Once upon a time, my kidneys failed. The first thing the doctor asked me after I awoke (after passing out in the hospital lobby) was, "did you use creatine?" I hadn't. I was on dialysis for a month. Two years of physical therapy.

Go easy on that shit. 

 Your doctor was a dumbass. Creatine is a very safe and effective supplement and has no adverse effect on kidney function. 

 Quite possible... two totally unnecessary operations. I think I was his guinea pig. 

 representative study: https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-10-26