Anyone take creatine?

[Hawk_recon]

My curiosity has been piqued: I’m taking 5mg a day. But I’m also on 10mg Reta per week. Been battling some energy crashes.

And I weight train at the gym 4-5x/week. I think I’ll explore 10mg split like you do.

Worth a try! And as long as you don’t get any stomach upset or anything, as far as research shows there’s zero downside - especially since it’s so cheap to get quality creatine nowadays.

 

[Socram1578]

Was taking creatine daily about 7g a day for 3 months. Before starting I had done testing and everything was normal and after the 3 months I had another test and dr said my kidney function was reduced, but no indicators of kidney damage. He asked me to stop the creatine because he thinks the increase in creatine intake is making my kidneys think they’re not working properly. I’ll know in a couple months when I retest.

 

[Llanitox]

Have you noticed you feel better?

What time of day do you take it?

What do you take it for?

I bought some to keep muscles and body hydrated while on my Reta journey. Losing weight pretty fast and want to make sure my body is hydrated and fed. Took some last night.

Just curious what other people think about it and best time to take and its effects.

Literally the best thing you can take on Reta to maintain some muscle fullness not to mention all the other benefits like cognitive function and getting those extra reps or two whilst training. 5mg daily is all you need there is no scientific evidence that suggest pre loading with 20/15g a week or two does anything different.

 

[Beachnwaves98]

This is what I’m calling my morning elixir, all about brain health & longevity.

Collagen 11g

MCT powder 10g

Cocoa Bean Extract 1/4tsp

Lion’s Mane 1g

Creatine 5g

Feel the cognitive benefits every day, without question.

This stack along with clean AF eating has helped me remove ADHD stimulants totally from my life.

 

[Terminix8]

10g per day for a bit over 2 years now. I just have my tub of creapure set up to auto ship every month and a half or so. Love it. Like Blasius I mix it into a cup & a half of greek yogurt w/ blueberries and vanilla ice cream flavored whey protein powder for breakfast every morning. Very filling, only 370 calories and ends up being 57 grams of protein (for all those trying to push that g per lb of lean mass).

 

[Bioexplorer]

Was taking creatine daily about 7g a day for 3 months. Before starting I had done testing and everything was normal and after the 3 months I had another test and dr said my kidney function was reduced, but no indicators of kidney damage. He asked me to stop the creatine because he thinks the increase in creatine intake is making my kidneys think they’re not working properly. I’ll know in a couple months when I retest.

It's most likely not a concern. I took creatine for may years but quit over a decade ago when I was diagnosed with early kidney disease based on elevated creatinine and low eGFR. Labs improved when I quit creatine so I stayed away.

I just resumed taking 5mg/day this year after learning that it's normal for creatine supplements to cause an increase in creatinine as measured in blood test and creatinine is often used to calculate estimated GFR creating a false indicator of kidney problems.

So when your blood work comes back showing improved kidney function after stopping creatine, it's just an artifact of the test. You need more expensive testing to truly evaluate kidney function. I'm surprised your doctor isn't aware of this effect since a simple Google or AI search will confirm this info with multiple references. But to be fair, I aware of no data on possible effects of long term supplementation

 

[TacoLifter420]

I currently dont take creatine. I have in the past and I just dont get the results from it. Sure I hold a little more intercellular water, but no extra strength or capacity.

I do eat a good amount t of red meat, so its possible im already getting a sufficient amount for my physiology from my diet.

 

[birdwhacker]

My cardiologist would kick my Lilly white ass if heard I was drinking salt water. I think I would try creatine unless it's loaded with salt .

Why would creatine have salt?

In your case, potassium water may be preferable. Porassium balances sodium intake.

 

[Calm Logic]

Awesome good thanks for the tip appreciated much. As an older male I have to watch to much crap to stay alive. The days of 2 whoppers with cheese , large fries washed down with a six pack are gone. Damn it !

Taco Tuesday, Whopper Wednesday, Funeral Friday, haha

There was a guy on Reddit who coincidentally had a heart attack the same day he had an Impossible Whopper at BK. Since then, I have been even more skeptical of Impossible's coconut oil and ultra-processing.

 

[JohannesSweden77]

I thought I would get smarter from taking 10g instead of 5g a day. This morning I went to the gym and forgot my gym shoes. Luckily I live next door to the gym but you feel pretty stupid taking off your outside shoes and just pausing for a few seconds just to get your shoes on and go. The same day on my way to work I got to my car and realized I have my slippers on. Only shoe related incidents for some reason.

 

[Rdg1970]

I fell for the myth that 20g/day improved cognition and mental focus. That hasnt been proven yet. I found it just made me burp...a lot. It also spiked my creatinine levels, which can be a marker for kidney failure/disease. So I went off it, I felt no ill effects coming with out it. Mental fog didnt sweep in, I didnt turn weak in the gym. I know its the most studied supplement besides protein but I feel no different on or off it. Oh and if your creatinine test high get a cystatin C eFGR blood test. It isn't affected by creatine or muscle mass, so it's the honest kidney number when you're supplementing.

