Ethnobotanicals Has anyone ever tried Kava?

[AutoTripper]

Yeah, I've had Kava Kava. I believe they sell it in capsule form on amazon. Or they did when I bought it a couple times, around 2015.
It's definitely not a Gabapentinoid, though. I honestly can't remember if it did anything for me or not. Maybe helped with anxiety a little, maybe not.

Capsules will never work. It’s a dud economy. The people who encapsulate and fancily market kava in shiny packaging for the uninformed Magpie should be deterred from the marketplace.

They are doing a grand injustice to kava. The amount of people now who said they tried kava, capsules from Amazon, didn’t do anything, and that’s as far as it went, barely a memory.

Kava doesn’t work via capsule. It could, but a minimum dose is about 5 grams of instant kava, and 25 grams total usually for a full session.

25 grams of powder, that must be 30-45 capsules at the 0.96… ml size, is it 00?

So you would never have taken enough.

The capsules may be an extract, in which case even worse as you want to avoid extracts.

If instant kava, there’s no way it will be anywhere near the best to offer.

Instant kava or Noble kava is the only way to actually try it. No capsules, no extracts, I don’t encourage Micronized kava either just no need it’s a silly product
IMO, they should just scrap it and process all of the kava into regular grind or instant.

I’ve not once tried micronized and never will. I’m not missing anything. It’s inferior to Instant kava, and more side effect prone than the other two, due to coarser fibres that will be irritating to sensitive stomachs, which I have extreme.

Hence again, me sharing these views and trying to dispel myths, shameful ones really, and misinformation, as well as help people understand how to at least give kava an actual try, including where capsules have been tried and kava dismissed.

So really it’s like, a high percentage of people who have heard of kava ask if it’s meant to be bad for the liver, or they confess to having tried capsules from Amazon, and that it didn’t do anything.

You see the injustice kava is served as a result of the misinformation flawed studies decades ago, plus the sham money-grabbing middle men, looking purely to make a buck by patenting a brand of any old sort of….kava powder, in capsules, without the tiniest bit of research, appreciation for how kava works and why it is used, and without giving a damn whether their shitty capsules work or not.

They don’t basically.

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

Capsules will never work. It’s a dud economy. The people who encapsulate and fancily market kava in shiny packaging for the uninformed Magpie should be deterred from the marketplace.

They are doing a grand injustice to kava. The amount of people now who said they tried kava, capsules from Amazon, didn’t do anything, and that’s as far as it went, barely a memory.

Kava doesn’t work via capsule. It could, but a minimum dose is about 5 grams of instant kava, and 25 grams total usually for a full session.

25 grams of powder, that must be 30-45 capsules at the 0.96… ml size, is it 00?

So you would never have taken enough.

The capsules may be an extract, in which case even worse as you want to avoid extracts.

If instant kava, there’s no way it will be anywhere near the best to offer.

Instant kava or Noble kava is the only way to actually try it. No capsules, no extracts, I don’t encourage Micronized kava either just no need it’s a silly product
IMO, they should just scrap it and process all of the kava into regular grind or instant.

I’ve not once tried micronized and never will. I’m not missing anything. It’s inferior to Instant kava, and more side effect prone than the other two, due to coarser fibres that will be irritating to sensitive stomachs, which I have extreme.

Hence again, me sharing these views and trying to dispel myths, shameful ones really, and misinformation, as well as help people understand how to at least give kava an actual try, including where capsules have been tried and kava dismissed.

So really it’s like, a high percentage of people who have heard of kava ask if it’s meant to be bad for the liver, or they confess to having tried capsules from Amazon, and that it didn’t do anything.

You see the injustice kava is served as a result of the misinformation flawed studies decades ago, plus the sham money-grabbing middle men, looking purely to make a buck by patenting a brand of any old sort of….kava powder, in capsules, without the tiniest bit of research, appreciation for how kava works and why it is used, and without giving a damn whether their shitty capsules work or not.

They don’t basically.

I have zero idea. This was 6 years ago and I was also drinking about 6 bottles of wine a day.

 

[AutoTripper]

I have zero idea. This was 6 years ago and I was also drinking about 6 bottles of wine a day.

Well, it was possibly better then, or surely, that you didn’t actually get proper kavalactones into your system.

Kava really must never be combined with alcohol. A.ways keep day, or days apart.

One or the other. If you had spent a week say, using proper, effective kava and drinking alcohol even moderately, I’d feel there is a fair chance of actual permanent liver harm.

