Pokomo? Michigan. Not sure about the city, but if you use his website survivingmold.com, you may want to comment on success stories and your own results. Mine after two months on Cholestyramine and Doxycillan as well as my TreatLyme.net vitamins, are successful!!! Janet Nattress

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  3. I was wondering if u had heard of any of these holistic detox centers and if they would be helpful for those with mold issues?

    Have u heard of these detox centers:

    CHI in Michigan: http://www.creativehealthinstitute.com/detox_rebuilding.html They have an ND here who knows SNPs too


    OHI in Cali and TX: http://www.optimumhealth.org/program/ohi-program.htm Similar to CHI, but without an ND

    TrueNorth in santa rosa, ca: www.healthpromoting.com/‎

    Bella Vita in Cali: http://modernmanna.org/categories/BellaVita-%252d-Lifestyle-Center/

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    1. I am not familiar with any of the detox places you posted, but I know someone who might be. Andrea Fabry is the wife of author and radio host, Chris Fabry, and she is a pioneer in the war on mold. You can see here website here: http://momsaware.org/about-us/who-we-are/40-andrea-fabry.html.

      I want to make it very clear that any sort of detox can be harmful if there is a possibility that you might be dealing with heavy metals or if you have certain gene mutations that affect your methylation cycle in specific ways--this is MOST people who are ill. I am in the middle of writing a blog post about this right now to put up, even before I do more Sponaugle updates, because I know people researching detox centers keep coming here and I think it is really important that people know how much harm they can do to themselves by detoxing if they have some of these issues. It's not that they can't detox, but things have to be done in a specific order or you just get worse.

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    2. Hi Bee!

      Interestingly enough, and I will eventually get to this in my updates, I did not go to FDWI to be treated for mold. I went because I had an autoimmune disease but I was having all kinds of other, crazy symptoms that did not seem to fit the symptoms of my disease. It was only once I got to FDWI and met with Sponaugle that I was dx with mold toxicity. I certainly knew that mold could play a big part in these environmental illnesses people are developing, but up until that point, I had been focusing on mercury and other issues.

      The way God works is truly amazing...right before I left for treatment at FDWI, I noticed a big watermark in the center of my living room ceiling. It was right below the a/c that we had installed in our attic only two years before. And when I walked out into the garage, I could smell mold. I called the a/c company that did the installation and of course, the warranty was up. As an attorney, however, I used some scare tactics and threatened both judicial and administrative remedies and within a week, the company had sent out a team to fix everything.

      They replaced the insulation that had gotten wet, which took care of the mold smell, but I called in a remediation company just to be sure. While the remediator was there, I asked him to use his little instrument to check our guest bathroom. We had a soft wall in the shower that was there since we had moved in 3 1/2 years prior. Well, while the garage walls and ceiling checked out okay (at least on his meter that he used to check for moisture), we apparently had major water and mold issues in the guest bath. My husband and I started a claim with our insurance company and off I went to FDWI.

      A couple days after I left for treatment, my husband was taking out the trash and saw a piece of an air vent that the a/c repairmen had cut out when they were fixing the a/c in the attic. It was literally covered with black mold. Meanwhile, I was just hearing from Sponaugle that I had mold issues. Things were starting to make sense.

      We heard back from our insurance company and they said they would not cover the mold in the duct work, but they were going to pay to remediate and remodel our guest bath. About this time, Dr. Sponaugle recommended a mold remediation company that he said was the only company who did remediation correctly. Supposedly, not only do they remediate the mold, but they also then gas the whole house with an enzyme mixture and send a cleaning crew in to wipe everything down with this enzyme mixture. This is supposed to take care of all the micotoxins that the mold gives off. The micotoxins (and this is true from my own research) are often more toxic than the mold!

      We got permission from our insurance company to switch remediation companies to the one Sponaugle recommended. We went ahead and footed the bill for a reputable a/c company to come in and put in all new duct work and then this new remediation company came in the very next day and remediated the bathroom and gassed the house. That way, all the mold and micotoxins that were thrown off by changing the moldy duct work out were taken care of during the gassing and cleaning process. And besides the new duct work, everything else was paid for by the insurance company. I think it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 20k when all was said and done. So God really blessed us there.

