I tried fish oil first. Took it for eight months. Felt like I was finally doing something.
Then I realized my numbers hadn't changed at all. Not one point off my LDL. (Not even slightly.)
So I tried plant sterols.
Same story. Bought the most expensive brand. Hit a wall. Nothing moved.
Then I went all-in on lifestyle changes.
I started cutting saturated fat. Then red meat. Then cheese, butter, eggs.
I'd read all these articles about how "Mediterranean diet lowers cholesterol" and "oatmeal every morning binds to cholesterol in your gut."
It sounded simple. Like maybe if I just ate clean enough, my numbers would finally drop.
But... nothing. LDL still climbing. HDL still stuck. Triglycerides still elevated.
So I doubled down and tried red yeast rice.
The muscle pain was almost immediate. The fatigue got worse. My LDL dropped five points.
But nothing really fixed the problem long term.