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 Date added. 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 |
| 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 | HDL/LDL levels too high | OMG - where do i start, it is unbelieveable FIRE deep w/in. Dizzyness, massive headaches. Tried cold shower - not much help.. ate a 5 slices of bread - seemed to help.. | I KNOW this works, several have told me..need to Live to see kids grow...will Suck it up tonight and be ready w/benedry, cold water. Im a bit fearful to go to bed now.. i hope im not killing myself with this drug - cause it sure feels like it! Heres to NO side effects tonight. please . God hear me! I will pray for 30mins after taking my aspirin, and before taking my pill. I will Never Lie, Never do bad things... just dont make this thing burn | M | 41 | 3 days 500 1X day | 10/30/2010 | 3 | Low HDL | I began in April with 500mg in a.m. and 500mg in evening. Raised to 1000mg 2x/day this month. Initially, HDL went up, but came back down, hence the increase in dosage. As for side effects, I have experienced bad flushing only once, when I forgot to take my 'baby'aspirin 30 min. before. As long as I take the aspirin 30 min. beforehand and avoid 'hot/spicy' foods, no real problem with flushing. Occasionally, there will be slight tingling or sunburn feeling that lasts about 10 min about 3 hours after dosage. I think it can be associated with being in the sun or becoming overheated, but nothing serious. I am curious if any men have experienced any sexual side effect? It seems around time of increased dosage, my stamina seemed affected. Not sure if coincidental. | M | 58 | 6 months 1000 2X day | 10/25/2010 | 2 | low HDL--36-Corenary stenting | woke up at 2am with weird felling Hot all over body especially face and legs Hot flashes were never like this!!. Up to get a glass of water. and noticed that I was quit red.<1 hour later I started to have the worst itching of my life on my legs took 2 Benadryl but the awful itching continued on my legs for 4 more+ hours. Its the pill that just keeps on giving!! did learn a lesson had 3 Adult beverages in 4 hours and then went to bed.. I took my NIASPAN with 1 ASA and my other night time meds! I am sure it is the alcohol and I will be trying to stop the med until I am settled In AZ for the winter. Will call my NP today to check with her. Man I really never expected this, it was really awful!! Dante's Inferno!! | F | 65 | 4 days 500mg. 1X day | 10/25/2010 | 1 | It almost killed me. | My hemoglobin level was less than 5. Normal is over 14 for a male. I had to spend 5 days in the hospital just to survive. | This drug is very unsafe and must be taken off the market before it kills anyone. | M | 57 | 2 days 20mg 1X day | 10/23/2010 | 2 | Low HDL | Been on it for 3 weeks. Tonight, for the first time I experienced 'flushing' I guess. To me, flushing is just a little bit of a hot face and a little discomfort. This, though, was something completely different. I awoke at 1:30am after taking my dosage at 11:30pm with my body feeling like I was on fire. My entire body was red. It was weird. Being a little sleepy still and trying to figure out what was going on, I kept trying to remember if I had been sunbathing or something during the day and had forgotten. It felt like I fell asleep in a suntanning booth for a couple of hours. I took a shower, but that didn't help. I took 3 Ibuprofen about 30 minutes ago and I am starting to feel a little more normal although the tingling and cold chills are still there. I had not had this happen before in the 3 weeks I had been taking this drug. I think this is a little more severe than the 'flushing' about which my Doctor had warned me. I'll be calling him in the morning. | M | 40 | 3 weeks 500mg 1X day | 10/20/2010 | 4 | CHOLESTEROL | I too had the burning,on fire feelings when I took Niaspan. An internal medicine doctor told me to eat unsweetened applesauce before I took the medicine. I tried it and it worked like a charm. I eat about a 4 oz. cup of unsweetened applesauce every morning. I have eatened sweetened applesauce by mistake and I had the burning,on fire feeling. So be sure to use unsweetened variety. | M | 66 | 3 years 500 1X day | 10/19/2010 | 1 | chlorestrol | For me Naispan is too closely related to the side effects that I experienced w/Crestor. Progressively worse leg, lower back, shoulder aches, during the night. Many sleepless nights, listlessness and wondering if I will be normal again. I choose not to endure this pain...I am a very healthy 67 yr.old woman who has marginally elevated chlorestrol level. This Naispan discomfort has given me renewed reason to watch my