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what are "high doses"? i plan to not exceed 500mg. I'm guessing a high dose would be like 2 grams. Ive read that some people take 3 grams and don't flush.
My Doctor told me to take niacin and gave me a sheet on how to take it.
First 3 days take 250mg, than the next 3 days go to 500mg, after that increase again for three more days to 750mg, Than take 1000 mg a day and do not take more than that. It also states that you can take more days in between increasing dosage if your still not used to the "flushing"
Also it states to take aspirin if you are experiencing the flushing. If your a teenager, do not take aspirin though, because you could get Reye syndrome, a rare but serious disease. Also if your pregnant do not take aspirin or niacin-ask you doctor first.
I just started taking niacin, and I'm at taking 500mg. I am not sure if it will help my acne of not. If it does I will make sure to update my post!
I've been taking 250mg in the AM and PM for 2.5 weeks. I've yet to notice a difference, really, but will stay the course.
wow, well niacin definitely is strong. i just took my first 500mg tablet. its not slow release or anything like that, but ah pure niacin.
it took about half an hour to set in, then i noticed when i stood up, my face was extremely red and throbbing and had to sit down again. almost like an insanely drunk feeling, with a sickness in the tummy. perhaps the dose is a little high, but might reduce it.
definitely a lot different to most vitamins 
Does anyone else think that the reason for Niacin's success is from its ability to lower ldl cholesterol and raise hdl (good cholesterol), I have been taking niacin with pantethine (also shown to be beneficial in managing cholesterol) and my oil production on my face has decreased significantly. I attribute this to niacin and pantethines ability to better breakdown triglycerides and fats within our body, imo that severe oiliness and acne is the bodies way of trying to manage its cholesterol levels.
This study shows a link between low HDL (good cholesterol) levels and cystic acne http://jhs.pharm.or.jp/data/53%285%29/53_596.pdf
I think that truly healthy people generally have higher HDL levels and lower than normal LDL, and most healthy people have less acne simply because they are healthy. High cholesterol is a marker of other health problems which may contribute to acne; the cholesterol itself might not be the cause.
I disagree with this, I think in certain cases cholesterol may have a direct link to acne depending on genetic disposition. I myself have never been fitter and eat a basic wholefood diet however I am subject to high cholesterol which I think may manifest itself as acne instead of something like obesity or arterial damage. I believe this is why I have had almost complete success in dealing with cystic acne by taking a combination of Niacin and Red Yeast Rice, both powerful in cholesterol management.
Acne is caused by an imbalance within the body though different imbalances will have the same effect. Is it not plausible that a cholesterol imbalance may be the root cause of some peoples acne especially since its dealing with fatty acid metabolism.
Also people who take accutane are at risk of developing high cholesterol/triglyceride levels, accutane more or less causes atrophy of the sebaceous gland and if the body isn't able to remove excess cholesterol due to atrophy of the glands then naturally blood level cholesterol would rise.
This is all hypothetical by the way but i just wonder at the link between niacins success against acne and the fact that its most powerful property is the ability to lower LDL and triglycerides as well as raising HDL levels
yep also no way im reading allll 36 pages. i made it to 10 though. yay me.
took my first tablet today. the flush kind started 100mg cuz i myself am less then 90lbs so 500mg would have sent me to the hospital right off the bat. lol
I'm about 112lb and took 500mg of Niacin on an empty stomach the first time. It was a matter of minutes before I felt the effects. I was on fire, bright red, got goose bumps and itched like crazy! About 20 minutes later, I got really cold and was shaking. Not a fun experience and glad I was at home and not at the office. I'm sure I looked pretty manic.
I heard it was good to boost your mood and didn't really research the dosage before I took it. I just followed the directions on the package. Very high doses, like 3g and up, are recommended (under doctor supervision) for severely depressed patients. I can't imagine how long it would take to build up to 3g a day. But apparently, the results are pretty quick.
yep also no way im reading allll 36 pages. i made it to 10 though. yay me.
took my first tablet today. the flush kind started 100mg cuz i myself am less then 90lbs so 500mg would have sent me to the hospital right off the bat. lol
I'm about 112lb and took 500mg of Niacin on an empty stomach the first time. It was a matter of minutes before I felt the effects. I was on fire, bright red, got goose bumps and itched like crazy! About 20 minutes later, I got really cold and was shaking. Not a fun experience and glad I was at home and not at the office. I'm sure I looked pretty manic.
I heard it was good to boost your mood and didn't really research the dosage before I took it. I just followed the directions on the package. Very high doses, like 3g and up, are recommended (under doctor supervision) for severely depressed patients. I can't imagine how long it would take to build up to 3g a day. But apparently, the results are pretty quick.
friend, it says right on the bottle to take with food.
