I just finished a 2 month+ stint of doing niacin therapy. Why? I'm doing this again because I did it a few years ago between my baseline CAC score in 2017 and the Follow-up CAC that I had done in 2019. I actually dropped my CAC score from 347 down to 158 in the 28 months between those two scans. I'm planning another CAC follow-up this September and I'm trying to keep everything the same in hopes of continued progress with my CVD. I don't know if niacin had anything to do with my results, but I did do a "niacin cleanse" before the last follow-up, so I'm doing one again before this one.

I was doing that first niacin regimen for cholesterol reasons and to see if it would help clear the xanthalasma under my eyes that I had developed. I worked my way up to 2mg per day spread across 2 meals. I didn't care for the flush, so I stopped after I finished the rather large bottle that I had. The regimen that I just completed was much the same. The flush didn't bother me as much this time, so I'm considering getting another bottle.

My xanthalasma did eventually dissolve away. I don't know if the niacin helped with that either. It took nearly 2 years for the yellow spots under my eyes to completely clear up. I still have very high LDL-C (250 mg/dl) and my xanthalasma has not returned. It first appeared in 2015 - one year into my LCHF lifestyle change. I don't know exactly what caused it nor what cured it. But I am happy that it is gone. It was unsightly and very noticeable there for a while.