Creatine - thirsty?

[stansmithky]

Alright, just a simple question here. How long does it take to be on creatine before you start feelings the effects of being thirsty a lot? I'm taking "Met-RX Pure Creatine Monohydrate" if it matters.

Basically I've heard from pretty much everybody that when you start creatine you become VERY thirsty throughout the day and need to drink lots and lots of water. Well, I just finished up day 2 of the 'loading phase' where I'm taking 20g of it per day in 4 servings. I can honestly say that neither yesterday or today did I feel thirstier than what I thought was normal. I'm just worried that it's not working well or something like that, but could it be that you won't start feeling this affect for a while after getting used to it?

And I have been drinking lots of water even though I don't get thirsty just as a precaution. A bit over a gallon, today.

Thanks in advance

[stansmithky]

Big bumpin'

[joshuadelapenha]

Im taking Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine and i have never felt so non thirsty. I think my body is extremely odd tho. I tried a gallon a day and almost pissed my pants like 5 times. Try 1/2 a gallon on non so hot/training days.

[Abednegro]

I'm always drinking water at school and at home when I have the opportunities ever since I started taking creatine.

[O_BigX_O]

ive never heard of creatine making you thirsty.. but youre taking WAY TOO MUCH 5g is the maximum for most lifters. i have no idea why youre taking 20g.. thats unheard of. Oh yeah, and you dont need a loading phase, just go with 5g a day everyday, no need to cycle it ever

[joshuadelapenha]

ive never heard of creatine making you thirsty.. but youre taking WAY TOO MUCH 5g is the maximum for most lifters. i have no idea why youre taking 20g.. thats unheard of. Oh yeah, and you dont need a loading phase, just go with 5g a day everyday, no need to cycle it ever

I'm not 100% about that. My uncle didn't load and didn't get any results. Then he took a month off went back on after and went through the loading phase. That time that bad boy worked. Have u ever experimented with it?

[mikil100]

You all are going to hate me but I work in the medical field, am in school in the medical field, and have talked to a lot of doctors etc about creatine.

First off, you're wasting your money 20g/creatine a day isn't necessary, loading phases haven't been proven to be worthwhile. Second, 20g/day is a HUGE amount of creatine.

Now, creatinine, a waste product in the body comes from, guess what? Creatine. Which is found in our muscle tissue. The kidneys have to work to excrete creatinine from the body because it's toxic (note- I didn't say Creatine is toxic, creatinINE). Along with taxing your kidneys it can also lead to an increased blood pressure due to fluid retention, but this is at worst not going to hurt you.

There have been quite a few studies on creatine, all of which were inconclusive. That doesn't mean it ISN'T going to harm you. The people who have been taking creatine haven't reached the older ages where kidney failure really starts to kick in and become noticeable medically. Now, there of course is a chance that it's harmless, but considering where I know creatine gets processed, and the limited amount of time the studies have been done, better safe than sorry. I don't want to be on dialysis my whole life after 60 years old. Do you?

Let the hate roll on in.^_^

[joshuadelapenha]

Then how come im getting bigger from 20 grams loading phase compared to 5 grams a day? Must be a reason. Some other **** in my creatine bottle??

[mikil100]

Then how come im getting bigger from 20 grams loading phase compared to 5 grams a day? Must be a reason. Some other **** in my creatine bottle??

Not sure. Everyone is different, but from the studies I've read it doesn't make a difference. When I took creatine I didn't notice a difference at all. My muscle has been gained from hard work, and lots of protein, that's it.

[austin15140]

You all are going to hate me but I work in the medical field, am in school in the medical field, and have talked to a lot of doctors etc about creatine.

First off, you're wasting your money 20g/creatine a day isn't necessary, loading phases haven't been proven to be worthwhile. Second, 20g/day is a HUGE amount of creatine.

Now, creatinine, a waste product in the body comes from, guess what? Creatine. Which is found in our muscle tissue. The kidneys have to work to excrete creatinine from the body because it's toxic (note- I didn't say Creatine is toxic, creatinINE). Along with taxing your kidneys it can also lead to an increased blood pressure due to fluid retention, but this is at worst not going to hurt you.

There have been quite a few studies on creatine, all of which were inconclusive. That doesn't mean it ISN'T going to harm you. The people who have been taking creatine haven't reached the older ages where kidney failure really starts to kick in and become noticeable medically. Now, there of course is a chance that it's harmless, but considering where I know creatine gets processed, and the limited amount of time the studies have been done, better safe than sorry. I don't want to be on dialysis my whole life after 60 years old. Do you?

Let the hate roll on in.^_^

Dudeman. I just bought some creatine like last week in hopes to get bigger, but now, your making me scared to use it.

[mikil100]

Dudeman. I just bought some creatine like last week in hopes to get bigger, but now, your making me scared to use it.

