It has been a long time since I posted. My apologies but I have been very busy working on my new software startup. Plus I have been feeling really great so I just don't think about my health much, KNOCK ON WOOD!! It always amazes me when I check back in here and see that so many people are still reading some of the stuff I have written. I can't think of anything that I would change here based on my experiences the past few years. But I do have some new things I want to share that I think could be really important for those of us who suffer or have suffered with chronic conditions. So I will just list them. 1. Iodine - I recently came across a book call "The Iodine Crisis." It is not particularly well written and is loosely a how to of a book on Iodine written by a Dr. Brownstein. I had no idea the info this book contains. I have been taking Armour Thyroid for years without much thought. There is nothing wrong with Armour but if you are deficient in Iodine that is more likely to be the cause of your thyroid problems. Women's issues like Fibroid tumors, Cysts in the breast and breast cancer all probably can be tied to a lack of iodine. Men can have issues with the prostate. Iodized salt doesn't even come close to doing it. It is tied to the toxins bromine and flouride as well since they mimic iodine and fit the receptors for iodine. High dose iodine will detox these toxins. I have been taking 50mg of Iodoral for about a month or so and feel even better. Energy very high. Sleep better. It is almost a CERTAINTY that you are deficient. Iodine... Continue reading

This email was sent to me as a comment to my last post. There are some very good points in it. Also, XXXX turned out to finally get a positive Lyme test from Igenix. Hey Pat, I ran across your web page surfing the net. I'm a 50 year old lyme sufferer who ultimately realized supplementing anything I can into the normal range helps me feel more normal. The search for the magic bullet (Shoemaker's VIP ect.) has always been a dead end. I think you gave Shoemaker's patient very sound advice. I had amalgam problems without knowing it when I was bitten by a tick in 2003. I got the lyme rash didn't know what it was and went untreated for 12 months. By the time I received a diagnosis, I'd been told by several ID docs that I couldn't have lyme because my Western Blot was negative and I lived in "safe" state North Carolina. Ahh wrong. I was aggressively treated, improved with IM penicillin and IV zithromax. I did the cholestyramine protocol which helped a lot yet I still wasn't normal. After doing some research I realized a had reverse T3 that was sky high and a heavy metals problem. I supplemented with cortisol and florinef for my shot adrenals. I did Andy Cutler's protocol of low dose chelators with much improvement. Taking zinc and using supplements to dissolve biofilms is critically important and why many have chelated endlessly without significant improvement. Dr. Shoemaker objects to anyone adding an outside treatment to his biotoxin based therapies. I think that may help him as a researcher but is not in the best interests of his patients. He is on video saying never to take a steroid (cortef) and never to treat reverse t3. That is lousy advice. I'm... Continue reading

Well, I know I haven't posted in like, FOREVER. Fortunately for me I have felt really healthy for a long time and have moved on to other passions. Like doing my 3rd CRM startup. ACT! and SalesLogix were great but I think Contatta is going to be the best and biggest thing I have ever done. And for those of you interested, my supplement company Jigsaw Health is rocking!! I was amazed when I just checked back into the blog here. I still get several hundred readers per day with over 350,000 readers since I started years ago. Pretty amazing to me. I hope you all continue to find pieces to your health puzzle here. I thought I would post an email from and my reply to someone who wrote to me. Perhaps some of you would find it useful. Here it is: Dear Pat, I apologize in advance that this is so long, I tried to summarize but it is so hard to make this brief. I have been wanting to write you for a while now for advice, since you and I have so much in common, with the exception that you have solved your health problems. I am suffering poor health related to one, more or all of the following factors: mold exposure, candida, and amalgam fillings. I am also a frustrated Shoemaker patient and have the dreaded multisusceptible genetic type. I have never felt comfortable about ruling out lyme as a possible factor either as I live in an area where tick bytes are common. The next four paragraphs are background information and then I want to ask you for some specific advice. I have been suffering with increasing symptoms since Feb 2010, when we had water damage in our home I have all-over joint and... Continue reading

It has been way too long since I added to my blog here. I am sorry I haven't but my interests are elsewhere AND for the most part I feel great! So I don't research as much. I still get lots of hits on the blog and am glad people find the info useful in their recovery from chronic illness. I recently received an email that asked great questions and my answer to it seemed blog worthy. The two emails are long so you have to wade through them. I have changed some things in the email to me just to hide the identity. Hope you learn something useful! I am sorry that Typepad for some reason simply will not take my paragraph breaks in my reply. Hi Pat, I was reading your blog last night but couldn't not find any recent entries (past 09'). Are there any? I'm also a patient a Shoemakers (started in ) and have been on the CSM for 2 1/2 weeks. I would totally agree with your remarks on his bedside manner (which doesn't exist). It is most certainly his way or the highway. I have the dreaded genotype 11/3/52B and low msh-6 (I sleep OK, but it's a very non-restorative sleep), low vip-7, and ADH and Osmo are out of sync causing the constant dehydration. My TGF-B1 is slightly elevated @ 3320 but my C4a and C3a are good-as are VEGF and MMP-9. Shoemaker mentioned patients buying MSH and taking it. Are you aware of this or have you had any experience with it? The CSM was starting to work pretty well but then I went back to drinking a couple cups of coffee per day and today feel most of my symptoms back. Of course I will stop the coffee pronto but... Continue reading

