I’m having a full medical checkup done in about 21 days time as part of an application for new employment in a government department, which will include a pisstest.In addition to testing for recreational drugs they’re also going to be looking for any abnormalities in the area of general health. In the past, when I’ve had urine tests done, the doctors have always freaked out over my creatinine levels, which are somewhat on the high side due to the muscle trauma caused by my workouts. I know that higher levels of creatinine don’t necessarily indicate kidney problems in bodybuilders and powerlifters - but I’ve always had a hell of a time convincing garden variety doctors of it. Since I want this job and don’t want to take my chance with a doctor declaring me medically unfit, my best option may be to take a layoff from training for a while before the test. What I’m not sure about is just how long it would take for my creatinine levels to look like those of an infadel ( someone who doesn’t train ) - any thoughts? Bill Roberts? Cy Wilson? Anybody?
i had(ve) this same problem. i had to go in 3 times this summer b/c the doctor said that my bun/creatinine levels were too high (like you said, due to the muscle breakdown and high amounts of creatine running through my system.) my doc told me to cut down to 80 grams of protein a day! (what, for my right foot?) so just to please him, here is what i did. i had the test on a friday, and made monday of the same week my last day lifting. on wednesday, i upped my carbs (to maintain my calories), and cut my protein to no more than 4oz of meat per serving. on thursday, i took a full out cheat day. i had donuts for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and a nice burrito for dinner. (hey it had been a while, i deserved it anyway, and belive me, your calories will be maintained by about 8am.) got the test results back, and the doc said they were perfect, and to “keep” my protein levels at 80g per day. (ok im gonna start reading muscle and fitness again too.)
Are you taking creatine??? 
yes, i was, but i laid off for the week. i am quite aware that creatine and muscle breakdown contributes to the high levels.
Shit, I always come back with high creatinine levels and BUN. Like you said the doctor’s always freak out over it. I thought I was the only one. The one 24 hour test I took couldn’t be used because I had filled it with too much urine. I actually cheated them because I had gone the last time in the bathroom. The nurse actually asked me “why I drank so much water?” Glad to know it’s not just me.
Did either of you have any protein in your urine?
If you are telling the doctors that you are using creatine, what is the problem? You are telling them, right? No doctor in his right mind would go off on a tangent and start thinking about kidney disease if it is clear that the levels are elevated because you are supplementing creatine.
Thanx for the replies to my post so far, but there appears to be some confusion between URINARY CREATININE and the suppliment CREATINE, which are not the same thing. In sedentary ( non training ) people, elevated urinary creatinine can be an indicator of kidney disease or muscle problems. Bodybuilders, powerlifters and other strenght atheletes, due elevated muscle trauma and protein turnover, typically exhibit higher than “normal” levels of creatinine and many other enzymes and metabolites.
As a side note, I do not use the suppliment creatine, and am a devout follower of a ketogenic diet, so yes, my urine does show ketones much of the time.
I am not calling the doctors idiots, as I believe that they are trained to diagnose and treat disease in the average person, and have very limited knowledge in the erea of weight training and keto diets. Hell, at my last physical, the doctor refused my request to have my blood pressure checked using a large cuff ( I have 17.5 inch arms cold )and then freaked when the reading came out at 160/110. He referred my to another doctor, who measured my bp with a leg cuff and it came out at 125/85
This is the reason that I want to cease training ( thought not for longer than necessary )- I prefer not to take the chance that I will get lucky with a physician of open mind.
Dietary creatine WILL elevate serum creatinine levels. They have the same types and numbers of atoms, and in the same order (trying not to get to technical here). Creatine forms into the cyclic molecule of creatinine spontaneously because doing so creates a more stable molecule–a certain proportion of it will do so in a glass of warm water. I discussed this very topic with a Nephrologist. He said he would expect creatinine levels to be elevated, even in a non-training creatine user, for this reason. I wish I could tell you what levels to expect from a given intake of creatine, and specifically how it would alter the BUN/creatinine ratio, but I’m sorry, I cannot remember. At any rate, drink lots of water when using this substance.
Ben, as has already been stated, creatine increases CREATININE levels in urine. I plan to soon be a doctor so I didn’t think I was talking out of my ass. If you aren’t telling the doctor that you use creatine, of course he will come to some off the wall conclusion. Also, yes, a larger arm does need a larger cuff or you will get a higher BP reading, however, how big is your arm? I need a larger cuff but my arms are also about 19.5". Why aren’t you simply informing the doctor that you take creatine? It sounds as if communication is little to none between the both of you.
Ben, I apologize for not reading your entire letter before making that last post. You can hit me for it later. I think first, you need to be upfront about the fact that you lift weights, however, even with that, if you are not supplementing creatine, your creatinine levels shouldn’t be that elevated. In that case, I think your doctor is right to want to do more tests to be sure. As far as the BP cuff issue, your doctor is a dumbass and I think you should find another. There are doctors who lift weights out there.
Guy’s - thanx once again for the posts, but I think things have gotten a bit off track here - What I wanted to know was how long it would take for my urine to look normal upon cessitation of training. I really don’t have the option of taking in armloads of research to prove my point to the doctor, whoever he or she may be. I don’t get the choice of which doctor does the test - the company gives me a doctors name, address, appointment time and in I go. There may be hundreds of people being filtered through the application process, so I very much doubt that the doctor, be it Dr.Smith,Dr.Seuss, Dr. Indianna Jones or whoever, is going to be impressed with me trying to re-educate them . I have no doubt that I could do it if they were willing and had the time, but as I said in my original post, it is going to be far easier just to stop training and get off the red meat & strict keto for the allotted time.
You said you “plan to soon be a doctor.” I’ll assume you are nearing the end of medical school. Please allow me to give you a couple of tips, which will, if heeded, serve you well during your professional life. First, NEVER describe a Board Certified physician as a “dumbass.” You will shame only YOURSELF if you do, and may in fact end up in litigation for same. You do not yet know a smidgeon about medicine. That education does not even begin until you enter your Residency, and is a lifetime voyage of discovery. The smartest doctors I’ve met are also humble about knowledge, and the ability of Mother Nature to fool them–at what is usually the absolutely worst time. Second, a physician not alerted to a patient’s use of a body-altering supplement does not give an “off the wall” diagnosis. He or she is making an educated guess, to the best of their ability, WITH THE INFORMATION THEY WERE GIVEN. Many, many times you will be left looking bad because of something that a patient “forgot” to tell you about. This is, of course, why you must work as hard at developing your Doctor/Patient Relationship skills as you do your knowledge base. Third, ANY advice you give should be, for a long time to come, made only once you have had your nose deep into a medical book or three, researching your possible answers. This will also serve as a wonderful review for you, as the concepts will then be vividly brought to life. Last, hang on, you are in for a heck of a trip!
Thanks for the advice and you are right, it was wrong for me to call him a dumbass. However, I am not a doctor yet and I tend to voice my opinions upfront especially in activities that I consider “leisure”. Most of what you wrote is actually taught to most people in professional fields. I just find that people actually like hearing a little more truth in their political correctness. Either way, I agree with just about everything you wrote.