      I do feel the remediation company that Sponaugle recommended did a good job for us. But then a different crew that was sent out to my friend's house never even gassed her place and the manager admitted it to her. She stopped her credit card payment and as far as I know, they still haven't tried to come after her for it.

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    3. Thanks. These detox centers are holistic... No supplements, just lots of juices, raw foods, and other detox treatments like massage, colonics, enemas, rebounding, spirituality classes etc.

      Hippocrates institute is another one... In Florida.

      I know all about the genetic snps... I did the 23andme test and mine is a mess lol

      Also, do u know much about Dr rae and his clinic in Texas for EI?

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    4. Hippocrates is right down the street from me, literally. I did have the option to go there but they focus mainly on natural detox as you say. This is good for things like mold and some toxins, but a lot of people, including myself, have heavy metals at the heart of all of their issues and this needs to be treated before anything else (except perhaps treating the gut in extreme cases).

      These natural detox centers will give you things like cilantro and chlorella to detox you of the metals, but there is absolutely not enough research on how to use these natural chelators and I have seen many, many people damaged because of them. They absolutely do have sulphur molecules (required for effective chelation) but their half-lifes are not known. As a result, no one knows how much to give a person or how often to give it. That doesn't stop the holistic community from using them though so what happens is that these "natural" substances pick up metals, move them around and then redistribute them throughout the body.

      You see, the body is pretty darn good at putting things where they are going to do the least damage to it, so even though you may have heavy metal issues that are making you sick, the body has stashed them in places where the metals will hurt it the least. Once you start picking up the metals and moving them around though, your body can't keep up and the redistribution you can cause by using these natural chelators--or any chelator for that matter when their half-lifes are not being considered--is just going to make you way worse in the long run.

      Also, people with the CBS mutation seem to do poorly on high sulphur foods and supplements. These are used religiously with any natural detox program and of course, glutathione IVs are very high in sulphur. I saw people with the CBS mutation at FDWI get the sickest on the IVs. Sponaugle did not do genetic testing but some of the people there had had it done.

      The other things you have to consider are whether you are sensitive to the amines, salicylates, benzoates, oxolates, etc. Anyone with food allergies or food intolerances is going to have a hard time at a place where they use food and natural juices to detox you. And again, no juice is going to take care of the heavy metals in your body. For that, low, slow, frequent dose chelation via the Dr. Andrew Cutler method is the safest. Yes, it can potentially take forever, but had I just stuck with it 5 years ago, I am confident I would be much farther along in my healing.

      I have heard of Dr. Rea and the Environmental Illness clinic in TX. However, I think that healing can be done from home in most cases. The only time I would recommend a clinic at this point is if a person has completely educated themselves of all the potential dangers of what may be done to them at the clinic and the future harm that might befall them because of it.

      People are looking for a quick fix with these environmental illnesses. There aren't any. Healing can take two years or more, in extreme cases. People do have to totally change their diets to start any sort of healing process, but the diet has to be tailored to what is going on in their bodies.

      The GAPS or SCD diets need to be used to heal the gut, but for someone like me, I have to take DAO and do a low-histamine version. I also have other food sensitivities too, which I now know aren't really the foods but the compounds in the foods (like the amines, salicylates, benzoates, etc.) that I am intolerant to. Not only do I not have the enzymes to degrade these compounds (as a result of a compromised gut) but the SNPs the body uses to clear these foods happen to be my SNPs that are compromised.

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  4. I am a recent victim of this doctor. I have been having severe side effects from his treatment since returning in march. If anyone else has too, please let me know what worked for you.I have been feeling horrible and have been calling the clinic for a consult with the doc and was told after weeks of trying to arrange a phone consult, that he was sick, now no longer practicing but is doing marketing instead.
    after spending almost $30,000 of my lives savings and a hefty visa bill, I feel entitled to some answers.

