[natayo]

I just got my last set of labs back.

Date A1c LDL Triglycerides HDL

3/4/2008 6.6 148 204 34
5/1/2008 6.2 146 72 33 (No meds, just diet and exercise)
7/31/2008 5.7 93 62 30 (1000 mg Metformin, 40 mg simvastatin, and diet and exercise)

So I'm researching low HDL and the common drug treatment is niacin. Note, I eat peanut butter, almonds, fruits everday. But apparently a side effect of niacin is increased insulin resistance.

Anybody out there with any experience?

[princesslinda]

At diagnosis, my bloodwork showed HDL of 23! Doc said best way to raise it was by exercise. He also mentioned that dry red wine helped in some people. He said medications weren't as effective in helping HDL.

I started exercising, to fish oil tablets daily and drink a glass of red wine at bedtime 3-4 nights a week. 3 months after diagnosis, HDL was up to 46....most recently it was 48 (just can't hit 50 apparently).

[Rooster]

That is the same thing my internist told me ... my HDL was 29 this past Thursday. He put me on Niacin to lower my Triglycerides (which are genetically high - but I am allergic to statins, tricor, etc.), and he told me to drink the red wine and increase the exercise.

I hope mine is up to 50 in 90 days, but we'll see.

[georgepds]

I went on 2 g Niacin per day. Over 1 year, my HDL increased 27% (still not good) my triglycerides reduced by 46%. My LDL was already low ( 53 mg/dl) and showed no change

This personal result is consistent with published results

study in Archives of Internal Medicine (Guyton, et al, 2000) confirms the superiority of niacin (vitamin B3) as a lipid-lowering agent.

Be careful though, not all varieties of time release Niacin are effective

www pbm va gov / reviews / niacinreview.pdf