The
cramping that is associated with the loading phase of creatine use, is primarily due to dehydration. If you drink at least 4 liters of water each day while loading creatine you will avoid the cramping.
Creatine causes the muscle cells to hold water, pulling the Creatine into the cells. This extracts water from the body, causing the dehydration. It is also why your muslces appear larger and the reason for the water weight gain that one experiences while taking creatine.
Loading creatine is not essential but it does maximize the efficiency of your creatine phase. However, the body can only metabolize a small amount of the 20grams a day that one needs to ingest to load, so you wind up pissing the majority of your costly creatine away.
It is best to take creatine (5-10 grams) immediately after working out with a simple sugar (maltodextrin is best) and a protein such as whey isolate. Then drink 8 ounces of orange juice after 30 minutes. The maltodextrin will cause an insulin spike that shuttles the creatine to your blood stream. The orange juice taken 30 minutes later will cause an additional isulin spike that shuttles the creatine into your muscle cells
The only form of creatine that is useful is creatine monohydrate in powder form. Creatine is not stable in solution and has been shown to break down into its byproduct within minutes of mixing with water. Creatine serum, creatine pills, creatine tablets are all a waste of money.