Darryn Peterson says cramps caused by Creatine Supplements

[Who]

Via ESPN

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/48710416/darryn-peterson-says-high-doses-creatine-led-cramping

Darryn Peterson finally has an answer.

One of the top prospects in this year's NBA draft spent much of his freshman season at Kansas trying to solve mysterious and sometimes debilitating cramping. But in an extended interview with ESPN this week, Peterson said that a new round of bloodwork and other tests after the college basketball season led his doctors to conclude that his use of high doses of creatine created the condition.

"I'd never taken it before [going to college]," Peterson said of the popular supplement which helps to increase muscle strength, power and growth. "But after the season I took two weeks off and they did tests which showed my baseline level was already high. So, they said when I dosed [a process of increasing a dose over time to create maximum benefit at the beginning of taking a supplement], it must've made the levels unsafe."

You see all these exercise and health nut people promoting creatine these days. That is scary that it can do that to you -- if it is indeed the cause.

You could certainly see how taking high amounts of a supplement when you already have high levels of it in your body could cause issues.

Peterson, said his issues started last year with a scary episode after Kansas coach Bill Self's annual weeklong boot camp in September that sent him to the hospital in an ambulance.

First his legs started cramping. Then his stomach, back, arms and hands. Eventually his whole body was cramping.

"I made it to the training room and just started begging them to call 911," he said. "They were trying to get a vein to get me the IV, get me back hydrated. But I was cramping so hard they couldn't get a vein.

"I thought I was going to die on the training table that day."

Finally at the hospital the emergency room doctors were able to get a vein and give him several bags of fluids intravenously. Peterson stayed there for several hours being treated for what doctors thought was severe dehydration.

He said he was sore for days afterward but pushed to return to play. The experience was far from over, however. The full-body cramp was so intense, Peterson said, that he struggled to shake the fear that it could happen again.

"Whenever I felt anything like that come on, my initial thought was that it might get to that again," Peterson said. "And I can't let that happen and be embarrassed and have that on TV and all that.

Crazy all the things they were trying on him. I wonder if they looked at all at what supplements he was taking. Docs are usually good at asking about prescription drugs but bad at asking about other stuff you might be taking. Or looking at your diet. Feels like they should have taken him off all supplements earlier while they tried to find the cause & solution.

Peterson rarely spoke to the media about his issue, he said, because he didn't have an explanation for what was causing the issues and hadn't publicly revealed the scary, full-body cramp that sent him to the hospital. Finally at the Big 12 tournament in the middle of March, he told the story of that incident to the assembled media. At that point, however, he didn't have an explanation for what caused it.

All season HIPAA rules had prohibited Self from discussing the cramping incident or giving further details on Peterson's health.

Many of his teammates had seen Peterson be taken by ambulance to the hospital after the full-body cramp. They'd kept it private all season long, out of respect for Peterson. But it had informed their view of his seasonlong struggle to understand what was wrong with him.

His teammates were also aware that Peterson frequently received preventative IV bags, electrolyte supplements, massages and other physical therapies to try to stay on the court.

"They saw I was in rehab every day before practice, after practice. Get massages. Trying all types of stuff. Carb loading because they thought I didn't have glucose or something. Electrolytes. Liquid IV, LMNT. I changed my diet. I meal-prepped. Everything I could think of."

Some more info on how he is doing now

Peterson says he's starting to feel like himself again now that he has an explanation for what caused his issues with cramping. He has been training for the NBA combine and draft in Los Angeles and hasn't had any issues since he stopped taking a creatine supplement.

His focus during this period is on honing his shooting and point guard skills. At Kansas, he often played off the ball, but he believes point guard is his best position.

"I was off [the ball] most of the year, but some of that was me not really being myself," Peterson said. "So, Coach was trying to figure out ways to help me still be effective without exerting too much. As the point guard, you got to bring it up, you got to do everything.

Interesting that he sees himself as a PG rather than a SG.

The PG position is getting fierce. Lots of these big athletic 6-5 / 6-6 guys coming into the league. Most of the other prospects nowadays are 6-3 / 6-4. Daniel Acuff is 6-2. I think he is the smallest high ranked PG in the last 2 years.

[Phantom255x]

I saw the story, and that's crazy. I also take creatinine gummies myself lol, but I obviously stick to the recommended dosage per day and have never overdone it. It can be difficult if you're consuming it in the powder version or other means as measuring it out can be a bit difficult unless you actually have one of those measuring cups or something. But yeah you also need to make sure you consume enough fluids/water throughout the day.

