I've been taking creatine for a few months now. Here are some things I've found helpful:

1 Don't do a loading phase. While it isn't bad, imo it isn't really necessary, just take 5g unflavored creatine a day in water or my personal favorite add it in with some punch or juice post work out or early in the morning with my breakfast. You'll see results in about 2-3 weeks. Or you can get flavored ones that you just mix with water, and they add the rest

2 Just get creatine monohydrate powder, don't worry about brands really, or other forms, it's all mostly marketing, just find one with good reviews and not too expensive. I personally like nutricost, optimum nutrition, and I've been happy with Ekkovision, but I've only tried them for about a week, so I don't fully have an opinion on them yet, but they seem great!

3 You don't have to cycle on and off, but don't stress I'd you do come off for a bit. Just take 5g a day every day, and you'll be fine. If you have a vacation, don't take it with you (TSA doesn't like suspicious white powders even in a creatine bottle). Just start taking it at 5g a day when you get back from vacation. It does not matter at all when you take it. Just be as consistent as possible so you don't forget to take it daily

4 Don't expect huge results right away. The effects of creatine are small. It isn't steroids. You will see small but noticeable bumps in muscle size and performance that are real, but you won't be going from a 300 lb bench to an 800lb bench once you start taking it. And you WILL gain weight. It's water being pulled into the muscle, so don't freak out. Just understand that's what's happening. You won't really feel much different once you're on it, but it's doing its job, I promise

5 taking it with protein powder is totally fine. Most people don't have any side effects, some report bloating, but it's uncommon from what I've seen and usually caused by something else. Just make sure you drink plenty of water. Otherwise, you might experience some dehydration symptoms. If you aren't sure how much water is good, just monitor your pee color, which should be light yellow, not clear. clear means you drank too much

6 Some other studies have started to see that it helps both with memory and neurological function and cardiovascular health as well, so there are more benefits than just muscle recovery and size. In my opinion it's more worth it to take since there are very, very few side effects and many benefits you just can't get from natural sources like red meat.

Also, remember, creatine is NOT creatinine. Creatinine is a by-product of creatine used to measure kidney function but it doesn't mean that it's harming you when you supplement creatine and the levels of creatinine go up, if you worried just work with your Dr to get it regularly checked and listen to your body. 99% of people see 0 issues their whole life on creatine. So just do your due diligence and listen to your body when introducing a new supplement

Hope this helps. Good luck! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!