Nutritional Supplement Reviews by Real People Like You

Remember, creatine is found in muscle. Folks, This is normal, and by no means is a factor associated with kidney malfunction. Creatine is broken down by the kidneys, and converted to creatinine. This is a by product and is excreted in urine. Yes, I do agree extra water consumption is needed, but this should be the case if you engage in any physical activity anyway! Please people, use a little common sense before writing hogwash and really showing us all how little you really know.

For about 2 weeks now I have been all over the Internet looking for anything about creatine. I came across this site and started reading over all the entries. All I have accomplished in these two weeks is finding completely mixed feelings about creatine. I could go from a site where one author swore that creatine was wonderful with little or no side effects, to a site that warned of kidney failure and risk of heart attacks. What I have realized though is that more studies and long-term information is needed on creatine. I also think that I am going to wait until I am a little older to decide to take creatine or not.

However, I do believe some people did have side effects, but that was probably because their bodies were different in some way from most people. Just because it is bad for one person, why is it bad for everyone else? Some people react badly to caffeine. Does that mean no one should drink coffee or pop? Creatine will work for 999,999 out of 1,000,000 people. If you are that other one person, I guess you're out of luck.

Then, I started feeling kind of sick and took a few more days off than normal from the routine (was training 3 on 3 off). I then started having bursts of energy accompanied by drains of energy. I went to work one day and suddenly, without any external strains, felt two very sharp pains in the center of my chest. So I sat up, thinking it might be the way I was sitting, and had another, only much stronger occur. Suddenly, all I saw was BLACKNESS. I rushed to get help and made it to the hospital. I thought I had just had a heart attack! I was thoroughly checked over and nothing wrong was found. It was attributed to some strange muscle spasm. The emergency room doctor attributed it to the use of Creatine, and stated that he had been hearing and coming across similar incidents. In general, he stated to stop all usage and notify him of anything else. So folks, get rid of that stuff. Keep using the AMINO ACIDS...but GET RID OF THAT CREATINE STUFF!

And trusting the FDA to tell you what is safe!!! Are they not the ones that approved the magic weight loss pills that killed several people and damaged several others hearts? Then they broke their necks to let pharmaceutical companies release another potentially dangerous weight loss drug. Tell me that the FDA is not in their hip pockets.

Professor Nikolai Volkov, the father of creatine and head of the Soviet Olympic nutrition research program, originally discovered the value of creatine supplementation in 1961. He developed and supervised Olympic sports nutrition programs for 30 years. Let's see...1961 to 2000, that's a grand total of 39 YEARS that creatine has been researched and used by the world's finest guinea pigs. And research shows that creatine is safe when taken in the proper dosage. Although an overdose can result in internal organ damage, I suspect all these stories of kidney failure and problems with creatine are caused by several factors.

1. Misinformation from inexperienced retail clerks.

2. Lack of proper research on the consumer's part.

3. Inadvertent overdoses.

4. Incorrect fluid intake.

5. Inadequate dietary plan and supplementation.

6. Impure creatine supplements containing high levels of dicyandiamide, creatinine, dihydrotriazine and sodium.

It seems to me that when people have problems out of their own ignorance, they always want somebody or something to blame. and the medical community is no different. So it must have been the creatine, it couldn't have been my body or anything I did.

I better watch what I say in that arena, because creatine is now being used by several highly acclaimed medical schools, such as Harvard, for research on creatine's effectiveness against ALS and MS. And guess what; One study showed creatine to be twice as effective in slowing the development of ALS than the current prescription medication.

While we are discussing prescription medication, has anyone ever seen a commercial for a prescription medication? You will probably remember hearing towards the end of the commercial,"side effects include...." and the list goes on and on. You should also listen to some of these side effects--headaches, cramping, nausea, etc. Why would we want to use prescription medication? Because a doctor recommends it. Bullsh––. In order for a prescription medication to be put on the market, there only needs to be 2 years of research on the product. You think you can determine any long term side effects in 2 years? NO.

Creatine has been researched for the last 10 years as a dietary supplement, and has been used for decades by Olympic and Professional athletes. If you would like to view the abstracts of over 200 research studies that have been published in scientific and medical journals, I would recommend conducting a search on MEDLINE. Just type in creatine, and search.

Through these 200 plus studies there have been no negative side effects. Yes, taking creatine may increase creatinine levels, but so can stress, dehydration, exercise, excess protein, etc. Also the testing procedures and numbers are set up for the average sedentary fat ass that sits in front of a computer all day and goes home to a six pack and a TV remote. Remember, exercise can increase creatinine levels. So, if you lead an active lifestyle, you may have elevated creatinine levels.

