Antacids did this to me. I was convinced it was electrolytes, would take supps etc but I believe it came down to calcium absorption. Taking a break from the antacids immediately stopped the cramping.

spasms are commonly a potassium deficiency, you could take a multivitamin.

Do you lift weights?

Clouds of intracellular water more efficiently retained in muscle due to creatine supplementation[?]. Hydration is controlled for in some studies but not all.

To go off topic a bit further, I recently went into Walgreens to buy some bottled water, and other than Evian, it was all advertised as alkaline. Is that just a trend, was it already alkaline and now that’s just in fashion? Personally I see it and worry I’ll get an upset stomach if it start messing with my pH.

I do really love LMNT, it's basically the only one I've tried that actually has a sizable dose of sodium, has no sugar, and tastes good.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40184046

"Other studies already proved those effects with creatine with a normal dose schedule, what they were testing is if a single high dose would have a beneficial effect too, which it did. A normal schedule is 3-5g per day with an optional loading phase of 10-20g per day during 7 days.

In the study they used a single dose of 0.35g/kg which means 20-40g per dose. How do they not get diarrhea? The loading phase is usually split into several doses to avoid diarrhea and I can personally attest to that being a good idea."

What the above doesn't tell you is that taking a loading dose can draw water into your intestines causing diarrhea. You probably can guess how I found this out.

It's not something I track, but if it is making me thirstier then that sounds like another useful benefit.

yes but again, the idea is that it helps retains water in your muscles so I don't see it aiding in regular water intake

Hydration is important so I'm with you on the first half, but what is the proposed link between reduced creatine intake and emotional wellbeing?

Why are you so sure that the poster (or anyone else commenting here) isn’t drinking enough water?

I drink lots of water. Lots and lots, to the point that it’s already kind of annoying how frequently I have to piss. I’m fairly skeptical that drinking yet more would yield any benefits.

This. People forget most food we eat is at least 50% water.

Does creatine make you stronger?

Yes. It’s very rare for a supplement to have such strong and consistent evidence.

A widely-cited review says that short-term supplementation increases maximal power/strength by 5-15%. This in turn may increase the long-term gainz from strength-training exercise. Creatine also increases sprint performance by 1-5%. Though, there seems to be little if any benefit for endurance exercise like long-distance running.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5469049/#CR46