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I've been taking Niacin for close to 2 weeks now and I'm not so sure if it's working that well. First week was awesome and I could tell a big difference, but the effects seem to have worn off. I'll give it another week and see how things go. If all else fails, I guess I'll have to resort back to doxycycline.
It'd be nice if some of the people supposedly having great success with this would chime in every now and then....
Good luck to all of you. =)
Don't worry Acniboi I was saying that I am afraid to take that much. Even If I take my cal mag zinc supplement twice a day it will be 40 mg of zinc and my multi-vitamin only has 7 mg of zinc. I would never take 100mg.
I have a fear of pills so taking the niacin will be a stretch for me when it arrives. I usually won't take anything unless it is liquid and even then I don't take very many supplements, just two. I like to get most of my nutrients through food.
Do you think I should start with one 250 mg pill of niacin for a week or so and then move up to the suggested 500 mg?
I'm kind of scared to try this because my body seems to adapt (for lack of a better word) very quickly to medications (though I've really only had experience with topicals). So I'm worried that if I take this as soon as I stop my body will flip out at me and feel like it lost a natural nutrient. Does anybody get what I'm saying? Because I don't want to have to take something every day of my life.
Yuss!!! I was *hoping* for my niacin to arrive by tomorrow, and wasn't even expecting that! I am rural so generally you can add a day on to delivery time. My delivery was only $5 (so like $2.50USD. And it arrived super fast, so happy. It is the inositol hexanicotinate version this time, hope this kind works better =D
PS. It says take 1 or 2 daily with food (500mg vegan capsules) so for everyone worried about 500mg dosing, you'll be right, because even at 1g they must leave room for error, so yeah, excited as to see more results!
Wow, I took 5 100mg flush niacin pills around 6pm. Around 10:30pm I get a flush. How the heck did it take 4.5 hours to feel that. And this was a strong flush too, but it didn't last very long. Weird.
BTW, are any of you all worried about inosital hex and harming to liver because it is timed release?
Niacin supplements are available in regular and ‚Å“timed-release‚ forms. Timed-release versions of niacin have been made available to avoid this "flush" effect. The problem with most TIMED-RELEASED niacin is that they are associated with a high degree of liver problems.
The timed-release forms of nicotinic acid are intended for a prolonged release of niacin during its 6-8 hour transit time in the intestines, but timed-release niacin is also associated with greater toxicity and safe doses are only about half of normal-release forms of niacin.
In the high doses used for controlling cholesterol levels (anything above 100mg/day), nicotinic acid can cause skin flushing and skin itching as well as headaches, lightheadedness and low blood pressure. The niacinamide form of niacin does not cause these side effects, but it is not effective in reducing cholesterol levels, so it is seldom taken in such high doses. The slow-release versions of niacin supplements have the potential for causing liver damage (even at ‚Å“lower‚ doses of 500mg/day) - so blood tests to monitor for liver damage are recommended and high-dose niacin supplementation should only be undertaken under the guidance of a natural physician. Anyone with liver disease, including those who consume more than 2 drinks of alcohol daily, should not take high-dose niacin.
http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/niacin.htm
Flush-free niacin consists of six niacin molecules connected together by the chemical inositol. It is proposed that, in the body, this chemical is broken down into nicotinic acid and enters the bloodstream. Since it this process takes longer time to occur, it is thought that this is the cause for its diminished side effects. However, if a high amount of flush-free niacin is ingested, you may still feel the side effects of niacin.
Flush-free niacin is able to dilate blood vessels and has been used the treatment of diseases, such as Raynaud‚„s disease. Experiments using nicotinic acid are plentiful; however, studies examining the effectiveness of inositol hexaniacinate alone in lowering cholesterol levels are few.
In fact, there has been some debate as to whether or not flush-free niacin lowers cholesterol levels -- there have not been enough studies to support or deny this. One study has indicated that up to 2,400 mg of flush-free niacin each day (in divided doses) is needed to lower cholesterol levels, whereas other studies have indicated that flush-free niacin is ineffective in lowering cholesterol.
One notable study examining different forms of niacin measured the amounts of free nicotinic acid, the niacin that lowers cholesterol, found in the blood after the product was ingested. The study found that after 1.6 grams of inositol hexaniacinate was taken, only 0.6 micromoles/L of nicotinic acid was detected in the blood.
http://cholesterol.about.com/od/nicotinica...flushniacin.htm (oops, the ... messed up the link.
Although I will say:
Inositol hexanicotinate (Niacin Hex) is aunique combination of niacin bound to inositol. Free niacin is only slowly released into the
bloodstream from inositol in a slow reaction which may take up to 10 hours. Inositol hexanicotinate is
not considered a timed release niacin, but rather a form that eliminates the side effects but with the
same vascular supporting properties as simple niacin.
www.anaboliclabs.com/images/prod_files/0080.niacin.hex.pdf
So I guess it really depends on the source - even though these sources aren't exactly credible.
Look at this:
First, don't confuse IHN with "timed-released" or "sustained-release" niacin. These formulations are simply niacin packaged to dissolve more slowly and hence, be released more slowly into the blood stream. Although sustained-release niacin formulations usually do what they promise, they have been associated with an increased risk of liver toxicity,10 elevated liver fatty acids, and even liver transplants! Chemically, a molecule of IHN is simply six molecules of niacin attached to a single molecule of inositol.11
When it enters the body, IHN is broken down into its component parts, releasing niacin into the blood stream. Here it is free to perform its well-known anticholesterolemic act, which includes inhibited lipolysis, improved peripheral glucose utilization, and reduced levels of glycolysis products in serum.12 The addition of inositol, however, seems to slow the metabolism of the nicotinate molecules. This has two important beneficial effects:11
* It prevents the flush that typically occurs with the rapid introduction of high doses of niacin, and
* It extends the anticholesterolemic effect of the niacin over a longer period of time. In one study, it took 10 hours before the maximum effect of an intravenous dose was reached.
