I Got Very Good at Covering. For Almost a Year, I Didn't Tell Anyone.

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Updated Oct 3, 2026.

"Sorry. Long day." "It's just stress." That's what I said instead. I'm not a doctor. I'm a 49-year-old woman who finally started reading, and found the part most supplement companies leave out.

 

Every study I mention is linked at the bottom.

 

By Dana, 49

It was a Thursday.

Grocery store. Produce section.

A woman I've known for eleven years waved at me from the apples. Our daughters did swim team together.

And her name was gone.

Not "on the tip of my tongue" gone.

Gone gone.

I smiled. I said "Hey, you!" in the bright voice I'd gotten very good at. We talked for four minutes. I never said her name once.

In the car, I sat with the engine off.

Her name was Lisa.

It came back in the parking lot. Of course it did.

That wasn't the first time.

 

It was just the first time I stopped pretending.

 

Words that vanished in the middle of meetings.

 

Walking into the laundry room and forgetting why.

 

Sticky notes that had quietly taken over the inside of my kitchen cabinet.

I blamed stress. Sleep. Too much on my plate.

 

And some nights, lying awake, I honestly wondered if I was losing my mind.

 

So that night, after the grocery store, I did what I always do when something scares me.

 

I sat down at the kitchen table with my laptop and a stack of index cards.

Not ads. 

 

Real studies. The boring kind.

 

One card for every thing I learned.

Your brain is a big eater

The first card said "20"

Your brain is about 2% of your body.

 

But it uses about 20% of your energy.¹

 

Two percent of me, using one-fifth of everything I've got.

 

I taped that card to the cabinet door, right on top of the sticky notes.

 

Then I kept reading.

 

Every cell in your body runs on tiny batteries. Brain cells too.

 

They run low all day. They need to be charged back up.

 

And your cells keep a quick charger on hand for that.

 

That quick charger runs on something called creatine.

 

I said it out loud. "Creatine?"

 

At 12:30 at night. To nobody.

 

Except my son, who'd come down for a glass of water.

 

"Mom," he said. "That's the stuff my friends dump in their protein shakes."

 

He looked at the index cards spread across the table. Then at me.

 

"Are you okay?"

 

"I'm reading," I said.

 

He shook his head and went back upstairs.

 

I kept going.

 

I'm done pretending

The second card: where it comes from

Your body makes some creatine on its own.

 

Mostly in your liver and kidneys.¹

 

The rest comes from food. Mostly meat and fish.

 

I looked at the dishes in the sink.

 

A salad bowl. A plate with half a grilled chicken breast. That was dinner. That's most dinners now.

 

Twenty years ago, I ate steak without a second thought.

 

Now? Lots of salads. Lots of chicken. Some weeks, hardly any red meat.

 

I'm not saying that's wrong.

 

I'd just never thought about what else I might be eating less of.

Here's the part the other brands leave out

Search "creatine for brain fog" and you'll find big promises.

 

So I went looking for the studies behind them.

 

Here's what they actually found. In plain words.

 

One study gave older women creatine every day for six months. A week of bigger doses, then five grams a day.

 

 Their memory and thinking didn't change.⁴

 

A small study followed 15 women, average age 54, for fourteen weeks of creatine and strength training. 

 

Their strength went up. Their scores on thinking tests didn't change.⁵

 

One study in menopausal women was encouraging. But it split 36 women into four groups. The group that

 

 improved took a different kind of creatine, at less than a third of a normal scoop. And what got better was

 

 reaction time, how fast they responded on a test.⁶

 

When researchers put a bunch of memory studies together, the clearest benefit showed up in adults 66 to 76.

 

 Even the researchers said to be careful with that result.⁷

 

So here it is, plain and simple:

 

Nobody can honestly promise you that creatine will bring your words back.

 

Not me. Not a brand. Not someone with a discount code.

 

The research in women in their 40s and 50s is still early.

 

If a company tells you something different, you just learned something about that company.

So why did I start taking it?

Good question. I asked myself the same thing.

 

Here's where I landed.

 

Creatine monohydrate is one of the most studied supplements there is.

 

It supports the energy in your cells — including your brain cells.*

 

It supports strength when you do regular strength exercise.* And after 40, I care about being strong more than I ever did at 30.

 

My body already makes it. I'm not adding something strange. I'm topping off what's already there.

 

It costs less than a dollar a day.

 

And it takes four seconds. One scoop. In my coffee. Done.

I didn't need a miracle.

 

I needed to feel like I was doing something sensible. Something based on how my body actually works. Instead of lying awake, scared.

 

I did the other things too.

 

I walk every morning now. I lift weights twice a week — badly. And I told my doctor everything. I should have done that a year sooner.

 

Creatine wasn't the answer.

 

It was one small, sensible step in taking myself seriously again.

What actually changed

I'll be honest here too.

 

I still lose a word sometimes.

 

Last week I called the dishwasher "the plate washer" in front of my son. He will never let it go.

 

The difference is what happens inside me when it does.