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    1. I am so sorry you are not feeling well. I understand the pain and frustration involved with chronic illness. My heart goes out to you. Unfortunately, no doctor or clinic has ever been my answer. I have had to learn on my own what to do to help myself and I am still putting it all together, but I do know I am making progress. I would love to email with you as I may be able to give you some insight into some things you possibly haven't considered. You can reach me at Hope M Cross @ aol. com (no spaces).

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    2. I would love to know what u are doing to make progress too. May I email u as well?

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  5. sorry I am anonymous but sponaugle has threatened to sue anyone who posts anything negative about him.
    blame the patient is his favorite game

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    1. That's okay, I completely understand. Just so you and others are aware, an absolute defense to any defamation action is that what you have published to third-parties is true. Not only is everything I am saying here true, but I have the documents, taped conversation and witnesses to back it up. But I understand your concern as even though you might be successful in a defamation action, the cost of having to fight it can be extraordinary. Lucky me, I'm an attorney and know how to do that on the cheap. :)

      I will just say that your concern is justified. The profession I am in prompted multiple discussions while I was at FDWI about negative reviews, especially online, and the fact that they were detrimental to FDWI and Sponaugle and whether there was anything that could be done about them. Many other legal issues were discussed as well and as such, I am privy to things that a lot of other people aren't. I was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement numerous times (I wasn't the only one either) but I never did. Because I am ethical, I am not going to divulge the extent of the legal issues I discussed while at FDWI that were not meant for the general public to know. This is my decision EVEN THOUGH there was no attorney-client confidentiality for many of the discussions because there were third-parties present.

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    2. Please respond to my plea for contact with you. Something major has transpired.

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  6. I'm glad that a doctor(s) have finally found out that has made you so ill. God bless you on your journey back to health. Please say hi to your mom from Tom and I. Carol D

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    1. Hello back, dear Carol! The doctors have dx me with new symptoms, but the causes are multiple and I needed to go back to what God showed me in the beginning: lifestyle and heavy metals. He let me wander off for the last 5 years and has taught me much during that time--much that will be used to help others, I am sure of it. But for the past several months He has been calling me to "get back to basics" and this is exactly what I plan to do. Love you!

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  7. Thank you for sharing. This MD sounds like a nigjtmare and a bandit.

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    1. You're very welcome! Thanks for taking the time to read and to comment. Hope you caught all my realllly long blogs about my experience at FDWI. They are way more detailed if you care to know.

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  8. Thanks so much for this blog. I was wondering if they did Amino Iv and Vit c. been there done that..

    I was searching for pictures of brains on mold and came across the Floridadetox site. Sadly the spect scan of a brain on mold looks exactly like my spect I did last year. While I never did suffer from many of the symptoms others have. I do suffer from Fatigue at times and raging insomnia. I sleep for 1 hour at a time. I thought I got the sleep under control with neurofeedback and meditation but recently the insomnia issues have come back. I have to be more diligent on meditating every day to keep my brain balanced i guess.

    I also have a lack of libido, and drive in general. This is the deal breaker for me - I have to get well or will never live the life I was meant for..
    I also have severe digestion issues.. white tongue and alot of problems with malabsorption - burping , lack of digestive enzymes etc..

    Last year when my only issues were brain - I went to the hitwellnesscenter in Mexico for their Amino Acids and Vitamin C drips. I had a suspicion it was a toxicity thing. This made my Insomnia SO much worse. Really bothers me that I actually caused more harm to myself on something that was promised to be a cure.
    In fact, just before I left for mexico I had been on a protocol for detox and after 30 days was almost back to normal. I set myself way back by doing the Amino's and then went back to the house for an additional year... Thinking it couldn't have been the house since I got worse when I was away from it for awhile..



    2 months ago I did a stool test with metametrix and they found fungus in my stool. Unfortunately they couldn't identify the fungal ID so I'm now going for additional test to confirm. Although I'm quite sure it's all do to mold. The house tested positive but only slightly in the bathroom. I was following Ritchie Shoemakers protocol but the cholestymine gave me kidney issues.. So i'm off that.

    my next protocol is coming off this site
    http://www.toxic-black-mold-syndrome.com/black-mold-remedies.html

    I've tried all these remedies in the past at one point or another.. but never put them all together. I"m slowly getting better. Been out of the house for 3+ months but still very far off to being totally healed. I hope you find your health again. God won't forsake us.

