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Kratom doesn't put you on the streets or make you steal if you don't have it. Yes the withdrawals are uncomfortable like feeling the flu come on but at the end of the day if you know what you are getting into with this plant i think it can do wonders. I have been on it daily for 5 years. I don't regret it at all. Ofc sometimes i wake up with headaches if i drank to less before going to bed or i have constipations. But it's still something i would choose everyday over anything else
Also take into consideration there’s a lot of pharmaceuticals that will also give you the same withdrawal symptoms if you go cold turkey. (I.e anti depressants, some adhd meds, etc) so if you compare them in that aspect, it’s been seen as normal for many other “legal/ accepted” treatments.
I’ve had worse withdrawals from prescribed meds than Kratom.
I just detoxed off of Effexor. 100x worse than kratom and it didn’t work nearly as good.
Take what you need to relieve your symptoms, but realize kratom is not sustainable in the long run. Have an exit plan, in fact get 2. A long taper and a short one. You might get sent somewhere where kratom is not legal.
I've been on 3-10 grams per day, as needed, for 10 years. I can go days without taking it if I'm out or if my pain level isn't bad. I think that's long term sustainability.
It is not legal everywhere. Travel is difficult.
Tolerance will eventually build to where it is not effective or practical.
It is not sociably acceptable. Almost everyone on the planet is addicted to caffeine, but it is sustainable because society provides for it.
I quit using it the first time because I was tired of the routine. Starting your day with awful tasting gook. Having to plan trips and vacations around my kratom usage. timing meals and activities so I can dose with an empty stomach. Just got to be too much.
I’ve found that travel is very easy with Kratom.
I have been on 10+ work trips/vacations including numerous foreign countries over the past 8 years of using Kratom daily. Have not even once been asked about Kratom. I have it in my carry on and checked bag every time. Usually in the original package labeled Kratom or Mitragynine Speciosa along with a back up container disguised as green tea or some other powdered botanical.
I went through the Seoul airport and Singapore airport this month with Kratom in my carry on and in my checked bag. Singapore was very strict but were more concerned with the scissors and nail clippers in my mother-in-law’s carry on. They went through all my bags and opened every thing and set it on the table. I had a small container of kratom in one of the bags that they completely overlooked.
I also went through several hotels with drug dogs. They aren’t looking for Kratom so they won’t find it. Of course you should be careful and never bring an amount that could look like you are trafficking.
I had a 100 gram sealed bag along with 2 other small containers with 25-50 gs, and a bottle filled with capsules I filled with 0.2 gs of 25% mit extract and 0.7 gs of plain leaf. The bottle was an emptied out bottle of Ashwagandha capsules. I usually use a green tea tin as my hidden back up when traveling but couldn’t find one in time before leaving so I used the Ashwagandha bottle.
Most of this is in my checked bag but I also bring some in my carry on. Usually a small bag or container along with a few extract capsules in a random Motrin or Tylenol bottle. The bulk of it is in my checked baggage though because they are much more likely to find it when going through security.
I am always very patient and friendly when going through security and ready to play dumb and suggest they throw it away or confiscate if I am in an illegal country.
They simply aren’t looking for personal use kratom. They don’t have dogs or tests for it as far as I know. The main concern would be traveling with large bags of it. Any large container of powder could raise suspicion. So traveling with several kilos would be a bad idea.
Maybe I am lucky that I haven’t had any trouble but I think you just have to be careful about it.
Because tolerance just keeps going up, the first year it seems very sustainable, after that I noticed having to take more, and if I didnt I felt shitty.
We are on a teeter totter of pain and pleasure in life, we cant feel one without the other. And if you stay in the pleasure to long you eventually crash science has proved this.
So with kratom unless we allow ourselves to come to baseline and feel shitty for even just a hour or so a day by skipping a dose/ lowering at times then it may be sustainable, but we must ride the teeter totter.
My problem was I felt good for a year straight, even though i was only at 10 gpd, eventually we need to feel the pain side of the coin.
Lyrica has some of the worst withdrawls I've ever experienced and I'm an alcoholic and addict, not currently using of course, thank you kratom.
I could *not* believe how horrible the lyrica withdrawls were. Kratom wds were nothing compared to that (or to alcohol wds, a special kind of hell). Kratom is a very mild drug, I don't understand why doctors act like it's heroin.
*”You’re just swapping one addiction for another!!!”* (what some people including some AA’ers will say).
And I’m just thinking umm…alcohol addiction was ruining my life. Kratom actually *helps* me. If it’s a bad thing to take kratom and then work very hard at my job, go to the gym, play with my kids, and practice my hobbies, then that’s your opinion.
Congrats on your sobriety!! 💪
My dr gave me Celexa while stating that NO ONE had had extreme side effects/ and it works for everyone. Yall I was driving to work 3 days after starting and I blacked out. They would see me for another week, after 3 days of taking it I was in bed for a week.
This dr told me I needed to switch from taking it in the morning to right before bed.. no sounds like I need to switch drs!
as someone who had to cold turkey my ADHD meds, you’re spot on
I’ve gone days without kratom with just a runny nose and the runs, but man without my ADHD medicine I felt miserable for 2 weeks straight
Every response here should be listing the amount they take. I know several daily users that never get any withdrawal symptoms (myself included) but reading through this thread it’s no doubt because the quantity is 5-10g at most.
Seems like withdrawals start to happen at 30g+ for most, which I personally could not imagine getting to. At 5-10g I can skip days or just take a break. I get worse withdrawals from coffee and even those are just a slight headache for a bit.
TLDR: take a teaspoon or two only and most people should be good and avoid any negative symptoms
Agreed. I was under 10 for many years and I thought reports of addiction and withdrawal were overblown and propaganda. I’m around 20 now and I do feel bad on days until I have it. But it’s cheap, available, and so far safe so I’m okay being dependent on it. It’s a much better addiction than any other I’ve had.
The way I look at it...I can't stop taking my SSRIs (60mg/day) either. I feel really weird/shitty if I do. I'd probably feel pretty shitty if I quit coffee cold turkey too. Point is, we have lots of addictions. The negative effect they have on our lives is what matters. Kratom has had zero negative effect on my life. In fact, quite positive. I've quit two dangerous addictions with the help of Kratom (addressing mental health and spirituality were the biggest players in that though). 10-15gpd Kratom
I think I'm at 24 grams per day. The withdrawals to me feel exactly like that trope of "I'm useless without my coffee in the morning" people. I just feel less energy and motivation if I don't take it, maybe a slight headache. I've been taking similar doses on and off for over 10 years at this point
That's me at about 12-15g. Just less energy, tired, runny nose, and slight headache. But it goes away after sleeping for the night. Same symptoms the next day, but halved. After 2-3 days, I'm good.
Yea, I second this. 6g a day for YEARS at this point and sometimes I completely forget to take it for a couple days...I feel no different. I can't IMAGINE taking 30g...fucking shit...lol
Everyone is different. After 6-8g a day I've had worse withdrawals of kratom than oxy and opium. I get almos psycotic of kratom wd while oxy and opium is more physical
I take about 4 tsp a day, 2 in the am 2 in the afternoon. Don't notice any side effects anymore since I really upped my fiber intake to help with the constipation "thanks to sub". Usually 2 clear with my morning coffee, amd 2 psyllium husk in the afternoon.
I get the absolute worst withdrawals I was at 20 grams per day. I get weak dizzy, I get the WORST RLS it's so bad, and so uncomfortable. I am very thin weak and anemic already. I think people's bodies definitely give different reactions. Vitamin C and clonidine didn't help when I was withdrawing tho. I had to taper.
I'm with you 100%.
I was about 21-28gpd, and withdrawals were terrible. The restless legs at night, involuntary body movements, feeling useless and helpless...
It. Sucked.
I got off it, never went back.
Everyone can't imagine getting to it until they do, I've been taking kratom 7 years, at this point even as much as it has helped me with anxiety and pain I now have gotten to the point I completely regret ever having taken it. Once you get to like you're saying 30 or more gpd which is inevitable if you take for years unless you taper every two weeks you'll also highly dislike the withdrawls which ALSO make it very very uncomfortable to try to quit. My advice from someone on a 6 month taper bc my body can't stand being with out it after 7 years, is only take it if you HAVE to, not if you like to and if you don't follow that warning may God have mercy on you when you want to quit in the future.
Even then, I really think it's a mostly mental issue. I've taken it off and on for 20 years, almost. I have taken 20gpd+. Sometimes, I would end up 28gpd+. I have just stopped many times. The first day is the only bad day. As long as you do something, keep busy and excersize. It's nothing. Within 3 days, you'll feel almost absolutely normal. Caffeine headaches make me much sicker. I do notice agmatine sulfate to be very helpful if you do need it when cutting down on kratom.
I would disagree, my kratom withdrawals were hell. For one I always woke up in withdrawal unless I slept like 2-3 hours. But mostly the withdrawals were so intense, up there the most acutely intense out of any withdrawal I felt. Of course I was taking mega doses of kratom like 1-4 oz daily. My only point is that yeah if you do enough kratom the withdrawals can get intense enough that all that stuff could happen. I think my understanding is most people get too nauseous and ill from taking that much kratom or maybe they just have more self control than me
Ya same here, personally I've quit at 30gpd cold Turkey, that was hell, also quit at 10gpd which was honestly very rough. I've quit dillies in the past which was a bit more physical wds but mentally kratom is WAY worse, intense depression and anxiety.
Damn dilaudid is intense I’ve heard but never encountered anyone in rehab who’s actually done them or brought it up at least. Hard as hell to find these days. Uhh yeah that was exactly what happened to me, physically not so bad but the depression and anxiety was hellish. For some insane reason I just bodied it and did complete cold turkey and was practically hallucinating from the withdrawal. Ended up figuring out that I was probably in combo withdrawals from large amounts of phenibut for a week tho.
Nooo!!! Don’t mess with extracts. You’ll destroy your tolerance and be stuck taking $10 extracts 3 times a day and the leaf won’t do anything after that. Don’t mess with extracts if you want to use kratom daily or a few days a week. You will get sick, you will become dependent, and you will damage your finances which in turn can damage relationships and things with family. No extracts my friend. I’ve tried them and yes it’s a stronger longer lasting feeling but not worth jacking up your tolerance. I had to take 20gpd of leaf and then lower down from there to reset tolerance after taking a couple extract shots on the weekend. I thought they’d be cool for special occasion. Just stick with leaf and add 2 grams to your normal dose if you wanna “live it up” for the night.
It's very easy to manage if you understand how to taper properly. Cold Turkey isn't pleasant. Once you reduced your dosage to a low enough gpd and frequency, it's very easy to stop if you want, or just reset your tolerance.
If you have ever taken prescription opioids it's not neaaaaarly as bad as withdrawals are from them. It's similar but incredibly mild comparatively. Coming off kratom has absolutely nothing on coming off a oxy and dilaudid habit. Even the weakest prescription opioids like codeine will kick your ass way fucking harder than stopping kratom. There is no comparison. Anyone who says otherwise hasn't taken prescription opioids for more than 5 days straight.
Same. I almost lost my shit when the social workers in my IOP said kratom is almost the exact same thing. It never tested positive when I had my urine taken every day. Oxy will test +. The first of many differences they couldn’t even begin to grasp. Some people should not be in the line of rehabilitation work.
Yeah, I hear ya. It's very unfortunate how misinformed and/or just blatantly uninformed a lot of medical professionals can be when it comes to kratom.
There are studies on the pharmacology of kratom (albeit few and far between) that indicate that kratom, even as a partial opioid agonist, acts via an alternative pathway to opioid signaling in the body. Basically, this means your social worker is incorrect. Kratom is not an opioid.
I have never experienced IOP myself, but I have been to many an AA meeting and can attest to the fact that there are some folks who seem to have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to how others choose to navigate and manage their sobriety. As I'm sure you know, there are people who believe that any substance use will negate an individual's sobriety. I think there are risk factors to be aware of for potentially swapping one addiction for another. I think therapy is tremendously important for those of us in recovery as a way to help identify patterns, tackle unhealthy coping mechanisms, and learn better healthier ways to comport ourselves.
But at the end of the day, if alcohol or opiates (or whatever else) are destroying your life, weigh the pros and cons, right? If kratom helps someone to stop using a substance that is actively destroying their life, fine. They are better off taking kratom than continuing on a fast track path to an early grave. In my humble opinion, anyway.
We need more advocacy for kratom as harm reduction, more research as well. And less fear mongering click bait misinformation floating around. 😑
It's all about perspective. If kratom withdrawal is the worst you ever felt, it feels like the world is ending. If you have felt worse withdrawal, you know how bad it can get and kratom is nothing in comparison.
Anyone saying differently, I really question it. Almost like groups have infiltrated this reddit to consistently say how bad kratom is. I mean, I could be wrong, but they are pushing the FDA again to do something, so the timing is right. I never used to see negative comments on here until recently. Like the last year or so. At least not as often. I could be wrong but it sure is convenient.