 

It used to feel like a trapdoor. Like proof of something terrible.

 

Now it just feels like a Tuesday.

 

I understand what's happening in my body.

 

I know it has a name.

 

I know I'm not the only one. Not even close.

 

And I stopped hiding it.

 

I called Lisa, by the way. Told her the whole story.

 

She laughed and said, "Oh my God. Last month I forgot my own PIN at the bank."

 

We get coffee every Thursday now.

If you try creatine, here's what to look for

After all that reading, this is my short list.

Creatine monohydrate. It's the most studied kind by far.

5 grams a day. That's the usual daily amount.

No "loading phase." Some brands tell you to take 20 grams a day for a week. You don't need to. That's also when people are most likely to notice water weight.

Unflavored. No mystery blend. You should see exactly what's in it.

Tested for purity and heavy metals. Ask for the Certificate of Analysis. If a company won't show you one, that tells you something.

A company that's honest about the research. If they promise your memory back, keep scrolling.

Questions I had (maybe you have them too)

"Isn't creatine for bodybuilders?"

Gyms just found it first. It doesn't build muscle on its own. That takes lifting. One scoop a day just tops off what your body already makes.

"Will it make me bloated?"

Some people hold a little extra water in their muscles, mostly with big loading doses. That's water, not fat. If the scale moves a pound, that's usually why.

"I'm on HRT, thyroid medicine, or a GLP-1. Can I take it?

Creatine isn't a hormone, and it doesn't replace anything your doctor gave you. It hasn't been studied alongside those medicines. Ask your doctor first. That's what I did.

"Is it safe?"

It's one of the most studied supplements there is. A 2025 review of 685 clinical trials, mostly at higher doses, found side effects were reported at similar rates to placebo.⁸ If anything feels off, stop and talk to your doctor.

Will it upset my stomach?

Some people feel it, mostly with big doses. Take it with food, or split it into two half scoops.

Can I really put it in coffee?

Yes. Stir it in and drink it that same day. It dissolves best in something warm. In cold drinks, a little can settle at the bottom.

When will I notice something?

Honestly, you might not "feel" it. It's not a stimulant. At one scoop a day, it builds up in your muscles over about four weeks. The research on the brain in women our age is still early. That's why I liked having 60 days.

What about my kidneys and bloodwork?

Creatine can raise a number on your bloodwork called creatinine. That doesn't mean your kidneys are hurt. It's how creatine breaks down. Tell your doctor you take it before any blood test. If you have kidney problems, ask first.

I'm pregnant or breastfeeding.

Skip it for now, and ask your doctor. There isn't enough research yet.

The one I use

After all that, I went looking for a creatine that checked every box on my list.

Most were made for 25-year-old guys. Neon labels. Flavors like "Blue Razz Blast."

Then I found Lightanchor.

Made for women my age. One ingredient. Nothing to hide.

Here's what's in it, and what isn't:

5 g of creatine per scoop

99.9%+ pure, tested for purity and heavy metals

Packed in the USA in a GMP-certified facility

Unflavored — it stirs right into coffee

No loading phase, no mystery blend

50 scoops a jar — less than a dollar a day
Title

And they give you 60 days to decide.

Take it every morning for two months. If it's not for you, they refund your first order, even if the jar is empty.

Two full months to see how it fits your life. Nothing to lose but the scoop.

I'm done pretending

60 days to decide. Nothing to explain. Nothing to send back.
Free US shipping on every order

If you're where I was a year ago — standing in a produce aisle, smiling too hard, hoping nobody notices — I want you to hear this:

 

You're not the only one.

 

It has a name.

 

And you're allowed to take it seriously.

 

— Dana

I'm done pretending

Sources

Each link below opens in a new tab.

  1. Forbes SC, et al. Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Brain Function and Health. Nutrients. 2022;14(5):921. doi.org/10.3390/nu14050921
  2. Smith-Ryan AE, et al. Creatine Supplementation in Women's Health: A Lifespan Perspective. Nutrients. 2021;13(3):877. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7998865
  3. Ostojic SM, Ostojic J. Brain creatine, estradiol and neurocognitive complaints in perimenopausal women: an exploratory cross-sectional study. Neuroscience Letters. 2026. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42061673
  4. Alves CRR, et al. Creatine supplementation associated or not with strength training upon emotional and cognitive measures in older women: a randomized double-blind study. PLoS One. 2013. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24098469
  5. Hall L, et al. Impact of creatine supplementation on menopausal women's body composition, cognition, estrogen, strength, and sleep. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2025;22(Suppl 1). pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12291186
  6. Korovljev D, et al. The Effects of 8-Week Creatine Hydrochloride and Creatine Ethyl Ester Supplementation on Cognition, Clinical Outcomes, and Brain Creatine Levels in Perimenopausal and Menopausal Women (CONCRET-MENOPA): A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Am Nutr Assoc. 2025. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40854087
  7. Prokopidis K, et al. Effects of creatine supplementation on memory in healthy individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutrition Reviews. 2023;81(4):416–427. doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuac064