NIASPAN Reviews (NIACIN)Average Rating: 2.7 (694 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare NIASPAN with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by length of time drug was taken longest to shortest. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 |
More on NIASPAN: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR NIASPAN | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 1 | high cholesterol | Almost always flushing. This morning woke up with my face so swollen I almost couldn't open my eyes, looks like I have a bad sunburn. Using ice packs, and taking Ibuprofen and Benadryl all day. Still at 12:26 a.m. face hurts and lips burn. | Taking 500 mg. Will switch back to OTC slow-release and start with 250 mg. Will call the Dr. in the morning if symptoms don't reside. | F | 55 | 6 months | 7/20/2009 | 5 | low hdl, high ldl, high ldl-P # | flushing and indigestion for first two months | I just received my blood tests after 4 months at 1000mg Niaspan. My hdl went from 37 to 63. Ldl from 170 to 142. TriG steady at 70. My high particle count down by 500! I am very happy with this result. I experienced flushing for about 2 weeks when I started therapy and again when I increased to 1000mg. I take a regular size aspirin 30 minutes before Niaspan and this seems to control flushing. I also experienced indigestion for about 6 weeks, but now take a very small snack with Niaspan and my stomach is fine. The side effects at about the two month mark were insignificant (I started with 500mg and went to 1000mg at 30 days). I hope this experience encourages others to give Niaspan a fair trial. I had horrible insomnia from Zocor and stomach pain from Zetia (discontinued both.) I'm so glad that Niaspan seems to work so well for me and that I can tolerate the side effects. I also experienced some (welcome) weight loss that I attribute to Niaspan as I made no other changes i | F | 51 | 5 months | 5/4/2007 | 4 | Low HDL | Some hot flashes and some fingertip tingling | 1,000 mg per day helped raise my HDL from 36 to 46 | M | 44 | 5 months | 6/6/2005 | 4 | M | 41 | 5 months | 10/13/2004 | 4 | High Triglicerides | On occasion, I have experienced the typical burning and flushing experienced by most users. I have found that drinking a lot of alcohol can cause me to wake up at night (2-4 hours later) with the side effects. The burning and flushing can be very strong at times, but knowing that these syptoms are normal helps me deal with them. | After taking Statins for about 20 years my body is starting to have some problems with Statins, e.g., muscle problems and not as effective. Taking Niaspan in addition to Tricor, has helped treat my high triglicerides and given me another option. The burning and flushing only occurs a couple of times a month so the benefits outweigh the side effects. | M | 53 | 5 months | 5/25/2008 | 4 | high cholest,,high trigs,high LDL | occasional flushing, very dry skin,eyes,mouth | Seems to work for my issues. Significant reduction in numbers for t.c.,LDL and trig. Raised my HDL substantially. I eat high fiber snack before Niaspan. Also take an uncoated asirin 1/2 hour before. Take 2000mg of niaspan a day; 1000 mg in the a.m. and again after dinner. | F | 55 | 5 months | 12/19/2009 | 3 | Low HDL | I have been taking this drug for 5 months with no side effects whatsoever. I always took the 325mg dose of aspirin 30 minutes prior to administering the Niaspan. However, for the last month I have taken no aspirin before the Niaspan without problems until last night when I was awakened at 3:30am with intense itching in my feet which suddenly progressed into the sensation that my entire body was being seared in a frying pan and then I was dumped onto a hot sidewalk during July in Phoenix and covered with angry fire ants up to my neck and roasted for an hour. My heart was pounding and my skin turned bright red and my brain began to panic. My stomach cramped and I ran upstairs and blew up the crapper in a powerful watery discharge. Convenient symptoms for someone who needs sleep before going to work. I immediately suspected these meds and found this site which helped relieve my brain panic. I took a dose of aspirin and the symptoms passed after about an hour. Very tired today. | After this episode I'm not sure whether I'll take this med again even though it did raise my 'good cholesterol' levels significantly. | M | 43 | 5 months | 8/26/2009 | 3 | HIGH CHOLESTEROL | NOT VERY MANY | M | 50 | 5 months | 8/21/2004 | 3 | Triglycerides, cholesterol | Mild and infrequent flush, tingling sensation. Taking Ecotrin 325 a few minutes ahead of Niaspan helps. | M | 53 | 5 months 500 mg 1X day | 11/15/2010 | 3 | High Cholesterol | Itching....yes, I get the flush and the feeling of being on fire from the inside out, but it's the itching that has finally caused me to stop taking this medication. The itching happens anytime, day or night, regardless of taking the medication before bed. This has caused severe itching in my groin, hands, legs, arms and face. | My bad cholesterol went down with the drug. However, so did my good cholesterol. It isn't worth the severe itching. I am calling my doctor on Monday to tell her I am through with this medication and to see if we can try something else. | F | 41 | 5 months 500 1X day | 12/11/2010 | 3 | High Cholesterol and Triglycerides | After taking it for about five months and getting through the initial flushing sensation within the first weeks, I am suddenly now exepriencing stronger symptoms: shortness fo breath, stomach pain, sensation of losing consciousness, numbness in hands and feet, sweats. But it is sporadic so I'll see how it progresses. The niaspan has helped significantly with the cholesterol and triglycerides. | M | 49 | 5 months | 8/15/2006 | 1 | Raise HDL | I