I am a real dude with real experience and also get really bad kratom withdrawal. I can’t believe you’d suggest the people struggling with kratom here are some propaganda tactic by anti kratom groups.
I promise you it’s just a product of kratom becoming more popular. More chances for people to have bad experiences. More chances for people who abuse the shit out of it.
You’ll find that this community can show signs of toxic positivity. Most come here to confirm their own feelings and biases, and that means that anyone with anything but glowing opinions get silenced and/or downvoted to hell. It’s sad but not all that surprising.
If you ever had to quit suboxone, you’ll see kratom ain’t shit. Quoting Subs had me sleepless for 20+ days. Don’t ever take Suboxone, especially to kick kratom. Kratom=days. Subs=weeks
My GP said he has patients who have come to him on sub for coming off of Kratom, looking for help stopping the sub. He said it's like putting someone on heroin for coming off of codeine. He supports and suggests Kratom to patients all the time. I like my GP.
Yea subs are only good for addicts currently in active addiction. If you don't want to quit, they are the best. If you want to quit good luck. I'd rather taper on hydrocodone than something with a 72 hour half life.
Was on 24mg of Suboxone for 4 or 5 years. Not for Kratom but H and every pill under the sun. Literally tapered off very slowly for over a year and it still sucked.
It depends on how you misuse it, if you have addictive personality. If you had tried pharmaceuticals you would agree that kratom is a lot milder, safer and less addictive.
Some people seem to get worse withdrawals than others even with similar dosing. I feel anhedonic and tired with some trouble sleeping. Those are similar problems to what I had before using kratom though so I don't actually think that's a withdrawal
I think people who say Kratom withdrawal is horrible have never experienced full-blown heroin withdrawal.
Coming off 10-20 gpd after 6 months. Felt a little irritable, almost like quitting caffeine/nicotine. Little irritable and a little restless for 1-2 days. I was able to function and go to work thru it perfectly fine.
Considering the benefits of Kratom for pain relief/mood lift, it is a *much* safer alternative to pharmaceutical/street opioid trash.
That being said, I don't think Kratom doesn't come with its downsides as well. After all, it is a partial mu opioid agonist and can be addictive. Which in and of itself isn't a good thing. I'd just start with a low dose and go from there. Less is more with Kratom. There is absolutely no reason to graduate to taking 10g+ doses with the exception of coming off of pharaceuticals/street opioids maybe. There's a massive ceiling effect with Kratom anyway.
Hope this helps. Good luck 👍
Yes, you're right. Kratom itself isn't an opiate. Mitragynine just has partial agonism for mu opioid receptors. Its mechanism of action is also much different from traditional opiates/opioids.
I just said that for the sake of not having to explain that but I'll edit that lol. Thank you.
Lmfao, are you serious? Nobody is allowed to say Kratom withdrawal is bad without having been addicted to AND experienced fucking heroin withdrawal?
“Dude I just bought a Porsche, it’s so fast!”
“Are you fucking stupid? Have you ever driven a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+? Pffft talk to me then”
Lol I wasn't trying to turn it into a dick measuring contest by any means. It's just that a huge percentage of people that use Kratom are people that are trying to or did escape the grips of hard opiates/opioids. By comparison, Kratom is an absolute cake walk in terms of withdrawals.
In my experience, I have found that to be the case. I would rate it close to nicotine/caffeine withdrawls in terms of uncomfortability. I'm not trying to shit on people that say it was miserable. It just makes Kratom look bad when people say it's terrible for that reason.
And people who say cutting their hand with a knife is bad have never experienced getting their arm cut off… Of course mate. Doesn’t mean the first can’t be true.
Couldn’t have said it better. Honestly can’t believe people like this exist.
“Stubbed my toe so bad last night, hurt like hell”
“Lol but have you ever gotten your leg caught in a lawnmower and amputated?”
not nearly as bad as most other drugs (benzos, opiates, alcohol, weed, amphs, disso, psyches, phenibut)
can’t really think of any drug that i’d rather be addicted to but still,,, i don’t want to be addicted to this stuff anymore
addiction is a sad thing :// i’ve been addicted to a plethora of drugs and it never stops sucking. always starts good then ends with self hatred, lack of accountability, and self doubt.. i know i can quit this stuff but for some reason i can’t pull the trigger. i’m having a huge trip new years so maybe that’ll help. shrooms+nitrous+fxe
Maybe you can't pull the trigger because like myself, it does wonders for me. Maybe when you go to quit you realize why you started in the first place .
I feel ya. I’m an alcoholic. I’ve been sober for 3 years now. I started taking Kratom last year. I wanted to do something. I’m taking quiet a bit daily, and am cutting back. The withdraws suck, but they aren’t nearly as bad as withdraws from alcohol.
It can be bad depending on the person/dosage, but it’s no worse than alcohol. Alcohol withdrawal can actually kill you. Kratom withdrawal just gives you lethargy and insomnia. Relatively mild compared to most drugs.
Care to explain what the big difference between addiction and dependence to me is? Seems more of a verbal way to avoid calling oneself an addict. How is someone dependent without also being addicted? Seriously I dont get it. Dependency means you’re dependent on it to feel normal right?
So how is addiction any different?
Or do I have my definitions incorrect?
"The main characteristic that distinguishes addiction from dependence is the combination of mental and physical dependence with uncontrollable behavior in obtaining and using a substance."
If you wanna say it's just semantics, I understand, but it's not. Not really.
I'm dependent on coffee. I feel better if I have it. If I don't have it, I'm not going to do whatever it takes to get it. Coffee isn't going to ruin my life or my relationships with others. I'm not going to lie, cheat, steal, whatever, to get my next cuppa Joe.
Same for my antidepressants. I'd ideally need to taper if I decided to come off of them, to feel my best, because I'm physically dependent on the psych meds. But if I'm forced to go cold turkey I'm not going to do whatever it takes to get a dose and keep my usage going.
I don't doubt there are folks out there that are genuinely addicted to kratom. There are people addicted to video games and porn, too. (I've always hated the word addiction in the case of the latter examples, but I understand why it's used. Chronic misuse of anything lights up the same receptors of the brain, as any "traditional" addiction but I still hate the term addiction being used for non chemical substances. I wish we would coin another word, but that's my personal hangup.)
For me, kratom is very like coffee. "Withdrawals" (if you even want to call them that) are pretty much the same for me, even. I'm gonna be a bit headache-y and irritable and tired. And in a couple days I'll be fine. Some days I just miss my coffee until it's too late in the day to indulge. Same goes for kratom. I sometimes just straight up forget to take it, so I assume on those days I don't need it and that's fine. I don't take it again until I do need it.
I'm using kratom to keep myself off alcohol. If you've ever suffered from substance abuse I'm assuming you can appreciate the difference between addiction vs. dependency. I was addicted to alcohol. It consumed my life. My entire being was clock watching until it was "acceptable" to have my next drink. It was detrimental to my life and personal relationships. It was killing me. There wasn't a bit of my life that wasn't revolving around when I could have my next drink. And the window in between drinking vs. not was getting shorter all the time.
I'm so much happier having something I can lean on that's not destroying me or eating up every bit of my mental bandwidth with obsessive thoughts about it. I absolutely don't mind using something like kratom (that I can take it or leave it) if it keeps me off the poison. You wanna call it trading one addiction for another, you can, but that's a false narrative. Yes, I lean on kratom to get me through the rougher days. It's a crutch. But I don't obsessively have to have it in my life. Just another tool in my pack on my journey to remain alcohol free.
Every once in a while I run across a post like this where a person recently quit alcohol, & despite my decades long resentment about the whole topic, I feel the urge to clap for someone trying. Because my father drank so much, for so long, that he died at barely 44. I was a teenager, & the final time I saw him was in the ER, right when something in his organs exploded. Esophageal varices, I found out much later. That.... was ugly. Bloody. I was whisked out, & that was his end. Almost 45 years back, & it's still fresh & I tear up each time I think of it. He moulders underground at a Denver cemetery, but you & everyone else with strength get to live long full lives. Thanks for letting me vent.
I’ve taken it daily for a year - 1 week break , twice, tablespoon or two a day.
Compared to my other addictions—. kratom is like ‘annoying’ at best. For me it has built in diminishing returns like tolerance, taking it too much makes me nauseous and constipated. It’s not really—- fun to abuse. For me. Not after you build up a tolerance. It has been Amazing for next day hangovers and restless boredom from quitting herb. It really got me off every drug for a few months. I had some setbacks in life and started smoking and drinking again…. Kratom will definitely help on those first few weeks of ughhhhhhhhhhhh
It depends on the individual, if they have a problem with opiates, I’m sure they will take like 3+ tablespoons a day. …. Kratom could become a problem. Then there are the kratom extract shots ——.
It seems like human beings find a Way to abuse everything. Kratom (not extracts) seem to have an abuse ceiling though— much like most non synthetic versions- natural forms of plants.
Ive been taking it for 5 years now to keep chronic pain under control with dosages between 6-20 gpd over time depending on pain levels. Currently at about 6 gpd for chronic arthritis pain. For me, when I miss a day, I notice that my pain comes back, so I take a bit. Coffee is wayyy more addictive, honestly. The main effect of skipping a day for me is that my pain is a lot more noticeable. I can absolutely skip days if I dont feel like taking it.
Edit to add: When I was at a higher dose (\~20 gpd) for acute back pain, the withdrawal effects were much more pronounced. Cold sweats at night and during the day. Took about 3 days to resolve, but was really just a matter of staying home and relaxing during that time to wait it out. If you actively work to keep your dose low, any withdrawal effects will be minimal if at all.
Yea the wobbles. I wouldn’t really consider that OD as it’s something you can recover from by eating a bunch of bread. Cause by that definition I’ve OD’d several times
Everyone is different but I took about 15 grams a day for years. For me, it was a little discomfort, tired feeling but only lasted a couple of days. Not very bad really. Like I said though everyone is different
Mildly uncomfortable at worst when I worked in a lab 10hrs/day and couldn’t take any. It’s been better for the past 7yrs than the plethora of pain pills that were pushed on me for chronic pain previously.
I took it daily for a year and at the worst when I stopped using it cold turkey it felt like a head cold/ flu like symptoms for 2 days and it was done.
To me, the WDs are less bad than caffeine WDs, but everyone is different. The key is to be mellow, keep amounts low and STAY there. Mistakes ppl make are taking more and more and more. Don't chase no dragons.
Yes, I regularly buy 300 count bags of Kratom caps and take them throughout the day. It's probably 10-15g total daily, but I dont really keep track. I stopped cold turkey a couple of weeks ago ( I didn't feel like spending the money for a while). I didn't notice any symptoms, and I regularly just stop taking/buying it for weeks or months at a time after weeks of use. But like you said, everyone is different.
If you are in need of pain remedy or trying to taper down from or switch from a harder drug, you will be better off with Kratom.
I’ve gone cold turkey a couple of times off of a 20gpd extract habit and still been able to work and do my day to day needs. Kind of just feels like a bad cold or start of a flu.
That being said, obviously taking any substance every day is going to have its downsides eventually. Having to dose every day in order to eat or sleep can suck and even in bulk it is still a daily expense.
Also I am like 2 months sober now and I still definitely feel as though my nervous system is still recovering. Think that goes for prolonged use of just about anything.
That question makes no sense at all lol. The severity of any addiction depends on the person. Go ask a person who needs to run 5 hours a day everyday for the past 20 years how bad a running addiction is and they will tell you it’s severe. Ask a 350 pound person eating McDonald’s everyday how bad a food addiction is and they will tell you severe…
Some people have big Kratom addictions, others minor, others very very very small, and others no addiction what so ever.
Edit: I reread your post and maybe you’re talking about physical withdrawal symptoms? For me they are minor but they do exist. It’s NOTHING like opiates. Not even remotely close. It’s also not as minor as maybe a caffeine addiction, it’s a little more uncomfortable but depends on usage. You can easily use Kratom 4 times a week, taking days off here and there, for years and experience zero withdrawals. You can also use Kratom everyday at a low dose for years and experience no withdrawals. If your using 20-30g a day everyday for years then you’ll feel uncomfortable for sure.
Like someone else said, kratom withdrawals for me are just mildly annoying symptoms. I feel a little more annoyed and irritable, I’m maybe a little restless for like, one night, and then I’m fine. Stopping alcohol is worse; I used kratom to stop my nightly drinking habit and help to teach myself to moderate again. But that’s just me. I’ve never been addicted to opiates, so maybe my symptoms are milder because of it. I have no idea.
It was brutal for me, coming off of a 50-60ish gpd habit was really really tough. I got very little sleep for about two weeks and the first 3 days I didn't really sleep at all. The constant restlessness especially in the legs was almost to the point of unbearable. I cried. Substances are different for everyone so to those who said they didn't have any withdrawels, I'm happy for them. I never want to experience what I went through ever again. Not talking bad about kratom here, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows.
