Anyone else taking niacin for cholesterol?

[Delano]

I have been taking it for about 8 months, along with a few other natural supplements (garlic, policosanol, red yeast rice, flax) and have gotten my cholesterol down from 340 to about 160. I'm very happy with the resultts, but a word of warrning.

I took the niacin without incident until yesterday. The package says it can cause "flushing", which I took to be a bit of rosy cheeks, but no - all of a sudden I had a massive reaction where my entire body turrned beet red, and I had a horrible "prickly heat" sensation for almost an hour. I'm not saying that you shouldn't take it, but I'd just like people to know because it is very alarming and can set in suddenly. Apparently you can become sensitized to it. I tried a much smaller dose today, and I still turned very flushed, though not quite as bad as yesterday. I called the poison ccontrol center and they said to just relax and use cold compresses until it goes away. If it happens to you, don't freak out - you'll be okay.

Anyway - I guess I'm done taking niacin!

[bif]

1. I've been taking it for a couple months

And every once in a while, the same thing happens to me. But it's mainly my face that turns red.

[Snow]

2. Let your doc know you're doing this,

and get your liver checked every 6 months or so, since niacin in large doses can damage and even destroy your liver. And life without a liver.......

[ChickMagic]

3. There are preparations of niacin

that minimize flushing. I forget what it's called, but it's labeled pretty clearly on the bottle "no flushing".

[leftofthedial]

take the time-released kind

the levels build up in your body. it is the "overdose" condition that causes the flush.

Let your body "flush" it out, then resume taking it.

[r_u_stuck2]

4. Did the same

It didn't take me that long to flush. How much are you taking, when I went to 1000mg/day I began to experience that same sensation. I would begin to tingle everywhere and within 10 minutes turn beet red. I was in a meeting when it happened the first time and everyone wanted to call an ambulance.

Dr. Took me off of it,

[Delano]

8. I was taking a 500 mg tab, broken in half

half in the morning, half at night. Apparently, breaking the tablet ruined the time-release properties and made the effect worse. I had been taking a 250 mg tablet twice a day (not broken) it until about a month ago.

I'm going to lay off the niacin and continue with the other stuff for the time being.

[UrbScotty]

5. I don't take niacin, but let me just congratulate you!

Losing more than half your choledsterol is quite an accomplishment, huh?

I hope most of it was bad cholesterol, not good cholesterol.

[rainy]

6. Read "Nature's First Law"

Diet alone can lower your cholesterol and it is the most natural and true way to fix the problem. The book is an eye-opener.

[Delano]

9. Not familiar with that one, but...

At 21, when I was only 170 lbs (I'm 6'2") and on a vegetarian diet, my cholesterol was over 300. I rreally think that some of us are genetically prredisposed to higher cholesterol, expecially since I grew up on a diet of junky 70's crapola.

I've been very happy with the supplements, and the fact that Lipitor wasn't necessary.

[Snow]

10. Does your vegetarian diet include cheese?

or other milk products? I've had friends, mostly Indian, who had the same problem you report, & the cheese was where the problem was.

[Delano]

11. No dairy - but I gave that diet up many years ago.

I found that being on a veggie diet (exception being fish) left me skinny, but also with no strength. I just eat a balanced diet now, with moderate amounts of meats.

My point was that even at my thinnest, and after a year of vegetarianism, my cholesterol didn't budge. Now it's normal for the first time in my life - without eliminating all meat and dairy.

[pocoloco]

7. Flushing is normal.

I take it for migraine prevention. Get the "time release" kind to minimize flushing, or a "flush free" type.