18 Months of Testing: My Personal Supplement Journey

Eighteen months ago I had a cabinet full of supplements, no idea which ones were actually doing anything, and a vague feeling of being tired all the time. So I did the obvious nerd thing: I got blood work done, deleted half the bottles, and started tracking everything for a year and a half.

This is the honest write-up. What worked, what didn't, what I quietly threw away, and the small list of supplements that earned a permanent spot in my routine.

The starting point: tired, foggy, and over-supplemented

My first panel (Nov 2024) was humbling. Vitamin D was at 32 ng/mL— technically "normal", but on the low end of the range. hs-CRP was creeping up (1.8 mg/L), my Omega-3 index was 4.1%, and ferritin sat in the basement at 38 ng/mL. None of it was scary on its own. Together, it explained the 3 PM crashes pretty well.

At the time I was taking eleven different things every morning. Multivitamin, three different "focus" blends, a greens powder, a pre-workout, two adaptogens, and a sleep stack. Most of them were noise.

"If you can't tell whether a supplement is working, it probably isn't — or you're not measuring the right thing."

The rule that changed everything: one variable at a time

I cut the stack down to a clean baseline — no supplements at all for three weeks. Then I added one thing at a time, gave it 4-6 weeks, and tracked sleep, mood, energy and gym performance in a simple Notion log. Every three months I retested the metrics that actually mattered.

It's slow. It's also the only honest way to know what's pulling its weight.

What stayed: the five-supplement core stack

1. Vitamin D3 — the obvious win

Six months on Vitamin D3 at 2000 IU/day took my level from 32 → 58 ng/mL. The first thing I noticed wasn't energy — it was a calmer baseline mood through winter. By month three the 4 PM slump was visibly smaller.

2. Omega-3 — the one I'll never drop

My Omega-3 index went from 4.1% → 8.6% over nine months on a quality fish oil. This is the supplement I'd protect if I had to keep only one. Less brain fog on long work blocks, calmer baseline, and (honestly) better skin. The one I use has third-party testing and a reasonable EPA/DHA ratio.

3. Magnesium Glycinate — the sleep multiplier

400 mg of magnesium glycinate 30-60 minutes before bed. Within a week my Oura deep-sleep average went from 52 to 78 minutes, and I stopped waking up at 3 AM staring at the ceiling. This was the fastest "I can feel it" supplement I tested.

4. Creatine — not just for the gym

5 g of creatine monohydrate daily. Strength gains were the obvious benefit (deadlift went up 18 kg over six months with no other change), but the cognitive piece surprised me — fewer "blank screen" moments during long writing sessions.

5. Ashwagandha — only for high-stress weeks

KSM-66 at 600 mg in the evening, cycled. I don't take this every day. During launch weeks, travel, or anything that spikes cortisol, it noticeably lowers the "wired and tired" feeling. Off those weeks, I don't bother.

What I quietly threw away

Greens powders (a fancy way to spend $60 on fiber I could eat). Most pre-workouts (caffeine + placebo). Three of the four "nootropic" blends I tried. Anything that promised a feeling within 20 minutes — that's caffeine, not a supplement.

I also dropped my multivitamin. Once I knew exactly what I was low on (D, omega-3, magnesium), the multi was just expensive insurance against problems I no longer had.

The numbers, 18 months later

• Vitamin D: 32 → 58 ng/mL
• Omega-3 index: 4.1% → 8.6%
• hs-CRP: 1.8 → 0.6 mg/L
• Ferritin: 38 → 92 ng/mL (mostly diet, but worth noting)
• Resting HR: 62 → 54 bpm
• Average deep sleep (Oura): 52 → 81 minutes

None of those moves are dramatic on their own. Stacked together, they're the difference between "okay" and "actually feel good most days".

The honest lessons

• Get blood work first. Otherwise you're guessing in the dark.
• Sleep, training and protein beat any supplement, every time.
• Quality matters. Cheap fish oil tastes like cheap fish oil for a reason.
• If you can't feel or measure a difference after 8 weeks, drop it.
• Less, but consistent, beats more taken sporadically.

That's it. Five supplements. A boring routine. Numbers that finally moved.