NIASPAN Reviews (NIACIN)

Average Rating: 2.7 (694 Ratings)

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 Type: Rx Drug

  

NIASPAN  (NIACIN):  Niacin is used with a proper diet and exercise program to help lower "bad" cholesterol and fats (LDL, triglycerides) and raise "good" cholesterol (HDL) in the blood. It is generally used after non-drug treatments have not been fully successful at lowering cholesterol. Niacin is also known as vitamin B-3 (nicotinic acid), one of the B-complex vitamins. It may be used with or without other medications. Lowering "bad" cholesterol/triglycerides and raising "good" cholesterol helps prevent strokes and heart attacks. Lowering fats may also help reduce the risk of pancreas problems (pancreatitis) in people at risk. In addition to eating a proper diet (such as a low-cholesterol/low-fat diet), other lifestyle changes that may help this medication work better include exercising, losing weight if overweight, and stopping smoking. Consult your doctor for more details.   FDA Approval Date: 1997-07-28 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

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Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

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RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR NIASPANCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 1  Low HDL, good LDL My doctor says "We'll start you on 500mg then move you to 1000mg after a month. The only side effect you may notice is flushing, you know, a red face. Just take an aspirin before bedtime." Flushing? Let's describe it another way Doc! On the first night on 1000mg, how about - like waking up at 2AM and thinking you've been sleeping in an ant mound! Wife was concerned (Hah! no ants on her side of the bed!) and made me go the ER, an expensive way to find out the rest of the story about this drug. Been on 500mg daily for five months since and even with aspirin before taking, still get the "burning crawlies" several times a week. Only a small HDL change, up from 38 to 42. Not certain that's significant. M 42 6 months
7/2/2006
 1  high cholesterol My Dr. is misinformed about using Niacin. I had been using an over-the-counter niacin, Slo-Niacin and getting good results by taking brief doseages and building up to 1500mg a day with excellent results. He insisted that it didn't work [wrong] as well as Niaspan, a hefty price-tag prescription, and suggested 1,000mg a day. Terrible stuff. He didn't even know how to take it. Nobody should take 1,000mg at a single dose, and even at divided doses, it didn't do any better, and somewhat worse than the otc niacin. I threw the stuff away and returned to the otc version which worked better anyway and had fewer side-effects. This is a pharmaceutical company rip-off. There are many brands of otc niacin that work better and are safer to take. Most doctors I've talked to know about zip when it comes to doseage and build-up when a patient is introduced to it. Wouldn't take Niaspan if it was free. It's harsh on the liver when taken in large doses, and for some people, even 500mg is too much, esp. if you're taking other drugs, i.e. statins. M 54 30 days
7/1/2006
 5  low hdl flushing,increased heart rate,chest pain,burning,tingling,burning feeling all over I stopped having these symptoms after 3 days because I started taking 1 325mg non-coated aspirin 30 mins. prior to niaspan..and you should only take it when you are getting ready to lie down for the evening. I feel good so far and have even lost 10 lbs. F 34 24 days
6/30/2006
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 1  Low HDL Severe, and by that I mean, flushing is NOT a good way to describe this! Took my 3rd pill tonight and 2 hours later I woke with my face feeling like it was on fire! Then the fire spread to the rest of my head, down my neck, into my chest and arms!!! Heart rate went sky high. Naturally anxiety followed these events as the doctor never mentioned that any of this would be possible. I called the on call doctor and was told to take an aspirin and the symptoms would get better in about half an hour. Surprisingly enough, that was 25 minutes ago and the burning is decreasing and the heart rate is coming down. I would have liked to have known that this was a possible side effect, instead of finding it out in the middle of the night. Note, as I type this, I am experiencing a semi-numbness to my hands. They are working, but almost like they are not attached to my arms. Weird. Possibly another anxiety side effect. Calling doctor in the morning, particularly concerned about the rapid heart rate... M 48 3 days
6/29/2006
 4  High Cholesterol Oh boy! This drug is something else... The first few days I have not noticed any side effects. After about a week or so I started getting the burning, stinging, warm feeling from my head down to my legs. I also had diarrhea for about two weeks. The side effects were much worse when I was on 2000MG's a day. I was down graded to 1000MG's daily and the side effects have calmed down some. I also could not sleep at night, while I was on 2000MG's a day, the burning would wake me up. The burning usually lasts 2-3 hours for me. My Dr. never told me I could take a baby aspiren or ibuprofen half hour before taking Niaspan. I now, after 1.2 months, take 1 200MG tablet of Ibuprofen half hour before I take Niaspan it has taken about 90-95% of the burning, stinging, warm feeling away. I wish I had known about this before! My Cholesterol has come down from 393 to 304 in just a month! M 27 2 months
