Regression symptoms and conditions

Yes I too have been noticing recent disabilities regarding brain function. Ive only been on lamictal for 5 mths and there has been remarkable improvement for its intentional purpose but I feel like such a dumbass.
I am a 4.0 student who is obsessed with A's and have been on the deans list for 3 yrs. However, recently I cant spell, take notes without immediately forgetting what my professor said, loose my point, or like just now, I completely forgot what I was trying to say. I have trouble speaking and finding the right words and its extremely difficult to think through anything because I loose what it is I was previously thinking! GGGRrrr.... Does that make any sense?

I am however seriously relieved to find I am not the only one having these issues and that its not mental regression or lack of intelligence.

Also, since being on Lamictal I have never experienced any skin problems, but 3 days ago I started tanning (which I know is already horrible for you) and today I have red blotches between my chest and on my back. These are places I normally burn a little bit when I start tanning again, but now there are welps and they burn and itch like crazy. Does anyone know if UV exposure causes this in Lamictal patients? Could it also possibly be a reaction to the tanning lotion?

Thanks
Itchy in Houston

I've been taking Niaspan for about six weeks now; I started out at 500mg for the first three and I'm now on week three of 1000mg. I hadn't had any side effects and I was thrilled because I can't take statins (though I do take Lovaza with success). My doctor mentioned -- but did not stress -- the "take an aspirin ahead of time" or "eat something with it) thing, so I haven't been. Three nights ago I work up from a very weird dream about my house being on fire and couldn't go back to sleep, partly because I felt hot. I got up and looked in the mirror, and as others have described, I was beet red on my neck, chest, and arms, and very itchy and hot. The "rash" was mottled at the edges. It reminded me of sun poisoning. I wasn't sure what to do; it was 5 am and I knew my partner had a bad night with sleeping already, so I didn't want to wake her. I took a Benadryl. I was wide awake, so I got onto the computer to do some stuff (never thinking I should research the damn thing!), but about 20 minutes later, I felt itchy on my stomach. I went into the bathroom and looked again. My stomach and lower back were now getting it! Interesting. I went back to what I was doing, then about 10 minutes later, my stomach was hot, so I looked again. Now my stomach and all of my back were covered, and I noticed that my neck wasn't as red. Hmmmm... 20 minutes later I looked again, and now my neck and chest were pretty clear (but still itchy) and my butt and upper thighs were getting it (stomach and back still had it). I could actually feel it breaking out on my legs! 20 minutes later, my stomach and back were clear, and my legs were covered. about a half hour later, it was completely gone. I wracked by brain trying to figure out if it was something I ate, a new detergent, a drug interaction gone wrong, but I could think of nothing. I never associated it with the "flush" my doctor told me I could get. This was so much more than a flush. The next night I was so tired that I took a half an Ambien and slept through with no problems (and remember, I had no issues before this, at least that I could remember). I thought it was a fluke. I then spoke to my father yesterday about The Rash, and he asked if it could the the Niaspan, as he had taken it before (but the flushing had been too much and he stopped). I did some research and through that I found this page. Bingo! I had already taken the Niaspan, so I couldn't try the aspirin first. Last night, I woke up at 3 feeling hot and looked, and sure enough, it was starting on my face and neck. I took a Benadryl and went back to bed. I finally fell back to sleep. I'm still a little itchy, though nothing unbearable. Tonight I will try the aspirin a half hour before and eating something non-fatty with the Niaspan. I'll give it a week to help, then I'll call my doctor. I hate to give it up if it works because I am just about out of other options to lower my cholesterol.

