Starting to take creatine, in need of some advice

AndyOR

First of all I hope this is the right place to be posting this

Now down to my question, I've been looking around on websites and pages on Facebook and there seems to be so many different creatine products. Only just tonight have I had a proper look at MyProtein and read some of the reviews of their products. Is there anybody that takes the creatine monohydrate or the creapure from MyProtein?

Also, I have taken MaxiMuscle before and found it very good, but it is very expensive. I was thinking of getting some Optimum Nutrition whey protein but then I was looking at the MyProtein Impact Whey isolate, now this is €5 dearer than the optimum nutrition and does it contain all the BCAA's etc. that the ON protein does?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Theresalwaysone

Creatine Monohydrate. Its the basic one, you can get flavourless and it works. Doesnt really matter what brand imo.

No idea about the protein but its quite likley both products have their ingredients online so compare.

TheUsual

Long term use will damage your liver and kidneys.

It's not steroids, but will screw you up if used every day.

Burkatron

TheUsual wrote: »

Long term use will damage your liver and kidneys.

It's not steroids, but will screw you up if used every day.

Eh really? Have you got sources to back that up or did Joe Duffy tell you that? You do know there's creatine in meat so whats your opinion on that?

OP afaik this would be closer to ON whey you've been taking, the isolate is the next step up as it contains around 90% protein where as the concentrate contains 80% ish, at €8 extra a kilo I'd stick to the concentrate.

Isolate is also easier on the stomach if you have a lactose allergy as there is less lactose in it due to micro filtration,IMO this would be the main reason to go for Isolate over concentrate.

Mack_1111

Burkatron wrote: »

You do know there's creatine in meat so whats your opinion on that?

There's a lot of beneficial micro nutrients in meat but when you isolate them and consume in large quantities then there is the potential for toxicity. There's also saturated fat in meat; by your reasoning, because it's in meat, there's no potential harm and possibly added benefits.

I can't back up the claim that it will damage your liver or kidneys, (which is not to say it won't), but I do know that it has been linked to bed-wetting and compartment syndrome. There has been, as far as I can find, no long term or longitudinal studies into long term creatine use so we are dealing with unknown unknowns, so it's wrong for anybody to make absolute claims for or against.

Burkatron

Mack_1111 wrote: »

There's a lot of beneficial micro nutrients in meat but when you isolate them and consume in large quantities then there is the potential for toxicity. There's also saturated fat in meat; by your reasoning, because it's in meat, there's no potential harm and possibly added benefits.

I can't back up the claim that it will damage your liver or kidneys, (which is not to say it won't), but I do know that it has been linked to bed-wetting and compartment syndrome. There has been, as far as I can find, no long term or longitudinal studies into long term creatine use so we are dealing with unknown unknowns, so it's wrong for anybody to make absolute claims for or against.

By any chance were you advising the Danish government recently?
You really believe saturated fats have no health benefits at all?

There's plenty of studies out there that backup creatine, if taken in recommended doses & time periods have no effect on hepatic or renal function in a healthy adult.

Out of curiosity under what parameters has it been linked to bed wetting & compartment syndrome?

EileenG

TheUsual wrote: »

Long term use will damage your liver and kidneys.

It's not steroids, but will screw you up if used every day.

Evidence please? Creatine is one of the most researched supplements on the planet. I've got a stack of studies at home on the many, many benefits of it, not just for sports, but for things like bone density, heat adaptation, injury rehab etc. The occasional annecdotal report of an adverse result is nearly always associated with something stupid like restricting fluids while taking it.

I've never heard of it causing bed wetting. It has no diuretic properties at all.

Tigger

i used creatine wrongly before and got cramps and it wrecked my stomache
wrongly was to not dissolve it properly

i'm using it now dissolved in tea createaTM and it has no side-affects

Theresalwaysone

Actually, this might be a relevant question for this thread:

I've been getting pains in my calf lately, feel like 'growing pains', a dull continous pain. Monday I had it in my right calf and yesterday/today in my left? Stretching it doesnt seem to help. Its quite annoying.

Could this have anything to do with the Creatine. Im taking a 1/3 of a scoop (ON Scoop size) daily.

I drink a lot of water/green tea daily but it could still be a water problem.

Has anyone experienced this? It could be a lot of other things, but I thought Id ask.

Tefral

Theresalwaysone wrote: »

Actually, this might be a relevant question for this thread:

I've been getting pains in my calf lately, feel like 'growing pains', a dull continous pain. Monday I had it in my right calf and yesterday/today in my left? Stretching it doesnt seem to help. Its quite annoying.

