Niacin (B-3) to treat depression
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I have suffered with depression and anxiety on and off most of my life. Been on Effexor 150 for 15 years. Just found out about Niacin and the early work with the founder of AA Bill Wilson whose MD was Dr. Hoffer. Now that I am getting older the depression is kicking my ass especially during winter months. I am still on Effexor - Xanax0.25 twice a day but also have started Nician. Flushed at 100mgs. Today a little after breakfast [3 hours] took 50mgs and flushed but it didn't last as lone. I want to build up my dosage . How do I do this without flushing.
GrymReefer
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I've recently used L-tryptophan and 5-HTP with caution in terms of dosing and it put me down when I was ready to pass out. I took my first dosages when I woke up of both compounds, had a smaller dose around the halfway point of the day (L-tryptophan only), and then took one smaller dose about an hour or so before bed. I usually shoot for 2,000mg total for L-tryptophan by the end of the day with my biggest does in the morning at 1,000mg. 5-HTP I only used 100mg in the morning with L-Tryptophan and once more at 50mg midday.
I'm still trying to figure it out fully, but it's pretty effective in my experience. The use of 5-HTP is to avoid tryptophan's carbnoxylase being a rate limitation and thus allows 5-HTP to rapidly convert to serotonin. Also worth mentioning is that L-tryptophan's metabolic pathway to serotonin results in some conversions taking place in the liver. However, 5-HTP is solely committed to the conversion of serotonin and has no competition allowing blood-brain-barrier crossing. There is more to it, but I'm not going to make a fool out of myself yet. And I bellieve it's a doublle edged sword when using these both at once and give myself serotonin syndrome.
The relaxing effect from the combination of both was pure bliss. I generally have high anxiety and my jaw clenched 24/7 and utillizing both of them for a week felt fantastic. I know there is more to depression than simply increasing serotonin levels, but a real quality sleep session and relaxation all day was surprising to me.
I'm still trying to figure it out fully, but it's pretty effective in my experience. The use of 5-HTP is to avoid tryptophan's carbnoxylase being a rate limitation and thus allows 5-HTP to rapidly convert to serotonin. Also worth mentioning is that L-tryptophan's metabolic pathway to serotonin results in some conversions taking place in the liver. However, 5-HTP is solely committed to the conversion of serotonin and has no competition allowing blood-brain-barrier crossing. There is more to it, but I'm not going to make a fool out of myself yet. And I bellieve it's a doublle edged sword when using these both at once and give myself serotonin syndrome.
The relaxing effect from the combination of both was pure bliss. I generally have high anxiety and my jaw clenched 24/7 and utillizing both of them for a week felt fantastic. I know there is more to depression than simply increasing serotonin levels, but a real quality sleep session and relaxation all day was surprising to me.
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Mysterie
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i think niacin is bringing me out of depression, i'm taking 250mg a day after eating now and i flush 10 mins after. for 5-10 min
flushing is where ur body heats up and skin flushes red, its a weird sensation where it feels like u've eaten lots of chilli but theres a pins feeling in crown of head and nose/ears/eyes. hard to describe, but i enjoy the feeling.
this is a gd resource: http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/how-to-take-niacin-vitamin-b3-for-depression-and-anxiety
i beliebe.
flushing is where ur body heats up and skin flushes red, its a weird sensation where it feels like u've eaten lots of chilli but theres a pins feeling in crown of head and nose/ears/eyes. hard to describe, but i enjoy the feeling.
this is a gd resource: http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/how-to-take-niacin-vitamin-b3-for-depression-and-anxiety
i beliebe.
