Use Health Trackers to Monitor for Adverse Reactions

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How It Works

When taking medications/supplements, it's critical to keep track of changes to the body and do what works for you. We created a health tracker to track changes in health, medication and cholesterol results over time. Niaspan did not work for my husband. We learned that even with supplements, they have side effects. It is important to introduce one at a time in order to guage what works and what does not.

 

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Story

When I first met my husband, he was taking a cholesterol medication and vitamin called Niaspan. Basically is helps lower bad cholesterol with high dosages of niacin, a B group of vitamins. He experienced the normal side effects like flushing and itchy skin but then he started to pass out, usually during or after a run.

It was after a run where he passed out, broke a bone in his face and was taken in an ambulance to the ER we decided it was time to understand what was triggering these episodes.

His cardiologist attributed the passing out to older age and nothing more. He suggested taking it easy. It made no sense given the timeframe and more importantly how Niaspan made him feel. My husband is not your typical cholesterol medication user (he is young, an athlete and eats healthy) and so the information available was very limited for people taking Niaspan that were like him.

I did an extensive search online to see what I could find. Not much was published but in a health site chat room there was discussion of Niaspan causing another active/young person to pass out. It wasn't much to go off of but it was a start.

He immediately stopped taking Niaspan and he has not had an incident in 6 years. What we learned through this process is that when taking medications/supplements, it's critical to keep track of changes to the body and do what works for you. We created a health tracker to track changes in health, medication and cholesterol results over time.

His doctor is there to provide guidance and expertise but ultimately you know how you feel and should feel empowered to ask questions/make a change when something doesn't feel right.

What do you think?

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