Dr. Rick Sponaugle is a friend and colleague. He wrote the following article for the American Association of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) on hormones and additions and sent it to me this morning. It is such a wonderful piece I asked him if I could reprint it here for you. Please read this. Ihope it opens your mind as it has mine.
Anti-aging/Longevity Medicine Reduces the Prevalence of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction
The utility of hormonal replacement therapy and other proactive longevity medicine practiced by A4M physicians not only improves the quality of life in patients, it also prevents unnecessary depression, anxiety and insomnia disorders all of which cause subsequent addiction.
Florida Detox and Wellness Institute in Tarpon Springs, Florida, has successfully treated over 5000 addicted patients since our inception in 1998. While most “treatment” centers continue to ignore the scientific and biochemical basis for addiction, we have successfully proven that over ninety percent of addicted patients self-medicate with drugs and alcohol in their attempt to balance their brain chemistry and “feel more normal”.
Normalizing brain chemistry with medication, bio-identical hormone replacement and nutraceutical supplementation balances brain activity and negates the patient’s craving for and self medication with alcohol and drugs. Patients utilize drugs and alcohol either to stimulate under-active brain regions or relax over-active brain systems. The aberrant electrical activity in the addicted patient’s brain is typically caused by inherited or acquired biochemical and hormonal deficiencies.
Our physicians utilize modern brain science derived from neuro-imaging studies and A4M wellness/anti-aging medicine to restore balance of biochemical deficiencies and their subsequent electrical dysfunction. This scientific approach allows us to more effectively diagnose and subsequently treat the “true cause” of drug and alcohol craving.
Due to the limited scope of this article, we cannot discuss all addiction etiology as is related to hormonal and nutritional deficiencies or environmental toxins such as pesticides, black mold and Lyme’s disease. All mentioned can cause dysfunction of neurotransmitter [glutamate, histamine, dopamine and serotonin] activity and subsequent addiction. We will address two very common causes of addiction which are fortunately prevented when patients receive quality anti-aging medical treatment.
The average age of menopause in American women is 51 years; however, female progesterone levels begin to decline approximately eight years prior to estrogen. When progesterone production declines in middle age females, they begin to experience new found anxiety and insomnia. Retrospective studies at Florida Detox and Wellness Institute have demonstrated that the “progesterone drop out” phenomenon is a common etiology of alcohol and drug abuse, with causation in over forty percent of our addicted middle age females.
The biochemical explanation is that allopregnanolone, a metabolite of progesterone, enhances GABA-A receptivity. When females experience a loss in GABA-A receptivity via diminished progesterone levels, they can develop excess electrical activity in both the central and peripheral nervous system. Their newfound anxiety and insomnia disorders precipitate subsequent addiction issues.
These progesterone deficient females will begin to utilize alcohol for it’sGABA-A receptor activation. The woman who historically drank only a glass of wine with dinner will insidiously progress over a few years to two bottles of wine per night as the wine has now become “medication.”
She may be courageous enough to visit a physician, however, if the physician has limited knowledge regarding hormonal replacement therapy, he/she will not appreciate the gravity of the patient’s situation. The doctor will practice “symptom medicine” and readily prescribe her addicting medication such as Xanax or Klonopin instead of investigating hormonal imbalance.
Another common scenario observed at Florida Detox is that the progesterone deficient female will begin to abuse Vicodin or Oxycontin because the calcium channel blockade effect of the opiate will down regulate the increased “brain voltage” derived from the lost GABA-A receptivity. Unfortunately, when she chooses this option, she will eventually develop Mu receptor tolerance, begin increasing her 24 hour opiate dose and subsequently develop hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis suppression further exacerbating her original hormonal deficiency.
A 2009 Florida Detox study found that 100 percent, thirty of thirty females, ages 21-29 years old who were prescribed 80 mg methadone per 24 day were suffering “flat line” ovarian output. Testosterone, Progesterone and Estradiol were pathetically at menopausal levels.
Measurement of LH and FSH in these females revealed suppression to pre-puberty levels demonstrating the severity of methadone induced hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction. This pituitary suppression derived from chronic consumption of opiate pain medication frequently causes coincident hypothyroidism in both females and males with greater prevalence in females.
