Niacin Side Effects
If you fall into the group of people who take niacin for any reason, here is some basic info on niacin side effects.
Side effects of Niacin
Niacin is also called vitamin B3 and nicotinic acid. There are certain conditions that require measures like additional niacin intake. But there can be some side effects. Some of them are considered normal and if they occur you do not need to panic:
- Flushing. If one takes large dose (and that means more than 70 mg), this is what will probably happen. The flushing will last nearly half an hour. Keep in mind that the dose which is enough to cause flushing differs from person to person. That is why it is very important to consult a professional first. If you are sensitive to any substance, you may be sensitive to this one, too. Some people use certain supplements, without any side effects, but that doesn’t mean they will tolerate every supplement they take. These reactions are quite individual, so it is better to talk to your personal physician first. Although flushing is not a severe side effect of Niacin, it can be quite unpleasant.
- Rash. Sometimes a rash can go along with flushing. Skin rash can occur on any part of your body. It can be just a small rash, but this side effect of Niacin is very unpleasant. People usually think that it is serious, but in most cases, the rash goes away as soon as you stop using Niacin. Rash is also a sign of allergic reaction, so you should stop using Niacin for a while.
According to some sources, there are niacin supplements that do not produce the flushing effects. Of course, that doesn’t mean that those wouldn’t produce some other side effects like:
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Bloating
- Nausea
- sudden blood pressure lowering
There are some niacin side effects that are not common, but we will mention them:
- Skin changes (dryness and pigmentation changes)
- Liver problems
- Light head feeling and/or dizziness
More severe side effects are:
- Mouth swelling
- Face swelling
- Lips or tongue swelling
- Blood in stool
- Black stool
- Dark urine
- Blurred vision
- Sudden heartbeat changes
- Fever
- Excessive sweating
- An appetite loss
- Pain in muscles
- Feet or hands swelling
- Yellow skin
These side effects are signs of allergic reaction. If you experience any of these, it means that you are hypersensitive, and you need to get immediate medical help. It is very important that you call your doctor immediately if you experience symptoms like rapid heart rate, lips swelling, tongue swelling, feet or hands swelling, mouth swelling, face swelling, and fever.
In any of mentioned above keeps repeating and prolongs, do not hesitate to visit your doctor and solve the problem by changing your treatment.
What’s important to know is what happens when a person takes too much of niacin. Overdose is not fatal. Also, you should know that you can not overdose with niacin which came from food. Anyway, if taking niacin for any reasons, do consult the doctor first.
This post has 26 comments
October 28th, 2010
I have recently begun taking niacin 100mg after taking the non flush with no noticable benefits in lowering my trigliciride. With the immediate release, I have moved pass the flushing and itching, but my blood pressure has dropped from an average of 130/70 to a consistent 110/65. Is this something to be concerned about?
November 15th, 2011
never take no flush niacin ,it causes liver damage and other dangerous side effects.read my below comments to know more…
December 5th, 2010
I had stents put in from a clogged artery problem and have been put on 1000mg doseage and a very bad rash is all over me. I am in a lot of pain and don’t know what to do about it.
December 8th, 2010
contact your doctor.
August 24th, 2011
Greg,
Try choleslo at HFL solutions on internet. It cut my #s in half like many people report without a single side effect. Tricor and niacin give my aches and nausea.
January 16th, 2011
WHEW! Thanks for the information. I just tried a 100mg niacin pill to raise my hdl…thought I was having an allergic reaction!!! The flushing eased off after about 30 minutes, but I took a benadryl just in case, and almost called 911. No breathing problems or tongue swelling, though. The REALLY should label these things better, holy cow! Scary. Guess I’ll start with a much lower dose.
January 22nd, 2011
Since taking Niacin, I have had lower back aches. Do you think that the Niacin, is causing this?
January 27th, 2011
I took Niacin for a while – like Tim, I almost called 911. The Dr. told me of a “slight flushing”, but I felt like a thermometer that was going to pop. My skin was painful to the touch, but it passed after about 45 minutes.
I switched to the non-flushing and after a few weeks, started having palpitations. It felt like my heart was skipping a beat. This was scary, and I did a little online research. I quit my caffeine habit, but that didn’t help. I went to the Dr, but it didn’t happen while in the office. After talking about a friend’s reaction to some other medication he was taking, I decided to look up “Niacin Palpitations” online, and sure enough there it was! I stopped taking the Niacin, and after about a week, the palpitations stopped.
