She Reacted to a Little Perfume and Her Doctor Never Asked Why
Her minerals told the story
A Moment with Dr. Stillman
If you’ve ever had to leave a room because someone’s perfume triggered your symptoms - this story is for you.
A woman in her late 60’s came to us a few years ago with severe chemical sensitivities, joint pain, and an autoimmune skin disorder. After two years, she’s seen tremendous progress. Here’s what we did and why it worked.
Where She Started
When she started with us a few years ago, she was dealing with:
Joint issues she described as crippling
Sensitivity to perfumes and other smells
Skin peeling
She had already tried so many things. She read the newsletters, listened to the podcasts, and more. She ate a healthy diet, took supplements, and was active, and yet she was struggling.
What We Did Differently
We started:
Mineral balancing (personalized supplements based on blood and hair testing)
Bioidentical hormones
Minor diet and lifestyle adjustments
This is fairly standard at our practice. Here are a few key differences from other cases:
We used bioidentical hormones on the skin rash itself (not just systemically)
We used more aggressive mineral balancing protocols when our standard protocol didn’t move the needle
Where She Is Now
The first thing she noticed was not a lab number.
It was standing in a crowded volunteer event, smelling strong perfume, and realizing that she didn’t have to leave.
“I’m about 50 percent better,” she told me.
Here’s everything that changed over two years:
Her hand peeling dropped from a 4 out of 10 to a 1
Her heart rate variability moved from the 40s into the 60s–80s
Her primary growth hormone marker (IGF‑1) climbed from 139 to 156
Gut function went from slow and sluggish to “very satisfying” (her exact words)
“I just feel better,” she said during our most recent follow up.
Things to Think About
Her hair mineral testing showed a pattern we call “four lows,” a sign the body is running out of reserves and struggling to make energy.
She had a major elimination of aluminum after a few rounds of mineral balancing and initiation of bioidentical hormones.
She didn’t move out of four lows for multiple quarters, so we moved to a more aggressive protocol and she felt a major difference.
Is your doctor testing you every quarter? Are they iterating your supplement protocol based on how you respond? Or did you get handed a supplement protocol years ago and told to take it forever? Or did you cobble together supplements from here and there over the years, and wind up with a closet full of supplements you’re not quite sure about and a laundry list of complaints that just won’t budge?
We see this all the time, and I always get excited when another patient like this joins our practice, because I know what’s possible for them. This is just one case study. We have hundreds more like it.
Where to Go From Here
If you see yourself in her story:
Join one of our programs here: https://stillmanmd.link/program
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Until next time, be well,
Dr. Stillman
Educational content only. Not medical advice. See full disclaimers.