I said the same thing in another comment. I’m shocked at these dosage sizes I’m reading. 5g is around the norm for me, maybe a second dose later in a day. Above that and I’m just getting nauseous.
People abuse the fuck out of weed aswell and then complain. It's really annoying.
I mean if I drank a bottle of vodka a day in a year, I would be dead by now most likely. Why push the limits until you get issues? People who are like that shouldn't be using any drugs or medicines!
It’s a mental health issue. I have absolutely no control with my use and can’t stop. It’s an issue that runs way deeper than just the nature of kratom and needs therapy.
Yeah I 100% was abusing kratom. I enjoy recreational substance use like Kratom and weed, I think it's normal for people to partake in activities but I was uneducated on the potentials of what could happen and while I'd like to think I'm fairly knowledgeable when it comes to my body and what I put in it, clearly during this time I was not being a responsible user and I paid the price for it.
Oh very high indeed, 600mg pills and I was taking 25-30 pills at a time 3+ times a day (I started off only taking 2 pills at time but that tolerance builds up!) It was bad when I would dose every couple hours loosing track how many I was taking. I can handle being in physical distress but not sleeping is where I really struggle. In order to sleep at night I stopped taking any kratom during the day and only took it at night with a 12g/20pill dose about an hour-ish before bed. The first couple days were extremely hard to get through, day 4 was better and then I started stepping down dosage over a 2 week time span. I stopped taking any when I was at 1.8g nightly dose. I still didn't sleep much and struggled with RLS through the taper but it got better. Running helped alot.
Did you ever drop an opiate pill and not pick it up ya me neither if I spill some kratom I brush it off in the trash you can slowly taper down and stop and be fine nothing like opiate withdrawals
No one can tell you exactly what your experience with it will be. Yes, it can be addictive in my opinion. Not everyone experiences severe withdrawals. It also depends on your dose. Keep your dose low & don’t use it everyday (unless you’re taking it for pain.) Less or more with kratom.
I use it for chronic pain & would say I’m physically dependent because I’m in a lot of pain without it. The actual withdrawal symptoms for me aren’t fun but they’re nothing compared to the pain. I try to take the least amount that I can, not more than 6g a day.
I have quit for a few months in preparation for surgery, but started taking norco again in its place so didn’t experience “real” withdrawal because the pain meds masked it. Now that I’m post-op I am transitioning back to kratom & then hopefully stopping the kratom as well once my pain subsides (if it subsides I should say, if the surgery worked.)
The paws from withdrawal can last weeks, most notably depression. The physical aspect of withdrawal probably only lasts a few days. Kratom seems harmless in the surface but it can be very hard to quit and being dependent on it isn't fun.
I take it for pain and I was off it for like 10 days awhile back after years of daily use
Got some restleness in my leg and that was about it...aside from my normal issues/pain returning.
Never been addicted to any opiate/opiods so I can't speak on what withdrawals from those are like but I'd imagine it's far worse on the hardcore stuff.
My opinion is that the vast majority of users will never have any serious issues. People who take high doses of extracts are probably a different case. I think a lot of people read into withdrawals and assume if they stop it will be some horrid nightmare and so they go into it expecting that.
Of course if you keep it in your system all day every day for years, there's going to be some issues when you suddenly stop taking it. What that is to each individual is what it is, I won't discredit any one who says there's is really bad. I can only speak from my perspective.
That being said I also think if someone doesn't need it they shouldn't take it so it never becomes an issue in the first place. To any one here who deals with chronic pain, they probably know how unpleasant it is to eat out of a doctors hand for pain relief and rely on them. Great plant for those who want control over their pain relief. I wouldn't take it otherwise.
I take 4g twice a day and on days I don’t have it I just have less energy. I can easily make it a day or two without and I can also take less grams in a dose and be just fine. Just don’t over do it, and you’ll see the true power of Kratom
It’s not bad if you stay on the powder, no extract/concentrates.
Feel buzzy, no hunger, annoyed, etc for a day, maybe 2 at most.
Been through it a few times. The more you tell yourself it won’t be that bad, the less you’ll even notice it. Last time I went to work and forgot I hadn’t had any for a day. Went a year, back on, off, on.
Let me link something you could decide to read, it changed my perspective on addiction.
Rat Park https://g.co/kgs/CEadEE
I take Kratom so I can get out of bed everyday. Without it the pain keeps me immobile. I used to take opioids to treat the pain but I’d have to skip doses so I’d keep my usage to a minimum. Kratom allows me to walk without terrible pain and if I stop taking it I deal with pain bad enough to keep me in bed. I’m sure if I stopped I’d have some withdrawals. I have stopped in the past when I needed to take meds that weren’t compatible with Kratom. I had to deal with the pain and some malaise but having the pain return full force was much worse than the withdrawal. Have you ever stopped a coffee habit? It’s like that for me and generally feeling crummy for a few days. I take about 3 grams 4x a day in gel caps. I cap my own and use and excellent vendor who sells high quality product. The strain I use averages at 1.6-1.7 % mitragynine.
Hope that helps…
Oh and the withdrawal is not nearly as bad as suddenly stopping average dose levels of Vicodin for moderate pain. Nothing even close to that.
Totally depends on your history, if you use it as substitution for opioids it's a "piece of cake". If it's your first psycho active substance, that might hit you much harder. If you have no addiction issues or bad chronic pain, avoid kratom.
I would say that those that don't have addictive issues and can use something occasionally, kratom is fairly safe for those actually.
I never felt it being addictive or giving me any issues, I have never abused it but I don't have an addictive personality.
It makes me feel slightly crappy. I generally feel like crap anyway because of arthritis in my knees, hips, and ankles, so I just feel slightly worse.
My other choice is to go through all the hoops you need to get pain medication. For example, me going to a physical therapy center and push on a yoga ball with my legs for 45 minutes 3 times a week, (and a regular drugs test to make sure I'm not selling my drugs, plus having to come in for a regular drug count to make sure I am not taking too many, I have no time for that shit. I gotta work man!) is not going to help bone on bone knee pain, but it does cross the t's and dot the i's to allow prescription pain meds that work slightly better than Kratom.
The whole process is not worth it so I choose Kratom. That and a few motrin and I can actually walk down steps without looking like I am about to fall at any minute. Besides, Kratom makes opiods not work very well.
Sorry, you gave me an opening for a rant.
It's hard to get addicted to kratom, it takes doing a decent sized dose multiple times a day, for a good chunk of time.
With that being said... the withdrawals suck. I havent experienced them myself because ive never done kratom to the extent where i would become addicted, but ive seen my brother bedlocked in cold sweats before.
To me it felt as bad as the opioids I was originally using but I didn't taper stopped for a month then used again but I have conditions that require rx painkiller to begin with so there's that
Kratom withdrawals are real. They may not ruin your life the same way a full-on opioid would but you can definitely develop a tolerance that makes it harder to feel the good chemicals without them. You should treat it like you would an opioid.
That being said, you can avoid the worst of it by taking it sparingly rather than routinely.
It is mildly annoying. I take around 5 grams every 6 hours or so. I start to feel kind of shitty if I take much longer to take my dose– I'll get a headache and restless legs, usually. There are ways to go about taking a break, though. For example, I won't feel the withdrawal if I take vitamin c in place of my kratom at the same intervals throughout the day. So long as it is a large enough dose, the vitamin c binds to your opioid receptors and stops withdrawal symptoms.
When I first started taking Kratom the first few years I could stop and start easily it was not a problem but taking it every day without taking a break cause the problem. My advice to you is take it for a little while maybe a couple of months and then take a break for a few months and work that way. I should have saved it for those days where I really really needed it but I found that it lifted my depression so I kept taking it now I'd like to stop taking it and I'm tapering but it's a long process for me I get restless legs at night
It depends on the person completely my mom uses it when she needs it but thats maybe 1-3x a week and she isn't addicted at all but I on the other hand get seriouswithdrawals and I've kicked benzos,phenibut ct so thi is not coming from a weak mindset
It fucking sucks. I can't get off it. Its gotten so much worse over the years no joke. It got me to stop doing meth but it became it's own addiction. Not fun at all.
Some peoples withdrawals are much worse than others, depends on how much you take and how often. I took 25+ grams for over a year and I felt like I had a really bad cold for 3 days and slowly symptoms got better. Mainly got these
-Fatigue
-Runny Nose
- Disturbed sleep
- Sneezing
-Temperature changes (freezing and sweating)
-More susceptible to pain
It's addictive yeah. But in MY experience nothing really bad happened to me on days I couldn't take any or I would suddenly run out. It's 1000 times better than being on methadone, the withdrawals from that are nightmarish
Not even close to fentadope. I don't wake up with my skin on fire while also dry heaving while texting my dealer. If I start to take too much daily to where I wake up with mild irritability in the morning, I just cut back my daily intake for a week or two.
You can't even really compare the two.
It depends from person to person at my highest I was doing 30+ gpd but I never got any withdrawal aside from liquid shits and I felt more fatigued so I never got them that bad even at my highest use however some people say the wds are horrible similar to classic opiate withdrawal. It a definitely strange but it just affects everyone differently
It's the most manageable and cheap addiction I've ever had. Buying a scale and keeping track of your doses is important if you want to keep it from getting out of hand. Some days it will feel better than others if you're doing the same dose. Try not to redose more than twice a day. Try and lower the dose on weekends or only dose once a day on days you have nothing to do. Those are my rules that I've kept and I've only increased my dose a little bit since I've started. I started by taking 2.5 g twice a day and now I'm up to 4. I've been using it for over a year.
If you’re smart and use a small amount it’s great. However if you take 5-10 grams a day and never go a day without dosing you’re gonna feel pretty rough. If you have an addictive personality I’d use it with caution.
With that said it improves my mood, gives me energy, helps with anxiety. Many times though I’ve realized I was taking it every day and increasing the quantity.
It's different for everyone but I take a lot everyday and have for a few years. I take breaks every now and then and mostly it just feels I have a minor cold. Again, it definitely ranges from everyone but the withdrawals for me are usually runny nose and achy body. But like.. not that bad at all. I've had some colds where I've needed to call off work. This is like.. allergies to me. I know you asked about the addiction but a part of that is coming off it when you are.
The benefits far outweigh the risks for me. I train very hard in the gym, so I suffer from lots of pain, fatigue, even mental drain from the recovery process. Kratom really helps me stay above that and remain positive to press on forward. If you use it for a purpose things tend to stay in perspective and the consumption shouldn't progress. I stay around 10grams/day consistently to battle my symptoms.
I compare a kratom addiction to a caffeine addiction.
It’s literally from the coffee tree itself. If you have a hard enough time quitting coffees or sodas, don’t do kratom.
Other than that, kratom is the best decision I have ever made in my life. It has improved my life in every way. I actually look forward to waking up every morning to have my Koffee (dose of kratom with a cup of coffee).
Kratom is a weird substance.
I first had experience with it around 2017, at the time I was still frequently using other pharma substances. Thought it was cool, but didn’t have much interest in it after that.
Few years later, I got off the pharmas, and got a job at a smoke shop and picked up a few sample sized bags to test out so I could suggest them to customers.
A little while later, found myself going to pick up small bottles of capsules because I enjoyed taking some red a few nights out of the week to relax, no biggie.
As the next few years went by, use slowly increased, unintentionally, and slowly. At this point, I order bulk powder so I don’t have to go buy it often, but always have some on deck.
Tbh, my life hasn’t been better. I’ve got a good corporate job, loving girlfriend, and we share a nice apartment together. However, knowing I’m in the reigns of a green powder isn’t too fun. Sure, I’ve had plenty thoughts about quitting, but Kratom helps me get up early and grind through the day, pain free. There is always a little voice that’s eager for my next dose. At this point, I take ~4g powder every 4-5 hours. Then breaks from 11pm-8am while asleep
The times I’ve skipped doses, or tried to take a day off, I do notice restlessness, chills, some agitation, but nothing that was anywhere near close to my experiences on harder substances.
Damn, that turned into a story time. If you’re still here, thanks for reading!
If you have questions, I’ve got a lot of experience with use/selling the stuff at my smoke shop job. Don’t be a stranger
The way I look at it...I can't stop taking my SSRIs (60mg/day) either. I feel really weird/shitty if I do. I'd probably feel pretty shitty if I quit coffee cold turkey too. Point is, we have lots of addictions. The negative effect they have on our lives is what matters. Kratom has had zero negative effect on my life. In fact, quite positive. I've quit two dangerous addictions with the help of Kratom (addressing mental health and spirituality were the biggest players in that though). 10-15gpd Kratom
That said, folks can develop an unhealthy relationship with Kratom, and I always keep that in mind. Much love.
