A Moment with Dr. Stillman

A few months ago I met a young Christian mom who was struggling with a facial rash, mouth and tongue swelling, and long, uncomfortable periods.

Certain foods made her mouth and tongue swell. Her periods lasted seven days and were miserable.

She had done what most of our patients do before coming to see us.

She had cleaned up her diet, cut foods she suspected to be triggers, and worked to reduce her stress.

It wasn’t working. So she flew to Texas to see us.

What She Was Living With

She’s a homeschooling mom recovering from a few extremely stressful life events (moving, job disruptions). Many women I meet like her say things like, “I would love to have more children.” Whether they say it or not, I know they’re worried about things like, “what will it mean for my body? If I’m sick, what will it mean for my future children? Am I carrying around toxins or infections I might transmit to them?”

She was struggling with:

• Facial rash that was severe enough to make her think twice about going out

• Mouth and tongue swelling from foods she thought were safe

• Periods that ran about seven days with starts and stops

• Low energy, feeling overwhelmed by her son’s needs

• Hot flashes when she tried a strict carnivore diet

Sound familiar? We see cases like hers all the time. I’m always hopeful when I hear a story like this, because of stories like this one.

What Changed

We looked at her hair and blood mineral levels. We came up with a personalized supplement protocol. Here’s what happened next:

• Before: Gluten-free baking and “healthy” swaps still triggering swelling

• After: Food allergy testing identified grains and starches she was reacting to. Removing them stopped the mouth and tongue swelling.

• Before: Rough, inflamed skin on her face

• After: Ivermectin for the skin, trigger foods removed.

• Before: Seven-day, choppy periods

• After: Cycles shortened to about four days. “It felt easier,” she said when I asked about how they had changed.

She was so pleased about how her skin improved. In her words: “The rash is gone. Completely gone… oh, my face is so smooth.”

Along the way she said, “That was God. He took me through some things and that was good.”

All of this happened in a few months. When you put the right plan together and patients take action, this is what’s possible.

What Everyone Missed

Her problem wasn’t genetics or bad luck.

She had hidden food allergies she wasn’t aware of. Foods she thought were safe were not based on testing.

Her minerals, especially potassium, were imbalanced. She was severely depleted. When we added the right minerals back in, she began to flourish.

One thing I kept coming back to - your body is always trying to “interpret” its environment. Everything you send your body is a signal. A late night meal, an early morning workout, a diet rich in certain foods - these are signals you are sending to your body.

If you want to be fit, fertile, and full of life, then you need to tell your body, “we’re living in abundance.” I know this might sound hokey or sound like some kind of New Age nonsense or Prosperity Gospel heresy, but it’s all too real in practice. We see patients not eating enough food, not eating enough of the right foods, exercising too much, doing the wrong type of exercise for their goals, and more.

We teach patients to change the signals they are sending their bodies, and this is a major part of what we call, “healing.”

One Thing To Notice This Week

Think about what you’re telling your body with your daily choices. Look at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. What seasons do they represent? If you’re not eating foods that grow in Spring, Summer, or Fall, you’re telling your body it’s Winter. When you wake up, do you go outside? If not, you’re telling your body it’s still dark. Your body will think it’s Winter. Do you exercise to the point of exhaustion? How does your body know you’re safe? It will think you’re running from famine, war, or natural disasters.

When you view your body as a vessel that receives signals and responds to them intelligently, your health might start to make a lot more sense.

Where to Go From Here

This is one story. I see this pattern again and again.

If this was helpful, you can subscribe for more “A Moment with Dr. Stillman” posts and forward this to a friend who lives with similar symptoms. Simple, clear teaching is how many patients finally realize they are not crazy or alone.

Subscribe now

As always, discuss any changes with your own licensed clinician. Read our full disclaimers, disclosures, and our position on health freedom here.

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman

P.S. If you see yourself in this story and want help mapping your own case, you can learn more about an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment and see available times here.

Educational content only. Not medical advice. See full disclaimers.

We’re building a new practitioner training program for people who want to:

• Learn the method we use to help tired, foggy, inflamed people achieve exceptional health, and

• Build an online audience and income around helping others.

Before we lock in the details, I want your input on what would actually be most useful.

This short survey will help us decide:

• What to include (community, calls, course, events, etc.)

• How to structure the training

• How to price it fairly

If you’re a practitioner, coach, or serious layperson who’s interested in this kind of training, I’d value your feedback.

It takes a few minutes:

Take the survey and help design the program

Thank you in advance for taking the time.

I look forward to meeting our first round of Wellness Fellows!

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman

About this email: Real cases from recent visits, quotes as close to verbatim as the record allows. De-identified; details changed for privacy. These patients likely did most of what was recommended — many don't, and outcomes vary. This is not a guarantee and not personal medical advice.

Have you ever felt like you’re doing the work and nothing is moving?

• Eating well

• Taking supplements

• Following a healthy daily routine

And you’re still barely functioning — not getting worse, but not getting better either.

If you’re at 0–70% of your best and it bothers you, this is for you.

These three cases look different on the surface. Underneath each we find the same patterns. These patients all started with an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment.

As you read, if someone comes to mind, forward this to them.

“I Put a Patch on My Shoulder. Two Days Later It Was Functional Again.”

If this sounds like your husband, dad, or brother, this story is for you.

A man in his 60s had a heart attack recently after helping with a family move. He also has iron-overload and had been donating blood regularly. He was already doing many of the right things.

What did we do to help him recover?

We reviewed his post-cardiac labs in detail, refined his supplement protocols, added sauna for long-term cardiovascular support, and continued blood donation. He also started light therapy patches.

What he noticed:

• Shoulder mobility restored after just two patch sessions

• Fewer illnesses since starting his new supplement protocols

• Better overall sense of wellbeing

“I put it on there for only two days, twice. My shoulder was functional again.”

“I do like taking the vitamin C. I feel better when I take it. Seems like I don’t get sick as often.”

For supplements I take everyday (and that we use most commonly in practice), see this post:

Supplements I Take Every Day

If you’d like this kind of support from our team, it starts with an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment.

“In the Last Three Days I’ve Seen a Shift.”

A teacher in her 50s had been managing blood pressure spikes she described as “so scary,” requiring clonidine every few days. Her baseline energy? She said, “zero out of ten.” She had tried supplements and other practitioners. She’s one of those people who came to see us after, “trying everything” and “seeing everyone.” Her body seemed to react to almost everything.

What she was dealing with:

• Heart palpitations — “extremely distracting”

• Teeth grinding and snoring

• Weekly cold sore outbreaks

Serial HTMA revealed the culprit. She had manganese at extraordinary levels across multiple test cycles (among the highest we’ve seen), driving her autonomic nervous system into overdrive. We introduced mineral support slowly, because she couldn’t tolerate more than small quantities of minerals. As she detoxified, her blood pressure spiked. We see this often. We controlled this with medications.

At our recent follow up:

• Blood pressure down to 91/66

• Energy up from zero to a six or seven

• Less anxiety

• Manganese at its lowest ever

• IGF-1 climbed from 128 to 162 (this is amazing)

“In the last three days I’ve seen a shift. I’m having less anxiety.”

“I saw that manganese coming down. I thought, thank God. That was rough.”

She’s not finished, but her blood pressure is stable, her energy is returning, and she’s finally feeling like herself again.

If you’re curious what your body is hiding, we start our process of discovery with an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment.

What These Stories Have in Common

I feel like I tell you all the same story every week, and yet every week it’s different details, cases, names, and faces that come to mind. I’m so excited to share these real and encouraging results from our practice with you.

If you’d like our help, our process starts with an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment.

If you know someone who has “tried everything” and still isn’t themselves, share this with them as a starting point.

If you were forwarded this and want one real set of cases like this each week, subscribe here:

Subscribe now

Start With an Inflammation & Autoimmunity Assessment

When you’re tired of guessing, the next step is clarity.

In an Assessment, you get:

• A 30-minute visit with me or a clinician on my team

• A deep review of your story, symptoms, medications, supplements, and any prior labs you have

• Clear recommendations for what to do first, what to stop doing, and whether working with us or someone else is the best fit for you

If you see yourself in any of these stories, this is where I recommend you start.

→ Book your Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment today.

