Niacin

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afigueroa_pr
afigueroa_pr Posts: 344
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been looking to try this vitamin supplement to increase my HDL.
Any thoughts on anyone who has tried it?

Replies

  • shicken684
    shicken684 Posts: 36
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    My only experience with niacin is when I was 18 and trying to pass a drug test. It worked! But I doubt this helps you much. :wink:
  • MikeM53082
    MikeM53082 Posts: 1,199 Member
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    Niacin is excellent for you. It's very tough to come by in natural foods. I think egg yolks is one of the few foods that has Niacin in it. Niacin as a supplement is known to lower your bad cholesteral as well.
  • jjs22
    jjs22 Posts: 156
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    IMPORTANT !

    I *wish* I had been told this before I tried Niacin, but I had to learn it the hard way. There is a reaction that some people experience when taking Niacin called "flushing". It is not harmful, but can be extremely unpleasant.

    In my case, I took a standard dose of "slow release" Niacin for my cholesterol. A couple hours later I was driving down the street and started feeling warm. Before I had time to even pull over, I had to take off my jacket. Then I started to wonder if maybe the seat heaters in my car had short-circuited or something. By the time I got home, I pulled off my shirt and my torso was bright red like a bad case of sunburn. I took a very cold shower before even calling the doctor. It wasn't absolutely unbearable, but just extremely unpleasant and very, very scary b/c i had no clue what was going on.

    After calling the doctor's office, they helped trace it down to the Niacin. I was shocked that something as innocuous as "Vitamin B" could trigger what felt like the worst medical crisis in my life ! Again, it is not serious, it just feels that way and is very scary if you aren't expecting it.

    Anyway, different people respond differently. Supposedly, the flushing is something that decreases as your body becomes familiar with the Niacin. But I just didn't want to put myself through that again.


    On a side note, I think I recall (try Google) that eating omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil, flax seed) helps your body do a better job of extracting Niacin from the foods that you eat.

    Good Luck
  • afigueroa_pr
    afigueroa_pr Posts: 344
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    I experienced this side effect of flushing on my very first niacin pill. Luckily my doctor warned me about it and that it is completely normal. I then reduced my dosage from 500mg to 250mg. So far no flushing side effects. Lets see in about 6 months my HDL's increase.
  • bhardy516
    bhardy516 Posts: 22
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    My doctor put me on Niaspan which is an extended release Niacin, to get my triglycerides down.
    To prevent or lessen the flushing try these steps:

    1) take it before bed time.
    2) 30 minutes before taking it, take an aspirin.
    3) eat a small low calorie snack (like lo cal yogurt)
    4) then take the Niacin.

    I can tell you from experience, that it works! And if there is some mild flushing still, at least it is at bedtime and you may not notice it as much, if at all.
  • bashiera
    bashiera Posts: 140 Member
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    My doctor put me on Niaspan which is an extended release Niacin, to get my triglycerides down.
    To prevent or lessen the flushing try these steps:

    1) take it before bed time.
    2) 30 minutes before taking it, take an aspirin.
    3) eat a small low calorie snack (like lo cal yogurt)
    4) then take the Niacin.

    I can tell you from experience, that it works! And if there is some mild flushing still, at least it is at bedtime and you may not notice it as much, if at all.
    True, true. I'm a nurse, and I recommend to patients newly prescribed niacin for cholesterol taking an aspirin 30 minutes to an hour before taking your niacin. I can't remember the pharmacological reason it works, but I do remember clearly in pharmacology (medications) class that aspirin before niacin helps control the flushing.
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
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    Aspirin opens up the blood vessels and allows the blood to flow freer.

    Fish-oil helped my HDL. Niacin helped my MIL drop her cholesterol ~100 points!
  • adhillman01
    adhillman01 Posts: 206
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    "Drug" of choice for increasing HDL is exercise.
  • jjs22
    jjs22 Posts: 156
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    My doctor put me on Niaspan which is an extended release Niacin, to get my triglycerides down.
    To prevent or lessen the flushing try these steps:

    1) take it before bed time.
    2) 30 minutes before taking it, take an aspirin.
    3) eat a small low calorie snack (like lo cal yogurt)
    4) then take the Niacin.

    I can tell you from experience, that it works! And if there is some mild flushing still, at least it is at bedtime and you may not notice it as much, if at all.

    Maybe I'll give that a try. I still have all those Niacin pills.
  • bikermike5094
    bikermike5094 Posts: 1,752 Member
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    I've been on Niacin and Niaspan... both slow release, I take baby asprin ever day too. I was on Niacin for about two months, no issues. Then one day at work, if felt like someone lit my head on fire. The fire spread down my face, into my torso and arms, then into my lower extremitys. I had never had a reaction before and seriousley thought i was having a heart attack. I sat in my bosses office for about an hour with her watching me wipe myself down with wet paper towel to try to cool off.