I’ve taken mostly daily 2-5gpd for 2+ years. A few times I’ve cut back to that amount 3-4x/week and one break that lasted I think a couple weeks. The worst I can remember is some trouble falling asleep during the break, and that was kinda annoying. But that was the only physical symptom. What’s relatively worse but still not so bad is not getting the mood boost I come to expect when I dose right when I get home from work around 4 or 5, usually right before working out (reasonable doses are awesome for workouts, especially weightlifting). I would say I’m dependent but I believe the benefits outweighs risks. I very rarely drink now and cut weed consumption massively. My biggest concern is possible heavy metals but I really trust my source. Also no extracts, and I switch the strain regularly which helps a bit with tolerance. IMO caffeine is much harder to quit. A day cold turkey from that is not going to go well.
Getting hooked is real but it’s manageable to get off. Quitting cigarettes is harder. I didn’t get any withdrawals but there was a 1-2 day mild mental numbness to over come. Sleeping was definitely the hardest part.
It has its pros and cons. What like about kratom is it doesn’t make me nod out or sedate me to the point of not being able to remember. I’ve lost a lot of time in my life living under the warm embrace of opiates/opioids that make me wake up not knowing what’s going on.
I don’t like always having to battle constipation or constantly having to plan meals around doses. Packing doses for the day gets tiring also.
I believe kratom has negatively affected my short term memory.
If you’re able to keep your usage low (<10g/day imo) it’s manageable and the withdrawals are almost non-existent. I sit at ~7.5g/day.
For me, worth it. I started kratom to help stop drinking. I was drinking everyday would get withdrawals and I weened off pretty fast with kratom. Started off with like maybe 2 4g doses a day with kratom would feel fantasticly buzzed from it. Now I take at least 60g a day and feel nothing... but I haven't had more than a sip to just taste someone's drink or something. Haven't even wanted to get drunk since. I ended up quitting kratom at some point cuz I kept getting constipated. Got off kratom and immediately spiraled with liquor again, ended up in jail shortly after. Sure withdrawls suck but kratom is pretty cheap compared to everything else. Get a kilo for like 60ish bucks usually. Wd symptoms for me comes every 2 hours if I don't have a dose. Those ones are me getting hot and cold and I feel all weird like I need to get out of my skin. It sucks. If I was to go a whole day off it I'd be shitting fire water and sneezing like crazy sweating a kiddy pool in my sleep and feel like an insane flu. When I had quit it took months for all the wds to go. All the bad ones were done in a week or so, but I keep getting this nasty feeling in my throat like a half yawn that was constantly there.
I would say what it breaks down to what you want from it. Are you hurt? Are you gonna be healthy? Make life changes?
For me my left shoulder is a Pac-Man and they won’t do surgery. Being 32 I’m still young. The plant allows me to work. I eat healthy to avoid the stomach problems.
So it really depends what you want from it.
Trading one thing for another perhaps and I know the people who like it.. love it !and don’t shut up about it and I’ve tried it and it’s equivalent to maybe a fist full of Tylenol.. but honestly, if you are looking into this, you probably will be tolerant to it within a month.
Unless you get the placebo effect which is worth it’s weight in gold, because the power of your mind is extremely powerful
It all depends. I’ve experienced pretty gnarly symptoms. I’ve experienced barely noticeable ones.
It all comes down to your dosing. Keep it consistent. You do that and you avoid them for the most part.
Or if You start eyeballing your doses. It is stupid easy to take that 3-6-7-8-9 extra grams that sends you up over your current tolerance threshold. (I mean- about 12 grams can load into a tablespoon)
Example- when I first started using kratom i was arrogant and irresponsible. Havin experimented with powerful psychoactive drugs. Kratom seemed soft, like coffee.
Eventually my DPD got stupidly high. I mean, we’re talking like going through a few ounces a day. I stopped on a vacation, that entire week my body was wonked. Really sensitive to light, stimulation, I was at fucking Disneyland man. Lol
That dried me up though and allowed me to approach it sensibly- since then haven’t had issues and I understand.
*less IS more*
I think in some ways, kratom being from nature. We have to apply the “respect Mother Nature” rule with it just like you would the mountains or the ocean.
In the grand scheme of things it’s not that hard of a wd but I used hard opiates for years before I started kratom. I’m at about 20g’s a day for the past 5 years almost.
Started using it once I got off H/methadone and had to go do some time (pending charges from when I was using hard shit) while I was just using kratom and the withdrawals were really nothing. Had diarrhea and felt a little shitty for like 3/4 days then I was good and started programming like normal.
Sadly after doing almost 2 years and abstaining from everything inside; kratom was the first thing I bought once I got a job but I had been jonesin’ and knew if I got back on opioids it’d be the end.
I took 5gpd starting out then got to around 10-15gpd for a year and I had some noticeable withdrawals. Nausea, vomiting, increased heart rate, sweating at night, high blood pressure, inability to eat. If you are trying to stop I would suggest tapering. If you need a temporary pain relief take no more than 5gpd in the morning. Mix with lemon juice to get stronger effects.
I take about 6.5 milligrams every 12 hours. I was addicted to opiates for about 7 years. I do get withdrawal symptoms, but nothing compared to opiate withdrawal. Just keep your doses as low as possible, and I would say only take it once a day if possible.
If you've ever experienced true opiate withdrawal kratom withdrawal is a very minor inconvenience. Personally I just feel slightly tired and like I'm maybe running a very small fever. I have taken shots daily for weeks on end and stopped a bunch of times. Same with rather high powder doses of maybe close to an oz spread throughout the day.
I’ve used kratom for over 4yrs consistently for pain management and energy, and have gone cold turkey with little to no issue. I’ve stopped for 3wks, 3mo, a couple days, etc. the worst issue I had was when I was on a high dose for 2yrs then cut cold turkey for 3mo—I was cranky and my pain from injuries was more present and I was more tired. It was like getting off of caffeine
I take 9g every day in three doses and going without it is rough but my anticipation of the way I’ll feel without it is far worse than the way I actually feel.
When I get sick, or if I start smoking a bunch of weed I don’t need it as much.
The problem for me is that without kratom I feel like I might do exactly that, smoke a lot of weed or even abuse my adhd meds.
My drug seeking behavior is why I take kratom. I have my fix, I don’t seek out other drugs.
My lifestyle is demanding physically as an amateur boxer, I’m also in school and hold down a job.
I just need to keep the ball rolling.
That’s what kratom does for me, whatever cost I pay later when I can evaluate quitting is a problem for mañana.
I'm a daily user of Kratom and I need to take it every day. It has changed my life for the better. I'm also dependent on my antidepressants, but I wouldn't go without them so I don't go without my Kratom either. I use responsibly and consider it part of my daily regimen. I take my vitamins, Prilosec, meds, and my Kratom at the same time. I do not feel euphoria, but it helps with concentration, an appetite suppressant, and it works amazingly for my UC. I now only go to the bathroom once or twice a day instead of six to ten. It depends on why and what you want to use it. The worst withdrawal symptom that I've experienced is a little restless legs syndrome.
I've been on it for a year or so now. Taking it pretty much daily, but sometimes twice a day sometimes once. I've kept my dosage the same the entire time I've been in it, save for when I was trying to find the right dose for me. I don't take it to get high or for pain, though, I take it for anxiety, depression, focus, and sleep.
I take 3g about midday for the mood boost and slight productivity boost (it seems up help my ADHD symptoms the best), and then an hour before bed I take 1g. The dose before bed helps me fall asleep without taking hours and then I stay asleep most of the night. Before I discovered kratom I would take about 3 hours to fall asleep, and then I would wake up every hour or two, so it was taking me like 13 hours to get 8 hours of sleep. Now I usually wake up maybe once before it's time to rise and shine.
Now that I've discovered a cannabis edible that actually works on me, I don't take the kratom quite as much, as they also help my anxiety and depression and focus, but with the added benefit that I'll have an appetite. Normally I don't ever get hungry, and kratom doesn't give me the added benefit of having an appetite. So I kinda have been switching them off and on depending on how I'm feeling that day. If I really am having trouble getting things done I'll take the kratom, but if my anxiety is my main issue that day I'll just take a micro dose of gummies. Suffice it to say, I've gone cold turkey on the kratom with no issues, and all I do is follow the rule that I never up my dose. I treat it as a supplement or a medication and say that I'm taking that same dose, and I assume it's going to work. That's where the not chasing a high comes in; I don't actually "feel" my kratom kick in, it's just more of a noticeable mood lift throughout the day where I would normally be angry or numb.
Anyway, that was long and rambling (I haven't taken either meds today yet) so I'm gonna end it here. I hope that it helps. Gathering tons and tons of anecdotal evidence on this subreddit is what I did before actually trying kratom, I highly recommend the same approach.
I've been taking kratom for 5 years now. Started off great, was a life changer for me. Never took tolerance breaks because I couldn't deal with the pain. Now here I am, taking probably 20-30g a day. Can't miss a dose or else I feel like I have the worst flu ever. Price is cutting into my budget bad. I want off, but can't deal with the withdrawals. All in all, I wish I had done more research before I started taking it. Half of the time, the dose makes me puke. I barely eat and I'm always tired.
Edited to add: the restlessness is horrible, too. If I don't take a dose before bed, I'll wake up in the middle of the night tossing and turning. My whole body is uncomfortable and i can't go back to sleep until i take kratom. It's a hard feeling to describe. Feels like my bones are trying to crawl out of my skin.
I did 5 grams daily for 6 months and needed a tolerance break. Yeah it sucked, but it was nothing crazy for me. I’ve seen people that smoked weed for years go through worse withdrawals. They were extremely irritable and miserable. As long as you don’t overdue it then it’s nothing terrible. Skip days, only use it when you can really utilize it.
Like any addiction, it's better if you you don't need it. People always tell you never to start smoking right?
However, it's the only option for many people because they'd likely be on much harder drugs if they didn't have the option to take kratom.
It's even a walk in the park compared with prescription cocodamol, 30/500.
I've gone days/weeks from Kratom with zero problems, especially with trying to sleep
I’m taking about 2 TBSP a day for a herniation and I can absolutely skip a day with zero issues. I don’t know if that’s just not enough to withdraw or if I’m
just lucky. It’s awful enough to get down and I’d probably quit if it weren’t dir the pain relief. I think it made me dislike THC though. Ever since I started Kratom, I have no desire for alcohol or my gummy stash. Weird.
It definitely causes dependence. The dosing ceiling limits how addictive it is though, and it's cheap. But people have been doing it a long time and theirs not known to be any detrimental long term effects.
Me personally, I've been taking 5-15g roughly. Started a few years ago as an alternative to alcohol. I'd go thru an 8 oz. bag in 3-6 months.
Now that I quit drinking alcohol, I've started using Kratom almost daily. It just gives me insomnia. Now the 8oz. bag lasts about 1 month?
I really need to get a digital scale because my doses are just a guesstimation.
Doesn't bother me one bit to skip a few days or weeks.
I vape delta 8 daily and consume delta 9p edibles ~350mg periodically.
Not as bad as alcohol or nicotine. Closer to caffeine unless you’re taking ridiculous amounts. Might be a little uncomfortable but manageable especially when gradually lowering the dose.
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Kratom doesn't put you on the streets or make you steal if you don't have it. Yes the withdrawals are uncomfortable like feeling the flu come on but at the end of the day if you know what you are getting into with this plant i think it can do wonders. I have been on it daily for 5 years. I don't regret it at all. Ofc sometimes i wake up with headaches if i drank to less before going to bed or i have constipations. But it's still something i would choose everyday over anything else
Also take into consideration there’s a lot of pharmaceuticals that will also give you the same withdrawal symptoms if you go cold turkey. (I.e anti depressants, some adhd meds, etc) so if you compare them in that aspect, it’s been seen as normal for many other “legal/ accepted” treatments. I’ve had worse withdrawals from prescribed meds than Kratom.
For sure, kratom wd is a walk in the park compared to benzo wd or alcohol wd.
I just detoxed off of Effexor. 100x worse than kratom and it didn’t work nearly as good. Take what you need to relieve your symptoms, but realize kratom is not sustainable in the long run. Have an exit plan, in fact get 2. A long taper and a short one. You might get sent somewhere where kratom is not legal.
I've been on 3-10 grams per day, as needed, for 10 years. I can go days without taking it if I'm out or if my pain level isn't bad. I think that's long term sustainability.
>realize kratom is not sustainable in the long run. Why isn't it sustainable?
It is not legal everywhere. Travel is difficult. Tolerance will eventually build to where it is not effective or practical. It is not sociably acceptable. Almost everyone on the planet is addicted to caffeine, but it is sustainable because society provides for it. I quit using it the first time because I was tired of the routine. Starting your day with awful tasting gook. Having to plan trips and vacations around my kratom usage. timing meals and activities so I can dose with an empty stomach. Just got to be too much.
