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Green kratom leaf, powder, capsules. Kratom used for pain, anxiety, depression, addiction.

Kratoms role in Pain, Anxiety, Depression, and Addiction

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What is Kratom?

Kratom is a tree that grows naturally in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. Its leaves have traditionally been used as medicine, but now they’re also being used as a recreational drug. Doctors believe some substances in kratom attach themselves to the same parts of a nerve cell as opioid painkillers and create a similar effect in your brain. But there haven’t been a lot of detailed studies into how it works or why.

WEBMD.COM

Mitragyna speciosa (kratom) is a tropical evergreen tree, part of the coffee family, and native to Southeast Asia. Historically, it has been used by indigenous populations as a stimulant to enhance stamina and reduce fatigue. In traditional medicine, it has also been explored for a multitude of conditions including pain and as treatment for heroin addiction. The fresh or dried kratom leaves are typically chewed or drank as a tea or other concoction, with lemon often added to facilitate the extraction of the active ingredients.

PSYCHIATRICTIMES.COM

Kratom, scientifically known as Mitragyna speciosa, is a group of tree-like plants that belongs to the coffee plant family (Rubiaceae). It has a long history in Southeast Asia, where its leaves have been used for various medical purposes, as well as their stimulant effects. In recent years, kratom tea has gained popularity in the natural health community for its natural pain-relieving properties and to elevate mood.

HEALTHLINE.COM
Kratom leaf, powder, capsules, pills. 91% use kratom for pain, 67% for anxiety, 65% for depression, 41% for opiate withdrawal. And addiction.

Here is an infographic of the largest study done on kratom use in America. With 2798 study participants, out of the prestigious Johns Hopkins University. 84% of kratom users have college education and the average income is higher than non-kratom users.

Infographic of kratom. Survey of adult kratom users in the U.S.A. Provides insight into potential for harm or abuse. 2,798 kratom users. Who. Why. Side effects. 61% are women. 41% use kratom to treat opipod withdrawal. 87% reported relief from withdrawal symptoms. 19% reported mild side effects. 1.9% reported serious side effects. 9.5% reported withdrawal symptoms. John Hopkins University. Study. USA.

35% of the people who tried quitting opioids with kratom were 100% drug free 1 year later. Compared to the 10-20% success rate of most expensive treatment programs. For comparison, the success rate of Anonymous Alcoholics (AA) is 5-10%.

1.9% reported “serious” side effects and only 9.5% reported any withdrawal symptoms at all. Compare that to cocaine, heroin, and amphetamines — which would create withdrawal symptoms in users 100% of the time.


Kratom and Pain

Kratom is very effective at dealing with pain. Honestly, it shocked me when I experienced it the first time. I was so used to taking various herbal supplements and not feeling anything.

Kratom can deal with the type of pain that sits deep inside the nevous system. Like the spine, the stomach or the intestines. Over the counter stuff don’t work for this type of pain.

For a survey, Garcia-Romeu and his team enrolled 2,798 people to complete an online survey on their use of kratom. They recruited participants online and through social media. Of these participants, 91% reported taking kratom to alleviate pain on average a couple times a day for back, shoulder and knee pain, 67% for anxiety and 65% for depression. About 41% of survey responders said they took kratom to treat opioid withdrawal.

HOPKINSMEDICINE.ORG

I, the person that made this website, have used kratom for stomach pain for five years — it still works great. It’s okay to self-medicate with kratom, but you want to use the lowest dose that does the job. Find a dose that works and stick to it.

The higher the dose, the higher the tolerance. If you stop using kratom for 2-3 days, the tolerance drops down to baseline again. For every hour that kratom isn’t active in the body, the tolerance starts to drop. Kratom is active in the body for 5 hours. So from hour 5 and onward, the tolerance starts to drop back down again.

This is why you can do the same dose every day for 10 or 20 years and get the same effect every time. I wrote a couple posts of Reddit on this topic that went viral on the platform. If you take it twice a day, you will have a higher tolerance, by maybe 10-20%, but it will stay the same day after day, year after year. Assuming you do the same amount every time.

The results of an online survey in 2014 found that kratom users in the United States tend to be middle-aged, middle-income people living with pain. Most of the over 8,000 survey respondents said that they were using kratom to treat pain or improve their mood.

VERYWELLMIND.COM

Pain, mood elevation, relaxation and sleep are the main things kratom is taken for.

Kratom has gained popularity as an alternative to opioid pain medications like Vicodin (hydrocodone) and OxyContin (oxycodone). In many cases, kratom is used to manage chronic pain associated with conditions such as arthritis and fibromyalgia.

VERYWELLMIND.COM

In my extensive experience of consuming countless pounds of kratom over the years, the most effective kratom strain for pain is Red Vein Borneo, and after that any of the red strains, which are considered stronger.

Red Vein Borneo gives a type of buzz that is unique for that particular strain. It is also very potent, you might need 2/3s the amount compared to other normally potent strains.

Since I have constant, chronic, never-ending pain, I do 3-4 doses of a tablespoon (5 grams) of kratom every day throughout the year. However, I do I same dose every day. Ever since I started “self-medicating” with kratom my entire life turned around.

If my pain is “moderate” instead of “high” I will shave off 15% of the dose. I will also alternate between different strains throughout the day. If you want to learn about my personal strategy regarding kratom dosage, ingestion, and where I buy it:

I went from being unemployed to having two jobs and running a health consultation business on the side, as well as running several websites (this is one of those websites). I have the largest celebrity personality type website in the world, for example, with about 4k unique visitors every month from search engines.

Lately, my personality type analysis of Elon Musk had exploded and become the most popular post on the entire website. Apart from that, my most popular posts is the one of Johnny Depp and Adolf Hitler.

I brought out the digital calculator and I actually consume about 14 pounds (6.5kg) of kratom a year, in total. I could do 60-70% of that amount and still function, but at that higher dose I have a high quality of life. I still get a buzz every time, especially if I lie down and relax. I even get these “pleasure shivers” up along my spine.

I drink a shot of kratom mixed with warm water and follow with lemon water. I only weight 134 pounds, I have about 4% body fat. I follow a caveman/stone age inspired diet of mostly unprocessed meat, rice, potatoes, yoghurt, fruit & vegetables — and cold pressed oils. Do not mix kratom with food. Kratom must be taken on an empty stomach.


Reddit Success Stories: Removing Pain with Kratom

Pain is the most common reason to do kratom. 91% of users report this. 10-16 millions Americans use kratom. Kratom has been used in parts of asia for hundreds of years without identifiable negative effects. Here are some success stories from r/kratom of people using kratom for pain.

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Here for nerve pain

I bought kratom once before for anxiety, and it didn’t do too much so i have it away. However, a car v pedestrian accident left me with a herniated disc and nerve pain in my dominant arm. I know plenty of people have it worse, but the pain was depressing me and nothing was touching it.

My friend hooked me up with a small jar of kratom to try out, and 3-5g/day of a red blend has it under control. So thank God i gave it a go.

Thanks for reading.

BAJILEH ON REDDIT

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I’ve been taken Red Bali Kratom for 6 months for a herniated disc in my upper back. Haven’t had a pain killer, alcohol, or a cigarette in 6 months. 3-4 grams once per day with my morning diet routine.

Congrats and GL

BLACKHAT323 ON REDDIT

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I have damage to the nerves and connective tissue in the left wrist which has caused me a great deal of pain and tingling in my hand. I was on Gabapentin for the pain, but when it got rescheduled my doctor cut off my prescription. Kratom works better for my nerve pain than any other opioid or GABA agonist pain therapy on its own, or any medication I’ve taken. It helped me get through the pain and anxiety of being cut off my prescription while dealing with nerve damage and long term effects of benzo addiction in remission.

Now my wrist is much more healed, and I’m in a much better place mentally, and I’m tapering of the kratom. So grateful for the help it has provided me, but I don’t want to be dependent on anything.

LOVEFISHSTICKS ON REDDIT

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Awesome. Pain is the worst and it’s very confusing because someone else cannot truly understand what your feeling. I have 2 total hip replacements and refuse to use opiates. I take Kratom, green Maeng Da, CBD & Neurontin. It’s the only way without heavy narcotics I can function. This thread hooked me up with good people and places to get into and today in ok.

Much love man. Stay well and do your best with what’s going on. Pain is temporary.

MSTUDELY311 ON REDDIT

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I miss taking Kratom and not having any period cramps. I’m crying in agonizing pain.

My sister can’t walk, can’t eat and vomits everyday for a whole week on her period. I gave her Kratom and her period passed with no pain.

Would her tolerance go up and would she become addicted if she only took it 5 days a month at 15gpd? Less than this didn’t work even though it was her first time.

MELANCHOLIC-RAIN ON REDDIT

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Kratom for back pain and scoliosis

I use Kratom for back pain. I have scoliosis and I’m considering surgery. I’m 52 and I discovered Kratom 2 years ago. It relieves my pain very effectively. I told my doctor about it and he never even heard about it. He wrote it down on his little notepad and probably googled it. Even though he never heard of it he said not to use it because you never know what could be in it if it’s coming from Indonesia. I also see an orthopedist for my scoliosis and various other doctors. No doctor will give me a pain medication.

Not one doctor will consider that. I have a zero history of taking pain medication. I’ve never taken it in my life. The opioid crisis has created this. You have to have an arm hanging off body To get a narcotic pain killer. I was asking for like five Percocet a month to take when my pain is debilitating, and I still can’t get it.

They give me a prescription anti-inflammatory and that is it. So therefore I use Kratom. The only side effects that I don’t like is the fact that I wake up in the morning and I feel terrible I have to have a dose. I think it sucks the doctors don’t give a shit about pain, and they’re afraid to prescribe even small amounts of narcotics to help people that are in severe pain like myself. I empathize with everybody here.

DADDOG73

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I will need “real” pain meds soon. Will kratom make them not work for me?

I am going to the surgeon tomorrow & know I will be scheduled for at least one knee replacement soon. I have a pretty high kratom tolerance but it’s the only thing keeping me from being carried out of my apartment to the ER for pain relief. I haven’t had “heavy” pain meds (legal or otherwise) since I broke my leg in a car accident in about 2002.

Anyway, after surgery I will require serious pain meds and am wondering if my kratom use will make it so they won’t work. Does anyone have any experience with this or something similar?

CATMOM2004 ON REDDIT

Answer: Although cross-tolerance is common among medications/drugs with a similar chemical structure, kratom does not appear to create significant cross-tolerance in over-the-counter pain medications. But combining medications/drugs is always a risk. Most people don’t feel the need to “stack” other medications on top of kratom.


