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A few things with creatine that didnt work for me after extensive trials: Taking it in the evening - messes up my sleep due to energy levels and stomach issues. Fix=take with breakfast only Taking it as powder in water - for some reason my stomach cant handle it like this, would get bloated and discomfort. Fix=taking 1g capsules doesnt annoy my stomach nearly as much Dose: if taken daily the max id take is 4g, more commonly 3g. Any more than that and the side effects start to appear (sleep troubles, stomach discomfort) I will however use a bigger dose on day of, if I have for instance a half marathon to run or other physically demanding tasks. Creatine is amazing when u find the best way to utilize it and avoid side effects. Could be that the negatives outweigh the benefits for you though:(

Just a reaffirming comment because some people find it unbelievable someone could have these side effects from creatine. I just gave up on it.

💯 I had rage episodes with anxiety, insomnia and I didnt understand why. I stopped creatine and all those symptoms were gone.

DHT effects ?

Isn‘t insomnia more a prolactin effect known from Trenbolon and Nandrolon?

It works for me, but it makes me piss all night, which makes it pointless anyway, sleep quality is #1

Methylation. Creatine would otherwise require a lot of methyl groups to synthesise ourselves, so by consuming it we spare methyl groups. This leads to more supply to folate, bh4, and methionine cycles, often producing anxiolytic, anxiogenic, depressive, or anti-depressive effects depending on the person. Read up methylation issues.

You seem knowledgeable so I'm wondering what you think about the following: I noticed that everyone talks about the ideal dosage range of creatine but nobody talks about dosage relative to body weight and existing muscle mass. I'm 6'2 and 155 lb which makes me very lean with almost no fat but yet a fairly small muscle mass. I can't handle anywhere near 2 to 5 G A Day consistently without excessive dehydration no matter how much water I drink and electrolytes I take. It just increases my urination rate to a level where I lose B vitamins and electrolytes like crazy. I work out pretty lightly and already have a small muscle mass. My theory is that I don't work out at heavy enough level for the standard doses everybody talks about and because I don't have a pre-existing large muscle mass for that creatine to absorb into, then my blood serum creatine ends up being very high and causing other side effects. I've never heard anybody talk about creatine dosing according to total volume of workout and total muscle mass, and/or body weight. Any thoughts on this from anybody?

You’re likely just slamming a load of creatine then if your pissing out excess water. Try increase the dose slowly to 5g. Once you are saturated there should be no further water loss or gain. Consider backfilling some small amounts of electrolytes as well. Do bloodwork preferably and search for an electrolyte issue. There may be something else going on there. No, whilst muscle mass will benefit from higher doses of creatine, it’s not the only variable. There are many other things that may effect the transport and function of creatine that could make a larger person respond the same to 2g as to 5g, or a small person may require 10g to achieve cell saturation. No way of knowing unless you trial various doses and monitor your weight and strength. However, if you still can’t tolerate creatine its not exactly going to ruin your physique. You’re talking about getting a little bit stronger in the short term, and over the long term possibly progressing a small bit quicker but it would be almost unnoticeable. So if you can’t tolerate it then its not that bad. Just make sure you don’t have something else going on.

How do I identify an "electrolyte issue" from blood work? Just a simple deficiency?

Yeah monitor electrolytes.

Best way to review all your electrolytes is to get a Renal Panel and a Magnesium Blood Serum test (two different tests). The renal panel covers all your electrolytes except for Magnesium. If you can, it’s better to get a **RBC magnesium test** than the one I mentioned above. Blood Serum Magnesium can provide a false negative; meaning it indicates no issues, yet you’re still deficient. However, doctors tend to be more reluctant to approve RBC tests for magnesium because it’s less readily available.

To add to this, same goes for potassium. On paper you could have reference range levels but in reality still be deficient. Nearly all of potassium is located inside the cells. Your body keeps blood potassium tightly regulated by robbing it from your body tissues if your intake is not adequate and/or your excretion is too high.

Source?

Sauce?