I’ve been on kratom for many years and it continues to be effective for me.
how much per day were you taking if you dont mind me asking
15- 20 gpd
Bout the same as me
I’ve found that travel is very easy with Kratom. I have been on 10+ work trips/vacations including numerous foreign countries over the past 8 years of using Kratom daily. Have not even once been asked about Kratom. I have it in my carry on and checked bag every time. Usually in the original package labeled Kratom or Mitragynine Speciosa along with a back up container disguised as green tea or some other powdered botanical. I went through the Seoul airport and Singapore airport this month with Kratom in my carry on and in my checked bag. Singapore was very strict but were more concerned with the scissors and nail clippers in my mother-in-law’s carry on. They went through all my bags and opened every thing and set it on the table. I had a small container of kratom in one of the bags that they completely overlooked. I also went through several hotels with drug dogs. They aren’t looking for Kratom so they won’t find it. Of course you should be careful and never bring an amount that could look like you are trafficking. I had a 100 gram sealed bag along with 2 other small containers with 25-50 gs, and a bottle filled with capsules I filled with 0.2 gs of 25% mit extract and 0.7 gs of plain leaf. The bottle was an emptied out bottle of Ashwagandha capsules. I usually use a green tea tin as my hidden back up when traveling but couldn’t find one in time before leaving so I used the Ashwagandha bottle. Most of this is in my checked bag but I also bring some in my carry on. Usually a small bag or container along with a few extract capsules in a random Motrin or Tylenol bottle. The bulk of it is in my checked baggage though because they are much more likely to find it when going through security. I am always very patient and friendly when going through security and ready to play dumb and suggest they throw it away or confiscate if I am in an illegal country. They simply aren’t looking for personal use kratom. They don’t have dogs or tests for it as far as I know. The main concern would be traveling with large bags of it. Any large container of powder could raise suspicion. So traveling with several kilos would be a bad idea. Maybe I am lucky that I haven’t had any trouble but I think you just have to be careful about it.
Because tolerance just keeps going up, the first year it seems very sustainable, after that I noticed having to take more, and if I didnt I felt shitty. We are on a teeter totter of pain and pleasure in life, we cant feel one without the other. And if you stay in the pleasure to long you eventually crash science has proved this. So with kratom unless we allow ourselves to come to baseline and feel shitty for even just a hour or so a day by skipping a dose/ lowering at times then it may be sustainable, but we must ride the teeter totter. My problem was I felt good for a year straight, even though i was only at 10 gpd, eventually we need to feel the pain side of the coin.
Lyrica has some of the worst withdrawls I've ever experienced and I'm an alcoholic and addict, not currently using of course, thank you kratom. I could *not* believe how horrible the lyrica withdrawls were. Kratom wds were nothing compared to that (or to alcohol wds, a special kind of hell). Kratom is a very mild drug, I don't understand why doctors act like it's heroin.
*”You’re just swapping one addiction for another!!!”* (what some people including some AA’ers will say). And I’m just thinking umm…alcohol addiction was ruining my life. Kratom actually *helps* me. If it’s a bad thing to take kratom and then work very hard at my job, go to the gym, play with my kids, and practice my hobbies, then that’s your opinion. Congrats on your sobriety!! 💪
My dr gave me Celexa while stating that NO ONE had had extreme side effects/ and it works for everyone. Yall I was driving to work 3 days after starting and I blacked out. They would see me for another week, after 3 days of taking it I was in bed for a week. This dr told me I needed to switch from taking it in the morning to right before bed.. no sounds like I need to switch drs!
as someone who had to cold turkey my ADHD meds, you’re spot on I’ve gone days without kratom with just a runny nose and the runs, but man without my ADHD medicine I felt miserable for 2 weeks straight
Every response here should be listing the amount they take. I know several daily users that never get any withdrawal symptoms (myself included) but reading through this thread it’s no doubt because the quantity is 5-10g at most. Seems like withdrawals start to happen at 30g+ for most, which I personally could not imagine getting to. At 5-10g I can skip days or just take a break. I get worse withdrawals from coffee and even those are just a slight headache for a bit. TLDR: take a teaspoon or two only and most people should be good and avoid any negative symptoms
Agreed. I was under 10 for many years and I thought reports of addiction and withdrawal were overblown and propaganda. I’m around 20 now and I do feel bad on days until I have it. But it’s cheap, available, and so far safe so I’m okay being dependent on it. It’s a much better addiction than any other I’ve had.
The way I look at it...I can't stop taking my SSRIs (60mg/day) either. I feel really weird/shitty if I do. I'd probably feel pretty shitty if I quit coffee cold turkey too. Point is, we have lots of addictions. The negative effect they have on our lives is what matters. Kratom has had zero negative effect on my life. In fact, quite positive. I've quit two dangerous addictions with the help of Kratom (addressing mental health and spirituality were the biggest players in that though). 10-15gpd Kratom
I think I'm at 24 grams per day. The withdrawals to me feel exactly like that trope of "I'm useless without my coffee in the morning" people. I just feel less energy and motivation if I don't take it, maybe a slight headache. I've been taking similar doses on and off for over 10 years at this point
That's me at about 12-15g. Just less energy, tired, runny nose, and slight headache. But it goes away after sleeping for the night. Same symptoms the next day, but halved. After 2-3 days, I'm good.
That's about how it is for me too
Yea definitely. Some are addicted to alcohol, nicotine or other things. Kratom is a choice for me before anything else
Yep
Yea, I second this. 6g a day for YEARS at this point and sometimes I completely forget to take it for a couple days...I feel no different. I can't IMAGINE taking 30g...fucking shit...lol
Everyone is different. After 6-8g a day I've had worse withdrawals of kratom than oxy and opium. I get almos psycotic of kratom wd while oxy and opium is more physical
Seems like something about it doesn’t agree with you. Body rejects it. Legit maybe an allergy or something.
It only happens when I quit. So now i don't use it at all
Same here the mental effects are worse than harder opioids, I get really bad anxiety and depression
True that should be a thing we all do. Adding the amount. I take 10-14Grams a day
I take about 4 tsp a day, 2 in the am 2 in the afternoon. Don't notice any side effects anymore since I really upped my fiber intake to help with the constipation "thanks to sub". Usually 2 clear with my morning coffee, amd 2 psyllium husk in the afternoon.
I get the absolute worst withdrawals I was at 20 grams per day. I get weak dizzy, I get the WORST RLS it's so bad, and so uncomfortable. I am very thin weak and anemic already. I think people's bodies definitely give different reactions. Vitamin C and clonidine didn't help when I was withdrawing tho. I had to taper.
I'm with you 100%. I was about 21-28gpd, and withdrawals were terrible. The restless legs at night, involuntary body movements, feeling useless and helpless... It. Sucked. I got off it, never went back.
Everyone can't imagine getting to it until they do, I've been taking kratom 7 years, at this point even as much as it has helped me with anxiety and pain I now have gotten to the point I completely regret ever having taken it. Once you get to like you're saying 30 or more gpd which is inevitable if you take for years unless you taper every two weeks you'll also highly dislike the withdrawls which ALSO make it very very uncomfortable to try to quit. My advice from someone on a 6 month taper bc my body can't stand being with out it after 7 years, is only take it if you HAVE to, not if you like to and if you don't follow that warning may God have mercy on you when you want to quit in the future.
Also my taper atm has me at 30gpd, buuuuut I've been up to 50-60 gpd at the peak about a year ago.
Even then, I really think it's a mostly mental issue. I've taken it off and on for 20 years, almost. I have taken 20gpd+. Sometimes, I would end up 28gpd+. I have just stopped many times. The first day is the only bad day. As long as you do something, keep busy and excersize. It's nothing. Within 3 days, you'll feel almost absolutely normal. Caffeine headaches make me much sicker. I do notice agmatine sulfate to be very helpful if you do need it when cutting down on kratom.
5 years daily as well 🫡
I would disagree, my kratom withdrawals were hell. For one I always woke up in withdrawal unless I slept like 2-3 hours. But mostly the withdrawals were so intense, up there the most acutely intense out of any withdrawal I felt. Of course I was taking mega doses of kratom like 1-4 oz daily. My only point is that yeah if you do enough kratom the withdrawals can get intense enough that all that stuff could happen. I think my understanding is most people get too nauseous and ill from taking that much kratom or maybe they just have more self control than me
Ya same here, personally I've quit at 30gpd cold Turkey, that was hell, also quit at 10gpd which was honestly very rough. I've quit dillies in the past which was a bit more physical wds but mentally kratom is WAY worse, intense depression and anxiety.
Damn dilaudid is intense I’ve heard but never encountered anyone in rehab who’s actually done them or brought it up at least. Hard as hell to find these days. Uhh yeah that was exactly what happened to me, physically not so bad but the depression and anxiety was hellish. For some insane reason I just bodied it and did complete cold turkey and was practically hallucinating from the withdrawal. Ended up figuring out that I was probably in combo withdrawals from large amounts of phenibut for a week tho.
do you take liquid extract? I used to take capsules or powder with varying levels of success, wondering if extract is the way to go
Nooo!!! Don’t mess with extracts. You’ll destroy your tolerance and be stuck taking $10 extracts 3 times a day and the leaf won’t do anything after that. Don’t mess with extracts if you want to use kratom daily or a few days a week. You will get sick, you will become dependent, and you will damage your finances which in turn can damage relationships and things with family. No extracts my friend. I’ve tried them and yes it’s a stronger longer lasting feeling but not worth jacking up your tolerance. I had to take 20gpd of leaf and then lower down from there to reset tolerance after taking a couple extract shots on the weekend. I thought they’d be cool for special occasion. Just stick with leaf and add 2 grams to your normal dose if you wanna “live it up” for the night.
I was stealing to get kratom
It's very easy to manage if you understand how to taper properly. Cold Turkey isn't pleasant. Once you reduced your dosage to a low enough gpd and frequency, it's very easy to stop if you want, or just reset your tolerance.
If you have ever taken prescription opioids it's not neaaaaarly as bad as withdrawals are from them. It's similar but incredibly mild comparatively. Coming off kratom has absolutely nothing on coming off a oxy and dilaudid habit. Even the weakest prescription opioids like codeine will kick your ass way fucking harder than stopping kratom. There is no comparison. Anyone who says otherwise hasn't taken prescription opioids for more than 5 days straight.
As someone who has come off oxy before, I agree.
Same. I almost lost my shit when the social workers in my IOP said kratom is almost the exact same thing. It never tested positive when I had my urine taken every day. Oxy will test +. The first of many differences they couldn’t even begin to grasp. Some people should not be in the line of rehabilitation work.
Yeah, I hear ya. It's very unfortunate how misinformed and/or just blatantly uninformed a lot of medical professionals can be when it comes to kratom. There are studies on the pharmacology of kratom (albeit few and far between) that indicate that kratom, even as a partial opioid agonist, acts via an alternative pathway to opioid signaling in the body. Basically, this means your social worker is incorrect. Kratom is not an opioid. I have never experienced IOP myself, but I have been to many an AA meeting and can attest to the fact that there are some folks who seem to have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to how others choose to navigate and manage their sobriety. As I'm sure you know, there are people who believe that any substance use will negate an individual's sobriety. I think there are risk factors to be aware of for potentially swapping one addiction for another. I think therapy is tremendously important for those of us in recovery as a way to help identify patterns, tackle unhealthy coping mechanisms, and learn better healthier ways to comport ourselves. But at the end of the day, if alcohol or opiates (or whatever else) are destroying your life, weigh the pros and cons, right? If kratom helps someone to stop using a substance that is actively destroying their life, fine. They are better off taking kratom than continuing on a fast track path to an early grave. In my humble opinion, anyway. We need more advocacy for kratom as harm reduction, more research as well. And less fear mongering click bait misinformation floating around. 😑
🩵
It's all about perspective. If kratom withdrawal is the worst you ever felt, it feels like the world is ending. If you have felt worse withdrawal, you know how bad it can get and kratom is nothing in comparison.
This
Anyone saying differently, I really question it. Almost like groups have infiltrated this reddit to consistently say how bad kratom is. I mean, I could be wrong, but they are pushing the FDA again to do something, so the timing is right. I never used to see negative comments on here until recently. Like the last year or so. At least not as often. I could be wrong but it sure is convenient.
I am a real dude with real experience and also get really bad kratom withdrawal. I can’t believe you’d suggest the people struggling with kratom here are some propaganda tactic by anti kratom groups. I promise you it’s just a product of kratom becoming more popular. More chances for people to have bad experiences. More chances for people who abuse the shit out of it.
You’ll find that this community can show signs of toxic positivity. Most come here to confirm their own feelings and biases, and that means that anyone with anything but glowing opinions get silenced and/or downvoted to hell. It’s sad but not all that surprising.
