+ 3 For those who have tried Creatine HCL ....
I normally just use Creatine Monohydrate, but I am becoming increasingly tired with the stomach upset it causes/temporary nausea and the need to sit on the toilet as soon as I've consumed it!! I believe with HCL because its water soluble compared to monohydrate that there is no gastrointestinal issues and because its absorbed much better and quicker - they say there is no need for a loading phase (which I don't quite believe). I am pretty sure I tried this stuff back when it came out but for the life of me cannot remember how it went lol
So for those of you who use Creatine HCL - does it produce less stomach upset and bloating/Toilet blasting? 
Also because it means you don't bloat with water so much, is it as effective for lifting because in theory the muscle is not as full of water?
- Bookmark
- 3
- 0
I tried it and didn’t notice any difference just because monohydrate never messed with my guts anyway and I was already taking monohydrate so my system was already saturated with creatine.
The one thing I hated about it was the sour taste. Doesn’t go well with protein shakes.
The other thing I didn’t like was the price.
Some people call it a solution in search of a problem because the amount of people who have gut issues from monohydrate is so small but, if you are one of those people, it seems like a wise choice to make.
I have been using it everyday pal and its been a miracle for me as it means I can use creatine consistently now without any stomach upset and acid reflux during the night. As a result got much stronger which is the whole objective in using it. Don't get me wrong - it tastes harsh BUT its better if I put it in tropical juice and add Dextrose powder. Then I put some artichoke extract and astragalus root in which takes some of the bite away and makes sure I take care of the liver and kidneys a little while using DBol inject. SO it takes care of various things I guess. Yep it costs double what monohydrate does but fuck it - I'll pay it as it works lol
Honestly with tropical juice and all that other stuff you added it actually sounds delicious haha.
Would you mind shooting me a dm with the supplements you use for liver/kidney protection etc?
You’re running lots of healthy nutrient additions and I need to up my game on that front.
Those are the 2 things I mainly run atm mate as in the past I was spending a fortune on all the powders and supps every few months - here is a list of the things you can run, just pick and choose from it:
https://www.eroids.com/forums/general/general-talk/kidney-liver-suppleme...
Thanks! I’ll be sure to bookmark that for future reference!
Good topic I have creatine on the way should be in the mail today buts it's the regular creatine monohydrate. In the past I have used the HCL and I to loaded it for 5 days and it didn't cause any stomach issues at all as far as I remember it's a bit more expensive but I think worth it
I have experience using both types of Creatine. It doesn't cause any side effects for me. I always take it during my workouts, giving myself rest periods. Personally, creatine gives me a noticeable increase in strength. It might be worth trying a different brand of creatine and checking for any side effects.
UPDATE NO.2 Not had the shits once since I began using this stuff yesterday and just had another shot now. In fact I haven't even had a turtle since a few days ago LMAO
I have also found the perfect thing to mix it with - Apple & Blackcurrant Cordial, 15g of Dextrose powder and half a cup of cold water. Literally tastes like a Sweet & Sour candy sweet!! One might call it even enjoyable lol
I need to try this.
That’s a good sign, except for the burning sensation throughout your GI tract… If it tastes better than SARMs then I’m game. Nothing is worse than those research chemicals…
How’d the lifting session go? Notice any added endurance or anything like that??
The burning sensation actually went after the first few times, I think it was just the initial sting of it that took a while to get use to bud. I have had a few rest days as I was pretty sore and beat after my last bench and shoulder session which ended up being 4 hours lol Had to do quite a bit of hill walking as my car has been out of action so my hams have been a little stiff - BUT it is Deads later on today so I will soon know mate as I have quite a few loading days in me now. Regarding endurance, I noticed I wasn't as buggered walking up these long hills and soon got my energy back - had some killer calf pumps too LMAO I will report back later buddy
Gooodness gracious, 4 hours??? I’d say the endurance is there ha! Sorry to hear about the car, but I guess you’re getting your steps in!
Yeah, I want to hear how deads went!
Mate I would definitely recommend getting some if like me the stomach issue/toilet dash/nausea afterwards is a problem on Monohydrate. I am sure absorption is way higher too, some are saying its 60% more than monohydrate is hence why you only take 3g's of it per day vs 5g's of Monohydrate because less is lost. Put it this way, after the first warm up set I was going to throw in the towel and do em tomorrow as my hams and glutes were sore which just makes everything feel heavier and slower, but I figured nah just keep going till it jams on the floor which probably won't be far off being the way I felt. All the warm up felt pretty crap and an effort, but then when I actually got to my top heavy single and put in some proper effort it flew up which I honestly expected to jam on the floor!!! Best lift in 6 months. Got hellish pumps off it too which I don't even train for, had no DBol in me either - last tabs were 4 days ago. If you never run it then it feels like you have thrown in an oral steroid that also cuts your rest times in half, then you are ready to go again.
I think you might’ve sold me on it. I’ll have to wait a bit for money to come back in, but with the way you’re talking about it, it seems like a supplement mainstay!
