Doctor shares worrying creatine blood warning that he faced himself

A doctor shared something taking creatine can do that produces a worrying effect, and he knew about it because he experienced it himself.

Dr Karan Rajan has gained a big following online for explaining various health related matters to people, including phallus size and some of the reasons why doctors can misdiagnose a serious condition like endometriosis.

In this case he explained that he'd recently been in for some routine blood tests and the results he got back were alarming as they 'showed that something was wrong with my kidneys'.

His results showed he had a lot of the chemical waste product creatinine, which is a breakdown product of creatine, while his kidney function was registering as lower than it ought to for a man his age.

These weren't great signs for his health, but the doctor looked into the cause of the problem and found it was the fact he was taking creatine supplements.

The doctor said things righted themselves after he stopped taking creatine (Getty Stock Photo)

"Creatinine is a breakdown product of creatine. The more creatine you have, like if you supplement, means it's more likely you'll have a higher creatinine," Dr Karan explained.

"The eGFR, or the kidney function, is calculated based on the creatinine levels. So if the creatinine is falsely elevated it can give you a wrong kidney function calculation.

"I stopped creatine supplements for a week and got repeat blood tests. The creatinine was normal and the eGFR was going up.

"If you supplement creatine it can stay in your system for six to eight weeks. Creatine supplementation does not harm the kidneys, but it can alter serum creatinine levels and contribute as a false indicator of kidney injury."

Basically if you take creatine supplements that can mean you're producing more the the creatinine waste product which can mean tests on your body come back with incorrect but worrying results for your kidneys.

Fortunately for the doctor he understood what was happening and getting his tests redone after dropping the supplements for a week showed him his kidneys were actually alright.

While creatine is a naturally occurring substance in the body many people who exercise take supplements to get even more, as it helps build strength.

There are also other possible benefits being examined by researchers, with the possibility that it could be used to fend off cognitive decline and reduce the risk of developing some cancers being investigated.

While Dr Karan said taking creatine supplements wouldn't damage your kidneys, Dr Jeremy London said if your kidneys were already 'not normal' then you ought to stay away from it.