So how do you counter act this? Drink water. Drinking water can help your body flush toxins from your body. This is regular old fashioned water, not tea, coffee, soda, beer, etc. You should be drinking about 55-65% of your body weight in ounces of water per day plus 16 ounces for every pound lost during exercise or physical activity.

Since everyone is adding their little testimonial, I have been using creatine for over 7 years with no negative effects. I maintain between 5-7% body fat and weigh about 210 pounds. I am not a bodybuilder or a professional athlete, but someone who enjoys being in good health and working out. Part of being in good health is also being educated on what I am using to maintain my health. I am a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Personal Trainer, and Performance Nutrition Specialist. I have routine physicals, and imagine this, my doctor has never been concerned with creatinine levels. You would think that after 7 years of taking 10-15 grams of creatine a day with minimal time off during off training phases or injury, that if there were negative effects that I may have experienced even one. Not the case. Oh, I forgot to include that when I started using creatine I was a national level cyclist. I have since moved on to a career and living life to its fullest potential.

I know that I may not have educated some of you, but I hope to those that are looking for proven information, that you take all of these statements for what they are worth. I also suggest looking into the research. And if anyone knows of any studies, not "a friend of my cousin heard..." that show negative effects during the supplementation of creatine, post them.

Yours in good health

I couldn't take creatine in the evening because I would wake up during the night with a full bladder. Mixing with alcohol caused worse dehydration so I went on the wagon for a while. This diuretic effect is probably due to the monohydrate and the need to flush out the nitrogenous breakdown products of creatine.

I can't comment on creatine serum because we haven't seen that in Australia - yet. Of course, large doses of protein can have a similar effect on the liver and kidneys, with a lot of nitrogen to break down and excrete, and the combination would be even worse. Creatine monohydrate certainly works the kidneys, although this effect became much less pronounced in the maintenance phase when I was taking 5g per day. To minimise any effect further, I dissolved the 5g of creatine in a litre of water and drank it a little at a time over 6-8 hours. The strength gains leveled out at a 15% improvement, although I was not pushing myself nearly as hard as in my younger days 15 years ago. The best thing was that the gains stayed after using up all my creatine. It's interesting how the uninformed general public out there (with the media's help). I think its effectiveness will be determined by your attitude to your workout - if you go hard, you will achieve the results you want and these may come faster through the use of creatine. I put on virtually no weight over three months, maybe one or two kilos, although there was a loss of fat to account for as well.

My recommendation is to use it with caution once your current training regime has peaked and you need something extra to get you off the plateau. Don't use too much, 3-5g per day is enough, and dissolve it in plenty of hot water. If you are a diabetic or have any history of liver or kidney weakness, damage or disease, then I would avoid it. If you've ever used drugs, then creatine won't hold too many worries for you. If you are not an adult, wait and find out what your natural growth limits are. If you aren't happy, think about all the people in the world without enough to eat. Do some overseas travel, get a life and then hit the weights. Supplements are the last step down that road.

From my own research and from reading these entries, I have concluded that creatine is not safe to use. First of all, it deprives your body of a natural source of creatine and makes it dependent. It gives your body an artificial source of creatine, and we all know that the best source is a natural source. It's like taking artificially flavored cakes vs. fresh fruit cakes. The fresh fruit ones will taste like the real thing, and you will taste the difference between that and the artificial ones. Creatine also gives off a toxin when digested, that much is true from research. The toxin can be handled by some people, but in others it has disastrous results. Apparently, it can damage your liver, kidneys, or heart. I think that everyone should be aware of the dangers of creatine.

I believe in observing both sides of the fence before making a decision on which side to land. One mistake could cost you your life. Also, if you really want to gain muscle, and are too unsure of whether to buy creatine or not, I would suggest a whey protein formula. It works almost as good, with no known side effects other than diarrhea. There has also been more research done on whey protein than creatine monohydrate or creatine phosphate.

And as for "the Rock," you are no doctor and you couldn't possibly know how this supplement affects the body. I did my research, and I am no doctor either, but do weigh the risk vs. the benefits. If you must be a hard head and use creatine, do it at your own risk, and please don't do it over 6 months. Most of the complaints I found were from use of creatine for 6 months to 2 years. Consider all the consequences and use at your own risk. Just another thought, that guy that died from the supplement (so the doctors said) left behind a wife and a little child. The wife is now a widow. Please do the smart thing and don't take creatine. Whey protein is much better!

