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Hey guys I am new to the forum. Recently my doctor said to stop taking creatine because he thinks it is elevating my liver enzymes. Have any of you been told this also? Do any of you know of a type of creatine that is not as hard on your liver? Any suggestions?

Audawg33 wrote:Hey guys I am new to the forum. Recently my doctor said to stop taking creatine because he thinks it is elevating my liver enzymes. Have any of you been told this also? Do any of you know of a type of creatine that is not as hard on your liver? Any suggestions?

I'm not aware of creatine being hard on a liver... but there are a few different types of creatine. Which kind have you been taking?

I was taking basic Cratine Monohydrate. I mostly used Twinlab Creatine Fuel, and I took it almost everyday.

If you have a specific liver problem (I assume that's why you were getting tested) I would probably follow the doctor's advice. At the very least creatine supplementation will increase your creatinine levels, which will already be elevated if you are consuming large amounts of meat in your diet.

There was a study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism in 2002 that tested a group of college football players taking 14g of creatine monohydrate per day on average (almost 3x more than the standard serving) over 3 years. They were specifically testing for any effects on kidney and liver function from long-term creatine supplementation and they found there was no difference between the creatine group and the control group.

Keep in mind that these were healthy individuals with no prior kidney/liver issues. Creatine is not so amazing that it is worth risking going against your doctor's advice if you've been diagnosed with some sort of liver problem.

Thanks SurferX, that really helps. I appreciate it

SurferX wrote:If you have a specific liver problem (I assume that's why you were getting tested) I would probably follow the doctor's advice. At the very least creatine supplementation will increase your creatinine levels, which will already be elevated if you are consuming large amounts of meat in your diet.

There was a study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism in 2002 that tested a group of college football players taking 14g of creatine monohydrate per day on average (almost 3x more than the standard serving) over 3 years. They were specifically testing for any effects on kidney and liver function from long-term creatine supplementation and they found there was no difference between the creatine group and the control group.

Keep in mind that these were healthy individuals with no prior kidney/liver issues. Creatine is not so amazing that it is worth risking going against your doctor's advice if you've been diagnosed with some sort of liver problem.

I completely agree that it is not worth going against your doctor's advice, but I question the relevance of creatinine levels going up in creatine feeding. You're putting in more precursor, so of course you're going to output more waste product. Just having more creatinine is not in and of itself damaging. It's not indicative of any inherent pathology with the kidneys; it's just that creatinine is a handy indicator for seeing when there is a problem with the kidneys. So to the extent that it interferes with doctors' ability to read the marker, I suppose it's relevant. </end geeky nephrology rant>

Ok, this might make me look stupid, but I guess I am not completely sure what creatinine is.

Not at all! There's really no reason your average Joe would know what it is; I nursed a cat with terminal kidney failure for 3.5 years, that's the only reason I know it!

It's just a chemical that you would find in your blood, like hemoglobin or calcium or carbon dioxide, and it is a byproduct of metabolism of proteins, including creatine.

One of the times that it would show up elevated in a blood sample is if the kidneys are not working properly. There are other things that can rule out kidney problems, so if you have elevated creatinine your doctor should be doing follow-up to make sure your kidneys are OK.

Other things that cause it to be at the high end of normal are greater than average muscle mass (duh! we're bodybuilders!) and being a young male - elevated testosterone (see above).

Does that help?

Yes, that does help. Thank you.

I had a blood test that came back with high liver enzymes a few years ago. I had taken creatine the day before with the last meal before fasting. The doctor told me that creatine and/or alcohol could cause an elevated liver enzyme level (among other things, some of which are illnesses). I stopped taking creatine for 3 weeks, and on the second blood test, it came out normal. The doctor said he just needed to know if the enzyme count would go back to normal if I stopped taking creatine so that he could rule out if something bad was causing it. I started to take creatine again at my own discretion after that.

I would follow the doctor's advice and see what happens with the next blood test.