Hi {{first_name | Phoenix friend}},
Something new today.
I've been wanting to do this for a while. Share real stories from real Phoenix members. Not theory. Not research papers. Just people like you, doing the work, figuring it out.
This is the first of many.
Meet Donna.
The moment everything changed
Donna found out she was APOE4/4 almost 10 years ago. She was 62.
It happened by accident. A Yale research study asked for saliva samples. She said sure. Nobody explained what they were looking for.
Then they called her back in.
"At first I was just numb," she told me. "And then of course I went home and went on the internet. And started really freaking out."
Sound familiar?
Back then, nobody was talking about this. No communities. No protocols. No one to turn to. She mentioned it to her doctor. They looked at her "like she had two heads."
So she figured it out alone.
What she does now (at 72, cognitively intact)
Donna has spent a decade refining her protocol. Here's what's currently in her stack:
Supplements:
MitoCU (mitochondrial support)
Curcumin (this one's her favorite — she had word-finding problems, started curcumin, and "boom, gone")
N-Acetylcysteine (NAC)
Sulforaphane (broccoli extract, just added)
Magnesium glycinate (sleep)
Melatonin (low dose, sleep)
Zinc and thiamine (based on her genetics)
Pendulum Akkermansia (probiotic for blood sugar)
Hormones:
HRT (hormone replacement therapy — she knows it's controversial, made a personal choice to stay on it)
Thyroid medication
Food-as-medicine:
Caviar daily (yes, really — high in DHA and EPA, her omega-3 source)
Salmon, sardines, fatty fish regularly
One egg a day for choline
What she dropped:
Liposomal glutathione (redundant)
L-theanine (did nothing for her)
Lithium orotate (caused insomnia — out the door)
Citicoline (also caused insomnia)
Strict keto (she's a lean mass hyper-responder — her cholesterol shot up and she couldn't sleep)
Total monthly cost? Over $400.
"You can't put a price on your cognition," she said.
I agree.
The part that surprised me
Donna's sharp. Like, really sharp. At 72, after 10 years of carrying two copies of the highest-risk Alzheimer's gene.
But here's what stuck with me most.
When I asked what finding Phoenix meant to her, she paused. Then said:
"It's like I found my people."
She talked about the lonely years. Friends who meant well but didn't understand. Facebook groups full of fear and noise. Functional medicine doctors charging $700/hour.
Then she found a community of people fighting the same fight. Running real experiments. Sharing what works. Holding each other accountable.
"There are times you just want to sit down with a chocolate candy bar and give up," she said. "But you realize there's support behind you."
Watch the full conversation
I sat down with Donna for almost an hour. We covered everything. How she told her kids. What she'd say to someone who just got diagnosed. Why she thinks it's never too late (she met 80-year-olds in Bredesen's program who were just starting out and seeing results).
It's raw. It's real. And I think it'll help.
This is just the beginning
Donna is the first. There will be more.
If you're a Phoenix member and want to share your story, reply to this email. I want to hear from you.
And if you're not a member yet?
Donna spent years doing this alone. You don't have to.
Talk soon,
Kevin
P.S. — Donna's advice for anyone who just found out they're APOE4: "If you're young, you're gonna be fine. There's so much research coming. If you're older, don't freak out. There are protocols. You have control over this." Watch the full interview to hear the rest.
Most Newsletters? One-way street.
How boring…
This is the Phoenix Community. So let's make it a two-way street.
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Hit reply. I read every single one.