Fortunately, when progesterone levels are restored using bio-identical progesterone, the anxiety and insomnia disorders subside as does “craving” for GABA-ergic drugs like alcohol and Xanax; nor do these progesterone treated females need the calcium channel blockade effect of Vicodin/Oxycontin to “turn down the “excess brain voltage.”
It is paramount for pediatricians to become more astute regarding the principles of A4M medicine as much addiction can be prevented in adolescent females.
Susan is a 21 year old female who presented to Florida Detox in May, 2006. When admitted to our detox unit, she was consuming two liters of vodka per day, 1,000 mg of Oxycontin per day and 20 mg of Xanax per day.
She and her mother, Mary, had chosen Florida Detox because our website discussed what appeared to be a more scientific approach to addiction treatment. Susan had already completed and failed eight 28 day “talk therapy” programs from Arizona to New York, each costing over thirty thousand dollars. The only diagnosis Susan had received from all of the previous treatment centers was drug addict, alcoholic and while undergoing severe withdrawal symptoms was diagnosed with personality disorder.
Susan began drinking at age12 initially raiding her parents liquor cabinet. By age 14 she was admitted to her first 28 day “treatment program.” In high school Susan was introduced to Xanax and “Oxy’s”, both of which “calmed” her anxious brain without the unfavorable gastrointestinal symptoms she experienced with alcohol.
Upon reviewing Susan’s history, I discovered a pertinent chronological correlation. Susan had begun her menses at age 12, the same age at which she allegedly began to drink alcohol “to calm her nerves.”
Her menses was always much heavier than her friends and it usually lasted seven days. Susan bled so severely that she was anemic throughout high school and periodically required intravenous infusions of iron. Her menses was also extremely painful, unlike her best friends. She had seen several different gynecologists and pediatricians none of which discussed or measured hormones.
Susan’s symptoms were classic for unequal ovarian output from the very onset of her menses, that in which the production of progesterone lags that of estrogen. Anxiety disorders in America have equal prevalence in males and females up to age 13 after which females experience two to three fold the incidence of anxiety verses their male counterparts. The causation of such can not be solely attributed to adolescent peaked interest and interaction with the male gender; my wife might challenge this statement.
The balancing GABA-ergic effect of progesterone is more critical when estrogen function is activated than when both estrogen and progesterone are at pre-puberty levels.
When Susan’s progesterone deficiency was appropriately treated along with the multiple hormonal and nutritional deficiencies caused by nine years of alcohol and drug abuse, her craving for both drugs and alcohol stopped. Susan has been drug and alcohol free for almost three years.
Susan and her family suffered years of unnecessary psychological and financial trauma because her gynecologists, psychiatrists and addictionologists were not trained in A4M medicine. As more pediatricians, gynecologists and family physicians enroll in A4M, the future Susans will not be robbed of their youth.
Another hormonal deficiency that frequently serves as the etiology of alcoholism and drug addiction in females is estradiol deficiency. Estradiol enhances serotonin receptivity in the female brain. While the literature states that “normal” estradiol levels fluctuate during the menstrual cycle between15 pg/dl and 315 pg/dl, estradiol levels below 60 pg/dl cause compromised serotonin receptivity. Furthermore, estradiol has monoamine oxidase inhibitor activity and therefore increases both serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain.
These biochemical findings facilitate understanding of the common symptamatology associated with premenstrual syndrome, post partum depression, and the midlife onset of psychological issues such as depression, anxiety and insomnia in females. It becomes then obvious that untreated estradiol deficiency plays a pivotal role in causation of new onset addiction issues in middle age females.
The increased anxiety associated with suboptimal serotonin activity has so eloquently been elucidated by my esteemed colleague and good friend, Daniel Amen, M.D., the founder and medical director of the Amen Clinics.
Through SPECT brain imaging, Dr. Amen has demonstrated that patients with suboptimal serotonin activity, whether inherited or acquired suffer from excess activity in two different regions of the brain, the limbic system or “emotional center” and the anterior cingulate gyrus, normally considered the brain’s gear shifter.
