My Personal Journey with High-Dose Creatine Supplementation

Real Life

We've looked at how creatine works, both in the muscle and in the brain. We've reviewed studies showing its efficacy in helping with mental processing, memory, cognition, and possible prevention of dementia.

This is all well and good. But what about real life?

Well, folks. I have been on a journey. It was a journey that prompted me to really dig into this topic.

And the results of this journey are why I feel so strongly about sharing this.

I have taken creatine on and off for a number of years. I had stuck to the recommended 5g/day dose, and I honestly don’t know if I could have told you there was a significant difference in my workout performance.

Still, I dutifully took it, knowing that there was a huge amount of evidence to support its use. But sometime last year, something changed.

My grandfather suffered from Alzheimer's dementia, and watching him pass away many years ago was extremely difficult. I watched who had been one of the kindest, gentlest, sweetest people I had ever met in my life turn into an angry, confused, fearful man. In essence, I saw my grandfather become not my grandfather

Given this experience, I have long had a deeply entrenched and possibly somewhat irrational fear of dementia. I've taken many steps over the years to try to prevent this, and if you can show me a study, there's a pretty good chance I'm going to adopt whatever those recommendations are into my life. Anything that might help prevent dementia is a priority for me.

I had read some of the studies linking higher-dose creatine supplementation with a lower risk of dementia. I decided I wanted to give it a try, so I started taking 15 g a day. Honestly, yes, at first I did notice a little bit of some GI upset with it, and it was a little tough to drink down those 30 oz of water in the morning that had the creatine in it. I didn't feel awesome for an hour or two afterward, but I did get used to it

This went on for a few months, just something I did, and then life got in the way.

The Dangers of Stress

I just stopped.

No good reason. Things were busy. My son was returning from his mission. My daughter was getting married just over a week after that. It was, needless to say, a very busy time. It was also incredibly stressful.

We've all been there. Stressed to the point that little things seem much larger than they are. For some ridiculous reason, the thought of mixing up my creatine and having it ready in the morning was just too much. It was one step too far.

And so I stopped. Just stopped doing it altogether. And you know what? I didn't notice a difference.

I happily carried on, feeling overwhelmed, feeling tired. I tried to make a few changes in my nutrition and my workouts. I started doing some fasting. I had a conference trip to California in early November that then resulted in having to come back and immediately go to Boise for a swim meet, and things were just crazy.

But I started noticing something. I started noticing that I would get home from work, and I was so incredibly tired. Not physically tired, that was pretty much the same as it had been. This was a mental exhaustion. All I had the energy to do was sit in a chair and to just stare. We would turn on a TV show, maybe we were watching Taskmaster or something like that. But that was it. That was all I could do.

A bunch of my creative endeavors fell by the wayside, or they just sort of stopped. I would sit there in front of a screen thinking about what I wanted to write, and nothing would come. That was if I even decided to try to write something. Most nights, I didn't even fake the attempt. I would think about trying to do a video, and I feel overwhelmed. I stopped reading. I stopped playing games. I could make it through the day at work, only just, but then everything came apart in the evening.

Honestly, I thought something was seriously wrong with me.

I was worried.

A Realization...

Early December rolled in. I was feeling increasingly overwhelmed with the end of the year. It is always a difficult time, but it felt extra heavy. We knew family would be coming in for the holidays. Part of me was dreading it.

I clearly remember standing in my kitchen, thinking about how deeply tired and exhausted I was, when it dawned on me: I hadn't taken creatine in a few months.

Why not? I asked myself. Maybe it would make a difference.

I was skeptical, but I was also desperate.

I decided to commit, again, to taking 15 g/day. And I decided to try something new. I would mix it up the night before with boiling water (it took one night to see that this dissolved the creatine much more effectively), and then leave it in my bottle on the counter and drink it first thing the next morning.

I also knew I was going to have to be consistent.