Why oh why do people make assumptions before asking questions???? The brand I take didn't recommend taking with food. Here's the label:
http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?produ...ELAID=293850572
i've been taking the flush kind for about 5 days now and my skin looks much better. its a bit better than accutane in my view. i've noticed if i sit down for a few hours after taking it, i rarely notice the flushing...some nights i havent even had it, or when it did come, it came several hours later.
oh i love this stuff. its being added to my collection of things i love and can NEVER live without
i did read the whole 30 pages and a few people went on about the results going away over time....i hope this isnt the case and there are also a number of old posters who used it for over a year and found it still to be effective. lets hope its the same for us.
anyhoo, keep posting everyone...its a great thread
I've been taking the flush form of Niacin for 6 days. The first day I started with one capsule of 100mg and felt a mild flush after about 30 minutes. The next day I didn't feel a flush at all. On the third day I increased the dosage to 200mg and still no flush. So today I started popping 300mg at once and I finally got the flush again, but it was milder than the first time.
Acne-wise my skin has been looking relatively good for the past few days, but I don't know if that's thanks to the Niacin or one of the other products I added to my regimen around the same time.
If you buy into the whole "candida" thing, here's another reason why niacin may help acne, and why some forms help some people while other forms help others:
http://www.wellnessresources.com/studies/e...andida_albicans
A word of advice: be sure to take the flush form on a FULL stomach.
I failed to follow that piece of wisdom and I'm experiencing a flush right now that's unbelievable. My entire body is BRIGHT red. I look like I've been sitting out in the sun way, way too long. Every few minutes I feel a wave of heat rush over my body. I had no idea it got this intense.
That's from taking 400mg with a small meal. Yesterday was when I increased my dosage from 300mg to 400mg, but yesterday I took the supplements with a big meal and the flush was pretty mild. Goes to show you how important that step is. 
A word of advice: be sure to take the flush form on a FULL stomach.
I failed to follow that piece of wisdom and I'm experiencing a flush right now that's unbelievable. My entire body is BRIGHT red. I look like I've been sitting out in the sun way, way too long. Every few minutes I feel a waves of heat rush over my body. I had no idea it got this intense.
That's from taking 400mg with a small meal. Yesterday was when I increased my dosage from 300mg to 400mg, but yesterday I took the supplements with a big meal and the flush was pretty mild. Goes to show you how important that step is.
have you noticed your flush is sometimes delayed?
the past few nights ive been taking niacin around 6:30pm on a full stomach (meat, veges and fruit) and my flush hasnt been coming on until around 10:30-11pm... which is a lot longer than it used to take. i was thinking it might be taking a while to break down, given all the meat in my system...but curious if anyone else has found the same thing
how safe is it to take 500mg of niacin a day?I read its not good for your liver what amount are they talking about?I have the flush free niacin 500mg from walgreens but does anyone think its really safe to take niacin for a long time lets say a year or longer everyday?it does seem to help some but where do you find this info out?thanks
I just made this account because i saw this post and i started taking niacin no flush 500mg in the morning because i dont want to deal with any flush the start of my day and at night a take a niacin pill /w flush 500mg at night before bed. It has only been a few days and my skin looks tighter, less redness and acne seems to be shrinking... the change is slow. hopefully i will have no more acne for the new years. ill post before and after pics if this vitamin works
My dermotologist suggest using niacin so I bought some and now take 500mg @ $5 every night before going to bed. I haven't had any major cysts and the 1-2 pimples I got were just that, pimples so small that it wasn't a big deal to me...and they went down within a day or two.
I also take Vit D but that was a suggestion from my GYN since my levels were very low. I take Vit D once a week but it's 50,000 IU @ $16.
I also use Merderma Gel @ $14 to fade scarring.
Good Luck!
Niacin is awesome.
After reading several pages of this thread, I gave it a shot.
I took GNC's 250mg version. I almost forgot I took the tablet at first and started panicking because I was burning, itching, and felt like the back of my head is on fire. Then I remembered this is a side effect...which goes away and gets more tolerable.
I took it because for almost two months, I have been getting terrible cystic acne. I have gotten them since a teenager and usually get one or two a month but I mean these suckers just started popping up all over the place the last few months. I started using a clarisonic and that could be that culprit since nothing has changed but can't say for sure.
I have taken niacin for about two weeks now, worked my way up from one in the evening to one in the morning and one in the evening. Cystic acne GONE. Within a few days they began to clear up. I started my monthly last week, NO PIMPLES. I always get them, especially cystic ones at this time of the month (sorry guys tmi).
I have also been using Pond's b3 Clarient (?) in conjunction, started the same day. So maybe its one or two or both but I'm so amazed how well this has worked.
If your considering trying it, please do yourself a cheap favor and try it.
I wanted to also mention I'm in my late twenties.