“It’s Pretty Much Like Night and Day.”
Three real cases from recent visits. What changed, what got the credit, and why it matters if you've been stuck.
This Week in Practice
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, supplements, and any prior labs you have
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.