I went to my ENDO and she said my HDL’s were low and prescribed NIASPAN…has anyone ever heard or taken this drug? My first night after taking it, my BG was 300…I did a correction bolus and it came back to 140 in one hour…think I should take more insulin to cover this? Thank You, Mark
Niaspan is Vit B3 (niacin) in a form that doesn’t causes the flushing associated with other forms of nicacin. It’s quite effective at helping HDL. But, doses over 200 mg can raise BG.
Yep, you’ll need increased doses of insulin to cover this.
i just did 2 nights without niaspan and my BG was PERFECT…lol
i was trying to figure out how much insulin I need to cover it. i think the benefits of the niaspan outweigh the pita of covering it, though.
Wow…I hope so… I shot to 400 last nite…that’s an extra 29 units daily if that’s true… Mark
doctors love to give you pills for cholesterol. Is your total that high?
At least this is just a vitamin & doesn’t have to be taken forever.
Some Vitamins, like with Niacin (as Gerri explained) cause issues with blood sugar…
Another example: beware of too much Vitamin C. If someone starts offering you tons of Vitamin C on days when you are sick, etc… Tell them thanks, but no thanks. Stick to a regular diet, and you’ll get what’s healthy for Vitamin C. After that, it’s starts sky rocketting blood sugar. I avoid those energy shot drinks, like Emergen-C… and One Hour Energy, for the same reasons…
Vit C (over 100 mg, I think) causes false low readings on meters because Vit C reacts with the strips.
Mega doses aren’t a good idea.
Vit B6 over 200 mg also raises BG & impairs nerve function. Vit B1 over 200 mg can inactivate insulin
No, My HDL’s were low…Mark
Niacin is known to increase your blood sugar, do a search on the discussion forums, I’ve cited references before on this topic. Some people find that the effect decreases after a couple weeks, but understand that this is one medication that clearly is known to increase some peoples blood sugar.
There are other ways to increase your HDL, eat good fats, exercise and drink red wine. And they are a lot more fun than taking a pill.
Well, My endo took me OFF Niaspan completely and my Bs’s are back to NORMAL. My primary care Dr. now talks about changing me from Lipitor to Crestor to raise my HDL’s. Any one else on Crestor? I have been taking statins since 1994 with NO problems…Mark
Statins like Lipitor and Crestor LOWER your HDL. Are you sure that is what your doctor said? If that is truly what he said, then you might question his knowledge about this.
Yeah… Vitamin C over 4,000 mg a day, causes false diabetic high readings in the 200s or above.
Trust me… I did question him. Mark