I tried niacin in the late 1970s, back when 50 mg pills could be found on the shelf in any pharmacy. I stopped because of the flushing & with no Internet back then, could not check out what was happening.

I found this thread and associated googling very interesting and bought some, which arrived on Friday. Since they are 500 mg and I previously had extreme flushing, I chopped one into 8 pieces, each ~63 mg, had my first dose with food, B & C vitamins and my entire body burned and flushed for about an hour.

Since I am IFing & only eat twice a day and had read that aspirin 30 minutes before niacin can reduce flushing, I tried that with my second dose and had barely noticeable flushing. I had an extremely calm feeling all over while reading a book before bed and then slept 9 straight hours! I'm retired and don't have a problem with anxiety or sleeping, but didn't know one could feel even better. ETA, Day 2, Dose 1, no aspirin, but only mild flushing (no itching, burning or tingling), so it looks like I am adapting quickly. This overall calm feeling could be addicting.

During my googling marathon, a couple of sources said to not take it with alcohol and a couple others mentioned the boost in hormone creation, which in menopause can be a good thing.

Since niacin cannot be patented, I suspect Big Pharma is behind the push to discredit it.