It is basically a very high dose of the vitamin Niacin, and it is supposed to raise the good cholesterol levels in your blood stream (so maybe helps prevent heart disease). Doc wants me to take it - but I found a site where quite a few folks complained it hurt them a bit. What do you think - have you used it? I had a heart attacked in Oct.0.6 . Doctor prescribed Lipid and Niaspan 500 mg to lower my Tricrgyeria( not sure how to spell) and 20 mg of Lipitor and I ending up back to hospital for 4 days because I had severe muscle pain on my leg, arm and chest, I thought I was going to be cripple .
After the Doctor in hospital took off all medicine, (Plavix, aspirin, troprol xl niaspan and lipitor) for 2 days, he started to give me 1 medicine at a time and find out that I had bad reaction on Lipitor and Tropol XL (almost kill me with blood pressure going down to 65-45)Heart beat 55 average.
Even I had bad reaction on Niaspan (flushed, a little itching and tingling here and there), but when I took 2x81mg aspirin, it help me to eliminate the discomfort.
I had been on 500mg Niaspan for over 3 years, if I took Aspirin and Niaspan together at the same time, I still got hot flush and itchy on my skin, but it gone away in about 20minutes
But my tricgeiria had gone down without lipitor or any statins
drug that might make me cripple.
Lately, I was told my tricgeriera started to go up again, doctor said may be I need to increase the Niaspan in double dose.
Yeah, I was told Niaspan had help me a bit on increasing my HDL but doing exercise , walking and good diet are important to heart health too. I took it and it made me flush terribly. Had to stop after 5 days.
Some can take it fine, but many can't. only way to know is try I am currently taking it and so far I have had no problems. However, I have a wonderful doctor that prescribe a relatively low dose to start and gave me instruction on when to take it. I was told to take an aspirin 30 minutes before taking Niaspan to help eliminate some of the side effects. It was also suggested that I eat something lite, like applesauce or a piece of toast after taking to prevent stomach problems. As I stated earlier, so far so good. I am up to 1000mg. now and doing fine. I've been on 2GRAMS of Niaspan for several years.
My trick is taking it at bedtime with a small snack. If I do 'flush', it's when I'm asleep.
If you do have a 'flush', drink a glass of water and take one generic benedryl. It counteracts the flushing quickly. Hi, I wanted to mention a few things about HDL levels. It is worth asking your physician about your specific HDL level. There is a good inverse correlation with HDL levels and heart attacks meaning that if your HDL level is low, you may be at higher risk for having a heart attack, and if your HDL level is high, then you are at a lower risk.
There are some very rare exceptions to this association, but those exceptions include rare genetic disorders.
Most physicians will follow the guidelines set by a national committee called the National Cholesterol Education Program. They publish a document called the Adult Treatment Program III. You can google it and find the document, which outlines pretty much the goals physicians try to achieve for their patients. Regarding HDL levels, they recommend beginning treatment if the HDL level is below 40.
Cholesterol levels get complicated when talking about LDL, triglycerides, and HDL, and so, I'll just stick to HDL and niacin.
Now if you do want to avoid medicines, exercise, weight loss, and quitting smoking(if you smoke) are all good ways of improving your HDL levels as well as lower your LDL (bad cholesterol).
However, once we start considering medicines, physicians generally have 2 choices: niacin or any one of the class of drugs called the fibrates.
Niacin, as you correctly noted, is vitamin B3. It is an essential vitamin and deficiency of this vitamin causes a disease called pellagra. However, when it is taken in very large doses, it alters the metabolism of fat and helps to raise your good cholesterol.
Niacin, is in fact, the most effective medicine available in raising your HDL levels. HOWEVER, there are a number of adverse effects. These effects are uncommon, but not so rare that physicians are surprised to see them.
The most common side effect is facial flushing; however, patients can also experience dry skin, skin rashes, and stomach upset. These side effects are often temporary. More serious side effects include raising your blood sugar (bad if you are a diabetic) and causing liver problems.
Thus, if you are concerned about taking Niacin, you should talk with your doctor and voice your concerns. You can then collaborate on balancing the risk of future heart attacks and strokes with the risk of side effects and daily life impairments of the medicines. |