Furthermore, normal serotonin activity inhibits the release of the excitatory neurotransmitter, norepinephrine, from the locus cereleus. When serotonin receptivity is compromised by estradiol deficiency, female patients can develop excessive sympathetic tone in both the central and peripheral nervous systems which further exacerbates anxiety and insomnia disorders. As with the anxiety and insomnia produced by progesterone deficiency, females with estradiol deficiency often medicate their overactive brain regions with alcohol, benzodiazepines or opiate pain medication.
Linda is a 45 year old school teacher from Atlanta who presented to Florida Detox and Wellness Institute in July of 2007 with a history of new onset alcoholism, approximately three years, claiming she developed anxiety for the first time in her life at age forty two.
Neurotransmitter assessment excluded biochemical causes of anxiety such as serotonin deficiency, norepinephrine excess, dopamine excess, glutamate excess or GABA deficiency, Her histamine levels were excessive which is common in alcoholic patients secondary to alcohol induced systemic Candidiasis and leaky gut syndrome.
This monoamine histamine, like dopamine, can when in excess, produce increased “electrical voltage” in the brain causing subsequent anxiety. But, was it the original cause of Linda’s self-medication with alcohol or did it develop because of the alcoholism?
Amen brain questionnaires were negative for the typical anxiety profile seen with low serotonin activity, but, positive for a more typical profile of “generalized anxiety” often seen in patients with excess histamine or progesterone deficiency. Hormonal evaluation revealed adequate estradiol and testosterone levels, however, progesterone levels were post menopausal.
Following medical detoxification, Linda’s progesterone levels were restored, her GI tract was detoxified of yeast, her leaky gut was treated with an herbal glutamine mixture and histamine reduction was accomplished via SAMe, high dose vitamin C and Vitamin B6, pyridoxine.Following this treatment regimen, Linda reported that her anxiety had abated and she had no more alcohol craving.
Linda remained alcohol free for one year when she suddenly began experiencing a combination of depression and anxiety which precipitated a short relapse to alcohol. Fortunately, Linda returned to Florida after just two weeks of drinking and did not require an inpatient medical detoxification.
Linda’s new evaluation revealed normal neurotransmitters levels including serotonin, however, she now had developed menopausal estradiol levels and her Amen brain questionnaires revealed a classic low serotonin anxiety and depression profile, one that the Amen Clinic defines as laden with excessive worry and continuous rumination over negative things.
Even though Linda had maintained normal serotonin production, she had now lost serotonin receptivity with her estradiol drop out and she began to suffer a different type of anxiety from that she had previously experienced when her progesterone production had ceased.
Linda responded well to bio-identical estradiol enhancement and 5-hydroxy tryptophan, a serotonin precursor. We have now referred her to an anti-aging doctor in the Atlanta area.
Severe depression can be precipitated by the diminished MAO inhibitor effect and subsequent reduction of brain dopamine levels that accompanies estradiol “drop out.” Reduced brain dopamine can have a negative effect on cognition, but often of more importance, can decrease activation of our nucleus accumbens or “pleasure/hunger center” which is dopamine driven.
Specifically, it’s the activation of the D2 dopamine receptor in the nucleus accumbens that gives us pleasure, satiety and motivation. A 2006 University of Virginia PET SCAN study comparing D2 dopamine activity, before and after, eating, orgasm and cocaine consumption revealed that D2 dopamine activity was temporarily elevated three times normal with eating, ten times normal with orgasm and one hundred times normal with cocaine.
Nicotine’s effect on D2 activity was not evaluated in this particular study, however, a 2003 NIDA [National Institute of Drug Addiction] study demonstrated that nicotine was more dopaminergic than heroin and cocaine and preferred by rhesus monkeys over cocaine and heroin.
Clinical studies at Florida Detox validate that the diminished dopamine activity that accompanies midlife estrogen drop out, frequently precipitates self medication with any drug that temporarily releases dopamine from the vesicles [brain cell storage units] to the brain neuron synapse, the area between two brain cells.
Drugs of choice are food, nicotine, alcohol, opioid pain pills and marijuana. Other drugs that block synaptic re-uptake of dopamine such as methamphetamine and cocaine are less commonly utilized in this particular female population.
In summary, this article is written with the intent to further validate the importance of expanding the reach of A4M education to all physicians by elucidating yet another dimension of human suffering, drug and alcohol addiction, that can be prevented with the implementation of quality anti-aging and longevity medicine.
