First of all I want to inform you that my family and I have been dealing with wildfires (the LNU Lightening Complex Fire) and have been impacted significantly. Thankfully, mine and my mom’s homes were saved. However, lots of our family and friends lost their homes and our beautiful countryside is now gone. It is horribly devastating. It is now the 3rd largest wildfire in history. Your prayers in helping to cope with this overwhelming situation are much appreciated.
If you’re concerned about taking Kratom after reading about people having bad withdrawals, DON’T BE. It’s really not the norm for the majority. Unless you are a severe heroin addict, abused opioids, or were overprescribed in the past, you probably won’t need to take copious amounts of it. Therefore, in turn.. you most likely will not be bothered by withdrawals.
The great Dr. Maya Angelo always used to say ‘When you know better, you do better.’ Knowledge is power. It’s the only way we can do better. So, I definitely don’t want anyone to start Kratom without knowing all the pros and cons, in which we know (so far).
So far ….everyone I talk to, who say bad withdrawals happen; are people who were heroin addicts, or severe abusers of opioids. We ARE fighting for our lives in the war on Kratom. It’s extremely important that we get the facts straight. I do pretty much say it like it is and I think that’s why I get attacked repeatedly, about some of the issues surrounding Kratom, in which I write about. That’s okay though, because people need to know the truth, good or bad about this plant.
The sad thing though is I WHOLEHEARTEDLY BELIEVE that possibly some heroin addicts and abusers of opioids are misleading people into thinking that this plant has a lot of negative side-effects. I have talked to hundreds, upon hundreds of Kratom consumers who state that they do NOT experience withdrawals.
There ARE some people who have negative side-effects, such as having to take copious amounts of it in order for it to be effective. But, that is a MINORITY. For the MAJORITY of people, THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Even if you have been taking opioids for years, it STILL does not mean you will have to take large amounts of Kratom; in turn …putting yourself at risk for bad withdrawals. BECAUSE, I for one took morphine, Norco, and Xanax for over 20 years and I transitioned to Kratom with no problems of having withdrawals or cravings.
I’m on a very low dose of Kratom and have been for almost 3 years now. I don’t have one single craving or preoccupation with it either. I also don’t have an urgency to take it at the exact same time every day. I am in severe pain in the morning, so I definitely take it every morning, but I can go all day without dosing. I don’t have a need to take it unless I’m in pain. Even then I have prolonged taking another dose at times and let the pain ride, to further my dose out.
I believe ..THAT may be the difference between someone being an addict or being addicted to something, as opposed to needing something for the pain, therefore; becoming dependent. Also, please don’t assume everyone taking something for pain is ‘dependent’. I don’t really like that term because it is somewhat stigmatizing and condemning. It makes it sound like the person can’t get through life without having to take something, and that’s not the case for everyone.
For example, I worked and functioned in life for a very long time, in severe pain, until I finally said enough. I deserve to go through life with happiness and joy, not suffering 24/7 and can’t even remember anything because the pain is so bad. A life without joy is not a life worth living (to me) and no pain patient should have to be made to feel ‘weak’ because they chose to relieve their pain. They chose happiness and relief. What is wrong with that! <<>>
So, in no way shape or form am I DEPENDENT on ANYTHING to get me through life. Why should I make myself suffer in pain if I have something safe and effective to take? I COULD go through life without taking anything for my pain, but my life quality would be poor. I COULD do it but why SHOULD I? To please someone else? NO THANKS. I want to be the best mother and daughter I can be and Kratom is helping me to do that, because it’s a TOOL.
Kratom is a safe and effective tool, one can utilize for helping them to deal with pain, anxiety, depression, and fatigue, just to name a few. It even helps with alcoholism.