Kratom and Anxiety

It is normal to feel anxiety.

Globally, millions of people suffer from anxiety issues. It is part of life and being human to feel anxious or sad when exposed to certain situations. However, when the emotions persist to the point where one feels constantly agitated, it may be an anxiety disorder.

Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that about 300 million people globally are suffering from anxiety. It’s no wonder that many are turning to alternative therapies such as kratom for anxiety and depression. 

APNEWS.COM

Kratom is effective against anxiety.

Kratom isn’t technically an opioid, but its effects are similar to those of opioids, such as morphine or codeine. The active ingredient in kratom is called mitragynine. Mitragynine binds to opioid receptors in the brain, relieving pain. This action might be behind the antidepressant and anti-anxiety effects reported by some kratom users.

HEALTHLINE.COM

Kratom calms the mind by calming the body. When the body is harmonized, the mind cannot help but following suit.

Kratom has medicinal alkaloids that are known to promote a calming effect on the body. Therefore, it calms down emotions when the body is unbalanced due to anxiety. The imbalances in emotions are prevalent among the people who suffer from anxiety. Conversely, kratom can increase productivity.

APNEWS.COM

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I have a close childhood friend who was deeply entrenched in a family feud, which ended with him trying to murder his father with a baseball bat and four frying pans. It became big news here in Sweden, on the national newspapers. Article nr1. Article nr2. He first got 5 years but it was reduced to 4 years after the appeal (which is not enough).

I made him try kratom a week before (exactly) before this violent event took place, and he started talking about forgiving him. Like, he seriously considered forgiving him for cheating on his mother on several occassions and divorcing her. Kratom changes the way you view reality. I remember this post on the kratom section of Reddit a while back “Kratom makes me feel cooler than I actually am lol”.


Reddit Success Stories: Kratom for Anxiety

Kratom makes me feel cooler than I actually am lol

I’m sure a lot of you can relate but when I feel the euphoria of my first dose of the day I feel like my ego is boosted and I act much cooler than I normally do. Maybe it’s in my head but that’s how it feels. Anyone else?

MEGASKTRETH ON REDDIT

I have this effect personally, that’s why I remembered it. Here are a couple comments to the Reddit post above:

It makes me feel energetic and a little bit more loose, so I get in the zone to be a lot more productive and expressive which leads to some positive experiences. I think it’s real to a degree that it makes you cooler in the right dose.

LOVEFISHSTICKS ON REDDIT

And then this one.

I think kratom makes us more of the true you. You are just unencumbered by negative thoughts and the negative comments of others. It makes me happy and I just want to get out there and have a great day. God bless kratom.

FIFIBELLOTOO ON REDDIT

And this one.

So I was a car salesman for 15 yrs. 12 of them in opiates. I couldn’t get off the opiates bc I didn’t have my “ego”. I would go a few months clean but my income would be cut in less than half. So I always said I had to sell my soul so I could keep my job. But as soon as I got opiates in me it was like when Popeye got his spinach. The next person to pull on the lot was fd bc they were buying a car whether they wanted to or not lol. But finally I found kratom and it’s the only thing to ever give me that same feeling. I quit the biz bc for several reasons but the big one was the opiates.

PRODABBER710 ON REDDIT

And this one.

I always get presence when I take kratom. Normally I tense up my muscles unconsciously. I find my movements to be more calm and assertive, my voice seems to lower a couple of pitches down. More productive. I do feel cool as a cucumber, drugs do that. I’m also more friendly.

FOREVERATYOURCOMMAND ON REDDIT

I actually experience the things mentioned in this comment, as well. My internal “state” is higher. I often take kratom and work on my websites, it is one of my favourite things to do. Here is the final one:

I really just cracked up  so true. It’s like our confidence is boosted cuz we are not all shy and anxious about the stupid things we tend to worry about, so the inner GC magazine model comes out for a showcase =) =) that’s how it feels.

MCTENE89 ON REDDIT

All these are answers to a single moderately popular post on Reddit. There are hundreds of posts like this on r/kratom (108k members), they could fill a whole book on the topic of anxiety alone.

I’ve been taking 1.75g~ 2-3x daily for years. Initially tried it for pain relief after a minor surgery, but found it did wonders for my depression and anxiety. Before kratom I was just using cannabis to help and while it does help a lot it also wasn’t as consistent and I find it easier to overdo as the act of smoking itself can be fun and addicting.

Anyways I still use cannabis but found kratom helped for more consistent benefits and makes it a bit easier for me to not smoke too much.

MUSICLOVER4200 ON REDDIT

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I take kratom for anxiety and depression. Sometimes the uplifting feeling is important for me because of the depression bit, so our needs may not be identical. I take 4 grams of red three to four times per day. I’ve played with this protocol a lot, and gone off it and back on a few times. It seems to work very well, especially on the anxiety front.

MACCHUCK234 ON REDDIT

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Chronic pain, anxiety, depression, agoraphobia. One grandchild taking it for anxiety, she tolerates it so much better than antidepressants. I’ve got my brain back, and it’s amazing =)

OK-IMPROVEMENT233 ON REDDIT

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Kratom for anxiety and depression since 2019

I’ve been taking Kratom for anxiety and depression since 2019. I take an array of strains, mostly because I find that rotating is super helpful. My current strains that I have on hand are Red Borneo and Premium MD (from one vendor) White Borneo (from another vendor) and Crisp from a third vendor. I dose multiple times per day.

I can’t give you the exact amount of time I dose because I work night shift so sometimes I am up for an insane amount of time before I finally sleep well but that’s just due to my work schedule. When I dose, it’s about every 4-5 hours and I take anywhere from 3 to 7 grams. When I am at home, I like to take a cup of orange and lemon juice and pour it on top of my kratom dose.

I let it sit for about 10 to 15 minutes and then stir it up good and chug it down. If I am at work, I do toss and wash (I work in health care so stopping to do my normal process isn’t feasible). My husband takes Kratom daily too, he likes to use Oblate discs (edible film) which is basically like taking caps except you take it all at once and you can take a lot more in the film. I hope this helps you. For reference, I used to be on multiple medications. Gabapentin, Seroquel, and Venlafaxine and now I am on none.

CONCEPTIONARY ON REDDIT

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I take kratom for anxiety

Anxiety is the only reason I take kratom. I take 4 to 6 grams most days, with about two days off per week to avoid building too much of a tolerance. I normally wait until mid-afternoon to take it, because if I take it too early I get too relaxed and won’t be productive. I’ve tried several strains but now use green maeng da exclusively because, for me, it is the most relaxing without actually putting me to sleep. In fact it keeps me awake sometimes at night, but it’s worth it.

I do occasionally take 1 gram in the morning, if I know it’s going to be a stressful day, but usually I wait until later.

I hope that’s helpful.

STARTREKTOHECK ON REDDIT


Kratom and Depression

Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease your ability to function at work and at home.

PSYCHIATRI.ORG

Pain and mood elevation are the two most common reasons for doing kratom. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has not approved kratom for the treatment of depression, but the anecdotal evidence is strong.

A close family member that drinks alcohol 3-4 to relax from tension and ADHD, told me that he doesn’t need to drink the nights he does kratom. Kratom boosts your internal “state”, and many people have said it shows depressed people what it’s like to not be depressed for 5 hours. You can “practice” looking at reality a different way.

To be clear, nobody has said kratom cures depression. It is a temporary relief from the worst aspects of depression that works for most people.

The secret sauce here is called mitragynine. At low doses, mitragynine can have energizing properties. At higher doses, it can feel like a sedative. It binds to opioid receptors in your brain, relieving pain — which may explain the antidepressant and anti-anxiety effects.

TBH, there isn’t a ton of research on kratom’s effects on mood. One 2017 review confirmed that among some users, kratom enhances mood and relieves anxiety. This review cites an older study in mice that showed a reduction in corticosterone (in humans, that’s your stress hormone, cortisol).

GREATIST.COM

Several studies on mice and rats have found that kratom reduces stress and the stress hormone cortisol significantly. Kratom is also anti-inflammatory. Stress and inflammation are two of the biggest contributing factors for depression. Kratom is also very effective for incuding sleep, as it makes the entire body relax on a physical level. Kratom is great for:

  • Stress
  • Inflammation
  • Sleep

This might explain why kratom is so effective at dealing with mild and moderate depression. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it.

Kratom makes the whole body relax, but even at extremely large doses kratom does not supress breathing in any significant degree, like opiates do (breathing suspension is what kills you in a heroine overdose).

I saw a study where they gave people 12 times (!) a normal dose for an experienced kratom user (which is a tablespoon or 5 grams), and although they felt dizzy, “wobbly”, and naseous, there was no physical harm done. Kratom does not appear to be dangerous even at extremely large doses, but you will be in great discomfort and regret doing it — for sure.

I have overdosed on kratom about three times over the years that I have done it, usually because I had a rushed schedule or forgot what time I took it earlier that day. I became dizzy, “wobbly”, and very naseous. It gets worse if you move, so you just lie completely still.

I was very uncomfortable for about 2 hours and somewhat uncomfortable for another 3-4 hours after that. The week after my overdose I actually started doing 2/3s of a dose just to make sure I did not experience that again.

It was a terrible experience, no doubt, but it wasn’t physically dangerous and it didn’t give me PTSD. Since I knew what it was immediately when it hit, I did not consider calling 911 or poison control sevices. The great thing about kratom, is that it PUNISHES you for taking too much. Imagine if alcohol or morphine had that effect at higher doses as well.

Here is an interesting passage from Psychiatric Times. Apparently, 10-16 million Americans dabble with kratom.

In recent years, Americans have been increasingly interested in the use of kratom. The latest survey gauges there are at least 10 to 16 million people who use kratom in the United States, or roughly 3% to 4.9% of our population. Reasons for use include opioid replacement and pain management, and 58% to 67% of kratom users also endorse attempts to self-manage depressive symptoms and other mental health concerns. 

Of those who have taken kratom, 20.2% endorsed using the substance primarily to manage depression alone. In this context, self-reported perceived reductions in symptoms among survey participants were found.

PSYCHIATRICTIMES.COM

About 90% of the people who take kratom are ethnically white, and most of them are middle class with some type of higher education. They are relatively high earners. The studies have not found deteriation in any aspect of longtime users life; health, friends, career, home, so on. Most of the so-called “withdrawal symptoms” are just experiencing life without kratom — a traumatic experience indeed.

Several studies on mice and kratom have found that it reduces the stress hormone cortisol significantly. Stress can be a contributing factor in depression. It can break down the body, the nervous system, and the brain. Kratom also aids sleep, and good sleep protects you from depression.