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  9. Also, I wanted to ask you. Do you know what specific Amino's in their cocktail could make somebody worse? Especially with respect to an insomnia issue?
    I've been taking trace mineral drops in my water and suspecting this might be the reason my brain flared up again.. It's so frustrating when you go backwards.

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    1. The short answer is that any one of them or a combination of them could be causing you an issue. It depends on what you were given, what the state of your neurotransmitters already were and what your gene mutations in your methylation cycle are. This is greatly simplifying it, but it you want to email me privately to talk more about your personal health, I would be happy to talk to you. Hope M Cross @ aol .com (no spaces).

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  10. hi, the first anonymous,
    I completed dr. sponaugle detox treatment for symptoms of chronic fatigue.
    My first meeting with "doc", he said I had the "worst gut" he had ever seen.
    he diagnosis EVERYONE who walks through his doors with either mold or lyme, what are the odds. of the 60 or more patients I conversed with, every one had mold or lyme.
    my first meeting with doc, he said I had a burt out adrenal system, was producing zero hormones, though a blood test done 6 month prior showed my hormone levels were normal. he said all my issues were because I had mold. this was 3 weeks before he ran a test, which I initiially refused because it was an additional expense. I had been told by his intake counselor, jack, that all treatment would be covered by my $15,000 payment,
    well, his drips did make me feel better immediately, I reluctantly agreed to a mold test which showed a fairly low level of micotoxins related to mold.
    well, within a week of returning home I had severe side effects, short term memory loss is too gentle a term, it was more like amnesia, hypersensitivity to everything, my teeth, foods tasted differently, I couldn't remember how to drive to the store in a town I have lived in for 25 years.I can't navigate the computer well, all sorts of sensory, cognitive deficits.
    The pain started returning, He had put me on speed and various prescription meds.and tons of supplements.
    I stuck to his regimen though for another 2 months and just kept getting worse.
    I called my nurse dennis, begging for answers and found out my micotoxin test, (for the mold) was repeated the day I finished treatment the micotoxins had actually gone UP 3 times higher then they had been 2 weeks prior. when I asked dennis, after finally receivng my records, (after begging for 6 weeks to have them sent to me) why, on a tox screen, for drugs that suboxone had come up, hand written in. weird. I assured him I had never taken suboxone,
    dennis said it must have been a "lab error" could that have been why I felt so great and was pain free while on the drips? and why my symptoms started up immediately after???
    I have so many questions. Did I really have mold?
    Did he just jump start my adrenals and give me feel good juice for a month.
    I begged to speak with the doctor I had paid over $25,000 on, between his additional tests, drugs, supplements, living costs there. just to feel better for a month? dennis said I must have returned to a moldy house and was reinfected. But No, I hired the only mold assessor Doc recommended. Paid another $2000 for him to check for mold. he found some behind a foundation basement wall. It was confined to a small area and I was told the rest of my house was free of mold. but to be sure, I never came back to my house until the mold was gone. $10,000 on tearing out mold. Then had my house re-tested and no mold.
    after repeated calls to florida wellness center, I was told doc was very sick and to pray for him. this was over 6 weeks. now he is no longer practicing.
    so anyone thinking of going to this madman, please don't. I do not know how to recover from the severe side effects of his treatment, and since he won't release what excactly is in his drips, no doctor can figure it out. Yet.
    he claims to be a christian, if jesus had a miracle cure, would he withhold the recipe?
    he acts more scientologist, if you ask me. Clearwater florida is the scientology capital of the world, and who better to do his crazy brain chemistry tests on then weak, desperate vulnerable people.
    I add, I am now flat broke and about to loose my home of 20 years. My mother left me a small sum of which went to pay for my treatment, and I rang up all my credit cards to pay the rest.
    this is my story and if it helps one person from going to this monster then this post will be worth it.
    peace to all,
    sara

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  11. My family and I have all been treated by Dr. Sponaugle. I am not sure where all this hate is coming from. He completely reversed my Lyme, My husbands Lyme, and my sons Lyme. We have the test to prove it. Not just blood smears but also Labcorp results.