Remove the alcohol, and kava is safe as houses at least for a normal, averagely healthy liver. I can’t say for sure that every liver, such as already diseased ones, are at risk from kava, but neither have I come across a single reason or take to advise caution besides taking a naturally cautionary approach in the event of the unknown.

The best instant Kavas are the top experience practically, kava wise, GHK if in USA, RootsofHappiness instant would be good too.

Any genuine instant kava will be effective and quality. Some are just a level up.

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

Well, it was possibly better then, or surely, that you didn’t actually get proper kavalactones into your system.

Kava really must never be combined with alcohol. A.ways keep day, or days apart.

One or the other. If you had spent a week say, using proper, effective kava and drinking alcohol even moderately, I’d feel there is a fair chance of actual permanent liver harm.

Remove the alcohol, and kava is safe as houses at least for a normal, averagely healthy liver. I can’t say for sure that every liver, such as already diseased ones, are at risk from kava, but neither have I come across a single reason or take to advise caution besides taking a naturally cautionary approach in the event of the unknown.

The best instant Kavas are the top experience practically, kava wise, GHK if in USA, RootsofHappiness instant would be good too.

Any genuine instant kava will be effective and quality. Some are just a level up.

I was drinking 4-6 bottles of wine and a 700ml bottle of vodka every day, so stopping THAT (which would definitely have killed me; the withdrawal I mean) for something as mild/slight of Kava Kava would definitely not have been worth it.

You seem almost aggressively into Kava. You sure you're not invested in it or something?

 

[AutoTripper]

I was drinking 4-6 bottles of wine and a 700ml bottle of vodka every day, so stopping THAT (which would definitely have killed me; the withdrawal I mean) for something as mild/slight of Kava Kava would definitely not have been worth it.

You seem almost aggressively into Kava. You sure you're not invested in it or something?

You have assumed very wrongly there. I’ve no objective. Just natural. Passionate yes. I would admit to being a slightly aggressive user.

You are likely just picking up on the passion I feel over the silly injustice the FDA or whatever institute has done to kava, and the injustice of too many potential recipients of kava’s benefits being missed because quack profiteerers sell useless capsules.

So it’s a passion, because imagine if cannabis was unknown to the same extent, for the same reasons.

I can tell you one very particular area kava has a rightful place, and is backed up by testimony after testimony, of ex heavy alcoholics who switched indefinitely to kava and couldn’t be happier.

To them, kava has been a lifesaver and a way of a new, happier healthier lifestyle.

I don’t sell kava lol. But I can appreciate how you took me wrong, just wildly off the mark I assure. I’m just being emphatic at times to really try and make the necessary basic facts as clear as possible, and leave no room for misinterpretation.

 

[JackARoe]

I’ve no objective. Just natural. Passionate yes.

AutoTripper being pasionate is a good thing. I saw how your passion for cannabis created a beautiful garden. Color me impressed. Never feel guilty for being passinate about healthy things.

Plus we need more accurate info on Kava. We still see threads that ask "is kava any good?" But there is a definate process to get it to work to the point of it being satisfying and worth it. I can say one time I go so buzzed on kava the room was spinning and I ended up vomiting as if too drunk. Another time sounds felt so loud and I can hear the ocean waves in the distance.

It is a genuine intoxicant when used correcty. It has to be quality and proper process though to make it.

 

[AutoTripper]

AutoTripper being pasionate is a good thing. I saw how your passion for cannabis created a beautiful garden. Color me impressed. Never feel guilty for being passinate about healthy things.

Plus we need more accurate info on Kava. We still see threads that ask "is kava any good?" But there is a definate process to get it to work to the point of it being satisfying and worth it. I can say one time I go so buzzed on kava the room was spinning and I ended up vomiting as if too drunk. Another time sounds felt so loud and I can hear the ocean waves in the distance.

It is a genuine intoxicant when used correcty. It has to be quality and proper process though to make it.

Thanks man. Your inputs are interesting and valuable.

I can say too, on occasions, I’ve been literally paralytic on kava.

As wasted as on anything. Can only see with one eye shut for hours, still a double vision blur.

Walking is a task, like muscles, legs all stiff and wonky, no balance. Like a k hole.

And music is always the best in that state.

I try to avoid though, I’m not ever looking to be debilitated, but kava has debilitated me.

It’s Fijian Kadavu atm from Artofkava. It’s over 10% kavalactones so way stronger than average.

