First off nothing is 100% safe, even the water you drink or the air you breathe.

Many people assume that creatine is safe, because it naturally occurs in the body. So what! So does 5-HP (Serotonin) and taking suppelements such as 5-Hydroxytryptophan may lead to Serotonin syndrome which can be fatal. L-Glutamine in large doses taken on an empty stomach is neurotoxic and not recommended by many physicians.

Creatine supplementation is toxic and may lead to seizures. You could review the adverse effects on creatine at the Food & Drug Administration site.

I had very negative experience with creatine, I have experienced facial tics after 30 mins of consuming creatine.

It amazes me how people recommend supplements to one and another, without discussing adverse side effects.

When I am at the gym, with my friends or work out partner... I never bring up the conversation about supplements and if I see a supplement I want to try, I do my own research and make my own choices. If a friend, asks for my advice, I always tell them to do their own research, because in the end you dont want to be responsible for whatever happens.

I do understand that everyone is different, and results & side effects vary person to person, but I still recommend people to do their own research on supplement they plan to take and not go by someones advice.

I always study the ingredients and their pro's and con's and only then, I will read personal experiences at the health boards...

:wave:

Thats some of the best advice I have seen on these boards. When doing research look for TRUE studies with statistical significance. I would also recommend investigating who is paying for a study. Never trust a report in a muscle mag, they all own the supplement companies!

while thats a great post in the sense that everyone should do their own research, the nature of the warning you issued about siezures simply highlights it.
siezures may in fact be a possible side affect (though in all the studies i have read, i dont recall it ever being mentioned), but so are heart attacks from cold medicine. Are you going to tell people not to take sudafed because it may give them a heart attack?
that said, again, i absolutely agree with you about the need to do your own research, i just felt that part of the post was a bit misleading.

johnd

I nominate this thread for the most misleading title award!

Somebody in another thread about creatine said it's 100% safe and I disagreed. If a person follows the directions and has everything else in order, they -shouldn't- have any problems. Creatine is very safe, not 100% safe, but very safe. I know what you're saying, and it needs to be said, possibly with a sticky thread at the top of the forum, but jeeeeeez! You could have said it differently. OBVIOUSLY, no supplements are 100% safe. OBVIOUSLY, people need to do their own research and ask questions about supplements. OBVIOUSLY some people are going to react differently to different foods/drugs/supplements/compounds/environments/etc/etc! I have never EVER heard anyone describe having seizures while taking creatine. Is is possible? Absolutely, anything is possible. It is not probable in the majority of users. You had facial tics after taking creatine. Good for you. Thousands upon thousands of people never experience negative side effects. They may be bummed when the cycle is over to lose that water weight, but they should already know that's going to happen. To assume that creatine is completely safe because it is made naturally in the body is naive, so I will agree with you there. My guess is that people who suggest creatine are more than likely going off of creatine's fairly long track record of safety, various clinical studies, and the countless number and variety of people that have used it and -actually- lived to tell about it.

As for the FDA...Trying to find any information on their website is damn near impossible, and even IF you find what you're looking for, you can't understand the reports without the technical background to read lab reports.

Wether you agree or disagree that creatine is pure evil is a secondary point. I think the overall point of the post is do your own research, and research meaning more than asking the biggest guy at your local gym. There are tons of products out there that are not well regulated, some can hurt you, some can hurt your wallet. If your going to go to all the trouble of working out and dieting be careful of what you put in your body.

You know, I think the biggest problem with creatine has and always will be dehydration issues. You hear a lot of stories about kids using it for wrestling and then not drinking any water to try and make weight only to find that they became so dehydrated that some of them died! I, myself, used to take creatine everyday and the longer I took it, the worst I felt on it. At first it was great! I felt stronger, more energy, and a lot less soreness. Wasn't long before the side effects started creeping in. I mean, I started to feel woosy and dried out no matter how much water I drank. Also, people told me that I had a much shorter temper on the stuff. A doctor friend of mine even told me not to take it because "creatine makes you mean!" Anyone else experience that? Finally, the last time I ever tried it, I took it after a workout and then went to the mall with my girlfriend. All of a sudden I got this tremendous faint feeling and I had to lie down on a bench for like a half an hour before I could even get enough energy to go home! That was that! Never took that crap again. Of course, not everyone is this sensitive, but you don't know this until you try. I say start off with a very low dose...don't bother loading because research shows it doesn't help much anyway. Then, if you are short on money, only take it on the days you work out, either before of after. Most of us will get some benefits this way with little chance of getting sick from it.

lamotta77,
Without knowing more personal info about you, I would say the increase of aggressive behavior is caused by an increase in testosterone. It's a hormonal thing, which creatine does not affect. However, because you have an increase in strength and are lifting more, your body is probably cranking out plenty of testosterone. It happens, that's part of what makes testosterone, testosterone. Prohormones are notorious for causing high levels of agressiveness, sometimes called "roid rage." With creatine, it's rare and indirect (meaning creatine in itself will not cause an increase of aggressive behavior.) Just treat others like you would want to be treated, don't be an a-hole (not implying that you are one), and you'll be fine in that respect. :)

As for being faint, I would look towars dropping blood sugar levels, not creatine. If you train hard and don't replenish the glycogen in your muscles and in the bloodstream, feeling faint is very common. When I trained really hard, the same thing would happen to me until I began adding some dextrose to the water I was drinking during the workout. I just don't see the connection between the two "side effects."

I agree completely about dehydration. Creatine absolutely needs to be cycled.

I have not had any creatine side effects. People get sick because they haven't asked their doctor to check their kidneys. Some people have bad kidneys and don't know it and consume creatine. If you use creatine wisely your shouldn't have no problems. And about the mood swings, theres no chance in hell you can get aggressive from creatine. Creatine is not a steroid.

I agree. All that happened to me when I used it was I got these wonderful stretch marks on my arms from all the lifting I was doing. And I could lift an ox.

But, I've never taken it since I started it my senior year in college. I took it for a few months. Almost a whole semester if I recall. I never had dehydration problems but maybe that's me. Now if we are talking about ephedra, that stuff is the devil. I used it and about killed me.

Creatine just isn't worth it to me. Yeah you can get big, but then after you get off, you shrink back down. Maybe its good for short term boosts like therapy, Naxy used it once with a client of hers. But it isn't worth the dough to dish out.

I have to disagree when some of you say creatine can't increase aggressiveness. My doctor, a friend of mine, and I have all experienced it! We are living proof that in can infact shorten your temper! I didn't even realize it myself until my girlfriend pointed it out to me. She said, "the crap is making you crazy...either stop it or i'm breaking up with you!" That and the fact that it was dehydrating me was it for me. It wasn't until after this happened that my doctor told me to never use it because of that reason...I was shocked because I had never heard of that from anyone before but he was absolutely right. The increase in anger and aggressiveness was NOT due to lifting more...I lifted no more or less than usual. Whether creatine has an indirect effect on testosterone or not, I do not know...I've never seen any studies to show it. I also was not taking any steriods or prohormones while I was on this either...never took any of that stuff in my life. If you can handle the creatine, go ahead and take it...If you are like me and get sick off of it, then quit....it isn't worth it.