Hi all,

It has been 16-17 months since my JnJ shot and my hemoglobin and iron have been back to my baseline since Jun'22 (I had the shot May'21); so it was pretty much 12-13 months to get back to my baseline. My ferritin is still a little low but not 3, much closer to normal. My vitamin D is in the 50s.

I did not do iron infusions or blood transfusions although they were recommended; I also did not do endoscopy/various GI searches as there was no blood in my stool. The short answer is that no specialist could give me a reason for my response and tried very hard to find anything to explain it - including menstruation, potentially bone cancer symptoms (as my white tissues were showing oxygen was extracted by my body, which was happening because my hemoglobin / oxygen transfer was so low).

What I ended up doing was take iron pills & vitamin d pills prescribed by my general practicioner. The specialists scoffed at it and said the doses were too low, and really encouraged larger doses + IV Drips / infusions. I decided to wait a bit -- and allied with Yellow Dock Tincture; once I day I took a dropperful in a little bit of water while eating segmented orange (or tangerine, or something citrus) that was drizzled with black-strap molasses (1 Tablespoon is 20% of daily iron) and sprinkled with coconut flakes and/or pistachios nuts. I ate this daily for months around 3pm in the afternoon as a snack. I also focused on a lot of cooked vegetables + amped up my diet with nuts and seeds; which I craved (I've never been a granola head); and also would eat liver cooked as pate every few weeks with a gluten free cracker. I could not drink coffee - my body had a sudden aversion to it (fixed now!) and although I've always, always loved grilled meat could not eat hamburger or grilled chicken. Oddly my protein was REALLY high in my blood at the time, so I wonder if my body had a natural knowledge to crave the Vitamin E in the seeds/nuts and those fats instead of fast-cooked animal proteins. I did eat long cooked proteins fine, and liver pate or any organ was easy .

So although my recovery was slower, and I times I really wanted the infusion ....the quick win of energy from the iron, I opted with the longer route. My rational was that my body is already responding to something unknown, perhaps intervention measures that are so extreme will also have a negative response (or not the desired outcome). Yes, my work suffered, I simply was not the shining star at the workplace with lots of half days and not the eager-beaver I usually am, but simply could not perform at that rate.

My hematologist and nutritionist (at a NYU Langone) were very impressed that each time meeting me my numbers continued to improve. Even between my GP and the first visit tiny improvements, by the 2nd and 3rd my trajectory to improvement was clear....while numbers still very low there was little risk of being stagnant or going backward. They even said, "Whatever you are doing, keep doing it" and after October they said, you don't need a haemotologist - you can continue to improve with the supervision of your primary doctor and explore with the GI doctor.

I'm still fatigued sometimes and suspect that there is still inflammation. I started acupuncture a month ago and have noticed improvements in my blood circulation and overall energy. I'm glad that I went this route.