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Comment by howmayiannoyyou | Hacker News Reader

Anyone suffering from Restless Leg Syndrome, big caution. This drug, like SSRIs, can make the condition worse and/or trigger it.

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Will use this comment to say: Anyone suffering from Restless Leg Syndrome, some people report that iron supplement helps, some people report that flush niacin (pure vitamin B3 in primal form; NOT inositol hexanicotinate, NOT nicotinamide, NOT slow release) help.

Be careful with advice on the internet (for all you know, I'm a dog). Iron overload is harmful. Niacin may cause a "flush" which is transient, but feels like your skin is sunburned for 20-30 minutes. Do your own research about amounts etc. Consult a medical professional if you don't feel qualified to do your own research. This is not medical advice, just some random info. (Though, it helped me a lot)

I get the symptoms when I go to bed dehydrated. Chugging water helps me.

Start with 100mg Niacin or less. I can report that 500mg might induce an urge to go to the ER.

My regime is 100mg first thing in the morning resulting in minor flushing 20-30 after taking. Throughout the day, 500mg at a time with often no flushing, staying at or under 2000 mg total for the day. It's very effective at managing my cholesterol and seems to improve joint inflamation. I'll do this for 3 months then stop for a month to 6 weeks.

Taking ALA (e.g. flax seed oil, or an ALA supplement) 20 minutes before niacin reduces or eliminates flush for some people (me included). As do a few mg of melatonin (which, after a week or so, are not even making me sleepy)

Source? (Asking, not accusing)

Counter-point? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4733501/

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