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Re: Question about Niacin and flushing » kilo8

Posted by Tomatheus on September 19, 2015, at 18:45:24

In reply to Question about Niacin and flushing, posted by kilo8 on September 19, 2015, at 16:58:02

Kilo8,

I don't know for sure what the relationship is between a person's need for niacin and the extent to which a person flushes from taking the nicotinic acid version of niacin. I tend to doubt that anybody truly needs a really high dose of niacin, although I do think that for some individuals, high doses of niacin might produce therapeutic benefits in the same way that a psychiatric medication does. In my estimation, it seems that it would be hard to know for sure if you might benefit from a high dose of niacin without trying it, but you would of course also need to keep in mind that you might not be able to tolerate the flush at higher doses (and that liver problems are also probably more likely with higher doses). So, even though I think that it could be possible that you might experience benefits from niacin at higher doses, the vitamin might not be tolerable to you at such doses.

Like you, I sometimes flush from taking 100 mg of niacin (and I sometimes even flush to a lesser extent at 50 mg), although there are times that I don't flush at all. Taking niacin with food does seem to reduce the likelihood of flushing for me. Given the extent to which I flush from taking niacin, it's hard for me to comprehend how someone who flushes to the same extent that I do from the vitamin would be able to tolerate 3 g of it. I tend to think that most who take very high doses of the vitamin are much less susceptible to the flush than I am (and than how you seem to be). At present, I take 250 mg of niacin daily, divided into three separate doses (100-50-100) taken about an hour apart. To be honest, the only reason I continue to take niacin is because I have difficulty discontinuing it, not because I feel that it produces continued benefits. I still am, however, thinking of discontinuing it very, very slowly to see if discontinuing the vitamin might not be so difficult that way.

So, I don't know for sure how effective niacin at a dose ranging from 100 to 300 mg might be for depression -- at least for you. I noticed some benefits initially with niacin, which is why I decided to keep taking it, but I noticed no long-term benefits and then ran into what seemed to be withdrawal symptoms when I tried discontinuing it. I do think that anecdotal reports of 100 to 300 mg of niacin being effective for depression can be found, but I'm not sure that niacin's efficacy for depression has been demonstrated scientifically. I know that the late Dr. Abram Hoffer conducted some trials with very high doses of niacin (two trials, I think) that demonstrated efficacy for schizophrenia, but it's also my understanding that other scientists have been unsuccessful at replicating Dr. Hoffer's findings. And again, as far as depression is concerned, I'm not sure that the efficacy of niacin has been demonstrated, although I could easily be overlooking something.

Whether trying 100 to 300 mg of niacin would be worthwhile for you would be hard for me to say. I personally regret having tried the nicotinic acid version of niacin because I find it to be difficult to discontinue, but I seem to be rather unique in my troubles with discontinuing niacin. I tend to have doubts about niacin's efficacy for depression (especially in the long run), but at the same time, I can't say for sure that you wouldn't respond to the vitamin, either.

Well, this seems to sum up my thoughts on the ideas and questions that you put forth. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions about what I've written.

Tomatheus


"I need you to show me
The way from crazy
I wanna be so much
More than this"

- Jimmy Eat World


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