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 |
| 2 | raise good to bad ratio | Usual flushing (should say more like chemo rash), they have reformulated it to reduce flushing (pink color pill now), that made it worse, went from spot flushing to entire upper torso, started having trouble breathing when this happened and stopped taking med. | If you get up in the night to use the bathroom this med can make it hard to get back to sleep as it is like having a bad sunburn that moves around your body or covers half your body at once, your skin will feel sore & tingly where the flushing/rash is happening, even sheets will hurt to touch that spot sometimes until it moves to a new spot | M | 51 | 2 years | 11/13/2007 | 2 | High tryglicerides, high bad chole | youve got to be kidding... everyone on here has had the same problems I have... body on fire and extreme itching.... Cannot sleep.... cannot afford to lose my job because I cannot sleep... do doctor's read this ... they should... they must get high kick backs for this drug... | i have to admit that i ahve taken the drug off and on for about two years... I can take it for weeks with out any major effects then with the same dose the next night get extreme reactions ...I lose sleep and then cannot perform at my job... | M | 52 | 2 years | 3/25/2007 | 1 | High cholesterol | Burning itching headache vomiting heart racing | F | 76 | 2 years 500 | 2/20/2012 | 1 | Existing Coronary Artery Disease | Minor flushing from time to time after initially getting used to it. | Talk to your doctor about continuing to use Niaspan. My cardiologist took me off of it based on the most recent study from NIH. Basically, NIH stopped their study when they learned that although Niaspan actually increased HDL, and reduced triglicerides, there was ZERO effect of reducing cardiac events, and there was a slight increase in stroke risk for for the control group. If there is no benefit, then why pay these huge prices for a medication that offers no help? | M | 57 | 2 years 2000 mg 1X day | 12/5/2011 | 1 | help raise hdl | the flushing was a nightmare,felt weak, lightheaded,dizzy sometimes. | do not recommend taking this drug. now i am suffering from muscle weakness and aches and pains all over my body. THIS SUCKS!! thought i was taking something to help me but it has made me feel worse than ever & caused more problems to deal with. | F | 41 | 2 years 2000mg 1X day | 8/31/2010 | 1 | high cholesterol | the longer i took it the worse my flushing became. at least 3 time a week. took 6-8 benadrylin less than an hour to get releif. i put the niaspan in the medicine cabinet and told my dr i will not take it again. life is too short and i refuse to be in misery. i am 66 yrs old and my quality of life is not that good as i am disabled and have been for 15 yrs. i just dont think taking 6-8 benadryl in less than an hour is in my best interest. | not for me | F | 66 | 2 years 500 1X day | 7/6/2010 | 4 | low HDL/High LDL | Flushing after one hour of taking and occasional intense flushing after excercise. Flushing reduced by taking low-dose apirin about an hour prior, and taking at night. | This is the best and probably safest drug to help with cholesterol. I have learned the hard way about the long-term side effects of both statins and Zetia; I now only use Niaspan. however, I am also concerned that it might have long-term effects, particularly for someone who exercises as vigorously as I do. | M | 56 | 1.5 years | 8/20/2005 | 4 | High Cholesterol | Flushing is the only side effect. I take the medication just before sleeping so it never bothers me. Only if I wake up 2-3 hours after taking the medication I see redness and as if skin is hot. | Had to increase the dose from 500mg to 1000mg to see benefits. Lowered my LDL by just 20 but HDL increased and VLDL/triglycerides reduced so all the ratios are good. Dr also prescribed Zetia to control the LDL which is still at 150. Dr does not want me to take statins as he feels that the long term effects of statins are still unknown and might not be risk worthy for my age group. | M | 39 | 1.5 years | 1/18/2005 | 4 | high cholesterol | I have been on Niaspan for about 1.5 years. I take it right before I go to bed which helps reduce the flushing. I can't take aspirin, so get the flushing sometimes- but it usually goes away within half hour or so - and usually I can go back and sleep through it. It does make me a little itchy at night sometimes - like many medications, there is an adjustment period - but it does get better, although never perfect from what I have experienced | I can't take statins -so this has helped to bring my cholestorol down and the side effects are intermitent - sometimes I don't feel flushing for a couple months - I think it is worth it - and for those of us who can't take a statin, it would be wrong to take it off the market because someone else had a poor reaction - if that were true we would not have penicillin! | F | 47 | 1.5 years | 1/8/2010 | 3 | HDL | Some dizziness, flushing, and unexplained joint/muscle pain. Skin temp elevated.My doctor started me off with 1000 MG (Single tablet) a day of Niacin. At that time I only had flushing if I forgot to take the aspirin, or ate something really spicy for dinner. VA changed suppliers and now I'm taking 2 - 500 MG tablets a day, and am starting to see increased symptoms: Unexplained pain in my left shoulder and collarbone area, difficulty lifting anything above mid chest (this is constant). Moderate to severe flushing approximately 3 hours after taking the medication. Ocasional mild pain in the chest area, like with bad chest cold (Not Angina). | Taking this medicine has indeed helped with my cholesterol issues. My Dr prescribed this after a heart attack. The remedies for flushing that was posted here has truly helped, including