Hello, I know a there are many on here that are taking Vitamin B3 and have been for some time now. My question is : Has it slowed or stopped the deterioration of the opticians nerves and at what dosage are you taking it?I have been taking only 500mg a day for a month now without any side effects such as flushing!
Best regards
Hello. You do not mention the type of glaucoma you have or whether it is advanced or not. B3 tends to be recommended to people who have glaucoma that is not controlled and is normally recommended by the consultant if they feel it will be beneficial to their patient. We always recommend that it is discussed with your consultant before trying B3.
Professor David Garway health is part of the trial at UCL regarding B3. The info below is from a previous forum response I made regarding B3.
"Most patients are stable on treatment or sufficiently stable for their vision not to be threatened. So, for these people, there is no need to add additional treatment of any sort. Some patients, however, worsen despite treatment and a few even after glaucoma surgery. It is in these people I consider discussing Vitamin B3. The discussion includes making sure that the patient understands that currently there is no evidence in humans that B3 is helpful - that is why we are doing the trial. We have good reason to believe that it will be helpful and there are few potential side-effects, so if the patient chooses to take it, then I have no objection. The dose is 750mg twice a day with food for 6 weeks, increasing to 1.5g twice a day (or a lower dose if this is not tolerated) with food thereafter. The product I recommend is health4all.co.uk/product/b3... As the capsules are 500mg, the initial 6 weeks needs to be 3 capsules a day (eg 1 morning and 2 evening or vice versa).
ucl.ac.uk/news/2022/feb/vit...
Thanks for the info Trish, I luckily have early stage POAG which is currently controlled on a new drop regime I am using a dose of only 500mg of B3 until more information comes out with the hope it is a useful supplement to slow the rate of detioration if the opticians nerves for all glaucoma patients!
If you have early stage glaucoma, taking B3 may not be that beneficial but as I mentioned it is good to discuss with your consultant before starting it.
I did and they said it was okay to do so!
I was after other people's experiences to see if any have had any success with it!
I'm sure you will get a response. B3 is a very common topic on this forum.
Hello I’ve been taking it about one year now. I started on a lower dose and increased to the higher recommended dose. My consultant is aware and gave the same advice as Trish has posted for us. I was also told that if I’m going to take it I should have a liver function test. My GP arranged the liver function test for me and that was fine.
In terms of how successful it had been - I am not convinced. My visual acuity has worsened over the year. It’s hard to say with the visual field. Mine started to worsen in my right eye about a year ago which is why I started to take vit B3. It seems to have worsened slightly more at my last check. I’m going to see consultant in 6 months and if it is any worse I’ll be having a trabulectomy. So I’ll carry on taking it until my next appointment in the hope it may make a difference.
My understanding from what I read is that it makes a difference for about 25% of people. Thats brilliant but of course means that for most of us it won’t make a difference. I could be wrong with that though - I’m no scientist.
Thanks for the information!
last week I saw a urologist. He confirmed that there is evidence to suggest large amounts of vitamin b3 can increase the growing rate of the prostate.
I took 500mg for 16months. After around 6months, I noticed I was struggling to empty my bladder before bed.
After 16months I upped the dosage to 3000mg for two weeks.
At the end of the 2 weeks I was in hospital with a catheter fitted.
Be very careful what you take and look out for the slightest of bodily changes!
Thanks for your update, it's useful to know!
Being in the 'advanced ' cohort I now feel inclined to give it a try. Trish's contribution is very helpful but - the product she advises is out of stock, though appears to be available much cheaper through Amazon.
Look forward to more reports, as Quantum requests, and also suggestions of other suppliers.
Referring to the replies above I am reminded that we can never know what may be helping or having a detrimental effect because we can't turn back the clock. That is where only proper long-term rigorous research can be relied upon, but even that can't take into account our personal metabolic oddities !
Over the past year, 3 times I’ve taken b3 over a 2 week period, on each occasion I’ve required hospital treatment- too much of a coincidence. It seriously wasn’t worth it.
Hello Quantum,
My Consultant recommended 1000mg a day of nicotinamide (ie the non-flushing type of B3) and I have been taking it for almost 9 months. I haven't noticed any improvements in my glaucoma, but I'm not sure I would. The plus side is that I haven't noticed any side effects so I will continue taking it until told otherwise.
Hi, I've been taking B3 nicotinamide for about 8/9 months. I received POAG early stage glaucoma diagnoses early this year, and heard about B3 trials at Moorfields from Gus Gazzard. I've been taking 3 grams per day, and tried various types of nicotinamide. Overall my eyes are feeling better of late. I had already lost an area of peripheral vision in left eye, (couldn't get seen after 1st diagnosis, 2020, because of covid lockdowns), and wanted to prevent further deterioration. I was having some difficulty during this summer, but have since gone onto preservative free drops. So the up tick could be due simply to that, as my eyes were getting quite red and sore on occasions. I also bathe my eyes with cornflower water, applied w/ cottonwool, as this soothes them. Hopefully my next appointment (Jan, 25) will confirm what I feel. Best of luck,
Does anyone know dosage for vitamin D3 and Coenzyme Q10??
Pilocaroine side effects
Diamex tablet treatment for lowering high eye pressures
Closed angle glaucoma 
Vitamin B research webinar
