If your bulking. Drink some creatine mixed with whatever you mix it with. Drink a glass of fruit juice. You should be straight

Why?

There's no need to take creatine if you understand basic fitness and nutrition.

I know what creatine does, thanks. And you don't necessarily need to really heavy weights to get big.

With creatine, you will add a ton of water weight, and as soon as you get off it, you will lose that strength and size. Also, clients taking creatine almost always experience pain while lifting. Their strength gains extend far beyond the threshold at which their body type is meant to handle. Ever heard of someone complain of shoulder pain during bench or shooting pain down their elbow while doing bicep curls? It's cause they're lifting extremely heavy weights for long periods of time (this may and will happen without creatine, but creatine will increase strength and I know 23 year olds who have taken creatine and have arthritis as a result of lifting those really heavy weights).

People assume creatine is some awesome short cut supplement cause there's no physiological side effects. They don't take into account that they're allowing their body to lift weights that should normally be way too heavy and strenuous for them.

I'm very fit, and have never touched creatine in my life. I'm also a personal trainer and fitness consultant with a kinesiology degree. So don't say creatine is essential if you want to bulk efficiently. It's simply not true. It helps to get big in the short term, but by no means is it essential.

I know people far more qualified than you who would rip this post to pieces.
I do use creatine and I do not experience joint pain while lifting, there are ton of factors that could relate to joint pain. Creatine at most will increase strength by only a few reps with a given weight in around the 8-10 rep range, more so with higher reps and less so with fewer reps (heavier weight). And you are essentially using all the myths about AAS and applying it to creatine, that the muscle will develop faster than the supporting connective and skeletal tissues, and that the gains will disappear as soon as the creatine use is stopped. All broscience. And lifting heavy for prolonged periods of time will cause joint pain, doesnt matter if dont use any supplements or if you are juiced to the gills. Thats why its smart to vary rep ranges, techniques, and rest periods in between sets.

You mean people on bodybuilding.com that think they know everything?

That's fine. I respect your opinion. Plus, there are no studies to support the notion that creatine does or does not present any long term side effects. And I never said that creatine is what causes joint pain.

I didn't expect someone using creatine to agree with me anyway.

At the end of the day, monohydrate is NOT essential for bulking. That's total bullshit. It helps, sure. But anyone who thinks you need to take it is sadly mistaken.

It's just another shortcut that meatheads take to ensure that they get "swole". Your body naturally produces creatine. Eat steak and red meat if you want to get creatine and other amino acids naturally. There's NO need to take creatine monohydrate supplement for the average male.

Englighten me, why do you take creatine if strength gains are as minor as you suggest?

It's cool if you want to take creatine for your own aesthetic reasons if you don't know how to break your plateaus, but my point is that someone who doesn't know much about fitness or nutrition (such as the OP) should not even consider creatine at this point.