Piven's Doc: If You See Him Eating Seafood, Call My Office

Dec. 19, 2008 — -- Jeremy Piven's doctor has a message for fans of the mercury-saturated actor:

"He cannot eat seafood. If anyone sees him eating seafood, tell them to call my office."

Two days after Piven pulled out of his starring role in David Mamet's Broadway play "Speed-the-Plow," Dr. Carlon Colker, the primary internist treating the "Entourage" actor, detailed his debilitating condition.

"This is a situation of mercury toxicity," Colker, the medical director of Peak Wellness of Greenwich, Conn. (and a champion competitive bodybuilder) told ABCNews.com. "His level [of mercury] was quite high, almost six times the normal limit. ... In this case, it's either because of fish -- he ate sushi twice a day for years -- or because of the Chinese herbs he was taking, or both. We're pretty sure about the fish, how much the Chinese herbs contributed, we don't know. We don't have the specifics of which herbs he took."

"Right now he's being treated with bed rest; out of bed is tolerated," Colker continued. "He spent three days in the hospital, he's been discharged. He was seen by a Yale cardiologist and a professor emeritus of neurology. He's on some dietary supplements as well to protect his organ system function and to clear the mercury from the body. He also cannot eat fish."

"He'll be OK. I think it'll take a few weeks to a couple of months," Colker concluded. "Unfortunately it was like pulling teeth to get him out of the show. This is a situation that I think will resolve as long as he's attending to his health."

Piven's abrupt departure from "Speed-the-Plow" was a move deserving of its own "Entourage" episode.

"We have been advised by Jeremy Piven's medical representatives that he is seriously ill and is unable to fulfill his contractual obligation to 'Speed-the-Plow.' Consequently, he has left the production ten weeks early," the show's producers said in a statement to ABCNews.com.

In an interview Wednesday with Daily Variety, Mamet took an irreverent tone.

"I talked to Jeremy on the phone, and he told me that he discovered that he had a very high level of mercury," the playwright told Daily Variety. "So my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer."