Anyone have experience using creatine? Or know of any studies?
Hey Elie,
Welcome to the site and thanks for posting! Great discussion question you brought up. I am not a creatine user myself, nor do I take any protein supplements of any sort, but I have looked into it myself just to see if there are any effects. I have a book that I consult which is written by Sheri R. Colberg titled "Diabetic Athlete's Handbook". I decided to look into this and went into the index to look up creatine.
The first location of it was in a table which detailed some of the issues with supplements and it discusses the fact that creatine puts a tremendous amount of stress on the kidneys because of excess urinary excretion of creatinine. It apparently creates the most stress during the initial loading period (5-7 days). I get the feeling this is there because of the fact that diabetics are usually prone to kidney diseases and kidney failure.
In the other location, she mentions that there are no long-term effects to date and there have been no studies on creatine and diabetics. All they know is that it stresses out kidneys (be cautious when taking it) and that if you have kidney issues, you should not be taking it at all. Intake should not exceed 20 grams per day and for the loading phase (5 day period) and for maintenance, it should be no more than 3 grams per day.
This is all from her book which is an amazing read and super helpful as it is sport specific and different athletes discuss their experiences and how they manage themselves in their specific sport. I will provide a link down low.
On a personal note, I have a diabetic friend who did take it and did not have any issues at all with it, blood sugars never were effected, so that's all I can say about that. Again, I am not a user of it and a lot of these terms (loading/maintenance) in this area is new to me. Let me know if this helped!!
Link to book: www.amazon.com/.../ref=sr_1_1
Hi, Adam:
Thanks for the response. I actually read Sheri's book a year ago and emailed her a couple of days ago with this question. She responded with the following:
Elie,
To my knowledge, there have been no studies on this, so I would treat creatine like you would protein. It usually doesn't have much of an immediate impact on blood glucose levels, but it is possible than some of the excess may be converted into glucose within four hours after you consume it. Just monitor your blood glucose levels afterwards to see if you need any insulin later on. Also, if there's any chance that you may already have some kidney damage due to diabetes, you probably should check with your doctor before loading with creatine as it could cause more damage (but not if your kidneys are fine). Sheri
I started taking creatine two days ago. I have had an unusual number of lows in the past two days, but I think this is probably due to the change in weather (heat --> low blood sugars --> need to lower basal rates).
I'd love to hear more about your friend's experience.
Thanks again!
What are the chances that the book I bring up is the one whose author you already reached out to? Amazing. Yes, your hypothesis seems right, the fact the weather is starting to affect your sugars. All I can say is check, check, and check again and you'll find the perfect basal rates throughout your day. If you do find any research online, I'm very curious myself. When I see my friend next I'll ask him about it.