UPDATE:
The Good: It ALL dissolves instantly into cold water, leaving no grit. No immediate trip to the porcelain God to do a liquid bowel emptying session. Hits instantly as you feel immediate HR increase.
The Bad: If you have any Taste buds tell them to fuck off on holiday - because this stuff is BAD, really bad. I can tolerate it as I like the taste of sour sweets, but it still needs masking with something like orange cordial a lot recommend. Not sure if thats enough though, you can actually feel the burning of the Hydrogen chloride as it works its way through the digestive tract Lmao. When you open the bag it also smells like a chemical toilet!
SO ....... We will wait and see if its all worth it in training as in theory there is no loading phase, and after a few days should work pretty well.
i use dissolve 6 grams of creatine monohydrate in 1/2 gallon of low-residue water, sip it throughout the day as if it were just water
@press1 what do you think?
I did this in college with old school Controlled Labs Green Magnitude in a gallon jug, but that was “Magnesium Creatine Chelate (a patented form of creatine), with Dicreatine Malate (creatine bound with Malic Acid)” per their site, so definitely not monohydrate. Tasted great and never caused gastrointestinal issues.
I imagine it will probably work well because there is simply so much water for it to dilute in, probably won't leave any grit left over. I never drink water just by itself though, apart from training if I don't want something sweet and full of carbs - I'm on Permabulk bro!!! Lmao
I've seen Key's physique and he's a Big dude so I am sure it works, he also has the advantage of making his own gear recipes though too!!!
Permabulk FTW!!
You add crystal light or something with taste? Mio?
You guys don't get it over there - but I drink a LOT of Lucozade with added Dextrose powder put in it and also fruit cordials with Dextrose. When you are putting in 50g of carbs into each it soon puts weight on you! lol
Good lord! Are you still powerlifting then? I was going to ask if you were the Hulk and then saw your 44 year pic… yes, Hulk confirmed.
Yeah buddy I am sticking in there as much as I can, a lot of the guys throw in the towel around 40 and move more to bodybuilding based stuff due to injurys happening more often - the tendons just get more dry and brittle as you get older and you can't abuse yourself the same as when you were younger lol I just enjoy it too much though, I get an insane kick out of beating my own PR's or simply just lifting well and heavy, call it ego lifting or whatever but it makes me feel happy. I do find I have to try harder now with nutrition and getting everything in to keep hitting the same kind of weights I use to now at 45, need more rest days in between to let the CNS recover and my body can feel beat for days sometimes. It is what it is though, nobody forces us to do it. Plus whenever I am ill or injured and can't lift I realise how much it truly means to me and my happiness/outlook on life each day - I'd be lost without it
Went to give you a thumbs up, but it was gone, so I accidentally hit the thumbs down. It’s been fixed. Phew…
Shoot, I’m in my 30s and want to body build. I was decently strong when I trained with a few guys years ago, but now that I train solo it’s easier to not kill myself on squats or bench. The guys I trained with also ran the programming, too, so I saw steady strength increase. Anywho, I agree, I thoroughly enjoy my gym time, even if it’s just to meet/beat my previous week’s numbers.
You’re built like a brick house, brother!
THAT'S IT - YOU ARE BANNED!!!! LMAO
I bet that was awesome - you just turn up and lift the numbers they tell you too!! We are getting quite a few guys on here that are pretty tall these days, lots of guys 6'3 up to 6'7 now!! Imagine you guys walking along the street together - would look like the cast of Universal Soldier has arrived!
Nnoooo!!! Can you only thumbs up so many times a day before it goes away?
Yessir, I barely kept track of anything, they told me what to do and I lifted. It was beautiful.
The giants are coming back! Maybe it’s a sign of the end times? Hahaha
Yeah matey - You have 25 upvotes every 24 hours at your disposal, it works on a rolling time rota. So when you cast your first upvote it will be 24 hours till it gets replaced again - you will see them coming back as time goes on. Same as reviews work - its 1 year from the date of that review till it disappears. So the way you look at it is you count 1 year backwards from today and any that fall into that 1 year time gap count towards your yearly total. It does not run year to year as many think.
I have used both at 5g and at 10g (Amazon has a 1 kilogram Bulk Supps for like $30). Honestly not a noticeable difference between both. For me a huge factor for not using HCL (hydrochloric acid or muriatic acid) is that basically is somewhat the same as gastric acid and if used for long periods of time it will fuck your teeth just like if you were a bulimic girl. Kre-alkalyn is a monohydrate that is ph correct, some say is easier on the stomach with better absorption, for me is the same shit. I have no issues with monohydrate so that's what I use.
Yeah I have also read this that it can strip your teeth of enamel, I thought this was BS at the time but maybe there is truth to it then.
When I used the HCL I did noticed that my teeth got more sensitive to hot and cold stuff. But I also use the creatine hcl with dextrose at the time as a intraworkout, so the sensitive issue could have been attributed to the dextrose.
