Creatine thoughts

[Toby]

In defence of SJ, I was just looking for something completely different and came across this link. The paragraph starting "Anecdotal reports of ..." I found interesting, and the paragraph where it says some BBs take 100g day and one guy 500g/2days . Anyway, it looks like a commercial site so take the report with a grain of salt.

[Samurai Jack]

SJ, I forget: are you vegetarian/vegan? Just curious.

Yes, I'm a lacto/ovo vegetarian. Interestingly I read that the original research project that established Creatine's strength building potential was conducted using an entirely Vegan experimental group. Of course thier strength would have jumped after being creatine deficient! Anyway, it worked for me, so I'm a believer.

The following study by the Journal of Sports Nutrition may interest any fellow Veg-heads out there:

"Vegetarians, particularly those who are on a strict lacto-ovo-vegetarian (LOV) diet do not ingest much creatine since creatine is mostly found in meats, fish, and chicken. Creatine helps muscle stay firm and strong. In a study published in the Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, thirty-two healthy men, who regularly consumed an omnivorous diet, were split into two groups. One group consumed a LOV diet while the other group had an omnivorous diet (they ate everything). The study lasted 26 days. In addition to their diet, on day 22 of the study, subjects were assigned in a double-blind manner to receive either creatine monohydrate 0.3 g per kilogram of body weight per day or an equivalent dose of placebo for 5 days. The results demonstrated that consuming a LOV diet for 21 days decreased muscle creatine concentration in individuals who normally consume meat and fish. However, the creatine content of muscle in the LOV group returned back to normal after a period of only 5 days. Therefore, it appears that vegans could consider supplementing with about one gram of creatine per day."

[IronFist]

100g of creatine per day? Holy diarrhea, Batman!

[whitefox]

100g of creatine per day? Holy diarrhea, Batman!

I was taking the recommended dose and still got the runs. Best laxative I have ever had.

[Toby]

My organs started to feel a bit funny (tender), which is why I stopped. Mainly on my lower left (spleen? kidney?). This worried me a bit.

Deja vu. I finished another cycle of 2mths on at the beginning of October because I felt this same thing again. It goes away in a couple of days after stopping. I've still got a bunch of creatine so I'll try it again in another month or so. If it's 3 times (un)lucky, I probably won't take it again.

My lifts are all pretty good, in PR territory at the end of each cycle, but it seems to not be affected so much by creatine. I guess 1 rep (for the PRs) isn't so dependent on creatine's effects.

Hope you're all well, long time since I dropped by. Good luck with your training.

[bodhitree]

Creatine consumption can lead to the body needing more water, but not necessarily dehydration. I use creatine, feel great, but i also drink water throughout the day. creatine improve the muscles ability to retain water, hence, help the muscle function.

[IronFist]

Sup Toby

[Toby]

Hey Iron, good to hear from you. 7000 posts? You're doing alright.

[Finny]

FWIW, it should be pretty obvious that taking creatine will increase the workload of your kidneys and liver. Hence the cycling.

BTW Toby, I spoke to Ben Cousins a while back, and he mentioned that he tried creatine for a month or so during the pre-season (this would've been around 2002). He said he put on about 6 kilos of muscle, but noticed his cardio endurance rapidly decreasing... so he stopped using it.

[Toby]

FWIW, it should be pretty obvious that taking creatine will increase the workload of your kidneys and liver.

Yeah, but I never thought it would be noticeable like this. This is hard to ignore, and it's happened twice. Sorta feels like DOMS in the obliques.

... tried creatine for a month ... but noticed his cardio endurance rapidly decreasing ...

I may have noticed this too to a lesser extent. How much is due to effects of creatine and how much due to increased body mass I don't know.

[mickey]

............(mickey looks for box to stand on)

[Finny]

Yeah, but I never thought it would be noticeable like this. This is hard to ignore, and it's happened twice.

Yeah - the only thing I could possible suggest would be scaling back the amount you're taking each day. From what I heard (not from experts, but my old man's a microbiologist and my brother's a doctor - talked it over with them) the recommended dosage is usually about twice as much as what you really need.

I never really had any of that organ tenderness you describe, but yeah, I'd just try cutting back the dosage, and keep drinking heaps of water.

Best of luck mate - always enjoyed your posts here.

Brendan Finn

[bodhitree]

http://www.mmaathletes.com/forum/sho...p?t=112&page=1

pretty good info on this post.

[IronFist]

I've been feeling pretty dehydrated recently and I HAVEN'T been using creatine. Well, ok, I just started another creatine cycle two days ago, but for the last few weeks I have been feeling dehydrated all the time. Weird. Like I'll wake up with a dry mouth and stuff, and I'm always thirsty, etc. I haven't been drinking much alcohol, and I've been drinking a TON of water for the last few weeks. I guess if it gets worse I'll cut out the creatine immediately.

[bodhitree]

What is the rest of your diet like? Caffiene and bad food can also lead to dehydration. INteresting.