Niacin Supplements and "Flushing"-Anyone take it?

[Hugh R]

My GP who happens to be a Cardiologist suggested that I take it a few years ago, along with Fish Oil. My heart is fine BTW. I've taken 500 mg daily of Niacin for a few years, and get occasional "flushing", feelings of redness, heat on the skin, etc. Nothing bad. But this morning, taking the same dose I experienced extreme flushing, and a bright red face. I also felt so bad I went back to bed at 9:30 AM for two hours. I'd never thought about it much until now. I noticed that Walmart sells a "no flush" Niacin before but never gave it much thought. I thought, until today, that it meant it didn't "flush" out of your system or something like that.

Not sure why I'm posting, other than I thought it was a weird and very uncomfortable reaction to something that is supposed to be good for me, and recommended by my doctor.

Thoughts?

[Chocaholic]

As I understand, the non-flush kind is the same supplement but time released to minimize flushing. Niacin acts as a vaso-dialator and staggering its release minimizes the effect you felt today. I'm sure others more knowledgeable will chime in.

[LWJ]

Yes. I take a slow niacin. It is costco. I believe "no flush" is to be avoided. I did have a batch that caused more flushing than normal. I find an empty stomach gives more flushing as well. I believe that "niaspan" is a prescription version of the "no flush" that I take. Not certain as I have not ever taken it. The dialation is critical to the benefit.

Good luck!
Larry

[mossguy]

Having used Niacin 500 mg t.i.d., I find that eat first, Niacin second, works very well. Niacin gets credit for lowering my cholesterol.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

This is how "five hour energy" and similar products work.

[gamin]

I take the Walmart flush free niacin. Seems to work as advertised. No flushing. Doc says my ekg and blood pressure are that of a much younger person. Blood work in May will tell the story on the cholesterol.

[johnsjmc]

I thought this thread was going to be about enema,s and purging. ( Only added subscribe to the thread)

[fireant911]

Hugh,
Two questions for you. 1). Did you, by chance, miss the previous evening's dosage of Niacin? I had the same thing happen earlier and that was the first question my wife (MD) asked me... and, in my case, I had indeed forgotten to take the Niacin on the previous night. 2). Did you have anything any alcohol on the evening in question? If I have three beers and then take Niacin, the release is slowed until later in the night and it is much more pronounced (I use the 'Slo Niacin' sold at Walmart) with much flushing and overall body itching (mostly on my torso and legs) and is quite uncomfortable... to the point where I am unable to sleep.

Like mossguy, I am taking Niacin to reduce my cholesterol.

[jwhcars]

I find that eat first, Niacin second, works most times. My doctor recommended taking asprin an hour before I take the Niacin. I don't do it, I take enough meds.
I also get the flushing and itching at times.
I will see if it happens when I miss the previous dose.

[cboosh]

It's pretty widely recommended to take 325mg aspirin (not Tylenol, acetaminophen, Advil, ibuprofen, Aleve, naproxen) 30-60 minutes prior to taking niacin. This will usually reduce flushing. The so called flush-free or no-flush niacin products are sustained release products, in that they release the dose of niacin over an extended period of time. They will also usually alleviate some flushing.

[Tobra]

If you freeze the fish oil capsules first, it will reduce the fishy burping some folks get. Try not to take the niacin on and empty stomach.

[masraum]

I just started taking Niacin a month or two ago, and did some research ahead of time.

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

As I understand, the non-flush kind is the same supplement but time released to minimize flushing.

Here's what I understand to be the case. There are main kinds of niacin, the main kind is nicotinic acid which causes flush, and the other kind niacinimide which does not. I understand that they are both supposed to get the vitamin B into your system, but do it in slightly different ways. Niacinimide does not cause the vasodilation that you get with nicotinic acid.

There are 2 kinds of no-flush niacin. One is a time release version of nicotinic acid. I believe this one still provides the benefit while minimizing the flush because of the you're getting the niacin into your system over a period of time.

The other kind of no-flush niacin is niacinimide. Some websites that I've read seem to think that niacinimide and nicotinic acid are both effective and fine. Some say that niacinimide may not be good for your liver and may not provide the cholesterol benefit that you get from nicotinic acid.

Originally Posted by mossguy

Having used Niacin 500 mg t.i.d., I find that eat first, Niacin second, works very well. Niacin gets credit for lowering my cholesterol.