    Finally went away and I've never taken it since then.

    Excercise is best for increasing bad chol. and i take an asprin a day and a glass of wine. Wine was Rx'd by my Dr.

    ha.. i dont take the asprin with the wine.. that sounded funny.. just drink it as part of my chol regimine.
  • mommy7
    mommy7 Posts: 153
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    I landed in the ER with the flushing. Felt like my joints were on fire, then my skin was bright red, I was burning up. Had to be given a cocktail of stuff in an IV to get rid of the symptoms. My husband and I traced it to the niacin. I had no idea that I could have a reaction to the supplement like that.
  • tamraj
    tamraj Posts: 50 Member
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    Be careful with niacin. Do your research (there are variations, some that cause less flushing) and start with low doses and work your way up to let your body become accustomed to it- everybody's body processes differently- I had a very frightening reaction to it because apparently also lowers your blood pressure so if your BP tends to be on the low side, like mine, and you take a large enough dose, as I did, the flushing is only a small piece of it. I became extremely nauseous, I lost my vision and hearing, and I thought I was dying- I couldn't move unaided. Fortunately, it didn't last long- maybe 6 or 7 minutes according to my fiance. We think my my blood pressure had dropped too low.

    He takes it with no problems- annoying flushing is all and that has decreased to practically nothing.
  • afigueroa_pr
    afigueroa_pr Posts: 344
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    "Drug" of choice for increasing HDL is exercise.

    I am already working out 5 days a week :D
    But thanks!!
  • afigueroa_pr
    afigueroa_pr Posts: 344
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    "Drug" of choice for increasing HDL is exercise.

    I am already working out 5 days a week :D
    But thanks!!
    It has been day 5 since I started taking Niacin and so far no more flushing of the skin since the first day!
  • MinimalistShoeAddict
    MinimalistShoeAddict Posts: 1,946 Member
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    I spent months last fall trying different things to raise my HDL as much as possible. All my other cholesterol numbers were perfect. After months of testing (I am somewhat of a perfectionist) for me the factors that most influenced my HDL levels (which are now great like all my other cholesterol levels) are in order of importance:

    1. Genes (my weak link from one side of the family)
    2. BMI (for me going from the high end of the healthy range to the low end made a huge difference)
    3. Niacin (quick release NOT slow release)
    4. Exercise (It helps, but factors 1-3 made the biggest difference for me no matter how much I exercised)
    5. Diet (I put omega 3 intake in this category along with eliminating all trans fats, etc)
    6. Alcohol (IN MODERATION! Resveratrol found in red wine can help raise HDL)

    You will notice I did not include statins in this list. I never used statins and was able to correct my HDL levels with the modifications above.

    I can cite studies for some of the above factors. Send me a private message if you like.
  • MinimalistShoeAddict
    MinimalistShoeAddict Posts: 1,946 Member
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    This is common. I believe that the quick release versions of Niacin are far more effective. You can reduce this impact by:

    1. Building up your dosage slowly over time
    2. Drinking lots of water along with your dose
    3. Taking a baby aspirin with your dose (I don't need to do this because #1 and #2 worked for me)

    I would really recommend reading a few studies comparing the impacts of slow release and quick release Niacin before making this decision. There are some major differences in terms of interaction with the liver.
    IMPORTANT !

    I *wish* I had been told this before I tried Niacin, but I had to learn it the hard way. There is a reaction that some people experience when taking Niacin called "flushing". It is not harmful, but can be extremely unpleasant.

    In my case, I took a standard dose of "slow release" Niacin for my cholesterol. A couple hours later I was driving down the street and started feeling warm. Before I had time to even pull over, I had to take off my jacket. Then I started to wonder if maybe the seat heaters in my car had short-circuited or something. By the time I got home, I pulled off my shirt and my torso was bright red like a bad case of sunburn. I took a very cold shower before even calling the doctor. It wasn't absolutely unbearable, but just extremely unpleasant and very, very scary b/c i had no clue what was going on.

    After calling the doctor's office, they helped trace it down to the Niacin. I was shocked that something as innocuous as "Vitamin B" could trigger what felt like the worst medical crisis in my life ! Again, it is not serious, it just feels that way and is very scary if you aren't expecting it.

    Anyway, different people respond differently. Supposedly, the flushing is something that decreases as your body becomes familiar with the Niacin. But I just didn't want to put myself through that again.


    On a side note, I think I recall (try Google) that eating omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil, flax seed) helps your body do a better job of extracting Niacin from the foods that you eat.

    Good Luck

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