Four Decades of Research
Studies showing that IHN improves lipid profiles date back as far as the early 1960s.11,13,14 In an in vitro study using fat cells from rats, IHN was found to be more effective than niacin in reducing hypercholesterolemia.15 When given to rabbits on a fatty diet, IHN resulted in normalization of all lipid fractions, including cholesterol.16
In human subjects, IHN has been shown by two research groups to produce a reduction in cholesterol that was even more profound than that produced by niacin.11,16 In a clinical study conducted in Germany, IHN was compared with niacin and other nicotinic acid derivatives for their ability to control free fatty acid levels overnight. IHN, but not niacin, was found to be capable of producing a significant reduction in free fatty acids during the entire night. The authors suggested that IHN should be a good choice for producing a prolonged reduction in blood lipids.17
http://www.life-enhancement.com/article_template.asp?ID=7
Interesting, maybe INH does help, but there are a lot of things conflicting already.
Who knows, maybe it's the inositol that is helping people who take INH.
Look at this: http://www.acne.org/messageboard/Inositol-t23105.html It's not much, but curious nonetheless.
My conclusions are:
1) That my first assumption was probably wrong. I thought INH = timed-release, but it may seem that is not the case.
2) INH may have some worth to take, although liver harm may be minor but still a small threat.
3) It would be good to at least try INH for a few weeks - probably with a B-complex.
4) Do your liver a favor and don't drink when taking this.
5) Interpretation will vary. If it works for you, great take it 
Ok, so inh is time release? I have looked on the bottle I have and usually if its time released it will say so and I can't find anything anywhere that says it is. So, I am damaging my liver taking inh? I am confused and a little scared! Will someone please clear this up! I don't need liver damage or anything else damaged. Acne has done that for me already! Elf
Ok, so inh is time release? I have looked on the bottle I have and usually if its time released it will say so and I can't find anything anywhere that says it is. So, I am damaging my liver taking inh? I am confused and a little scared! Will someone please clear this up! I don't need liver damage or anything else damaged. Acne has done that for me already! Elf
No it seems INH is NOT synonymous with timed-release.
When the niacin bottle explicitly says timed-release, prolonged use of 500mg dosages *could* pose small problems.
the reason why Niacin can work in some people is because it stimulates the release of hydrochloric acid in your stomach allowing it to digest your food and therefore not leave any excess of undigested food in your gut to feed bacteria/fungi etc... the problem is your body begins to adapt to the dosage of niacin after a while and one has to constantly increase their dosage to notice the same results
Wow, I took 5 100mg flush niacin pills around 6pm. Around 10:30pm I get a flush. How the heck did it take 4.5 hours to feel that. And this was a strong flush too, but it didn't last very long. Weird.
BTW, are any of you all worried about inosital hex and harming to liver because it is timed release?
the reason why Niacin can work in some people is because it stimulates the release of hydrochloric acid in your stomach allowing it to digest your food and therefore not leave any excess of undigested food in your gut to feed bacteria/fungi etc... the problem is your body begins to adapt to the dosage of niacin after a while and one has to constantly increase their dosage to notice the same results
I disagree. Everyone says "the flush does it" "this does it" "that does it" and we can not be sure they are right. Your idea, well, Niacin wouldn't work so bloody fast if that was true I believe. Nice idea though
http://www.vitaminstuff.com/inositol.html
How does the body produce its own supply of inositol? Bacteria in the intestines convert the phytic acid found in plant fibers into inositol, so the body is able to manufacture its own supply of this substance. Inositol is also found in a variety of foods containing myo-inositol, such as cantaloupe, citrus fruits (other than lemons), nuts, oats, rice, beans, chickpeas, liver, pork, veal, whole grains, lecithin granules, and wheat germ.
Although the consumption of large amounts of caffeine may cause a shortage of inositol in the body, deficiencies of choline are rare. Nevertheless, heavy coffee drinkers should probably consider taking supplemental inositol.
Some symptoms of inositol deficiency are arteriosclerosis, constipation, hair loss, high cholesterol, irritability, mood swings, and skin eruptions.
could it be that bad diet and antibiotics which kill bacteria in the gut cause a shortage in inositol?
Well I give up on Niacin. The first day of taking Niacin was also the last day I stopped taking Doxycycline and everything was fantastic the week following that. However since that time I've gotten a couple cysts which I didn't get at all while on Doxycycline by itself. Sure I still got acne, but it wasn't cystic.
So I don't know if that fantastic week I was having was due to the Niacin, the Doxycycline leaving my body or a combination of both. Anyway, enough of this. I'd rather have minor acne than cysts. I hope it works out better for the rest of you.
Okay it's been three days since I started taking Inositol Hex. and acne is healing really fast. I've gone from severe to mild acne in very short time! Never seen this fast improvement with any other treatment. I'm also taking 5+ grams of vitamin C which I believe helps at healing red marks (yet didn't heal acne by itself). Still get some pimples and there are a lot of red marks, but they're fading... Skin on my face feels soft and like the skin on everywhere else my body - normal! That's a great feeling, something I've been missing for years...
Haven't had any side-effects yet I think.. maybe some dryness but definitely nothing serious.
Feeling happy, looking better every morning. This stuff works! 
Niacin or niacinamide didn't work, but this inositol hexanicotinate does.
I recommend to try it.
I'm going to look for the inositol type at walgreens later, and update in a few days.
So inositol hexanicotinate is labeled as Niacin Flush-Free, which is not the same as Niacinamide?
Not sure if you meant to quote me, but yes my Niacin says flush free and inositol hexanicotinate.