The Health History Trail
Trace present symptoms back to earlier changes in body function
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 82%
Simon Mills describes a history-led approach in which he records the diagnosis but focuses on how the person's health performance changed over time. He looks for earlier illnesses or turning points, then considers functions such as digestion, liver, kidney, circulation, sleep, and energy. The mechanism is a working hypothesis: an earlier disruption may help explain a later pattern, so support is directed at the suspected function and the response is observed over weeks or months. This is presented as Mills's clinical method, not proof that an old illness caused a current condition. The framework is most responsible when used alongside medical assessment, with hypotheses revised rather than treated as established facts.
Origin
Extracted from The Diary of a CEO
Core principles
- 01Treat a diagnosis as an endpoint, not a complete explanation
- 02Look for the earliest meaningful change in health
- 03Connect symptoms across body systems cautiously
- 04Judge progress through function and quality of life
How to run it
- 1
Describe the present pattern
Record diagnoses, symptoms, timing, severity, and the functions that feel impaired. Keep the diagnosis visible without assuming it explains the whole pattern.
Pro tip Include sleep, appetite, digestion, energy, and cycle changes where relevant.
Watch out New, severe, or rapidly worsening symptoms need prompt medical assessment.
- 2
Build the timeline
List significant infections, illnesses, injuries, treatments, and other health turning points in chronological order.
Pro tip Mark when the person believes their health took a lasting turn.
Watch out Sequence alone does not establish causation.
- 3
Form a functional hypothesis
Identify a small number of body functions that might connect the timeline to the current pattern. Treat each link as a hypothesis to discuss and test, not a diagnosis.
Pro tip Prefer the simplest explanation that accounts for several observations.
Watch out Do not infer organ dysfunction without appropriate clinical evidence.
- 4
Choose a supervised intervention
With a qualified practitioner, select a proportionate intervention aimed at the suspected function while preserving necessary conventional care.
Pro tip Change as little as practical so the response remains interpretable.
Watch out Check herb-drug interactions and contraindications before using herbal products.
- 5
Track and revise
Monitor function, symptoms, side effects, and quality of life over an agreed period. Continue, modify, or stop according to the observed response and clinical advice.
Pro tip Use the same measures at each review.
Watch out Improvement after an intervention does not by itself prove the proposed mechanism.
In the wild
Mills recounts reviewing a patient with a severe skin condition alongside a history of lung damage, COVID, and impaired B12 absorption. He says he focused on lung and stomach-lining support rather than treating the skin label directly. He reports that itching eased within roughly a week and the skin problem later resolved, while explicitly describing himself as fortunate to have found what he considered the right target.
→ A reported improvement in one patient, offered as an anecdote rather than proof of general effectiveness.
Common mistakes
Turning sequence into certainty
An earlier illness may precede later symptoms without causing them. Keep causal language tentative unless clinical evidence supports it.
Replacing necessary care
A whole-history review should complement, not displace, diagnosis, urgent care, or effective prescribed treatment.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for clinician-led reviews of persistent, complex, or multi-system symptoms.
Not ideal for
It is not appropriate as a substitute for urgent assessment, diagnosis, or evidence-based treatment.
From the transcript
“I'm interested in where that came from. What is the misbehavior? What is the poor performance?”
“you can see the trail and often what I'm doing is going backwards”
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