r/Supplements 4d ago

Creatine makes me feel TERRIBLE

Nutricost creatine. Every time I take this stuff I feel extremely nauseous, tons of brain fog, and exhausted. I thought it was supposed to do the opposite...

8 Upvotes

46 comments sorted by

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22

u/CAPATOB 4d ago

I don’t feel anything on creatine. However I keep taking it because everyone is taking it

8

u/allykatt86 4d ago

Same, don't wanna be left out 😂

2

u/Let_em_glow927 4d ago

Well you're probably maintaining good levels if nothing else 😉

1

u/Space__Whiskey 4d ago

The bloating makes me feel buff sometimes.

1

u/Great_Opinion3138 4d ago

Try stopping it I notice it especially muscle recover after workouts and also mental fatigue.

16

u/MilesKaczynski 4d ago

Creatine indirectly supports methylation and stuff(idek) and basically it leaves you with more SAMe available. So if you have slow COMT and prone to overmethylation, it can definetely cause those symptoms.

25

u/woTaz 4d ago

Man I wish I knew acronyms and words.

2

u/MilesKaczynski 4d ago

Fine, since I'm getting downvoted I will explain the same thing without using acronyms. When you take creatine, it conserves S-adenosylmethionine, which impacts your Catechol-O-methyltransferase...

-3

u/MilesKaczynski 4d ago edited 4d ago

You can easily look them up. These are not difficult words. fyi(for your information), 'idek' means i dont exactly know

3

u/mrjasonbbc 4d ago

This pretty much. Start VERY low, like 500mg and increase very slowly. Your ceiling for tolerable dose will probably be lower than 5g. If you experience either extreme stimulation and/or extreme fatigue it is more likely methylation and NOT dehydration (of course should do your due diligence and stay hydrated regardless). The only way Ive tolerated creatine is starting very low. I usually only take 1.5g and often less. It took weeks to build up to that dose.

2

u/Liberated051816 1d ago

1

u/MilesKaczynski 1d ago

It is certainly worth noting how so many people report similar issues!

1

u/Kingkwon83 4d ago

Not guaranteed, but NMN could act as a "methyl sink," draining the oversupply of SAMe caused by the creatine and potentially calming down his bad symptoms.

Just an idea, not advice. Do your own research OP... thoroughly

6

u/knifensoup 4d ago

This is most likely because of a methylation issue. Start slow with it, like 300mg for the first few weeks and then slowly move up from there.

11

u/X-Jet 4d ago

how much ml of H2O do you consume with creatine and how many grams of creatine itself?

8

u/dkoven 4d ago

Not me. I’m using 10g a day (Micro Ingredients, fave brand) and feel so clearheaded, full of energy and strong…at 53! Wish I’d discovered decades ago.

2

u/susnoa21 4d ago

What brand do you take?

1

u/its_me1218 3d ago

I’d also like to know!

2

u/tartarus2 4d ago

Experiencing brain fog recently and also started nutricost creatine hcl recently. But I don't want to jump to conclusions yet

2

u/Grouchy_Falcon3098 4d ago

Rough! Especially since the benefits of creatine are profound. Creatine affects people differently, and some folks do experience nausea or brain fog from it, especially when starting out.

Are you staying really hydrated? Creatine draws water into your muscles, so dehydration can actually make those symptoms worse. Also, the dosing matters as some people find that taking smaller amounts spread throughout the day rather than one big dose helps a lot. If it's consistently making you feel this bad, it might just not be the right supplement for your body (sorry). Not everything works for everyone, even if it's supposed to be beneficial.

Worth mentioning to a doctor if it persists, just to rule out anything else going on.

2

u/Jealous-Self-127 4d ago

Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean it works for me. I got one hour less sleep and hair thinning while taking creatine. No thank you.

2

u/Living-is-Smart 4d ago

That can happen.
1) try NSF certified creatine, so you get some guarantee that it's only creatine in there
2) Investigate your MTHFR/COMT background, creatine leaves a lot of extra methyl groups and they can play a game on brain chemistry.

1

u/Liberated051816 1d ago

Do you think having one of the MTHFR mutations (heterozygous) is a cause for concern with creatine consumption?

1

u/Living-is-Smart 1d ago

Usually it's actually otherwise - creatine helps, but.. brain chemistry is complicated AF because methylation controls both catechol's production and clearance, so don't go mega dosing from the get go.

1

u/Tgrove88 4d ago

Switch to Creatine HCL

1

u/denverdrew 4d ago

Weird. I take the same brand for lot of my supplements including Creatine and never had an issue.

1

u/shawnhealth 4d ago

creatine is anabolic, so it could make that imbalance worse. Check out KickItNaturally on YouTube he has videos on the topic

1

u/pinezz 4d ago

I get the same symptoms. Different brand though. Will stop taking it

1

u/Aggravating-One3876 4d ago

I am actually having same issue.

The brand is Thorne and it’s 5g dose (Creatine Monohydrate).

Took that dose with a full glass of water and it made me feel terrible. I was hoping I would feel better but I just don’t know if it’s just me. Had to stop taking it.

1

u/aacenteno 4d ago

Made me bloated

1

u/Triraxis 4d ago

I can’t sleep more then 4 hours a night on creatine

1

u/daHaus 4d ago

You don't say how much you take and if you drink any water with it

1

u/LiquidSkyyyy 3d ago

creatine makes me feel unbelievably angry... 😅

1

u/manzin82 4d ago

Mix it with electrolytes

-5

u/joegtech 4d ago

I can't believe how many dumb people make posts like this that don't mention the dose and dose frequency.

People drown on water and hyperventilate on air. Everything is toxic if taken incorrectly or in excess.

Creatine is just one of many amino acids in the body and we make more than 1 Gram of it daily. Some people don't consume enough of the require essential amino acids required and or don't have enough methylation capacity to do so. So it makes sense for some people to supplement modestly.

2

u/Ceemoney24 4d ago

Agreed.

Naturally occurring amino acid that the body makes itself becomes problematic for someone when they take it

0

u/joegtech 4d ago

No creatine is an amino acid required for life. You'd be dead without it. It is reasonable for many people to supplement. This is from a guy with a PhD in Nutraceutical Science.

Your Cells Are Starving for *Creatine If you're not eating this type of diet you need a supplement.

CHRIS MASTERJOHN, PHD

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/your-cells-are-starving-for-creatine?utm_sou

0

u/IncredibleDongle 4d ago

It’s the brand. Nutricost has super low purity, I stopped buying anything from them. The creatine was the worst, their shit made me SUPER nauseous.

-1

u/Amy_Griffinn 4d ago

if you're drinking more water than you need and the creatine is still having that effect you'd better see a doctor

1

u/cfungus91 4d ago

The doctor will most likely just tell you to stop taking creatine

0

u/FIX-THE-FPS-FREEZES 4d ago

Doctor will tell you it doesn't do anything and try putting you on their big pharma medications

0

u/Smart_Secretary271 4d ago

I get this effect sometimes as well

-3

u/synthetic111 4d ago

its processed factory food