Creatine - Shortness of breath

Thund3rbolt · Mon, September 11th, 2006, 10:53 PM

Okay .. has anyone else had this porblem. I began taking creatine pills about a week ago and have been following the recommended dosage etc. At first I noticed an increase in my ability to push through some of my heavier sets but after a few days I also began to notice I felt somewhat lethargic. I was able to shrug it off by working out none the less. Now a new issue.. I seem to be out of breath, almost like I have asthema. Tight in the chest and I can never seem to get a deep breath unless I yawn. This is weird becuase my cardio has always been awesome. I climb mountains almost every weekend and now I'm barely able to get up my stairs let alone get through my workout routine.

I'm laying off this stuff to see if it's realted!!! Obviously. Just wondered if anyone else ever had issues like this while taking creatine. Perhaps it's because it's in pill form?

Thanks ahead for any advise my friends.
Thund3r

hindiakopilipino · Tue, September 12th, 2006, 02:21 AM

No none! I take the powdered form which is more potent than the pills also.

chicanerous · Tue, September 12th, 2006, 03:23 AM

Perhaps, you're becoming sick or have allergies? Discontinue the pills and see if your symptoms don't clear up in a week or so. If they come back when you begin taking them again after that, you'll know they're the cause.

Pure powdered creatine shouldn't cause any problems, but who knows what might be in your pills.

Hort · Tue, September 12th, 2006, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hindiakopilipino

No none! I take the powdered form which is more potent than the pills also.

Ummm no.

It's just the powder... in a pill. It doesn't affect the potency.

hindiakopilipino · Tue, September 12th, 2006, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hort

Ummm no.

It's just the powder... in a pill. It doesn't affect the potency.

There's generally less creatine in the pill! And I suspect the gel coverings of the pill would inhibit digestion to some degree.

Hort · Tue, September 12th, 2006, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hindiakopilipino

There's generally less creatine in the pill! And I suspect the gel coverings of the pill would inhibit digestion to some degree.

It doesn't- and it doesn't matter what's in the pill, it's how many you take.

If you need 5g, it doesn't matter if it's 5g loose powder or 5, 1g pills. The pills are just convenient.

Dubrock · Wed, September 13th, 2006, 12:00 AM

I had an experience similar to yours. I took Cre-Ethyl Thunder by Omega Sports and I also took some Biotest Spike. I was feeling fine, until about halfway through the workout where I felt almost dead. I couldn't breath, felt very tired etc. I think what causes it is the combination of caffeine and the CEE. I also noticed that on the labels it says you should not take CEE with something like Ephedra.

Thund3rbolt · Wed, September 13th, 2006, 02:04 AM

I have done some research and it seems I'm not alone with this side effect.
http://www.nutritionalsupplements.com/heartrate.html

Now I know this doesn't prove creatine is a poblem for some but it does tend to suggest some people experience this problem. Futhermore not just pill format but creatine in general. I for one have always had very good areobic capacity so this is a big change for me. Here's the prooduct I WAS using ---> http://www.kingofcreatine.com/

They claim the creatiine is buffered so it doesn't dissolve and reaches the bloodstream more effectively. I have no idea if that's true though. All I know is this is a pretty scary side effect. Sort of Feels like I've drank 12 cups of coffee. Is it possible ephedra was added to this product? Isn't it a banned substance? I for one would be furious to find out they added it without documenting it there since it has been known to cause DEATH!!

I'll keep updating my status on this thread as time progresses. Hopefully I return to normal soon -- even after a day of not taking the product I'm still shorter of breath than usual and my heart is racing just doing simple tasks.

Thund3r

chicanerous · Wed, September 13th, 2006, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thund3rbolt

I have done some research and it seems I'm not alone with this side effect.
http://www.nutritionalsupplements.com/heartrate.html

How much water were you drinking? That webpage has some interesting responses.

Thund3rbolt · Wed, September 13th, 2006, 02:34 PM

I sent an email off late last night to the rep of the company that makes this stuff and here's what they had to say:

From: Joe Smith [mailto:thund3rbolt@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2006 12:31 AM
To: aapjeff@imt.net
Subject: Purple K side effect

Hi Jeff.

I was wondering if you could help me with a problem I'm having. I recently started taking the product called Purple K as per the recommended dosage. Not long after though I began to feel lethargic. More recently I have noticed I'm more out of breath more than usual and my heart seems to be beating much faster even at rest. I have decided to stop taking the product until I can determine whether it's related.

Have you heard of this side effect? Thanks in advance.