Marvin Rick Sponaugle MD
Founder and Medical Director, Florida Detox and Wellness Institute
Board Certified Anesthesiology and Addiction Medicine
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I just wanted to comment on something that I am sure many have not made the connection with. Hopefully you can research and use this to help others like me. I was feeling so depress most of my life and tried various types of medications and vitamins, music therapy…you name it I tried it. What I failed to see, and no one ever “caught” this until I woke up last week and had a thought, started researching online and was amazed at what I discovered. I have taken a MIN of three over the counter pills, sometimes as many as eight in a day…..every day of my life for at least fifteen years, and since I never “drank”, or did “drugs”… I didn’t see that my symptoms were the SAME as an alcoholic!!!! Extreme fatigue, mental confusion, memory issues, loss of appetite, not being able to function…and blurred vision….my instincts had told me that I needed help and felt silly considering “drug rehab” or an “AA” type program…. (none exist by the way for such a silly thing as OTC drugs), but as soon as I realized what this was doing to my body I stopped taking them immediately. It is a psychological dependency that is triggered by stress and fatigue. I could go into great detail if you are interested as OTC abuse is much more common than people realize! I hope to see you mention this in your next book or broadcast, I hope my story can save others the extreme depression and confusion I have felt for probably twenty years. feel free to contact me if you like, I am doing much better but still not fully myself. I am taking omega 369, coq10 b12 and other supplements along with a liver detox! I hope this is the miracle I have been waiting for. Thank you for your gift of knowledge
Jennifer
I have a 25 year-old daughter who has debilitating cramps, anxiety, depression and eating disorders. Her trouble began at the on-set of puberty. Since that time her life has been a roller coaster. Last year she was admitted to an in-treatment facility for her eating disorder but since her release continues to abuse food, alcohol and over the counter meds (plus prescribed meds) to try and feel normal. Her physician wants to send her back to-treatment. -(our funds are depleted from the first go around as her insurance does not pay for “psychological illnesses”), but I have intuitively known a 12 step program is not what she need; I have always felt that her problems stemmed from hormonal imbalances. Perhaps this is a key to the help we have so desperately sought. It also explains why I, and my women friends, at the age of 50 are enjoying more wine than we once did. Thank you so much for publishing this finding and perhaps we can finally get the help my daughter needs so that she can get back into the game of life.
My daughter is 15. She started becoming very ill and her debilitating migraines started when she was 13. She has been to three neurologists and countless doctors in the last three years for her migraines which always occured around her menses and are accompanied by severe sleep disruption. One of her neurologists put her on low dose Elavil daily to hopefully stop her daily migraines and to help her sleep. This made her sleep worse but doctor wouldn’t believe it was caused by Elavil, suspected a mood disorder. I have since weaned my daughter off the elavil and have started a regimine of bioidentical estrogen, EFA’s, magnesium, D3 and iodine. She is now sleeping and doing much better. I am hoping she will be able to go back to school next year.
I wonder how this affects men. The whole article was based on findings in women, but I bet if you look at addiction in men, you may find the same correlation to hormone imbalance. Just different ones, yes?
Can you please give more specific names of Hormone repalcement therpy? Will a ob/gyn be able to prescribe? A family Doctor? I was taking a cream from “Women’s International” in Phoenix,Az but I stopped because i could not pay for it any longer. Thank you for this letter and i would appreicate any replies.
Thank-you Dr. Amen for this and many other helpful articles posted on your website! This article in particular answers alot of the questions that I have had over the years regarding my behavior and “self-medication”.
At 51 I now realize that feeling “normal” is not worth the price of addiction. As an adolesent and teen I experimented with many various drugs socially, discovering how some really did seem to help my depression and ability to focus in the classroom!
Thank God I was never an addict in the true sense of the word!
I plan on sharing this article with my family physician, thanks again!
This is a very interesting article and I will forward it on to friends. I was just wondering if you have any research on cluster headaches in men.
Thanks,
Sue
what about men
Several of you are asking for resources to help with women’s hormone issues, so here’s the best one I’ve found:
Her Place, Elizabeth Lee Vliet MD
See also her recent books. I’ve no connection with them whatsoever.
