Looking for feedback on a creatine question

[john10960]

Hi everyone.
So it seems that about 1 week into supplementing with 5g creatine/day I seem to develop an ache in my mid/lower right back. In the vicinity of my kidney.

I am thinking this could also be related to my lifts getting heavier on my squats but this ache seems to be correlated to each time I start taking creatine. Keyword seems. I’m still not completely convinced.

I kept telling myself not to, but I eventually gave into a google search “low back/kidney pain creatine” and it seems a number of users on Reddit have also experienced this.

I understand the safety profile of creatine has been very well studied and documented.

But man does the 5g/day really help with my lifts and definitely seems to increase my mass over time. So I would REALLY hate to have to stop taking it unless I know it’s absolutely necessary and I’m one of the rare few where my kidneys can’t handle it?

just wondering if any one else has experienced this and what some thoughts would be on other things this might be?

P.s***I will be getting blood work done soon enough

 

[Rad83]

How much water are your taking in?

 

[john10960]

Probably not enough. not really keeping track of intake. You think that could be it?

 

[Rad83]

Probably not enough. not really keeping track of intake. You think that could be it?

Very probable.

A gallon minimum, and might do well to lower the dosage to 2.5-3mg of creatine

 

[LeanEngineer]

Very probable.

A gallon minimum, and might do well to lower the dosage to 2.5-3mg of creatine

Agreed. I'd bump the dose down to 3g and increase water intake and see if that helps any or not.

 

[sns8778]

I would increase water intake.

I personally can't take Creatine Monohydrate because it bloats me ridiculously bad and sometimes causes my stomach to be upset. In the past when I'd tried it, I had noticed pain in the region your explaining too, but never was 100% if it was the creatine itself or being so miserably bloated from the creatine.

Now, I only use Magnesium Creatine Chelate and Creatine HCI, for both of which there's no bloating for fluid retention and since the absorption is superior, the dosage needed is quite lower.

I normally keep a container of Magnesium Creatine Chelate and Creatine HCI open but the price of MCC went thru the roof when Creatine went up last year, so we have been out of stock on that one because we had been waiting for prices to come back down to a reasonable level.

We just recently got our Creatine HCI powder back in stock and launched some new flavors on it and many people here are loving the product and the taste.

Creatine HCI Powder - 150 servings - 750 mg. per serving:
Flavors:

• Blue Raspberry Popsicle
• Lemon Lime
• Pink Grapefruit
• Watermelon Breeze

Creatine HCl Powder - 150 servings | Serious Nutrition Solutions

SNS Creatine HCI can be cost effectively used by those looking for an Ultra-Concentrated form of Creatine that doesn’t require any loading and that does NOT cause the bloating and fluid retention that is normally associated with some other forms of Creatine.

seriousnutritionsolutions.com

We also offer capsules for people that prefer capsules:

Creatine HCI - 120 caps:
- 750 mg. per capsule
- Daily dose is typically 2 to 4 capsules per day (1.5 to 3 grams)

Creatine HCl - 120 caps | Serious Nutrition Solutions

SNS Creatine HCl can be cost effectively used by those looking for an Ultra-Concentrated form of Creatine that doesn’t require any loading and that does NOT cause the bloating and fluid retention that is normally associated with some other forms of Creatine.

seriousnutritionsolutions.com

 

[john10960]

Thanks for your reply.

So I’m guessing both of those forms of creatine didn’t result in that pain?
also are they both as effective as mono?

thanks!

 

[sns8778]

Thanks for your reply.

So I’m guessing both of those forms of creatine didn’t result in that pain?
also are they both as effective as mono?

thanks!

Correct, I've never had any issues with that type of pain with either MCC or Creatine HCI. I never knew if the pain was from the monohydrate itself directly causing it or if it was from the bloating I experience with mono causing it, but I never felt it with the other types.

Yes, they would be as effective or possibly even more because they're more absorbable than monohydrate is.

When you take monohydrate, you're having to take more grams per day in order to utilize a lower % of it whereas with Magnesium Creatine Chelate and Creatine HCI, you can use less total grams because you absorb more - plus they don't cause the bloating and fluid retention and digestive issues that monohydrate does in some people.

I'm not anti-monohydrate at all - it works great for some people but some of us just can't take it and for those of us, Magnesium Creatine Chelate and Creatine HCI are great options.

I hope he doesn't mind me tagging him here, but @Hyde is someone else besides myself that couldn't do monohydrate and really likes the Creatine HCI powder. I know he really likes the flavor of the Pink Grapefruit.

 

[john10960]

Thanks!

 

[sns8778]

Thanks!

You're welcome. I'm glad to help in any way that I can.

 

[john10960]

Gunna give the sns creatine hcl a shot. Really hoping i don’t get the same pain, as creatine in general really does a lot for me. Fingers crossed.

 

[sns8778]

Gunna give the sns creatine hcl a shot. Really hoping i don’t get the same pain, as creatine in general really does a lot for me. Fingers crossed.

I think and hope that you'll really like it.

In the meantime, try to get your water intake up as much as possible to help in general from the way monohydrate was treating you.

 

[Jeremyk1]

Gunna give the sns creatine hcl a shot. Really hoping i don’t get the same pain, as creatine in general really does a lot for me. Fingers crossed.

If it was me, I’d start low and work up so you can adjust to it.

 

[john10960]

I’m about 210lb. 2 scoops to start or maybe lower?

 

[sns8778]

I’m about 210lb. 2 scoops to start or maybe lower?

I would do 2 scoops per day to start with and then after a week or so you could go up to 4 scoops if you'd like to.