If You’re New Here

This email is part of a weekly series, This Week in Practice.

• One practical, story-based email each week

• Real cases, real numbers, and real quotes

• Ideas you can bring to your own doctor or care team

If someone forwarded this to you, subscribe here so you don’t miss future issues:

Subscribe now

As always, discuss any changes with your own licensed clinician. Read our full disclaimers, disclosures, and our position on health freedom here.

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman

Educational content only. Not medical advice. See full disclaimers.

A Moment with Dr. Stillman

She had done everything I asked. The supplements. The sauna. The dietary changes. The red light therapy. She was meticulous about it - researching, adjusting, paying close attention to her body. You would not find a more committed patient. Her husband watched her get up every morning and do “all the things.” He told her, “for the input you’re putting in, the output isn’t equal.”

His words, and I agree with them.

What this was costing her was more than her energy. It was costing her the ability to plan - to commit to dinner, to a trip, to a normal day - because her body’s responses were unpredictable and her window of capacity was narrow. She was a mother, a thinker, a problem-solver by nature. Being unable to trust her own body was its own kind of suffering, on top of the symptoms themselves.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing everything right and your body is still saying no - this one is for you.

What We Found When We Looked Closer

When we reviewed this patient’s history across several months, the picture was consistent:

• Profound fatigue with narrow, unpredictable capacity - a good morning followed by days of payback

• Multiple episodes of unusual neurological symptoms that had never been fully explained

• History of significant head injury years prior, followed by a decade of neurological and hormonal instability

• Every time she increased her supplement protocol, her body reacted - headaches, mood changes, exhaustion

• Improvement in lab results, but not in symptoms

What do we do in a case like this?

What Nobody Had Looked For

Most of our patients see significant, durable progress in just a matter of weeks or months. That’s part of why we keep doing this work - it’s gratifying. Some patients take longer to recover than others. Listen to my recent podcast with Kenna to hear how she took months to see improvement, but she knew things were working:

Click here to listen to Kenna’s podcast.

Some patients come to us with a high burden of toxins - what I call, “total toxic burden.” They may have accumulated trauma (head trauma in particular) that can slow down healing. They have been under stress for so long that the nervous system has wired in ways that prevent healing. They have severe nutritional deficiencies, the kind that take months to correct.

How do we make sense of this and decide what to do?

I think of this as a kind of “deep repair deficit.” I think of all disease as arising from repair deficit, but when it’s particularly “deep” it is like extreme amounts of debt. You can throw thousands or tens of thousands of dollars at a giant pile of credit card debt, and not make a dent in the principle because the interest is so extreme.

What do we do?

First, we double down on the fundamentals. Just because your credit card bill isn’t declining month over month doesn’t mean you go out and spend money on things you don’t need. You still have to be frugal, thoughtful, and live within your means.

Second, we think about new strategies. Are their drugs that might help move the needle? Bioidentical hormones? Peptides? Light therapy? And more.

We always do this in consultation with the patient, because we have to have a conversation around informed consent. We have to discuss the risks and benefits of any therapy we recommend.

This is an important moment for patients. The thoughts and feelings of, “is this worth it?” must be dealt with. We have to keep what we recommend manageable, while also being realistic about what’s possible. It’s hard to come to terms with results that don’t happen as fast as we would like. But shortcuts in this kind of work usually do more harm than good.

“Little things make big things happen.” — John Wooden

One Thing To Explore This Week

Consider trying new things, and letting go of things that aren’t working. If your supplement stack has grown over time, chances are there’s something you could let go. If you’re not getting the progress you want, and you’re ready for more, or just something different, discuss your options with a clinician.

Where to Go From Here

She wasn’t failing because she lacked discipline or commitment. She had both in abundance. She was navigating a terrain that needed a lighter touch than the situation seemed to call for and that is not a failure of will. It’s just a different kind of problem, one that requires patience more than effort.

If you see yourself in this story, book an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment with a member of our team.

As always, discuss any changes with your own licensed clinician. Read our full disclaimers, disclosures, and our position on health freedom here.

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman

Educational content only. Not medical advice. See full disclaimers.

We’re about to start training people in our method.

The results you read about here every week?

That’s what I’ll show you how to get for you and yours step-by-step in this training program.

Who This Is For

If you’re:

• A practitioner looking to learn what we do

• A coach looking to learn more about integrative medicine

• A concerned citizen or community member who wants to learn how to help your friends, family, and community

• Someone who hates their 9-5 and wants to build an income in health and wellness to escape the misery of their corporate job

• You’d like to become a member of our team as a coach, practitioner, or member of our support team

And you:

• Are allergic to hype and gimmicky wellness nonsense

• Want a framework that actually works, along with clear rules about how to walk people through it

• Want clear guidance on how to create and build an income in health and wellness, so that you can spend your life pursuing your calling

Then this is for you.

What You’ll Learn

I’ve spent over twenty years in integrative medicine. July 1st of this year will mark my 12th year of practice. I’ve built a coherent framework for getting tired, sick, foggy, inflamed people into good health.

Much of what I do doesn’t require a medical degree or license.

What it does require:

• The ability to listen

• The ability to make people feel seen, heard, and deeply cared for

• Basic training in diet, lifestyle, and therapeutics (that most coaches and practitioners are missing)

• A relentless dedication to show up and do the work, even when you want to hit the snooze button or just mindlessly scroll through your social media feeds instead

Here’s exactly what you’ll learn:

• What questions to ask, what to listen for, and how to motivate people to take action to achieve good health

• How to create and publish exceptional content on social media, not the AI-slop that’s becoming the norm

• How we think about, diagnose, and treat different diseases and conditions in our practice, whether through diet, lifestyle, and behavior change (coaching) or medical care (drugs, surgeries, and other therapeutics)

In short, we’ll teach you how to heal the sick and build an income that’s richly deserved based on your service.

Why I’m Doing This

I’ll be candid and transparent about why I’m doing this.

I want to reach the world with our message of hope and healing. We’ve got an incredible method. If you read this Substack regularly, then you see the results we’re getting. I know that they are world-class, because a lot of our patients have traveled all over the world for their care. Many of our patients are healthcare industry insiders (drug reps, clinical trial coordinators, pharmaceutical researchers, practitioners, and experts or influencers).

We need help in our practice, but because of how complex our approach has become, we can’t just hire anyone. Our patients are complex and require exceptional skills and deep knowledge.

We also need partners to refer to. If people can’t work with us for some reason, we’d like to have someone to refer them to.

What’s our ultimate goal?

• Empower people to heal themselves and others

• Create a network of like-minded people and practitioners

• Train our future employees in our method, before they join the team

• Train people to use products we use in daily practice (we earn a commission on products sold)

Who This Is Not For

This is not for everyone.

Here’s who should look for another training opportunity:

• You’re looking for shortcuts and magic pills

• You’re looking for a get-rich-quick scheme

• You’re looking for a hobby, not a serious opportunity

• You’re unwilling to engage with technology and social media

• You’re looking for medical advice or care for you or your family - I won’t be answering personal (that includes family and friends) medical questions in this program

• You’re a practitioner who is looking for a turn-key medical practice or sales/marketing training (I’m not offering that, yet)

• You’re looking for a secular training opportunity - what I teach is explicitly Christian

What You’ll Get

I’m still determining exactly what this will include, but here’s what I have so far:

• A dedicated online community where you can ask questions, view training recordings, and get insights from myself and my team

• A weekly call with me where we’ll train on all aspects of what we do - not just the medical and coaching technicalities, but how we create social media posts, talk to people, and set up systems

• A clear system you can use on your own to recreate what we’ve created in our practice

Your Next Step

If you’re interested in this opportunity, here’s your next step:

• Fill out this application.

Over the next few weeks:

1. I’ll review every application personally.

2. I’ll invite select applicants to one-on-one interviews with me to determine exactly what we’ll include in our training program.

3. We’ll finalize the details for our training opportunity and invite our first round of participants.

I trust I’ll see your application soon.

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman

Here are three real cases from our practice. These three cases look different on the surface. What they share underneath is a repair deficit the body couldn't resolve without a change. If you see yourself in these cases, book an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment with myself or a member of my team.

"The Way I Felt Before Is a World of Difference From How I Feel Now."