Before I got therapy to process all my trauma, I abused things, maybe over drank at times, and who knows maybe Kratom would of been one of them, but thankfully with my hard work, I am no longer broken or exhibiting out-of-control behavior. I took morphine and was also on Norco and Xanax for 20 years. I didn’t abuse my medication. I actually never took the two (morphine and Norco) together, which is what they wanted me to do. I knew that wouldn’t be a wise decision because it would be putting my body at risk for a severe addiction or dependency. I actually used them to alternate between each other, hoping I could give my body a break, so I wouldn’t build a tolerance to either one. Guess what? It worked! When I look back, I am proud of myself that I exercised such self discipline, even though I was still somewhat broken. For, I was going to therapy at the time. My critical thinking skills as a nurse, is what helped me and is helping me now to have so much success with Kratom.
I certainly do not advise anyone to go against doctors orders. But, I also believe that it’s dangerous to blindly follow every word and instruction your doctor tells you. It’s important that we remain our own advocates and research what our doctors are telling us to do. Don’t ever give anyone that kind of power, especially when it could mean your life.
I don’t have to take very much Kratom to get fantastic results. I don’t have any negative side-effects knock on wood, and I’ve never once experienced any kind of withdrawal during the night or at a certain time of the day, because I missed a dose. I don’t time my doses either.
But, let me be clear, that there are some side-effects to Kratom. The only negative one I’ve experienced (though) is if you don’t drink enough water you will get a headache. To me that’s not a negative thing but to some it might be. Drinking water is good for you, so I look at it as a positive, but it CAN turn into something negative, such as dehydration if you don’t drink the daily recommended amount of water. Dehydration is a very serious thing, so please drink water if you are taking Kratom. If you don’t, you could become dehydrated.
Regarding addiction, a person always usually has a pre-occupation with it and I have not once had that with Kratom.
<<>> I’m not saying that because this is my experience with Kratom …that it’s the same experience for everyone else. This is MY experience.
No two people are the same in life, so it makes sense how we each experience such diverse side-effects from herbs and medications. However, something I hear time and time again are the extremely large amounts of Kratom that people take in place of heroin or heavy opioid use. I’m also hearing that these folks need to take such large amounts in order to get any relief from withdrawals and whatever ailments they are taking it for.
That would make sense tho because someone who’s been on heavy opioids, abusing them, or has a history of heroin addiction, after using for so long, the receptors change within the brain. Along with that, it also makes sense that you may experience withdrawals because of having to take so much. In my opinion tho, it’s a small sacrifice to make ..for being able to abstain from such deadly substances.
Back to the subject of heroin and opioid addiction. When someone heavily abuses something, such as morphine-like substances, it harms the receptors, MEANING that if you were slamming heroin, abusing, or being OVERPRESCRIBED hardcore opioids …and then transition to Kratom, chances are that you may need higher amounts of Kratom to take, to either deal with PAWS or because your receptors have changed. In turn, the higher amount of an herb or medication taken means that you may have withdrawals upon stopping. That’s why you will often see on the side of your medication label to never abruptly stop without consulting a physician. Lots of medication and herbs can cause unwanted side-effects if you abruptly stop instead of tapering.
STILL, isn’t taking high doses of Kratom BETTER THAN DYING FROM HEROIN?? Kratom doesn’t kill like heroin does. Kratom doesn’t kill like full-agonist opioids do, either. Opioids kill 180 people PER DAY, 67,000 people every year. Heroin kills at least 37,000 people per year. Cocaine kills 14,000 people every year. While Kratom may be related to a small fraction of deaths, it’s always involving other deadly drugs. So far, there is no proof, no evidence, no documentation, no toxicology report showing that Kratom alone was the cause of death or overdose.
By the way, in case you’re not familiar with the acronym/term PAWS it means the following ~
PAWS is something many people experience when transitioning to Kratom, especially if you were using heroin or if you were overprescribed opioids. When I say overprescribed, I’m talking like three or more different prescriptions involving Benzodiazepines, Oxy, Percocet, Fentanyl etc. My point being that lots of people mistake this for being Kratom related when in fact it’s the PAWS making them so uncomfortable.
