Comments on: Dr. Amen on the NFL Dementia Debate

By: Erik Nelson

Erik Nelson — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:46:07 +0000

I am a middle school science teacher. I had the opportunity to hear you speak several years ago at my previous district. Today I showed my students some of the brain scan images of drug users from your website. This was for “Red Ribbon Week”. The kids were riveted, and it really helped de-bunk the harmless myth that pot has recently received. It really made the kids wonder about “medical marijuana” and its evangelists who tout it as a treatment for everything from glaucoma to hang nails. Do you have any specific resources for educators? Thank you for the work you are doing. It is very valuable.

By: John Ghormley

John Ghormley — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:32:24 +0000

Dr. Amen,

Have read several of your books and have gotten some of your DVDs. Even as a layman, I’m impressed with all the eye-opening material you’ve put together.

On a related note to football players and brain injuries, I once saw on your website a story about identical twin girls and how, after one of them suffered a head injury from falling off the top of bunk beds, their lives went in remarkably different directions. As I recall, the twin who was injured started having all kinds of behavioral problems that were not found in the other twin.

I’d like to be able to get ahold of a copy of that article. My own interest in the subject stems from also having fallen off the top bunk of a bunk bed when I was 5-6 years old. As a result of having read some of your writings on the subject of brain trauma and their potential effect on a person’s life, I’m curious if some of the difficulties I’ve had in life subsequent to the episode of falling out of bed is traceable to any brain trauma I may have suffered at the time, but which went undiagnosed for lack of a thorough examination.

I very much look forward to hearing from you or someone on your staff about this.

Respectfully,

John Ghormley
Portland, Ore.

By: naturheilkunde

naturheilkunde — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:51:43 +0000

Well my cousin had an accident in the local metro rail while he was in Malaysia. He damaged a large part of his brain, suffered memory loss and had to undergo brain cell transplantation. And even 14 years hence, he is suffering from Alzheimer’s.

By: Helena

Helena — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:16:06 +0000

Hi Dr. Amen,
I’m a big fan of your imaging work because I do it too with qEEG. What I see happens to the kids when they play soccer with the Type A coaches who force the kids to do 45 minute head shot only practices once a week in Ardsley NY really frightens me. I wish we could get to these coaches too who are sending me way too many clients because the parents don’t know any better.

By: Dr Rick Sponaugle

Dr Rick Sponaugle — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:56:37 +0000

I have utilized Dr. Amen’s brilliant research and Spect brain imaging in my addiction practice since 2004. Since then, I have treated many NFl and college level football players who developed Oxycontin addiction from their football injuries.

I encourage all of my professional wrestlers and football players to undergo Spect imaging at the Amen Clinics a month or so after drug detoxification. Every football player and professional wrestler I have treated for opiate addiction, if they played through college level, NFL or WWE, came back from the Amen Clinic with really ugly, traumatic brain scans.

Most of the players suffered severe temporal lobe damage and subsequently exibited rage issues, often with spontaneous panic attacks, some with depression. Their wives insisted that they suffered more from their husband’s rage issues, while some of the players considered the rage an occupational advantage, eventually they all admitted it got them into trouble. The players also think that it is normal to experience “deje vu” once a week, not once a year. [Read about temporal lobe trauma in Dr. Amen's Book, Healing Anxiety and Depression]

With the tremendous advantage I have gained by intense study of Daniel Amen’s research, I have proven that these addicted football players and pro wrestlers, were in fact, using Oxycontin, more for the purpose of quiescing the mini-seizures in their damaged temporal lobes, than for treating their physical knee/back pain.

When treated effectively with high dose pharaceutical grade GABA or anticonvulsant medication, the players/wrestlers no longer crave or “need” Oxycontin, nor do they abuse alcohol for it’s GABA A receptor effect.

Alcohol and Oxycontin “like” pain medication, eventually shut down pituitary gland function, creating multiple hormonal deficiencies that are causative for increased pain sesitivity, depression, chronic fatigue and disorders like “Leaky Gut Syndrome.”

Hopefully after completing his NFL study, Dr. Amen will commence a study on professional wrestlers and soccor players.

Rick Sponaugle M.D. Medical Director of Florida Detox and Wellness Institute