diet and exercise more. I take a couple of heaping tablespoons of dry oat bran morning and night. I have friends who swear by it. I''m going to try something more natural. Isn't oatmeal supposed to lower bad chlorestrol? | Naispan is just as dangerous as Creator was for me. I will not continue to take it. | F | 67 | 3 weeks 1X day | 10/12/2010 | 1 | lower LDL | woke up on fire, entire body bright red, right above knees swollen, under eyes swollen, felt as if i was going to suffocate in my own skin,, took a cold shower did not help as if felt like the worse sunburn I have ever had. Had swelling for the entire next day, muscle aches, fatigue - I cannot take statins either. Trying to figure out what to do - now trying to lose a few pounds, eat oatmeal daily, walk daily, flax oil nightly, watch saturated fats. It was really a scary experience. | F | 51 | 11 days 500 mg 1X day | 10/9/2010 | 1 | Help with Cholesterol, Doc perscibe | Awoke feeling my skin was on fire, whole body was red, trouble breathing. | Got into cold tub, my wife called 911, I fainted in the tub. Paramedics drove me to emergency room, they gave me Benedryl and a few other things and I started to gradually feel better. A few hours later I felt exhausted but fine, walked out of hospital that night. I am 42 yrs old, I'm 6ft 3inches, and I've never been so scared in my life. I prayed I'd live to raise my two boys. Quite angry about the whole thing. This all happened the night before last. | M | 42 | 4 days forgot 1X day | 10/4/2010 | 1 | cholesterol | flushing,itching, burning as if I had severe sunburn. eccelerated heart beat,over 85bpm awaken during sleep.Dizziness and nausea, fainting. Muscle and joint ache, took several months for effects to go away. Triglyceride reading went up along with liver enzymes. | I strongly believe that this is a bad drug that may solve one problem but cause more dangerous ones. I have decided to change doctors due to the fact that this is the second drug prescribed by him that has caused me terrible side effects. I had a doctor tell me to immediatly to stop taken these drugs. | M | 68 | 140 days 30 MG 1X day | 10/4/2010 | 1 | high tri/low hdl | had horrid pain/burning on mid thigh first night, couldn't sleep. next day my leg began to swell from mid thigh to knee, pain was worse, couldn't walk too painful, couldn't sleep, pain from hip to toes. swelling spredding,thigh began to feel numb.. | i called my dr to report i was having a reaction to the niaspan er, she said it wasn't because of the medication and must be something else,to go in the next day and she'd explain to why it wasn't. the problem started an hour after taking the first dose of niaspan and got worse after the second dose. i stopped taking the niaspan three days ago and the swelling/pain is slowly beginning to lessen. still can't sleep due to the severe pain in my thigh/leg, can't walk much or the pain intensefies. i am believing that i will feel better with each passing day. my triglycerides (sp?) level was 292, hdl 34 so i am going try exercise and diet to take care of the cholesterol problems. | F | 62 | 2 days 500 mg 1X day | 10/2/2010 | 3 | HIGH HDL, LOW LDL | none, so far; waiting for blood tests to see if / how well it's working | have been careful to take 325mg aspirin half hour before, NO food, caffiene or alcohol 3 hours before; this part hasn't been difficult; my diet regularly includes spicy to VERY spicy foods; so far no problems | F | 64 | 35 days 500 1X day | 9/26/2010 | 2 | Low HDL | I was warned in advance about the itching and flushing. The first night was fine, just some slight itching. I had followed the nurse practitioner's advice of taking a benadryl and aspirin 30 min. before the Niaspan. The 2nd night=horrific! Felt like I was on fire 2 hrs. in, with face swelling and "sharpai" looking skin on my hands. I splashed water on head, arms, and legs, and drank cold lemonade, which seemed to help. It was tolerable again after 30-45 min., even with the chills I then had, but I just went back to bed. I am still exhausted the next day even after abt. 9 hrs. sleep. | I haven't felt well enough today to get out and buy the apples, yogurt, triscuits, etc. that have been recommended here. I do have some 1,000 MG Vitamin C, so I'll try that tonight when I try one more time. I'm hoping it was just the Mexican food I had for dinner 3-4 hours before I took the Niaspan and/or the chocolate I had for a snack. Thanks for all the suggestions. I hope this jump starts me into feeling better so that I can do all I need to do to hopefully GET OFF this med!! Wish me luck. | F | 43 | 2 days 500 MG 1X day | 9/25/2010 | 1 | High triglycerides | I only took