The creatinine in the body serves the function of a catalyst, making the bonding between inorganic phosphorus and ADP much more attainable. The creatine can then be used over again once the bonding has formed. However, the body has nearly unlimited amounts of inorganic phosphorus and large amounts of ADP, but only limited amounts of creatinine. Therefore, all the creatinine is being used, but there is an overwhelming amount of ADP and inorganic phosphorus left. This is the saturation point of the creatinine. This is where the supplement takes charge. The creatine monohydrate is incorporated into the cells and used in ATP synthesis. By adding more creatine to the body, the synthesis can speed up, and therefore increase energy during intense workouts such as weightlifting.

Of course, anything taken in overly large amounts can be detrimental, but when taken in moderation, the creatine monohydrate should have no adverse affects besides making a person more thirsty due to the accumulation of water. This person is so uneducated about the body and the products that he sells that I would warn potential customers not to buy anything at the GNC where this person works. Get an education on the subject, and then you can bash it.

I've been seriously lifting now for about 6 months drug-free, and I haven't gained one pound. I started out weighing 135 lbs. and having a max bench of about 150. Now I weigh 135 lbs. and my max bench is somewhere around 215. I have about four friends who, in preparation for the summer, have decided to take creatine to look good. And now I'm pissed because one guy, even though he weighs about 20 or 30 pounds more than me, all of the sudden can bench like 245 lbs. I think he might be sh––ing me, but it seems to me that his laziness combined with a necessity to be better than me, have driven him to use creatine (which he says he's quitting after he goes to the beach).

So what I'm getting at here is that to use creatine is to abandon your trust in the abilities if your own body. I still don't see how people can claim they lift a certain amount of weight when they don't know how much of it they did, and how much the creatine did. I don't want to go through life questioning whether I could've done it without the help. Stay safe.

Mike

As far as results go, I started lifting after football season ended this year. That was about 6 months ago. I was benching 170 lbs, squatting 295 lbs, deadlifting 300 lbs, and cleaning 145 lbs. Now, I am benching 215, squatting 470, deadlifting 385, and cleaning 205. THIS IS WITHOUT CREATINE. My friends say that if I would take it, I could set team records for my size in squat and deadlift. But since I talked to multiple doctors about it, I have decided against it. I was told by one doctor that he and his son took creatine for 3 weeks, monitoring their kidney production. In just 3 weeks, they saw a 60% kidney shut down. I also attended a wrestling camp at Ohio State University and was told by a coach there that if my body needed more creatine to maximize my lifting ability, it would produce it on its own. There's obviously a reason why my body won't do that. IT'S BAD FOR IT!!!

So bottom line, you can achieve results without the stuff. It shuts your kidneys down and you body naturally creates the amount that it needs on its own. Too much of anything in your body isn't a good thing. We've all heard that as we've been growing up.

I have always been one to bust my tail in the gym, and quite frankly, the only reason I ever took creatine in the first place was because I heard of the miracles it could perform. I was already strong, but I had my senior year of football ahead of me, and I was a returning starter. I had some distorted picture in my mind that through creatine, I could bench press 350 pounds and have the athleticism to run a 4.4 40 yard dash and still play free safety at 180 lbs.

After taking creatine for 4 1/2 months, my max on the bench press only went up 15 lbs from 250 (before) to 265 (after). I believe if I had not taken creatine I would have seen better results, as working out 6 days a week for 2 hours a day on this stuff only yielded a gain of 15 lbs on my max. Creatine is basically an excuse, a cheap way for some to try and become the super-athlete they always wanted to be. I only took it because of the outcome I had hoped for. There is no substitute for hard work, and any person who wants to start loading creatine who is SERIOUS about getting stronger can get the exact results from bustin' their tail in the weight room, not being lazy and looking for a cheap way too get there. Creatine advertises to the weak who hope to get strong and the strong who hope to get stronger. But it is a worthless drug, as drugs are defined as substances that alter the equilibrium of the body.

Too much of any drug can cause serious health problems, so why would a young athlete take a such a risk as popping a drug that almost nothing is known about? They have the hope of becoming a superman more dominant than Michael Jordan and Barry Sanders combined. It boggles my mind, as I too made the mistake of taking creatine, when all I needed ALONE was the right attitude.

One thing my football coaches always said to us was that "it's only cheating if you get caught." They were referring to a 15 yard penalty though, which has no repercussions off the field. Being called for pass-interference is a much better consequence than living a life with cancer or kidney failure.

By the way, if you drink this stuff called water (one of those new dangerous supplements, look out dude, better do some "research" and prove this stuff to be bad for you too) it will filter out any "acid build-up." May I remind you that acid builds up in your system with or without creatine. Hell, anything would if there was nothing there to filter it out. You may also become dehydrated without water, thus causing it to be a challenge to take a shiz. That could explain why your little buddy was having a hard time using the pottie. Oh, and dude please don't tell everyone that you work and GNC...It's making the store look bad.