And I was. At first, I didn't really notice any difference. I wasn't really looking for it. I was just making sure I took it every (almost) morning. Nothing else changed. I was still trying to exercise regularly and struggling with that. My sleep was what it always is: okay, but never really long enough.

Just this one change in my behavior. That was all.

And an Undeniable Change

It took about a month. Then I realized everything had changed.

One night, it dawned on me: I got home from work and actually felt like I could do things. I wasn't a zombie. I started writing again. I started reading again. I started learning again.

I felt like myself again.

On one hand, it was subtle.

But on the other hand, it was incredibly profound and one of the most powerful changes I've noticed in my life in years. I can have a full, busy, stressful day of work. I get home tired, yes, but still fully capable of doing things.

And it has persisted.

It wasn't a one-off moment. It has been a powerful and lasting change in my mental energy levels. Because I didn't feel so mentally fatigued, I've been much more successful getting up in the morning and exercising before work. I don't lie in bed and make excuses that I just can't handle it or am too tired. Most days.

Not every day is perfect. There are still plenty of difficult ones. But even then, I have a mental energy, drive, and clarity I hadn't had for months.

Small activities I had stopped, not because I didn't have the physical energy to do them, but because I didn't have the mental energy to make that choice or take that action, have now become much more manageable.

It has been almost five months since I have been taking 15 g of creatine almost every morning, and I can honestly say it has changed my life.

I feel sharper. My memory is better. My drive, motivation, and ability to engage in a mentally taxing activity and stick through it to the end are orders of magnitude better than they were in November of last year.

I feel more like the version of myself I believe I am.

Incredible. That is the only word I can use to describe it.

The Power of Placebo

We all know the placebo effect is real. So, could it be that this is what has happened to me? It is a question that is absolutely worth asking.

But I don't think that is what has happened, and here are a few reasons why:

• I didn't notice the mental fatigue until I had stopped taking creatine for almost a month. This lines up with the washout rate for someone taking high doses.
  • The placebo effect would be more likely to have been almost instantaneous.
• I also didn't feel the benefits for around a month, again, corresponding to the kinetics of saturating neural tissue with high doses.
  • Placebo should have been much more rapid, within a dose or two.
• It sustains if I miss days here and there. Creatine won't wash out quickly enough for me to be at less than complete saturation for a few weeks if I have been consistent.
  • Placebo effect would suggest I should notice it the day I miss my "magic" medicine.

Based on the timeline, the sustainable effect, and the things I have outlined above, along with the solid research I have provided, I see no reason to believe this positive result can be attributed to the placebo effect.

Suggestions to Start

Based on my research, and even more on my personal experience, I recommend taking higher doses of creatine to anyone interested in improving their mental clarity, memory, and energy levels. It is safe, well-researched, and has changed my life for the better.

If you are interested in starting, I first recommend taking the 5 g dose to ensure you tolerate it. Dissolving in hot water makes it much more tolerable and has been an important change, particularly at my current 15 g/day dosing. I mix it with LMNT electrolytes because, at 15+ g, you will start to taste it some, so having some flavor is nice.

Creatine is very affordable. Find a reliable company and get it from them. I don't recommend any particular brand other than ensuring it is from a reputable company, so you are actually getting what you are paying for.

Start at 5 g, increase as long as you tolerate it. I saw dramatic effects at 15 g. I did try 20 g a few times and found it made me a little nauseated, and given the benefit I was seeing at 15 g, I didn't push it higher.

I feel remarkably better. I want everyone to experience this same improvement I have. The hardest part is this: you will need to be patient. Patient to begin and make sure you tolerate it. Patient to gradually increase the dose. And patient to understand that it takes time to saturate your neural tissue.

I hope this has been helpful in both understanding how and why creatine works, as well as my personal experience with it.

"This one trick," gimmicks drive me crazy. I think that they are mostly baloney. But this? Wow. I hesitate to say it has been life-changing, but there simply isn't any other way to put it.