    We went home feeling great, and about a month later started feeling worse. When we returned to the clinic our mold levels were high again.... it is becuase we didn't fix our home properly and this time we brought my 10 year old daughter who was experiencing sever stomach issues including bleed ulcers.

    We got the home fixed, spent a couple weeks detoxing the mold from our system. Dr. Sponaugle was able to clean our system, and my daughters issues disappeared as well.

    It has been almost a year now and we are happy healthly and very thankful to Dr. Sponaugle and Florida Detox for saving our lives.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to say that I get a little leery of comments like this as I have first-hand knowledge about the "comment padding" that is part of the Sponaugle media campaign. But more than that, you contend that writing a truthful blog about my personal experience at Sponaugle's and the accounts of others herein constitute "hate." To me, it seems you are personally offended, and that suggests that you likely have a personal interest in Sponaugle or FDWI.

      However, I am happy to look over your lab results--both before and after your time at FDWI--if you would like to send them to me. You can even redact you and your family members' names. I would think that if your results were legitimate, you wouldn't want to remain anonymous, but you may do so if you wish. If indeed you and your results are legitimate, I will be happy to let you write a guest blog here about the excellent treatment you received at FDWI.

      Delete
  12. Hi Hope! Thankyou for taking your time to inform others of your journey in treatment methods. I absolutely do not think you are using hate words and only write from your own experience. We all know the corruption in false advertised health media. Our world is so focused on money gain. There are truths to be said by each health care professional I have seen, like you have witnessed yourself, but we have to do our own research too. I got diagnosed with Lyme in June this year at the Carolina Integrative Clinic in North Carolina. I am very thankful to God for the Lyme diagnosis since Canada's health care system is unbelievably inefficient. They do not allow you to do the Western Blot test if you are negative on the Elisa test. So I went ahead and did the Igenex blood test on my own and it was positive. I showed my Canadian doctor and she stated I do not have Lyme and she did not look at my face. She verbally abused me and told me to see a psychiatrist. I did not see a psychiatrist lol but went to the USA to find help and I got diagnosed. It all comes down to physicians getting suspended and governments and insurance companies losing money. I almost got convinced that Dr. Sponaugle was my next step, however I thought the emphasis on just mold from their videos was weird in my opinion and thought there might be some false treatment being performed here. I really thought from speaking to a patient coordinator that they totally understood the gut and the brain working together but from what I am reading here they really don't. I have spent $10000 in the USA already and am currently just going to herbal and naturopath doctors. Soon I will do nutrient IV's with vit.c and b. The naturopath did recommend gluthation iv's but from I am reading that does not sound like a good idea. I tried to take antibiotics for 2 weeks but 10 days being at the hospital with bad side effects was enough for me. My stomach was a toxic mess and now I am cleaning it out. It looks like I am missing a pile of tests to be completed in regards to gene mutations and methylation cycle. I am trying to keep up to date on Lyme websites and chat talks but it is so complicated and so many different treatments. Thankyou for caring about others and taking the time to write this information. You don't have Lyme right?

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  13. Please contact me regarding Sponaugle Wellness Intitute, me email is Ariel.F.Still@gmail.com

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  14. This clinic is still getting patients. Read this fundraising story for 2 quintuplets with lyme that are there right now. The family is spending a fortune down there. I sure hope they are not disappointed.

    http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/judah-vs-lyme/107787

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have an appointment to go to the Sponaugle Wellness Institute next month, and after reading your blog, I am seriously reconsidering! Do you recommend any other places for Lyme disease treatment?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Megan! Lifeworks Wellness in Clearwater is having some good results with Lyme. Ultimately, I believe you have to get your body back to a place where it can do the work for you. Sponaugle has that concept right, but in my opinion, his execution and everything else about what he does is desperately lacking. Killing and detox protocols are hard on the body and many chronically ill people cannot handle them. I believe it is more about gently strengthening the body and giving it what it needs to do the work for you. Once you're in a better place, killing/detox protocols may be necessary, but not until then. Otherwise, you're just going to make yourself worse.