[Birdman]

Whatever he just didn?t want to hurt his NBA stock. If cramps were a issue, what?s he gotta do in NBA where u play 82 games lol

[Donoghus]

Geez. How much creatine did they have him taking? I take 2500 mg/day and am a runner and I?ve never experienced cramps. It must?ve been an obscene amount.

[Who]

Google's AI

Creatine overdose is rare and generally not considered life-threatening, as excess creatine is usually excreted through urine. However, taking high doses (over 20g/day) or excessive amounts at once can cause significant, though temporary, side effects including stomach cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and severe water retention.

Potential Side Effects of Overconsumption

While creatine is safe at recommended doses, excessive intake can lead to:

Gastrointestinal Distress: Nausea, diarrhea, and stomach cramps are the most common signs of taking too much at once.

Water Retention & Bloating: Rapid weight gain and bloating can occur as muscles pull in water.

Kidney Stress (Rare): While studies show it does not damage healthy kidneys, massive doses paired with severe dehydration could cause strain.

Dehydration/Cramping: The high water demand of the muscles might lead to dehydration if fluid intake is low.

I guess it is possible.

It still sounds weird / overly severe. I'd be worried this was not the real cause. That is a false solution. But maybe it is this simple. Over-dosing it leading to cramps.

That full body cramping he described .... I don't know. It sounds more like his nervous system than a supplement.

[CFAN38]

weird coincident but as a tried to jump start a positive mid life crisis I have been getting back into lifting for the first time in 12 years and started a supplement regiment that includes 5 grams of creatine daily. I see instant water retention from it as gained a quick 5lbs (same thing happened back in my 20s), I also have to be very diligent with water and electrolytes or I get crazy cramps in my neck/shoulders and triceps. 

[Who]

?Obviously, I didn?t know what was going on,? Peterson said. ?Creatine was something that was just provided for us in smoothies before and after weights. I didn?t think they?d give me anything that wouldn?t be beneficial. They gave them to everybody on the team. And I figured it out after the season [that it caused cramps] just getting a baseline on myself, taking more tests, and figured it out.?

So the team was giving him the creatine.

Unlikely they were giving him massive amounts / overdosing him with the stuff. He must have been extremely sensitive to it.

From the first post on the page

"I'd never taken it before [going to college]," Peterson said of the popular supplement which helps to increase muscle strength, power and growth. "But after the season I took two weeks off and they did tests which showed my baseline level was already high. So, they said when I dosed [a process of increasing a dose over time to create maximum benefit at the beginning of taking a supplement], it must've made the levels unsafe."

[Who]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVKKAVEzBK0

Kevin O'Connor at Yahoo invited a Doctor Brian Stutterer to come on and talk about the possibility / questions of Darryn Peterson, the full body cramping, and creatine as the possible cause.

It is a 22min video.

Kevin O'Connor says he has talked to NBA people. He says they have heard the story about creatine being the cause. However, these NBA people have doubts because Peterson had a cramping incident a full year ago before he went to college and before he started taking creatine.

Kevin O'Connor goes on to say that he has heard from other NBA people that there were other minor cramping incidents besides that bigger one. Again, before college. Before creatine.

The doctor believed that the medical records from when Darryn Peterson was admitted to the ER would tell NBA teams most if not everything that teams will want to know about the situation.

Kevin O'Connor makes a point - that Peterson in his quotes was terrified of this incident (full body cramps) happening again and he would shut everything down whenever he felt anything. O'Connor notes that Peterson played under 25min 7 times + missed 11 games because this was happening. So 18 other incidents.

The above point was made after Kevin O'Connor had said that in talking to various people there seems to be a split between whether they believe it is a physical problem or a mental problem.

Then the pair talk about "mental readiness" after an injury. That Peterson was struggling with this. The doctor was pleased with his openness about this. That it is something that many athletes feel after injuries and sports is getting better at dealing with it. The doc said counselling, explaining what happened to him and why so he doesn't panic if some similar symptoms arise in the future.

The doc wasn't sure if NBA teams would require more neuromusketal testing on Peterson to be sure of what his problems actually are. He said it would depend on those initial ER reports. That if there is an explanation, then there is no need for further testing. However, if there is no clear explanation, then further testing would probably be needed.

They talked a fair bit about "rhabdo" - Rhabdomyolysis - as a possible cause for Peterson's full body cramps / ER admittance. Again, emphasis on the ER medical reports.

The doctor Brian Stutterer has a youtube channel where he talks about various sports injuries. Gives fans more infos on various injuries.

https://www.youtube.com/@BrianSuttererMD/videos