1. It won't work if you are using any other product along with it. People who are taking a supplement and then buy creatine without letting the other supplement out of their system will get hurt and blame it on the creatine.

2. I'm sure some people taking creatine were also drinking (beer), which will lead to kidney failure. With high levels of creatine in your liver and kidneys, drinking might have stronger effects.

3. People in the WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN competition take Met-rx, which has creatine in it. They have to be tested by so many doctors to compete that if the creatine has adverse effects they would not be able to compete.

4. Like someone said, if you exceed the loading phase, it will do damage. Think about it. High amounts of creatine leads to kidney and liver problems, so if the loading phase is exceeded and you do not take the dosage afterward you are doing it to yourself and it is not the creatine's fault.

In conclusion, if you're stupid enough to abuse a product which you know can hurt you seriously, IT IS YOUR FAULT. People, do not be stupid and talk bad about the product. Some of these responses have people bad mouthing creatine who have not used it.

DO NOT ABUSE THE PRODUCT

1. Commercial gym operators rank beneath used car salesmen in integrity.

2. Far too many of us over-exercise our jaw muscles in the gym.

3. Proper form is rarely seen.

4. Physically fit and body building are generally mutually exclusive.

5. Short-cutting is the American way - in the gym, too.

What does this drivel have to do with creatine? I have watched any number of fellows use this stuff and they go about it in the same misbegotten and unorganized fashion as they approach the rest of their workout. Results gained are difficult to categorize or attribute. The type of person who is willing to use creatine is liable to be gobbling two or three other supplements if he can afford them.

The devil himself couldn't come up with the truth of the situation. It's the American way, again: fill yourself up with a variety of nostrums, work out a bit, see what happens. One hundred years ago, it was other substances. If your foolishness got you hurt or killed, back then, people shrugged. No FDA around. Can't feel too sorry for the clowns who've hurt themselves in this day and age.

One thing you might consider trying that I guarantee will gain you five pounds in six months (even if you're fifty): Slow your reps wayyyy down.

To the "expert" from GNC...let me say this. I would be concerned as well if I had your medical problems. However, they are NOT from creatine if you took it correctly and had no pre-existing medical conditions. Let's see how much you really know. I'll bet you didn't know that GNC has been bought out. I'll bet you didn't know that the SAME company has also purchased Met-Rx, World Wide and Optimum Nutrition. I'll bet you didn't know that this same company is also trying to buy Muscletech,Twin Lab, Champion and Weider. I'll bet you didn't know that some companies actually PAY GNC to carry their products. I'll bet you didn't know that GNC (now purchased by someone else) owned Pro Performance. What is my point in this? You don't know the facts about the company you work for. So let's be honest...why should we trust your judgement about Creatine?

Creatine has been used widely for over 10 years now. Compare the number of "reported" bad side effect cases with the number of EXTREMELY happy consumers of Creatine. I say "reported", because anything can be reported, even if the facts are wrong. There are millions upon millions of Creatine users, and VERY little "reporting" of bad side effects. Let's deal with the reason for side effects to begin with. Side effects such as diarrhea are from fillers in the Creatine, NOT Creatine. Aluminum phosphate and magnesium are the fillers, and any abundance will cause this. I.E. unscrupulous companies use more fillers than others.

Dehydration...if you knew anything about the supplement before you took it (most don't), you would know to increase your water intake. Creatine causes the volumization of the muscle cells, shuttling more water and ATP into the cells. 8 oz of steak does contain 1 gram of creatine, plus your body already makes creatine, so you can estimate 2 grams per day if you eat ONLY one 8-ounce steak per day. However, MOST people eat steaks and red meat that are LARGER than 8 ounces per serving. On top of that, MANY people eat more than one serving of red meat daily. So a lot of people get the SAME amount of creatine or close to the amount recommended from supplements (5g daily) without even supplementing.

Doctors say creatine is bad...LMAO. Most doctors know NOTHING about supplements,their intended purpose, their capabilities, side effects, potential, anything...they aren't supposed to. It is NOT their general field. JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) has done several studies, and has claimed nothing about these side effects from normal, intended usage of creatine.

So lets boil this down.
1. Working at GNC does not make you an "expert". In fact, it is very derogatory to your knowledge.
2. You have to learn and KNOW about then supplements BEFORE you take them.
3. Creatine does NOT build muscle...it simply creates ATP (energy) which is used to increase endurance. ATP, for those that don't know (in layman's terms) is what fuels muscle contractions.
4. Creatine is NOT harmful in ANY way unless you have pre-existing conditions, or take it incorrectly.

