I just wanted to post this as I thought it might help someone else in my position
I am menopausal and had been having flushes last year but all stopped now until I started taking b complex brand (Source of Life Garden). Once I started the b complex omg they went though the roof, every 15 mins half an hour very intense flush so I looked into what was in the b complex and it it turns out B3 Niacin can cause flushing. I stopped the b complex and they stopped immediately, I restarted and they came back....so obviously I stopped taking them. They also caused me to gain a huge appetite which also stopped when I stopped taking these tablets.
I am now on the look out for a complex with very small doses in it and preferably without b 3.
Hope I might have helped someone that might be questioning hot flushes while on b complex.
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madeline05
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You're welcome, it is a blooming nightmare finding the right thing, I did come across this so perhaps there is a better option... whywelikethis.com/best-vita...
Edit.. scrub that!! When you look at the products listed they have Niacin in them 😕
Edit 2... they all contain nicotinamide so are niacin free! 😵💫
Apparently nicotinamide is flushing free, have you checked which form your current ones contain?
I have found the flushing is dose and preparation dependent and it could equally be the B12 and an allergy to cobalt (google MHRA advise 2023 on this).
I must admit, when I happened to me I was happy to keep experiencing the flushing as it kept me warm all day. However, after a few days this side effect wore off.
Thank you healthstardust. The heat is nice in the winter aright tbh I really don't like the flushes though as they are quiet intense and inconvenient while at work. I feel like stripping off, not good haha. They also wake me throughout the night so I am throwing the blankets on and odd the bed continuously arrgghhh driving me bananas. Maybe I should get tested to see if I have an allergy to MHRA, it would be good to know.
Others have brought up similar on the forum before.
HealthStarDust has experienced exactly what I read about this B Vitamin about fifty years ago. I am desperately trying to remember the authors name. American name like …… He was all the rage at the time and is still referred to re: vitamins. If I recall, if you really needed the vitamin, this part of the process lasts longer. Flushing and overheating. It is a recognised side issue. I love HealthStarDust explanation of her experience. I would like to be kept warm all day.
However if it really worries you I guess really don’t want that effect.
Linus Pauling and Abram Hoffer were promising eternal youth through orthomolecular medicine (reliance on supplements, to the extent of megadoses) during the 1960s.
I am sure the guy I am thinking of worked a bit later. It’s still on the tip of my tongue. He was used as a source in all sorts of alternative health training type courses. As I was trying to find his name, I also came up with Adele Davis another proponent (through food) who was of similar ilk, who was very popular at the time. I liked her work. I also lived through a period when it was all thought ‘whacky’. There were many orthodox doctors who were dead against it all. Nothing new today then. Still we seem to have come full circle.
My vitamin levels etc are much better (costly) and I can’t honestly proclaim they have contributed to my ‘recovery’ in any way. However I also can’t say they have not.
I tried the flush-type niacin when I got COVID-19 early in 2021. My temperature had started to rise at the end of my self-isolation period, which I later read was a danger sign. I find it difficult to believe those who say they "love the flush" but my temperature came down after the predicted two days, accompanied by a huge sense of relief. From what I read I was unsure if it would have a bad effect on my blood glucose levels, and the infection had pushed me into prediabetes, so I didn't continue taking it.
I've supplemented vitamin D3+K2 over the past year and have higher serum level than I ever achieved with plenty of sun exposure (99 vs. 65, but it had dropped to 26 nmol/L), using a low-cost eBay source. My mild hypocalcaemia has managed to sort itself out, although I notice no particular benefits, and I didn't avoid a suspected C-19 infection in February.
I'm now a cynical old grump, wary of all the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed pill-pushers. Getting pills from actual doctors can be difficult enough.
Keep being a cynical old grump, it’s the best defence against what we deal with. Anyway even on the Forum it’s still difficult to ‘measure’ what each of us put up with. In my case it was thought to be palpitations (bad enough) but actually it’s proved to be SVT. SVT is like palpitations on steroids. So whilst I am thinking what a coward I am compared to others pushing through with their palpitations and “Why can’t I?” Turns out it was something else much more difficult to stick with after all.
