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Comment by adamking | Hacker News Reader

Creatine is one of the few supplements I actually notice a difference if I quit taking. Happy to see it’s benefits extend to beyond performance in the gym.

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Funny because I'm not sure I quite notice it immediately when I stop taking it, presumably since the body retains a certain amount of it. But I definitely notice a difference when taking it the first day after not having had it a little while, especially when taking 20+ grams a day. It gives me so much mental energy and alertness that I won't get a whole lot of sleep, but the next day I end up feeling just fine. If I remember correctly, there have been at least 2 studies that suggested high doses of creatine reduce the side effects of suboptimal sleep, and that definitely seems to be the case in my experience.

Isn't 20+ grams a day a lot for the kidneys? genuine question

Not the parent, but someone else commented on this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48347735

Elevated creatinine levels (in absence of supplementation) is a sign of kidney issues. There are many studies showing no reverse link i.e. supplementing creatine damaging kidneys

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12882-025-045...

Okay but logically kidney issues leading to high creatine does suggest that creatine is not all that good for the body, no? else why would the kidney keep it under control?

No, elevated creatinine levels is only a sign of kidney disease if all else remains equal. Consuming more creatine will naturally increase production of creatinine because creatinine is a byproduct of the kidneys processing creatine.

In other words, it's not a very reliable signal for kidney disease. There is a more reliable blood test called a "Cystatin C" test.

Would you suggest that white blood cells are "not all that good for the body" because they're amped up during a bout of sickness?

Maybe they aren't! But you can't infer that from the mere correlation. Hence that phrase about its relationship to causation.

I feel like it makes me feel like crap and my brain weird every time I try it and searching my spreadsheet shows this effect many times when I forget and read something like the above article and try it again. Anyone else feel like this?

> searching my spreadsheet

What does this mean?

They likely keep a journal of their mental state in a spreadsheet? Generally a good idea

I keep a spreadsheet about my health, blood work, any supplements I take, how they make me feel etc. The summary would be that I take zero supplements now haha. I have tried so so many.

Any chance you'd be willing to share a template of your spreadsheet?

Yes I can definitely “feel” it when I take it, especially so at 10g+. And it makes me overly reactive and somewhat irritable, and gives me a ton of energy that needs to be let out lest the former two get worse.

Are you increasing your water intake when you do? That sounds like dehydration. Creatine takes a large amount of water to appropriately process, and during the loading phase, your body is pushing substantially more water into your muscles. Anecdotally, if I don't drink something like an extra half gallon of water a day while loading at 15g/day, I show symptoms of dehydration. And I'm already drinking somewhere between a half gallon to a gallon a day.

I think I do but I guess I could try.

Something to add to the spreadsheet :)

The only thing I notice is the impact to my weight. I think it makes me marginally stronger but not a huge effect. I take it because research seems to indicate it's a net positive with a small effect and it seems very safe...

What sort of differences beyond gym related?

After 10g or so, the excess starts going to the brain which helps quite a bit with brain energy.

What exactly does it do? What is brain energy?

A good question, but we don't know what anti-depressants do or how they do it, same with anti-psychotics, mood stabilizers, psychedelics, etc. I think we can say we have good theories for creatine.

We do know that it does do something at certain doses.

There are lots of studies. It's possible to find satisfactory information. Creatine has been studied for a very long time.

First hand experience for many is a noticeable improvement, especially during busy/sleep minimizing times, to the point where it can sometimes be a substitute for caffiene without the crash.

> What is brain energy?

ATP: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenosine_triphosphate

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