I don't want to scare you, but medically it isn't advised, because we don't KNOW. It could be harmless. Give it a try for a few months, see if it makes a difference. Just don't take too much at once because there have been reported cases of taking too much and ****ing your kidneys. When you've done that weigh the benefits for the potential risk, if you're really asploding with it compared to before, it may be worth it for a year or two.

[joshuadelapenha]

Not sure. Everyone is different, but from the studies I've read it doesn't make a difference. When I took creatine I didn't notice a difference at all. My muscle has been gained from hard work, and lots of protein, that's it.

Went from 185 bench 2.5 timex max to 215. Then again my training changed....but barely.

[austin15140]

I don't want to scare you, but medically it isn't advised, because we don't KNOW. It could be harmless. Give it a try for a few months, see if it makes a difference. Just don't take too much at once because there have been reported cases of taking too much and ****ing your kidneys. When you've done that weigh the benefits for the potential risk, if you're really asploding with it compared to before, it may be worth it for a year or two.

I never up the recommended dosage on anything. I have heard that if you take creatine in large amounts (20g a day) and not drink enough water, your probably going to have some kidney stones later and that it activates liver enzymes. I've been doin 5g a day and drinking about a gallon of water a day along with it to prevent kidney and liver problems. Just the past week and a half or so while on creatine, I can notice a better pump, and I'm lifting more weight. I'm also taking whey protein along with the creatine so when i do stop using the creatine, I don't lose all that mass that I worked so hard to get.

[mikil100]

Went from 185 bench 2.5 timex max to 215. Then again my training changed....but barely.

A small amount of training can make a big difference though, not to discredit the creatine because it definitely can increase your workload.

And creatine isn't so much for increasing maxes as it is for giving your muscle cells that last little bit of energy they need to push out the 12'th rep of a hard lift. The creatine acts in the place of (I believe its oxygen, been a while since I took Antatomy & Physiology) to finish the ATP molecule (Energy) giving your muscle the ability to fire. I guess you could say it's relevant to bench max, but more so to the actual reps you are trying to finish in a regular session.

I never up the recommended dosage on anything. I have heard that if you take creatine in large amounts (20g a day) and not drink enough water, your probably going to have some kidney stones later and that it activates liver enzymes. I've been doin 5g a day and drinking about a gallon of water a day along with it to prevent kidney and liver problems. Just the past week and a half or so while on creatine, I can notice a better pump, and I'm lifting more weight. I'm also taking whey protein along with the creatine so when i do stop using the creatine, I don't lose all that mass that I worked so hard to get.

It sounds like you're doing things by the book, that is good. I noticed a pump with the creatine as well, but remember that pump is just from excess fluid volume, it's not helping you any other way.

[austin15140]

I think I might cycle. 3-4 months with creatine, 3-4 without.

I'm just trying to get big and stay big without gaining much fat

[mikil100]

I think I might cycle. 3-4 months with creatine, 3-4 without.

I'm just trying to get big and stay big without gaining much fat

Offtopic but don't worry about fat as long as you are increasing your lifts with it, the fat can come off later- the muscle is the hard part.

Unless you're getting a LOT of fat, then you may want healthier, more enriched food.

[stansmithky]

Do you think it'd be any wiser to slow down the loading period and instead of 20g for 5 days, maybe do 10g for the first 10 days and then go down to 5g a day from there?

[NXDE]

Do you think it'd be any wiser to slow down the loading period and instead of 20g for 5 days, maybe do 10g for the first 10 days and then go down to 5g a day from there?

Try doing the reconmended 20g a day, if thats harsh on you stomach then just drop it down to 10g a day. I had to get rid of my powder creatine as it was giving me stomach aches :/

[stansmithky]

Try doing the reconmended 20g a day, if thats harsh on you stomach then just drop it down to 10g a day. I had to get rid of my powder creatine as it was giving me stomach aches :/

Alright I'll continue on with it like this then. It's not giving me stomach aches but people are saying so many different things about whether it works or not, etc. Just going to try it for myself I guess and see what works.

[Therickz]

20g a day is retarded. anyone who disagrees is also retarded.

[jnb11]

ive never heard of creatine making you thirsty.. but youre taking WAY TOO MUCH 5g is the maximum for most lifters. i have no idea why youre taking 20g.. thats unheard of. Oh yeah, and you dont need a loading phase, just go with 5g a day everyday, no need to cycle it ever

Dont Listen to this dude doesn't know what hes talking about, of course you need to load creating your take high dosage for five days to LOAD it in to your system then you should take 10g everyday after that maintain the creatine levels to help you grow more muscle mass and it will make you more thirsty because it is drawing more of the water you normally drink to your muscles there for making you feel dehydrated.