Reddit Success Stories: Taking Kratom for Depression

This first post is a long one. It has 154 upvotes, 85 comments, and has an upvote rate of 96%. The comments below are all taken from the Kratom section of Reddit.

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I think my symptoms of depression and anxiety are being helped by kratom.

Usually stone cold sober I’ll wake up and just be miserable, not wanting to do anything. I wouldn’t have energy or motivation to even cook breakfast, shower, clean my house or hang out with friends. I don’t know but my home is clean, clothes are washed and I’ve been eating good.

I think these signs are proof of some sort of progress. Even though I can’t 100% attribute these to the kratom use, I feel it directly let to energy, which caused my hunger for food to return therefore giving me motivation to do things. It’s nice eating a large meal, I forgot what it was like.

*Edit: I take 3-4g 2x/day.

*Edit: I’m eating like 2500 calories the days I take it compared to 500 calories which I would have to force down normally. Daily exercise like running 3 miles, lifting weights and stretching is enjoyable when small dose is taken. Kratom really just takes the negative symptoms of my depression away, it doesn’t get me “high” or anything like that.

I make small goals in my workouts so I can achieve them. I clean my house everyday and this is new for me. I can actually have people over and not worry about anything because I’m on top of it. Kratom’s so cheap too, I haven’t drank or taken any drugs while on it and I don’t have the urge to either.

LARUEON22S ON REDDIT

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I take Kratom for anxiety and mild depression. Works great for me. Much better than prescription drugs. It’s amazing.

WHATEVVAH ON REDDIT

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I take Kratom for pain relief (spinal cord injury) and depression (that’s a result of my pain). I literally cant play with my kids or enjoy parties with friends because of the pain. I’ve taken 4g, three times a day for 7 years now.

The trick to dosage is to start LOW (1-2g max) and see what that does. I take caps, so i moved up .5g a dosage until i found out what works best for me. Once you figure that out, commit to never moving higher.

With Kratom, it is EXTREMELY easy to chase the high it gives, but that’s not how it works and will lead to massive withdrawl issues later down the road.

For reference, I am 40 year old man 210lb.

SHEXME

I disagree with that last paragraph. Since kratom will punish you immediately and harshly when you overdose (dizzy, wobbly, nausea, fuzzy vision, discomfort), that cycle of chasing another even higher high cannot exist.

Kratom does work for nerve pain that sits deep inside the body, like in the spine. This comment is by the author of the original post.

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Yeah, I just see it as either wasting away in bed or taking a dose and getting an appetite, eating, running laps, having sex and listening to music. If I am addicted I really don’t give a fuck as I was wishing to die before. I’ll take on some pains of dependence if I’m at least eating and showering.

Around Christmas I was thinking I’d be dead by 2021, but I’m still around and “feel” healthier. I think it stimulated my appetite, and beforehand I was crummy because I hadn’t been eating. So food is really why I was down, and getting my appetite was what I needed IMO.

LARUEON22S ON REDDIT

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According to this user, kratom works for a depressive bipolar episode. In terms of temporary relief, not curing the root cause.

I recieved a diagnosis for bipolar 2 a year and a half ago and I’ve been in a depressive episode for the past year which has been the hardest thing I’ve experienced in my life. I’m on 2 different mood stabilizers and 2 different antidepressants that dont do shit for me. Yellow vein kratom does more for my mood then any of the meds I’m on now or any of the other meds I’ve tried before. I only use it every other day so I dont develop a huge tolerance. It definitely has antidepressant/anxiety effects and gives me energy if I use white vein.

NICHOLAS-14 ON REDDIT

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So true! I’m not Bi-polar but have had depression and anxiety at different levels for as long as I can remember with social anxiety becoming increasingly worse to the point trips to the grocery would stress me out. Green Malay is amazing for this. I don’t use or need three medications since I started using that and red Bali allows me not to use opioids for chronic pain. Especially in the middle of the night. Which is another two or three scripts a month. I really appreciate Krartom but am also pretty respectful of it as well.

NIGGLESCRIPTS ON REDDIT

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Same here, I’ve had anxiety almost all my life and have tried various meds with no success other than benzos, which for obvious reasons are not sustainable long term. Recently I’ve also been facing some depressive episodes, and wow kratom works so amazing for both of those.

Honestly it works a little too well, and even though I seem to be doing better even when I’m sober, it does kind of feel like I’m masking things a bit much. However, if I need something for my anxiety to be able to actually function as a human, it makes me feel infinitely better to be dependent on kratom rather than benzos.

WALTYJ04 ON REDDIT

Your most important decision is who you marry. The second most important decision is what addictions you chose. “Addiction” is basically just a behavioral protocol that is initiated when our internal state drops.

I have honestly looked into this, and I haven’t found any long term detrimental effects of kratom. For example, kratom users earn more money on average than non kratom users. There is a reason for that. It is not a coincidence.

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I started taking kratom a few months ago to see how it would affect my constant anxiety and depression. I am also a severe alcoholic and addict and i heard kratom could help people with opiod addiction. I was drinking and using meth just a few months ago. Not only was it easier to stop these habits, but when i use kratom i dont even DESIRE alcohol. Drugs i still romanticize but it is fairly easy to say no.

DONATELLI13 ON REDDIT

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I have chronic depression and anxiety, and I wake up feeling miserable everyday as well. I want to say I’m really sorry you have to endure that. Kratom is extremely helpful for me too though. I take it every day, starting first thing in the morning and it has helped my life tremendously. It allows me to feel happy. Unfortunately, I have permanent side effects from a passed antidepressant that are not helped by kratom, only by antidepressants. After taking Effexor for a couple years, I noticed if I didn’t take it at the same time everyday, I’d get “brain zaps”. I decided to get off the medication but unfortunately the brain zaps stayed with me. It’s been 5 years and if I’m not on any antidepressants, I get them in bouts. Otherwise I’d only take kratom.

GAUGEBAR ON REDDIT

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What kratom strains are the best for depression?

  • If you are depressed because you can’t sleep, try any of the powerful sedative red strains.
  • If you need a boost in the morning and are low on energy, try the energetic white strains.
  • If you want a mix of both and a long duration, try the green strains.

Although Kratom gives a reasonably powerful temporary boost, it does not process trauma or cure the underlying cause of depression. In my experience, kratom works for most people. The first 2-3 times you do it, do a small dose.

You might be hyperresponsive where a “normal” beginners dose could actually be an overdose. This happens all the time. Or even worse, you have an allergic reaction. I am not sure if you can be allergic to kratom.


Kratom and Addiction

This chapter is about kratoms role in fighting addiction. If you want to learn about the addictive properties of kratom itself, scroll down to the chapter below called “Kratom addiction, withdrawal, and side effects”.

Although kratoms primary use has been to easen the effects of opiate abstinence (20% of all users report this), it does seem to be effective in dealing with withdrawal symptoms from the following substances:

  • Caffeine
  • Nicotine
  • Alcohol
  • Amphetamines
  • Opioids (opium, morphine, heroine)
  • Benzos (Benzodiazepines)
  • Many medications
  • Many/most hardcore drugs (cocaine, ampthetamines, crack, heroine)

The key point here is that kratom dampens/removes physical pain, general anxiety, promotes relaxation, and elevates mood. The core result of all these things is that is boosts your internal “state” — as in sense of well being.

Addiction is a behavioural protocol initiated by the persons psyche to deal with a significant drop in “state” or well being. If you boost someone internal state, the direct result of this is a reduced desire to do drugs or resort to other addictive behaviours.

Many people have said “I don’t feel the need to do alcohol or other drugs when I’m on kratom”. My own father said this exact thing to me. A close childhood friend of mine who was dragged into a toxic family feud almost forgave his father when I gave him kratom the first time. Kratom makes you forgiving.

You can claim that taking kratom everyday is an addiction, a fair point, but most people stay at the same dose once they find something that works. And that dose will have excactly the same effect everyday indefinitely. You also cannot overdose on kratom, without experiencing the crippling effects of dizziness, wobbliness, nausea, fuzzy vision, and significant discomfort.

Kratom PUNISHES you for taking too much, and the same cannot be said for any hardcore drug. In this way, there is a safety mechanism against addiction to kratom built into the very substance itself.


Kratoms role in Opioid Withdrawal

Opioid withdrawal has, in terms for fighting addiction, been kratoms primary use historically speaking. Kratom has been used to fight opioid withdrawal symptoms for over a hundred years.

Kratom is essentially a naturally occurring weak version of opium. Kratom powder is dried and grounded leafs, that is literally what it is. Here are some articles & studies on kratoms role in opioid withdrawal.

***

This quote is from the highest ranking Google article on kratom and addiction. It’s from The Mayo Clinic.

Kratom for opioid withdrawal: Does it work?

If you take pain medications for a long time, your body becomes used to these drugs and dependence may develop. If you become dependent, you may experience unpleasant physical signs and symptoms — such as sweating, trembling and cravings — when you stop taking these medications. This process is called withdrawal, and it may last for several days to weeks.

Because withdrawal can be unpleasant, many people look for ways to ease their symptoms. Getting extra rest or doing things that are distracting, such as watching TV, helps some people during withdrawal. Other people take medications or substances to try to reduce their symptoms.

Kratom, an herbal extract from the leaves of an evergreen tree (Mitragyna speciosa) that grows in Southeast Asia, is one substance that is promoted as a treatment for withdrawal. Kratom is sold as a dietary supplement and is not currently regulated in the United States, but federal agencies are taking action to combat false claims about kratom.

In Asia, people have used kratom in small amounts to reduce fatigue or treat opium addiction. In other parts of the world, people take kratom to ease withdrawal, feel more energetic, relieve pain, or reduce anxiety or depression. People take kratom to ease withdrawal because kratom evokes feelings of euphoria and may be obtained more easily than drugs prescribed for withdrawal.

MAYOCLINIC.ORG

I am only aware one one single substance that can completely remove the withdrawal symptoms from hardcore opiate addiction, and that is Ibogain. Which is considered “high risk” for a psychadelic and resets your entire brain and nervous system. I mean, when you wake up after 48 hours of trancelike sleep and half awakenedness you have to learn how to walk again. Literally.

We used to think all psychadelics are dangerous, but doing them isn’t dangerous in a moderate dose and in a safe setting. You also cannot be schizophrenic or have a history of psychosis. Most “bad trips” from psychadelics come from simply taking too much.

Kratom will not remove the withdrawal symptoms, but dampen them and make them more bearable. So if a moderate dose of kratom can reduce the intensity of the withdrawal symptoms by 50% — that is impressive!

***

Here is an article on one of the very few studies thst have been done on kratoms effect on opioid dependence.

