Has any one had any luck with high doses of Niacin? Dr Hoffer swears by it along with good antioxidants and a good family connection.
I’m thinking if anyone has they aren’t on this site any longer.
What is niacin ? I need to google it
If it worked, no one would be suffering from sz anymore…
But, clearly, any vitamin deficiency a person has probably affects their health, so maybe this supplement could contribute to overall wellness?
Unfortunately that theory was disproven a long time ago - here are some resources to catch you up on that area of research:
Is niacin a possible successful treatment for schizophrenia?
Niacin and Nicotinic Acid - the marketing of niacin (also known as vitamin B3 and Nicotinic Acid) as a “cure” for schizophrenia began over 30 years ago by Dr. Abraham Hoffer. In what must surely be classified as one of the most “optimistic” viewpoints ever to hit the field of schizophrenia Dr. Hoffer continues to push this approach despite significant amounts of research to the contrary. We believe that this is a very good reason to be skeptical when anyone claims any cure for schizophrenia. When a cure is finally discovered for schizophrenia, you should expect to see it on the covers of every major newspaper and magazine in the world. Dr. Irwin David Irwin of Vancouver, Canada summarizes the current view of Dr. Hoffers Theories - which even now still gets covered in newspapers and public forums - in this statement in a letter to the Editor of the Vancouver Sun newspaper:
"At a time of real progress in treatment of schizophrenia, Dr. DeMarco has written about an approach which Dr. Abram Hoffer and others developed in the 1950s, but which by the 1970s was proven to be fruitless. The work of Dr. Hoffer and others is discussed in detail in the American Psychiatric Association Task Force Report, July 1973, which points out methodological flaws in the early work and reviews later studies which failed to show any benefit for such treatments.
In recent years, new medicines, with improved side-effect profiles and techniques to overcome problems with social and occupational functioning, have been well proven advances for the treatment of schizophrenia. Early intervention programs should prevent some of the serious dysfunction of the disease.
Serious illnesses like schizophrenia require proven treatments. Vitamin treatments as “alternative” therapy for schizophrenia should not be recommended.
David Irwin, MD
Department of Psychiatry
Vancouver General Hospital
Source: The Vancouver Sun, January 23, 1998 "
1 Like
Its a B3 vitamin. My son has been taking 3 grams a day and we all see improvement and he does as well. Even his councler commented on how he sees a big change. We’ve done nothing else so I have to give it some credit. Keep you posted either way:pray:
2 Likes
I would recommend looking at other B-Vitamins - there has been newer research with better results than with B3:
and
The only evidence I’m aware of is anecdotal. Many people swear by it (Bill W included. But he’s dead, so who cares.) The only thing I can say is: try it. Megadosing niacin won’t cause you any harm. Unless your liver is already tanked. If you want to try it, start out slowly. Start with 100 mg. At that dose, there will be an uncomfortable niacin flush. It feels kind of like an itchy sunburn. If it’s too uncomfortable, coat the itchy parts of your skin with oil. Sesame oil is best, but any kind of vegetable oil will work. The flush only lasts for about half-an-hour. Another thing to be aware of is megadosing niacin will probably cause diahrrea. But both the flushing and diahrrea go away after about a week or two. The goal is to slowly increase the amount of niacin until you’re taking 2 to 3 grams a day.
One other thing. It should be pure niacin. Avoid inositol hexanicotinate and nicotinic acid. Those are the no-flush variants. They don’t work.