 

[rkbleddyn]

5g a day, Thorne Micronized. Been doing for about 10 months now. I have never had any side effects from it that I can tell, except for higher creatinine level on labs. No idea if the creatinine is doing that, but Cystatin C is normal.

 

[islandtime50]

I find it definitely fucks up your coffee (and I take mine black). However, after surgery last December, I can no longer sleep on the stuff. There is the distinct possibility that lacking the vast majority of my colon is also a factor.

 

[JohannesSweden77]

I fell for the myth that 20g/day improved cognition and mental focus. That hasnt been proven yet. I found it just made me burp...a lot. It also spiked my creatinine levels, which can be a marker for kidney failure/disease. So I went off it, I felt no ill effects coming with out it. Mental fog didnt sweep in, I didnt turn weak in the gym. I know its the most studied supplement besides protein but I feel no different on or off it. Oh and if your creatinine test high get a cystatin C eFGR blood test. It isn't affected by creatine or muscle mass, so it's the honest kidney number when you're supplementing.

Yeah I realize it's not for me either. Stopping right away and going back to 5g a day. Did absolutely nothing differently from taking just 5g as intended

I take creatine everyday. 5mg in the AM. thinking about trying 10mg a day

Don't. Does nothing besides wasting your money and creatinine levels

 

[bluewater]

I take 15mg every day. When I first load it into my system I notice my body weight increases a few pounds which I believe is extra water retention. But after a couple of weeks I find that I get improved endurance in my workouts.

 

[Sector]

I want to tell you guys a story about my experience with creatine:

On a cold Friday afternoon, I had come home from school. I had been thinking of the gym all day. I was hungry, didn't have any lunch. In fact, I didn't eat because I spent the money. For the past month I was saving up for something. Something special which I bought at GNC. I was surprised they didn't ask for ID; I was pretty sure the cashier noticed how nervous I was. Anyways, my mom asked my how my day was when I got home, but I ignored her. I have more important things to do. I run to the bathroom and unpack my bag. In my school bag is a white plastic bag from GNC. I open the bag, first removing the receipt and flushing it down the toilet to get rid of the evidence. My heart was racing now. I unpack the creatine monster from the bag.

I wonder what people will be asking me when they see that I will be 50lbs heavier. Should I say I was just eating a lot? I remove the label from the tub and tear it into a thousand small pieces. I flush that down the toilet, too. It is time now. I run up to my room when my mom ask me what I am holding. I panic, sweat drips down my forehead and my teeth chatter. "Mom, it's just for a school project". "What project?" "I don't know mom I just started it!". A tear runs down my cheek. I run upstairs and open the creatine, scooping upservings into a clear water bottle. What have I gotten myself into? I fill it with water and drink it. There is no turning back now. The creatine monster is inside me now, it will control me. What should I do if I die? I cant let my family know about this.

I open the creatine tub and throw it all out the window; a white cloud of mysterious dust sparkles into the wind so graciously. I feel the substance taking control of me; I am now the monster. I walk downstairs, its time to work out; time to get big. Now I worry, I don't want to get too big; people will think I use steroids. I do use steroids. No I don't. Creatine. All I see is the weights now, I am almost downstairs now. I walk in the basement and drop to my knees before the weights, tears running down my cheeks. I turn to the right and look at myself in the mirror. Oh god, what have I done?

 

[bamagirl26]

I bought a container of creatine at Sams on recommendation of a friend, but then my kids told me it was gonna just make me bloated, so I was hesitant to take it. I think until I start lifting weights more, I will give it a pass, but it's interesting to hear it's good for brain health too. I may take it just for that!

 

[bamagirl26]

This is what I’m calling my morning elixir, all about brain health & longevity.

Collagen 11g

MCT powder 10g

Cocoa Bean Extract 1/4tsp

Lion’s Mane 1g

Creatine 5g

Feel the cognitive benefits every day, without question.

This stack along with clean AF eating has helped me remove ADHD stimulants totally from my life.

are you throwing that in a shake or something? I need more focus!

 

[KevinS]

I take 15g a day. In the morning with double scoop of ON whey. Also add a little scoop of HMB in there. I try to lift every day and take a boat load of peptides. Reta, MotsC, SS, SLU, bpc, tb, kpv, ghk-cu, tesa, ipa, nad, trt. Those are split up between morning and evening. Do I feel good? Hell yeah. 55yo and just dropped from 275 to 220 in about 8 months and just had neck surgery C5-C7 adcf with c6 corpectomy. Loaded up on bpc, tb, kpv, ghk a month before surgery and had zero pain after surgery.

 

[colg8r]

5g daily to offset lean muscle loss while losing on Reta. Paired with resistance training 3x-4x weekly.

Muscle has a ceiling on how much creatine it can hold (there is a saturation limit, muscle is not an infinite sponge). Once saturated, continuing 5 g/day just maintains that plateau and any creatine beyond what’s needed for maintenance gets excreted by the kidneys rather than pushing muscle content higher.

Most of the cognitive/mood literature was done in specific populations (women, vegetarians, older adults, people under metabolic stress). YMMV.