Kratom tea study stirs up new support for relieving opioid dependence

As the opioid epidemic continues to grip the nation and kills tens of thousands every year, a new study led by researchers at the University of Florida suggests kratom could be a prime treatment option for opioid dependence.

In a controlled animal study, UF scientists found kratom — which comes from the leaves of a tropical tree originating in Southeast Asia — delivered significant pain-relieving benefits, reduced opioid withdrawal symptoms and caused minimal respiratory depression.

Kratom users have reported similar experiences for years, but the UF study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence is one of the first preclinical investigations to validate these claims.

“There have been a lot of anecdotal reports suggesting kratom has some pain-relieving properties and has helped transition users from prescription opioids to this product,” said Chris McCurdy, Ph.D., a professor of medicinal chemistry in the UF College of Pharmacy. “Scientifically, this becomes one of the most important kratom studies released showing support as a potential treatment option for opioid withdrawal syndrome or opioid use disorder.”

In Southeast Asia, people boil freshly harvested leaves to make a tea, which has been reported to demonstrate stimulant and opioid-like properties. While Southeast Asians have used kratom for hundreds of years seemingly unharmed, controversy has swirled in the West around its safety. U.S. regulators have expressed concern that kratom can be abused for its opioid-like effects.

University of Florida Health — UFHealth

There have been anecdotal reports of this happening for hundreds of thousands of people over the years, and here it is comfirmed by an scientific study. I mean, 16 million americans wouldn’t buy kratom for their hard earned money unless it did something.

***

Here is an interesting case study of a 43-year-old american male who managed to quit hardcore drug addiction by ingesting kratom tea four times a day. He apparently spent 15 000 dollars a year on kratom, he must have ordered from an expensive vendor. I take kratom 3-4 times a day for pain and I spend maybe 10% of that.

Self-treatment of opioid withdrawal using kratom (Mitragynia speciosa korth)

Background

Kratom (Mitragynia speciosa korth) is recognized increasingly as a remedy for opioid withdrawal by individuals who self-treat chronic pain.

Case description

A patient who had abruptly ceased injection hydromorphone abuse self-managed opioid withdrawal and chronic pain using kratom. After co-administering the herb with modafinil he experienced a tonic-clonic seizure, but he reported only modest abstinence once kratom administration stopped. We confirmed the identity of the plant matter he ingested as kratom and identified no contaminants or adulterants. We also conducted high-throughput molecular screening and the binding affinity at mu, delta and kappa receptors of mitragynine.

Conclusion

We report the self-treatment of chronic pain and opioid withdrawal with kratom. The predominant alkaloid of kratom, mitragynine, binds mu- and kappa-opioid receptors, but has additional receptor affinities that might augment its effectiveness at mitigating opioid withdrawal. The natural history of kratom use, including its clinical pharmacology and toxicology, are poorly understood.

***

That is an overview, you can read the whole thing here.

An extensive questionaire was given to 500 substance abuse disorder patients (addicts), and this was the result:

This study suggests that about one-quarter of residential treatment seekers have ever used kratom and 10% have used it in the last year. A large majority of patients had used kratom for therapeutic reasons, with 70% using it as an opioid substitute. Although less than 10% of patients reported negative side effects from kratom or drug preference for kratom, its benefits and risks are not yet fully understood. Despite kratom’s potential for helping individuals reduce opioid use, it is unclear whether its use can lead to kratom dependence.

RESEARCH RECOVERY INSTITUTE

Of addicts who have tried kratom, 70% of them did it to quit opiates (opium, morphine, heroine). When the American kratom userbase is questioned, 20% report having used kratom to quit opiates. And a fair amount of them report becoming clean as a result.

Kratom does not appear to have the ability to kill a human being. There hasn’t been a single overdose death where the person only had kratom in the system — just like with marijuana. With 30, 40, or 50 million people using kratom worldwide — that is a large control group.


Reddit Success Stories: Using Kratom for Opioid Withdrawal

This Reddit thread starts with someone asking if kratom works for opiate/opioid withdrawal. The comments below without headlines are answers to this question.

Using Kratom for opiate withdrawals?

I’m and wondering if I can use Kratom for heroin withdrawals? I have the day off today and have to be back to work tomorrow

MASTER-BEE263 ON REDDIT

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YES!!!! I know heroin is a bit worse than painkillers and shit, but I was taking as many as 10 -30 mg oxycodone a day or even a couple 40 mg opana here and there and kratom definitely helped get me through withdrawals.

KIPPSA ON REDDIT

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Agreed. Kicked it all. You can find a lot of help getting off opioids/opiates with a lot of comfort meds- even go as far as drug replacement therapy with methadone and suboxone. But there is NOTHING on the planet that can help with that underlying itch of hot anxiety that somehow destroys your confidence as a living human being down to an absolute shell. The withdrawals from klonopin for me were so debilitating I honestly don’t know how I made it out alive, or even remember how I did it. There is such a large gap in my memory, I am straight up missing 2-3 years of my life thanks to benzos. I’ve kicked fentanyl and oxy more than 12 times all together, I keep running back to opiates because It’s essentially NOTHING compared to the fear that Benzo’s gave me respectively.

If people find heroine to be the worst, it really scares me on how accidental someone can go down the path of addiction due to having an anxiety disorder. Literally 1 pill and your life could be changed forever, no god damn joke.

SCRUNCYPANTS ON REDDIT

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I feel this, at my worst I was taking 10 to 15, and sometimes as much as 8 at once, I couldn’t support it on my own so I resorted to taking cash from my till at work, realized I was gonna end up in prison(stealing cash was a daily occurrence) so I quit my job and quit pills cold turkey, used weed and kratom to do it. I can’t imagine how miserable I would have been without it.

THEDIZZARD ON REDDIT

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Yes, I’m 2 months sober thanks to kratom. Was at 1.5 years sober, but then I caved after I ran out of kratom for a month. It definitely helps with withdrawal, especially if you have a lil bit of cannabis with it. It has an addictive quality to it and I’m pretty sure I’ve trade one thing for another. I’m completely fine with that.

For the worst of the withdrawal I was taking 6-9 grams of Kratom 3x a day (Morning, after lunch, and an hour before bed), did that for 3weeks, the started cutting it back. Now I’m taking 3-5g 3x a day. Kratom won’t do all the work, but it sure does help the withdrawal not hurt/twitch/keep you up at night/keep your spirits up/help your appetite/curb cravings.

MINNESKOLTA ON REDDIT

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I dose a tablespoon twice a day with coffee and have since I quit many moons ago. I’ve been taking Kratom with the only side effect being no cravings for dope, for the last five years at least. Make sure to find a good vendor and try not to buy from headshots because it’s lower quality Kratom and ten times the price. Ask any other questions I’d be glad to help.

NATASCHRIST ON REDDIT

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Yes. I was on fentanyl and the kratom completely killed the WDs. Imagine going from withdrawal to playing with the kids in the park in the space of 30 mins. Kratom was a miracle to me.

BLUEBOY1980 ON REDDIT

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I Can’t explain that any better. During the midst of withdrawing, I sometimes would feel demotivated to even attempt anything that would make me feel better or give relief. My initial first thought was always, “You just have to ride this out, it’s going to suck because it has to suck.” That isn’t true at all, It DOES suck but doesn’t HAVE to. I have to remind my self that I AM withdrawing and I AM UNSTABLE, then i pound down some kratom and ALL is back to normal. Such a wild insane awesome plant.

SCHRUNCYPANTS ON REDDIT

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Yes you can! Been there done that. Was smoking synthetic H (lots of fentanyl) Kratom made quitting a breeze. Just swapped em and literally didn’t feel any withdrawal. And to top it off— I was actually able to quit kratom 2 weeks after with almost no side effects too. Seriously it’s so good it’s like cheating

BRUISEYED ON REDDIT


Kratoms role in Alcohol Addiction and Withdrawal

This section is about kratoms role in treating alcoholism or alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

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This article describes a study out of Washington University which showed that self-medicating with kratom did reduce alcohol consumption significantly in active alcoholics.

Our work shows that kratom may be effective to self-medicate alcohol use disorder. 

SCIENCEDAILY.COM

***

This case study followed a single patient as it used kratom to dampen the effects of alcohol abstinence symtpoms.

Kratom and alcohol dependence: Clinical symptoms, withdrawal treatment and pharmacological mechanisms

The patient’s selfmedication with kratom prevented alcohol withdrawal symptoms most probably by action on μ-opioidreceptors. 15 g of kratom seems to be equivalent to 45 mg of morphine. 

SCIENCEDIRECT.COM

Notice how they equate 15 grams of kratom (which is an extremely large dose) to 45 mg of morphine. Showing that kratom can accomplish the same thing. The most I have ever done in a single dose is 7 grams, which is one and a half tablespoon. For me, 8 grams is overdose territory. Painful memories taught me to do everything I can to not overdose on kratom (it’s not fun). You feel like shit for 2-3 hours whike it’s peaking and you just want to throw up — but can’t.

***

I want to include a long well written passage from a blog on kratom and alcohol addiction. Blog post link here.

Kratom: An Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy

As I noted in my first post on harm reduction, not everyone with an alcohol problem can simply quit drinking. In such cases, one option to consider is kratom. Otherwise known as Mitragyna speciosa, a tree in the coffee family, kratom has long been part of traditional Southeast Asian medicine. Due mainly to social media, it’s becoming popular in the US and Europe, where it’s used recreationally and medicinally for chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and opioid withdrawal.

As I noted in my first post on harm reduction, not everyone with an alcohol problem can simply quit drinking. In such cases, one option to consider is kratom. Otherwise known as Mitragyna speciosa, a tree in the coffee family, kratom has long been part of traditional Southeast Asian medicine. Due mainly to social media, it’s becoming popular in the US and Europe, where it’s used recreationally and medicinally for chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and opioid withdrawal.

THESOBERHERETIC.COM

That is a kind of introduction to the general situation. Here he talks about kratom specifically for alohol use disorders (alcoholics).

One of its lesser-known effects is curbing both alcohol consumption and alcohol craving among people concerned about their drinking. As I just mentioned, kratom helps people struggling with opioid addiction. Some addicts use it briefly to ease withdrawal symptoms; some use it longer-term as a relatively benign legal replacement for narcotics.

Because opioid receptors are involved in alcohol use disorders (AUDs), it’s reasonable to suppose that kratom might also help alcohol dependents, and some have indeed begun to use the plant for this purpose. Others discover accidentally that kratom radically alters their drinking habits. As these people share their experiences on social media, a consensus is emerging that kratom substitution is an excellent harm-reduction strategy for alcohol use disorders. And scientific research is beginning to back them up.

