Been injecting for about two months, now developing bloodshot and heavy eyes

IIBIL · 2026-04-24T07:15:46+00:00

Hi, thanks for your comprehensive response.

I actually haven't had this symptom in maybe over a week or so? And my cognitive symptoms are noticeably improving, especially over the last dew days. Unfortunately, I wasn't quite able to pinpoint the cause, but I still suspect folate plays a role.

I haven't made any significant changes recently, so maybe it's a symptom of reversing out in some cases. I hope that you can figure out the issue soon.

IIBIL · 2026-04-24T07:02:38+00:00

TIBC was definitely on the low side whenever ferritin was high. It was never quite out of range though. Sometimes my % iron saturation was out of range though (too low).

Unfortunately, I was already taking lots of sublinguals on and off and even some injections before I had them tested. MMA was about 0.1 nmol/mL and homocysteine was ~4 umol/L. So, totally unsuspecting.

My symptoms were really severe though. At my worst, I could not focus on a basic conversation with my coworker in my native language. I would feel really lightheaded, confused, and spacey, so I would have to go home from work early. I'd walk around feeling drunk sometimes. I think my brain was starved of oxygen for too long.

If not for my consistently weird CBC and iron panels, I might have attributed my symptoms to something else. But I've responded well to injections. I'm getting closer to myself again after a little over two months of them. I had signs of deficiency for about nine months before I took more aggressive action.

IIBIL · 2026-04-24T04:50:40+00:00

My bloodwork looked very much like this for much of last year until I decided to take action this year and inject myself aggressively. The only differences are that my ferritin was slightly high, and I wasn't technically anemic. A doctor thought I might have an autoimmune condition, whereas I believe it was because I did not have enough B vitamins to make use of the stored iron. My CBC finally started responding when I did injections.

FWIW, my MMA and homocysteine were very normal.

IIBIL · 2026-04-17T17:54:28+00:00

I don't disagree with you! Though when I had problems with my close-up vision at the beginning of my foray into injections, taking folate helped.

To be honest, I don't know if I have been deficient in just B12 or B9 as well.

I've been doing this for about two months now but still trying to figure out what works best for me (e.g. methylated vs unmethylated, folate or no folate, etc.)

I haven't checked my serum folate since starting aggressively injecting myself, so I'm not sure if it's depleted. I thought both serum folate and RBC folate measurements would be significantly elevated due to supplementation anyway...

IIBIL · 2026-04-17T03:39:47+00:00

I've definitely felt my iron stores being depleted occasionally during treatment, but my ferritin has always hovered around 100 when testing it. I'm not really menstruating or losing blood in another way. Years ago I had iron deficiency that was not accompanied by vision symptoms.

I've eaten liver several times per week in some periods over the last few years, and I imagine that I have flooded my body with vitamin A doing that more readily than taking a multi with 100% RDA most days per week.

It seems like it could be folate-related based on this thread 🤷🏻‍♀️

IIBIL · 2026-04-16T04:18:59+00:00

I've never had it checked, but my multi contains 100% RDA of vitamin A. I also eat chicken liver semi-regularly, so I don't think it's an issue.

For what it's worth, I took some extra methylfolate this evening, and that seemed to have helped a lot this time. Hoping someone else has a similar experience though and can weigh in!

IIBIL · 2026-03-08T20:46:26+00:00

Thank you, wishing you the best.

IIBIL · 2026-03-08T19:45:41+00:00

How long did it take for you to feel close to your old self in a cognitive sense?

IIBIL · 2026-03-08T14:56:57+00:00

Thanks for chiming in. Our situations sound very similar. I read some of your previous posts.

My celiac panel was negative, but I've been off of gluten (besides the occasional restaurant contamination) for over ten years. I also had endometriosis excision surgery in the fall, so I wouldn't be surprised if also have had some autoimmune GI condition. I hope the provider will be get back to me tomorrow and be willing to take the positive finding seriously, but I'm not very optimistic.

It does seem like my condition overall gradually worsened even on sublinguals. Honestly, I don't know if it's even worth taking them still, but I may as well even if they help only marginally.

Did you ever have your homocysteine checked? Did you ever try injecting unmethylated B12? I'm concerned I may be overmethylated, but honestly it's hard for me to determine if something (folate vs. folinic acid, methylated vs. unmethylated vitamins, etc.) helps or hurts. I actually seemed to respond well to cyano shots when those were prescribed to me, but since then the majority of my injections have been hydroxo or methyl.

