High Blood Pressure

[Jack Tragic]

Funny that you should mention the confusion between "creatinine, and creatine" Camillo, as I beleive that most people (and some physicians) really don't have much of a clue....
                  Here's a little article that I found on a Medical "search". Quite interesting.

                                                 From   “MadicineNet”.com...

What is creatinine?

Creatinine is a chemical waste molecule that is generated from muscle metabolism. Creatinine is produced from creatine, a molecule of major importance for energy production in muscles. Approximately 2% of the body's creatine is converted to creatinine every day. Creatinine is transported through the bloodstream to the kidneys. The kidneys filter out most of the creatinine and dispose of it in the urine.
Why is it important to check blood creatinine levels?

The kidneys maintain the blood creatinine in a normal range. Creatinine has been found to be a fairly reliable indicator of kidney function. As the kidneys become impaired the creatinine level in the blood will rise. Abnormally high levels of creatinine thus warn of possible malfunction or failure of the kidneys, sometimes even before a patient reports any symptoms. It is for this reason that standard blood and urine tests routinely check the amount of creatinine in the blood.
What are "normal" blood creatinine levels?

Normal levels of creatinine in the blood are approximately 0.6 to 1.2 milligrams (mg) per deciliter (dl) in adult males and 0.5 to 1.1 milligrams per deciliter in adult females. (In the metric system, a milligram is a unit of weight equal to one-thousandth of a gram, and a deciliter is a unit of volume equal to one-tenth of a liter.)
Muscular young or middle-aged adults may have more creatinine in their blood than the norm for the general population. Elderly persons, on the other hand, may have less creatinine in their blood than the norm. Infants have normal levels of about 0.2 or more, depending on their muscle development. A person with only one kidney may have a normal level of about 1.8 or 1.9. Creatinine levels that reach 2.0 or more in babies and 10.0 or more in adults may indicate the need for a dialysis machine to remove wastes from the blood.
Certain drugs can sometimes cause abnormally elevated creatinine levels.
                                                                      "Chin-chin! 

[p.s.]

I'm sorry with you mate, but I'll have to disagree with you here. Essential hypertension covers almost 90% of the hypertensive people.  Hypertension due to hyperhydratation (happening on an acute renal failure for example) is a very very rare thing to happen.  If you have too much fluid, your vessels extravasate it and complications like pulmonary edema happen then.

On the contrary, if you add "PowerAde" as you say, or any electrolyte source, you would be adding a lot of sodium. Sodium traps water, and by avoiding sodium intake you can lower pressure by almost 5mmHg.  I would never recommend someone with high blood pressure to take a bottle of Gatorade nor PowerAde, nor any other sport beverage. 

Your blood pressure won’t increase if you have half a gallon of water in half an hour.  But it would increase by having a cup of coffee or tea.

Triggernigha, in your case, the elevated urea and creatinine (don’t confuse with creatine lol) are surely explained by a higher amount of muscle you are packing, and a quite high protein diet, rather than anything else. 
When you go on a hypertonic diet as well, its not infrequent to have an elevation in your blood pressure which should pass almost unnoticeable to most people.

Cheers,

Camilo

There is also one other psychological area to consider here and it's that some people will have elevated BP just from being at the Drs office, as this happened to me when I HAD to go get a physical for my class 4 drivers (I was pissed as I had just had this done, but as I'm over 45 they will do random tests and I got sent the notice!!!). Anyway the Dr was all concerned as my BP was way up so he had me put on a 24 hour monitor, so I did my normal thing ie trained etc with this thing on and my BP read out at the end was very low.

So in all honesty there can be quite a number of factors in why ones BP is high, but creatine would not be the cause from all the studies I've read over the years.

[Jack Tragic]

There is also one other psychological area to consider here and it's that some people will have elevated BP just from being at the Drs office, as this happened to me when I HAD to go get a physical for my class 4 drivers (I was pissed as I had just had this done, but as I'm over 45 they will do random tests and I got sent the notice!!!). Anyway the Dr was all concerned as my BP was way up so he had me put on a 24 hour monitor, so I did my normal thing ie trained etc with this thing on and my BP read out at the end was very low.

So in all honesty there can be quite a number of factors in why ones BP is high, but creatine would not be the cause from all the studies I've read over the years.

Haha! Funny story p,s,. Shoot!...Every time I go to see my Doctor my BP spikes! Hell, she's 26 yrs. old, blonde (natural) green-eyed, smokin' body (tight fitting skirts and "mens" suites where the slacks are being munched-on by her bumm) and she is very flirtacious ta boot!

[triggernigha]

There is also one other psychological area to consider here and it's that some people will have elevated BP just from being at the Drs office, as this happened to me when I HAD to go get a physical for my class 4 drivers (I was pissed as I had just had this done, but as I'm over 45 they will do random tests and I got sent the notice!!!). Anyway the Dr was all concerned as my BP was way up so he had me put on a 24 hour monitor, so I did my normal thing ie trained etc with this thing on and my BP read out at the end was very low.

So in all honesty there can be quite a number of factors in why ones BP is high, but creatine would not be the cause from all the studies I've read over the years.

agree this is normal, even the doc said this but i first noticed my elevated BP usin a home monitor, so there were no nerves to speak of which would of played a part. like i said before, it affects different people in different ways, and if you are retaining water, which creatine causes, then usually your bp will be affected, i.e. raised, as well, thats why they often prescribe 'water pills' to those with high BP

im from a scientific background and you know as well as i do that alot of scientific studies are bollocks, they can be highly flawed, whether carried out incorrectly or the outcomes mis interpretated, after all its only trying to prove or disprove a hypothetical theory - which many of them fail but data can always be interpreted so as it seems they do, alot of interpretation is mearly guesswork therefore i dont rely too heavily on their findings, i prefer real peoples experiences.