6/26/2006
 3  Low HDL Flushing on some days, not others. When it's bad it wakes me up at night and has been very hard to deal with, can't fall back to sleep and it wrecks my day. I've tried the aspirin and it has reduced but not eliminated the flushing and hot flashes. My experience with the flushing has been as described by others here, very bad. Not sure if this is worth it, but I'll try a while longer. M 46 8 months
5/30/2006
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 1  low good cholesterol/high bad I've been taking this for about two weeks now 5oo mg, and around 3:00 am this morning. I flew up out of bed, my whole body felt like was on fire. Then came the itching about 6 minutes later. I took a benadryl. The burning lasted about an hour and now I'm feeling better.It scared me to death, thought I had been bitten by a spider in my bed, searched under the covers and found nothing. I dont think I will be taking this stuff anymore. If this happens to you don't panic. It will go away. I will probably contact my doctor tomorrow, and maybe try other remedies. after reading info on this site, I felt it very helpful to know that other people experience this as well. Thanks ( Burned up in Texas) F 34 2 weeks
5/30/2006
 1  To lower cholesterol First few days I just had mild tingling and 'hot' feeling 2-3 times a day. Never knew when it might hit, not too good in the middle of work. I switched to nightime dosing and on 7th day woke up 2 hours after taking it with a severe reaction. Needle like feeling all over my body, hotter than fire, got up to use the bathroom and fainted, hit the nightstand with my head. Out cold. Lucky I was not alone, and got back it the bed. Dizzy with needle feeling and chiils alternating fire feeling for over an hour even after 2 Benadryl. No warning that this might happen from my doctor. I suggest you be aware of this and I won't ever touch this medication again. High Cholesterol can be lowered other ways. This was scary! I think someone could really get hurt on this medication. F 55 7 days
5/30/2006
 2  Low HDL Felt like I was on fire. Entire body red with "sunburn" with intense itching. Heart pounding, mouth dry. No sleep for a couple of hours that night. Also, had yeast infection 2 days after starting this drug? Wonder if it is related. F 40 7 days
5/26/2006
 1  CHLOSTEROL HORRIBLE BURNING, ITCHING, I GAVE IT SEVERAL MONTHS TO SEE WHAT WOULD HAPPENED. THE NASTY INTENSE PAIN FROM BURNING AND ITCHING DROVE ME TO CALL MY DOCTOR AND SAY I QUIT. I WILL NEVER TAKE THIS CRAP AGAIN. F 61 8 months
5/26/2006
 2  High Cholesterol Itching & Flushing Itching & Flushing sometimes so bad I felt like I wanted to rip my skin off. But I would not have the side effects everytime or even most of the time. I never could determine a reason on why sometimes the side effects would be almost intolerable. M 44 4 years
5/11/2006
 2  low hdl second night taking 500mg had extreme flushing, fainted briefly and then flushing and burning lasted about 45 minutes. Continue to have some flushing though not as severe as the first time. Was taking aspirin or motrin about 30 min prior -- trying to wean off those Flsuhing about every second or third night for 30 minutes- will see if my hdl improves enough that I will continue. Plan to get it tested soon really should better prepare patients for possible severe flushing- based on comments it seems to be downplayed by the literature. I have a pretty high pain tolerance so I can't imagine the reaction from some folks when they get hit with the side effects- could be pretty scary. F 51 60 days
5/11/2006
 2  My doctor insisted I take Niaspan I had no side effects taking 500mg a night. After one month, I increased the dosage to 1000mg. I had diahrea for days and realized it must be the increase in dosage. I went back to the 500mg. When I first saw my cardiologist, my total cholesterol was 188. LDL 119, VLDL 26, TRI 128. He was very concerned that the "bad" was too high. I refused to take the statin drugs and asked if I could have 3 months to lower my cholesterol by taking a heart health pack from a wellness company. My doctor agreed. After 3 months, I lowered my cholestrol total to 167. LDL 104, VLDL 18, and TRI 90. He wanted to know just what I was taking because I lowered my cholesterol by 15%. He said to keep doing what I was doing, yet he insisted that I take Niaspan. He assured me that it is just a vitamin and safe. After 2 months on Niaspan, my total cholesterol went to 197! HDL 51, LDL 118, and TRI's to 140! He said my readings were satisfactory and he will check the reading again in four months. He was very concerned originally with the total being 188, TRI's at 128 and yet a total of 197 with TRI's at 140 is considered satisfactory. I told him that my approach was better. He insi F 49 2 months
5/5/2006