Before

She’s a woman in her mid-70s, sharp and motivated, and still working hard at what she loves. She had been battling swollen feet and ankles for years. She recently turned down a trip because she just can’t stand to be on her feet for so long. When the swelling was bad, she was also tired and short of breath. Her ankles would normalize overnight if she lay on the floor with her feet up the wall, but by evening, the cycle started again.

Sound familiar? This is a common pattern we see in our practice.

What We Did

How the body manages fluid at the cellular level is far more nuanced than most practitioners realize. It takes time to get to know the clinical picture so you can personalize a comprehensive solution that will actually work. We introduced personalized vitamin and mineral supplements, gut support, and light therapy to improve circulation and fluid dynamics.

After

At her most recent visit, this is what she said:

“The way that I felt before I started… is a world of difference from how I feel now.”

This is not a magic pill. She’s still having to manage these symptoms, but she’s able to get on with her life now. Her overall energy is measurably better. She’s going to make the next trip she gets invited on.

Why This Matters If You’re Like Her

There’s more to be done about foot swelling than just wearing compression socks and living your life with your feet up. If you’d like our help, it starts with an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment.

“It’s Pretty Much Like Night and Day.” Months of Poor Sleep Turned Around.

Before

She’s in her 50s, comfortably retired, with two adult children who have growing families.

When we followed up recently, she had been struggling with poor sleep:

• Difficulty falling asleep

• Waking up multiple times a night

• Lying awake, unable to fall back asleep

Her words:

“Months of poor sleep.”

Fatigue affected everything. Even though she had cleaned up her diet and had dropped 10 pounds since the first of the year, she still didn’t feel rested.

Her labs told a mixed story:

• A cardiac risk marker was mildly elevated

• Her hair test showed calcium high relative to magnesium

• Her omega‑3 index was sub-optimal and omega‑6 intake was high

We often see an elevated calcium to magnesium ratio in people who are feeling overly stressed. We call it a “lifestyle imbalance.” It is often toxic relationship, a difficult job, an addiction, a traumatic life event, or a significant life change. The patient can always put their finger on it when you ask them, “what stress in your life needs to change?”

What We Did

Here’s what she did:

• Silent Nights patch to support sleep quality

• Magnesium split into two doses instead of all at once

• Binaural beats and meditation in the evening to calm her nervous system

• A consistent bedtime around 10:15 p.m.

• Ensuring she ate enough in the evening so hunger wasn’t waking her

When I asked her, “what gets the credit?” here’s what she said:

“It is all of it together.”

Rarely does anything we do get more than 50% of the credit for a patient’s improvement.

If you’re looking for a silver bullet, I still don’t have one for you.

Where She Is Now

Within about three weeks, her sleep changed dramatically. She’s now:

• Falling asleep and staying asleep for 6–9 hours a night

• Sleeping through the night most night

• When she does wake up, she falls back asleep within a few minutes

Her words:

“Falling asleep and staying asleep for at least six to eight, nine hours a night.”

“I don’t wake up in the middle of the night at all… if I do, I can fall back asleep in, you know, five minutes, three minutes.”

“It’s pretty much like night and day to me, because, I mean, it was months of poor sleep.”

“I’m a lot better than the last time I saw you.”

Her labs improved markedly:

• Cardiac C-reactive protein improved by about 70% (the best it has ever been for her)

• Free T3 in the top quarter of the range

• Thyroid function better now than when she was on thyroid hormone

• Zinc rose from 86 to 92

She’s still losing weight (down 10 pounds this year).

This is what real, sustained progress looks like.

Why This Matters If You’re Like Her

We start to formulate plans like this in our Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment. If you’d like our help getting your sleep, energy, and metabolism on track, book an Assessment today.

“I Was Ready to Lift Weights This Morning — and Then I Had Coffee With Milk.”

Before

She came in with joint pain from her ankles to her shoulders. Her energy was up and down on a daily basis. She ate well, cooked all her food from scratch at home, and spent her days taking care of her family and clients of her small business. She wasn’t sure what to do, which is why she joined our practice.

What We Found in Her Assessment

Here’s what we found in her labs and history:

• Dehydration

• Low hormone levels due to nutrient depletion

• Immune responses to food driving inflammation, specifically milk

We started personalized supplements, avoidance of foods identified on allergy testing, and encouraged better hydration.

After

When she arrived at a recent follow-up visit, here’s what she said about a recent morning:

“I woke up — I thought, this is great. It’s like, yeah, I can tell. My elbows are feeling so much better. And I was going to lift weights this morning.”

And then she had milk in her coffee.

Minutes later, her pain and stiffness were back.

This is how powerful allergic triggers can be.

We’re only just getting started. It will take time and strict avoidance of her triggers for her to make significant, durable progress. That’s one reason why our patients want not only diagnostic and therapeutic recommendations, but accountability.

“It feels good to be accountable to somebody. This is worth the money.”

Accountability is sometimes the key to success.

Why This Matters If You’re Like Her

If your symptoms are erratic, one of my first instincts is to look for triggers. We start the process of testing and treatment in an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment.

What These Stories Have in Common

• A woman who stopped traveling because her feet couldn’t take it.

• Sleep disruptions that resolved with the right choices and supplements/tools.

• Allergic triggers at the root of stubborn pain and inflammation.

The root cause is always what we call Repair Deficit - a lack of repair relative to damage done. When we restore what the body needs, repair can occur and physiologic function can be restored.

We see cases like this every day. We work through cases like these one step at a time. Sometimes it’s mold. Sometimes it’s food. Sometimes it’s eating more food. We always personalize supplements, light therapy, and dietary recommendations in our programs. The process starts with the Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment.

Start With an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment

If you’re ready to get our help with your case, the place to start is an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment.

Here’s what to expect:

• A 30 minute meeting with a member of my team

• A deep review of your story, symptoms, medications, and supplements

• Clarity on a path forward, whether that’s working with us or a trusted partner

If you see yourself in any of these stories and you want our help, this is where I recommend you start.

Book your Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment today.

As always, discuss any changes with your own licensed clinician. Read our full disclaimers, disclosures, and our position on health freedom here.

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman

Educational content only. Not medical advice. See full disclaimers.

A Moment with Dr. Stillman

Most of the men in our practice are:

• Hard-charging

• Conscientious

• Highly educated (particularly about health and wellness)

They’re the kind of men who run themselves into the ground providing for and protecting other people.

That’s when they reach out to us for help.

This post is about one of those men, and how he rusted out years before he was ready to slow down.

He ate well, worked hard, and didn’t complain much. But for years he had been struggling with:

• Fatigue

• Gut issues (bloating, abdominal pain, reflux)

• High blood pressure

• Inflammation and swelling all over his body

• Skin rashes that came and went

He had been to many doctors. He had tried “all the things.” His labs came back “normal.”

He and his wife refused to accept this. Finally, after considering many different options, he joined our practice.

What I Found When I Looked Closer

Here’s what we found with comprehensive labs:

• Extremely elevated iron levels

• Extremely elevated cadmium levels on hair testing

• Low zinc

• Elevated homocysteine

I see this all the time. The body has run out of resources and is accumulating toxins. As resources run out, more toxins accumulate, because you need resources like zinc and glutathione (just to name two) in order to eliminate toxins.

Our plan:

• Blood donation

• Our gut healing protocol (coming soon)

• Mineral balancing (personalized mineral and vitamin supplements based on his labs)

• Vitamin C, MSM, and our iodine protocol (you can read the vitamin C and iodine protocols here on Substack - just enter it in search)

Several months later, he reports that he’s more than 50% better. Here’s what shifted:

• Blood pressure was extremely elevated for a few months, and then it normalized

• Gut issues flared, then improved

• Iron and heavy metals levels improved

• Energy returned

He said in a recent follow-up that he was feeling, “better than he had in years.”

That makes my day.

What Nobody Had Looked For

Iron is not just a nutrient. In excess, it is a toxin. It oxidizes tissues, effectively “rusting out” the body as it accumulates. Patients often struggle for years, going from practitioner to practitioner until they finally find someone who understands how iron actually works in our bodies.

He happened to have a genetic mutation that predisposed him to high iron levels.

I described iron-handling to him this way.