I second the questions about men – there’s nothing nearly as good as Her Place for men.
Why did you drop the URL for Her Place?! Please include it in my post: http://www.herplace.com/
Thank God someone finally “gets it”. Do you have a list of physicians in each state who understand this thinking and treatment?
Where can I find a doctor in the South suburbs of Chicago or Northwest Indiana area who prescribes bioidentical hormones?
After having a hysterectomy at age 36, followed by an emotional “crash” and being over sensistive to everything (caffeine,alcohol,etc) since childhood, I have spent the last 13 years reading up and “tweaking” my chemistry with hormones, natural supplements, sometimes antidepressants, and good nutrition. I have learned how uniquely different we are, our genetics play a huge role in how we have developed and that we have to make the best of what we have. We have to understand our bodies and be careful with our supplements. I am hoping that the right tests become common place for us, and we can feel better much sooner. Dr. Amen does so much to help us understand. Good luck to everyone.
I would be interested to know if there is any data on men and male hormones… Well?
VERY good article. I, too am familiar with Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet and have a couple of her books. If I understand her correctly, progesterone isn’t necessarily the greatest thing and can have some side effects as well. In addition to anxiety/insomnia, I have had years of debilitating bloating two weeks before my period. My last psychiatrist commented that one can be “sensitive” to their own progesterone. Hmmm…but there are no doctors around here that seem to have a clue what to do with my hormones! If only I could afford to see Vliet herself!!!
I am a 39 year old female that has suffered a severe tramatic brain injury…I suffer from major depression and anxiety, etc. I am on two antidepressants. What is it going to be like for me when I hit menopause and how am I going to be able to tell ?
My son has had major depression disorder since he hit puberty. We’ve tried 5 or 6 different anti depressants over the years with out much relief. After a motorcycle accident he found that loratabs helped relieve his depression and made life wonderful for the first time in years. Of course he quickly became addicted and needed more and more to have the same feeling. His habit has cost him and us thousands of dollars and cost us all much more emotionally. He has been through rehab twice and just cannot kick it for more than a few weeks. He is also now on Xanax for anxiety and has quickly gotten dependant on those also. I have always wondered if he had a chemical imbalance of some kind. He also has some learning disabilities (ADD and dislexia) and struggled with that all the way through school. Is there any help for men with the same problems as the women your article addressed? Could it be hormonal in men too? Please help. We need a miracle to save our son!
Do you use blood tests or saliva testing to evaluate hormone levels?
Where can I find a doctor in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area who prescribes bioidentical hormones?
I have hypothyrodism and cannot tolerate Syntroid or armor. Get severe migraines.
Thank You
I do not have addiction issues but a paragraph in your paper struck a chord with me. I have had epilepsy for 7 years now and it has been a relatively minor part of my life. Very few seizures and all had been at night while I was sleeping. However, in December, I began having monthly severe seizures that are having horrible side effects. I am 44 years old and have been exhibiting the signs of pre-menopause. Your statement that diminished progesterone levels can develop excess electrical activity in both the central and peripheral nervous system made me pause. Is there also a connection with low progesterone levels and increased seizures? How can I get my progesterone levels tested?
I just recently had my Granddaughter (22) tested and diagnosed with ADD. In the process, I was shocked to find out that I have it myself (I am 66). It caused her great problems this last year, and she ended up going to jail for six days, in which time she lost 10 pounds and came out totally incoherent. I am so heartsick that she had to go through this. She is so distracted all day long, and that is why she just didn’t keep her appointments with the court, etc. Another thing we both have in common is addiction problems, which in her case, while she was heavily into drugs (and before we knew she also had ADD, she stole something. When I was in my 30s I developed a severe addiction to prescription tranquilizers and uppers because of VERY severe PMS (not named yet then). One day I read an article by Dr. Katrina Dalton called Once a Month which make me realize that was my problem. In my case it was so severe I thought of suicide many times right before my period. After much hunting around, I found a doctor in Salt Lake City who was the only one in the state treating the condition. He treated me with the natural progesterone suppositories. That was the beginning of MUCH help for me. I have continued all these years using natural progesterone (many progestins prescribed by mds make it worse). The last few years I have had to literally beg for the larger doses I need, which work as an anti-depressant for me, relieve my anxiety, and help me focus 100 times better. Up until couple of months ago, I had no idea I had ADD too and see that now as another reason I got addicted on the prescription drugs to try to get my brain “strong” enough to take care of my family. (I have been clean from those drugs for 30 years now). Besides the natural progesterone I began walking and found I HAD to walk or my head just wasn’t able to function. My granddaughter got into worse drugs and almost died of an overdose of Oxycodone two years ago. I take ADD meds and prometrium now, and I continue to exercise, which she is starting. I feel she would also benefit from natural progesterone, as she has much anxiety, and I plan to discuss that with her and her doctor soon. When I saw this article you posted, it really hit home. Keeping my hormones stabilized with natural hormones has helped me tremendously. If I had known what was happening with my hormones, and got that treated, I don’t believe I would have got addicted.