      A good diet like the low-histamine SCD (used to stabilize mast cells, easy to digest and assimilate and good at healing the gut), energy medicine (like NAET and craniosacral therapy) and neural retraining (www.limbicretraining.com) are all things I would recommend to realign the body and reset the way the cells are operating. Please understand that nothing I am mentioning is an overnight process. It takes lots of time to notice a difference but consistency is key and believe me, there are things going on under the surface even if you can't see/feel them right away.

      The path back to healing is gradual and it is certainly not linear. There's two steps forward, six steps back, four steps forward, two steps back, etc. Be patient, be consistent. It WILL happen!

      Delete
  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Thomas,
      I can appreciate you wanting to mention Dr. Crozier here. I was recommending him for a time but due to some private emails from patients and my own experience with trying to book an appointment with him a while back, I am no longer doing so. Still, it is good to hear you are hopeful with regard to your treatment there. I have also had good experiences with Springer and Minkhoff over at Lifeworks Wellness in Clearwater. Ultimately, I am well now due to a low-histamine, SCD diet, NAET, neural retraining and of course, God's grace. these things have all served to reset my body and it is now able to do what it was supposed to be doing all along. Blessings!

      Delete
  17. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    Replies
    1. Not sure if Crozier or his staff had to coach you on this disclaimer, Thomas, but it's always good to throw in there. I know for a fact that there is a lot of groupthink mentality going on over at FDWI and that this blog is being monitored very closely. That being said, I would urge everyone reading this blog to really examine their hearts, motives and intentions behind their actions. In the end, it didn't make one bit of difference that the Nazi soldiers "were just following Hitler's orders." We all have to stand individually accountable for our own actions. Better make sure what you're doing is right.

      Delete
  18. Hi Hope!

    You wrote above that you got better using a few healing protocols. Did they help clear the heavy metals issue as well? I'm on a Nutritional Balancing Program, and it's based on hair mineral analysis testing. I've been ill and housebound at this level for over two years now, looking for some answers please if you have a moment.
    Thank you and best regards,
    Trish

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    Replies
    1. Hi Trish. Are you using the Walsh/Mensah nutritional rebalancing programs?

      Delete
    2. Hi! Oops, I'm only just now seeing your reply. No, I haven't heard of the Walsh/Mensah nutritional rebalancing program. Only heard of and tried Dr. Wilson's NB program. Have you done or are you familiar with the Walsh/Mensah program? So many hospital visits, trying not to lose hope. :)

      Delete
  19. Forgot to mention I have a methylation mutation, food sensitivities (primarily gluten and all grains, all dairy, and eggs, and stay away from nightshades and soy and all sugar).
    Also did you have your mercury fillings removed? I read the gut needs to be healed first before removal of fillings is undertaken.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I am a physician, myself, and I knew this doctor when he was a medical student. I was googling around to see whatever happened to him. I hope the negative comments are not true; however, the claims made by his clinic don't seem to be scientifically sound on their face. A great deal of medical research these days needs to be directed at debunking some of this "holistic, naturalistic" treatment - a task I thought had been taken care of a century ago. Sigh ... not that much fun to be a doctor anymore.

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  21. Is this blog still on going? I do not see any comments after August 15. I would be interested to see more info/updates on Spnaugle

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  22. This is an urgent plea to contact Always Hope. I need for someone to acknowledge. I will send contact information.

