Taking Niacin

I am a 61 year old guy 6'3" 190lb.  I am taking crestor 20mg, plavix, and verapamil 180mg.  My Cholesterol total is 116 the LDL 61 and Triglycerides 92. , but my HDL is low 38.  I eat very good and work out 3 to 4 times a week. Blood Pressure 115/75.   But 6 months ago I had a minor stroke in my right lower cerebellum. So I want to try to get my HDL in a better range.    I am taking over the counter SLO NIACIN 500mg now and want to take at least 1500mg or 2000mg, but I keep reading about slow niacin, immediate release niacin, Niaspan, extended release niacin.  I keep reading about the problems of having the heavy doses of Niacin in my liver so much that it is dangerous. So my question is I don't know how to take Niacin and what kind to take.  And how long to take.
My whole idea of this is to not have another stroke.

[joanincarolina]

My suggestion to you, based on your risk profile, is to take a Niacin that is a prescription type so your doctor would know how much you're getting each dose. Niacin works very well on lipids and it did wonders changing my LDL/HDL ratio and had a great impact on the Lp(a). I take RX Niaspan at night along with an aspirin and had only one event with flushing after being on it a couple of months. I keep lab appointments to monitor both lipid profile and liver organ tests. I'm very pleased with results. Good Luck. Joan.