Some people are built like high-carbon knives. They cut just as well as anyone else, or even better. They also rust faster. If the rust builds up, you have to buff it out or it starts to degrade the whole tool.

Elevated iron depletes zinc, and zinc depletion is one of the most underappreciated drivers of immune dysfunction, inflammation, and poor repair capacity in the patients we see. When iron is high and zinc is low, the body is accumulating damage faster than it can repair it. That is the Repair Deficit in its most concrete form.

Cases like this are common in our practice. The pattern was there in the labs if you know what to look for. Most practitioners just don’t know what to look for.

“It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has.” — William Osler, MD

One Thing To Explore This Week

What’s your iron status? Are you overloaded? Deficient? A standard CBC does not tell you what you need to know about iron overload. If you have chronic fatigue, gut problems, elevated blood pressure, or a family history of similar symptoms, iron could be the key.

Where to Go From Here

Your body isn’t broken. It may have been quietly depleted. I call this “rusting out.” Once you know what the problem is, you can start to actually solve it.

If you see yourself in this story, book an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment with a member of my team. During this call, we’ll discuss what you’re dealing with, what your goals are, and how we can help, whether that’s becoming a patient at our practice, joining one of our online programs, or a referral to a trusted partner of ours in your region.

As always, discuss any changes with your own licensed clinician. Read our full disclaimers, disclosures, and our position on health freedom here.

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman

Educational content only. Not medical advice. See full disclaimers.

About this email: These are pulled from real visit transcripts at our practice. Quotes are verbatim. Cases are de-identified and minor details are changed to protect privacy. None of this guarantees results. These patients probably did what we recommended. Many people don't.

All three started with the same step, an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment with myself or a member of my team.

Jogging for the First Time in Years

He came to us with progressive neurological symptoms that were crippling him as a husband and a father.

• Foot drop - imagine catching your toes on every step or even on an unlevel side walk

• Declining coordination - he was losing his ability to walk and perform routine daily tasks

• Cognitive decline - poor memory, comprehension, and word recall

And this despite being a man in middle life, with young kids and a wife to support.

Failure is not an option in cases like this. So we take an aggressive approach.

Hair testing showed extreme elevations in:

• Cadmium

• Lead

And modest elevations in mercury. There was a clear source - an occupational exposure.

We started mineral balancing, sauna, bioidentical hormones, MSM, vitamin C, and iodine, along with the rest of our framework for diet and lifestyle.

Then we escalated to high-dose vitamin D. He started taking over 80,000 IU of vitamin D daily.

At two months, his wife reported:

“The other day he forgot something and he just jogged through the house - through multiple rooms, coordinated, at a normal pace. No way that could have happened before.”

The foot drop? “Like disappeared comparatively.”

He was doing 30 minutes of sauna daily at 140°F, finally sweating the way you need to - heavily. His cadmium and lead dropped dramatically. He’s holding up to the heat of sauna better and better, whereas before he struggled to tolerate even short sessions.

This is what our practice looks like at the highest level - and this is the kind of results that keep our team going.

His new goal? Playing soccer with his kids by Autumn.

The Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment is where we figure out whether someone is a candidate for this and how aggressively we can be in their care.

When What You’re Taking Is the Root Cause of Your Gut Issues

She had interstitial lung disease, chronically elevated glucose, and new GI problems. She’d been on 500 mg of metformin twice daily for over twenty years.

If you’re taking the same dose of something year after year, it might be worth talking to a practitioner about it. We often find patients are being over-dosed.

She realized this when she got a continuous glucose monitor.

“My blood sugar was going into the 60s, into the 50s at night. I said, wait a minute. I’m taking Metformin and then going to bed? How stupid have I been?”

She stopped the evening dose. In two weeks her energy had improved and GI problems had been “reduced tremendously.”

Metformin’s most documented side effect is GI distress. She hadn’t thought to look at whether the nighttime dose was a problem, because her fasting glucose still ran high enough in the morning to justify the prescription.

That’s not the only thing that was troubling her gut.

She was on an experimental medication for her lung disease. One of the side effects was loose stools. She cut her dose in half and the last of her GI symptoms resolved.

Never settle for one culprit. Sometimes there’s more than one.

This is why we aggressively de-prescribe medications. In this particular case, I suspect she can stop the experimental medication entirely. That’s what we’re working towards. This is always a shared decision between myself and the patient - there is always risk. Where there is risk, there must be choice. My goal is to help patients understand the risk, so they can make an informed decision.

Eliminating unnecessary medications is one of the most important parts of our process, but it has to be done carefully and thoughtfully. There’s a time and a place for medications.

We start the process of de-prescribing in our Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment.

Two Weeks Off the Protocol - and She Felt It Immediately

She was in her early thirties, managing fatigue and thyroid issues, doing the right things.

Then she went to Texas for Easter. Her daily routine fell apart. She missed multiple doses of supplements.

Within two weeks, her fatigue had returned. When she tried to restart, she got nauseous and badly bloated.

“I got super nauseous. I was taking [personalized mineral and vitamin supplements] and vitamin C together with a meal. I think it’s the vitamin C.”

This is common. Vitamin C tolerance fluctuates. The calibration dose you build up to early in the protocol often declines as the repair deficit comes down. She’d worked up to a high dose, gone off for two weeks, and had restarted at the same level. It turned out to be too much.

But she had made real progress despite this.

Her zinc had jumped 17 points across four months - a significant improvement. TSH had declined to a more optimal level. Her IGF-1 had risen by 10 points, which matched her improved sleep and increased protein intake. One thing that hadn’t moved - her magnesium was stuck at the same level despite three months of magnesium supplementation.

Her gut health had improved too.

“Once I was on the full [dose of personalized mineral and vitamin supplements], I had a daily bowel movement for the first time. I think I was just constipated most of my life and didn’t realize it.”

Our plan?

Pause all supplements for three days to reset. Then restart one supplement every three days. We added choline citrate to improve magnesium absorption, given the fact that we hadn’t moved the needle with our initial protocol. We continued the personalized mineral and vitamin protocol - it was clearly working. She’ll re-calibrate her vitamin C dose and go from there.

Sound overwhelming? That’s why we break the process down into multiple visits. The process starts with an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment to get clarity on whether or not this is the right path in the first place.

A Thought Before I Go

Most of our patients have already tried a lot of things before they start with us. They’re conscientious, driven people. And they are surrounded by people who care about them.

The secret for them isn’t more random protocols, biohacks, or supplements.

It’s a calm, structured system that’s been designed based on hundreds of cases like these.

What we do doesn’t fit in an Instagram carousel or reel, or a YouTube short.

It’s a process with many permutations and endless variety.

It keeps us on our toes.

And successes like this keep us going despite the fact that it’s hard work, with a high-level of complexity.

Our patients keep coming back and referring their friends and family because they know we care, and because they see results like these.

If you see yourself in any of these stories and you’re tired of guessing and going it alone, let’s talk.

Book your Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment today.

As always, discuss any changes with your own licensed clinician. Read our full disclaimers, disclosures, and our position on health freedom here.

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman

Educational content only. Not medical advice. See full disclaimers.

A Moment with Dr. Stillman

“He’s at about 50%. “He can jog a little bit now on good days.”

That’s what his wife said about his improvement over the past several months.

“Excellent,” I think to myself.

Why am I so excited?

Because this is a man who came to us struggling to walk. He has some of the highest levels of toxic heavy metals on hair testing in the entire practice.

And this is a practice that specializes in helping people with high heavy metal burdens.

It’s like being the smartest kid in the “gifted” class, except that it’s… not a good thing.

Here’s what we saw in his data:

• Heavy metals, including cadmium, were dropping

• Blood markers were improving

What was working?

• Personalized mineral and vitamin protocols

• Daily sauna therapy

• Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy

Here’s why I get nervous in situations like this.

Patients often hit a “plateau” in their healing between 50 and 70%.

They don’t see changes daily or weekly, or even monthly or quarterly.

They tend to quit when the wins stop coming.

Then they let things slide.

And this is when they start to go backward.

Think of healing in terms of “thresholds” that you cross, rather than plateaus you reach.

If recovery is a journey, it’s like walking through a blizzard toward a cozy cabin.

One step at a time, you get closer to the warmth of the cabin.

