Niaspan ER Plaque Buildup, Niaspan, Hdl Cholesterol, Good Cholesterol, Trigs

Posted over a year ago

Hang in there everyone-Niaspan ER-is one of the best medications you could ever be on. I have been on it over 2 years. My doctor said that it is actually the ONLY drug that can remove plaque buildup from your arteries. I don't want another stent nor do I want to suffer another heart attack. Niaspan also will help prevent me from having another heart attack. It has done a great job of raising my HDL cholesterol and reducing my trigs. No other med can raise good cholesterol like this one. ... more »

FLUSHING or itchiness,redness etc is NORMAL. It IS NOT A REACTION!!!!!! It means the medication is working. It doesn't last long and hell, better red than dead as my doc says. This medication has saved my life. I'd much rather put up with flushing until my body adapts than suffer another heart attack. Believe me, FLUSHING DOES GO AWAY as your body adapts--just make you you take it everyday! I barely flush anymore. SHAME on your Dr. if they never told you that flushing was normal and would go away. Also, when I first started taking NIASPAN, my Dr. told me:

1. take full strength 325mg aspirin 1/2 hr before taking Niaspan
2. eat some food-applesauce,triscuits

Take aspirin, eat dinner, take niaspan

Also, all niacins are not created equal-stick to PRESCRIPTION NIASPAN ER! FLUSH FREE NIACIN DOES NOTHING FOR YOUR CHOLESTEROL. Since it sounds too good too be true to have flush free niacin-IT IS because it doesn't do jack for cholesterol-you're flushing your $$$ down the toilet. Also, OTC NIACIN like SLO-NIACIN, SUSTAINED OR TIME-RELEASE NIACIN IS NOT THE SAME AS NIASPAN ER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That crap will damage your liver.

I would not waste time writing this comment unless I truly believed in this drug. Put up with the flushing, it gets better. As I said before, a Dr. who uses Niasapn is a Dr who wants to save your life and do all they can to reduce your chances of having a heart attack or stent. You gotta worry about. the doctors that don't use it-they are lazy because they don't want to take the time to explain to you why this med is so important.

3 Replies

Polacekt - Someone who is "just a patient" would be unlikely to express their opinion on OTC niacin with such fervor. Drug rep? Slo-niacin and Endur-acin - 2 products with known dissolution times, published clinical studies, and sold by their manufacturers, are no more likely to elevate liver enzymes than Niaspan when dosed the same way. Why? Because a published comparative study (funded by Niaspan manufacturer KOS) documents that Niaspan is the slower of the 3, although clinically there is no difference. "Liver damage" is exceptionally rare, and has been associated with pre-existing liver disease. Hepatotoxicity (liver enzyme elevation >3 times upper limit) from niacin happens from over-dosing niacin, and is reversible with out any evidence of hepatocellular damage. This has been confirmed by liver biopsy in a book written by William Parsons Jr. MD. The effect is variable in patients, and that is why liver function tests are done in all niacin patients regardless of which preparation used.

Posted over a year ago - Reply

Meitu - Praise to you for being so gungho about Niaspan ER. I am also on 1250 mg and it is a life saving drug. It is the flushing that does the work. When they tried to make a drug without flushing, it did not work. I have been on it several years. I do have flushing slightly every day, but I know what it is doing and I welcome it. My doctor causiously added trilipix. I take my statin, Lipitor, at night and 12 hours later trilipix. Both are at the lowest doses and I have no negative reaction to the trilipix. My tryglicerides finally dropped down. Before I started either Niaspan or Trilipix I took a VAP blood test. This test has 15 markers for heart disease instead of the usual four. I was at high risk for either 5 or 6 items out of 15. The addition of the Trilipix finally got rid of all but one of my high risk markers. I have gone from high risk for diabetes & having metabolic syndrome to normal. The only bad marker left is one that measures the good cholesterol hdl. Hdl is subdivided into two types. One is good and one is bad. I have the bad. The good one is a large fluffy molecule that can be disposed of by the body. The bad, good hdl molecule, is firm and dense and can not be disposed of by my body. At the present time, we (my doctor and I) do not know of anything that can be done to change this bad marker. This test has saved my life. Prior to my test the doctor thought that my 4 tested items meant that I was at low risk for heart disease. It was only the VAP test that revealed the truth. Niacin ER may not be the most pleasant medicine to take, but I think it is much better than a heart attack. I have had no heart treatments or problems prior to or after taking these meds. I knew about the flushing prior to taking the medication, so I raised the levels slowly 250 mg at a time to give my body a time to adjust. The flushing is helping, not hurting me and I welcome it. Thanks for sticking up for this wonderful drug. I am not with a drug company, I am a retired psychologist.

Posted over a year ago - Reply

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