But I have their Dokabana too, over 6% Kavalactones, it’s a different effect profile to the 13.79% kavalactone Koro Island batch I got, but it feels just as strong per gram, so IMO there’s a lot more to it than just kavalactones.

Science is about 30 years behind with kava vs cannabis possibly, but as time advances, given a world of possibility, the rate would probably speed up.

Instant kava is unanimously regarded somehow as causing the least side effects. Like, nausea, dermopathy with prolonged heavy use- not at all serious in itself, it’s just a dose/duration related temporary symptom of dry skin, that always quickly recedes when dose is cut back, or better hydrated I’ve found.

Like, I’ve just gotten the first symptoms of dermopathy this week, I’ve been using a lot, like 60 to 80 grams a day.

I must have gotten dehydrated because it’s suddenly present, just flaky, itchy and dry skin.

First time since last year. If I reduced to 45 grams a day, it would recede.

40 or less, vanish within 4 days. Or if I drunk a lot more water, that would reduce it too.

IME. It’s nothing to fear though. A purely harmless temporary dose related side effect, self correcting.

So Instant kava is known to be less likely to cause all, any of kava’s known potential or common (harmless ftr) side effects.

Side effects from drugs usually is related to a form of toxicity or even minor damage.

This is a different type of side effect.

 

[psynce of sound]

I believe kava also affects GABA in a unique way, though certainly different than muscimol. Muscimol is an agonist of the muscarinic GABA receptor subtype, which clearly has substantially different effects, but is still part of the GABA system. Not sure if anyone really knows exactly how kava works, but if there are any papers on it that anyone knows of I'd love to see them.

From my quick read it appears to be a positive modulator of GABA agonism, I'm not sure if that translates into the same thing as a positive allosteric modulator or not though.

 

[psynce of sound]

AutoTripper being pasionate is a good thing. I saw how your passion for cannabis created a beautiful garden. Color me impressed. Never feel guilty for being passinate about healthy things.

Plus we need more accurate info on Kava. We still see threads that ask "is kava any good?" But there is a definate process to get it to work to the point of it being satisfying and worth it. I can say one time I go so buzzed on kava the room was spinning and I ended up vomiting as if too drunk. Another time sounds felt so loud and I can hear the ocean waves in the distance.

It is a genuine intoxicant when used correcty. It has to be quality and proper process though to make it.

I must admit it is one of the number of herbs and substances that I do wish yo try, this and Kratom are high on that list.

I couldn't agree more about us needing more accurate information. As it is it's suffering we with the same issues eith being understudied thanks to good ole' prohibition.

 

[emkee_reinvented]

So they don't have credentials, they are just a bunch of randoms who take a given substance.
Remember a lot of us actively research and follow the science but none of us will claim to be experts that hold kore valid opinions than actual experts who made a career from what they do.

Yeah you kind of have been, baring in mind it's a basic fact of targeting GABA that it will cause addiction and dependency. That's established science.
So you're now claiming that you and a bunch of randoms know for a fact that this sole substance that happens to target GABA can alone do something that no other GABA agent can. As said that is a huge huge claim that flies in the face of established science.

I welcome absolutely anything scientific that evidences your claim. I won't hold my breath though I do hope you can prove without a shadow of a doubt that you're right as that would be most curious.

Anywho happy searching, I look forward to reviewing what you find.

Its not the only one,its along with Valerian which also work's on Gaba and is not as habit forming or addicting in a way most gaba-ergics are.

 

[psynce of sound]

Its not the only one,its along with Valerian which also work's on Gaba and is not as habit forming or addicting in a way most gaba-ergics are.

As before I would like to see information on this please?

 

[Snafu in the Void]

Are those standardized extracts of kava you find at whole foods and stuff worth it? Bunk?

 

[AutoTripper]

Are those standardized extracts of kava you find at whole foods and stuff worth it? Bunk?

Well by worth it I’m confident you mean effective, worth trying for Kava’s experience sake.

But there is another way of classing worthyness.. Like, Adrenachrome is likely a mental buzz, but the most karma tainted and therefore soul destroying drug, I expect there are others, or Crack, a wicked buzz I’ll admit to having appreciated, but it would not have been worth it for me to be a crack-head, walk that road of dishonesty, selfishness, likely crime.

Alcohol is enjoyed but it doesn’t always seem like it was worth it the next day, or at least there comes a point when any more isn’t worth it.