But you don’t get warmer with each step. In fact, you might get colder.

The wrong move is to wander around.

The right move is to let data guide you. You need something to navigate by. We help our patients figure out what data to trust, and what data to throw out.

And a lot of the data people think is worthwhile in this space is in fact junk.

In this case, he just needs to keep doing the work. He struggled for years without direction and now he’s finally seeing results with a structured program of care that is driven by data, not feelings or “vibes” (as the kids these days say).

One Thing To Do This Week

Pick one thing and focus on consistency. Consistency is key to great results. A small increase in consistency can lead to exponential improvements in results. People tend to try to do too much, then flake out on everything all at once. Pick one thing. Be consistent. Then pick another thing. Be consistent. That’s how you win.

If you see yourself in this, don't wander alone. The next step is an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment with myself or a member of my team. In that visit, we map your symptoms, history, and Repair Deficit picture, review key labs if you have them, and outline a clear, prioritized plan so you know which direction to walk and what threshold you're working toward. You can see available times and book your Assessment here.

As always, discuss any changes with your own licensed clinician. Read our full disclaimers, disclosures, and our position on health freedom here.

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman

Educational content only. Not medical advice. See full disclaimers.

These are drawn from real visits in our practice. Quotes are verbatim. Details are changed to protect privacy. These are examples, not promises. These patients were willing to change and stick with a plan. Many people are not.

All three started with the same step, an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment with myself or a member of my team.

Pain All Over After Menopause

“I’ve always been an inflamed person. Menopause made it worse.”

Maybe this sounds familiar.

• You eat clean

• You stay off sugar

• You get labs

• You still have pain, stiffness, and fatigue

• Your tests say “inflammation everywhere”

That was this patient.

What we found

• Lifelong “inflamed” feeling that got much worse two years after menopause

• Advanced lab testing (beyond “routine”) that told a more complex story

• Cardiac CRP was high- this is one of our best early warnings for heart attack, stroke, and cancer risk

• Copper was high and zinc was low, driving oxidative stress and with it more inflammation

• DHEA had dropped into the double digits - for her age, I wanted it much higher

• Fibrinogen activity was elevated, which increases clotting and “sticky” blood

What We Did

• Started DHEA at a low dose and gradually increased it

• Added MSM powder and vitamin C to support sulfur pathways and detox

• Used a targeted detox powder

• Built sauna time into her week

• Planned regular blood donation to reduce iron-overload

I see this all the time. In this kind of case, I expect significant progress within three months.

This is how the Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment works. We map what is actually driving your numbers and place it in a clear sequence instead of guessing.

Four Hair Tests, Two Years, and Stubborn Mercury

He had mercury amalgams for years. He finally had them removed.

Three months later, he did not feel dramatically different.

• Blood pressure was over 180 (systolic) when he woke up

• After CrossFit it dropped into the 120’s

“When I work out hard, my body calms down. When I stop, it jumps right back up.”

We reviewed his hair tissue mineral analysis.

What we found

• Four consecutive HTMA tests with a very depleted pattern

• Mercury barely moved at first

• Selenium slowly climbed from the mid 60s to the 120s - selenium is the mineral that helps the body bind and move mercury

• As selenium rose, mercury on the test started to creep up - that meant his body was finally mobilizing it

He was not stuck. His body was trying to detox. His pattern showed early progress.

The problem was consistency.

He took his supplements two or three days a week and forgot the rest. That is enough for a short boost. It is not enough for deep healing.

What we did

• Revised his mineral protocol based on his new results

• Set a repeat HTMA for four months

• Ordered a small blood panel to trend important markers until they are in the “optimal” range

• Adjusted his medications based on how he felt and his lab results

This is what practicing medicine looks like when you’re guiding patients on the journey from “I’m broken” to “optimal.” He’s at 7 out of 10 right now, with 0 being where we started and 10 being where he’d like to be. The heavy lifting is over. The mercury is starting to move out. Now, we are optimizing for performance and longevity.

A journey like this starts with our Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment.

Three Cycles of Trying, Low Ferritin, and Low Thyroid

She wanted to get pregnant.

Three cycles. No success.

The thing she kept coming back to was the same line.

“My ferritin has always been low. I have said it many times. No one has really answered it.”

What we found

• Ferritin was low - you need iron for a healthy pregnancy

• Free T3 in the mid-range, which often contributes to infertility

• She had light breakthrough bleeding mid cycle, which was new, and fits with a lack of progesterone

What this means for pregnancy:

• Lack of iron can impair conception and pregnancy

• Thyroid hormone is required for progesterone to work

• Lack of progesterone or thyroid hormone can result in mid cycle bleeding

She did not have one isolated problem. Iron, thyroid, and progesterone were all involved.

What we did

• Added progesterone support in the second half of her cycle

• Planned a full thyroid recheck

• Tracked ferritin, free T3, and progesterone together, not as separate issues

• And focused on diet and lifestyle changes to support both without supplements or new prescriptions

If you are working on fertility and you do not have a complete thyroid panel with free T3, a full mineral panel, and progesterone, you are working with an incomplete picture. This is where we start.

The Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment is where we build that picture.

A Thought Before I Go

All of these patients are working harder on their wellness than the average person.

They were eating better than most people they know. They were taking supplements. They were trying different things from books, podcasts, and friends.

In many cases we see, the problem is not effort on the part of the patient. It’s identifying what is most important, and drawing your plans accordingly. Things like:

• A copper to zinc ratio no one talked about

• Hormones in the sub-optimal, but “normal” range

• Slightly low ferritin that gets dismissed

• Mercury toxicity that’s subtle, and needs to be resolved

These patients left each consult with a clear analysis of why they were sick, and what to do about it.

If you see yourself in any of these stories and you’re tired of do-it-yourself wellness, we start with an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment.

As always, discuss any changes with your own licensed clinician. Read our full disclaimers, disclosures, and our position on health freedom here.

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman

Educational content only. Not medical advice. See full disclaimers.

A Moment with Dr. Stillman

If you’re the one your family depends on for medical decisions, but your own signs, symptoms, and data don’t make sense, this post is for you.

She was tracking her basal temp, managing her husband’s labs, and tracking her son’s numbers as well.

When I asked her where she was in relation to where we started, she said 7/10.

“Great,” I think to myself. “We are just optimizing now.” This is actually the hard part.

We had started natural thyroid hormone replacement a few months ago. It helped for a while. Sleep improved. She started to unplug her Wi‑Fi router at night. That also helped her sleep.

Then the confusion started:

• Waking temps of 96.7 (why is it this low?)

• More emotional, fatigued in the afternoon

• Waking up in the middle of the night (we solved this problem six months ago)

Was it thyroid? Detox? Hormones?

She was at 7 out of 10 overall (in her own words).

She wasn’t broken. She was stuck between good and great.

What I Found Looking Closer

• Long‑standing fatigue and poor sleep, better for a season on Armour + Wi‑Fi off

• Basal temps sometimes low, sometimes up at 98.1

• Hair test showing active detoxification - copper and other metals are being eliminated from the body

• Very low estrogen and androgens, which entails low resilience, low energy, and greater environmental sensitivity

• Progesterone helped before, now left her groggy

What we were doing was working, but with so many variables, how do you sort out what’s working and what’s not?

In these situations, I do what I can to “simplify the clinical picture.” Make a few small, controlled moves, rather than drastic changes. Do them sequentially, rather than all at once. Try to track what’s working with micro-experiments, not sweeping lifestyle changes. Give things time to settle in, to work, to “stick.”

Here’s what we did.

• Increased the testosterone and DHEA doses to achieve optimal levels - this helps with resiliency, energy, focus, mood, sleep, and more

• If that didn’t work, we would add more thyroid hormone

• We would keep the minerals flowing into her body

• And support her body’s detoxification systems with additional supplements and foods

She’s at 7 out of 10. We already solved the major problems she came to us with. Sleep is better. Energy is great, overall. We’re just managing minor issues now.

One Thing To Try This Week

For one week:

• Track your basal body temperature in the mornings. All you need is a simple thermometer.

If you notice your morning temperature is low, don’t just reach for thyroid hormone. Testosterone, DHEA, protein, caloric intake, carbohydrates, and micronutrient levels (minerals and vitamins) all play a vital role in determining your basal body temperature.

