Creatin - do you notice a difference?

[SpringIsComingSoonFolks]

Have been training for a year and a half. Perimenopausal with terrible knees. Am wondering if this would help my stamina /DOMS?

What effects have you noticed?

What is DOAC?

Diary Of A CEO on youtube.

'I think it helps with DOMS but hard to say as I do still get DOMS but maybe they would be worse if I wasn’t on creatine??'

This is how I feel too! Honestly not sure if it's making a difference. I'm taking 3.5mg daily so maybe I need to increase it

The Guardian did a podcast about creatine last week. They recommended it very highly if you strength train, but said the evidence base for cognitive benefits is just not there yet

I also take 3.5mg religiously since May and i have not noticed much… i had a two weeks break in august due to holidays and nothing has changed….
i have a massive box to go through so i might increase to two scoops a day and see if i feel any difference

You’re on a very low dose - you won’t even be saturating your muscles.

as for the guardian saying there’s not much evidence, there is so much evidence. It’s one of the most studied supplements there is. The numerologist interviewed on the diary of a CEO podcast I mention above talks about a lot of the research

I have access to medical journals- ive done a quick search with the key words: creatine AND Women
Naddafha, S et al (2026) creatine monohydrate for lean mass, strenght and bone density in postmenopausal women
Results: in postmenopausal women creatine > 5mg day with resistance training yields small but meaningful gains in lean mass and strength without evidence of harm. Effects on bone density remain unclear (high certainty of no important benefits).

Re-lean mass: with 5g a day for 12 weeks of resistance training: gain of 0.5kg of lean mass
Re- muscle strenght: creatine + RT: leg press and upper body strenght tested: about 8% increase No change for a test measuring 12 minute walking endurance.

i am not sure what a gain of 0.5kg of lean mass means perhaps this is about body recomposition

Fernandez-Garrido, J et al (2026) effeevts of high-load, velocity intentional variable resistance training combined with creatine supplementation on neuroplasticity, oxidative stress, inflammation, physical functiin, cognitive performamce and quality of life innolder adults (double blind trial)
Results: exercise increased significantly cognition and neuroplasticity but the creatine did not further increase this. Also the group with creatine (as well as exercise) did not benefit in attention, processing speed and mental flexibility. “Thus current evidence for creatine-induced cognitive benefits in older adults remains inconclusive”.
however, exercise augments neuromuscular and functional performance in older adults with creatine adding complementary, modality specific effects

interestingly the group that exercised in water had the most benefits in terms of metabolic and inflammation modulation. But land-based exercise, slightly better for joints
They also noted that creatine improved health perception and so contributes to subjective well-being.
in terms of reported quality of life: creatine no impact but the group exercising in water reported the highest quality of life!
That very interesting study was for adults over 60yo, healthy. They were divided in six groups, did a 16weeks exercise program (3 times a week, 60 mins, non consecutive days. The daily dose of creatine was only 3g.
BUT: the study was supported by “Creavitalis” (manfufacof creatine) though they were not involved in the design, collection and data entry……

Im EXCITED going to buy some tomorrow

I’ll stop after this
Marshall, S et al 2026, Creatine and cognition in older adults
A review of 6 trials about creatine and cognition:
Five of the six studies reported a positive relatiinship however these studies were of “poor” and “fair” quality (no good or very good). The 6th study (“good”) reported no significant benefits in terms of cognition
conclusion: need better quality research

Skimming a few other studies, the ones that seem to report positive cognitive effects specifically for perimenopausal women are all receiving financial contributions from the industry
like Ostojic (2026) and Darink (2026)
worrying…

'conclusion: need better quality research'

That's exactly the point the Guardian were making - not enough research about the cognitive benefits yet

I used it for about 3 months I gained maybe a kilo, I didn't feel it did anything to help with muscle definition. But I feel my mind fog was a little better. I definitely increased my speed. I do the same bike programme at the gym and I managed just over 19km in 40 mins on that programme whilst taking creatin
e. I came off as it made me bloated and I'm vain! Now if I'm lucky, off the creatine I do about 15/16km in 40 mins. If I was a runner and had a race I would use it again. I would say you need to take it a few weeks to see results.