THESOBERHERETIC.COM

This person let 13 people do an online survey about their kratom consumption and alcohol abuse. This is the pattern he found:

All thirteen survey respondents reported that kratom dramatically reduced their consumption of alcohol. Of them, nine also reported that kratom eliminated their desire for alcohol, whether experienced as inclination or craving.

Here are some of the comments he got:

I was able to stop thinking about alcohol all the time. It is like kratom helped remove that obsession.

Kratom kills my desire to drink. I didn’t anticipate that, and only after using it did I research to see if I was using it properly.

When I use kratom, any amount, I just don’t want to drink. I didn’t expect this result. I was drinking when I started taking kratom, and slowly I just stopped wanting to drink. I don’t like the way it feels any more.

Kratom definitely helped with cravings. It helped me stay sober for extended periods of time, and I’m not sure I would have been able to do so without it. However, I don’t think it’s a magic bullet for alcoholism.

Kratom definitely helped with cravings. It helped me stay sober for extended periods of time, and I’m not sure I would have been able to do so without it. However, I don’t think it’s a magic bullet for alcoholism.

It primarily helps with cravings, but doesn’t really provide relief for anxiety in the same way alcohol does.

Kratom blocks the chemical need for alcohol and eases the person off dependency with a mild euphoric glow.

Kratom makes me feel in control of my body, unlike pain meds or alcohol that get me buzzed or high. I can work while taking kratom.

I felt “normal,” and stress-free, and FUNCTIONAL. Even more energetic and lucid.

It’s like it rewired my brain to not have an addictive mentality towards alcohol anymore.

Kratom saved my life.  I know I have a mild addiction to Kratom now, but it insignificant compared to what I lived with before.

Kratom saved my ass. Saved my career. My relationship with my fiance. Its a wonderful plant. Fuck the DEA and FDA for trying to ban this plant because it affects their pharma buddies’ bottom line.

I encourage you to go read the whole thing, it is the single best text I have found on kratoms effect on alcohol use (and I have looked around). There almost no studies on this topic — these online surveys and anecdotal resports are all we got.

I have combined kratom with a small-to-moderate amount of acohol about 5 times. There is no synergistic effect. It does not appear to be dangerous. In terms of euphoria and well-being, they counteract each other a little bit. When you drink alcohol, you lose the kratom “buzz”. Alcohol feels like a complete waste of time and money while on kratom. That is my personal experience. This happened every time I did it. I thought “Jeez why did I do this”, I just wasted that kratom”.

I want to include this postscript edit at the bottom of the post:

Postscript: Though people who have swapped kratom use for alcohol abuse tend to take doses of four to six grams three or four times per day, as I reported, new users should start much smaller. Jumping in at the same dose as regular users won’t kill you, but it could be unpleasant and make it less likely that you’ll respond well to the herb. In addition, because habitual kratom use does build tolerance, starting (and staying) at the lowest effective dose just makes sense.

THESOBERHERETIC.COM

I agree with this 100%. Keep in mind, the more kratom you use, the higher your tolerance becomes. But the key point here is that as long as you do the same dose every day, you will also get the same effect every day. But 7.5 grams of kratom does not produce 50% more effect than 5 grams. Because a higher dose means higher tolerance. 7.5 grams might bring on an additional effect of 25-35% (it’s really hard to say). You more out of it, if you do smaller doses.

I personally do 4-5 grams 3-4 times a day. I take it for chronic pain and can’t function without it. With it, I am a high functioning member of society.


Reddit Success Stories: Quitting Alcohol with Kratom

There are a lot of stories on r/kratom (kratom section of Reddit) of people who managed to stop drinking due to kratom. All I did to find them, was to search for “alcohol” on r/kratom. Here is a direct link to that webpage.

I picked the ones with the most upvotes. Keep in mind that every one of these posts have tons of comments with people saying they also quit drinking with kratom. This ends up being thousands of people only on Reddit.

***

It’s interesting the amount of people here who were alcoholics that were able to get off it with kratom

In many threads I’ll come across a comment that someone was once a heavy drinker and was able to quit with kratom. Kratom could be a very effective treatment for alcoholism which destroys people’s lives. And I actually know someone who passed away from alcohol withdrawal. In the future hopefully more research will be done to show why kratom helps turn people off from alcohol.

WELKYY ON REDDIT

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Raging Alcoholic or daily Kratom user… Easy choice

It kind of bothers me when I see people bashing Kratom on how it is addicting, starts off great but is the worst to kick, blah blah blah. I feel like most people saying those things have never had a true addiction prior to Kratom. Waking up and having to take Kratom is just soooooo horrible lol. I am not trying to down play their struggle but again it just adds gas to the fire to give Kratom a bad name.

I am 34 and was a raging alcoholic for 15+ years on brandy and whiskey. To the point I ended of with necrotizing pancreatitis, in the hospital 20 days and almost died. Not looking for sympathy by any means. All I am saying as compared to my situation with alcohol and others w bad Dope habits, Kratom is a God send. My life has grown a million times better, work, marriage, ALL of my relationships, gym, overall HAPPINESS! You know what disgusts me just thinking about it? Liquor. Never in my life would I thought I would live to speak those words.

I still have a lot of work to do but that is life. I am forever thankful for finding Kratom, stinks that I had to go through hell and back before I found it but that is my journey and im OK with it. I take kratom once a day, sometimes a few days off to have a better burn. It saved my life.

*Sorry for any grammatical errors I wrote this quickly. I had a few errors in a previous post and the grammar police who are PERFECT were very offended =)

ORIGINALDIDDY ON REDDIT

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Kratom has helped me have my first alcohol free evening in close to 10 years

So i have tried multiple ways to curbmy alcoholic ways.. for years now. Therapy, cutting down slowly, valium for the first week .. but it always feels forced and like i still really need a drink (consumes my mind) I jave been taking kratom once in the morning and once in the evening.. white for daytime, red for night.. i had a couple nights lessening my alcohol intake. I got 3 beers last night and for the first time in must be 10 years, i opened the can and went “fuck this, i dont even want this anymore” and tipped all 3 down the drain!! I had the urge to nip shop and get 4 beers this afternoon, instead i forced myself not to and had 5 grams of red thai and now 2 hours later it feels likei have zero draw towards alcohol..

Anybody else feel this way? I know it is good for opiate addiction.. but wow. I cant believe how this has made something i found near impossible 3 weeks ago seem effortless…

Love to all

PLUGNUB235 ON REDDIT

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I’m so damn angry at how kratom is viewed by ignorant people and the extreme hypocrisy between alcohol and kratom. And even worse, by law enforcement. It’s literally “Reefer Madness” all over again.

I feel like we are Victorian in our view on drugs. I’m not saying, “take all the drugs you want. Any time all the time, at work, when driving”…

I’m especially upset at the hypocrisy. The same people who view kratom as the same as heroin are usually the same ones who drink alcohol, or smoke cigarettes, or even cannabis. My biggest problem though is how law enforcement and courts treat it.

I just don’t understand. Every prescription drug we know is much less safe than kratom. I’m just amazed at how stupid people are. The way kratom is viewed really gives me little hope for the country. If we can’t consume a freaking leaf, we aren’t anywhere near free. And ironically, the people who want it illegal are the ones who complain about having to wear a mask.

Someone give me some hope on the future of kratom. It took almost a century before cannabis was normalized. I hope kratom won’t be the same. But all the information necessary to have an educated opinion on kratom is out there, but it’s counteracted by all the disinformation. Which is a whole other thing.

End of rant. Thanks for letting me vent.

LEGALINSCCCA ON REDDIT

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3 months alcohol free thanks to Kratom

Alcoholic for 8 years, starting at the age of 19. Nothing could tear me away from the bottle. Treatment, AA, blackouts, losing jobs, hitting “rock bottom” more times than I can count, etc. Started taking Kratom at night and my desire to drink is now mostly nonexistent. Haven’t had a drop in 3 months.

I hope this stuff never becomes illegal.

ANXIOUS_OCTANE ON REDDIT

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Took kratom for the first time ever tonight

And just.. wow. I broke my weeks long streak of getting drunk every night, and the best part is it was fucking easy. Effortless.

It’s extra weird because if I take other drugs, I’ll feel good, but that just makes me want to drink more. Like I’m always reaching for the next rung on the ladder.

But with kratom, I didn’t want to drink. Hell, I didn’t even want to take more kratom. I know kratom usage can have its own pitfalls, but holy shit it feels so good to not be drunk right now.

XD322 ON REDDIT

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There are so many more but this section has become too long already! For alcohol withdrawal, I would recommend a long duration green strain (can last 6-7 hours instead of 5) or a sedative and powerful red strain like Red Vein Borneo or Red Bali.

My personal favourite out of every kratom strain is RVB (Red Vein Borneo). The quality of the kratom is more important than the strain. Keep that in mind.


Kratom Addiction, Tolerance, Withdrawal, and Side Effects

This will absolutely be the most debated chapter on my website. I’ve never actually known a person that experienced poweful withdrawal symptoms when quitting kratom. The studies also do not find any — or very few — cases of significant side effects. I, personally, get no withdrawal symptoms at all. Like literally zero.

There is also an issue in what you attribute “withdrawal symptoms” and what is simply experience reality without kratom (which can be tough). Kratom can absolutely be mentally addictive, but I haven’t seen evidence of physical addiction — so far. Nobody seems to be denying that kratom can become a “crutch” and mentally addictive. The debate is regarding whether it is psysically addictive or not.

The medical industry has done several pushes to ban kratom in USA. Think about it. Why is there one single leaf in the entire wotld, out of thousands of trees, that they are trying to make illegal? Just one. Just one herb.

The obvious explanation is because it has cut into the pain medication industry. Every single person that tries morhpine/Benzos and kratom seems to prefer kratom. It is only the people that haven’t tried kratom that prefer the heavy painkilling drugs with a lot of nasty side effects and brutal withdrawal symptoms.

There are also reports of so called “kratom deaths”. But all of these people that were found dead that had kratom in their system had lethal doses of heroine or fentanyl! To date, nobody has ever been found dead with only kratom in their system.

Considering how many people use kratom in USA — 10- 16 million — and how many people that die every day, this seems to indicate that the risk of dying becomes close to zero when you have kratom in the system. Kratom seems to prevent death, since nobody who took kratom is ever found dead. Statistically speaking, this should have happened many times already.

But it didn’t. Because the big pharma sponsored mainstream media would have jumped all over it and turned it into national news. They would run that story 24/7 for weeks. But that story never came. Right? Am I right?

