Creatine Loading is advized by whom? Lyle? The only difference that loading makes is time...you might reach saturation earlier with loading than without. But if you have already been taking creatine regularly for a while then loading would simply be a waste of creatine.

Unless you planned to go off it for a bit and then start again.

Nothing wrong with loading IF a person can tolerate the bigger doses, not that you need the HUGE doses to "load"...you can simply choose to take slightly higher doses for a while.

My criticism of loading, besides many people telling you it is required when it is NOT, is that the large doses are what causes the discomfort that so many people get, leading them to thing that creatine is bad, or that they cant tolerate it...when in fact they could have taken moderate doses and reached saturation after a bit more time and then continued with EVEN SMALLER doses..without any of the discomfort.

As for as trial and error, if this were REALLY a matter of trial and error you wouldn't have had to ask about the dry thing. You would have to be expecting some really big and obvious difference between one protocol and another which hit you in the face like a Mac truck...which isn't likely to happen.

Creatine loading is shown to enhance glycogen storage in the muscle cells (which in turn stores water) according to Lyle's direction; so I've taken to 20 grams over the course of the load (and if bloat were a problem, I wouldn't be eating 1200 grams of carbs in a day), with a maintenance of 5 on the off days.

You've got the right of it there... I just like to sound ambitious. Probably still do it anyway, as I already got fast talked into buying a jar of Alkalyn a while back, and wouldn't want it to collect dust.