I've found the same thing. My reading suggested that taking niacin with food acts to slow the rate of absorbtion of the niacin which makes it more like a time release process which helps.

Originally Posted by fireant911

Hugh,
Two questions for you. 1). Did you, by chance, miss the previous evening's dosage of Niacin? I had the same thing happen earlier and that was the first question my wife (MD) asked me... and, in my case, I had indeed forgotten to take the Niacin on the previous night. 2). Did you have anything any alcohol on the evening in question? If I have three beers and then take Niacin, the release is slowed until later in the night and it is much more pronounced (I use the 'Slo Niacin' sold at Walmart) with much flushing and overall body itching (mostly on my torso and legs) and is quite uncomfortable... to the point where I am unable to sleep.

Like mossguy, I am taking Niacin to reduce my cholesterol.

Alcohol will definitely exacerbate the flushing. I've experienced that first hand. Also, I find that if my schedule gets off/delayed or I miss a dose, that I may have some flushing when I normally don't.

I started taking 500mg twice a day. for the first 4 days, I got a pretty big flush that greatly diminished on the 3 and especially the 4th days. Then I bumped it up to 1000mg twice a day. The caused a little more flushing, but not much, and it went away in a day or so. Now I take 1000mg in the morning with breakfast, 1000mg in the evening with dinner, and 500mg at bedtime. I occasionally get a slight flush. (the reason for the niacin at bedtime, niacin is supposed to be a precursor for tryptophan in the system, so it's supposed to help you get to sleep faster. I did notice that taking it occasionally made me sleepy. I don't have a problem getting to sleep, but figure, what the heck. My reading suggests that for cholesterol, some folks are taking 2-3 gm /day, so that puts me at 2.5gm/day)

The reason for the flush is a chemical called prostaglandin. It is created by the body naturally. Niacin causes excess which is what causes the flush. When you regularly take niacin, your body realizes, 'hey, I keep having too much prostaglandin, I should stop making it'. That's why after a few days of taking niacin, you'll stop flushing. It doesn't take long if you stop taking niacin or have a delay in your schedule for your body to start creating it again, so you'll get a flush.

So, I would avoid the no flush niacin that is niacinimide. I understand that the slow release niacin is still effective and fine. Stick to your schedule, or expect a flush. Take niacin with food or possibly expect a flush. If you drink when you take niacin, you might flush.

When I first started, I would turn red all over, head, neck, shoulders, arms, eventually even torso and legs. Now if I get a flush, it's usually just head/neck/face and maybe shoulders. It is itchy.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by cboosh

It's pretty widely recommended to take 325mg aspirin (not Tylenol, acetaminophen, Advil, ibuprofen, Aleve, naproxen) 30-60 minutes prior to taking niacin.

My doctor and my reading said to take a low dose / baby aspirin (80-81mg) ahead of time.

[masraum]

Nicotinamide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Niacin versus niacinamide. (Niacin vs niacinimide)

Nicotinamide, also known as niacinamide and nicotinic acid amide, is the amide of nicotinic acid (vitamin B3 / niacin). Nicotinamide is a water-soluble vitamin and is part of the vitamin B group. Nicotinic acid, also known as niacin, is converted to nicotinamide in vivo, and, though the two are identical in their vitamin functions, nicotinamide does not have the same pharmacological and toxic effects of niacin, which occur incidental to niacin's conversion. Thus nicotinamide does not reduce cholesterol or cause flushing,[1] although nicotinamide may be toxic to the liver at doses exceeding 3 g/day for adults.[2] In cells, niacin is incorporated into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP), although the pathways for nicotinamide and nicotinic acid are very similar.

[Brando]

Originally Posted by Tobra

If you freeze the fish oil capsules first, it will reduce the fishy burping some folks get. Try not to take the niacin on and empty stomach.

Thanks for the tip Tobra. I stopped taking my daily fish oil because no matter what I ate, what I drank I had the fish-burps for at least an hour after.

As for the Niacin dosing, what's this "flushing" you refer to? I am familiar with the 5-hour energy drinks which give you a big kick of Niacin, Vitamin B, and a bunch of others. Seeing how those can really hurt your liver, how is a daily dose of Niacin supposed to be good for you?

[HiBeam]

As has been mentioned - Slo Niacin by Upsher-Smith. Also supports good cholesterol (HDL).