Warning to Those Who Have Lower Back Pain While on Creatine Monohydrate

Guys I started to do some research into this issue and ran across this post because I've been going through the exact same thing with creatine affecting my lower back. I took it for years on and off and it worked great with all the benefits and for about a year now I can take it for about one week at 5g a day and then my lower back is in pain and it's a dull aggravating pain that makes me feel like crawling out of my skin. I can't sit at my desk at work for more than fifteen minutes without being so aggravated I have to stand. I was in a world of hurt for months until I figured out that Creatine was affecting me and when I stop I feel great after about two weeks but when I go back on the creatine it's misery at its finest, so I don't even mess with it anymore. It's a real issue so I wanted to give my experience to help get others to realize that this is a real issue for some of us. peace
 
it's very simple. if it causes any issue with creatine, do not take it. yes it's that simple.
everyone has different reaction to different thing. some people can't drink milk due to lactose but others can drink without any issue.
 
While I am sorry about your experience and pain, the creatinine elevations secondary to creatine intake are not directly related to kidney failure and there is no "magic number" creatinine level which delineates kidney failure (you mention 6 for instance...not true). Do not panic, kidney failure does not lead to back pain......kidney stones or other genetic conditions (polycystic kidney disease) or perhaps and very rarely, a renal tumor may cause low back pain. Your experience is so very unlikely due to creatine intake, especially at the low doses you mention. Please do not panic... everyone on Sherdog!!


ERMAGHERD! I JUST TOOK SOME! RUN!
 
if you sleep on your belly you could have lower back pain
 
I had the same exact problem on 4 grams of ON nutrition creatine in pill form every day even with 1 gallon of water.

Seemed to be an issue with a higher protein diet, and not an issue at all with lower protein at a caloric deficit.

Everyone has different reactions. The organs can only efficiently filter so much, depending on the current heath of those organs.
 
are you guys drinking excess alcohol and eating crap?
 
this isnt good...i had been on creatine for about 5 weeks with all the benefits of it working well until this past week i started to feel extreme lower back pain. this is a result of creatin(not creatine) buildup in the kidneys. this creatin buildup is caused from creatine and while not a side effect in alll people this could be deady. my creatin level after a 5 week period was at 4 and total kidney failure can start to occur at 6 so i was lucky to find this out before it was to late. so for any of u experiencing this i reccoment going to the hospital to get this checked out. like i said before this doesnt occur in everyone and for those who it doesnt affect then i dont see any problems on you taking it.

note. i was only taking 5g a day and i did not load
I don't think there is a difference between "creatine" and "creatin". I googled "creatin" specifically and most links simply point back to creatine. I don't think these are different substances as you suggest.

You can overdose on creatine anyway and it hits the liver and kidneys. Example:
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-873-creatine.aspx?activeingredientid=873

When taken by mouth in high doses, creatine is POSSIBLY UNSAFE. There is some concern that it could harm the kidney, liver, or heart function. However, a connection between high doses and these negative effects has not been proven. Creatine can also cause stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea, and muscle cramping.

Creatine causes muscles to draw water from the rest of your body. Be sure to drink extra water to make up for this. Also, if you are taking creatine, don't exercise in the heat. It might cause you to become dehydrated.
 
I have terrible back issues and didnt notice it. Just dont take creatine as it puffs my face up like a mofo
 
Creatine is one of the most tested supplement.
I believe it could be muscle swelling due to the creatine causing increasing pressure on the nerves of the lower back (I'm a BroDoc).
How old are you?
 
i have the same problem and been taking creatine for 3 months.

the pain started when i decided to do sets of 3 on my deadlifts with 95% RM and squat heavy two days later. lol

dat lower back pain caused by creatine intake...yeah, i know it
 
I don't think there is a difference between "creatine" and "creatin". I googled "creatin" specifically and most links simply point back to creatine. I don't think these are different substances as you suggest.

/

Thank goodness someone finally mentioned this. It's a small but significant distinction between the spelling of creatine and creatinine. Maybe cuz I'm in the medical field, but I was like creatin and creatine are the same thing. If you got tested in the hospital they would look at your creatinine levels as mentioned by another post.
 
Bad creatine.

You can get 5+ grams of creatine out of a 16 oz grass-fed rib-eye steak.

Eat meat for creatine, dude.
 
Drinking the appropriate amount of water solves this problem. There are several threads on this exact topic. I know, I've answered this before, and asked the question myself. I see why you're dubbed.
 
Had this issue on and off at least three times with Creatine usage. 2.5-5g/day after the loading phase and I'd get all sorts of back pain and the worst of it was on my days off. Back would be sore & stiff as a mofo. I was skeptical like a lot of people in this thread that Creatine was the cause. I tried various amounts a day and different ways of dissolving the powder (usually mixed in a cup of boiled water) but each time I'd eventually have weeks of inexplicable back pain despite using good form or swapping/stopping certain back exercises. Stopping Creatine would always stop that pattern of back pain.

I don't know the exact cause but it was definitely tied to Creatine usage. Once a year or so I get the urge to try Creatine (it worked great for strength and size) and I try everything to prevent back pain but it happens anyway. I'm tempted to give it a shot again and thought I'd add my two cents as this thread was one of the few I found addressing the issue.
 
These studies show that short and long-term supplementation (up to 30 g/day for 5 years) is safe and well-tolerated in healthy individuals and in a number of patient populations ranging from infants to the elderly. Moreover, significant health benefits may be provided by ensuring habitual low dietary creatine ingestion (e.g., 3 g/day) throughout the lifespan.
 
I’d be very surprised at that not being caused by extreme high protein rather than Creatine.

That said they’ll obviously be a genetic component which means Creatine could exacerbate the issue.
 
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