creatine monohydrate - a white rat report

[mrsD]

Cramping is one sign of poor hydration with creatine or that your dose is now too much --that your body may have changed in some way. I could never tolerate creatine. I tried it when I was working out alot and had the cramping from the beginning!

I'd suggest cutting back to every other day, when cramping occurs. With some supplements one can reach a ceiling or plateau with them.

Creatine is definitely worth taking. This is what I found on a website:

A phase 2 futility trial in PD showed approximately a 50% improvement in Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale at one year, and the compound was judged to be non futile. source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21448659

So creatine seems hopefull. However, clinical trials phase III are expected to end in 2015 which is still a bit far away.

[reverett123]

Approximately one week ago I was talking about suspecting that I had plateaued out etc. That old familiar disappointment as yet another miracle fades pervaded the rat burrow.

But then my dentist gave me a lesson in listening to my own advice when he found a tooth gone bad. When an infection establishes itself inside a tooth (i.e. abscesses) and produces wastes, some are gas. As these gases build up they usually find an outlet, but sometimes they do not and wind up in the bloodstream. When he found the problem, my dentist capped it temporarily and pointed me to an endodontist for a root canal. He warned me that if the gases could no longer find their way out that I might have some pain and to call him so that he could open it up.

From a dental standpoint that was pretty much it. But from a PD viewpoint alarm bells were ringing. I kept a close watch on it because of the potential danger posed by these wastes for PWP.

These wastes contain a large component of the toxin mentioned in the current thread - lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Our immune systems go nuts when they encounter LPS. This is one of the core forces driving PD. (Read all about it here.) The outraged immune warriors spew an assortment of noxious toxins of their own that impact our nervous system and worsen our PD symptoms. And that was what was happening to me. By Saturday the pain and pressure were increasing and so were the PD symptoms.

Well, I had a root canal done today and I feel great once more. I will begin anew tomorrow, but all take heed. A bad tooth or a UTI can devastate you and do it quickly.

[reverett123]

I decided to take a respite from the creatine five days ago and I have steadily improved since then. While my dental problem did seem to have an effect it only lasted for 24 hours. So, five days ago I temporarily quit it to see what would happen. I had ceased to noticeably improve and saw hints of problems ahead and thought it best to regroup.

Just as I hoped, as the excess creatine has been washed out I have regained the earlier improvements. I think that I will wait another day and reintroduce it at a lower dose. It still looks very positive from here. Imark, have you tried backing off it for a while and starting again?

Here is some info from the Univ of Maryland-

"Creatine is a naturally occurring amino acid (protein building block) that's found in meat and fish, and also made by the human body in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. It is converted into creatine phosphate or phosphocreatine and stored in the muscles, where it is used for energy. During high-intensity, short-duration exercise, such as lifting weights or sprinting, phosphocreatine is converted into ATP, a major source of energy within the human body.

....

However, not all human studies have shown that creatine improves athletic performance. Nor does every person seem to respond the same way to creatine supplements. For example, people who tend to have naturally high stores of creatine in their muscles don't get an energy-boosting effect from extra creatine. Preliminary clinical studies also suggest that creatine's ability to increase muscle mass and strength may help fight muscle weakness associated with illnesses such as heart failure and muscular dystrophy.

.....

Muscular dystrophy

People who have muscular dystrophy may have less creatine in their muscle cells, which may contribute to muscle weakness. One study found that taking creatine led to a small improvement in muscle strength. However, other studies have found no effect.

Parkinson's disease

People with Parkinson's disease have decreased muscular fitness including decreased muscle mass, muscle strength, and increased fatigue. A small clinical study found that giving creatine to people with Parkinson's disease improved their exercise ability and endurance. In another clinical study, creatine supplements boosted participants' moods and they didn' t need to increase their medicine dose as much as those who didn' t take creatine. More research is needed in this area.