Creatine certainly changes the body, and you might experience some discomfort in the initial stages. You might find going to the toilet more often weird and irritating. You will find it a little more abnormal than usual.
But why does this happen, and does it concern you? Does creatine make you pee more?
When taking creatine, you must drink more water regardless of the doses. This will help to absorb creatine better and make it effective. Since your body has more water, it is made into the urine with the released waste product. For this reason, you pee more often than normal, but this isn’t anything serious.
But if you want relief from this trouble, check out some remedies, why urination increases with creatine, and if this can become serious.
Creatine and its Effects on Urinary Tract
Creatine doesn’t make you pee a lot. You might drink and excrete a lot of water whenever you feel pressure. But this isn’t caused by any effect from creatine.
When creatine increases the muscles, it also causes water retention in the muscle cells. This doesn’t cause frequent urination. You need to urinate more to consume a lot of water. Otherwise, you will suffer from dehydration. Creatine needs a lot of water to dissolve and absorb properly. Drink half a liter for every 5g and more than 2 liters for 20g daily.
However, creatine does cause the bladder to have more water. As your muscle cells become active, some energy reaches the bladder’s sphincter muscle, making it contract and release urine. The blood pH level increases by pushing urine faster.
All these mean that creatine doesn’t cause any side effects that would make you pee a lot. It all happens as you drink more water. Your bladder becomes full with more urine. This isn’t necessarily harmful.
Does Creatine Make You Pee? Reasons to Go to the Bathroom More
To clarify the confusion about creatine and frequent visits to the bathroom, check out why creatine works in our bodies.
Drinking More Water
You need plenty of water to mix around 3-5g of creatine and absorb it well. Creatine breaks down into creatinine quickly; more water will help flush it through urine. Drinking a lot of water will help to remove excess waste.
Besides, you will have water retention in the muscles, so you need to drink more water so that other body parts remain hydrated.
More Water After Mid-Workout
Since you are exercising heavily, you release more sweat. So, you will need more water to avoid dehydration. Drinking water will also help you to cool down and continue workouts.
You get thirsty easily and drink more water, resulting in the bladder having more pee.
Aggressive State
Your body experiences a ‘fight or flight’ mode after intaking creatine. The muscles become active, and so does your mood. It creates internal pressure, which then reaches your bladder as well. So, you urinate more.
Heavy Dosage
If you cross the recommended dose and take a lot of creatine, it can cause some problems. Overconsumption will also make you drink more and pee more. This might create problems in the kidneys later.
Longer Loading Phase
The body’s loading phase takes about a week to adjust to the supplement. But if you continue it for longer, it will also make you urinate more. The loading phase has 20g per day, which means more liquid than the maintenance stage.
Too Much Caffeine or Spicy Foods
If your diet includes a few cups of coffee and several spicy foods, this can cause some issues. Creatine with more caffeine and spice will produce a lot of acids. This, in turn, will irritate the bladder and create more urine from the water drawn out by the liver.
Creatine and Urinary Problems
You might urinate more than usual, but creatine isn’t proven yet to cause serious urinary problems. Some consumers might have some discomfort from frequent urination. Or others might discover kidney problems. Usually, this doesn’t have anything to do with creatine. Perhaps kidney troubles are pre-existing.
Is Urination from Creatine More at Night?
If you take creatine at night, you will drink more water for better absorption and to avoid bloating. This would also mean getting up to go to the bathroom more often.
It worsens during the loading phase and for those who take larger doses. Your bladder muscles are heavily affected to produce more urine. Luckily, frequent urination isn’t common to all users, perhaps only once or twice after sleeping. If urination seems abnormal, better to take creatine at other times.
But peeing more while taking creatine is quite normal, regardless of the time, unless it gets severe. Then you will need to consult a doctor for treatment.
Creatine and Burning Urination: Here is What You are Missing
While creatine does make you urinate a little more than regular, it doesn’t cause anything serious. Even frequent urination might go away when your body is adjusted to creatine.
If you find irritation or a burning sensation as you pee, it might be for some internal problem. This can happen if your body accumulates high creatinine levels from higher doses of creatine.
Creatinine level beyond the accepted range is harmful to the kidneys. It is also an indicator to show if your kidneys are working fine. So, whenever you detect any abnormalities when you urinate, consult a doctor to undergo a test to check creatinine levels.
Do All Forms of Creatine Make You Pee More?
You will get different brands selling creatine as supplements and in different types and versions. It can be creatine citrate, monohydrate, malate, ethyl ester, or hydrochloride. These are the most commonly taken creatine by many athletes and trainers.
Since they all have creatine that will break down to release creatinine in the blood, you will have more waste product to excrete. So, the kidneys will produce and flush out more pee.
Remedies to Fix Your Urine Troubles
If urinating more makes you uncomfortable, especially at the wrong times, like at night, you can try the following remedies to balance your kidney functions.
Blood or Urine Test
Ask your healthcare specialist to prescribe a blood test to check creatinine levels. Creatine usually makes the Gastrointestinal Tract to be overloaded and causes stomach problems. If you have any condition like diabetes or find symptoms of kidney problems, hormonal problems, or bacterial or bladder infections, the test will ensure whether something is serious. You can also understand whether creatine is safe for you.
Low Intake of Protein in Diet
High amounts of protein are great for health and growth, but too much can cause kidney problems. This would mean a change in urination or other troubles. In particular, foods like red meat or salmon are the main culprits to increase creatine levels. Then you will have more creatinine, ergo more urine to remove waste. So, control the protein content in your meals.
Check how much creatine is already there in a steak.
Take More Fiber and Less Salt
Fiber from fruits, veggies, and leafy greens maintains the digestive system and removes dehydration. So, these will allow you to limit drinking water while taking creatine. You can also try whole grains for the same result.
In addition, take care to limit the amount of salt in the foods. Salt is another culprit to dehydrate the system and makes you drink more and pee more.
FAQ
Does urine become yellow from creatine?
When you think you are done drinking more water, it isn’t enough yet. Creatine doesn’t make your pee look abnormal or happen abnormally. So, if you notice that urine has become yellow, it happens from dehydration. Drink more water, especially higher doses, to stay hydrated and make urine pale yellow.
Should you worry if you pee more due to creatine?
Peeing more often isn’t anything to make you worry. In fact, this means that your body is also frequently removing toxins and waste products. Just let your body get used to creatine and drink more water to help absorb it.
Do you need to stop taking creatine to stop more urination?
To stop creatine altogether isn’t a good decision. Remember that frequent urination isn’t an issue. Rather, creatine will ensure that you stay hydrated always.
Conclusion
So, where does the excess urination come from as you start to take creatine? It is simply because of drinking more water.
More water in the body means more urine is produced in the kidneys. Besides, intense workouts due to creatine also make the muscle cells in the bladder contract more. So you experience more bladder pressure.
It might make you mad, especially at night, but this isn’t harmful. But if you face any trouble with urination, consult your physician for a thorough checkup.
Check our blogs to find out more about creatine.
I am a health and wellness enthusiast working in a Pittsburgh-based wellness clinic. My primary role as a consultant is to tailor a balanced lifestyle for my patients, where positive steps and potent supplements play a synergistic role.