I finally remembered the name of the Vitamin guy who was “the bees knees” in the seventies. Patrick Holford. That must be a record for me in trying to retrieve a name. Maybe I am not doing all that good?
For me the flush was dry. No sweating, just nicely warming and a red face.
I asked the staff in the health shop and they said they never heard anyone have symptoms reaction to b complex like me...REALLY?? honestly. I have since read ALOT of people have the flushing reaction. Seems like you had it very bad smallbluething. Im glad your Vit D is at a good level, It pays to do your bloods and stay on top of things x
The flush type niacin usually has to be searched for, so it may have been lax manufacturing quality affecting the supplement, and you.
One comment said that the "heroic" doses of niacin recommended for COVID-19 may (or may not) have avoided that pandemic, but led to a pandemic of liver disease. I took a high dose of aspirin (recommended by Italian doctors), but the UK RECOVERY trial found the likelihood of it causing harm outweighed any benefits.
thank you arTistapple. I will look into those 2 authors, adele davis and Patrick Holford. I am learning so much on this sight it is wonderful wealth of information.
Glad you vit levels have got much better, I think in the long run it must help for sure. x
Just checked Holford out. 17 years ago someone did an investigation on him. He did not come out well. So SmallBlueThing quite right to be “a cynical old grump”!
Thanks madeline05 I'll investigate this. I suspect the hot flushes for me are linked to thyroid hormone or cortisol levels but it's good to know the possible causes, they are a nightmare!
It was a few months of eod B12 injections. I still get the odd flush if the room temp changes (when the heating kicks in for eg) but the night sweats have stopped.
I too started flushing when I took the Thorne B Complex vitamins and worked out it may be the Niacin. Some days were worse than others and I thought it was beginning to give me Rosacea. I studied the Vitamin B blog by Helvella (sorry I don't have the reference) and ordered one that did not seem to contain it. I ordered HomocysteX Plus from Seeking Health. These tablets were horrible they made me feel really angry and irritable and depressed. I stopped taking them and have continued just with an occasional B12 drops and Biotin. However, I can definitely feel the difference without a B supplement so have now had another look and found one with less Niacin the Igennus Super B-Complex which is often recommended on this site. I haven't started taking yet but hoping it doesn't cause the flushing. Please let me know if you find a B supplement that doesn't cause the flushing or horrible side effects.
Yes I am like you, I do need them, I really delt the boost in energy and mins but I have to say the side affects were too bad for me to continue, I was a witch, snappy cranky, exhausted from lack of sleep, hot flushes constantly, and non stop eating which I put down to biotin as it happened a few years ago when I took biotin solely on its own, famished , eating all round insatiable hunger, tg that's stopped.
I will keep looking and if I come across something Il let you know for sure, x
Thank you. That's made me think . I am taking biotin on its own at the moment and have been really hungry, maybe thats why? I'll have to monitor that. Good luck with finding something.
Shellian, you could stop and restart and see that way. I put up 7lb in a week...nuts..but appetite back to normal healthy once stopped. I really wish I could just take a b complex and not have to dissect it.. Alas it's not like that for me. Enjoy the rest of your wkd x
B complex comes in flush free. You have the other kind. I used the regular kind ONCE. It scared the crap out of me. I thought I would have to call in sick but it passed just in time. Honestly did not know what was happening. I sure found out.
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tbh I really don't like the flushes though as they are quiet intense and inconvenient while at work. I feel like stripping off, not good haha. They also wake me throughout the night so I am throwing the blankets on and odd the bed continuously arrgghhh driving me bananas. Maybe I should get tested to see if I have an allergy to MHRA, it would be good to know.
Basic B Complex reaction? 
Hot flushes. Anxiety 
Which Vitamin b complex?
When to take B complex?
B complex - lowering folate levels!