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The good news is that people who don’t have the same history <<>> don’t suffer withdrawals or need to take such large amounts because they are starting fresh, I guess you could say. Their receptors haven’t been affected from years of heroin use. Starting fresh and with a plant that is scientifically proven to be 1,000 times safer than morphine, sounds like a safe choice to me.
If you just started having chronic pain and need something in order to function, with the least amount of side-effects, and has the lowest addiction potential, give Kratom a try. However, if you know you have an addictive personality and sometimes run into trouble with certain things in life, as in not being able to control your consumption of things, Kratom might not be a good fit.
After reading that Kratom can cause withdrawals in some, you may be confused and discouraged, thinking ‘No way is Kratom safe or something you want to try’. You gotta weigh the pros and cons, on an individual basis. There is a trade off but for the most part it’s not much of a sacrifice. There really isn’t too much you gotta ‘put up’ with when taking this plant. Possible withdrawals similar to heavy caffeine withdrawals such as RLS isn’t really a big deal (for ME) but maybe for some that is significant. If you are lucky enough to not know what REAL CHRONIC PAIN IS unlike me, and don’t suffer from really anything, then honestly…why even take it.
I don’t want people to be blindsided into thinking since Kratom is a plant it has zero negative side-effects. NOTHING has zero negative side-effects, because nothing is perfect. It does have addictive properties, so if you’re someone who doesn’t want to have to possibly deal with withdrawals upon stopping, then Kratom isn’t for you. Because again, there is a slight chance for withdrawals if taken longterm. As for me, I have to take something for maintenance in order to control my pain, and I don’t mind being dependent (physiologically) on Kratom, because I know it’s the least addictive option out there and is the safest.
It all goes back to making wise decisions and suffering the consequences of not so wise decisions and choices. This isn’t the case for all though. Addiction and self medicating is a result caused by a person who is hurting. We shouldn’t condemn people who are in mental and emotional pain. Although, we need to be aware and fix the problem, not just the symptom. Addiction is simply the symptom of what’s really underlying that keeps being ignored. Until a person actually deals with their underlying issues, no amount of rehab will help. If rehab did this for you without having to go time and time again, then you are a very rare bird.
If someone should decide to take copious amounts of Kratom and then doesn’t feel well, how can you blame Kratom for that? It’s the person’s poor choices that are now producing undesirable consequences. Yes, if you’re having to take higher amounts that’s one thing but if you’re taking unimaginable gigantic proportions of this leaf, I do NOT support you and I sincerely would hope that you use common sense or know that you’re taking risk, due to your unique behavior.
While this plant has many uses, we don’t want the lines to get blurred. I feel like the whole subject of withdrawals and PAWS kinda screws it up for legitimate pain patients trying to seek a safer form of pain relief. I think it’s unfair, not to mention UNJUST ..how addicts and abusers are causing almost ALL pain patients to LOSE their rightfully prescribed OPIOID MEDICATION. They are suffering and having to be punished because of someone else’s downfall and out-of-control behavior, and addiction . Please don’t attack them but instead try to put yourself in their shoes and vice versa.
BECAUSE NOW ..pain patients finally find a WAY …out of this unfair mess, only to find that perhaps the same thing is happening with Kratom? I’m definitely not here to dodge the truth, by any means. I’m here to expose it… with as much GRACE as I CAN.
Until the stigma diminishes in this country and we become educated on our behavior regarding addiction and dependency, we will remain mentally sick and addicted as a whole. Meaning if we never address the actual issue and get help for what drove us to take that extra drink or that extra pill or that extra spoon of sugar ..then we won’t ever really fix our problems or behaviors. We will be like that spinning hamster, spinning our wheels, doing the same thing over and over. We will remain in the dark, sick with our addictions.
Don’t be afraid of change. It’s the only way we can grow. It’s the only WAY…. new and exciting positives can enter into our lives. Such wonderful things can happen to you, with just the slightest change. 💚
With that said, I am a die-hard fan of the American Kratom Association. If you know me on Facebook or Twitter, I’m sure you know how much I ADORE THEE Sir Mac Haddow. Please go to their website and sign up for automatic monthly donations. http://www.americankratomassociation.com Little as $25 a month can make a huge impact on our Kratom Community. We MUST keep fighting in order to win the war on Kratom.
