i've used creatine off and on for a couple of years and had decent results. when i first started taking it, i had read that creatine somehow loses its effect on your muscles after about six weeks and it was recommended that you follow a six week on and six week off cycle. i have done this and usually i lose about 5 lbs or so during the off cycle.

i just finished a six week cycle of creatine about a week ago and i'm tempted not to wait five more weeks before using the supplement again.

does anyone know how factual the cycle theory is? if i were to stay on creatine indefinitely (say at only 5g a day) would it have any adverse effects and would i notice a drop in productivity? i'd appreciate any answers..

anybody?.... please

From what I have read, creatine should be cycled. Even the companies that sell it say so and you would think they would say, "hey, you can stay on the stuff forever!" I believe this is so, not only because it may lose effectiveness over time, but its much safer for you, and it won't put such a dent in your wallet. I've always lived by the motto "You don't want to risk adding anything into your body that it doesn't need to survive for years on end without taking a break once in awhile." That goes for steriods and everything else as well.

You could stay on creatine for the rest of your lift, but I would never ever suggest it. Over time, a large percentage of creatine monohydrate is changed to creatinine, which is bad for the kidneys. While I don't have the scientific evidence to back it up, I believe the body gets used to the benefits of creatine after a few weeks, and by then you're just not shocking the muscles like that initial boost of creatine will. That's when gains stop.

My suggestion on cycles would be four weeks on, four weeks off. Simple.

There is more to why they tell you not to take it for more than 6 weeks at once, yes it may lose its effects, but it does other things as well.

Since I was tired of hearing person A say one thing, and person B say another, I decided to ask my doctor about his opinion on Creatine (asked him a little more than a month ago), and this is what he said: Creatine is fairly safe when used in moderation, he said there hasn't been a lot of studies on its long-term effects, and he said it "buggers up the kidneys".

It makes sense about the kidneys, seeing how any fluids we put into our bodies are excreted through there.

There is also another thing about eating so much protein which I recently learned in biology class: When your body has more protein then it needs (how much it needs when were working out, I do not know), the protein is broken down in the digestive system into ammonia (which can be fatal), ammonia of course is very bad for us, our body then changes that into a less potent form called urea, it is then excreted through the kidneys.

So all this strain and stress on the kidneys and liver isn't good! Thats why on days that I dont work out, I dont even take protein supplements, there is lots of information out there, a lot of it contradicts what was said by others, everyone has an opinion, look at the facts and then make your own.

(edited a mistake).