Creatine and peri- and menopause

Creatine is urine waste products that your kidneys produce.

short version everything you eat goes through your digestive system into your blood stream. your body uses the nutrients from the food you eat and then filters the waste products through the kidneys and intestines, that waste product through the kidneys is called creatine. from there creatine (waste products) is removed from the body when you urinate.

the level of creatine in your blood stream and urine tells your doctors whether your kidneys are in various stages of failure. the higher the creatine in the body the more severe the kidney failure.

please consult your primary care physician they will have you do a CBC panel and urinalysis to determine whether your kidneys are working correctly and what your creatine level is. and whether you actually need to use any supplements to increase your creatine level.

you are right to never take supplements without your doctors prescribing them. so many times, people will see something and give it a try without first checking to see if their body really is deficient in that supplement and the next thing they know their bloodwork panels are all messed up.

Thanks, my labs are normal. I will still consult with a sports medicine doctor.

I have a little packet of creatine my son gave me, he does a lot of weight training and uses it to help build muscle mass. I keep wondering if I should try it after a run (I think it’s best post exercise), you can get creatine naturally from meat and fish apparently too. It’s supposed to build muscle and help with cognitive function.

My sister however was cautioned by Drs not to use after having breast cancer, apparently there’s some concern it might promote tumour growth in those already at risk. So I’m cautious too with my family history. And definitely as stated above don’t take it if you have any kidney troubles.

Thanks for sharing this. I've thought of trying this in the past and never have. But I'm at high risk for breast cancer and that's not one of the things I've been warned about, probably because it's not used a ton.

I looked this up because I was confused. The kidney function substance is creatinine while the supplement is creatine. They are very different even though they are very similar in name.

I wouldn’t want to scare you, I think her team advised against use as she’d previously had tumours and there’s some suspicion creatine may promote growth in tumours that are already there. I’m not sure about if you’ve never had tumours but have family history, but for myself I’m cautious.

I'm not scared, just glad to know that I should ask my breast doctor before taking it. I have had a kind of pre-cancerous tissue in my breast in a biopsy so I've got a pretty high chance of developing it and am as cautious as I can be because of that. I like new information .

Thank you for clarifying! I occasionally get high creatinine because I do not drink enough fluids before having blood drawn, and then the test gets redone, and I drink up, and the labs come back normal. Next time I will remember to always drink a lot in advance.

In the past, I had high creatinine that would not be corrected by ample fluids, but that was because I was on Lithium. I do not take Lithium anymore, but I have hypothyroidism for life, a side effect that Lithium caused in 2010 and that never went away, alas. But creainine returned to normal after Lithium disconinuation.

I have made an appointment for the 19th to see a sports medicine doctor. My primary reason to see her (a PA, not a doctor, but that doesn't matter) is to discuss vertigo during exercise, but I also want to get a professional opinion on whether to start creatine, and if she says yes, which creatine to choose.