Is there any kind of cordial that you can mix this stuff with to take away some of the taste? I bought some strawberry and lime cordial which someone suggested but to be honest it seems to make it worse LOL Did you try it with orange squash at all?
If by cordial you mean juice, then yes. I always use 100% pure orange juice because I feel it works best with creatine, but when not available I also use Ocean Spray cranberry juice. (It says 100% cranberry juice, but it also contains apple and pear juices.)
Fucker. Made me go Google fucking cordial. It's a fruit syrup? Like the ones in snow cones? We have Koolaid powder!!! Lol
LMAO Yeh sorry mate - Cordial is the posh English way of saying Juice/squash. Yeh its just the stuff you mix with regular water to make orange squash I guess!! I think this HCL is great - I no longer wake up in the night with acid reflux which I normally get with monohydrate due to the excess undigested residue sitting in your stomach.
I usually drink as a intraworkout: essential aminos, creatine, citruline and cluster dextrin mixed with orange juice. I find it helps a great deal.
anvilSounds like you just need a diaper. Always use hcl and mix it in with pre-work drink . No issues at all.
Pretty sure I’d have a blowout… in the gym… all over the platform. I don’t think I’d be welcome back after that.
AK80https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CQv7gyBSPk&ab_channel=MattVena
So you use HCL and its fine is it? Did you use monohydrate in the past?
anvilYes have used both , never an issue on either honestly. But I never could remember to complete a loading phase so went with the hcl. At this point it's part of my protocol just like gear.
Do you mix it with any kind of juice at all bud to take away some of the taste?
Have you mixed it with cheap sugar like cool aid? Supposed to speed absorption like that with less issues
I never believed the loading phase bs either. yes it'll build up in your system regardless but the loading phase IMO is a marketing gimmick to get people to consume more. Creatine fucks your stomach no matter what. I don't take more than 1-2g at a time, 5 is suicide.
Get some HCL to try mate - no stomach issues at all, no acid reflux, no squits, nausea or loss of appetite.
I experience the same gut issues with monohydrate - I can only take about 3g daily or it goes through me immediately. I haven’t found a way to mediate the explosive down-throwing yet…
I’ve wanted to try HCL, as well, but it’s stupid expensive. Then, while browsing YT this morning, I come across a video saying we should be getting 25g of creatine for mental reasons… Twenty five GRAMS??? I’m pretty sure my insides would instantaneously become my outsides if I ingested that much…
Here for the responses!
Yeah - I mean who on earth can do 5 days of loading 20g and feel fine and heathy???? Do these people have Steel clad stomachs or what?!!! LMAO I did try mixing it in warm/hot water earlier and it definitely helped mix it in - BUT there was still grit left over in the bottom. I'll give a verdict on this HCL when it turns up.
I was mixing mine with D-Aspartic Acid and some other stuff pre-workout. I’m fine with DAA, but I’d immediately have to use the toilet if I went with >= 5g of monohydrate. I haven’t touched it in a long while, but still have a bulk bag in my pantry.
Wasn’t dat dere CellTech creatine with sugar? Maybe what JockStrap said has merit?
I use to use Celltech back when I was about 18, I didn't even know Muscletech was even around any more lol I do mix creatine with Dextrose already bud, the reason it causes digestive issues I believe is because its not water soluble. You look like a pretty Big guy in your avatar mate - You must be more than 250 if you are that size at 6'5?!!
That’s what you meant, I see now.
I appreciate it! I zoomed in a bit and I’ve got a gnarly pump in the pic. Probably sitting around 245lbs now with a nice layer of fat on me. I’ll definitely be posting more pics when I start reviewing stuff. Trying to cut down for vacation a few months from now.
Good questions!
I think the majority of the hydration issues can be solved by drinking an adequate amount of water while using creatine of any form. Everything I have seen studied shows that there is no true difference that makes a “better” one between the two.
A very small majority can get intestinal bloating using mono which contributes to those aforementioned GI issues. If you have troubles- try micronized while upping water consumption and that solves it for most folks.
In terms of true bloating I have seen no legitimate evidence and am in the camp that supplement companies exaggerate said effects to push the MUCH more expensive HCL over mono as it benefits their pockets. Mono is the most trusted and researched form, and if one was truly “better” we would know at this point in time.
HCL vs mono efficacy study
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11629957/
However… if money isn’t a factor and even if it’s a placebo effect use what works for you! Try to implement the easy remedies and experiment as with anything. Don’t listen to the “lab grade” “ultra purified/synthesized” and other BS marketing attempting to make you shell out more money.
Common sense + what works for You
!
I just want to get rid of the digestive issues/cramping when drinking it, literally feel like crap for 30 minutes after I drink it and can't eat anything! lol Apparently its because a lot of it reaches the gut undigested due to its poor solubility and it creates the digestive upset. I've bought the bugger anyway to see how it goes - was £20 for 500g and the Monohydrate version £17 so not a huge difference.
I know who to ask!!! LMAO @creatinehcl