Keep it simple. Focus on what you’re going to do, then go do it. Don’t get distracted. Don’t try to do “too much.”

Where To Go From Here

If you see yourself in this and want help sorting out what’s really going on in your body, the next step I recommend is an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment.

In that visit, we walk through your symptoms, history, and Repair Deficit picture in detail, then outline the foundations and testing I’d prioritize in your situation. You can see available times and book your Assessment here.

As always, discuss any changes with your own licensed clinician. Read our full disclaimers, disclosures, and our position on health freedom here.

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman

Educational content only. Not medical advice. See full disclaimers.

If you’re living with skin problems, gut issues, brain fog, or insomnia that no one can explain, you’re not alone.

These three patients walked into our practice with completely different symptoms. We found the same underlying factors driving their issues - their bodies were stuck in a state of inflammation and repair deficit. Their illnesses weren’t random, they emerged from identifiable factors in their lives.

All three started with the same step, an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment with myself or a member of my team.

“I Haven’t Had a Breakout in Almost Two Months.”

She came to us with chronic skin and gut issues, and severe brain fog. Her skin was a 5/10. Breakouts every few days, worse if she slipped on diet or skincare. Eating out meant days of bloating, abdominal pain, and feeling “gross.” Her social life shrank to whatever she could manage between flares and work.

We ran hair mineral analysis and comprehensive blood testing, built a personalized supplement plan, and coached her through diet, lifestyle, and environmental changes.

A few months later:

“I haven’t had a breakout in probably at least a month and a half, two months. Which is huge for me.”

Her skin improved to 9/10. Gut symptoms followed:

“I can go out to dinner again and not feel like crap for four days afterward. Now it’s only maybe that night, or the next morning.”

Her brain fog largely lifted. She described a clarity at work she hadn’t had in years, and even her seasonal low moods eased. When asked what she credited:

“The personalized supplement protocol… probably 75–80% of the credit. And then the heavy metals detox. Those two combined were like a powerhouse for me.”

This is the type of pattern we look for when someone tells us, “I’m doing everything right, and I’m still miserable.”

“I Don’t Have the Pain That I Did Before.”

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EOE) is an allergic condition where the esophagus becomes inflamed, narrowed, and stiff. Food gets stuck. Many patients end up in the emergency room, hoping they won’t need a scope to “disimpact” their last meal.

Her worst episode was the Christmas before last. Her esophagus closed and she needed urgent help.

When she came back recently and I asked how her EOE was doing, she said:

“My EOE is doing great. Hardly notice it.”

Pressed for details:

“Unless I’m really distracted and swallow too fast… there will be a little bit of stricture. I can feel it goes a little bit slower than usual. But nothing ever really gets stuck anymore. And I don’t have the pain that I did before.”

Her take on what changed:

“I just think it’s a combination of everything. I assume the mineral balancing was the biggest impact for sure.”

EOE is allergic in nature, but we run it through the same framework we use for autoimmunity: understand the triggers, measure the deficits, and support the body’s ability to repair.

Insomnia, Rumination, and Copper Toxicity

He runs a business with over a hundred employees in multiple states. High stress. Long days.

He came to us with severe sleep issues. First he couldn’t stay asleep, then he couldn’t fall asleep. He lay awake with rumination and worry about things he rationally knew didn’t matter. Brain fog made it hard to lead his company and be present at home.

On his second consecutive hair mineral test, we saw a massive copper elimination.

Copper is a nutrient, but in excess it acts like a toxin and increases mortality risk. Many practitioners miss copper toxicity. Patients are told they’re “just anxious” or “stressed,” when part of the answer is in a few simple labs.

In cases like this I ask:

• Do you have copper piping in your home?

• Have you ever been vegetarian or vegan?

• Do you rely on high-copper foods or supplements long term (like beef liver, shellfish, or copper-containing multivitamins)?

• Do you cook or drink from copper vessels?

For him, the most likely source was his home’s copper plumbing. Copper pipes, especially with acidic water, can gradually overload the body. Proper water sourcing and filtration become more than a “nice to have.”

The good news is that he’s eliminating copper and doing remarkably well. He used to wake around 1:00 AM and struggle for hours. Now he’s sleeping through the night and rates his overall health 8/10 compared to when we started. He’s not done detoxifying, but he’s on the right track.

Where Journeys Like This Begin

Three different stories. Three different presentations.

What they have in common is not a miracle supplement. It’s a structured way of asking, “Why is this body stuck in inflammation, and what is it missing to repair?”

In our practice, that process starts with an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment.

What the Assessment Includes

For $45, you get:

• A 30 minute visit with myself or a member of my team

• A deep review of your story, symptoms, medications, supplements, and prior labs (if available)

• A clear plan for the next 90 days - what to do first, what to stop doing, and whether working with us or someone else is the best fit for you

If you’re tired of guessing and want a coherent plan instead of more scattered protocols, this is where I recommend you start.

Book your assessment at stillmanmd.link/apply.

As always, discuss any changes with your own licensed clinician. Read our full disclaimers, disclosures, and our position on health freedom here.

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman

Educational content only. Not medical advice. See full disclaimers.

If you already know you want our team to review your history and labs, apply for an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment at stillmanmd.com. Plan on a 6 to 12 month horizon for meaningful change. This is for patients who are ready to work a real plan.

Is This You?

If you see yourself in two or more of these, the stories and patterns in this guide will likely apply to you.

• You developed new fatigue, brain fog, hair loss, or neurological symptoms within weeks or months of a COVID-19 vaccine

• You were told your labs are normal, or that your symptoms have nothing to do with the vaccine

• You have tried multiple treatments or protocols that helped briefly but never held

• You have been dealing with this for months or years without significant improvement

• You have a diagnosis of an autoimmune condition, hormonal problem, or neurological issue that appeared after vaccination

• You feel like something is clearly wrong, but no one has been able to tell you what it is or give you a real plan

• You are willing to do the work of a 6 to 12 month recovery process if someone can show you a clear path forward

Patterns We See in Almost Every Case

Across these five cases and across nearly every vaccine-injured patient we treat, the same findings repeat. They are almost never identified by conventional medicine. They are almost always present when we look.

• Severe mineral imbalances including low zinc, low magnesium, and skewed ratios between minerals that are critical for proper immune function

• Hidden heavy metal accumulation, especially aluminum and other metals carried from prior lifetime exposures, that only appears on follow-up hair tissue mineral analysis

• Hormonal suppression driven by toxic burden and malnutrition, not aging, that is routinely missed with the standard of care

• Mis-sequenced care where foundational steps are skipped and advanced therapeutics are tried randomly without a framework, leading to results that do not hold

• Standard testing that tells an incomplete story, while the root causes go unmeasured and undetected

Vaccines and Autoimmunity

Vaccines are well-known to cause autoimmunity. Many patients in our autoimmune program link their illness, or current symptoms, to a vaccine. Perhaps the greatest offenders are the COVID-19 vaccines.

We have seen some inspiring results of vaccine-injury recovery in our practice, even from the COVID-19 vaccines.

Here are five real patient stories from our practice on COVID-19 vaccine-injury recovery.

Details have been changed or omitted to protect patient confidentiality.

Anna: Fatigue and Hair Loss After One Vaccine Dose

Before

• A single COVID-19 vaccine dose triggered severe fatigue and diffuse hair loss

• Refused further doses and standard testing found little of significance

• Months passed with no answers and no improvement

What We Found

• Elevated cardiac CRP — inflammation that had gone entirely undetected

• Low zinc and elevated copper — the immune imbalance pattern we see repeatedly in vaccine injury

• Hair tissue mineral analysis revealed severely dysregulated mineral ratios pointing to adrenal overload, immune dysfunction, and metabolic depletion

What We Did

• Eliminated copper and manganese from supplementation and added targeted zinc and magnesium

• Implemented foundational daily habits including morning light, walks, whole food meals, and structured sleep

• Repeated hair tissue mineral analysis quarterly and refined the protocol each quarter based on results

Outcome

Complete recovery. I would share follow up labs, but we did not run them because Anna conceived her first child and has since given birth.