this yesterday but never again! I took the aspirin one hour before bed and took the Niaspan with applesauce, as my doctor recommended. Unlike most others here, I didn't experience the flushing. I didn't sleep well. When I got up this morning, I was extremely dizzy. I had diarrhea and then violent vomiting and accelerated heart rate. I was extremely weak and dizzy all day. I've had bouts of flu that were much easier to deal with. I am taking a statin and Omega 3's with no problems. I take a vitamin B complex with a lower amount of niacin and have had no problems with that either. If my doctor insists, I will try Lovaza. Maybe Niaspan helps with triglycerides, but if I have to feel like death warmed over every day, it's not worth it. I'll take my chances and will attempt to lose weight and exercise more. | Good for everyone who can tolerate this medicine. I wish I could. But I would rather have a life that's perhaps a little shorter but one with quality! | F | 60 | 1 days 500mg 1X day | 9/25/2010 | 2 | lower cholesterol | I knew about the flushing in advance, so went into it with a plan - 10:30 pm, take one 325 mg aspirin. 11 pm, take the niaspan and CoQ10. No alcoholic beverages within at least an hour before taking the niaspan dose, and (learned this one the hard way) NO spicy foods for dinner. Go to bed around midnight, and ALWAYS awake around 4 to use the bathroom - that's when the flushing starts, and it's severe enough to keep me awake. After three weeks of four hours of sleep per night, I had to take a break. After a day or two of NO niaspan, realized it had also been causing extra stress and THEN the itching started! Even with the itch, it's been nice to get a full night's sleep for a change. Supposed to start back tonight, but that may not happen. | Triscuits! If you eat two Triscuit crackers as your snack WITH the medication, it helps hold down the flushing. I think it worked a little, certainly well enough to keep doing it. And maybe this little bit of info (which I learned from a cardiac nurse) will help someone. Also, all the recommendations re: aspirin may work fine for some but not for me - I already take both plavix and coumadin and sure don't need another blood thinner added to the mix. | F | 62 | 3 weeks 500 mg 1X day | 9/19/2010 | 4 | High Trigl + Low HDL | No side effects yet! None! Will re-test next week to see if my levels have normalized; otherwise will be upping the dosage. So far, so good! | M | 44 | 23 days 500mg 1X day | 9/17/2010 Patient History | 4 | High Choles, High Lipids | Major flushing when I first started taking the drug, burning skin, itchy... I kept with it and bear the flush. Usually I'm sleeping when it happens and it does not bother me. I "ride it out" knowing that it is opening my blood veins and flushing out the bad stuff. | The flush will go away if you continue to take the medication as directed. My total cholesterol is down 30 pts from the original count - this is without a change in diet or working out. Now that I know it works, I will change my lifestyle... | F | 30 | 6 months 500 1X day | 9/8/2010 | 2 | Raise HDLand Lower LDL | I experienced some flushing but not severe. Since I can no longer take Statins due to severe muscle cramps I hoped Niaspan was the answer. But it seems to mess up my blood sugar and causes me to be dizzy and weak. One day I walked around like a zombie and had no energy for anything. Did not take it that night and felt great the next moring. | M | 68 | 10 days 500 mg 1X day | 9/7/2010 | 4 | Reduce levels of lp(a) | I have been taking Niaspan for just over one year. Started with 500 mg per day and ramped up to 3000 mg per day over 6 month. I have been on the 3000 mg dose for about 8 months. I experience the flushing once a week. Some times it is minor and sometimes it is extreme but it always subsides witnin an hour. I use baby asprin and cold water when a flush hits. I am concerned about my anxiety levels and my reduced energy levels. I am very anxious (that knot in the upper part of the abdomen) several nights a week. My energy levels are very low. I would like to know if anyone else is experiencing heighten levels of anxiety and reduced levels of energy as a result of taking niaspan. | lp(a), as I understand it, is a long chain protien that attaches itself to LDL molecules and creates a super sticky molecule. High levels of lp(a) significantly increase the chances of a heart attack. I took the Boston Heart test (I reccomend this test) and found that my lp(a) levels were off the chart. Normal levels are 30, mine were 170. After 1 year of niaspan my leveles are down to 70 so it does work. | M | 43 | 1 years 3000mg/day 2X day | 9/4/2010 |