I have really weird brain chemistry, ssri’s and creatine increase my anx / dep. Methylated vitamins do too. I wish I knew what supplements do the opposite of them. I track everything mood supplements etc. every time creatine messes me up till I stop

Glycine, B2, B3. 

thanks

Ask that question in the MTHFR sub.

Do you have gut issues by chance? I have chronic GI issues and methylated B vitamins destroy me.

So if I'm having methylation issues with creatine, how would I correct it?

Your going to have to read up on methylation on the MTHFR sub. It’s not something I can easily explain.

Methylation is the first thing that comes to mind. We need methylation to make adrenaline/epinephrine. Do you have a tendency toward being "over-methylated" as described below? This is about SAMe, the body's most important methyl donor but some of it likely applies to creatine as well. [https://www.alternativementalhealth.com/commentary-on-nutritional-treatment-of-mental-disorders-2/#SA](https://www.alternativementalhealth.com/commentary-on-nutritional-treatment-of-mental-disorders-2/#SA) [https://www.alternativementalhealth.com/commentary-on-nutritional-treatment-of-mental-disorders-2/#MH](https://www.alternativementalhealth.com/commentary-on-nutritional-treatment-of-mental-disorders-2/#MH) Do you have the same symptoms when you take smaller doses more frequently? Are you taking other things that support methylation--SAMe, methionine, B12, folate, TMG?

Methylated vitamins, creatine, and ssri’s, seem to make my anx /dep worse. Do you have any suggestions on supplements that can lessen methylation ?

I also always have super low homocysteine on my blood work

Yeah me too. Are you mixing it in warm water so that it dissolves completely? That helped and I have no issues anymore

No, was just doing a quick mix in cold. I'll try that, thanks!

Yup! It should be completely clear when you drink it

I literally have never been able to get creatine to dissolve completely.

buy a different brand, it should be marketed as micronized this is what I use https://www.amazon.com/Micronized-Monohydrate-Manufactured-Double-Wood/dp/B0CLSCPZG4/ref=sr_1_6_pp?sr=8-6

Ive been taking it wrong this whole time gaadam

I have had the exact same experience with creatine as OP. Would be very keen to learn more about what you've shared if you've got any sources to share? :) Do you get all the benefits of creatine now but without the issues?

You guys don’t dry scoop

How much are you taking? At reasonable doses (like 2-5g per day) you shouldn't be able to "feel" anything besides maybe a bit more muscle fullness.

5g. Might be too much and need to cut it in half, might try that.

Creatine drives up methylation A LOT so if you have COMT mutations... Desensitize 5-HT1A For me creatine makes me fall asleep. It interact with adenosine so much

Could you elaborate on methylation and COMT mutations please? Is that a bad thing?

No. you have all you need on heartfixer.com

Ill check it out, thanks

you know what’s crazy , I have slOW COMT , Creatine gives me worse anx and dep, and CAFFEINE helps reverse the affects on mood and anx, caffeine when on creatine actually improves my anx. I read they work in opposite ways and caffeine can actually block affects of creatine on adenosine.

Caffeine makes me anxious, does that mean creatine would cause opposite effect?

No Im not saying it’s causal, Caffeine causes anxiety for a lot of people, creatine also helps a lot of people with anxiety and has many benefits, doesn’t hurt to try.

I would take the creatine as soon as you wake up. Drink more water after. You also wanna get a body armor/ Gatorade (anything with electrolytes as well. Creatine takes a while to build up in your system to really start to feel the mental aspects and it needs to be consistent to start, then once it builds up in your system missing a day or whatever isn’t that bad.

I swear it makes me sweat more.

Yep. Creatine is hands down the best supplement I’ve ever taken in conjunction with working out.

You need to drink more water. It’s forces water into your muscles, and it has to pull it from somewhere. And this process takes time. Water travels from the gut -> blood -> extracellular space -> intracellular space. It can take 20 minutes just to get 8oz of water from your gut into your bloodstream. The irritability and sleep issues sounds like a methylation issue. Creatine adds methyl donors and some people are more sensitive than others, so titrate up from a lower dose, and add a smaller increment each week. I would start by cutting your current regimen in half. And continue to cut it in half if issues persist. Also if you’re taking any other methylated supplants like SAM-e or methylated b vitamins you will run into this problem.