I am not one to cry easily. But I just read this letter. This is why I started Jigsaw Health. Her son was autistic. Dear Mr. Sullivan, Many years ago, in the middle of the night, I e-mailed you regarding my son’s autism. You responded by telling me that although you couldn’t help my son, you might very well be able to help me. And good to your word, you did. Jigsaw Health Foundation covered the expense of restoring my teeth, removing nearly a dozen amalgam fillings. The first thing I noticed was the ‘metal’ taste was gone. Headaches….gone. Depression…gone. My overall health has improved significantly since that time. And so has something else… I found a doctor who was willing to help my son. Long story short, a Urinary porphyrin profile along with blood work proved he was heavy metal toxic and glutathione deficient. Over the next 10 months, he received 300 mg. of DMSA, 3 times a day, 3 days on, the 4 days off. The sheer amount of metal in his body was astounding. About 2 months into treatment the director of Lab Corp in Louisville called to ask me if he had ‘an ongoing occupational exposure to arsenic’ I answered ‘well, he’s in the second grade, does that count’??? There was a measured silence on the line before he was able to stammer….’you’re kidding, right’?? ‘Ah, nope, second grader, look at his age’…. The poor man was so uncomfortable that it could be palpated from 200 miles away. Cadmium, arsenic, nickel, mercury, tons of lead, though we never lived in a house with lead paint…so I have no idea there…. the arsenic was from chicken, shell fish, and I suspect our deck which was pressure treated lumber. His transformation was nothing short of phenomenal. He went... Continue reading

A very good magazine and resource on mold illness. http://www.habitatquarterly.com/summer2010/ Continue reading

First let me apologize for not blogging more here about health. I have actually been planning an update on getting well from chronic conditions. My favorite topic. But I have had a LOT going on in my life. Some good. Some not so good. But my health is excellent I am happy to say. And I want to share some things I have learned and I will soon. Today though I wanted to say how honored I am to have been asked to serve on the newly formed Arizona Commerce Authority. Basically it is an effort for public and private sectors to join together to help Arizona foster job growth here in this state. It actually replaces the States Commerce Department. Not only that, I was asked to Chair the Entrepreneurship Sector Group. I was totally surprised 2 mornings ago when I got a call from Governor Jan Brewer and she personally asked me to do this. It was cool getting a call direct from the Governor and unlike me, I was at a loss for words. I couldn't decide whether to call her Governor or Madam Governor, so stupidly I called her Jan. Later though, I gathered my wits and called her Governor. It was also amazing that she called personally. I would have thought her assistant or someone else would call. But she said that this group is so important to her she wanted to call personally to recruit the people to head up the 4 key groups. I got to meet her today. Needless to say I was honored. The whole group is co-chaired by Jerry Colangelo. He is very serious about making this work. As for me, I feel a bit overwhelmed with having to figure out how I can make a difference and do something... Continue reading

The military has done a great job of recognizing that soldiers surviving concussive injuries are very prone to long term effects. A TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) often begins to show up in terms of symptoms within 6 - 8 weeks after an event. Symptoms most often observed early on are insomnia, anxiety, depression, ADD like symptoms (inattention, emotional outbursts like quick anger, boredom). This is true in the non-military as well. Falls and car accidents can also damage the brain. That proved true for me when after a severe whiplash car accident in college I began to experience symptoms about 6-8 weeks after the accident. Here is a good article talking about TBI's and how they are more prevalent than we ever thought. Continue reading

The Canadian Press: 'My heart, my choice,' Williams says, defending decision for U.S. heart surgery Posted using ShareThis Continue reading

Here are links to 2 talks I have given the past 2 years. The first one is about things I have learned the hard way being an entrepreneur. Things you have not read in a book! The second is about raising money for a new venture where I reveal a few secrets I have learned along the way. I thought these might be useful in these days where people are either trying to find work or are trying to start a business so they can work. And perhaps create jobs. Hope you enjoy.Being an Entrepreneur. Raising money. Continue reading

z I get emails like this a lot. I thought his questions and my answer could be useful. Dear Pat, I'm a former who lives in . I will keep this brief. My health has been declining for 4 years. Problems with digestive system, nervous system, lungs and sinuses. Doctors were unable to find the cause. Recently, a testing company discovered mold growth behind the walls of my home office where I've worked for the past six years. The office had severe water intrusion problems during this time. I've since moved out and have disposed of just about all of my personal belongings. What's left is sealed and in storage. Unfortunately, I'm unable to be near it at this time. I went to Dr. Shoemaker for diagnosis and treatment. All tests verified mold illness: double genotype (not the dreaded, thank goodness), MSH of 8, VIP of 10, C4a over 10,000, etc. I've been on the cholestyramine for 7 months. Some problems have improved such as ADD, confusion, leg and foot cramping and twitching and severe burning in my spine. - however, I'm still experiencing dehydration, fatigue, depression, brain fog ad severe burning sensation in my neck and head. It's miserable and I'm unable to work. I've lost everything - health, finances and property. Shoemaker will not give me Actos or VIP replacement because my biomarkers have not improved in the 9 months he's been treating me. In fact, my c4a has doubled from 5,000. to 10,000. I need help. I'm renting a room in a house. All vents have heppa filters in them and I have a large heppa air cleaner in my room. I IRMI tested the house though I spend 95% of my time in the sealed room. The results were 5.28. Not sure what that means. Is... Continue reading