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    Creatine HCL

    Posts: 38,439 MFP Moderator
    in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
    Has anyone who gets stomach cramps with monohydrate run HCL? If so, what was your experience. I have tried three different brands of monohydrate and every time i get bad stomach cramping. Layne Norton posted a video yesterday on creatine and noted HCL can help some people. Figured I would solicit feedback from the lifters here.

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    Replies

    • Posts: 49,167 Member
      Never tried it. But then again, I've not used creatine in about 10 years.

      A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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    • Posts: 341 Member
      This may sound odd, but have you tried taking simethicone (Gas-X) with it? I know it's not designed for cramps per se, but it might do the trick. If you don't have any on hand, the store-brand stuff is relatively cheap and worth a shot.
    • Posts: 9,097 Member
      I get extreme abdominal cramps that last 40seconds- a couple minutes every now and again. I'm literally paralyzed in that time range with pain.

      I take about two whey shakes daily that contain trace amounts of creatine monohydrate along with an additional 5g on most days.

      I'm also missing a few parts of my digestive system on the lower end that may or may not contribute to possibly colon spasms.

    • Posts: 50 Member
      edited February 2021
      Why are you taking it?

      Never had any issues with creatine, but I haven't seen noticable result from it either, energy or muscle wise. It might help me somewhere, but you can do fine without maybe, and get results with food for example for muscle growth

      Still on the fence if i should buy again.
    • Posts: 38,439 MFP Moderator
      So the interesting thing is I don't get gassy, bur rather just get sharp pains in my stomach.

      Thx for the feedback.
    • Posts: 961 Member
      Yeah, I started taking it a couple of weeks ago and my stomach was messed up. There were a few days when I had to lie down because the cramping was pretty bad. Although, it doesn't take much to mess up my stomach and I have some kind of bloating at least once a day. However, I stopped taking it because I recently had some abnormal blood results that could possibly indicate kidney dysfunction. Once I stopped, the more severe cramping stopped.
    • Posts: 19 Member
      I understand the problem with creatine monohydrate is that it doesn't dissolve well in water. I had stomach cramping at first, but then I noticed it wasn't dissolving and started using warm water, now it dissolves thoroughly and I've had no stomach issues since.
      Personally I wouldn't be without it, its made a huge difference, not only to performance, but to recovery time, but I have COPD & that is a factor.
    • Posts: 1,259 Member
      I have only taken it in pills, not powder. I vaguely remember being a little gassy the first time I took it, but not after. I didn't notice a change in performance so I didn't keep buying it.
    • Posts: 47 Member
      No problems with creatine pills. But taking whey and I found out lately all milk products give me digestive problems 🥴
    • Posts: 1,453 Member
      When I was creatine "loading" the first week (taking 4 times a day), I had some intestinal distress. Now that I'm just taking 5g, once a day, there's been no problem. It has been mildly effective (affective?) for me. I've gotten a couple of additional reps on most of my exercises since I started taking it. But I'm so 'mental', it could just be a placebo effect.

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