Any drug can cause problems, and you should always inform yourself before you take them. The niaspan information is here: http://www.rxabbott.com/pdf/niaspan.pd

Any drug can cause problems, and you should always inform yourself before you take them. The niaspan information is here: http://www.rxabbott.com/pdf/niaspan.pdf http://www.rxabbott.com/pdf/niaspan.pdf From what I've read, it's tough to overdose on niacin, especially the sustained-release forms. There are also apparently no deaths or long-term harmful results from overdoses either. However, they warn against using niaspan if you've already got liver or kidney problems or if you're taking statins too. I also read a warning that ER doctors can misinterpret the symptoms of a niacin overdose as an allergic reaction and give a treatment which does a lot more harm than the niacin would on its own. I don't have any handy references about statins, but I've read that the side-effects are both more common and more dangerous; so much so that it's questionable whether or not they should be allowed on the market at all. They're also less effective than niaspan, I believe. The anecdotal evidence I have is that my mom was taking a statin for a while. It improved her cholesterol, but she also developed the bad heel pains that supposedly indicate a dangerous side-effect from the statin is occuring. When she stopped the statin, her heel pain went away. Since then her cholesterol hasn't been bad (though it did get somewhat worse after stopping the statin) but if it gets bad again I'm going to insist she try the niaspan instead. For what it's worth, I don't work for the company that makes Niaspan. I'm just a very satisfied customer.