July 15th, 2011
I had to stop the Niacin after side effects seem to build up, rash, dry skin, nausea, and even gout. Within 3 days of not taking Niacin (I was taking 1000 mg) all of those symptoms went away. I was also starting to have heart palpitations and fatigue. Now back to normal so with an allergy to statins also will have to really do it with diet and exercise.
August 1st, 2011
Read “The China Study” by T Colin Campbell. You can control cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and other diseases with a whole foods, plant based diet.
March 13th, 2011
A few years ago, I tried a 500mg, fast release niacin and experienced a severe drop in blood pressure. Combined flushing, extreme sweating, clammy skin, and near-fainting (could not stand or even sit upright), folks insisted I go to emergency. The Dr’s there refused to believe that a mere 500mg of niacin could cause such a reaction. The claim in ER was that it could not be a allergic reaction, because I was not experiencing anaphylaxis.
I was trying the niacin to moderate hypertension, but it dropped my BP to below 70/50; a tad too far. Doctors I have asked about this basically only have 2 replies “You are lying about other drugs you have taken”, and “Never heard of such a thing. You must have had an anxiety attack”.
Not much help from “Medicine”
K
December 18th, 2011
500 mg FAST release???? No wonder you had a bad reaction! Even my timed slow release Naispan are only 500 mgs, occasionally have flushing, cannot imagine taking 500 mg FAST release! That multiple doctors didnt believe you or seemed surprised is really strange…ANY doctor should realize 500 mg FAST release is an overdose!
March 13th, 2011
MY doctor recently has increased my dosage from 500mg to 1000mg and is planning on increasing it to 1500mg after a 60 days. I recently started having a lot of gas and some mild stomach pain, nothing serious just anoying. Has anyone else had any side effects like this?
April 8th, 2011
About 15 years ago I tried to take niacin for high cholesterol. Two weeks into it I started noting a really terrible odor. I stopped taking it. It took a week to get rid of the odor. Since then I cannot eat more than one piece of chocolate (primarily dark) in a week, cannot take any B vitamins, or anything related to vit B without the odor returning sooner and sooner and lasting longer and longer. I’ve talked to drs and nutritionists, and no one has heard of this. Has anyone out there experienced or heard of this side effect.
November 15th, 2011
i think the bad odor is just the release of toxins from the body,it happens when u detox body with fasting etc..
May 9th, 2011
Hi, I’m taking a multivitamin from GNC that contains Niacin, I’ve taking them for like 20 days, and this morning I took the whole package like always, and my head, neck and chest skin just turned really red, like flushing, then my hands stared to get hard to move, hard to breath and high temperature in my body… I had to got at the hospital and they told me that was an overdose of Niacin… Those pills only have 30 mg on Niacin, I guess some people are more sensitive to Niacin…
It was really scary and because of that I ruined mother’s day for my whole family…
I’m not taking this to lower my cholesterol…
Same case as “Tim” and “another Jeff”….
I’m gonna stop taking this think, because the bill that I will have to pay for going to the emergency room will be extremely painful for my wallet hehehehehe…
May 11th, 2011
HOLY CRAP! You guys ain’t kidding. But I thank you for sharing your experiences, just wish I’d read them before…..
I saw this great documentary on how Niacin helped significantly with depression, so I bought some. I take lots of other supplements so didn’t think anything of the 1000mg. capsules. Gave my poor husband 2, took 1 myself. I read your blogs while he was experiencing the “Flushing” I told him, eh, just like a hot flash. Until – my turn. I’m red all over and feel like I’m being attacked by a giant cactus-in the desert-under the beating sun. I’m sure my hair was standing straight up, and in flames. OMG! Pouring this into a container of coffee grounds and heading to the trash!
Lesson of the day, don’t take ANYTHING until you’ve done your research and check with as physician!
December 18th, 2011
Kelly, lol! that’s about the best description of what its like i’ve seen, especially the being attacked by a giant cactus under the beating desert sun! I can’t even imagine taking a 1000 mg cap, let alone 2000 mg, of regular niacin, hitting your system all at once! Just 70 mg staigth is considered an overdose! I take a 500 mg TIMED release prescription niaspan daily have for several years, and while usually i get only a very mild flush for a few minutes, occasionally my body reacts different and I get a pretty bad one.
