creatine kidney function men's health

Andrew Winge MD

You start taking creatine, continue training, and your next blood test shows a higher creatinine. The laboratory also reports a lower estimated kidney filtration rate. Did the supplement injure your kidneys?

Possibly, but those two numbers do not establish that diagnosis. Creatinine can increase because your kidneys are clearing less of it, because your body is generating more of it, or because both processes have changed. The job is to distinguish those explanations without dismissing a genuine kidney problem.

This is particularly relevant if you lift weights, carry substantial muscle mass, or use testosterone. A laboratory equation is useful, but it does not know your training history or what is in your supplement container.

Start with the extra syllable

Creatine and creatinine are related compounds, but they are not interchangeable. Creatine participates in the phosphocreatine system inside muscle. When a muscle contracts, adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, supplies ene...