We are literally FIGHTING for our lives and the future of our children. I know for a fact I want my son to have Kratom, as an option for when he might need it. He’s going to be a firefighter. I would say that’s an important job that may require pain management at times. These heroes need safe, holistic alternatives.
Also, my advocacy style is to present the truth of the <<>> when it comes to this plant. Here is some Kratom Truth ~
Compared to opioids, Kratom is scientifically PROVEN to be 1,000 times SAFER than morphine. Let’s think about that for a minute. If Kratom is 1,000 times safer than morphine, then how harmful can withdrawals be. If you don’t have any evidence or PROOF that SHOWS someone’s health being harmed by a Kratom withdrawal, then Kratom hasn’t been shown to be harmful thus far.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31647958/
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More Kratom Truth Backing Up The Fact That Mitragynine (the primary alkaloid in Kratom) does NOT INDUCE PHYSIOLOGIC DEPENDENCY but can alleviate the physical symptoms associated with morphine withdrawal. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31832720/
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‘The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) concurrently funded two independent studies on the addiction liability of Kratom’s alkaloids, and those conclusions directly address why kratom is not scheduled today by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) because it does not meet the scheduling criteria in the federal Controlled Substances Act:
Abuse liability and therapeutic potential of the Mitragyna speciosa (kratom) alkaloids
mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, Hemby, et. al., that concluded “present findings indicate that MG does not have abuse potential and reduces morphine intake, desired characteristics of candidate pharmacotherapies for opiate addiction and withdrawal . . ‘ ~ The American Kratom Association
The present findings indicate that MG does not have abuse potential and reduces morphine intake ~ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/adb.12639
But, FIRST Think About it
Southeast Beautiful Kratom Education 
I’m going to weigh in hear. I’ve only talked to a tiny fraction of the people Kami has, but I’ve gotten the same thing. Even people who have routinely abused very powerful opioids like fentanyl and oxycodone, get relief with Kratom. There’s generaly a sliding scale. The more potent the pain pill you had, the more kratom you have to take. However, that rule is not absolute. For me, 6g of capsules, which is generally 12 standard sized kratom capsules, provides relief. I’d like to tell anyone who is attacking Kami or any other kratom user to politely stop. I am officially putting such people on notice that should they continue, I’ll weigh in. And I will not do it politely like Kami does. I am very passionate about this plant and what it can do, and I do not appreciate anyone discouraging anyone from at the very least giving kratom a try before giving up on it. You do not have the right to transfer your bad experience onto others, nor to tell them that they will experience the same. Only they know their pain story and only they can say what works for them and what does not. Just as 6g is enough for me, someone might require less, or more, sometimes considerably more. But that’s ok, this plant literally does not seem to have a toxic dose. If you take too much for your body to handle, the absolute worst that will happen is that you will become sick and possibly throw it up. That’s literally it. I believe it may be technically possible to overdose on kratom, to the point where you have typical opioid overdose symptoms, but I can’t even begin to guess at the extreme doses required for humans, probably kilograms per kilogram of body weight, in other words, you’d have to take kilos of kratom for each pound you weigh, and that’s just physically not possible. Not only could you not swallow that much, but your stomach couldn’t hold such a vast amount. And that’s not even taking into account how youo’d immediately throw it up. Immediately. I would never presume to tell someone that you cannot have withdrawals from kratom, because I believe it is actually possible. But Kami and a hell of a lot of others are right, it is incredibly rare. Even if a person has withdrawals, the symtoms are night and day different from opioids, in which you can have a hell of a lot of aweful symptoms, rls and nausea being the least of them, usually a powerful surge of depression, pain, and overall unwellness. If you’ve had a bad experience with kratom, I’m sorry about that, but you do not, under any circumstances, turn into a kratom crusader and start shepherding people away from this plant. YOu don’t have the experience or the knowledge to make such a call. I don’t care if you’re a doctor, pharmacist, rn, lvn, or a regular guy trying to hep others. You do not assume that just because you didn’t find relief from kratom, no one else will. Kami is an incredibly kind person who has helped lots of others, including myself, take and advocate for this plant, and I will find anyone who continues to attack her. If you’re skeptical about kratom, by all means come to her or anyone else who knows about kratom. But if oyuo’re on a hate crusade, you want to try to tell everyone the truth as you see it, which is that kratom does not work, stay the fuck away. I find out anyone’s doing it and I will get involved, and you will not like it when I do. I don’t bluff, I don’t threaten, I simply do. You’re not limited to taking kratom the way someone else is either. Someone else’s kratom schedule might do absolutely nothing for you. There are people who take it once a day and they’re good. There are people, like me, who take it three or four times a day to maintain relief. Kratom is not a miracle plant. It can help, but you cannot simply abuse or overuse opioids for years and expect to substitute something else for them and expect to have no symptoms. Opioids are powerful drugs with powerful effects and even more powerful reinforcing effects, in other words withdrawals.
