A plea for insight/help · Castore: Built to Adapt

A plea for insight/help

Hey friends,

I’m reaching out because I’m walking through something really scary right now, and I would really appreciate your wisdom, experience, and prayers.

About three weeks ago, I was hit with a really rough virus. I thought I was on the mend… and then about a week ago I suddenly started losing vision — first in my left eye, then in my right. I ended up in the hospital terrified and confused, not understanding what was happening to my body.

While I was there, they ran a ton of tests — full blood panels, autoimmune workups, MRI, and even a lumbar puncture. Most of the autoimmune conditions they tested for have been ruled out, but I’m still waiting on a few more results that take longer, including the GFAP panel. Right now I’m sitting at about 50% vision loss in both eyes, which has been one of the most emotional and humbling experiences of my life.

The neuro-ophthalmologist said ischemic optic neuropathy is still a possibility, but there are signs that make him hopeful it could instead be post-/para-infectious optic papillitis — inflammation of the optic nerve triggered by the virus I had. This is treatable, but recovery can be slow, sometimes taking a month or more before improvement begins.

I’ve been on steroids for a week now with no major changes yet. I’m also feeling some nerve pain behind my right eye, which can happen during healing, but it’s hard not to worry when you’re living it.

To support myself, I’ve been using:

Steroids
BPC-157
Anti-inflammatory + gut support
Rest and as much calm as possible

But this community has so much collective wisdom, especially around peptides, neuro repair, and post-viral healing — so I’m reaching out.

If you have experience with optic nerve inflammation, optic neuritis, nerve repair, or post-infectious healing — what peptides, supplements, or approaches would you consider supportive right now?

(ARA-290, TA-1, SS-31, MOTS-c, glutathione, SPMs, NAC, high-dose omega-3s, etc.)

This whole situation has really tested me but I’m doing everything I can to support healing while staying safe. Any insight, personal experiences, or encouragement would mean the world to me right now.

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