started out on 500mg daily, then went to 1 gram. As long as I took an aspirin, 30 minutes before, I had no problems with feeling flushed or itching or redness. My doctor then bumped me up to 1500 mg and then 2 grams. My reaction to 2 grams was severe itching that resulted in water blisters all over my hands and my thighs. I immediately stopped taking the drug and now 3 months later my hands and thighs remain scarred and have a slight reddish color. | I truly regret taking this drug. I am embarrassed to have my hands seen when I am at work or am out in public. My hands look like I had been in a fire and seem like they will never be the same. BEWARE!!!!! | M | 62 | 5 months | 7/8/2007 | 1 | to get cholestrol levels down | Was rushed to ER last nite with severe chills, bright red rash on all estremities and blood pressure soaring. Took 2 shots and oral medication to make it go away. Stayed in ER for 2 hours. I had had previous heart racing , intense itching spells, bad hot flashes after taking this and during sleep at nite. | After reading all of your comments, I am wondering if the niaspan has caused all my problems. My ER physician suspected nuts i had eaten, but i think after reading all the comments, and my previous problems, it could have been the niaspan. I am calling my dr. tomorrow. | F | 5 months | 3/27/2007 | 5 | High Cholesterol | Initially had mild itching for about 20 min. Cardiologist prescribed 325 mg. Aspirin 1 Hour before taking Niaspan. (81mg of Aspirin is too low of a dose). And then take 1 serving size of Applesauce (3.5oz.)with the pill, at bedtime. The Pectin in Applesauce helps reduce the itching affect. | If you can handle the side effects for about the first week or so. Then I believe it's working | M | 50 | 4 months 1000mg 1X day | 12/24/2010 | 5 | high triglycerides & hdl bad type | One bad flushing episode. I took 100mg niacin supplements along with the 500mg Niaspan to raise my levels up very slowly before going on the 750mg and again before raising to 1,000. Very minimal flushing with this method. My blood pressure is low from it which is good, however, I do have to be careful that it doesn't get too low. | This drug is wonderful. My biggest fear is that I will get a side effect that will not allow me to continue on it. I had a VAP test that showed 15 items with some high risk factors for heart disease. I have also seen recent research on pubmed that shows that it will make veins/blood vessels more flexable. | F | 69 | 4 months 1,000 1X day | 4/17/2010 | 5 | itchy once a week in the morning | This is my second try at Niaspan and I am glad I tried it again. Doctor told me my TRI were 1300. After six weeks @ 2000mg they were 113. I am 162 lb. and lost 22lb over the past year by going low carb and no alcohol. Boring but healthy. | M | 61 | 4 months | 8/23/2008 | 4 | Low HDL | During the first few weeks I had one very hot flash that woke me up and had uncomfortable tingling in my arms during the day. I've had two or three other times when I woke up feeling like I had been lightly sunburned, but nothing like the first blast. I've learned not to eat spicy foods at supper and always take 1/2 aspirin a half hour before the Niaspan--then eat some yogurt or low-fat snack with it before bedtime. | I started with 500 mg dose and after three months the Dr. was very pleased with the results and has not increased the dosage. | M | 63 | 4 months | 7/14/2009 | 4 | cholesterol | I'm so glad I found this site. I was searching the internet for my symptoms, which are waking up feeling like I'm on fire. The first time it happened I freaked out. My skin was hot, puffy and bright red everywhere. I thought something very serious was wrong with me. I was so scared that I think I must have had a panic attack. I was dizzy and was having trouble breathing. I took a cold shower. It didn't really help. I told my wife to dial 911. Luckily, she was still half asleep and didn't hear me. I went downstairs to get some water and the feeling just started to go away. The swelling and redness subsided shortly after. This feeling of being on fire only happens occasionally, like maybe a few times a month. Once I realized it would go away I just started ignoring it. I've found that if I don't panic, and ignore the burning, it will go away in a few minutes. Even though I developed this ignore-it technique, I was not aware of this side effect being the cause of Niaspan | I have always taken Niaspan at night just before going to bed. It makes sense that I'd experience the side effects at night or upon waking in the morning. Now that I know how to deal with them, it's not a big deal. The drug is working for me. | M | 40 | 4 months 500 MG 1X day | 11/16/2010 | 4 | to lower overall cholesterol | flushing for first month, once that lasted into the next day, that went away until my dosage was increased recently, but it has gone away again | I was nervous about taking it at first because it irritated my father terribly to the point where he went off it. However, my first test after taking just 500 mg for 3 months was very encouraging, and my flushing went away after a month. My doc recently increased my dosage to 1 gram and I had the flushing again for just 3 nights before it went away. | F | 32 | 4 months | 7/11/2006 | 4 | High Triglyceride levels | Severe burning sensation on back of neck especially, body became red all over, like a rash on chest, arms and face. Felt like a severe sub=nburn I could do nothing about. Itching all over body as if I have rolled in a bed of insulation. | It works for the purpose intended but the side effects you have to get used too for sure, It only affects me part of the time, be careful on trying this as a new med it could give you a panic feeling because of itchinjg and burning. | M | 30 | 4 months | 8/22/2007 |