No Need to Experience the Flushing of Niaspan !!!!
NOT an allergic reaction OR a "cardiac" reaction,.. it IS temporary & it is PROSTAGLANDIN !! Try this,...
Not a big deal. ~90% of ALL patients can tolerate Niaspan / ER-niacin
1-2 gms/day,.. IF,.. the prescriber knows a few tricks. Dr. Wm. Castelli, he uses plain ole crystalline niacin AND Niaspan. 40 years ago, ALL they had was IR-Immediate Release aka plain ole crystalline niacin,.. 3-4 gms a day MONO therapy. The patients FORGET THE ASPIRIN which prevents the flush. If you forget to take an aspirin AT LEAST 30 min before dosing,.. FLUSH! Taking with the dose is too late. SOLUTION 40 YEARS AGO?
Alka-Seltzer ; that`s a 325 mg of AQUEOUS aspirin, no need to take sooner,.. wash down the niacin with that. AFTER,.. you eat 3 TBS applesausce whil waiting for the ALKA-SELTZER tablet to dissolve. Use just enough water to swallow pill, so you get all of the 325 mg aspipirin in the ALKA-SELTZER. 90% of patients get through the 'rough' 1st 2-4 weeks & stick with it after. IT IS THE ONLY DRUG WITH AN FDA INDICATION TO HAVE BEEN PROVEN TO REVERSE CAD, REGRESSION.
Remember; hot drinks, alcohol, spicy food less than 2-3 hrs prior to Niaspan is a NO-NO !!
Take care,.. ...be well... Steve the Lipid Guy

The flushing is tolreable. The itching is intolerable. I'd rather have heart surgery than suffer with that infernal itching. My cardiologist believes the severe itching is unrelated to the Niaspan because the reaction has only occured twice since I started taking the medication 6 months ago. I disagree. It seems to me the itching is caused by the Niaspan, together with some other unknown factor. There may be something to the "spicy food" suggestion posted by others. Last night, I ate a bunch of hot peppers an hour or so before taking the Niaspan. I woke at 3 am, with a mild hot flash, followed by the dreaded itching. Pure torment! My chest, back and legs were bright red. A cold shower helped a little. On the first occasion, two months ago, Benedril help some, but relief did not begin for over an hour after taking it. (Take at least two tablets!) But last night, I didn't mess around with Benedril. Instead, I took two codine tablets I had left over from surgery. Relief! If you are suffering from this terrible side-effect, may God be with you!

After taking Niacin for several years, I have the itching problem and my legs started to weep. Has this happened to anyone else? Eating beef seems to maximize the itching. JT

OMG! Tonight is my second night on Niaspan. I took the aspirin beforehand etc.. I am experiencing severe itching. I'm about to cut off my fingernails, I'm itching so badly. As I type, one foot is rubbing the other - I ITCH EVERYWHERE AND CAN'T KEEP FROM SCRATCHING!!! And it won't stop! I tried taking 2 benadryl about a half hour ago, and thus far no relief. If it continues to worsen I'll call the "ask a nurse" line to see if I should go in to poison control or the hospital. This is crazy!

Iam taking 500 mg only - today I awoke with terrible red rash on upper left leg and lower right - - does NOT itch or burn - just there - has ANYONE had a rash while taking niaspan??? need answers!

I take 325mg before going to bed and I take 2000mg of Niaspan. I also each a small bowl of Total cereal. This combination seems to really help because I used to get terrible flushing and itching but haven't since adding the bowl of Total at night.

I take my Niaspan at bedtime, having taken an 81 mg. asprin tablet about a half hour prior. I stil will awaken sometimes about 4-5 hours later and, well, if you're googling niacin flush, you know the rest. Then, because I HAVE to scratch, even though it's not exactly an itch, my skin then feels raw. After about a half hour I will typically get up and walk to the kitchen on the cold tile floors in bare feet and drink something cold - just a few sips and get some damp paper towels to blot whatever burns the most. This seems to help some. At least, I usually then go to sleep, but maybe after a half hour to 45 minutes, the flush was about to remediate itself anyway. Who knows!

1500mg/day for 2 yrs now and it's been a lonnnnng road with this flushing and itching. The typical avoidance foods, hot showers, spicy foods..etc..all help to aoid the side effects. However, if you still get that flushing/itching effect, take some antihistamine medication. Benedryl works, although it will make you drowsy, but it's worth it ! It relieves the itching !

Why does this happen ? it's NOT niacitic poisoning like some on this site suggest. Niaspan causes vasodilation of your the blood vessels in your skin. This causes your mast cell to increase thus triggering a production of histamine in your skin receptors. This is what causes the unbearable itching to occur. It is completely harmless, however, it can be un-bearable at times when the flushing/itching become severe. So taking an ANTI-histamine works well. Time on the medication helps. Reducing the dosage may help as well, however, you will most likely see a drop in your HDL levels by 5-7% for every 500mg drop in dosage.