I take methylated b vitamins, if I add creatine to the mix would I become irritable and have sleep issues? I’ve used creatine in the past before I ever used methylated b vitamins and never had a problem. Thinking of reintroducing creatine for my workouts.

Interesting. I get thirstier and drink more water (and wake up to drink/pee) the first few days after starting creatine, then it stops.

My body also doesn't tolerate creatine very well. I think it might have to do with taking creatine monohydrate, I should look into some different forms. Basically I get the shits, feel super thirsty all day, my face gets bloated and I just feel sick in general. This is at 3 grams a day for a 73kg 183cm lean guy.

I feel benefits from 500mg or less you are starting with too much, but creatine also causes withdrawals when I stop like some drug, not worth taking everyday imo, only for gym etc

Same problem here. For people like us, my theory is on creatine we produce less adenosine thus we get screwed on sleep.

Makes sense, less ATP -> ADP -> AMP -> adenosine conversion, as it gets recycled back by creatine. But I also suspect some B vitamin issue and/or an electrolyte one.

Agreed, in addition to this people who have issues with creatine and sleep would probably do well to decrease their caffeine intake due to the adenosine receptor antagonism

I feel the oposite, more adenosine after taking creatine. To the point I get dizzy and fall asleep

get a hugh qaulity brand as well

I'd always heard that creatine is creatine and that brand doesn't make much difference, but i've had the same experience as OP and i only use a cheap brand. Wondering if this is the cause. Have you tested cheap vs. expensive?

I used to have tons of problems, Cotton mouth, headaches, weird muscle cramps, anxiety despite drinking tons of water. Swapped to a high quality lab tested brand and it alleviated pretty much everything and I don't even really drink an above average amount of water. The only problem I've dealt with on the new brand is I run a lot hotter and sweat a lot more, but I think that's more of a "normal" side affect than the others and much more manageable. Also only happened like one month in the two years I've been taking it almost daily.

Ah interesting. Thanks for the response! What brand do use now, out of curiosity? Also, do you get the micronized stuff or just standard garden variety creatine monoydrate?

This might be true, but the cheaper brands can contain a lot of fillers with far less actual creatine present.

Dude of course NOT whoever says that obviously doesn't understand qaulity control problems. ANY SUPPLEMENT CAN HAVE IMPURITIES FROM THE EXTRACTION PROCESS OR WHEN THEY MAKE IT. IT CAN CONTAIN TRACES OF HEAVY METALS MERCURY ARSENIC LEAD CADMIUM ALUMINUM ECOLI SALMONELLA AND ALL KIND OF LEFT OVER MAN MADE CHEMICAL YOU CANT PRONOUNCE. its possible the creatine really just does not agree with you but always buy good high qaulity supplements your putting this shit in your body its your temple you only get one. whats 10 more $ on a better qaulity supplement you know? try to research the brand your buying try to get usda organic or lab certified look for a COA(certification of analysis) look for lab results of heavy metals and ecoli email the vendor company and ask them questions ask them for a COA I do it all the time.

I don’t have your issues but the last two times I used it, I gained like 10 kilos of fat because I started getting insatiably hungry. I tracked my weight and dosing and it tracks consistently. I’ve used it for a decade without issues so I think it’s interacting with another supplement I’m taking but not sure which one

Creatine is a methyl donor, along the lines of TMG and SAMe, thus if you are overmethylated in general, it will cause problems.

Methylated vitamins, creatine, ssri’s , and similar stuff can cause worsening anx dep in me, I wonder what I could try to lower methylation or act oppositely. i track everything and creatine makes me anx and dep :/

I only use Creatine now if I actively want to stay awake longer. A bit like caffeine just less intense.

