re: For parents with teenage sons taking supplements for athletics.

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I worked in a lab my entire career. During that time I've had lab on every type of patient. I've seen Creatinine levels as high as 19 on dialysis patients. Normal around 1.0. Had a 25 year old ER patient come in and I couldn't get his creatinine to "read". Diluted it several different ways and finally ended up with a 32 for an answer. I didn't believe it was correct and continued to try to find what was causing the "interference". I took so long the ER doc came to the lab. I told him what was going on and he said the guy had ate half a can of creatine and he believed the 32 result. Guy had essentially dissolved his kidney.

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no he didnt idiot. creatine will show up as creatinine in blood work and skew result


this is the type of uneducated BS i was talking about. 40 years of legit studies and no kidney issues proven in health people.

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Thanks for the advice guys, OT actually came through…

No way I would put him on anything without consulting one of his docs….

Really appreciate it guys, thanks again.

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ftr the docs are useless on these things. do your own research. doctors do not know shite when it comes to teenage athletes, supplements, lifting weights, or even diet especially for a teenager trying to gain weight. they are clueless on this stuff because this is not what they do

people need to stop thinking doctors have the answer for everythign. especially when talking about a GP who does not specialize in anything.

if you want answers for something like this go talk to a sports nutritionist.

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We talked with the doctor and he basically punted the ball back to us to make the choice. His response "short-term use of creatine and athletes are actively working out has not been shown to cause any major issues I am aware of. He should continue to hydrate well. Creatinine should not be taken when he is not active or well-hydrated. However overall this is an over-the-counter medication that is truly a parental decision"

As others have said supplements are not regulated, so I would be careful where you buy the creatine.

"Although reports have indicated that short-term use of creatine is generally safe for adults, the American Academy of Pediatrics states that few studies have looked at the long-term safety of creatine use by teens. Doctors and most medical societies usually recommend creatine be used only by athletes over 18 years old."

We said no to our 15-year old son.

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haha there are 30+ years studies showing it is safe

there are benefits for your kid other than just muscle and strength

you made the wrong choice...just saying.

You got a lot of advice from folks on here but you should consult a physician. Some online resources which you may consider helpful.

https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/supplement/creatine

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-873/creatine

https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-creatine/art-20347591

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I recommend a cycle of Test400 every 2 weeks and a shot of deca durabolin if he really wants to get jacked

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That’s what my son is running right now but I think it’s test 250 once a week and dbol everyday. But he’s 19 and has been taking protein and creatin since he was 15

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You got a lot of advice from folks on here but you should consult a physician. Some online resources which you may consider helpful.

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why? what do you think a doctor, especially a GP, knows about creatine or even sport supplementation in general? what does he know that you cant find with a simple google search reading the studies?

examine.com has everything consolidated in one place, all the studies and meta analysis

LINK

it covers the kidney stuff with actual studies linked to show and the meta analysis on it


here is the bottomline...it is 100% safe and

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Supplementation with creatine has been found to improve physical performance (mainly power output) in athletes competing at the elite level in a host of different sports, including soccer,[36] volleyball,[37] wrestling,[16], and swimming.[38] That said, the beneficial effects of supplemental creatine appear to be less noticeable in elite athletes than in novice athletes.

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as far as mental health

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Although a 2017 meta-analysis found that supplementation with creatine increased functional independence (as assessed with the Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living Scale), the size of the effect was very small (and potentially clinically irrelevant). Moreover, no effects of creatine were observed on mental health, motor symptoms, or activities of daily living as assessed with the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS).[152]

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on bone health

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That said, a 2023 randomized controlled trial conducted in 237 postmenopausal women found that supplementation with creatine for 2 years alongside resistance training preserved the compressive and bending strength of parts of the femur

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on the drawbacks

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Supplementation with creatine typically results in weight gain, partly due to an increase in total body water.[25] The range of weight gain after a creatine loading phase tends to fall between 0.9 and 1.8 kg (1.98–3.96 lbs).[26][27] This may be of particular concern to individuals competing in weight-sensitive sports.

Diarrhea can occur when too much creatine is taken at one time,[28] in which case the doses should be spread out throughout the day and taken with meals.