drinking cold water, and apple related food/snacks. There are other issues that could be attributed to the Niaspan, but I'm giving my Dr. time to make sure it's not some other drug interaction. | M | 50 | 1.5 years 1000 MG 1X day | 11/2/2010 | 1 | low HDL | Insomnia, zombie like fatique during waking hours, extreme light headedness and racing heart (a couple of times thought I was having a stroke caused by low HDL - since looking here now know it was niaspan), unpredicable flushing - sometimes none, sometimes extreme. Also had a constant pain right around my sternum. | After reading comments I have taken myself off it. I actually slept through the night. I thought my tiredness was b/c of my age and was dreading what another few decades would be like. I could deal with the flushing although family and co-workers seemed more freaked out by it than myself. It did raise my HDL levels, but also raised my blood sugar levels as well. I was exhausted, yet couldn't sleep. The last couple of months were the racing heart and stroke-like symptoms. I already feel more energy coming off it. The first year on it I only experienced flushing and gradually the tiredness, mood change and even no interest in sex. I'm trying the natural methods. Quality of life is much more important and I am very fit an healthy for my age (minus the low HDL) | M | 49 | 1.5 years | 11/25/2009 | 5 | to help lower chloresterol | In the beginning flushes. Take before and was able to sleep through it most times. I've been off of it for a month and am feeling I'll. Are there side effects to going off this drug | F | 68 | 1 years 500 mg | 10/2/2013 | 5 | High cholesterol, low HDL, high LDL | Very intermittent flushing with only 2 or 3 somewhat intense episodes in 1 year. I'll have a low fat snack, or one aspirin, about 2 hours before bed, then the Niaspan at bedtime. | I started with a 500mg dose around Sept. 2007. When the results showed only minor improvement, the doctor had me go to 1000mg, then 1500, then 2000mg, . Now, July 2008, my cholesterol numbers are almost where they should be. With my insurance, it costs me $40 for a 60 day supply. | M | 54 | 1 years | 7/25/2008 | 5 | High Cholesterol and Triglycerides | If taken on empty stomach get occasional flush. Take after evening meal to avoid flush. Raise your dose slowly under doctor supervision. | 2.5 grams currently taken. I started at 500 mg and slowly brought up. This is one of the best medicines I ever have taken in my life as a natural substance. My Cholesterol dropped from upper 200's (260-280 type readings) down to 180 with 2.5 grams of Niaspan. Ratio's and Triglycerides all normal now. Side effect is only minor if brought up slowly. | M | 47 | 1 years | 5/27/2008 | 5 | Bad lipid numbers | flushing, itching- the usual. | I think everyone over 40 should take niacin, unless you're a strict vegetarian or the side effects are too great to overcome. Persistence, folks!! Lots of babies who give up quite easily because it's "too hard". Brought my ldl from 175 to 105. Lpa from 33 to 5 Hdl up 20%. I take 2 gms slo-niacin (same thing) at bedtime. I feel only minor flushing occasionally. | M | 45 | 1 years 2 grams 1X day | 12/23/2010 | 5 | carotic blockage | flushing severe only 1 time mild flush often | Along with 5 mg of crestor, I took 500 mg of niaspan for a few months but when the arbiter 6-halts results came out I titrated up rapidly by taking 500 at night and 500 upon getting up, then 1000 at night and 1000 in the am then 1500 at night and 1000 in the am with only one episode of strong flushing. This took about a month. My total cholesterol went from 230 to 112. My hdl from 40 to 56, triglicerides from 180 to 110. ldl from 150 to 32. I heard later that I was lucky as I don't flush easily and that the reason for taking it all at night is to give your liver some rest time. The previous slo- niacin acted for almost 24 hours and the liver didn't have time to recuperate which led a significant number of people into liver damage. Now I take all 2500mg at night. Because hdl has a half-life of 5 days and ldl a half life of 2.5 days, when i occasionally party and drink up to a bottle of wine, I skip the niaspan that night, but try to not do so 2 days in a row. Also I don't take my ibuprofen (arthritis) while the niaspan is most active, there might be a tylenol/alcohol type problem. | M | 78 | 1 years 2500 1X day | 5/31/2010 | 5 | cholesterol | occassional mild flushing, hot about 3-4 times per month. | Much better than statins. Statins gave me muscle cramps over most of my body and felt bad mentally; just generally felt horrible with statins. Niaspan is almost symptom-free and gives excellent results in blood tests. | M | 49 | 1 years | 9/27/2006 | 5 | Lower Cholesterol | Flushing at first. Not too bad as long as I do not skip any nights. Then I might wake up in the middle of the night feeling a slight burning flush. | It took at least nine months and convincing my doctor to keep me on it, but I finally have the good colesterol to where it need to be and the bad is better than it has ever been. Triglicerides were never a problem. | F | 52 | 1 years | 12/26/2006 | 5 | high lp(a) | Been on statins for 15 years. 11 years post 4v CABG. 80 Lipitor, then 40 Crestor and 10 Zetia were not enough. Been on 2000 Niaspan for almost a year. LDL=64, HDL=104. No noticeable side effects if I eat lightly and get to bed soon. Don't have the energy that I used to, but.... | M | 59 | 1 years | 1/11/2007 | 4 | low HDL | Flushing but have discovered many ways to prevent and will share: apples or applesauce really work, Advil LiquiGels OR uncoated traditional aspirin at least 325mg (not 81mg), fiber supplements like metamucil, benadryl for the itchy flushes | Tolerance takes about 1-3 months to not flush very often | F | 43 | 1 years | 10/15/2008 |