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    ReplyDelete
  24. To begin, all of the positive reviews that state 5 stars for promptness, follow ups and bedside manner are LIES. This man yells at, belittles and mocks both his staff and his patients, he additionally harshly mocks his patients especially those he thinks are not Christian enough calling them "Chreestians" despite the fake that the man himself lives nowhere near a Christian lifestyle. He avoids follow up appointments at all possible costs unless the patient threatens to not spend their money there anymore. It's sad and terrible. If he cannot figure out why his patients are still herxing or get worse in his clinic but not better, he tells his staff that the patients must be possessed by evil spirits like he accused of a poor 18 year old from Canada which he also told this girl's parents that she was faking and/or exaggerating her symptoms. One of his "nurses" named Amy is actually an MA who performs many illegal actions as an MA and disgustingly mocks her patients or rolls her eyes at her patients when they come in having bad days, like the poor patient who was a dentist from the Hamptons (who the Dr. was very obviously dating for awhile as she sat in his lap in the IV room or whom he stayed with in a "VIP room" in the back with instead of being on time for his actual scheduled patient appointments. He fed this poor girl (who also was anorexic) full of Adderall prescriptions and other drugs that he also prescribes to nearly all patients creating Opiate addicts who can't leave until they run out of money... The man must have stock in Vyvanse as he prescribes it to both his staff and patients and announces he, himself, also takes. He prays on his female patients in their 20's and sleeps with them while treating them, including the young girl who operates his slideshow for his in-house seminars. He leaves patients waiting until he feels like coming in for their scheduled appointment at 1pm (anywhere between maybe 130pm to 3pm daily, for no reason other than the fact that he hates being there and constantly tells his staff he doesn't know why he hasn't "shut this sh*thole down yet," because, as he also states, he and his staff "don't care about it here anymore"). His nurses, the MA and himself have openly admitted to using placebo treatments to see if a patient is faking symptoms they cannot figure out. They admittedly did this several times to one of his greatest success story patients who came back for "week-long cleanup" and has been there now for well over 6 months in a far worse state than when she originally showed up a few years ago. Dr. Sponaugle is just an absolute awful person who is the least professional doctor in his, or possibly any, field or specialty. He is a disgrace to both medicine and Christianity. As he praises his wife and her assistance to his patients, he is actually separated from her due to his infidelity issues. This man needs psychological help just like his schizophrenic mother. It is scary to know that someone who is not medically stable and amphetamine-addicted unstable person is out there treating his own set of patients and creating new drug addicts, at only $3500+ of their own money weekly.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment. I feel that the comments on this blog are much more representative of the patient experiences with Sponaugle. Save for one review here that I felt was written by Sponaugle or one of his staff, there have been no positive reviews ever posted here.

      Do you mind me asking if you were a patient or caretaker at one point? What is currently being done for you/your loved one's treatment? If you'd like to email me privately, that's fine too.

      Delete
  25. He KILLED a beautiful 18 year old girl who got pancreatitis from his excessive use of drugs. The girl only had POTS to begin with and her health deteriorated after receiving countless drugs from this conman. He has 5 malpractice cases already!

    You can look at this case here

    https://ccmspa.pinellascounty.org/PublicAccess/ViewDocumentFragment.aspx?DocumentFragmentID=33926528&CheckDocumentGroups=0

    Sometimes need to reload the page for it to show. If not, do a search on public records
    https://ccmspa.pinellascounty.org/PublicAccess/Search.aspx
    for name "sponaugle" and select "malpractice". This is a very dangerous man causing great harm to those who are already suffering greatly. The amount of patients I saw who were out tens of thousands of dollars and with their health worse off than when they came in was staggering. He needs to be shut down!

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  26. He KILLED a young girl who was there who ended up with Pancreatitis. The amount of medications he gives to patients should be illegal! He tries to give patients xanax and percocet, then the next day have them do a video testimonial because they are "feeling better so quickly". It's a discusting con! The amount of families I saw who had their savings wiped only to have their health worse off was staggering!

    You can view the malpractice case of the young girl who died here:
    https://ccmspa.pinellascounty.org/PublicAccess/ViewDocumentFragment.aspx?DocumentFragmentID=33926528&CheckDocumentGroups=0

    Sometimes you need to reload the page several times for it to work. If not, you can search here

    https://ccmspa.pinellascounty.org/PublicAccess/Search.aspx and put his last name and select Malpractice. He has 5 total cases already! This is a sick man who is making millions of dollars off the suffering of others. He is out of control and needs to be stopped!

    ReplyDelete