Best Regards
Joe Smith

--------------
From: Jeff Golini
To: Joe Smith
Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2006 6:58 AM
Subject: RE: Purple K side effect

This is not a side effect of Kre-Alkalyn. But, please send me the rest of your bottle so we can analyze it to make sure nothing has been added. We will replace your bottle in full from our factory with product you will not have any side effects with.

My direct address is:

Jeff Golini
C/0: All American Pharmaceutical
1845 Main Street
Billings, MT 59105 USA

-----

Not to sound paranoid but I get the impression this is a bit of CYA "Cover Your Ass"

I am feeling better again today now that I'm not taking the product... hmmm eh

TB

Gordo · Wed, September 13th, 2006, 02:50 PM

Sounds a bit like they may know what's wrong. Send it in anyways....you may help others if the company gets around to doing a recall. Who knows, maybe they truely don't know what's wrong. Could be the ph of the product is swung WAY too far causing breathing problems. I know (very little) that ingesting acids and bases induces acidosis quite often leading to hypoxia.

JOESL8 · Tue, September 19th, 2006, 05:30 PM

Sorry to intrude, I'm new here (hello all), but I felt similar side effects while using creatine. I used the Universal's creatine, was jogging 40 minutes a day 5-6 times a week without problems. The cardio was making me weak so I tried the creatine to add strength. After a few days I felt a kind of numbless tire and my heart was racing. I hear that an increase in andrenaline (what using creatine felt like to me) tires you faster. I still haven't recovered my endurance and run maybe 20 min 3 times a week. I have also used Exanadrine in the past, which had ephedrine. I experienced similar effects on my heart, that antsy restless energy. I was however stronger and bigger at the time, and it seemed to help me focus or get stronger? I wasn't doing as much cardio back then and weighed aproximately 20 lbs more. I just started taking creatine again so I'm concerned.

Gordo · Wed, September 20th, 2006, 06:33 AM

Quote:

I used the Universal's creatine

Which product exactly? They have something like 7 creatine products.

Thund3rbolt · Wed, September 20th, 2006, 10:35 PM

... feeling better although to be honest .. I'm still not 100% from where I was with my cardio. I'm sure I'll get back there eventually.

It was EXACTLY like JOEL8 described for me as well. I was at the health store and someone who works there said he had heard of simuliar issues. He attributed it to the increase in water retension and that your body has to work harder to do the same amount of work. ie the extra bloat caused a strain on some people heart. Got me but maybe he's onto something with that.

I've started using a product now called SUPERPUMP 250. Anyone ever hear of that one? All I can say is wow it's for sure noticeable when you work out with it. So far no side effects and I seem to have the extra UNF on the final reps. Liking it so far.

Cheers
Thund3rBolt

"My Roar is like a Lion ... Meeeow"

Thund3rbolt · Tue, September 26th, 2006, 01:42 AM

Starting to real make a come back from the Purple K. I also got another email from the company that owns the patent on it. They seem very hot to trot to get the unused product back from me. I find it also interesting that although I mainly complained about heart and breathing issues they worded their email to focus on on the lethargic side effect. Here's a copy of what they sent me:

Hi Joe,
My name is Joe
I wanted to follow up on the Purple K product that you used and said that you had some lethargic issues with this product

we would like to verify the product is correct and get you a new bottle ( we will send you our brand )
If you could send me your address I will send you a 120 count bottle to replace this one and I will also send a call tag for the pick up of the Purple K and we will test it ( this is made by another manufacture that is licensed to use Kre-Alkalyn

Thank you
Joe Archer
VP of Sales and Marketing
All American Pharmaceutical
1845 Main St
Billings, MT 59105
406.245.5793 ext 217
fax 406.245.6157

Well .. I'm for sure not going to say no but obviously I plan on keeping a few pills back just in case I discover some long term side effect. Here's a question .. do you think if they analyse those pills and find something out of the ordinary they will tell me about it? Hmmmmmmm

In any case I would be curious if their brand has the same effect on me and I'm looking forward to trying that out.

Thund3r

"It was like that when I got here, I didn't touch a thing, nor can you prove it"

Gordo · Tue, September 26th, 2006, 06:59 AM

I think the company is doing their due diligence and protecting their interests (aka CYA). At least they're pro-active. Probably where the FDA is concerned they need to be on top of any compaints about their product. Especially since the supplement market is such a hot button.

Will they contact you if something is found....touch call, I would guess probably not, but you'd hope they would. Yes, hold back some product.