So angle one, I can’t say how effective any particular kava extract will or won’t be, but my stern advice is to simply forget extracts are even available.

It’s not how kava is intended to be used. Extracts don’t generally contain the same profile of Kavalactones as regular kava, and only those main 6 in any measurable or effective quantity. In extracts there are different kavalactones which are never present in any Noble or Instant, even Micronized Kava, which are known to be hepatoxic.

The primary 6 are not.

Extracts can be dangerous. I did actually buy an extract one time, I ran through 10 grams in my initial phase of drinking kava,,with regular alongside.

One thing, this extract ponged extreme. Not pleasantly.

It did work actually, but I would never consider using an extract again. I forgot about it entirely in fact, until now, I didn’t forget Kratom exists, or anything else worth knowing about.

I don’t feel it’s worth it, effect and experience wise, even if it was perfectly safe on paper, which it just isn’t.

I would honestly try a good Instant kava, such as GHK offer. If they shipped to me, I’d likely have a packet each or M’oi, Nene and Hiwa Instant here.

And I’d get my noble from Kavatime. Squanch kava too.

But I strongly discourage extracts full stop for the reasons above.

@Snafu of the Forest good to see you man, hope you are set for a good Sunday.

Just treating a murderous brand new viral infection. Came this week, filled my lungs I didn’t get up yesterday at all, I need a serious steam inhalation routine to clear literally 2 full cups of mucus from my airways, before any food is an option, or even kava, Cannabis, Coffee.

Only Etizolam can I take before 2-3 hours of torturous mucus clearance.

Hence my addiction to it. I hit a thousand dead ends, Etiz is the only psychoactive substance in the world I know of right now that doesn’t exacerbate allergy and respiratory symptoms and need extra symptom management and catching up for.

I’m gonna whack this infection down using electromedicine today. On area one of about 9 on my lungs, already mucus is pouring up from this one spot below my throat.

Somehow this new virus has got to what I call the 95% stage.

I’ve been as low as 15% many times of late. This one spread so quick, like wildfire always.

I can’t afford to let them do that. Racking my brains for days now trying to understand how it happened, what to change, not do, do.

I guess surely 350 people live in my street. I can guarantee, if I did exactly what each single person does today, i.e. every thing they eat, drink, swallow, smoke, and didn’t do all the extreme alternative treatments my life depends on, I’ll be right up shit creek again.

It’s such a tight rope to walk. It would really be so much easier to clear all the mucus, knock down infections just so I can breathe, and stay in bed and starve, no food, drugs or anything that causes more mucus.

It takes the strive and determination of an Olympian, to keep fighting back to the surface again, no exaggeration.

With PTSD from daily endurances. That’s why I need my drugs.

Tomorrow should be infinitely easier to face if I play my cards right(ish).

Like, 20% as rough as today has been, and would have been yesterday but I just couldn’t face it.

I will get a full diagnosis next Thursday. I feel this one may be Covid fir the 3rd time.

Or two other possible viruses. 4 on my radar I seek to avoid, to which if I had immunity my life would be comparative heaven.

It’s getting much easier to breathe now, mucus stopped coming out of that one area. On to area two now.

 

[emkee_reinvented]

As before I would like to see information on this please?

They both were inactive afaik.

Not very scientific but truth, for me at least.

 

[emkee_reinvented]

Are those standardized extracts of kava you find at whole foods and stuff worth it? Bunk?

Depend's on the brand. Solgar as example was not inactive

 

[AutoTripper]

Does instant Kava have the potential to cause nausea and vomiting? I just experienced this with some kratom that arrived today. Might have to make tea out of it because my empty stomach is rejecting the plant matter for some reason. Never had that problem like 2 weeks ago.

Do you mean, as I am guessing from your exact words there to establish a context, which is vital for any any answer, that you (this is what my imagination has come up with, 2 plausibilities- have been using instant kava recently, and have just added kratom in on top, in addition to the kava?

Or the other way round- have been using Kratom already and since just say, throwing instant kava into the ring, you are experiencing nausea in places and to levels your kratom use has never done before?

That is what is most logical to my guessing mind, and I could give you a pretty sure very simplistic answer in each of those cases.

But Ive no actual idea if you have used kava in recently times. Or kratom use history.

Just need some gaps filling in. The boring details would be even more useful, eg- 19 grams instsnt kava, plus 6 grams of Green Malay, then... vs tuesday, 15 grams....etc.

Just to gauge things.