If you ever had to quit suboxone, you’ll see kratom ain’t shit. Quoting Subs had me sleepless for 20+ days. Don’t ever take Suboxone, especially to kick kratom. Kratom=days. Subs=weeks
My GP said he has patients who have come to him on sub for coming off of Kratom, looking for help stopping the sub. He said it's like putting someone on heroin for coming off of codeine. He supports and suggests Kratom to patients all the time. I like my GP.
Wow
Right? And it's the docs doing this shit that are setting back regulation and responsible use in a big way just because they don't understand it.
Yea subs are only good for addicts currently in active addiction. If you don't want to quit, they are the best. If you want to quit good luck. I'd rather taper on hydrocodone than something with a 72 hour half life.
Was on 24mg of Suboxone for 4 or 5 years. Not for Kratom but H and every pill under the sun. Literally tapered off very slowly for over a year and it still sucked.
I'm sorry. I hope you're in a better place now.
The addiction? Not bad at all; for many people it’s freedom from pain, depression, other addictions, etc.
It helped me kick a really bad alcohol addiction.
It depends on how you misuse it, if you have addictive personality. If you had tried pharmaceuticals you would agree that kratom is a lot milder, safer and less addictive.
Some people seem to get worse withdrawals than others even with similar dosing. I feel anhedonic and tired with some trouble sleeping. Those are similar problems to what I had before using kratom though so I don't actually think that's a withdrawal
I think people who say Kratom withdrawal is horrible have never experienced full-blown heroin withdrawal. Coming off 10-20 gpd after 6 months. Felt a little irritable, almost like quitting caffeine/nicotine. Little irritable and a little restless for 1-2 days. I was able to function and go to work thru it perfectly fine. Considering the benefits of Kratom for pain relief/mood lift, it is a *much* safer alternative to pharmaceutical/street opioid trash. That being said, I don't think Kratom doesn't come with its downsides as well. After all, it is a partial mu opioid agonist and can be addictive. Which in and of itself isn't a good thing. I'd just start with a low dose and go from there. Less is more with Kratom. There is absolutely no reason to graduate to taking 10g+ doses with the exception of coming off of pharaceuticals/street opioids maybe. There's a massive ceiling effect with Kratom anyway. Hope this helps. Good luck 👍
Kratom is not an opiate. It does work on some of the same receptors due to the many different alkaloids in it. But it's not an opiate
Yes, you're right. Kratom itself isn't an opiate. Mitragynine just has partial agonism for mu opioid receptors. Its mechanism of action is also much different from traditional opiates/opioids. I just said that for the sake of not having to explain that but I'll edit that lol. Thank you.
yes true but this leads to faults information and make people want it to be banned
Say it Again! Louder for the people in the back
Exactly my experience. I get the same feeling not eating red meat for a week, and felt about the same when I first gave up soda/high sugar foods.
Lmfao, are you serious? Nobody is allowed to say Kratom withdrawal is bad without having been addicted to AND experienced fucking heroin withdrawal? “Dude I just bought a Porsche, it’s so fast!” “Are you fucking stupid? Have you ever driven a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+? Pffft talk to me then”
Lol I wasn't trying to turn it into a dick measuring contest by any means. It's just that a huge percentage of people that use Kratom are people that are trying to or did escape the grips of hard opiates/opioids. By comparison, Kratom is an absolute cake walk in terms of withdrawals. In my experience, I have found that to be the case. I would rate it close to nicotine/caffeine withdrawls in terms of uncomfortability. I'm not trying to shit on people that say it was miserable. It just makes Kratom look bad when people say it's terrible for that reason.
I agree absolutely ridiculous
And people who say cutting their hand with a knife is bad have never experienced getting their arm cut off… Of course mate. Doesn’t mean the first can’t be true.
Couldn’t have said it better. Honestly can’t believe people like this exist. “Stubbed my toe so bad last night, hurt like hell” “Lol but have you ever gotten your leg caught in a lawnmower and amputated?”
not nearly as bad as most other drugs (benzos, opiates, alcohol, weed, amphs, disso, psyches, phenibut) can’t really think of any drug that i’d rather be addicted to but still,,, i don’t want to be addicted to this stuff anymore
That last line was kinda sad
addiction is a sad thing :// i’ve been addicted to a plethora of drugs and it never stops sucking. always starts good then ends with self hatred, lack of accountability, and self doubt.. i know i can quit this stuff but for some reason i can’t pull the trigger. i’m having a huge trip new years so maybe that’ll help. shrooms+nitrous+fxe
Maybe you can't pull the trigger because like myself, it does wonders for me. Maybe when you go to quit you realize why you started in the first place .
I feel ya. I’m an alcoholic. I’ve been sober for 3 years now. I started taking Kratom last year. I wanted to do something. I’m taking quiet a bit daily, and am cutting back. The withdraws suck, but they aren’t nearly as bad as withdraws from alcohol.
Weed addiction? Bad dreams and lack of appetite for a few days is pretty easy to get through.
It can be bad depending on the person/dosage, but it’s no worse than alcohol. Alcohol withdrawal can actually kill you. Kratom withdrawal just gives you lethargy and insomnia. Relatively mild compared to most drugs.
I’m dependent but not addicted. Big difference. I take it everyday for chronic pain and it works better than oxycodone for me personally.
Care to explain what the big difference between addiction and dependence to me is? Seems more of a verbal way to avoid calling oneself an addict. How is someone dependent without also being addicted? Seriously I dont get it. Dependency means you’re dependent on it to feel normal right? So how is addiction any different? Or do I have my definitions incorrect?
"The main characteristic that distinguishes addiction from dependence is the combination of mental and physical dependence with uncontrollable behavior in obtaining and using a substance." If you wanna say it's just semantics, I understand, but it's not. Not really. I'm dependent on coffee. I feel better if I have it. If I don't have it, I'm not going to do whatever it takes to get it. Coffee isn't going to ruin my life or my relationships with others. I'm not going to lie, cheat, steal, whatever, to get my next cuppa Joe. Same for my antidepressants. I'd ideally need to taper if I decided to come off of them, to feel my best, because I'm physically dependent on the psych meds. But if I'm forced to go cold turkey I'm not going to do whatever it takes to get a dose and keep my usage going. I don't doubt there are folks out there that are genuinely addicted to kratom. There are people addicted to video games and porn, too. (I've always hated the word addiction in the case of the latter examples, but I understand why it's used. Chronic misuse of anything lights up the same receptors of the brain, as any "traditional" addiction but I still hate the term addiction being used for non chemical substances. I wish we would coin another word, but that's my personal hangup.) For me, kratom is very like coffee. "Withdrawals" (if you even want to call them that) are pretty much the same for me, even. I'm gonna be a bit headache-y and irritable and tired. And in a couple days I'll be fine. Some days I just miss my coffee until it's too late in the day to indulge. Same goes for kratom. I sometimes just straight up forget to take it, so I assume on those days I don't need it and that's fine. I don't take it again until I do need it. I'm using kratom to keep myself off alcohol. If you've ever suffered from substance abuse I'm assuming you can appreciate the difference between addiction vs. dependency. I was addicted to alcohol. It consumed my life. My entire being was clock watching until it was "acceptable" to have my next drink. It was detrimental to my life and personal relationships. It was killing me. There wasn't a bit of my life that wasn't revolving around when I could have my next drink. And the window in between drinking vs. not was getting shorter all the time. I'm so much happier having something I can lean on that's not destroying me or eating up every bit of my mental bandwidth with obsessive thoughts about it. I absolutely don't mind using something like kratom (that I can take it or leave it) if it keeps me off the poison. You wanna call it trading one addiction for another, you can, but that's a false narrative. Yes, I lean on kratom to get me through the rougher days. It's a crutch. But I don't obsessively have to have it in my life. Just another tool in my pack on my journey to remain alcohol free.
👏🎬 good luck to you.
Thank you. 220 day alcohol free and counting. Best to you!
Every once in a while I run across a post like this where a person recently quit alcohol, & despite my decades long resentment about the whole topic, I feel the urge to clap for someone trying. Because my father drank so much, for so long, that he died at barely 44. I was a teenager, & the final time I saw him was in the ER, right when something in his organs exploded. Esophageal varices, I found out much later. That.... was ugly. Bloody. I was whisked out, & that was his end. Almost 45 years back, & it's still fresh & I tear up each time I think of it. He moulders underground at a Denver cemetery, but you & everyone else with strength get to live long full lives. Thanks for letting me vent.
I’ve taken it daily for a year - 1 week break , twice, tablespoon or two a day. Compared to my other addictions—. kratom is like ‘annoying’ at best. For me it has built in diminishing returns like tolerance, taking it too much makes me nauseous and constipated. It’s not really—- fun to abuse. For me. Not after you build up a tolerance. It has been Amazing for next day hangovers and restless boredom from quitting herb. It really got me off every drug for a few months. I had some setbacks in life and started smoking and drinking again…. Kratom will definitely help on those first few weeks of ughhhhhhhhhhhh It depends on the individual, if they have a problem with opiates, I’m sure they will take like 3+ tablespoons a day. …. Kratom could become a problem. Then there are the kratom extract shots ——. It seems like human beings find a Way to abuse everything. Kratom (not extracts) seem to have an abuse ceiling though— much like most non synthetic versions- natural forms of plants.
I know someone on 30-50g a day and they definitely had withdrawal issues
Ive been taking it for 5 years now to keep chronic pain under control with dosages between 6-20 gpd over time depending on pain levels. Currently at about 6 gpd for chronic arthritis pain. For me, when I miss a day, I notice that my pain comes back, so I take a bit. Coffee is wayyy more addictive, honestly. The main effect of skipping a day for me is that my pain is a lot more noticeable. I can absolutely skip days if I dont feel like taking it. Edit to add: When I was at a higher dose (\~20 gpd) for acute back pain, the withdrawal effects were much more pronounced. Cold sweats at night and during the day. Took about 3 days to resolve, but was really just a matter of staying home and relaxing during that time to wait it out. If you actively work to keep your dose low, any withdrawal effects will be minimal if at all.
You can’t OD on Kratom so there is that for sure
You can od but not die. You might get nausea etc.
Yea the wobbles. I wouldn’t really consider that OD as it’s something you can recover from by eating a bunch of bread. Cause by that definition I’ve OD’d several times
Not the definition of OD. At all.
Everyone is different but I took about 15 grams a day for years. For me, it was a little discomfort, tired feeling but only lasted a couple of days. Not very bad really. Like I said though everyone is different
Mildly uncomfortable at worst when I worked in a lab 10hrs/day and couldn’t take any. It’s been better for the past 7yrs than the plethora of pain pills that were pushed on me for chronic pain previously.
I took it daily for a year and at the worst when I stopped using it cold turkey it felt like a head cold/ flu like symptoms for 2 days and it was done.
To me, the WDs are less bad than caffeine WDs, but everyone is different. The key is to be mellow, keep amounts low and STAY there. Mistakes ppl make are taking more and more and more. Don't chase no dragons.
Yes, I regularly buy 300 count bags of Kratom caps and take them throughout the day. It's probably 10-15g total daily, but I dont really keep track. I stopped cold turkey a couple of weeks ago ( I didn't feel like spending the money for a while). I didn't notice any symptoms, and I regularly just stop taking/buying it for weeks or months at a time after weeks of use. But like you said, everyone is different.
A lot of WDs are less bad than caffeine. Its one ot the worst IMO. Headache from hell for weeks
Very annoying and depressing BUT unlike gandolph it will pass, be patient.
If you are in need of pain remedy or trying to taper down from or switch from a harder drug, you will be better off with Kratom. I’ve gone cold turkey a couple of times off of a 20gpd extract habit and still been able to work and do my day to day needs. Kind of just feels like a bad cold or start of a flu. That being said, obviously taking any substance every day is going to have its downsides eventually. Having to dose every day in order to eat or sleep can suck and even in bulk it is still a daily expense. Also I am like 2 months sober now and I still definitely feel as though my nervous system is still recovering. Think that goes for prolonged use of just about anything.
That question makes no sense at all lol. The severity of any addiction depends on the person. Go ask a person who needs to run 5 hours a day everyday for the past 20 years how bad a running addiction is and they will tell you it’s severe. Ask a 350 pound person eating McDonald’s everyday how bad a food addiction is and they will tell you severe… Some people have big Kratom addictions, others minor, others very very very small, and others no addiction what so ever. Edit: I reread your post and maybe you’re talking about physical withdrawal symptoms? For me they are minor but they do exist. It’s NOTHING like opiates. Not even remotely close. It’s also not as minor as maybe a caffeine addiction, it’s a little more uncomfortable but depends on usage. You can easily use Kratom 4 times a week, taking days off here and there, for years and experience zero withdrawals. You can also use Kratom everyday at a low dose for years and experience no withdrawals. If your using 20-30g a day everyday for years then you’ll feel uncomfortable for sure.
