Creatine?

I have been reading about creatine, and am wondering if i should give it a try, but i still have a few questions about it. Since i am an 18 yr. old female, 108lbs., and 66" tall i am wondering if i should take smaller dosages than the recomended. I'm also curious about the best way to do a creatine loading cycle, and which brand gives the best results for the cheapest price. As far as i have read creatine is proven to be safe if taken correctly (drinking lots of water, the right dosages, etc...) is this true?

I would take less than the recommended dose. (which is usually 10g split up into 2 servings) If you did take the recommended dose and your body didn't need all of it it would merely be pee'd out when you go to the bathroom.

There are conflicting reports on whether the stuff is safe or not. Some people claim that they had heart palpitations(unusual beating of your heart), tore muscles, among other things. Other's say all you'll experience is cramping and that is if you don't drink atleast 2-3 qts. of water a day and the stuff works great. They'll probably recommend you taking 5 gm's on the box but I say just use 3gm's a day for maintainence. As far as the loading period, it's up to you whether you want to follow that or not.
Sam

With your bodyweight I think your recommended maitenance dose is about 3 grams per day. Be sure not to listen to the label on the product you buy as these recommendations are based on the typical 200lb man. Also, there have been many conflicting articles as to whether you need to load or not...from personal experience I no longer load and I feel the results are just as good. By not loading it just takes a bit longer to get the muscles saturated.

As far as side effects I think they are minimal, just be sure to drink enought fluids (which hopefully you're doing anyway) to avoid feeling bloated. It shoud be your goal to be consuming a good 3-4 litres of water daily anyway if you're training hard.

Good luck.