For some reason I can't get to the second page of this thread, it says server is too busy, but in case you didn't know niacin is an amazing nutrient. make sure you take it in it's optimal form, niacinmide. It has a multitude of uses and can be taken in high doses relatively safety. I've done over a gram a day after a few blowouts to try to maintain and somewhat reverse the harmful effects of drug abuse. It's excellent for energy, mood, metabolism and overall well being. There is plenty of research on it online. Good luck 
I have been taking niacin (nicotinic acid) form for about 4 years and have gotten very good results for my depression and anxiety. I've been taking 4,000 mg/day the bulk of the time and I would say my overall improvement has been about 50% until my recent dose increase. The literature states that normal therapeutic dosage is 3,000 to 9,000 mg/day. I tried to ramp up to 9,000 mg/day about 3 years ago, and I got very ill from it (extreme nausea and fatigue) so I dropped back down to 4,000 mg/day. About 2 months ago I increased from 4,000 to 6,000 mg/day and experienced some nausea and fatigue for about 2 days, but it passed and now I am feeling much better, overall. I would say my overall improvement is about 75% from where I started 4 years ago. I'm thinking about increasing to 7,500 mg/day, but I didn't want to do that too soon. Does anyone have any idea what the best ramp up schedule is for niacin? I know when I rapidly increased from 4,000 to 9,000 a few years ago, that was too much too fast, and I could not handle it and I could not function. I've been at 6,000 mg/day for 2 months and I'm not sure if I should wait around to see if I experience further improvement or if I should just go ahead and increase to 7,500 mg/day now. I'd be grateful for any advice.
Thanks!
Tranced
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If people want to try Niacin for the purported health benefits then they should only be taking Nicotinic acid (causes flush) and not Nicotinamide (doesn't cause flush).
The bulk of the research on 'niacin', to my knowledge, has been done on Nicotinic acid, which is a completely different chemical to the more popular (on amazon etc) Nicotinamide. The reason nicotinamide does not cause a flush is because it is quite simply not the same and doesn't cause the same effects.
I tried Niacin (Nicotinic acid) about two years back, at doses of 500mg. The flush comes on within an hour or less and the intensity and onset seems very directly related to the contents of your stomach. I find it quite pleasant, and it's kind of like taking chillies but more intense. The flush starts in your head, shoulders, chest etc, then works its way to your extremities, lasting about one hour. It is characterised by going BRIGHT red (seriously, if somebody saw you in public they'd be very concerned) and sort of intensely tingling and itching.
I did feel that it helped with anxiety/depression, and often after the flush had subsided I would feel a sort of light glow.
I'm trying it again in a few weeks and will report back.
But again, trying to avoid the flush is ridiculous. It's like trying to take a form of LSD that has no visuals and introspective thoughts or something. That just wouldn't be LSD.
(I've been meaning to post this in here for absolutely ages).
The bulk of the research on 'niacin', to my knowledge, has been done on Nicotinic acid, which is a completely different chemical to the more popular (on amazon etc) Nicotinamide. The reason nicotinamide does not cause a flush is because it is quite simply not the same and doesn't cause the same effects.
I tried Niacin (Nicotinic acid) about two years back, at doses of 500mg. The flush comes on within an hour or less and the intensity and onset seems very directly related to the contents of your stomach. I find it quite pleasant, and it's kind of like taking chillies but more intense. The flush starts in your head, shoulders, chest etc, then works its way to your extremities, lasting about one hour. It is characterised by going BRIGHT red (seriously, if somebody saw you in public they'd be very concerned) and sort of intensely tingling and itching.
I did feel that it helped with anxiety/depression, and often after the flush had subsided I would feel a sort of light glow.
I'm trying it again in a few weeks and will report back.
But again, trying to avoid the flush is ridiculous. It's like trying to take a form of LSD that has no visuals and introspective thoughts or something. That just wouldn't be LSD.
(I've been meaning to post this in here for absolutely ages).
somnilicious
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I too can attest to the effects of Niacin(flush) on depression. It does in fact help mood and gives a feeling of contentment and relaxing energy not long after being taken. I have used it for years to help. It is essential in the building of neurotransmitters.
Bill Wilson, the founder of AA, took it for his depression and became a huge proponent. He actually tried to introduce it into AA but other founding members were dismissive of the idea and looked at him rather as if he were being a quack. He also experimented with doctor administered LSD because he had suffered with depression for years. Alcohol decreases your Niacin body levels and it is recommended for alcoholics. This is all little known within the current Nazi rank of the 12 step community.
Bill Wilson, the founder of AA, took it for his depression and became a huge proponent. He actually tried to introduce it into AA but other founding members were dismissive of the idea and looked at him rather as if he were being a quack. He also experimented with doctor administered LSD because he had suffered with depression for years. Alcohol decreases your Niacin body levels and it is recommended for alcoholics. This is all little known within the current Nazi rank of the 12 step community.
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