[p.s.]

i prefer real peoples experiences.

Ah but this is also a flawed approach as personal experiences are at best case studies, so sure take our experiences into account as well as studies that you may come across, and your GPs opinion, and then one may be able to come to a reasonable conclusion after some thought.

[triggernigha]

Ah but this is also a flawed approach as personal experiences are at best case studies, so sure take our experiences into account as well as studies that you may come across, and your GPs opinion, and then one may be able to come to a reasonable conclusion after some thought.

of course its flawed man, most if not all methods have flaws, its just the one i prefer

[nick]

Well, since i started this post i have stopped taking EVERYTHING.  So we'll see what happens i'm gonna get a test in a month.  It's kinda funny how that i quit taking all my supps and i'm not losing weight but alot of fat or water!  I'm actually getting my six pack back.  It's kinda weird, my wife says i'm starting to look like those guys in GQ.  I said yeah maybe, with just alot more MASS!  I really think it's water i'm losing.  i think i was having serious water retention from creatine.  I looked so bloated compared to now.  That's also another thing i've been watching is my water intake, not too much not too little. 

[triggernigha]

Well, since i started this post i have stopped taking EVERYTHING.  So we'll see what happens i'm gonna get a test in a month.  It's kinda funny how that i quit taking all my supps and i'm not losing weight but alot of fat or water!  I'm actually getting my six pack back.  It's kinda weird, my wife says i'm starting to look like those guys in GQ.  I said yeah maybe, with just alot more MASS!  I really think it's water i'm losing.  i think i was having serious water retention from creatine.  I looked so bloated compared to now.  That's also another thing i've been watching is my water intake, not too much not too little. 

dude i looked the same way as that while i was on creatine, face all bloated etc, i didnt really notice at the time but my GF did, said i look much better without it now (just not GQ!) - can see the pictures from back then, and i do look way too bloated. funny some people just seem to blow up on it - and not in a good way!

hope the results come back good for you

i no longer take any supplements either, only lots of food and unflavoured whey or ceasinate protein for my shakes and the obligitory multi vit and fish oil and EFA's - to my mind, i just dont need anything else, but i did find glutamine really boosted my immune system and kept me cold free for 3 years, stopped that now though.

[Jack Tragic]

Well, creatine IS mainly used in bulking cycles...though I feel that high GI carbs will bloat one faster and more-so than Creatine.

[Camilo]

I really think it's water i'm losing.  i think i was having serious water retention from creatine.  I looked so bloated compared to now.  That's also another thing i've been watching is my water intake, not too much not too little. 

Creatine will definetely make you retain water. It gives muscle an overflow and helps retain it....

[nick]

Well i checked my pressure and its 130/70, which is better.  I'm not sure how accurate the reading was though since i used one of those units in the grocery store(vita-stat).  I had to literally jam my arm in it.  They say they're made for a average arm 9 to 14 inches.  Once the pressure started i almost panicked i thought it was gonna pop. It was kinda funny my wife was even kinda nervous.  She started to walk away as if she didn't know me.  So to take full advantage of a good embarrassing moment.  I did it again and pretended to get stuck.  I started thrashing around and picking up the whole thing.  It was frickin hilarious due to it being right next to the pharmacists. All these people were scared and trying not to look at me.  I ended up walking away laughing. 

[triggernigha]

Well i checked my pressure and its 130/70, which is better.  I'm not sure how accurate the reading was though since i used one of those units in the grocery store(vita-stat).  I had to literally jam my arm in it.  They say they're made for a average arm 9 to 14 inches.  Once the pressure started i almost panicked i thought it was gonna pop. It was kinda funny my wife was even kinda nervous.  She started to walk away as if she didn't know me.  So to take full advantage of a good embarrassing moment.  I did it again and pretended to get stuck.  I started thrashing around and picking up the whole thing.  It was frickin hilarious due to it being right next to the pharmacists. All these people were scared and trying not to look at me.  I ended up walking away laughing. 

i reckon the reading would of been bullshit due to the fact it didnt fit round your monster arms man!!! doc told me this when i was in.

it has to be a good fit to get an accurate reading so i would forget that one, a cuff machine which measures round the wrist is a good option, wrists aint usually as big as upper arms (unless your popeye) so its easier to get one which fits. cheap too.

good luck

[p.s.]

Well, creatine IS mainly used in bulking cycles...though I feel that high GI carbs will bloat one faster and more-so than Creatine.

I fully agree that carbs are usually the culprit if one is holding water (bloat), creatine causes an uptake of water in the muscle not subQ but if carbs are way to high (and most people eat way to many carbs) then you will hold water/bloat in all tissues as you will "spill over" from the muscle cells. This is a situation that has plagued competitive BBs over the years, and it takes quite a while to figure out what is the right amount of carbs needed to have both muscle fullness and stay "dry" as well.

Also if your water intake is low (and again most peoples are) then the body will interpret this as a dehydrated situation and automatically cause water retention by the increased output of the hormone aldosterone thus causing one to "hold" water.

As an example I've known many guys who swear that test causes them to hold water, but when they cut way back on the carbs and increase water uptake they lose all that bloat in a hurry, so like LT said cut the carbs back and see how ya do.