My Story:

I was sick for 28 years with ME/CFS. Often bed-bound, always exhausted, told nothing could help.

In November 2025, I went back to 10-year-old genetic testing looking for answers. I found out I’m homozygous for rs5522, a variant that makes the mineralocorticoid receptor hyperactive.

It’s a genetic "stuck switch" that steals the cortisol you need to make energy and control chronic inflammation.

I tried spironolactone, a $4 generic drug. 48 hours later, I had my first restorative sleep in 28 years. You can read the case report documenting my rapid recovery.

I have a Master's in Public Health. I worked on clinical trials. I’m not a doctor; I’m the patient who had to become the researcher because the system failed. I found the molecular proof for why millions of us are being robbed of our health.

The drugs that can stop the “cortisol steal” have been sitting on the shelf for 66 years. Pharmaceutical companies just sell $60,000/year drugs to treat symptoms instead of telling you about the $4 one that can block the overactive mineralocorticoid receptors.

At least 80% of people have this variant. Maybe more.

I’m not selling anything. I’m showing you the data—and the peer-reviewed proof—so you can get tested and find your own "why."

People are suffering and dying today from something preventable.That’s why this matters.

Patricia Donnellan, MPH

I performed all of this research completely independently, with no financial backing or institutional conflicts of interest. I have now established The Donnellan Institute as a foundation to openly share these findings, ensure this data remains accessible to everyone, and enable true molecular prevention.

No one else should have to suffer for 28 years.