We know that kratom is anti-inflammatory, and this might explain why people who take kratom aren’t dying at a normal rate. Kratom also induces healthy behaviours; like personal hygiene, eating healhy, working out, socializing — and this would lowr mortality significantly as well. It seems to have this effect to a degree on most people. I experience it to a strong degree.

I wrote two posts on Reddit/Kratom on this topic which became viral a while back. The medical industry has a league of online people/bots who are trying to manufacture a consent that kratom is physically addictive, has brutal side effects, and strong abstinence symptoms. The medical industry fund these studies on kratom where the scientist only get future grants if they arrive at a certain conclusion.

That kratom is physically addictive and has dangerous side effects. But everyone who use kratom “on the ground” has never come across these side effects. Kratom is legal in 46/52 for a reason. In Sweden, where I live, it is legal to buy kratom but not consumes it… yeah. There is quite literally a “kratom conspiracy” which wants to make kratom illegal or reduce its use as much as possible. There have been several pushes to make kratom illegal in USA.

If you take kratom every day for 20 years and suddenly stop it is going to have some type of negative effect on the body. It seems to be in the realm of getting a cold, becoming irritable, maybe a rash somewhere, you know, what is really minor inconveniences. Minor symptoms.

The Kratom section of Reddit is quite literally flooded with anti-kratom messages. They all follow the same formula. Remember that I said I wrote two posts on r/kratom that went viral? I found them. Here they are in chronological order:

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There are a lot of paid liars on this subforum

I’m an experienced kratom user and I can clearly tell a lot of negative posts on this forum are by professional liers getting paid to post this. You have to understand that kratom is being targeted because almost everyone who tries it likes it more than traditional addictive painkillers. It is the biggest threat to the ENTIRE predatory opiate industry. And sny painkillers, really, even benzos. Since it reduces anxiety ad well.

The false posts follow a certain formula where they give almost no details, say something bad, and then something good so that you will believe the bad. They follow a formula, a cheat sheet. It seems, they are told to target the negative effects of opiates, since kratom targets those receptors.

You will see terms like “chasing the dragon”, “breating difficulties”, “cant sleep without it”, “cant stop using it, addiction”, so on. They are directly targeting the negatuve aspects of opiates. They commonly lie about the dangers of mixing it with other drugs, to scare people off.

This is called: “manufacturing consent”. They are trying to manufacture a consent on this reddit forum that kratom has very many negative sidd effects, just like OPIATES do. Kratom can be mentally addictive, but has a very weak physical addiction profile. Nicotine seems to be much more physically addcitive than kratom. Listen to the JRE episode of the “BIGGER, FASTER, STRONGER”, guy if you want go know more. I live in Sweden and kratom is barely legal here, the beauracracy around us astounding. Companies that try to send it here get harassed with paperwork until they stop shipping to Sweden. I have not met a person whos biology didnt agree with a moderate amount of kratom. Kratom is also anti-inflammatory which helps the entire body function better.

VANILLATHUNDERMAGA ON REDDIT

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My experience with kratom and tolerance

There is an information WAR going on right now with kratom. Why is kratom the only grounded leaf (among thousands) they are trying to make illegal? Because it works, kratom is slowly replacing the painkillers that cause heart attacks and liver damage.

A big part of this informational war, is branding kratom as a DRUG, and not a herb. One key aspect to this is trying to manufacture an online consent that kratom is physically addictive. Kratom might have minor addictive properties, but in my extensive experience and the people I know — it is not addictive at all. I haven’t noticed even a minor reaction or side effect when not taking it.

So, what is the relationship between kratom and tolerance? I did a type of scientific experiment where I took kratom exactly once a day at the same dose for 6 months in a row. I then incresed to twice a day. Then, 3 times a day. It generated the same effect every day, within those three timespans.

If you take kratom once a day, it stays active in the body for about 5 hours, and then you have 19 hours where the tolerance drops back down to the baseline again. For every hour you do not have kratom active in the body, the tolerance goes down. Does that make sense? It is related to when you took it the last time, and how much.

When I took kratom once a day, the effect was stronger than when I did it twice a day. But then when switched to twice a day, it created the same reaction every day without exception. THE REASON the first kratom dose feels stronger than the others, is that you have been sleeping without kratom active in the system which has been resetting the tolerance. My first dose always feels stronger than my second, and my third, even though I take the exact same amount.

This is the relationship between kratom and tolerance.

The good thing about kratom is that the tolerance does not go up if you take the same amount at the same time every day. You can follow the same schedule for years (I have), and the generated effect will not drop even by 10%. This why it is quite easy to self-medicate with kratom and it is uncommon that is escalates into abuse or dysfunctional behaviour.

I have taken too much by mistake and it makes you feel nauseous and dizzy. Not only is it not euphoric, it makes you FEEL like shit, a straight up horrible experience. There a mechanism built into the grounded leaf of kratom itself against over-consumption and abuse. You are punished for taking too much, right away, not rewarded like with heroin and other hardcore drugs.

My liver values are still splendid (as in better than average) and I am 100% healthy according to all the tests. We need more science and less online opinion keyboard warriors, who may or may not be spreading misinformation and collectin a paycheck. Think about it, why is kratom the only leaf they are trying to make illegal?

Watch A LEAF OF FAITH a good documentary on kratom by (BIGGER FASTER STRONGER) Chris Bell.

VANILLATHUNDERMAGA ON REDDIT

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The issue of physical addiction and tolerance runs at the core of the pro/anti kratom debate. That’s why the paid people/paid bots talk about it constantly. For this reason, you cannot trust the words of anynymous people online.

You have to go by people that you actually know are trustworthy. Every single story of brutal side effects from kratom withdrawal and abstinence comes from an anonymous person online. They are the “keyboard warriors” of the opiate industry.

Here is the trailer to Chris Bells documentary a leaf of faith. Here is an IMDb link.

Here is a very interesting 25-minute interview with the filmmaker Chris Bell (it is age-restricted and could not be embedded onto the site).

Chris Bell also made an appearance on the Joe Rogan Podcast which is not on Youtube anymore, for some reason. It was episode 876, and aired two weeks after I discovered kratom personally (a turning point in my life). I remember warching it carefully. It can be downloaded here.

***

You know something is fishy when one study finds 100% of users experience withdrawal symptoms, and another one finds that 9% of users experience withdrawal symptoms.

A study of heavy users in Malaysia who self-identified as “dependent” on kratom, found that 65% experienced mild withdrawal symptoms and 35% experienced moderate to severe symptoms. This is considerably more than the 9% of United States-based survey respondents who reported withdrawal symptoms.

VERYWELLMIND.COM

This type of extreme discrepancy of 91% does not happen with other non-political drugs. Because the science isn’t slanted or altered or corrupted — by special interests. And they are right. Kratom is a legitimate threat to the current pain medication industry. It truly is. With upwards of 16 million users in USA alone, damn right it cuts into their profits.

Further down the page we see this:

According to the U.S. and Malaysian surveys, symptoms of kratom withdrawal typically appear within 12 to 48 hours of your last dose and typically disappear within 3 days.

VERYWELLMIND.COM

Kratom withdrawal isn’t dangerous. In most cases, it is mild, like a bad cold. Unless you have special medical needs, withdrawing at home should be fine.

VERYWELLMIND.COM

So even according to the most dramatic and negative description of kratom, it is still much better than opiate withdrawal, which is like having the flu for two weeks. And opiate withdrawal is “a walk in the park” compared to the abstinence symptoms from Benzodiazepines (which can kill you and last for years).

I have a former drug addict living at floor 1 of my apartment building. He was having seizures constantly and had permanent damage from them because his doctor didn’t give him anti-seizure medication when he was going through benzo withdrawal. And he did not stop cold turkey, but decreased the dose by say 1/6 a month over 6 months.

My comment of “a walk in the park” was just for dramatic effect, I know for a fact withdrawal from hardcore heroin addiction is a living hell — that almost no one makes it through.

For a variety of reasons, it is very hard to objectively determine the withdrawal symptoms from longtime kratom use. Anedcdotal reports from many different sources point towards mild symptoms. However, kratom is mentally addictive and experiencing life without kratom is a pretty brutal side effect — to be honest.

If kratom is physically addictive, it is somewhere between coffe and nicotine. But it does not appear to generate the abstinence symptoms of nicotine.

***

I want to come back to a questionaire filled out by 500 substance abuse disorder patients (addicts) regarding their kratom use. Here is a link to that study.

Although less than 10% of patients reported negative side effects from kratom or drug preference for kratom, its benefits and risks are not yet fully understood. 

RESEARCH RECOVERY INSTITUTE

So less than 10% of addicts reported any negative side effects. But what was it? as it 9% or 3%? Either way, the prevalence and severity of kratom abstinence is the low end of moderate at the highest.

***

We have talked about addiction, we have talked about tolerance, as well as withdrawal. Are there any long term side effect of kratom? Kratom has been used for hundreds of years in parts of asia seemingly without harm. That does not mean it is harmless, it means there isn’t an overt, easily identifiable negative effect of kratom.

This also weeds out the potential for very long term (like 20, 30, 40 years) side effects, because some of these native people did kratom their whole adult life. We are talking 50 or 60 years of kratom use — in some cases.

Kratom was not made illegal because it had bad side effects, it was made illegal because it cut into the heroin trade. People leaned towards using kratom — which had no apparent side effects — as opposed to heroin or morphine. Now, the one “negative” side effect kratom does do, is that it makes you sleepy.

This really only happens at moderate-to-higher doses (which I have to take for pain management). But I do sleep a lot. When I take kratom, wait an hour, eat a meal, I often fall asleep if I am at my home. It is possible that I sleep 1-2 hours more every day because I do take kratom at a decent dose 3-4 times a day. So be prepared for that.

***

Two hundred and sixty-three people called U.S. poison centers in 2015 after using kratom-containing products, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Common complaints associated with kratom use included: a rapid heart beat, feeling agitated, or feeling nauseous.

EVERYDAYHEALTH.COM

The agitation and nausea are trademark results of a kratom overdose. Rapid heart beat is because you just took something and you feel terrible and you are calling the authorities. Kratom overdose if very uncofortable. It does not appear to be dangerous, but you do feel like shit.

I have overdosed on kratom 3 times (I think). Every time, it created the following side effects:

  • I became dizzy
  • My vision became unclear and “fuzzy”
  • I became wobbly, it was hard to walk in a straight line. Kratom does seem to affect the balance center of the brain.
  • A strong nausea that was impossible to ignore, like being carsick, or sea sick
  • A general feeling of discomfort

The dizziness gets worse if you move, so you want to stay still. Preferably lie down. You have to wait it out. Drink some water.