What This Teaches Us

• Fatigue and hair loss are common after vaccination

• Elevated copper relative to zinc is the most consistent single finding we see in vaccine injury, regardless of the vaccine

• Foundational lifestyle and behavior change are vital to recovery

• Anna was all-in on changing her diet, lifestyle, and environment to support her own health and the health of her child

If you see yourself in Anna, know that healing is possible. In many patients like her, the missing pieces are minerals and metals, not just spike protein.

If you want our team to do this level of workup on your history and labs, your next step is an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment. Apply at stillmanmd.com.

Emily: Severe Myasthenia Gravis, Hospitalization, and Infertility

Before

• Myasthenia gravis severe enough for repeated ICU-level hospitalization and risk of mechanical ventilation

• Had failed every available drug and the only surgery known to help

• Struggling to conceive

What We Found

• B-6 and carnitine deficiency — her cells lacked the basic fuel for repair

• Low magnesium, potassium, and zinc — the minerals nerves and muscles depend on most

• First hair tissue mineral analysis showed no significant metals, but after treatment began, aluminum increased 40-fold on the second test, revealing years of hidden accumulation finally being eliminated

What We Did

• Emily had already mastered the foundational habits before she arrived — whole food diet, morning light, daily movement

• We added B-6, carnitine fumarate, and a targeted zinc and magnesium protocol

• We did not need advanced interventions — foundations and targeted nutrients were sufficient

Outcome

Symptom-free and off all medications within 9 months. Pregnant shortly after. Gave birth to her first child. She has now been in remission for over two years.

Emily recorded a podcast about her journey and her care at our practice. You can listen to the podcast here.

What This Teaches Us

• The first hair tissue mineral analysis showed little if any heavy metal burden

• The metals were hiding — they only appeared after the body had enough energy to push them out

• Emily embraced foundational changes and that is key to why she saw transformational results

• You can have severe, debilitating illness like Emily and still get great results with the right approach — no guarantees, just a simple conclusion based on her case

If you see yourself in Emily, know that the answers you are looking for might be simpler than you had thought. The key to her case was foundational changes to her diet and lifestyle, plus a personalized supplement regimen.

If you want our team to do this level of workup on your history and labs, your next step is an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment. Apply at stillmanmd.com.

Beth: Vaccine-Induced Lichen Sclerosus

Before

• Developed lichen sclerosus — autoimmune skin condition that is debilitating and disfiguring, affecting the genitourinary tract — immediately after a COVID-19 vaccine

• Lichen sclerosus results in narrowing of the vaginal introitus, with severe pain with intercourse

• The vaginal opening will eventually narrow or even close, and sex becomes impossible

• Steroid creams from her dermatologist and gynecologist failed to control the illness — she was essentially told, “good luck”

What We Found

• Low levels of minerals, vitamins, and hormones

• Fatigue and exhaustion on top of her skin condition

• A diet lacking in nutrient density

• Multiple medications she did not need

• Low thyroid hormone levels

What We Did

• Started with foundational supplementation and light therapy

• Added UV light applied to the affected area

• Added bioidentical hormone oils applied topically, which finally induced remission

Outcome

In remission within a few months of bioidentical hormone therapy. More energy, losing weight, and in better spirits than she had been in years.

What This Teaches Us

• Low hormones are not a side effect of aging. They are a consequence of toxic burden and malnutrition suppressing the endocrine system

• Vaccine injury can appear as skin, hormonal, or reproductive conditions that conventional medicine has no framework to explain

• Knowing when to move to more advanced therapeutics is part of what proper clinical assessment makes possible. That is why we added bioidentical hormones

If you see yourself in Beth’s case, consider bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.

If you want our team to do this level of workup on your history and labs, your next step is an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment. Apply at stillmanmd.com.

John: Vertigo, Loss of Consciousness, and a Mismanaged Thyroid

Before

• Severe vertigo and repeated loss of consciousness beginning immediately after COVID-19 vaccination

• Misdiagnosed with low thyroid by a prior doctor and given large doses of thyroid medication, causing rapid weight loss

• Feared losing consciousness while working alone on his hobby farm and worried his retirement was over

What We Found

• Thyroid hormone was actually high. He had been over-treated, compounding his weight loss and physiological burden

• Multiple mineral and B-vitamin deficiencies

• A pattern consistent with vaccine-induced vascular inflammation, explaining his blood pressure instability, declining kidney function, and episodes of loss of consciousness

What We Did

• Corrected the thyroid dose by reducing it significantly

• Added a targeted mineral and vitamin protocol

• John committed fully to every aspect of the framework from day one, and was willing to change his diet, lifestyle, environment, and supplements and medications

Outcome

Weight recovered. Blood pressure normalized. Vertigo stopped. No further loss of consciousness. Kidney function remains under watch. John has not reached 100%, but he has meaningfully recovered his quality of life and is back to living his life on the farm.

What This Teaches Us

• Medical error compounded his vaccine injury. He was being actively harmed by the treatment he received before he came to us. Getting the right diagnosis matters as much as getting any treatment

• John did everything we asked and still had a harder course than most. Full framework engagement does not guarantee complete recovery, but it gives the body its best possible chance

• Vascular and neurological presentations after vaccination do not always look like textbook autoimmunity. Standard testing misses them almost every time

If you see yourself in John — cardiovascular or neurological symptoms after vaccination — the right testing is essential. Balancing hormones, minerals, and vitamins simultaneously was critical in his case.

If you want our team to do this level of workup on your history and labs, your next step is an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment. Apply at stillmanmd.com.

Bob Benson: Long-Haul Neurological Injury, Iron Overload, and the Road Back to Triathlon Training

Before

• Professional fishing guide whose life was built around physical activity, until a COVID-19 vaccine ruined his health overnight

• Severe depression, brain fog, memory loss, and unable to leave bed for days at a time

• Could not fish, run, or otherwise live his life for four years and was often unable to sleep for several days at a time

What We Found

• Severe iron overload with ferritin at 960 (optimal below 150) and heavy metal accumulation driving systemic inflammation

• COVID antibody titer eventually measured over 25,000

• Cardiac CRP at 4.64, placing him in the high-risk inflammation category

What We Did

• Established foundational habits including mineral balancing, high-dose vitamin C, a sleep protocol with blue-light blocking, and daily outdoor exercise

• Added high-dose ivermectin, Iodoral, DHEA, and four blood donations to begin reducing his iron burden

• Added a personalized hormone and supplement protocol based on lab findings

Outcome

Sleep resolved within 3 to 4 days of starting the protocol after eleven consecutive sleepless nights. Ferritin dropped from 960 to 35 over one year. Cardiac CRP dropped from 4.64 to 1.0, moving from high-risk to average-risk inflammation. Free T3 improved 30% without thyroid medication, which is a major improvement. He went from unable to run a single mile to completing triathlon training most mornings with 3 miles of running, 3 miles of biking, and 1 hour of swimming.

Unfortunately, Bob noticed a severe turn for the worse in his depression with the change of seasons in autumn 2025. He went to Japan for plasma filtration and has since reported an 80% improvement in his depression post-treatment. We recorded a podcast about his journey days after he returned from the experimental treatment in Japan.

Bob’s podcast releases tomorrow (5/13/2026). Subscribe today and it’ll land in your inbox tomorrow.

What This Teaches Us

• Heavy metals and iron overload suppress hormones directly. Bob’s thyroid improved 30% simply by reducing his toxic burden without any thyroid medication. Nourishment and detoxification come before hormone replacement, always

• Bob had one significant asset. Years of outdoor living as a fishing guide gave him a foundation in light, movement, and fresh air that patients without that baseline consistently lack. It made a meaningful difference in how well he responded

• He got dramatically better, stopped doing what was working, and relapsed. Recovery is not a destination you arrive at and then leave. It is a way of life you maintain

If you see yourself in Bob, start with the fundamentals we share in our practice. What we see in practice is that the patients who start with the fundamentals get the best results when, and if, they need more advanced care like plasma filtration.

If you want our team to do this level of workup on your history and labs, your next step is an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment. Apply at stillmanmd.com.