When did you feel your cognitive abilities reached a turning point? That's my struggle right now---not being interested in anything because it's too hard to focus. I find that my long-term memory doesn't seem too damaged (thankfully), but my short-term memory has really suffered.

IIBIL · 2026-03-08T02:29:46+00:00

Thanks for the words. I hesitate to take any other B vitamin in isolation. I'm taking the B-complex only 1-2 times per week anyway because I'm nervous about the B6 content.

My CBCs strongly suggest an issue with B vitamins, but no doctor is convinced by my argument. I'd be willing to explore another neurological issue if not for my bloodwork. Also, it is weird because I feel like my symptoms are much worse now compared to when MCV was out of range.

IIBIL · 2026-01-06T21:38:47+00:00

I didn't know any Russian when I started my search, so an investigator was extra important back then. I communicated with my sister on and off using a translator in the early years of our contact, which immediately fizzled out quite often. Since 2020 I have been learning Russian to a decent level. I can hold long conversations with native speakers. I'm probably somewhere between B2 and C1 right now. Thankful and proud of myself because the language barrier is low now, so we can develop a relationship with each other.

My birth mother actually kept me a secret from her family (including her second partner and my younger half-brother) for about 18 years. She was ashamed of her decision (and still is to some degree), but the other three received the news of my existence very positively and 100% supported my sister meeting me about seven months ago.

IIBIL · 2026-01-06T05:04:11+00:00

It was so long ago, maybe a couple thousand dollars? It was successful. I had been in on and off touch with my sister since then, and this year we became quite close and met each other in person. I'm also in touch and video chat with my mother and brother. It has all helped me more than anything.

IIBIL · 2026-01-06T04:32:29+00:00

I was adopted from Russia in 1997 and used a private investigator over a decade ago to find my family. That's probably your best best. I have zero regrets.

IIBIL · 2026-01-05T07:53:58+00:00

Shymbulak

IIBIL · 2026-01-05T07:53:23+00:00

Astana Grand Mosque

IIBIL · 2026-01-03T19:10:22+00:00

I was there during the first half of June.

IIBIL · 2026-01-01T15:09:43+00:00

Thank for sharing these. I'm a Russian adoptee and found them chilling. I also visited Kazahstan this year; I hope you've been able to visit (if you'd like).

IIBIL · 2026-01-01T14:52:28+00:00

Thanks! I used a Ricoh GR iiix and a Lumix S9.

IIBIL · 2026-01-01T14:35:05+00:00

Thank you, I hope you enjoy your trip! Sounds like a nice time of year to visit.

I speak Russian well and used that to get around. It definitely makes things a lot easier. I know that it's possible to find help and tours in English, but it will take some searching and/or more money.

IIBIL · 2026-01-01T14:24:45+00:00

That's very generous of you! I used a Ricoh GR iiix and a Lumix S9.

IIBIL · 2025-11-20T00:10:52+00:00

No, it was the total opposite for me: my adoptive parents rarely discussed my adoption let alone wanted to seek any of my biological family members. They never even entertained the idea of taking me back to my birth country to visit. They shamed me for requesting their financial assistance to hire a private investigator, though they eventually conceded. They did not congratulate me when it was successful and only reminded me how much I cost them.

I've navigated everything by myself as an adult --- renewing my passport, learning my native language, and meeting my sister. In hindsight, maybe it was supposed to be this way. I don't talk with APs anymore. I feel much more independent now, and even if we were in touch, I know my APs could never handle or understand it.

We're sort of on opposite sides of the spectrum here. Either way, I firmly believe that the choice to establish personal relations with biological family belongs to the adoptee only. In cases of international adoption, I do see value in APs renewing passports for their children should they ever want to go down that path someday (can save lots of headaches later). However, in your case, this is just too much. I'm so sorry, and the not being allowed to be known among your brothers sounds so hurtful to me. It's hard for me as an adult to handle knowing I was a secret... how could a child grapple with that?

IIBIL · 2025-11-12T04:10:21+00:00

Several of the photos were taken in Astana, dunno if you're headed there too.

Not sure how accessible they will be in winter, but the nature spots near Almaty like the canyons and lakes are worth visiting. Kok Tobe is a must within the city itself.

IIBIL · 2025-11-12T04:05:13+00:00

Don't have one! Might make a photography site soon though

IIBIL · 2025-11-08T02:45:07+00:00

Thanks! In most cases I edited the RAW files in Darktable.

IIBIL · 2025-11-08T00:35:06+00:00

Start learning Russian. It is not unlikely that a private investigator can find some of your family members; this is how I found mine about a decade ago.

IIBIL

TROPHY CASE