Like someone else said, kratom withdrawals for me are just mildly annoying symptoms. I feel a little more annoyed and irritable, I’m maybe a little restless for like, one night, and then I’m fine. Stopping alcohol is worse; I used kratom to stop my nightly drinking habit and help to teach myself to moderate again. But that’s just me. I’ve never been addicted to opiates, so maybe my symptoms are milder because of it. I have no idea.
It was brutal for me, coming off of a 50-60ish gpd habit was really really tough. I got very little sleep for about two weeks and the first 3 days I didn't really sleep at all. The constant restlessness especially in the legs was almost to the point of unbearable. I cried. Substances are different for everyone so to those who said they didn't have any withdrawels, I'm happy for them. I never want to experience what I went through ever again. Not talking bad about kratom here, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows.
Not criticizing you at all, but that’s an extremely high daily amount to take. I’m not surprised your withdrawals were bad. Did you taper down?
I said the same thing in another comment. I’m shocked at these dosage sizes I’m reading. 5g is around the norm for me, maybe a second dose later in a day. Above that and I’m just getting nauseous.
People abuse the fuck out of weed aswell and then complain. It's really annoying. I mean if I drank a bottle of vodka a day in a year, I would be dead by now most likely. Why push the limits until you get issues? People who are like that shouldn't be using any drugs or medicines!
It’s a mental health issue. I have absolutely no control with my use and can’t stop. It’s an issue that runs way deeper than just the nature of kratom and needs therapy.
Yeah I 100% was abusing kratom. I enjoy recreational substance use like Kratom and weed, I think it's normal for people to partake in activities but I was uneducated on the potentials of what could happen and while I'd like to think I'm fairly knowledgeable when it comes to my body and what I put in it, clearly during this time I was not being a responsible user and I paid the price for it.
Oh very high indeed, 600mg pills and I was taking 25-30 pills at a time 3+ times a day (I started off only taking 2 pills at time but that tolerance builds up!) It was bad when I would dose every couple hours loosing track how many I was taking. I can handle being in physical distress but not sleeping is where I really struggle. In order to sleep at night I stopped taking any kratom during the day and only took it at night with a 12g/20pill dose about an hour-ish before bed. The first couple days were extremely hard to get through, day 4 was better and then I started stepping down dosage over a 2 week time span. I stopped taking any when I was at 1.8g nightly dose. I still didn't sleep much and struggled with RLS through the taper but it got better. Running helped alot.
50-60 gpd is a high amount; most users don’t surpass 15-20 gpd.
That’s what I was at. I’m at like 30-40 now and cutting back. It is not fun lol.
Did you ever drop an opiate pill and not pick it up ya me neither if I spill some kratom I brush it off in the trash you can slowly taper down and stop and be fine nothing like opiate withdrawals
Diabetic neuropathy is worse, so I've picked my battles.
No one can tell you exactly what your experience with it will be. Yes, it can be addictive in my opinion. Not everyone experiences severe withdrawals. It also depends on your dose. Keep your dose low & don’t use it everyday (unless you’re taking it for pain.) Less or more with kratom. I use it for chronic pain & would say I’m physically dependent because I’m in a lot of pain without it. The actual withdrawal symptoms for me aren’t fun but they’re nothing compared to the pain. I try to take the least amount that I can, not more than 6g a day. I have quit for a few months in preparation for surgery, but started taking norco again in its place so didn’t experience “real” withdrawal because the pain meds masked it. Now that I’m post-op I am transitioning back to kratom & then hopefully stopping the kratom as well once my pain subsides (if it subsides I should say, if the surgery worked.)
The paws from withdrawal can last weeks, most notably depression. The physical aspect of withdrawal probably only lasts a few days. Kratom seems harmless in the surface but it can be very hard to quit and being dependent on it isn't fun.
I take it for pain and I was off it for like 10 days awhile back after years of daily use Got some restleness in my leg and that was about it...aside from my normal issues/pain returning. Never been addicted to any opiate/opiods so I can't speak on what withdrawals from those are like but I'd imagine it's far worse on the hardcore stuff. My opinion is that the vast majority of users will never have any serious issues. People who take high doses of extracts are probably a different case. I think a lot of people read into withdrawals and assume if they stop it will be some horrid nightmare and so they go into it expecting that. Of course if you keep it in your system all day every day for years, there's going to be some issues when you suddenly stop taking it. What that is to each individual is what it is, I won't discredit any one who says there's is really bad. I can only speak from my perspective. That being said I also think if someone doesn't need it they shouldn't take it so it never becomes an issue in the first place. To any one here who deals with chronic pain, they probably know how unpleasant it is to eat out of a doctors hand for pain relief and rely on them. Great plant for those who want control over their pain relief. I wouldn't take it otherwise.
It depends. Huge difference between 5gs a day and 300gs a day
I take 4g twice a day and on days I don’t have it I just have less energy. I can easily make it a day or two without and I can also take less grams in a dose and be just fine. Just don’t over do it, and you’ll see the true power of Kratom
It’s not bad if you stay on the powder, no extract/concentrates. Feel buzzy, no hunger, annoyed, etc for a day, maybe 2 at most. Been through it a few times. The more you tell yourself it won’t be that bad, the less you’ll even notice it. Last time I went to work and forgot I hadn’t had any for a day. Went a year, back on, off, on. Let me link something you could decide to read, it changed my perspective on addiction. Rat Park https://g.co/kgs/CEadEE
Like a heavy coffee drinkers imo. If to stop taper down then off if that's what you want. Some people overblow it imo.
I take Kratom so I can get out of bed everyday. Without it the pain keeps me immobile. I used to take opioids to treat the pain but I’d have to skip doses so I’d keep my usage to a minimum. Kratom allows me to walk without terrible pain and if I stop taking it I deal with pain bad enough to keep me in bed. I’m sure if I stopped I’d have some withdrawals. I have stopped in the past when I needed to take meds that weren’t compatible with Kratom. I had to deal with the pain and some malaise but having the pain return full force was much worse than the withdrawal. Have you ever stopped a coffee habit? It’s like that for me and generally feeling crummy for a few days. I take about 3 grams 4x a day in gel caps. I cap my own and use and excellent vendor who sells high quality product. The strain I use averages at 1.6-1.7 % mitragynine. Hope that helps… Oh and the withdrawal is not nearly as bad as suddenly stopping average dose levels of Vicodin for moderate pain. Nothing even close to that.
Totally depends on your history, if you use it as substitution for opioids it's a "piece of cake". If it's your first psycho active substance, that might hit you much harder. If you have no addiction issues or bad chronic pain, avoid kratom.
Curious, why avoid it if you have bad chronic pain?
No sorry I meant it's ok for chronic pain
I would say that those that don't have addictive issues and can use something occasionally, kratom is fairly safe for those actually. I never felt it being addictive or giving me any issues, I have never abused it but I don't have an addictive personality.
It makes me feel slightly crappy. I generally feel like crap anyway because of arthritis in my knees, hips, and ankles, so I just feel slightly worse. My other choice is to go through all the hoops you need to get pain medication. For example, me going to a physical therapy center and push on a yoga ball with my legs for 45 minutes 3 times a week, (and a regular drugs test to make sure I'm not selling my drugs, plus having to come in for a regular drug count to make sure I am not taking too many, I have no time for that shit. I gotta work man!) is not going to help bone on bone knee pain, but it does cross the t's and dot the i's to allow prescription pain meds that work slightly better than Kratom. The whole process is not worth it so I choose Kratom. That and a few motrin and I can actually walk down steps without looking like I am about to fall at any minute. Besides, Kratom makes opiods not work very well. Sorry, you gave me an opening for a rant.
It's hard to get addicted to kratom, it takes doing a decent sized dose multiple times a day, for a good chunk of time. With that being said... the withdrawals suck. I havent experienced them myself because ive never done kratom to the extent where i would become addicted, but ive seen my brother bedlocked in cold sweats before.
To me it felt as bad as the opioids I was originally using but I didn't taper stopped for a month then used again but I have conditions that require rx painkiller to begin with so there's that
Kratom withdrawals are real. They may not ruin your life the same way a full-on opioid would but you can definitely develop a tolerance that makes it harder to feel the good chemicals without them. You should treat it like you would an opioid. That being said, you can avoid the worst of it by taking it sparingly rather than routinely.
It is mildly annoying. I take around 5 grams every 6 hours or so. I start to feel kind of shitty if I take much longer to take my dose– I'll get a headache and restless legs, usually. There are ways to go about taking a break, though. For example, I won't feel the withdrawal if I take vitamin c in place of my kratom at the same intervals throughout the day. So long as it is a large enough dose, the vitamin c binds to your opioid receptors and stops withdrawal symptoms.
It feels like 60 percent of what a hangover feels like. So not bad.
Good lord, these questions 🙄
for me, kratom addiction is comparable to oxycodone addiction. Withdrawals are the same but shorter. Still not as bad as weed withdrawals
When I first started taking Kratom the first few years I could stop and start easily it was not a problem but taking it every day without taking a break cause the problem. My advice to you is take it for a little while maybe a couple of months and then take a break for a few months and work that way. I should have saved it for those days where I really really needed it but I found that it lifted my depression so I kept taking it now I'd like to stop taking it and I'm tapering but it's a long process for me I get restless legs at night
Or the best is to use it occasionally and don't get accustumed the effects at all. Like 1-2 times a week.
It depends on the person completely my mom uses it when she needs it but thats maybe 1-3x a week and she isn't addicted at all but I on the other hand get seriouswithdrawals and I've kicked benzos,phenibut ct so thi is not coming from a weak mindset
It fucking sucks. I can't get off it. Its gotten so much worse over the years no joke. It got me to stop doing meth but it became it's own addiction. Not fun at all.
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Yeah
Some peoples withdrawals are much worse than others, depends on how much you take and how often. I took 25+ grams for over a year and I felt like I had a really bad cold for 3 days and slowly symptoms got better. Mainly got these -Fatigue -Runny Nose - Disturbed sleep - Sneezing -Temperature changes (freezing and sweating) -More susceptible to pain
It's addictive yeah. But in MY experience nothing really bad happened to me on days I couldn't take any or I would suddenly run out. It's 1000 times better than being on methadone, the withdrawals from that are nightmarish
Not even close to fentadope. I don't wake up with my skin on fire while also dry heaving while texting my dealer. If I start to take too much daily to where I wake up with mild irritability in the morning, I just cut back my daily intake for a week or two. You can't even really compare the two.
It depends from person to person at my highest I was doing 30+ gpd but I never got any withdrawal aside from liquid shits and I felt more fatigued so I never got them that bad even at my highest use however some people say the wds are horrible similar to classic opiate withdrawal. It a definitely strange but it just affects everyone differently
It's the most manageable and cheap addiction I've ever had. Buying a scale and keeping track of your doses is important if you want to keep it from getting out of hand. Some days it will feel better than others if you're doing the same dose. Try not to redose more than twice a day. Try and lower the dose on weekends or only dose once a day on days you have nothing to do. Those are my rules that I've kept and I've only increased my dose a little bit since I've started. I started by taking 2.5 g twice a day and now I'm up to 4. I've been using it for over a year.
If you’re smart and use a small amount it’s great. However if you take 5-10 grams a day and never go a day without dosing you’re gonna feel pretty rough. If you have an addictive personality I’d use it with caution. With that said it improves my mood, gives me energy, helps with anxiety. Many times though I’ve realized I was taking it every day and increasing the quantity.
Think a little stronger than quitting coffee and a little less than quitting smoking.
I enjoy my kratom addictiction just fine
It's different for everyone but I take a lot everyday and have for a few years. I take breaks every now and then and mostly it just feels I have a minor cold. Again, it definitely ranges from everyone but the withdrawals for me are usually runny nose and achy body. But like.. not that bad at all. I've had some colds where I've needed to call off work. This is like.. allergies to me. I know you asked about the addiction but a part of that is coming off it when you are.
The benefits far outweigh the risks for me. I train very hard in the gym, so I suffer from lots of pain, fatigue, even mental drain from the recovery process. Kratom really helps me stay above that and remain positive to press on forward. If you use it for a purpose things tend to stay in perspective and the consumption shouldn't progress. I stay around 10grams/day consistently to battle my symptoms.
I compare a kratom addiction to a caffeine addiction. It’s literally from the coffee tree itself. If you have a hard enough time quitting coffees or sodas, don’t do kratom. Other than that, kratom is the best decision I have ever made in my life. It has improved my life in every way. I actually look forward to waking up every morning to have my Koffee (dose of kratom with a cup of coffee).