This sounds very interesting. I have a son who suffered for years with depression and found pain killers helped him overcome his depression better than any anti-depressant medication. Of course now he is addicted to pain killers and it is causeing many terrible problems in his and our lives. Could men have these hormone issues also? Please help!
Pat,
There’s a fabulous doctor named, Dr David McLaughlin in Noblesville, IN. He’s an OBGYN but his practice is focused on infertility treatment and hormone balancing for pre/post menopausal women.
He is so far ahead of most doctors about hormones and is using a very large varity of ways to replace the hormones you’re missing.
He’s got the best staff I’ve ever encountered. You’ll get a call back the same day and they all have their hormones balanced, so they’ve got personal experience in how it feels to be on both sides of the fence.
I realize it will be a drive for you, but it’s worth it! You don’t really know how bad you’re feeling till you’re feeling better.
9660 E 146TH ST STE 300
NOBLESVILLE IN 46060
(866) 322-2263
For those with an interest in hormonal therapy, you may consider reading The Hormone Solution by Thierry Hertoghe, MD. Dr. Hertoghe is a fourth generation European endocrincologist who trains US physicians in the art and science of prescribing bioidentical hormonal replacement therapy. I have been prescribing BHRT for 18 years and continue to be amazed by the unique biochemical needs of each woman and man I treat.
Thank you Rick for your passion and commitment helping patients. This article is stellar.
Roberta Morgan
Physician, Author, Lecturer, and student of Rick and Daniel
Please help me find more biochemical based information for my son who has been trying different medications since he was 9, and is now recovering from addiction to painkillers. Mood disorders anxiety, adhd. HELP! He is an a terrific school, but has been in no program longer than a few months for the last two years and the doctors don’t talk to each other much so he begins new “experiments” with drug regimen over and over again. He’s running out of time.
What is A4M education? and how do I find a doctor in the Melbourne, FL area that has had it? I’m on the east coast – zip code 32904 – one hour SE of orlando. thanks for your help – this article rocked my world and expained the hypothyroidism and homore therapy results I’ve been getting. Keep up the great work. Laura
Right on targets. Add ADD and self medication. My old CHADD support group concluded that self medication whether caffeine, cola drinks, alcohol, drugs, whatever; whether stimulants or CNS depressants; were sending simple messages simply dismissed by too many medical people.
One group member had to contend with not only her own and her family’s ADD but also her own fibromyalgia. She won and has overcome both! Others related the problems of older ex military who had undiagnosed problems, and self medicated to “function” whether with stimulating coffee or depressing alcohol. Listening to each other, we made more sense than most local professionals would admit. You have opened the next door. Have any examples of studies correlating male or female hormonal problems with ADD, self medication and brain patterns? Thank you for all your work!
