There are a plethora of cholesterol medications to treat less than desirable cholesterol levels. Some are more effective for lowering your LDL, or "bad," cholesterol, while others work for raising your HDL, or "good," cholesterol. In some cases, a combination of medications is necessary. Niaspan, however, is one medication that is effective for improving both.
Nicotinic Acid
Nicotinic acid, or niacin, is the natural form of Niaspan. It belongs to the vitamin B group. It is found in a variety of foods and is produced by your body as well. Niacin is found in multivitamins and is available alone as an over-the-counter supplement. Niaspan is a prescription form of niacin. The prescription is necessary because of the amount needed to improve your cholesterol levels. Niaspan contains larger doses of niacin and your doctor must monitor its use due to possible side effects.
Function
Niaspan helps improve the balance of good and bad fats in your blood, thus reducing your LDL cholesterol while increasing your HDL levels. How Niaspan achieves this balance is not quite understood, according to the website, Netdoctor. Your doctor may prescribe Niaspan in combination with a statin, one of the most commonly prescribed medications for lowering LDL cholesterol, if the statin has proven unsuccessful alone. Niaspan may also be your sole medication if you are unable to take a statin for health reasons.
Efficacy
Niaspan can decrease your LDL cholesterol between 10 and 20 percent, and increase your HDL cholesterol between 15 and 35 percent, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Although this medication impacts both your good and bad cholesterol, it is the most effective drug for the treatment of low HDL cholesterol, explains MayoClinic.com.
Safety
Less serious side effects of Niaspan include mild dizziness, dry or itchy skin, nausea and diarrhea, insomnia, sweating, the chills and muscle pain or leg cramps. Flushing, a condition that causes redness and a feeling of warmth or tingling under your skin, is also quite common. Drugs.com suggests not drinking anything hot immediately after taking Niaspan. This can worsen the effects of flushing. More serious side effects include fainting, feeling light-headed, shortness of breath, rapid or uneven heart beats and yellowing of the skin or eyes. Seek immediate medical attention if any of these occur.
Warnings
The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute explains that it may be necessary for you to self-monitor your blood pressure if you take blood pressure medications until your body adjusts to Niaspan. Tell your doctor if you have diabetes, gout or liver problems, as Niaspan can worsen these conditions. If your doctor feels its safe for you to take this drug, he may give you a lower dose or perform special tests while you take it. Although the over-the-counter supplement might be less expensive, the FDA does not regulate it in the same way as it does the prescription form. The NHLBI emphasizes the importance of taking prescription Niaspan to improve your cholesterol rather than its supplement counterpart due to the potential side effects.