Could this have anything to do with the Creatine. Im taking a 1/3 of a scoop (ON Scoop size) daily.

I drink a lot of water/green tea daily but it could still be a water problem.

Has anyone experienced this? It could be a lot of other things, but I thought Id ask.

Have you been doing calf exercises recently? Could just be DOMS?

Ive been using Creatine for a couple of Months now, no side effects like bed wetting etc. All ive noticed is a small bit of water retention, but isnt that what its designed to do??!

Hanley

Theresalwaysone wrote: »

Actually, this might be a relevant question for this thread:

I've been getting pains in my calf lately, feel like 'growing pains', a dull continous pain. Monday I had it in my right calf and yesterday/today in my left? Stretching it doesnt seem to help. Its quite annoying.

Could this have anything to do with the Creatine. Im taking a 1/3 of a scoop (ON Scoop size) daily.

I drink a lot of water/green tea daily but it could still be a water problem.

Has anyone experienced this? It could be a lot of other things, but I thought Id ask.

Do you run?

Has your training changed at all?

Were you on your feet an unusually large amount of time over the past week? (a walk at the weekend maybe)

Are you drinking enough water?

Do you play any sports?

Theresalwaysone

Hanley wrote: »

Do you run?

Yes, about twice a week. I suspected it was this firstly but thought Id ask to see if anyone has similar pains

Has your training changed at all?

Not drastically, but it could be this. I generally train 3 times a week resistance, full body SS type training. Twice a week Ill run/train for soccer. Tue/Thurs. Sat I usually spend about 40 mins stretching and foam rolling. Sunday match. Although season is over now so nothing on a Sunday and instead of training I usually jog

Were you on your feet an unusually large amount of time over the past week? (a walk at the weekend maybe)

Nothing out of the ordinary.

Are you drinking enough water?

I think so, 4 Cups of green tea (caffeine in them so Im sure it counteracts some of the hydration.) Id say 2.5 litres of just water then between training and work.

Do you play any sports?
Soccer but as mentioned not anymore

I understand it could be any of the above variable, I unfortunately, can't really control them at the moment so I wont be able to see if its the creatine that is causing the pains. It seems unlikely but if others were experiencing similar pains then Id look into it further ( I realise that anecdotel evidence on a message board where people find it just as hard to control variables in everyday life is probably not the best place to ask, but I have no other forum).

It doesnt feel like shin splints, its most definitely not doms, and its localised to one leg... they are the main reasons I asked.

Theresalwaysone

Guess I should also note Im finding it hard to find decent reputable controlled studies that show detrimental effects of creatine supplementation.

Burkatron

Edit: I just typed questions & suggestions that come to mind so my post is all over the place!

Roughly how big much creatine are you taking?
1/3 ON scoop is roughly 10 grams or am I off?
Is it Pure Mono?
Up your water intake or drop your caffeine intake or even better do both!
Do you take a multivitamin?
Do you take any other supplements?
Do you eat bananas?
Are you on any particular diet/eating plan kajigger?
How tall are you, what do you weigh?
Do you like long walks on the beach & poetry reading? :P

Theresalwaysone

Burkatron wrote: »

Edit: I just typed questions & suggestions that come to mind so my post is all over the place!

Roughly how big much creatine are you taking?
1/3 ON scoop is roughly 10 grams or am I off?

10 grams usually. Maybe a little bit less

Is it Pure Mono?

Yes, micronized mon.

Up your water intake or drop your caffeine intake or even better do both!

I'll certainly up my water intake but the green tea wont be stopping.

Do you take a multivitamin?

Yes.

Do you take any other supplements?

Yes. Fish Oil Supplements. 6 caps daily.

Do you eat bananas?

No

Are you on any particular diet/eating plan kajigger?

No, my regular diet of nuts, meat, veg and the occasional pig out. I am eating less and restricting calories though. I doubt this is the cause as its so localised and not symmetrical.

How tall are you, what do you weigh?

I would guess 5'8''-5'9'' and currently 76.5kg-79kg depending on hydration levels time of day.

Do you like long walks on the beach & poetry reading? :P

I would definitely prefer walking on a beach, throwing a ball around than lying down on a towel. Wouldnt be the biggest poetry fan, I quite enjoy listening to music though,which if you think about it, is poetry with tunes.

Hope that helps.