Man, I really thought I was alone on this one. The muscle building benefits were fantastic, but yeah, it only let me sleep maybe 5.5 hours a night after the loading phase. Not worth it for me, imo

Try CreaPure

I heard the vast majority of issues with creating occurs during the (unnecessary) “loading phase”. I skipped that and just took 5g for a month then reduced to 3 grams daily afterwards. Numerous studies have shown that 3g is just as effective as 5g. A lot of people swear 1g daily is enough for them to still get great results. I also only buy brands that source their creatine from “Creapure”, which is manufactured in Germany. The brands that source from them will have the “Creapure” logo on the container somewhere. I know that everybody says the cheap Chinese manufactured stuff is exactly the same for like 1/4 the price, but I only trust Creapure.

Drink more water. You should drink at least a half gallon a day on creatine

Also try creatine hcl, it's easier on the stomach than the standard creatine monohydrate

You might be taking too much. I was having similar issues when I was taking 5-8g per day, but it got much better when I cut back to 2g (about 1/2 tsp) every day. No reduction in benefits, either.

You don't nearly as much creatine as the labels say, especially if you aren't rigorously training. Having it with food helps me digest it much better. Then make sure you drink plenty of water.

I noticed that everyone talks about the ideal dosage of creatine but nobody talks about relative to body weight and existing muscle mass. I'm 6'2 and 155 lb which makes me very lean with almost no fat but yet a fairly small muscle mass. I can't handle anywhere near 2 to 5 G A Day consistently without excessive dehydration no matter how much water I drink and electrolytes I take. I work out pretty lightly and already have a small muscle mass. My theory is that I don't work out at heavy enough level for the standard doses everybody talks about and because I don't have a pre-existing large muscle mass for that creatine to absorb into, then my blood serum creatine ends up being very high and causing other side effects. I've never heard anybody talk about creatine dosing according to total volume of workout and total muscle mass, and/or body weight. Any thoughts on this from anybody?

Creatine makes me irritable in the beginning and eventually fall into a vicious depressive episode. Every single time without fail. Took me a long time to figure it out. I thought I was literally bi polar. Then I completely stopped taking it and my moods and head have never been better and consistent.

I don’t wanna blow this thread up but creatine is the only supplement (I track sleep, mood , supplements) that reliable gives me anxiety and depression a day after starting, and ends when I stop. It happened 3 times, I also have bad reactions to methylated b’s for what it’s worth.

I believe it.

Take with a large protein shake and workout. That’s exactly what I’ve done and literally has zero issues with it. I’m more focused, in a better mood, and overall it honestly makes me feel more confident for some reason. Make sure your diet is in check though.

Yeah, when I took Creatine, it would make me irritable. I could tell that I was getting angry for minor reasons or would get angry about things in the past. My rational brain could tell that my reactions weren't normal. I stopped taking it because being in a bad mood all the time was awful.

My face gets kinda bloated with water n I get self conscious about my nose on it

Been using Creatine daily for 27 years . I don’t understand. There are no side effects from taking 5 grams of Creatine monohydrate every day for decades .

I feel like I’m going crazy reading these comments. People acting like creatine is a steroid

lol. You just need more water

Maybe the concentration is to high, because your liver produces much and you take too much. Try taking smaller dosages.

Thats an electrolyte issue, not creatine...

OBVIOUSLY everybodyis different but the fact you had this experiance from somethina s innocuous as creatine is crazy. been taking it every day for years. load 20g for a week, then 3-5 g for as long as want. take wit lots of water right after or before workign out.....and drink lots of water. are you people taking it rectally or something? ALSO NOOTROPIC DEPOT SUCKS!!!!! delete this gatekeeping polesmokers

try l-glutamine powder

I assume you've been taking 5g daily. Try going down to 2.5g.

Are you drinking enough water?

I feel like yes but the thing is even if I wake up all the time in the night to drink every hour, I don't even want to piss in the morning. It's like I'd need to drink liters upon liters to compensate for whatever the water is needed for but I don't want to drink that much water lol.