Let me add this...I'll guarantee that those of you who had kidney problems NEVER went to a doctor and had it checked out BEFORE you supplemented with Creatine. So HOW can you tell us, it was definitely from the creatine? You cant, because you had an existing condition which you were not aware of. In closing...GET THE FACTS (P.S. You wont find them at GNC).

Traps

Now, if you are taking creatine, eating a high protein diet and are taking other supplements, you are putting that much more stress on your kidneys and liver. By the way, if you have a few drinks now and then, you can count on your kidneys getting some sort of damage from using creatine.

If you think you're getting huge off of creatine, just wait and see what happens if you take it long enough and then stop taking it! When you start to feel a flank pain in your lower back, don't mistake it for muscle pain. It probably isn't. Also, if you start crapping blood or having painful urination, you'd better see the doc right away.

One more thing -- if you think that getting big is the most important thing in your life, if you think that big arms are going to make you more money, give you better acceptance, and love, then eventually getting big controls your life. Don't lose your head! Believe me when I say that the most important thing in your life is your health! It's not your size or strength. It is very hard to become huge. You work so damn hard for everything you have put into and on your body, but remember, one injury or one bout with an illness can take all that hard earned muscle away just like that! But guess what? You are still left with the damage that you have caused your body by stuffing it with unnatural, not-intended substances and BS. Be smart, nobody will be smart for you!

I'm in graduate school, and if I strolled into my thesis committee and declared that I was going to write my thesis on an experiment that I ran on only one subject, I would be laughed out of school. But somehow you muscle heads will go to the grave declaring that you have more scientific prowess than Merck, J and J, Pfizer, the FDA, and the USDA combined. Boy are you guys full of yourselves. Please go to the library (I know its been a while) and check out a book on the scientific process. Learn about sample populations and statistical significance. Just because you got big while you were taking a placebo you believed in does not mean the placebo made you big. Did you guys run double blind tests with Creatine before you arrived at your conclusion?

Creatine may work. Although I doubt it. Bee pollen, ginseng, Seritonin, and Tae Bo may work too, but I doubt it. I don't know of any doctors that prescribe this wonder drug, so to me its dubious. My biochemistry teacher who has studied a lot more about proteins than any of you clowns and is an MD/PhD from one on the top schools in the country isn't keen on Creatine. It's just one educated man's opinion. He hasn't conducted extensive experiments, but it doesn't look good for you junkies. Creatine in its current state is for Cretins.

Lets put 2 and 2 together. What happens when someone starts creatine? They begin to workout more intensely. Well, why is it that millions upon millions of people take it, but relatively few suffer these hazardous effects. Well, maybe those few have overlooked something that should have been brought to their attention before they decided to go do 12 hour over training sessions at the local gym. Hell, people are throwing down Whoppers like it's their last day on earth, yet we aren't up in arms about shutting down Burger King because high LDL levels increase the risk of heart attack. We don't blame Dave Thomas when someone eats Wendy's, then at 40 has a heart attack because of a bad diet.

As for myself, I've read numerous PEER REVIEWED journals. Yes, with actually case studies Mr. grad school Ph.D., and there's about 6000 of them out there. You should try looking up a few. Most have done liver enzyme studies and kidney toxicity studies on people who use versus those that have never used creatine, and they have yet to find any difference in the liver enzymes or kidney functioning...but according to you, I guess they're just a dumb bunch of Ph.D.'s at various universities doing this.

Thank you,
Mike

Now someone will come on here and say that I don't know what I'm talking about. When it comes down to it, I don't think anyone has all the answers about creatine. It probably depends on the person's body. Some people benefit and others have negative effects. It's a risk I was willing to take for a while. I also see it as one of those things that, if taken for long periods of time or without time-off from it, then there can be harmful effects. As with most things, your body probably builds a tolerance for it and that's where it can be harmful in the wrong hands. They think they have to take more creatine and they end up taking too much. Your body only uses so much of the creatine anyways. So why use more then the recommend dose. You're wasting money and definitely increasing the chances for negative side effects.

Response #33 said that creatine was for people who are impatient, but he takes amino acids. Hello goober! You're not exactly all natural yourself amino boy. He's doing the exact same thing. Putting more of something in his body for faster results. I've done it too. I'm not for or against creatine. That's just my opinion for those who are first time users or thinking about creatine.

< Previous Page   1   2   3   4   5   Next Page >