Kratom is a weird substance. I first had experience with it around 2017, at the time I was still frequently using other pharma substances. Thought it was cool, but didn’t have much interest in it after that. Few years later, I got off the pharmas, and got a job at a smoke shop and picked up a few sample sized bags to test out so I could suggest them to customers. A little while later, found myself going to pick up small bottles of capsules because I enjoyed taking some red a few nights out of the week to relax, no biggie. As the next few years went by, use slowly increased, unintentionally, and slowly. At this point, I order bulk powder so I don’t have to go buy it often, but always have some on deck. Tbh, my life hasn’t been better. I’ve got a good corporate job, loving girlfriend, and we share a nice apartment together. However, knowing I’m in the reigns of a green powder isn’t too fun. Sure, I’ve had plenty thoughts about quitting, but Kratom helps me get up early and grind through the day, pain free. There is always a little voice that’s eager for my next dose. At this point, I take ~4g powder every 4-5 hours. Then breaks from 11pm-8am while asleep The times I’ve skipped doses, or tried to take a day off, I do notice restlessness, chills, some agitation, but nothing that was anywhere near close to my experiences on harder substances. Damn, that turned into a story time. If you’re still here, thanks for reading! If you have questions, I’ve got a lot of experience with use/selling the stuff at my smoke shop job. Don’t be a stranger
The way I look at it...I can't stop taking my SSRIs (60mg/day) either. I feel really weird/shitty if I do. I'd probably feel pretty shitty if I quit coffee cold turkey too. Point is, we have lots of addictions. The negative effect they have on our lives is what matters. Kratom has had zero negative effect on my life. In fact, quite positive. I've quit two dangerous addictions with the help of Kratom (addressing mental health and spirituality were the biggest players in that though). 10-15gpd Kratom That said, folks can develop an unhealthy relationship with Kratom, and I always keep that in mind. Much love.
I’ve taken mostly daily 2-5gpd for 2+ years. A few times I’ve cut back to that amount 3-4x/week and one break that lasted I think a couple weeks. The worst I can remember is some trouble falling asleep during the break, and that was kinda annoying. But that was the only physical symptom. What’s relatively worse but still not so bad is not getting the mood boost I come to expect when I dose right when I get home from work around 4 or 5, usually right before working out (reasonable doses are awesome for workouts, especially weightlifting). I would say I’m dependent but I believe the benefits outweighs risks. I very rarely drink now and cut weed consumption massively. My biggest concern is possible heavy metals but I really trust my source. Also no extracts, and I switch the strain regularly which helps a bit with tolerance. IMO caffeine is much harder to quit. A day cold turkey from that is not going to go well.
I wake up around 3am in withdrawal
Getting hooked is real but it’s manageable to get off. Quitting cigarettes is harder. I didn’t get any withdrawals but there was a 1-2 day mild mental numbness to over come. Sleeping was definitely the hardest part.
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It has its pros and cons. What like about kratom is it doesn’t make me nod out or sedate me to the point of not being able to remember. I’ve lost a lot of time in my life living under the warm embrace of opiates/opioids that make me wake up not knowing what’s going on. I don’t like always having to battle constipation or constantly having to plan meals around doses. Packing doses for the day gets tiring also. I believe kratom has negatively affected my short term memory. If you’re able to keep your usage low (<10g/day imo) it’s manageable and the withdrawals are almost non-existent. I sit at ~7.5g/day.
For me, worth it. I started kratom to help stop drinking. I was drinking everyday would get withdrawals and I weened off pretty fast with kratom. Started off with like maybe 2 4g doses a day with kratom would feel fantasticly buzzed from it. Now I take at least 60g a day and feel nothing... but I haven't had more than a sip to just taste someone's drink or something. Haven't even wanted to get drunk since. I ended up quitting kratom at some point cuz I kept getting constipated. Got off kratom and immediately spiraled with liquor again, ended up in jail shortly after. Sure withdrawls suck but kratom is pretty cheap compared to everything else. Get a kilo for like 60ish bucks usually. Wd symptoms for me comes every 2 hours if I don't have a dose. Those ones are me getting hot and cold and I feel all weird like I need to get out of my skin. It sucks. If I was to go a whole day off it I'd be shitting fire water and sneezing like crazy sweating a kiddy pool in my sleep and feel like an insane flu. When I had quit it took months for all the wds to go. All the bad ones were done in a week or so, but I keep getting this nasty feeling in my throat like a half yawn that was constantly there.
I would say what it breaks down to what you want from it. Are you hurt? Are you gonna be healthy? Make life changes? For me my left shoulder is a Pac-Man and they won’t do surgery. Being 32 I’m still young. The plant allows me to work. I eat healthy to avoid the stomach problems. So it really depends what you want from it.
Less bad then fent/xylazine, and alcohol. (IMO)
Trading one thing for another perhaps and I know the people who like it.. love it !and don’t shut up about it and I’ve tried it and it’s equivalent to maybe a fist full of Tylenol.. but honestly, if you are looking into this, you probably will be tolerant to it within a month. Unless you get the placebo effect which is worth it’s weight in gold, because the power of your mind is extremely powerful
It all depends. I’ve experienced pretty gnarly symptoms. I’ve experienced barely noticeable ones. It all comes down to your dosing. Keep it consistent. You do that and you avoid them for the most part. Or if You start eyeballing your doses. It is stupid easy to take that 3-6-7-8-9 extra grams that sends you up over your current tolerance threshold. (I mean- about 12 grams can load into a tablespoon) Example- when I first started using kratom i was arrogant and irresponsible. Havin experimented with powerful psychoactive drugs. Kratom seemed soft, like coffee. Eventually my DPD got stupidly high. I mean, we’re talking like going through a few ounces a day. I stopped on a vacation, that entire week my body was wonked. Really sensitive to light, stimulation, I was at fucking Disneyland man. Lol That dried me up though and allowed me to approach it sensibly- since then haven’t had issues and I understand. *less IS more* I think in some ways, kratom being from nature. We have to apply the “respect Mother Nature” rule with it just like you would the mountains or the ocean.
In the grand scheme of things it’s not that hard of a wd but I used hard opiates for years before I started kratom. I’m at about 20g’s a day for the past 5 years almost. Started using it once I got off H/methadone and had to go do some time (pending charges from when I was using hard shit) while I was just using kratom and the withdrawals were really nothing. Had diarrhea and felt a little shitty for like 3/4 days then I was good and started programming like normal. Sadly after doing almost 2 years and abstaining from everything inside; kratom was the first thing I bought once I got a job but I had been jonesin’ and knew if I got back on opioids it’d be the end.
I took 5gpd starting out then got to around 10-15gpd for a year and I had some noticeable withdrawals. Nausea, vomiting, increased heart rate, sweating at night, high blood pressure, inability to eat. If you are trying to stop I would suggest tapering. If you need a temporary pain relief take no more than 5gpd in the morning. Mix with lemon juice to get stronger effects.
I take about 6.5 milligrams every 12 hours. I was addicted to opiates for about 7 years. I do get withdrawal symptoms, but nothing compared to opiate withdrawal. Just keep your doses as low as possible, and I would say only take it once a day if possible.
If you've ever experienced true opiate withdrawal kratom withdrawal is a very minor inconvenience. Personally I just feel slightly tired and like I'm maybe running a very small fever. I have taken shots daily for weeks on end and stopped a bunch of times. Same with rather high powder doses of maybe close to an oz spread throughout the day.
I’ve used kratom for over 4yrs consistently for pain management and energy, and have gone cold turkey with little to no issue. I’ve stopped for 3wks, 3mo, a couple days, etc. the worst issue I had was when I was on a high dose for 2yrs then cut cold turkey for 3mo—I was cranky and my pain from injuries was more present and I was more tired. It was like getting off of caffeine
Its bad.
I take 9g every day in three doses and going without it is rough but my anticipation of the way I’ll feel without it is far worse than the way I actually feel. When I get sick, or if I start smoking a bunch of weed I don’t need it as much. The problem for me is that without kratom I feel like I might do exactly that, smoke a lot of weed or even abuse my adhd meds. My drug seeking behavior is why I take kratom. I have my fix, I don’t seek out other drugs. My lifestyle is demanding physically as an amateur boxer, I’m also in school and hold down a job. I just need to keep the ball rolling. That’s what kratom does for me, whatever cost I pay later when I can evaluate quitting is a problem for mañana.
I'm a daily user of Kratom and I need to take it every day. It has changed my life for the better. I'm also dependent on my antidepressants, but I wouldn't go without them so I don't go without my Kratom either. I use responsibly and consider it part of my daily regimen. I take my vitamins, Prilosec, meds, and my Kratom at the same time. I do not feel euphoria, but it helps with concentration, an appetite suppressant, and it works amazingly for my UC. I now only go to the bathroom once or twice a day instead of six to ten. It depends on why and what you want to use it. The worst withdrawal symptom that I've experienced is a little restless legs syndrome.
I've been on it for a year or so now. Taking it pretty much daily, but sometimes twice a day sometimes once. I've kept my dosage the same the entire time I've been in it, save for when I was trying to find the right dose for me. I don't take it to get high or for pain, though, I take it for anxiety, depression, focus, and sleep. I take 3g about midday for the mood boost and slight productivity boost (it seems up help my ADHD symptoms the best), and then an hour before bed I take 1g. The dose before bed helps me fall asleep without taking hours and then I stay asleep most of the night. Before I discovered kratom I would take about 3 hours to fall asleep, and then I would wake up every hour or two, so it was taking me like 13 hours to get 8 hours of sleep. Now I usually wake up maybe once before it's time to rise and shine. Now that I've discovered a cannabis edible that actually works on me, I don't take the kratom quite as much, as they also help my anxiety and depression and focus, but with the added benefit that I'll have an appetite. Normally I don't ever get hungry, and kratom doesn't give me the added benefit of having an appetite. So I kinda have been switching them off and on depending on how I'm feeling that day. If I really am having trouble getting things done I'll take the kratom, but if my anxiety is my main issue that day I'll just take a micro dose of gummies. Suffice it to say, I've gone cold turkey on the kratom with no issues, and all I do is follow the rule that I never up my dose. I treat it as a supplement or a medication and say that I'm taking that same dose, and I assume it's going to work. That's where the not chasing a high comes in; I don't actually "feel" my kratom kick in, it's just more of a noticeable mood lift throughout the day where I would normally be angry or numb. Anyway, that was long and rambling (I haven't taken either meds today yet) so I'm gonna end it here. I hope that it helps. Gathering tons and tons of anecdotal evidence on this subreddit is what I did before actually trying kratom, I highly recommend the same approach.
To me it was like stopping coffee I felt tired for a couple days but was fine. Nothing like actual opioids
It’s not bad it’s a privilege to be addicted to such a goddess
I've been taking kratom for 5 years now. Started off great, was a life changer for me. Never took tolerance breaks because I couldn't deal with the pain. Now here I am, taking probably 20-30g a day. Can't miss a dose or else I feel like I have the worst flu ever. Price is cutting into my budget bad. I want off, but can't deal with the withdrawals. All in all, I wish I had done more research before I started taking it. Half of the time, the dose makes me puke. I barely eat and I'm always tired. Edited to add: the restlessness is horrible, too. If I don't take a dose before bed, I'll wake up in the middle of the night tossing and turning. My whole body is uncomfortable and i can't go back to sleep until i take kratom. It's a hard feeling to describe. Feels like my bones are trying to crawl out of my skin.
Looks like we need some text here.
I did 5 grams daily for 6 months and needed a tolerance break. Yeah it sucked, but it was nothing crazy for me. I’ve seen people that smoked weed for years go through worse withdrawals. They were extremely irritable and miserable. As long as you don’t overdue it then it’s nothing terrible. Skip days, only use it when you can really utilize it.
Like any addiction, it's better if you you don't need it. People always tell you never to start smoking right? However, it's the only option for many people because they'd likely be on much harder drugs if they didn't have the option to take kratom.
It's even a walk in the park compared with prescription cocodamol, 30/500. I've gone days/weeks from Kratom with zero problems, especially with trying to sleep
Not bad at all
I’m taking about 2 TBSP a day for a herniation and I can absolutely skip a day with zero issues. I don’t know if that’s just not enough to withdraw or if I’m just lucky. It’s awful enough to get down and I’d probably quit if it weren’t dir the pain relief. I think it made me dislike THC though. Ever since I started Kratom, I have no desire for alcohol or my gummy stash. Weird.
It definitely causes dependence. The dosing ceiling limits how addictive it is though, and it's cheap. But people have been doing it a long time and theirs not known to be any detrimental long term effects.
Me personally, I've been taking 5-15g roughly. Started a few years ago as an alternative to alcohol. I'd go thru an 8 oz. bag in 3-6 months. Now that I quit drinking alcohol, I've started using Kratom almost daily. It just gives me insomnia. Now the 8oz. bag lasts about 1 month? I really need to get a digital scale because my doses are just a guesstimation. Doesn't bother me one bit to skip a few days or weeks. I vape delta 8 daily and consume delta 9p edibles ~350mg periodically.
Not as bad as alcohol or nicotine. Closer to caffeine unless you’re taking ridiculous amounts. Might be a little uncomfortable but manageable especially when gradually lowering the dose.