One of the best things you can do is to find a person who did kratom for a long time and sincerely ask them what their abstinence symptoms were like. There is a lot of false information online about “kratom deaths” to scare people from trying it. Kratom is a naturally occurring dried and grounded leaf that you can drink in a tea, as a shot, or in pills. It seems to affect most people the same way.


Kratom Health Benefits

This is the highest ranking Google article on “kratom health benefits”:

Health Benefits of Kratom

Research has found several potential health benefits to taking kratom: 

LIBIDO ENHANCEMENT

Kratom has been studied as a potential sexual enhancement supplement. Researchers examined several clinical studies and reported findings regarding the aphrodisiac effects of kratom. They concluded that kratom is an effective plant-based sexual enhancer.

PAIN RELIEF

Kratom comes in three different strains, which all are effective relievers for chronic pain. White vein, green vein, and red vein varieties provide pain relief by attaching to opioid receptors. One compound found in kratom, 7-hydroxymitragynine, is 13 times more potent than morphine.

Although kratom targets opioid receptors like morphine and codeine, it is considered an atypical opioid. Kratom selectively inactivates specific signals, which may explain the more tolerable side effects compared to typical opioids.

MOOD-BOOSTING

Kratom has many mood-enhancing effects. Reports show that kratom is an effective treatment for opioid addiction. It has been proven to help alleviate the withdrawal symptoms of morphine and ethanol.

Other studies show that kratom has potential as an antidepressant and a hunger suppressant. In one animal study, researchers determined that kratom lowers corticosterone levels in mice. Elevated corticosterone levels are associated with depression. 

HUNGER INHIBITION

In another study with rats, kratom supplementation suppressed hunger by inhibiting the hypothalamus, the part of the brain responsible for appetite and cravings. More research on humans is needed to examine if kratom has similar effects.

WEBDM.COM

The science shows that kratom has moderate anti-oxidant and inti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation appears to be at the core of every depression. Anecdotal reports among kratom users with rheumatism (like myself) also show a mild but reliable anti-inflammatory effect. However, it might also feel that way because you are no longer feeling the inflammation.

***

This scientific study showed clear antioxidant and anticancer functions of kratoms main ingredient mitragynine.

Conclusion: These findings revealed that the medicinal and nutitional values of mitragynine obtained from kratom leaves that grow in tropical forest of Southeast Asia have promising antioxidant and anticancer and chemopreventive compounds.

PUBMED.NCBI.NLM.NIH.GOV

***

Here is an article specifically about kratoms role in fighting various forms of cancer. It cites four studies that show significant anti-cancer properties of kratom.

The Kratom Alkaloid Mitraphylline Has Cancer Fighting Capabilities According To Multiple Scientific Studies

As discussed in a previous article on The Kratom Herald, Kratom has at least 31 different alkaloids. This article is about just one particularly remarkable alkaloid called Mitraphylline, which has cancer fighting capabilities according to multiple scientific studies.

In the first scientific study it was found that Mitraphylline inhibited the growth of sarcoma and breast cancer cells in a dose dependent fashion, and the scientists conclude that Mitraphylline is therefore a promising new agent that could treat sarcoma and breast cancer.

In another scientific study it was found that Mitraphylline inhibited the growth of glioma and neuroblastoma cell lines, and the scientists concluded that Mitraphylline is a promising agent for the treatment of glioma and neuroblastoma.

In yet another scientific study it was found that Mitraphylline, as well as the Kratom alkaloid Isopteropodine, inhibited the growth of lymphoblastic leukemia cells.

Thus, these scientific studies have proven that the Kratom alkaloid Mitraphylline inhibits a wide variety of cancers including sarcoma, breast cancer, glioma, neuroblastoma, and lymphoblastic leukemia. This suggests that Mitraphylline could possibly be a useful medicine for any type of cancer.

Logically, since Kratom contains Mitraphylline, it is possible that taking Kratom can have anti-cancer effects considering these studies. 

KRATOMHERALD.COM

***

This is the highest ranking Google article on “kratom and inflammation”. It talks about the many different health benefits of kratom.

Inflammation and Pain Suppressant

Kratom has some astounding anti-inflammatory effects, which do wonders to relieve users of pain. Pain is a character altering sensation, and ridding yourself of it has a myriad of health benefits.

The two compounds that contribute to Kratoms anti-inflammatory properties aren’t the two mentioned above – they’re Rhynchophylline and Epicatechin.

Aside from anti-inflammatory properties, Epicatechin is an antioxidant, antiviral, and antimutagenic compound. It doesn’t only work to reduce inflammation – it works to reduce the risks of cancerous growths.

Rhynchophylline, on the other hand, has different properties and is much more present in kratom leaves. It is an all-natural anthelmintic, antihypertensive, and antiaggregant.

Kratom’s regular consumption at a moderate dosage (3g-5g) could significantly lower the amount of acute and chronic pain alike.

SPA INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

Similar experiences are also shown in the community. Most people who take kratom seem to become healthier over time. It is worth mentioning that kratom induces healthy behaviours like socializing, working out, and eating healthy — so that is going to have some type of effect, as well. Kratom motivates you to do things you don’t want to do — but know you should do.

***

This is from a highly ranked kratom article on Google:

Why and how do people use it?

The main active ingredients of kratom are the alkaloids mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. There is evidence that these alkaloids can have analgesic (pain relieving), anti-inflammatory, or muscle relaxant effects. For this reason, kratom is often used to ease symptoms of fibromyalgia.

HEALTHLINE.COM

In my personal opinion, and extensive experience, the biggest “health benefit” of kratom is that it crushes stress and induces a deep trancelike sleep. You sleep better on kratom. You also sleep more, because it is so damn pleasant.

***

I take kratom daily and I am never sick. I went and got my blood tested and all my values weren’t just “normal” they were in the healthier end of normal. My liver values were especially good — so I don’t buy that kratom would be bad for the liver (as stated on some websites). I haven’t seen any scientific evidence or trustworthy anecdotal reports of liver problems. The native asians tribes who have used kratom weekly for hundreds of years also don’t show any apparent liver problems.

***

I also liked this article. It describes kratoms role in fighting inflammation, boosting the immune system, and increasing libido.

Some Benefits Of Kratom Powder

Kratom has been around for medical use since the nineteenth century. The tree is native to South-Asian countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea has bestowed its immense health benefits on humans. This article shines a light on the impressive health benefits of Kratom powder, made from the tree’s leaves.

KRATOM IS ANTI-INFLAMMATORY

Out of thirty alkaloids present in Kratom, two have notable anti-inflammatory properties – rhynchophylline and epicachetin. Patients suffering from inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, Crohn’s disease, etc. may find Kratom helpful for its ability to neutralize inflammation. Along with treating inflammation, Kratom can also decrease swelling and pain in the inflamed area.

KRATOM FOR IMMUNITY

To fight off common diseases like cold, cough, and other conditions, we need a robust immune system. Isorhynchophylline and isoptreropodine are the two essential alkaloids present in Kratom, which have the ability to boost the body’s immunity. Kratom is also known to regulate the blood pressure and improve the body’s urine and renal functions, adding up to the body’s resistance against odd conditions.

KRATOM FOR LIBIDO

Kratom might replace those petite blue pills people take for better erections. Kratom may improve the male body’s blood circulation, which directly and positively affects erection. Although no studies are illuminating how Kratom does it, or even if Kratom does it, locals from the South Asian countries where it’s grown strongly believe in this. They have been taking Kratom since the origin of time for better libido. 

WORLDHEALTH.NET


Kratom Strains

Here is a chart of kratom strains and their effect.

Chart of kratom strains and their effects. Effects described: energy, mood, pain relief, stimulation, sedation, relaxation. Scale is 1 to 10. Bali Gold. Bentuangie. Elephant. Gold Maeng Da. Green Bali. Green Indo. Green Thai. Green Ketapang. Green Hulu Kapuas. Green Borneo. Green Maeng Da. Green Malay. Red Bali. Red Indo. Red Thai. Red Ketapang. Red Dragon. Red Borneo. Red Horn. Red Hulu. Red Maeng Da. Red Sandai. White Indo. White Maeng Da. Yellow Sumatra.

The general effects of various strains are exaggerated. It is more important to have kratom of high quality — than what strains they are. That said, different strains have different characteristics. But it’s a bit overblown and a bit of a marketing ploy.

It feels so exciting to learn about all the different strains. But a lot of people couldn’t tell the difference if blindfolded. After a while, it all becomes water under the bridge. I bought a bunch of heavily discounted green kratom 8 months ago, I’ve been doing various green strains for 8 months in a row. It’s fine.

Here is a brief description of the three main kratom strains:

  • Red strains are the most relaxing & sedative (primary trait: sedation)
  • White strains are the most fast hitting & energetic (primary trait: energy)
  • Green strains are a mix of both and lasts the longest (primary trait: duration)

Here is a well-made infographic.

Infopgrapgic of kratom vein and their colours. RED VEIN: Sleep and mood enhancers, anxiety and depression reducers. WHITE VEIN: Stimulating and effective cognitive enhancer. GREEN VEIN: the mixed colour, longer duration, , suitable for beginners. YELLOW VEIN: not for beginners.

Here is another one.

Infographic of kratom types and locations. By Kratora quality ethnoboatanicals. Thailand. Malaysia. Sumatra. Borneo. Bali. Indonesia. Bali kratom. Malay kratom. Thai kratom. Indonesian kratom. Borneo kratom. Sumatra kratom.

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Here is a brief description of many popular strains. The most popular vein is Maeng Da, Red Bali, and Green Malay. Red Vein Borneo is also very popular (not listed below). Red Vein Borneo is my favourite out of all kratom strains, it gives a unique type of tingling buzz like a naked Norwegian angel is tickling your soul. I have not gotten this effect from any other strain.

Page 1:

List of kratom veins and their effect and suggested dosage. Bali. Maeng da. Red bali. Red vein thai.

Page 2:

List of kratom veins and their effect and suggested dosage. Red vein kali. Red indo. Green indo. Green malay. Green vein kali.

Page 3:

List of kratom veins and their effect and suggested dosage. White vein kali. White vein thai. White vein indo. White borneo. Super green malaysian.

One teaspoon is 2 grams. Three teaspoons would be 6 grams. The highest dose I have ever done is 7 grams, 3.5 teaspoons (or 1.5 tablespoon). 8 grams is overdose territory for me. Some people have hyper-responsive genetics and need a much smaller amount to reach the same effect. Keep that in mind.