What This Means for You

• Vaccine injury can present in many different ways. Immune, hormonal, neurological, vascular, skin, and reproductive symptoms are all patterns we see

• Standard labs often miss the mineral, hormonal, and toxic burden patterns that are driving these conditions

• Recovery usually takes 6 to 12 months of consistent, framework-driven work. There are no quick fixes

• The sequence of care matters enormously. Patients who skip foundational steps and jump to advanced treatments consistently underperform those who follow the full framework in order

• You do not need a dramatic or severe case to benefit from a comprehensive workup. Anna’s case looked simple on the surface and responded completely to targeted mineral work

• There is no guarantee of a specific outcome, but there is a coherent, personalized roadmap available for patients who are ready to work it

Your Next Step: Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment

If any of the cases in this guide reminded you of your own experience, we would like to hear from you.

The Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment is a focused clinical engagement designed for vaccine-injured patients who have not found answers through conventional medicine and are ready to work a real framework with clinical guidance.

This assessment is for you if:

• You developed new symptoms after a COVID-19 vaccine — fatigue, brain fog, hair loss, neurological changes, autoimmune conditions, mood disorders, or hormonal collapse

• You have had standard labs done and been told everything looks normal

• You have tried treatments that worked briefly and then stopped holding

• You have been dealing with this for months or years without significant improvement

• You are willing to commit to a 6 to 12 month recovery process and are not looking for a single pill or a quick fix

What the assessment includes:

• A thorough review of your history, symptoms, and any existing labs before your appointment

• Identification of gaps in your current testing and recommendations for additional targeted diagnostics if needed

• A focused 30 to 45 minute consultation to walk through findings and answer your questions

• Clear next steps and a written 90-day Repair Deficit road map applied to your specific case

• A clear discussion of options for ongoing care if we are the right practice for you

What to expect:

Recovery from significant vaccine injury is not a 30-day process. The patients in this guide who achieved full or meaningful recovery worked a consistent framework over six to twelve months. We will be honest with you about your timeline, your options, and what we think is possible in your case. We do not promise cures. We promise a thorough, personalized, framework-driven approach that addresses root causes rather than managing symptoms.

We work with a limited number of new patients each week and only accept cases we believe we can help. We are not the right fit for patients looking for a single protocol or a quick answer.

If you would like our team’s help, you can get started with an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment. On this call, we will map where you are, set realistic expectations for your care, and give you one to three clear next steps and a 90-day road map to achieve your goals.

Book an assessment at stillmanmd.com.

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Leland Stillman, MD

The complete clinical framework behind these cases is documented in my book The End of Autoimmunity, to be released in the summer of 2026. Pre-order here.

This Week in Practice

These emails are pulled from real visit transcripts at our practice. Quotes are verbatim; cases are de‑identified and minor details are changed to protect privacy.

None of this guarantees results. These patients did what we recommended. Not all patients do. We cannot guarantee anything to anyone.

Are you putting in the work?

But still feeling stuck?

We get it. We see it every week in practice. Patients who have been struggling under the burden of symptoms for years, even decades, are who we typically work with. They’ve “tried everything.”

Then they come to work with us, and things like this happen.

Enjoy this inaugural issue of “This Week in Practice,” which we plan to publish every Friday.

7 Lbs Down, Blood Pressure Normalized, Knees Back in Motion in Under 3 Months

• Blood pressure running in the 165s and 170s over high 80s and 90s.

• Knee pain a 7 or 8 on the stairs.

• Weight stuck at 192 lbs.

He was “fine.” Ladies, you know what that means.

He’s not dying right now.

And he’s too proud to admit he’s struggling except in a quiet voice that no one but you can hear.

Here’s what we did that moved the needle for him.

• Our food sensitivity test flagged wheat and whole milk. He cut them out completely.

• We added vitamin C, MSM at 16 g/day, iodine, and a mineral/vitamin protocol personalized to his labs.

Three months later…

• He had lost 6 pounds. He weighed-in at 186.

• His blood pressure, which had been flirting with stroke territory, was 113/76, 124/80, 128/69. Only one in five readings was elevated.

• His knee pain was almost gone.

He told me: “The weight just fell off when I stopped eating the stuff in the yellow. I stopped the creamy wheat every morning and my pants are falling down.”

And the knee pain:

“They haven’t felt this good in a long time. I don’t think I’m going to need a knee replacement.”

No new medications. No surgery. Food elimination, MSM, vitamin C, and a personalized supplement protocol.

The root cause of these issues? Chronic inflammation, which eventually turns into autoimmunity with enough time and repair deficit. His journey started with an Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment with a member of my team. We see men like him in this assessment every week.

Four Pain-Free Nights After Relying on Nightly Aleve

Inflammatory joint pain came on her out of the blue. It starts as a nuisance you just want to ignore. It turns into a quiet monster that steals your joy.

She had gotten used to sleepless nights, stick, achy mornings, and handing jars to her husband because she couldn’t open them herself anymore.

Here’s what we did to get her back in action:

• We started our MSM protocol, which pushes up to 16 to 20 g/day. Most people use doses lower than this, then say, “it doesn’t work.” MSM works, most people just never use enough, because 20 grams a day seems like a lot.

The result?

• Four consecutive days without pain, and without Aleve.

Her son’s prom kept her up late that weekend and the pain crept back. Then it cleared again. That’s not a coincidence. That’s a signal.

She said: “I can’t open jars yet in the morning, but four days of no pain is new for me. I didn’t realize it was keeping me awake until it stopped.”

We normalize so much suffering so slowly that we forget what baseline actually felt like. We do this so it doesn’t drive us insane. My goal for every patient is to normalize wellness. To normalize a sense of wholeness. To normalize being able to use their body to do what they love most.

If you’re looking to heal, prioritize and protect your sleep. You can’t heal when you’re in a major sleep deficit.

This is the kind of case we see every week in our Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessments, where we help people like her figure out what the best path forward is.

“I Can Take a Deep Breath Without Coughing. I Haven’t Been Able to Do That in Years.”

She came in with interstitial lung disease, diagnosed, monitored monthly by her pulmonologist, considered stable. Her hope was just, “not to get worse.” That was the best she had been told to hope for.

Stable meant:

• Daily and near constant coughing

• Feeling short of breath even walking on a slight incline

Here’s what we found and here’s what we did:

• Her food allergy test showed a 6.0 reactivity score to an artificial sweetener. She had been taking it in her coffee for years. She cut it out that day.

• We added a personalized vitamin and mineral protocol, and vitamin C powder.

Her prescription medications stayed exactly the same.

Then one morning, she noticed something.

“I said, wait a minute. I can actually take a deep breath without coughing. I haven’t been able to do that in years.”

Let that sink in. She had struggled with this for years. We didn’t do this with drugs or surgeries. We removed what was burdening the body. We added back what it needed to heal. The key was knowing what those things were, and starting them in the right order.

When the body is constantly reacting to a food or environmental allergen, healing gets put on the back burner. It sits there, waiting for space and resources to free up.

We see cases like this all the time. Other doctors say, “there’s nothing we can do but hope you won’t get worse.”

We help patients like her sort out what to do about problems like this every week in our Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment.

A Thought Before I Go

If this seems simple enough - good.

The devil, I’ve found, is in the details. We have to take a good look at him. Details don’t always stand out. They have to be scrutinized. We test hundreds of biomarkers and spend hours in consultation with patients to come up with these plans.

You might need that level of care. You might not. We help people sort out what they need, and their best path forward, in our Inflammation and Autoimmunity Assessment.

Each of these patients was told to accept their fate. Get ready for knee surgery. Buy bigger clothes. Stock up on pain-killers. Monitor your disease and pray it doesn’t get worse.

We’re building a better way. The results speak for themselves. Sometimes it’s pants falling down. Sometimes it’s four mornings without reaching for the Aleve. Sometimes it’s just being able to take a deep breath of fresh air. Doesn’t that sound nice?

Too many people are told they’re stable while they’re taking Aleve every night, dreading the stairs, or losing ground on a lung function test. Every one of these patients had seen other doctors. Every one of them had something that was missed.

If you see yourself in any of these stories and you’re tired of guessing and going it alone, let’s talk.

If you’re interested in working with us to get to the bottom of your health concerns, apply for consultation with our team today.

As always, discuss any changes with your own licensed clinician. Read our full disclaimers, disclosures, and our position on health freedom here.

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman

Educational content only. Not medical advice. See full disclaimers.