Burkatron

Originally Posted by Burkatron
Edit: I just typed questions & suggestions that come to mind so my post is all over the place!

Roughly how big much creatine are you taking?
1/3 ON scoop is roughly 10 grams or am I off?

10 grams usually. Maybe a little bit less
I'll be told otherwise but it's possible that 10 grams is too much for yourself to be taking. If it keeps, up half your dose for a couple of weeks & see if that effects it.

Is it Pure Mono?

Yes, micronized mon.

Up your water intake or drop your caffeine intake or even better do both!

I'll certainly up my water intake but the green tea wont be stopping.
Meh, I don't understand tea in any form

Do you take a multivitamin?

Yes.

Do you take any other supplements?

Yes. Fish Oil Supplements. 6 caps daily.

Do you eat bananas?

No
It's possible that it could be a potassium related issue.Then again there's plenty of better sources for Potassium then bananas, I just love them

Are you on any particular diet/eating plan kajigger?

No, my regular diet of nuts, meat, veg and the occasional pig out. I am eating less and restricting calories though. I doubt this is the cause as its so localised and not symmetrical.

How tall are you, what do you weigh?

I would guess 5'8''-5'9'' and currently 76.5kg-79kg depending on hydration levels time of day.

You're not much bigger then myself & going back to the amount of creatine you take, I find 5 grams enough that I get dehydrated easily, 10 grams I imagine would have a bigger effect

Do you like long walks on the beach & poetry reading?

I would definitely prefer walking on a beach, throwing a ball around than lying down on a towel. Wouldnt be the biggest poetry fan, I quite enjoy listening to music though,which if you think about it, is poetry with tunes.

Well played sir!!

.

mloc

I came across this recently:

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/141/10/1799.abstract

It's something I'd love to see looked at it in humans. Very interesting.

Alopex

Does it matter if it dissolves in whatever you put it in? Mine's very grainy.

EileenG

As long as it gets into you, not really. I tend to take my creatine in my PWO shake, because you don't notice it as gritty or grainy in that.

Gummy Panda

Alopex wrote: »

Does it matter if it dissolves in whatever you put it in? Mine's very grainy.

Some people report that when mono is fully dissolved, they experience less stomach issues with it.

Hanley

Theresalwaysone wrote: »

Guess I should also note Im finding it hard to find decent reputable controlled studies that show detrimental effects of creatine supplementation.

That's because there aren't any to the best of my knowledge.

AndyOR

Ok so went ahead and got a 1kg pouch of Creatine Monohydrate along with some protein. So should I take the creatine every day or just take it every day I go to the gym?

EileenG

I would cycle it a bit. Either gym days only, or four days on, three days off, or whatever suits you.

Dannyboy83

AndyOR wrote: »

Ok so went ahead and got a 1kg pouch of Creatine Monohydrate along with some protein. So should I take the creatine every day or just take it every day I go to the gym?

You are supposed to have a loading phase, then a maintenance phase.
Personally, I wouldn't be arsed with all that anymore, but you may achieve better results if you do.

Creatine requires an insulin spike for better absorption so

Take 5g in the morning (with fruit juice)
and 5g Post workout (with your protein & some high gi carbs)

p.s.
be advised that spiking your insulin is going to make fat burning impossible, so if that's a concern, then avoid the carbs/insulin spike

EileenG

Dannyboy83 wrote: »

be advised that spiking your insulin is going to make fat burning impossible, so if that's a concern, then avoid the carbs/insulin spike

Post workout, your muscles are hungry, so if you use a small amount of high gi carb like glucose with your protein, your body will grab it and use it quickly and the insulin spike will disappear quickly. 10-15g (a couple of teaspoons) is all you need to get a small spike. Besides, more will make your shake taste sickly sweet.

Dannyboy83

EileenG wrote: »

Post workout, your muscles are hungry, so if you use a small amount of high gi carb like glucose with your protein, your body will grab it and use it quickly and the insulin spike will disappear quickly. 10-15g (a couple of teaspoons) is all you need to get a small spike. Besides, more will make your shake taste sickly sweet.

I wouldn't use glucose personally, it can send me hypo as the insulin surge can be so rapid.

But I agree with you.
You need to create a hormonal environment conducive to your goal.

If the goal is to add muscle, then you need the insulin spike.
If the goal is to lose fat, then no insulin spike (+ cardio post workout)


This is a good insight into spiking your insulin levels post workout
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/puzzle_1.htm