If you are asking what I have to presume, the answer will be quite simple.

Option 3 though, and from your wording alone, zero independent thinking (a marvellous gift lol but gets you in trouble), is what we would have to assume without a predictive imagination- you are yet to acquire instant kava currently and are just curious how it might affect nausea, in light of this kratom experience.

But then I would have to assume also if I just followed the impression or potential implication of your words, that Kratom was just introducing, and my gut tells me that isn't the case.

 

[pally pete]

I've seen this drink called kava or kava kava being advertised online, it seems to be legal in most countries around the world. Apparently it is a natural alternative to xanax and benzos and is pretty potent. Has anyone ever tried it? Apparently it affects GABA receptors and is a MAO B enzyme inhibitor. It seems to be readily available on Instagram and through a lot of online stores.

If you're expecting any anxylosis anywhere near the level that Benzodiazepines provide, you will most likely be massively disappointed.

 

[AutoTripper]

If you're expecting any anxylosis anywhere near the level that Benzodiazepines provide, you will most likely be massively disappointed.

I don't support that.

Massively. That is not for sure and each case can vary.

I disadree, but I understand exactly why are you say that and the good reason for you saying so and I can relate to it but it's not so clear cut necessarily.

I'm a very bad advert for all of this because I use way above average quantities of Kava the highest quality as well as insane amount of benzodiazepines but I also use even more insane and rare amounts of LSD.

If I did not use Kava I could take all the benzos in the world and I will add some Kava in and my anxiety will be washed away it makes literally the world of difference on top.

But then again because of the level of benzodiazepine use it's impossible for me to feel settled and relaxed and comfortable under any conditions if I am withdrawing heavily now.

I started using both of these anxiety coping mechanisms at exactly the same time so I never had the chance to see if one of them alone would work without needing the bad one basically and getting into such a deep trench.

I think it's possible that certain people meaning anybody potentially depending on the case and situation could find valuable relief from kava this way but it would need to be high-quality and used properly so I'm not sure what your own experience has been whether you had a mediocre product or did not work through reverse tolerance for long enough or did not prepare properly in some way?

Because I'm not refuting what you are saying that can certainly be the experience.

Just not necessarily. I hope anyway. (Not for myself. I have no hope but probably actually just enough for I don't think I will need a great lot now to get through.)

 

[Xorkoth]

Reactions to kava vary widely. Personally I have never gotten much from it and find it very inconsistent. For me the effects are certainly stronger than placebo, but are not very pronounced. A few times (out of hundreds of times taking it and using lots of different sources and batches including many times with the same stuff verified by others), I have gotten a very nice rush of pleasantness that I really liked, but it wore off quickly and left me feeling a bit weird afterwards. Every other time I got a very subtle relaxation and mood lift. Just doesn't seem to do it for me.

If you do try it, make sure you get real ground kava and don't try to use the stuff in capsules you get from supplement stores, that stuff will not do a thing. You have to look into how to brew it as it's not the sort of thing you just pour hit water over. The kavalactones (the active compounds) are not soluble in water so brewing involves lots of squeezing or blending to free the compounds from the root and suspend them in the water. Consuming the plant material seems to make me feel like shit and from what I understand is bad for your liver.

 

[Balissa]

@AutoTripper dude thank you for all this info. On a whim I ordered some Kava without really researching it after I seen an article about it being helpful to combat the side effects of chemotherapy. Any relief it will give me from those nasty side effects will be worth the money. I ordered Bir Kar Celebration from Artofkava because of the reviews. I gotta admit I don’t fully understand the kavalactones or how the GABA receptors are activated but I’m learning. I’ve got pancreatic cancer (stage 4) so I’m prescribed some opioids, neurontin and Ativan along side a whole host of other meds to combat the side effects cause I’m on a hella harsh regime like sitting at the hospital for 8 hours getting treatment then wearing a chemo bag home for 46 hours it’s insanely hard on my body. The best things I have on my side is my family, my relatively young age (37) and people who take the time out of their day to educate people about possible tips and tricks for relief because my oncologist is someone I don’t like and don’t trust but because of where I live I don’t really have a lot of options so I try to educate myself the best I can while I’m waiting on my appointment for a pancreatic cancer specialist to see me at the end of the month. I appreciate the hell out of your passion and I’m excited to try Kava. I hope I picked a good one. I’ll definitely let ya know how it turns out and I’ll tell my awesome nurses to spread the word around the cancer center. Thanks again for the info.