Kratom Dosage

Generally speaking, the recommended dose depends on your age, sex, and health status. In a 2018 study based on a survey of 8,049 people who use kratom, most people reported that a dose of up to 5 grams of powder taken up to 3 times per day was adequate to experience effects.

HEALTHLINE.COM

Weight is a big factor as well, but twice the weight does not mean twice the kratom (remember that!). 5 grams is one tablespoon exactly. One tablespoon (5 grams) is a normal dose for an experienced kratom user. A heavy person with a high tolerance and many years of kratom use could probably do 2 tablespoons (10 grams), but I wouldn’t recommend it.

A first time user can do half a tablespoon, which is 2.5 grams. I would recommend staying within 0.5-1 tablespoon range. You want to take the lowest possible amount that does the trick. Half the kratom can give you 80% the effect, because the more you take the higher your tolerance becomes. Keep that in mind.

If you want to know how kratom tolerance works, read my “Kratom addiction, tolerance, withdrawal, and side effects” chapter above. I wrote two posts on r/kratom which went viral. The first one has 446 comments which is the highest I have ever seen on this subforum. It would be even higher if they hadn’t locked the thread so you can’t upvote or comment anymore.

You read this phrase a lot: “Kratom is used as a stimulant at low doses and as a sedative at high doses.” What I think is happening at a low dose, is that it relaxes the body and boosts your internal state which is experienced as a boost in energy. But it really just took away the pain of being alive — and this lead to increased enthusiasm.

Kratom does not give you physical energy, the way caffeine does. It makes you feel pleased, happy, and motivated, and this is experienced like a small energy boost — when really it is more of an internal state boost. Am I making sense? I am trying.

I find this phrase to be misleading. Stay away from extracts and all that unnatural stuff, there is no point in taking them. Kratom is strong enough as it is. There isn’t a lot of information on kratom dosage online, you have to rely on case reports if you want in depth information.


Kratom Ingestion

I found this great passage about kratom ingestion on practicalpainmanagement.com.

A Kratom Primer: Miracle Medicine or Herb of Abuse?

Although kratom can be smoked or insufflated, oral administration is the most common. This is due to high volume required and destruction of alkaloids during combustion with smoking or insufflation. The traditional preparation in Thailand is to chew whole leaves for both stimulation and analgesia. The leaves are extremely bitter, and require a large amount of leaves to achieve the effects.

Therefore, kratom is often served as a tea, steeped in hot water for extraction of the alkaloids, and addition of honey, peppermint oil, or lemon juice to cover the bitter taste. Some grind the leaves into a powder, which can be steeped as a tea, “tossed and washed” (placed in the back of the mouth and swallowed) to avoid taste buds, or mixed with olive oil. Powder may also be compressed into tablets or placed inside gelatin capsules for easy oral administration. Alkaloids may also be extracted with several multisolvent, heatless techniques available online.

PRACTICALPAINMANAGEMENT.COM

I’ve spent a lot of time on forums and reading case reports, and the vast majority of people either do the “Toss and Wash” method, or mix it with warm water and drink like a shot. This is usually followed with orange juice or lemon water. Anything that tastes something works, but ideally it should also be sour. Since the acidity helps break down the kratom.

The exact same effect is seen with magic muchrooms, lemon water makes the body absorb significantly more of the substance. Once time, I almost overdoses on dried magic mushroom powder because I took it with so much lemon juice. I let it sit in pure lemon juice for 5 minutes before I drank it. Lemon potentiates the mushrooms.

***

Many people have experienced that taking kratom with a full glass of water seems to increase the effect.

This might be placebo, or it could be real. A lot of people are mildly dehydrated, and a glass of water is going to help the body relax (seemingly strengthening the effect of the kratom). It might also give the stomach lining more surface area to absorb the kratom, since there is more fluid in the stomach. But don’t listen to me, it is just a personal guess.

***

There are some funny reports online of people trying to mix kratom with cold water, which absolutely does not work. Kratom will not mix with cold water. But warm and preferably hot — works every time. Let me take you through my routine.

  • So I boil a small amount water until it is hot.
  • I take three 5ml scoops of kratom which is almost exactly one tablespoon, or 5 grams. I put that kratom powder in an empty glass.
  • I put the hot water in there and mix it with a teaspoon. A normal sized water glass is only about 15% full at this point.
  • I take an ice cube from the fridge and put it in the kratom water mixture and move it around until it melts.
  • *conditional step* If I have no ice cube I put cold water into the kratom glass, or just wait 5-10 minutes until it cools.
  • I fill a water glass with filtered water and take (preferably) a fresh lemon and squeeze it. Sometimes I use the concentrated stuff, but the expensive kind. I also use lime sometimes.
  • Drink the kratom rapidly.
  • Drink the lemon water. Swoosh it around to get the kratom that is stuck between the gum and the cheek. Sometimes I rinse with water to remove the acidity which breaks down the teeth (over time).

I just made a very simple thing sound so complicated. Mix the kratom with warm water. Make lemon water. Drink the kratom. Follow with lemon water. That’s it!

***

Some people prefer capsules but there is a primal version of me that wants to feel the “foul” taste of kratom every time. It’s like that taste “kickstarts” my pain receptors to stop receiving pain signals. It has become a very strong positive association over the years. Even if my pain went away, I would still do kratom. But it would be more like once a day instead of 3-4 times a day. I am aware that I am self-medicating with kratom. Ideally, you should’t need kratom, but we do not live in a perfect world.

I saw a crazy guy online that would “parachute” kratom by surrounding it with toilet paper and swallowing the paper. This sounds like an absolutely terrible idea, there is nothing appealing about it. Yeah, let’s have a habit where I keep eating toilet paper. I mean!

Is there a method to toss and wash? Like I said I normally wrap my powder in a toilet paper square and then swallow with water. So how does one toss and wash?

DUMMYTHICCUWU ON REDDIT

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Here is a description of the “Toss and Wash” method as well as the “mixing” method.

Kratom Tea Preparation Instructions

TOSS ‘N’ WASH

This refers to when you just eat kratom. Toss and wash is quick, dirty, convenient, and a little gross, an exercise in mind over matter. How I toss and wash: place kratom in mouth, dry. It is very important that you accept the kratom in your mouth, accept that it is dry, and that you don’t involuntarily gag. Only once you have accepted the kratom, then start drinking water or milk, and try to drink the water to drink the water, only incidentally letting the water rinse the kratom down.

MIXING

Some people mix the powder of kratom with delicious food products. Applesauce, honey, or ice cream work well. My personal favorite is mixing kratom with coconut milk ice cream. Something about milkiness seems to cut kratom’s incredible dryness.

KRATOMSCIENCE.COM

You can also mix it with yoghurt. Here is a whole article on the “Toss and Wash” method. The other method is to try to make it taste good. Chocolate is rumored to be an especially good masker of kratom taste.

***

Here are two Reddit comments on kratom ingestion:

I’ve tried all sorts of mixers and by far my favorite is just warm-hot water (between 140-170F, any hotter and it’ll start to nullify the effects, colder and it’ll be more likely to clump up) with about a tablespoon of honey and 2 good squeezes of lemon or a capful of apple cider vinegar. Some strains are just just tolerable, but most strains are actually good in the same way that black espresso or strong green tea is.

You could also pick up a capsule maker, the ~$30 starter kit from herb affair makes 24 capsules each press and includes 1000 gelatin capsules, each 00 capsule holds about .5g.

DNGL2 ON REDDIT

Orange juice completely removes any taste. It doesn’t take much either. An ounce of oj per gram is enough.

CAHUPRIO ON REDDIT

If you don’t know what to do, just mix the kratom powder with warm water and drink it fast. Follow with water, juice, or something with taste. My dad brushes his teeth after taking it to remove the taste.


Where to Buy Kratom Online

Scandinavia: Scandinavian Speciosa

I live in Sweden, so if you happen to live in Scandinavia, I would recommend Scandinavian Speciosa — they are Googles nr1 organic search result for “kratom Sweden” in Swedish and the nr3 search result on “kratom”. They score that high because they are good company. I have ordered from them for a while now. Cheap, very high quality, ship fast. I haven’t found a downside so far. They are the biggest kratom vendor in Scandinavia.

Last summer, they had a summer sale with stupidly low prices, we are talking 40% off their already low price, so I bought a batch and tried it to make sure it was good. And then I bought about 10 pounds of kratom, which is about 4kg. I have never bought a batch from them that turned out to be low quality, this has happened in other online vendors.

I stopped ordering from my favourite dutch kratom vendor because I ordered a 2.2 pound bag of precious Red Vein Borneo — that turned out to be impotent. It was kratom alright, but it lacked all the active ingredients. I would get strong overdose symptoms on just a tablespoon (5 grams) but none of the positive effect. It was terrible! Took me some time to figure out what was happening.

I explained everything to this company over email and they said they would replace it — but they never did. So I stopped ordering from them. Had to throw away 2.2 pounds of kratom, it sat on my shelf for a couple months before I could make myself do it.

Kratom has become almost a spiritual experience for me. I feel like it opens up the deeper structures of my brain. If you have a problem with this vendor, please send me a message so that I can stop recommending them.

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USA: Kratora

When I search for “buy kratom online usa” on Google a bunch of kratom vendor review sites shop up at the top. The highest scoring individual vendor is “Kratora” with the domain buykratom.us.

I have six websites, I know how hard it is to land in the top 10 on Google on competitive search terms. Anybody can buy an ad, but scoring high on organic search results cannot be manufactured. It cannot be bought. Because your website has to deliver consistently over large spans of time for Google to like it. They appear to be legit.

Kratora have a 4.6 average on Trustpilot, with 1418 reviews. 87% of reviewers gave them the highest grade. Their prices are higher than the Swedish shop, and the biggest package they have is only one pound (454 grams). Bigger packages is better if you order large quantities. If you order from this company and have a problem, please contact me so I can stop recommending them.

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Europe: Kraatje

The highest ranking website on Google for “order kratom online europe” is kraatje.eu. They have 4.7 average on Trustpilot with 1517 reviews. That is a high average, and since less than one person in a thousand leaves a review on Trustpilot after an order — that is a lot of orders. 50 grams of powder is about 15 euro which is 18 dollars. You can buy 1 kg (2.2 pounds) for 177 Euro (212 dollars). The capsules are about 20% more expensive, which is reasonable. The price is higher than the Swedish vendor, but reasonable.

They also have a 9.5 average on valuedshops.com with 5196 reviews in this writing moment. Valuedshops.com appears to be a dutch review website for online shops, just like Trustpilot is for the English speaking world. Great reviews, good website, and pretty good price. If you have a problem with this vendor then contact me.


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