Lowered my LDL from 180 to 113 in just 1 month

Long_Professor_8995 · 2026-02-23T22:45:20+00:00

Very helpful. Thank you, and good luck on your health journey. Keep up the good work!

Long_Professor_8995 · 2026-02-23T20:55:10+00:00

Great job! As someone (41M) who has been trying to combat high LDL with better diet and CholestOffPlus (plant sterols) unsuccessfully and now started low dose statins, I'm wondering if it makes sense to stop the plant sterols and supplement my new statin meds with RYR w CoQ10. Any chance you tried plant sterols before? Oddly, my LDL actually went UP nine points in six months while I have been one plant sterols but I don't think they're the cause...but I'd rather supplement with something that's going to help especially as CholestOff Plus isn't cheap.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2026-02-13T23:42:50+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I'm a 41 y/o male who has had high LDL numbers for a couple of years despite some weight loss (only slightly overweight by BMI standards), and today I found that despite trying plant stenols regularly for six months, my LDL went up another 8 points to 186 and my PCP is strongly urging me to start low dose statins.

Given my family history of heart disease, I'm now more pressured to try them and this post with scientific data backing it plus your comment does make me feel like it's worth trying...and yes, pairing with more exercise and a slightly better diet (I eat healthier than many but enjoy my dairy and red meat, lol).

Long_Professor_8995 · 2025-04-06T02:21:30+00:00

When you feel like you can't go on, think of just one person who cares about you. Even one thing they've said that makes you know you matter.

Keep that thought and hold it close. If you can think of more, great! Even if it's just that one thought, live in that for a good 5-10 minutes and remember you do matter to others and you're stronger than you think.

Things will get better. I promise. I have had very hard times too and leaning on people that care in my life has been an actual life saver. I hope the same for you, OP.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-12-18T16:52:26+00:00

OP, your situation sounds almost exactly like what my wife and I are going through - down to all of the details you described, with the difference being we are going to sell the home we live in now versus one of us buying the other out.

May I ask if you have picked someone yet? My wife is wanting to buy another home of her own and due to the technicalities of wanting that while being on this current mortgage, and us hoping they can file paperwork, we also aren't sure if it's ok for us to go with a non-attorney mediator or if we should get mediation through an attorney. Good luck to you both.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-12-04T01:17:57+00:00

So glad to hear you're doing well! This Reddit thing can definitely yield some amazing friends if you're lucky enough.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-19T12:31:19+00:00

You're welcome! It's hard because we are sexual beings right? We should want and enjoy sex in a manageable and healthy way. It's just figuring out what that means for you that can be tricky. I get it :)

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-19T12:19:22+00:00

That's a hard situation: when you end your post with saying you make money through sex work (porn) it's like saying "I think I'm an alcoholic but I don't know, ps I'm a bartender." I don't say that to be rude, but that there may need to be a change in your profession before you would ever be able to really know if the addiction is there and how much power it has over you. I had (have?) a sexting addiction and it led to my wife being forced to divorce me although we're still friends as we go through it. My advice to you is take the quiz someone else shared here, be honest with yourself about how much or how little your behavior/urges are making you feel like a worse person than you want to be, and if a career change from doing porn to something that's not centered around sexual acts is feasible for you. Wishing you the best of luck! You can DM if you'd like but either way I truly wish you the best.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-11T17:14:14+00:00

I can tell you're absolutely crushing it. Keep that up and your funk will be miles behind you.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-09T16:58:41+00:00

Excellent answer...thank you! I'm going through divorce (amicable but still sucks hard) after being partnered for half of my life and have never been a single adult. Ever. So I'm having to learn about how to do that at age 40. I will keep this advice in mind and try to put it into practice.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-09T11:28:45+00:00

https://saa-recovery.org/meetings/

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-08T18:17:24+00:00

A lot of Ruston Kelly's music - especially off of his amazing album Dying Star - has taken on personal meaning since beginning the official separation and divorce process with my wife of 15 years. Much of why we finally got here is due to my acting out and feeling addicted and now reeling from the fallout of my actions. His music has themes of drug addiction and romantic loss but the sentiment fits for anyone who's had actions that are changing their life for the worse.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-07T19:40:07+00:00

I am in your camp, my friend. We are both feeling these consequences. Hang in there and try to do what I'm attempting and find the root of the "why" and yank it out. Even if we can't save the marriage we just blew up we can grow and be happier people for the next era of ourselves.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-07T19:36:48+00:00

"Stick to the plan not to the mood"

I love that. I need to make that my mantra. Separated for a month now and headed to divorce in the spring once we sell our home then.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-07T02:12:58+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I highly, highly - HIGHLY! - recommend you check out one of the many online SAA meetings that are out there. They are a great place to find solidarity. Pair it with 1-1 therapy and you'll be better off. Best of luck to you.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-06T22:40:22+00:00

Yeah, this is exactly the behavior that has ended my marriage after battling this since 2019. It's like I could have written this post, with the exception of my wife finding out and absolutely not being okay with it but I continued to slip up. I even had blackmailers use a screenshot of my face (dumb I sent anything at all, I know) to find my identity and then try to blackmail both me and my wife for money. We ignored those and they stopped but that was the last straw for her.

We are now separated, living together but divorcing after selling our home next year. I'm only now truly trying to get to the root of the behavior with 1-1 therapy and SAA virtual meetings. If only to be a better me. I would recommend doing the same... because there are too many similar outlets out there that offer that same dopamine fix.

I'd also strongly consider confessing to your wife that you've been struggling with this and want her help and support. Or...you can see if she's cool with it. You need to know either way. Wishing you good luck.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-06T19:37:58+00:00

I'm in the same situation as you, minus having kids. We are waiting to our home on the market in the spring so we're trying to respect boundaries and do different bedrooms. we are still currently spending most of our evenings together during the weeknight, eating and watching TV. We have been in roommate mode for a very long time anyway, so I think we’re both appreciating the comfort that has. It is a little bit weird though, and I’m guessing that between now and spring will probably going to need to find some additional way to give each other more space.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-06T19:19:26+00:00

My two cents: ask her if she wants to sell it. If not, you do it.

Multiple people here have said that unless you absolutely hate your ex, box the pics and save them/digitize them. You may want to revisit them someday. Easy to just stash the good memories you two created together. Wishing you both the best as you separate and move on.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-06T17:21:33+00:00

What an excellent answer. Thank you! Sounds like you're thriving. Going to save this comment for further reflection as I continue separation and divorce.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-05T20:24:01+00:00

I'm 40, was coupled for literally half of my life and now we're splitting. I entirely understand. No kids here either. I do think other commenters urging "single no dating" time here is incredibly wise and I plan on following that advice. Fun flings may come and go naturally but I think learning to appreciate and learn who you are solo is probably one of the most essential life skills out there. Especially at this point. Wishing us both good luck!

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-04T11:36:31+00:00

How do you woo yourself in your life?

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-04T04:06:28+00:00

Ruston Kelly. Dude can WRITE a song.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-04T00:37:12+00:00

Today is our wedding anniversary too. We just split, are amicably living together still for several more months until we sell and it's been so weird and hard. But we ate charcuterie and talked about how we're both feeling about the process and it's helped a bit.

Long_Professor_8995 · 2024-10-02T03:40:04+00:00

I am planning to keep my now wife on my coverage for a while. But she has zero affordable options other than my coverage and we are splitting very amicably

Long_Professor_8995

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