Niacin: Cheaper And Maybe More Effective Than Zetia According To Latest Study

By George Gombossy | Last updated Nov 17, 2009, 5:42 pm

For years I and millions of you with a family history of cardiovascular issues as well as high cholesterol have been taking Zetia along with statins like Crestor or Lipitor.

The latest study as written up in my favorite newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, strongly suggests that Niacin may be as effective or perhaps even more effective than Zetia – which even at Costco costs slightly more than $100 a month. Please show this article to your physician before changing any medications or starting Niacin.

Costco offers 150 tablets of Slo-Niacin for around $10 in 500 mg dosage, which should be taken at night (I finally read the directions. I had been taking it earlier). I get a real flush from Niacin so I break the slow release tablets in two and just take 250 mg.

After reading this article I plan on taking half a tablet early and than the other half at night. I will then discuss with my doctor stopping Zetia. I may ask that we experiment a little. The combination of 10 mg of Crestor and 10 mg of Zetia has brought my cholesterol readings into the normal range.

1 Response for “Niacin: Cheaper And Maybe More Effective Than Zetia According To Latest Study”

Thomas Quigley says:

November 23, 2009 at 8:00 am

Re: Zetia Study

The article in “The New England Journal of Medicine” and the two editorials on the same subject are well worth reading (even though they are quite technical). To me, the most significant finding was that Zetia lowered HDL (the ‘good’ cholesterol) which might explain why patients in the study who took Zetia experienced an increase in thickening of the carotid artery wall.

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