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Fixed brother 🙏🍃
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oh boy, I said get relief with heroine, not kratom. Wtf? Where’s my brain. Kami can you maybe change that? Oh boy, I’m going to hear about that one very soon
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Sure
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Amen, could not have said it better myself. My mom is the type of person you describe, hinting that she doesn’t need pain meds and since she doesn’t, I shouldn’t either. For the longest time I let her be right, took no more than the dose of tram I had to to function, until the pain started to get out of control. At that point she started actively hounding me, you should follow your doctors instructions never mind the pain, they went to medical school and you haven’t. I finally said enough is enough. I did end up overusing the tramadol, but I didn’t see a choice. it was either do that, suffer, or take an even more powerful opioid which would have caused me to overuse that. My pain tolerance isn’t great. I don’t take something every time I hurt, but the point at which I hurt enough to take something is lower than most other people’s. And I am made to feel like a drug addict every time my mom sees me do it. She doesn’t even say anything anymore, just looks at me, and the looks say it all. She turned me onto kratom, and yet resents the fact that I still take it. I have the idea she wishes I’d taken it just long enough to detox, her words, and then stopped taking anythign except OTC stuff. It’s hard to break someone who is so convinced of their rightness out of such a trap. Ordinarily I never speak up in my own defense or someone else’s, unless I feel emotionally obligated to. Unless I think the emotional abuse is so great, someone has to step in. When I do step in, I step in in a big way. I try to walk a middle line with kratom, I don’t hold it up as a miracle and I don’t decry it as not useful. I sometimes fail at this, but I try. Millions of pain patients should, after being cut off their pain meds for whatever reason, be told about kratom from the doctor or nurse that did the cutting. This doesn’t happen, so the patient is left to wander in a daze, often wondering where they stepped wrong, what did they do to get cut off? The answer in most cases is not a damn thing. Doctors, for all the good they do, can be surprisingly shallow and kallow people. Not all are like this before I get flamed, but some doctors do this. There’s such a thing as a gog complex, and some doctors, not many but some, see themselves as having all the medical knowledge and experience, and we’re just dumb patients, who don’t know any better. Kami is the kind of nurse all nurses shoudl aspire to be. Kind, considerate, soft spoken, slow to anger. But even she has a breaking point, and if you push her too far, she will eventually lose her cool. Me, I’m much quicker to flare up. Once I do flare up, I take a really, really long time to cool back down, kratom does nothing for such anger. It takes what I see as an injustice or cruelty to get me to flare up, but it happens. People being emotionally abused by others because they want to take a plant instead of listening to their doctor and taking nothing or tylenol is one very easy way to cause it. No one has the right to tell others what they can or should take. The person living with the pain knows and only they know how bad it is, and what they do to relieve it. You can advise, to a point, but when you get to the point of fighting with them, you’re long past that point. I’m no exception I sometimes do this as well, though I try to be cautious and do it little. I am not perfect, I am only human.
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