 2  My doctor insisted I take Niaspan I had no side effects taking 500mg a night. After one month, I increased the dosage to 1000mg. I had diahrea for days and realized it must be the increase in dosage. I went back to the 500mg. After 2 months on Niaspan, my total Cholesterol increased. The "bads" had a dramatic increase. Has this happened to anyone else? F 49 2 months
5/5/2006
 2  My doctor insisted I take Niaspan I had no side effects taking 500mg a night. After one month, I increased the dosage to 1000mg. I had diahrea for days and realized it must be the increase in dosage. I went back to the 500mg. When I first saw my cardiologist, my total cholesterol was 188. LDL 119, VLDL 26, TRI 128. He was very concerned that the "bad" was too high. I refused to take the statin drugs and asked if I could have 3 months to lower my cholesterol by taking a heart health pack from a wellness company. My doctor agreed. After 3 months, I lowered my cholestrol total to 167. LDL 104, VLDL 18, and TRI 90. He wanted to know just what I was taking because I lowered my cholesterol by 15%. He said to keep doing what I was doing, yet he insisted that I take Niaspan. He assured me that it is just a vitamin and safe. After 2 months on Niaspan, my total cholesterol went to 197! HDL 51, LDL 118, and TRI's to 140! He said my readings were satisfactory and he will check the reading again in four months. He was very concerned originally with the total being 188, TRI's at 128 and yet a total of 197 with TRI's at 140 is considered satisfactory. I told him that my approach was better. He insi F 49 2 months
5/5/2006
 1  high triglycerides Took dose at 7pm, at 10pm symptoms came on very suddenly. Skin on entire body felt like a very severe sunburn, like skin was on fire. Nothing I could do to get comfortable. This was coupled with a a feeling of needles. Skin red from head to toe. Standing caused weakness This lasted all night. It was not a simple flushing this was severe pain. I had been taking the same doseage for weeks and this came on for no reason, I did have chineese food for dinner, with hot mustard sauce if that makes any difference? it is 8am the next day and skin still feels warm to the touch although most of the pain is gone. M 36 30 days
5/2/2006
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 1  High LDL, low HDL I previously posted my experience some months ago. Things have now changed. When I first started taking Niaspan, I experienced extreme tingling and itching. After a few months those symptoms lessened and I could tolerate Niaspan fairly well. However, after about 10 months on this Rx I woke up about 3 hours after my regular 500 mg. dose and I felt like a house had fallen on my legs. The pain was unbearable. After a sleepless night, I discovered my back was covered in dozens of red pimples, I felt nauseous and the pain was now in my arms. I stopped taking Niaspan 4 weeks ago, but I am still experiencing the pain (not quite as severe) in my legs and arms, as well as the itching. I am waiting results of blood tests for liver profile and comprehensive metabolic panel. Doctor seemed puzzled. I'm not. I felt great before taking this awful stuff. Ask your doctor lots of questions. My dr. downplayed my concerns about possible liver disease. He said that it was ONLY a vitamin! F 63 10 months
4/22/2006
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 1  High Cholersterol I took one pill on Monday evening. At 11:00 p.m. I awoke with chills so bad my teeth were chattering. Between 11:00p.m. and 3:00 a.m. I had to go to the bathroom 5 times. Every muscle and joint in my body hurt. My breast to my abdomin were extremely hot and bright red. I was in bed all day Tuesday and Wednesday still having chills alternating with bouts of heat and profuse sweating. Thursday my husband took me to the doctor for a shot and he prescribed a steroid pack to try and stop this horrible attack. I remind you I took one and only one pill(500 mg.)on Monday. This is Saturday and it is the first day since Monday that I have not been in bed all day long. I am starting to feel better but my skin is still red and discolored and it itches something awfull. I still have some diarrhea and I am very weak. I would not recommend this drug. I believe if I had been foolish enough to take a second pill I would not be writing this today. F 55 1 days
4/22/2006
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 2  Spike in triglycerides Insomnia, rapid heart beat, palpitations For the next 6 or 7 hours after I take it at bedtime,I cannot sleep. I also have had increased incidence of Rapid heart beat and palpitations. I would be willing to continue the trial to see how well it works if I can take it some other time than bedtime. The lack of sleep is killing me. Haven't been taking it long enough to give it a fair rating yet. Will call my doctor tomorrow for advise. M 64 7 days
4/16/2006
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 1  lower cholesterol Extreme stinging pain/burning, vomiting Three days in, and you could not pay me enough to ever take another Niaspan. What I experienced on my third day cannot be described as a simple *flushing*. It was the worst pain Ive ever experienced, and Ive had children. The best way I can describe it is sandpaper rubbing against a nasty sunburn .. all over my body. And then the vomiting began. F 29 3 days
4/9/2006

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