Need advice on creatine dosing, long term.

[CaptainNapalm]

I started using creatine monohydrate (powder) roughly two months ago with good results so far. I didn't do the loading phase but did take 10 grams daily (2 teaspoons - 1 morning, 1 in the evening) and have continued with this dose to present day. I'm wondering if I should reduce my dose to 5g (1 teaspoon) per day as this seems to be the commonly accepted maintenance dose but I fear that cutting my current dose in half will diminish my results somewhat. If this matters, I currently weigh around 200lbs, 6'1", age 30. For those of you using creatine or have had experience with it, did you maintain your results by reducing dose to 5g/day? Another question I have, can it be harmful to me if I continue with my current dose at 10g/day for another few months? I heard that using too much can have a detrimental effect on the kidneys/liver but I question this theory. Would appreciate some input.

 

[Built]

From this point, anything more than you require you're just peeing out anyway.

One teaspoon a day is fine. I tend to forget to take it for a while, then load it in during a carbup when I start back up again, but a teaspoon a day is all most folks will ever need.

No harm that I know of to the liver. Kidneys, I have had a stone and I was taking creatine at the time, but a) I was loading it and b) I was NOT drinking NEARLY enough water.

Haven't had any trouble since.

 

[PushAndPull]

From this point, anything more than you require you're just peeing out anyway.

One teaspoon a day is fine.

I'll second this.





I don't think cycling is necessary, but I basically cycle it
I cycle it because i'm too lazy (or not that anal) to make sure I always have it. Physically, creatine gives me a little boost in my workouts and that's it. I buy it more for the mental aspect. By having to take it daily, it helps me stay focused on working out, but if i don't take it for a few weeks it's no big deal.

 

[obb4d]

+1 to what PushAndPull said.

Its not necessary to take creatine. You need a healthy diet and drinking plenty of water.

I have been on it before when training for rugby. I found it helped to build muscle mass and size in a short period of time. But the one thing I would say is to definitely keep on top of the water. Creatine retains a lot of water in the muscles anyway but it depletes very quickly.

I would suggest that once your at a comfortable size then reduce yourself off creatine slowly while keeping everything else normal. You should if done properly be able to keep your size and continue improving.

If its a mental thing.. then maybe think about picking up protein shakes instead. This will give your mind the peace and your body the extra nutrients it needs for the amount of exercise!

Just keep that water intake up.

 

[Built]

Creatine monohydrate has myriad health benefits, and is dirt cheap. I have my eighty year old mother taking creatine - it's good for heart and brain function, and improves glucose uptake by muscle cells.

I would not advise someone to go off it unless it were somehow contraindicated to their health.

 

[PushAndPull]

Creatine monohydrate has myriad health benefits, and is dirt cheap. I have my eighty year old mother taking creatine - it's good for heart and brain function, and improves glucose uptake by muscle cells.

I would not advise someone to go off it unless it were somehow contraindicated to their health.

You have any long term studies of creatine supplementation that support this?

 

[Built]

There are tons of them. Go to PubMed home

Creatine is easily the most researched supplement out there.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=long term creatine supplementation&itool=QuerySuggestion

I just did a quick search. It has been tested using continuous dosing in Parkinson's patients; even used on a man with only one kidney and eating a high protein diet who had slightly reduced GFR and still he had no adverse effects.

 

[PushAndPull]

Creatine supplementation and cognitive performance in elderly individuals. (It was concluded that creatine supplementation aids cognition in the elderly)
Creatine supplementation and cognitive performance... [Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn. 2007] - PubMed result
Creatine supplementation does not improve cognitive function in young adults. (Potentially, creatine supplementation only improves cognitive processing and psychomotor performance in individuals who have impaired cognitive processing abilities)
Creatine supplementation does not improve cognitiv... [Physiol Behav. 2008] - PubMed result

So what's the conculsion here? I don't know, maybe older people's diet are generally low in creatine so it helps, or maybe there is something else going on in older people. Either way, i'm not old or a vegetarian and have never found creatine to help me with brain function.

Didn't see much on the heart.
I did find
Creatine
Say's it might help, if you have abnormally high concentrations of triglycerides, which a healthy person should not.

My opinion, it's fine to supplement with creatine and it's fine not to.

 

[Built]

That is an excellent conclusion.

The effects where cognitive function was improved may have to do with the improved glucose uptake due to creatine supplementation. Likewise triglyceride-lowering, since elevated blood glucose underlies hypertriglyceridemia.

My feeling is this: it is a very cheap supplement that has myriad benefits in any number of diseased states, and no apparent risk when used moderately. I think of - and take - vitamin C for these same reasons.

 

[PushAndPull]

My feeling is this: it is a very cheap supplement that has myriad benefits in any number of diseased states, and no apparent risk when used moderately. I think of - and take - vitamin C for these same reasons.

Those are excellent reasons. I've always taken it for the little bit of extra energy it gives me during my workouts, but the other possible benefits from supplementing it, definitely makes it more attractive.