May 16th, 2011
Wow! I thought flushing would be mild. I took two 500 mg tablets this morning around 11 a.m. Around 1 p.m., my skin became splotchy and red. It burned and itched like crazy. This covered my entire body. My ears burned, my face, my arms, everything. The only thing not burning was my toes and my fingers. The burning lasted about an hour. I went outside about 30 minutes ago to move the sprinkler and came back in. Another spurt of this burning and itching has come back. My body is burning and itching right now. This is so annoying. When will this end?!?
November 15th, 2011
flushing is because of opening of capillaries with blood flow,just be aware of it and take rest until it decreases.always take flush niacin in morning after breakfast and at night after dinner.take niacin with meal only never take it empty stomach.
June 9th, 2011
I had to cut my 500mg tablets into quarters and stretch it out from twice daily to 8 times a day. Even at that rate there was still just a bit of flushing, but not even close to taking it all at once. After a few weeks I was finally able to step it up to the one 500mg tablet twice daily as prescribed.
June 23rd, 2011
My brother recently turned me on to niacin and I was lucky because he sat with me through my first “burn”. UNPLEASANT. For sure. But now I like the burn. Some times I don’t get it and I’m disappointed. I find that the burn actually focuses in areas where I have problems. Say I scraped my arm in the morning and did my “burn” in the afternoon, there will be more “activity” near the scrape and here is the interesting thing to me. I have had acne rosacea for a while and I find that it is improving with my daily niacin burn.
June 30th, 2011
I am very surprisedto read of the side effects of Niacin. I read an article in Prevention Magazine about 30 years ago that they had tried it with some asthmatic children and it helped their breathing. I developed asthma after menopause and the Doctor I had was not helping me at all. So I started taking 500 Mg of niacin with meals and it seemed to help my breathing. I think it helped with circulation. I didn’t always get the flush but when I did my breathing got better. It only helped so much. I found a better Doctor and used some inhalers to assist with breathing. But have still taken niacin 2 to 3 times a day but always with meals. I am now 82 and my asthma is almost gone as long as I don’t eat foods I am allergic to.
July 16th, 2011
My Dad is taking a 300mg dose of Niacin and his skin is all red and he says hes feeling Hot all over plus the rash what could he maybe do to help with this?
November 15th, 2011
Guys ,no need to worry about flushing,its just happening because there is a sudden opening of capillaries with blood ,which otherwise was closed.Main point is that NEVER TAKE NO FLUSH NIACIN,it is not natural it is man made and it could damage ur liver and there r very dangerous side effects to it.Always take flush niacin and enjoy the flushing,it will decrease within a week if u r taking it daily.always start with small dose and then increase it in one week or two.as per the article flushing is not unpleasant but it is pleasant when u know its cause.the allergies are to be managed with doctors advise.
December 18th, 2011
I’ve taken 500 mg extended release Niaspan for about 3 yrs now, will share what i’ve learned that help side effects…
First, I disagree that the flush reaction will happen when you start taking it but get better or go away after taking it awhile, that isn’t always true. Wasn’t for me. I had no reaction at first, wasn’t till after a year or so i started having very occasional mild flush after taking it. Doctor suggested taking a regular 325 mg asprin 20-30 minutes before taking the Niaspan, that helped a lot. But then, occasionally, seemingly out of the blue, I will have a really signficant reaction, the heat, flushing, redness, intense itching and prickling sensations, make me want to claw my skin bloody! Taking a Benedryl immediately helps. If it gets really so bad its torture, the best releif I’ve found is sponging with cool water, or even a cool bath or dip in the swimming pool if you have one. When sponging with the cool water or taking a cool bath, adding a bit of baking soda to the water can help. Also, I have discovered these occasional bad reactions are sometimes related to FOODS I’ve eaten that day…most consistently and dramatically for me is peppers, of any kind, Even sweet bell peppers, though hot peppers, hot chilies like cayene, jalepenos and seranos are the very worst…seems the hotter the peppers the worse the niaspan reaction. I LOVE mexican foods, chili, spicy Cajun, etc, but now have to consider this when eating them. I eat them less, and sometimes when I do eat them, I will skip my Niaspan dose that evening…since I know that’s not best for my health reasons for taking it, i don’t do that very often. I suspect there are other foods or food seasoning that do it to me, but haven’t really nailed them down yet like the peppers. It could be different foods for different people, i don’t know, would suggest anyone with the problem do their own trial and error to find if any affect them.