Truly Dr. Sponaugle has achieved what so many physicians have over looked! It’s amazing. I believe that many women all over the country would immediately recognize the correlation between their hormone deficiencies and substance abuse. And the sad thing continues to be that well educated, professionals, good mothers and wives, are becoming casualties to the pain management clinics around the country. Life becomes very complex after you begin the cycle of low hormones. Your ability to think, process, and understand as well as your loss of energy, women become so depleted that we almost do not have the abilities to figure this out at the point of need. And running from doctor to doctor is of no avail, unless you are truly stumble across a doctor dedicated to his life’s work and I have to say cares enough about people to look beyond the surface. This statement is no disrespect to doctors; however, it’s just unlikely that with our busy lifestyles, time will allow continued doctor visits. Often we become too tired to continue to seek the answer just give in to the pain and treat symptoms. Over the past 9 years and the on set of menopause after a hysterectomy and removal of both ovaries, I began seeking endocrinologists to figure out what could be going on with my low energy, lack of motivation and depression. In years past; although maintaining like a good little girl…I began to suffer from depression from sexual abuse and poor parental structured upbringing…if you will. Amazingly enough, while maintaining, I was taking Zoloft. Then after the hysterectomy I went from a motivated mother to a drained shell of a human because of the lack of hormones that Dr. Sponaugle spoke of. And again a connection amazing to me is that as well as being treated for pain, my doctor also writes me hormone replacement and thyroid medications. I am truly excited about this discovery and hope that the OB/GYNs and endocrine doctors will stand up and take note to the connection Dr. S spoke of destroying marriages, and ultimately even lives like my sister, who died last year from toxicity to pain meds at age 39. And she would have been a textbook study for everything Dr. Sponaugle spoke of in his article. Thank you Dr. Sponaugle for your education on this subject. Thank God for you. Teresa B.
Bob,
You are correct regarding self-medication and ADD. Our studies at Florida Detox indicate that @ 70 percent of our addicted patients are self-medicating undiagnosed ADD/ADHD. Our new record patient, Todd, has attended 44 previous rehab programs for alclhol binging, but, was never diagnosed with his severe ADHD. He now has no alcohol craving, his ADHD has been effectively treated with natural supplements and Vyvanse. Many ADD patients also suffer serotonin deficiency. Dr. Amen’s reserch has greatly assisted our ability to diagnose all the different regions of the brain and determine which are under and over active. When ADHD patients are correctly diagnosed and treated, their dopamine craving stops as does their “dopamine chase” via various dopamine enhancing drugs.
Laura,
We have an outpatient anti-aging wellness program that is for non addicted patients. e have many patients from Melbourne which is about threed hours away. Our program also includes brain optimization. If you only want body and not brain wellness, check out Suzanne Summes website, she has listed docs throughout the country.
Tim,
Testosterone deficiency causes a myriad of problems. If you are asking regarding depresion/addiction, there are several biochemical facts worth mentioning. Dopamine activates our pleasure center, dopamine receptivity requires testosterone and T3 thyroid hormone. Conversion of the inactive T4 thyroid hormone to the active T3 thyroid hormone is compromised in a man or woman with suboptimal testosterone.
Shirley Morris,
Your daughter most likely does produce suboptimal estradiol, she will then even with potentially normal serotonin levels suffer low serotonin activity and subsequent anxiety and insomnia [read Dr. Amens Healing Anxiety and Depression} Goal is to prevent estradiol from falling below 60 in premenstrual period with bioidentical, no horse estrogen
Susan,
Thanks for kind words regarding hormone/addiction article. After Dr. Phil referred a couple females to Florida Detox, we became estrogen dominant, 70 percent females. We have learned much from evaluating female hormones and from Dr. Vliet’s book, “Screaming to be heard”
thank you for your article & thx to Dr. Amen for posting it in his site. I am looking for a very experienced Dr.(pref.GYN)who perscribes bio-identicals in the Clev,Oh area. Most recent Dr. is a smoker & I can’t be near the smell & I don’t think his forte is in balancing hormones. Is there anyone who takes insurance coverages? thx & God Bless, cfish
This is all great news, however, I wish there were more hormonal studies done for men. I believe there is some type of hormonal change that causes mid-life crisis for me that they tend to over-react to it. I wonder if adding a small dosage of testosterone in their system during this age would help them balance out?
Please explain why otc pain killers such as Advil, are bad for the brain when taken over long periods of time. I have recently developed a very chronic spinal condition and without these, I could not move much. With them I am almost normal. I worry about dementia. Thank you
My now ex-husband (age 42) is going though some type on change and he doesn’t seem to have control over himself… It is so sad because althoug I have chosen to not live with him, my son still lives with him and sees all. The many girls he brings home, the drinking, the motorcycle he couldn’t really afford. I am also afraid that my son will go through the same passage at his father’s age. Why is it generally acceptable for men to go through mid-life crisis and studies are not done about them? While it all seems like fun from the outside–it causes family members so much pain. Please do some reseach if not for my son, perhaps yours.
