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

amasotto

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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
 
that sounds scary. thanx for the warning. havent heard of this happening. I guess and hope its very unusual.
 
Thanks for the heads up. I am wondering if anybody has more info about this. Is there a genetic predisposition to this? Does water intake effect this? How common is it? Are we realistically at risk for this? What can we do to limit our risk?

I'm looking at you DeadlyShaolin haha.
 
Drink adiquate amounts of water and you should be good.
 
i drank alot of water. about 1-2 gallons a day its just something that can happen to you...mostly it doesnt but its possible and like i said only if this happens should u worry its just something thta happened to me that id let ppl know that way if u came across it ud have an idea of wat you could do. so if u dont have any of these problems i woudltn worry cas usually it doesnt happen to people but im just saying it did to me and possibly can to others
 
how long did you notice the pair for because just today in class i was feeling some lower back pain but i was hauling wheelbarrows full of dirt all day yesterday so i had that to account for it. but how long did you notice the pain for before you acted on it.
 
it took me about 2 days of increasing pain to act on it...the pain was unbearable i mean i coudnt walk so id wait to see if you are just really sore from wheelburrowing instead of your kidneys
 
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!!
 
TSD-Bulldog said:
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!!

well idk thas wat the doctor at the hospital said. the number is just wat she told me and it wasnt a creatinine level it was creatin which is normal at 1 and was elevated to 4. so idk. w.e im just saying wat happened to me
 
amasotto said:
well idk thas wat the doctor at the hospital said. the number is just wat she told me and it wasnt a creatinine level it was creatin which is normal at 1 and was elevated to 4. so idk. w.e im just saying wat happened to me

understood, most physicians are not aware of the effects of creatine other than a "falsely elevated creatinine level which does not correlate with the elevated levels which are seen in those with renal failure. Your creatinine would also be elevated if you had a stone, I do not know if they imaged you. My point is that your creatinine was elevated in part and likely not in a harmful way by creatine supplementation, but it was also elevated due to another process. Stones can pass without treatment, but the pain is severe if you have a substantial one. Just a thought,
 
amasotto said:
i had a ct scan and no stones were found just so u know...

They can be missed on CT, but sounds like something else is going on to explain your findings. Are you still in pain??
 
I have taken Creatine for months on and off with none of the problems you have mentioned..

Everyones body is different. Did you take more then the recommended dosage?

Stuff like this wouldn't be on the market if it can so easily cause "kidney failure".

I am currently not on creatine but I plan to jump on a cycle of it soon. You should drink masses of water, be eating very healthy, and be taking multi-vitamins as well.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience, I hope you find something else that can work for you.
 
5g a day
1-2 gallons of water a day
like i said its just somthing to happened to me so all of Sherdog shouldnt be worried im just saying if something would come up that u have the same problems as me that u should be cautious..im still in pain because i went to the hospital yesterday. and i also had blood tests along with the ct scan. so all of you shouldnt worry i mean i know tons of ppl who used creatine with no problems its just some rare occurance that i thought id share with all of you just in case another rare occurance like mine arises
 
Creatine has been tested repeatedly in scientifically controlled studies. In fact it is one of the most tested substances ever. I didn't cause your problems. They were caused by something that happened at the same time and was a coincidence.
 
I have the same problem right now. I have been taking creatine for about a month and it has done wonders.. IM never sore and can lift more than ever, but my lower back is always hurting especially when I lift back on monday and thursday. Maybe I have that shit...damm I better lay off for awhile thanks for the live saving advice.:icon_lol:
 
some people dont metabolize these things as well as others.. drink more water
 
I think you need to workout your lower back more or stretch more often. I've taking creatine in high school for about 8 months and then stopped taking it. Now about 3-4 years later I have been getting back problems which is probably due to wrestling. I couldn't even roll over because I would get back spasms and the pain was unbearable so I decided to call the ambulance and go to the hospital. They gave me some muscle and pain pills and about a month later I still have pain but not that bad. I don't think it is related but I experienced same problems and took creatine and I was just told to stretch it out and work it out.
 
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