Hang in there, hopefully big Pharm will come up with a new drug to increase HDL.. I know they are working on it as we speak, but may take a few more years.

I take 1500 mg. Niaspan about 1 1/2 to 2 hours before going to bed. My Dr. advised me to take it with apple juice. My low fat snack and low dose aspirin is 30 minutes prior to taking niaspan/apple juice. As long as I follow this routine there is very little flushing. If I take niaspan sooner than 30 minites I have medium flushing for about 45 minutes.

At 2000mg I got such bad itching that I almost stopped taking it. I reduced my intake to 1500mg and al things considered, I won't be going back to 2000mg.

HAVE BEEN TAKING NIASPAN 500MG FOR ABOUT TWO AND ONE HALF WEEKS. TAKE IT BEFORE GOING TO BED THEN TWO HOURS LATER I AM AWAKEN BY BURNING OVER MY WHOLE BODY. THE LENGTH OF TIME VARIES. I ALSO TAKE TOPROL FOR RAPID HEART BUT BELIEVE THIS MEDICINE IS KEEPING MY HEART RATE UP, I WILL AWAKEN WITH MY HEART BEATING OUT OF MY CHEST. WOULD IT BE WISE TO DISCONTINUE USING NIASPAN? WENDELL PAYTON

I have been taking Ni aspa n for 9 months now. My Dr. started me at 500 mg. after I mo. increased to 1OOO mg. then after 2 more mos. 1500 mg.

I am alright when I take 500mg of Niaspan at bed time but if I increase it to 1000 or as my Dr wants 1500, I have a severe reaction. It does not happen right away but about 4 hours after I take it. The itching is unbearable. I was told that over the counter items like Benedril(sp) would help but it takes a long time if it does help. I do not get these reactions every night, sometimes once or twice a week. I was told to take an aspirin or Advil before taking the niaspan and that seems to lesson the attack. I will say when I took the 1000mg it doubled my HDL(good) cholesterol but I don't think the unbearable itching is worth it. I have been told by my Alergy Doctor that there is something to take to prevent the attacks but he could not remember what it was. He did say that it is not an alergic reaction but a cardiac reaction. I wish I could find the remedy because it has helped raise my HDL dramatically.

Not a big deal. ~90% of ALL patients can tolerate niacin 1-2 gms/day,.. IF,.. the prescriber knows a few tricks. Dr. Wm. Castelli , he uses plain ole crystalline niacin AND Niaspan.
40 years ago, ALL they had was IR-Immediate Release aka plain ole crystalline niacin,.. 3-4 gms a day MONO therapy. The patients FORGET HE ASPIRIN which prevents the flush. If you forget to take an aspirin AT LEAST 30 min before dosing,.. FLUSH! aking with the dose is too late. SOLUTION 4o YEARS AGO?
Alka-Seltzer ; tha`s 325 mg of AQUEOUS aspirin, no need to ake sooner,.. wash dow he niacin with hat. AFTER,.. you eat 3 TBS applesausce while table dissoles. use ajus enough water to swallow pill, so you get all 325 mg. 90% get through the 'rough' 1st 2-4 weeks & stick with it after. IT IS HE ONLY DRUG WITH AN FDA INDICATION TO HAVE BEEN PROVEN TO REVERESE CAD, REGRESSION.
Take care,..
...be well...
Steve the Lipid Guy

Hi Hill,

I just read your post and I think we're in the same boat. I've been off Yasmin for 5 weeks (I was only on Yasmin for 6 weeks) and I just finished my first normal period. I was feeling a lot better during my period, but today I am dizzy and very foggy. I don't have the same swelling you have, but everything else sounds the same. I'm just thinking that this regression has something to do with our bodies and cycles getting readjusted. I'm hoping and praying that it gets better. Anyway, just thought I would let you know that I too am feeling worse after having my first normal period. This dizziness is no fun. Let's keep each other posted.

Gina