Supplementation with creatine has been reported to negatively affect aerobic capacity to a small degree.[29] It has been speculated that this potential detrimental effect may be related to increases in total body water and body weight following supplementation with creatine.[30]

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on the kidneys

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In people with healthy kidneys, long-term creatine supplementation is safe,

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read the full article on is creatine safe for your kidneys




overall benefits

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The primary benefit of creatine is an improvement in strength and power output during resistance exercise. Creatine is well-researched for this purpose, and its effects are quite notable for a supplement, both in the general population,[6][7][8][9] and specifically in older adults.[10][11][12] When used in conjunction with resistance exercise, creatine may modestly increase lean mass.[7][12][11][13] In trained athletes, creatine has been reported to reduce body fat and improve some measures of anaerobic exercise performance, strength, and power output.[14][15] Creatine has also been tested for effects on anaerobic running capacity in many studies, the results of which are rather mixed but generally suggest a small improvement in performance.[16][17][18][19]

Although creatine has been researched far less for cognitive performance and mental health than for physical performance, it may have benefits in some contexts. Creatine appears to reduce mental fatigue in some scenarios, particularly highly stressful ones involving sleep deprivation or exercise to exhaustion.[20][21] Creatine may also improve some aspects of memory, particularly for people with below-average creatine levels, such as vegetarians and older adults.[22][23] There is also some preliminary evidence to suggest that creatine may reduce symptoms of depression in individuals with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder.[24] That said, more research is needed in these areas and on other cognitive measures before creatine can be said to be effective for cognitive performance or mental health.

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drawbacks are stomach distress in some and water retention inside the muscle



so please explain with all of these benefits why anyone would not have their kids on it? please do.

not to mention we already get it from red meat, just not enough.

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ftr the docs are useless on these things. do your own research. doctors do not know shite when it comes to teenage athletes, supplements, lifting weights, or even diet especially for a teenager trying to gain weight. they are clueless on this stuff because this is not what they do

people need to stop thinking doctors have the answer for everythign. especially when talking about a GP who does not specialize in anything.

if you want answers for something like this go talk to a sports nutritionist.

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My GP had 3 of his 4 kids playing d1 sports 3 different sports. One of those kids is now a PA there. I'd expect to receive great opinions if I were to broach the subject.

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My GP had 3 of his 4 kids playing d1 sports 3 different sports. One of those kids is now a PA there. I'd expect to receive great opinions if I were to broach the subject.

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you understand he is a 1% right lol in your case he may be educated but 99% have no clue

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I'm not an expert, but if I had a 14-year-old who was lifting weights and taking creatine, I'd be at least as concerned about the weightlifting as I would about the creatine.

We lifted weights for football at that age, and it probably helped those guys win a lot of games (I rode the pines ), but I would tell my own son to avoid weight training until about age 20, especially in today's height-obsessed age of Tinder-addled giantess skanks.

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lifting weights does not stunt growth at any age, your statement abotu not being an expert is 100% fact. you are clueless

LINK

read the 5 part series from the doctors on barbell medicine where they go through every bit of the evidence and go over everything when it comes to weightlifting in youth.

and the fact you cant think critically enough to understand that a kid jumping off the back of truck will put more force on their body than weightlifting would is telling. same thing with hits in football and soccer.

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read the 5 part series from the doctors on barbell medicine where they go through every bit of the evidence and go over everything when it comes to weightlifting in youth.

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I started to read it. It's pretty compelling. I don't take any scientific study as gospel, though. An example: "the science" loudly insists that violent video games aren't bad for adolescents, and I think that's horse shite.

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and the fact you cant think critically enough to understand that a kid jumping off the back of truck will put more force on their body than weightlifting would is telling. same thing with hits in football and soccer.

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I didn't say anything about the mechanisms by which adolescent weightlifting might have a negative impact.

My overall opinion is that lifting weights ought to be a deliberate decision talked through by parent and child. If an adolescent *does* decide to lift weights (perhaps having read that Barbell Medicine stuff and some other opinions), then I would suggest that he take creatine. Creatine is just an amino acid found in meat (or something). I take it regularly and find it has benefits even beyond weight training.