Hi guys, I just watched your Santa Cruz seminar Q&A back from Feb 2019, and saw the question raised about blood creatinine and creatine supplementation.
This is not a question in fact, but just wanted to say what a great answer you gave, and to throw in my support on that as a kidney transplantee (yeah, I’m the same guy who recently emailed you a question re pred use - hoping to see that in a future Q&A). Sadly many of the nephrologists and renal specialist nurses have no idea about the impact of creatine - well they don’t even understand protein consumption on kidney function generally, so perhaps no great surprise!
I did try supplementing with creatine for a while, just over a year ago. My kidney function is usually very stable, creatinine around the 150 mark (1.7ish, I think, for US measurements?), and eGFR ~50, so I felt comfortable trying it. I had to stop after 6 months, because my creatinine had risen to 200/2.3 (and still rising with each blood test) and it was simply creating too much noise in my results.
Did I feel fine while taking it? Yep. Did it help with my training? Yep. But at the end of the day, my kidney health is priority number 1 and it was simply clouding matters way too much. I definitely was holding more water weight, which is also tricky when having a history of CKD, given that’s a potential symptom of worsening function. Do I wish life was more simple and I could 100% safely take creatine, like 99% of the rest of the population? Of course, but that’s life. This is part of trying to be strong and healthy for years and decades to come, and hence consistency is the more important factor.
Thanks for all the great advice you share, Jordan and Austin!