I found the article fascinating and wanted to follow up by reading the original 2006 PET scan study comparing D2 Domanine activity. I did not see a link or citation. Could you direct me to it? I am an acupuncturist and chinese herbalist in Portland Oregon and have been practicing in a collaberative clinic with M.D.s, D.O.’s, P.A.’s, and N.P.’s for the past 10 years. Clincally I have found HRT and neuro- transmitter supplimental support along with acupuncture and chinese herbal formulas very benificial. Quantifiable evidence has been scarce in the past and I am always excited to see more coming out. The research is very helpful when expaining what I and my collegues are doing to other health care providers and patients.
Cheers,
Collin Stoll L.Ac.
Dr. Amen, pesticides such as pyrethrins can cause violence and brain disorders. Read about a landmark case where a young man who was poisoned on his job as a “lawn sprayer” killed a woman he was working for. Also, a physician who taught at Harvard (maybe still does) turned overly aggressive after spraying of animals and house for fleas. I may have also written you about Bt, harmless in nature but attached to E-Coli,Salmonella, Herpes and more. Chemical company manufactures this and it is used in 80% of the world. Bt or Bacillus Thuringiensis cannot be stopped by the macrophage in the human body. It will end up multiplying where there are holes in the body, i. e. joints, brain, etc. This paralyzes the energy centers. Bt is paralyzing Honey Bees. It has been found in many hives and plants and foods. HBP is caused by a bacteria and it is now believed by some research that the same bacteria causes Alzheimer’s Disease. Bt can be killed by UV light but lives indefinately in the shade. In nature it is usually harmless but bio manufactured with live bacteria and viruses, it can be lethal.
Pamela Flavin Dillon, Elkridge, MD.
Does this mean that there is a treatment for addiction that may be genetic? Any help for children from families with alcohol addition? Are there researches done as how to prevent young kids from addition problems? Thanks in advance!
how can this sort of hormone imbalance affect somebody with issues with motivation/adhd drive and a bit of internet addiction ever since i had issues with my hyperthyroid during college.
I know i havent felt the same and despite doing beyond what i ever thought i could before all this happened in school ( I was pre-med suddenly pulling straight A’s in school after being one who always had trouble focusing in school as i was always adhd) afterwards it just seemed everything got worse.
Having the opportunity to sit in on a lecture of Dr. Sponaugle’s only a week ago, I was once agan “Blown Away”! His and Dr. Amens work is cutting edge to say the least. Years ago people would go to seek help for these issues only to be told (dismissedly) by their Physicians that “It’s all in your head”! How clueless and right they were. Thank You Both and Please keep up the good work!
It’s interesting that these issues present most severely at either end of the menstrual life of women, manifesting in the symptoms of addiction as described. I wonder from this research if something will be developed that can pinpoint these hormonal issues before they develop into the addictive behaviours.
I work in my psychology practice with men and women addicted to alcohol. Your article raises the question of what could I hand to my clients that they could show to their doctors so the doctors would take the question of hormone imbalance more seriously.
I just came across this post. I find it interesting that once again conventional medicine is not recognizing this connection. Shouldn’t drug and alcohol treatment centers along with ob-gyns know about this? Also, the anxiety issue. I did not realize there was a direct correlation with progesterone deficiency which many women experience in their peri-menopausal years.
Do you know if any more studies have come out since this post?
Dr. Amen makes a good point about environmental toxins taking a toll on hormonal processes. I think detoxification first from any addicting substances and then from things like pesticides, heavy metals, and radiation after that is a good step in helping normalize hormone levels. Many of the glands involved in hormone production are very susceptible to these toxins. Luckily there are advances in detoxification to address this. Black Mica supplements, Zeolites, Bentonite Clays, Chlorella, MSM, and even those detox foot pads can help alleviate symptoms.
As a program that deals with alcohol and drug abuse we found this article quite interesting. We thought it rather ironic that the majority of the patients we see are in their “teens” so “anti aging” medication probably wouldnt be the best approach but we wonder if there are other medicinal implications of whats in the anti aging medicine that could help?