I've been doing the Kratom dance for several years now, ranging from using occasionally up to binges lasting several months to a year or more. I unfortunately have had my fair share of withdrawals from harder opiates as well and some of this is gleaned from those experiences as well. Using Kratom for long enough periods of time in high enough doses will give you withdrawal very reminiscent to that of the hardest opiates, despite peoples tendency to downplay Kratom withdrawal or scoff at it saying it doesn’t even compare to such and such opiate withdrawal… well, everyone is different, but for me personally it certainly ranks up there with the best of opiates. The good news is, the duration of withdrawal symptoms and PAWS is usually far less. 3-5 days for withdrawal on average and about 2 weeks after that for PAWS is usually what I experience.
The (UC) following a listed item will indicate to use sparingly, or to use with caution as they have their own addictive qualities and possibility for withdrawal as well. After going through Kratom withdrawals the last thing you want to have to do is withdraw from something else, so please be careful with these ones. I only list them because they are, unfortunately, some of the most helpful.
Anyway, that being said, this following regimen is one I have tinkered with for years and seems to work pretty effectively, for me at least. You may need to play with the dosage or avoid certain substances as everyone reacts and metabolizes differently. As always, use extreme caution and start at the lowest dosage indicated for these products if you have never used them, or used them in combination. Be careful.
Taper
Taper off. Reduce your dosage as much as you can while feeling comfortable, over the period a week or two. You will feel some discomfort – but the goal here isn’t to get high keep that in mind - It’s to take as little as you can, but still be able to function. As you taper you can start to introduce the items listed below as needed, based on symptoms, to ease any discomfort. Psychologically, it seems to reduce some of my anxiety if I have a small supply left when I stop dosing. For some reason knowing it’s there if I need it makes it easier for me. But to do the above you need to exercise a lot of self-control. If you don’t think you can, taper off to the best of your ability and use up or throw out what you have left - or just dump it and go cold turkey.
I’ll start with the ones that actually don’t involve taking more substances, but doing something. There is science behind all of these, but this is already getting too lengthy. If you don’t believe me, do the research!
Excersize.
I know this is the last thing you’ll want to do, with little no energy and feeling like overall hell… but force yourself to do it. The benefits will be obvious. Don’t under estimate the power of this one. Usually with the regimen I will list below, I feel good enough at least to get a little in. Push yourself to do this.
Cold Showers – At least twice a day
I know this is another hard one when your temperature feels as out of whack as it will when in withdrawal but again, don’t underestimate this. Try it for at least one day, no matter how uncomfortable, this always improves my mood and actually helps with the cold sweats/feverish feelings quite a lot. It seems to actually help my body regulate temperature or the perception of temperature more effectively.
Nutrition
Eat balanced and healthy (small) meals as often as you can. I know your appetite will be close to nothing and whatever you eat might come out one end or the other pretty soon, but it’s important to try to force some food down. Avoid greasy foods – they will just add to the inability to keep food IN your stomach. The substances I’m going to list below might also help recover your appetite and keep some of the food down, it does for me at least.
Here comes the list of what to take, I don’t usually take all of these at once – I address the symptoms as they come and go and treat as needed. It’s also impossible to really prescribe a regimen that works for everyone as we all react so differently, and have different symptoms during withdrawal.
Phenibut 2-3g (UC)
This helps the body and mind. It improves your mood and seriously helps with the restlessness, sleep, anxiety and depression. Helps with body aches and pains. Also seems to help with my appetite, I’m not sure why I can’t really find any science to back that up. This is probably one of the most helpful ones for me. Don’t overdo it though.
Xanax - as needed, I usually take .5 at a time (UC)
Helps with getting to sleep and also with any anxiety the Phenibut doesn’t eliminate or in rotation with the Phenibut in order to avoid tolerance/withdrawals to either substance.
Lyrica -75-150mg (UC)
Helps with sleep, anxiety and body aches and pains – pretty significantly for aches and pains. Take in conjunction with Naproxen or Ibuprofen and it usually almost completely eliminates those symptoms.
Kava – 250-500mg (UC) – Tolerance builds up EXTREMELY fast
It’s very helpful for sleep and anxiety, and restlessness.
Note: Rotate with all of the above, they all treat similar symptoms but have tolerance build up, addiction potential and/or withdrawal symptoms of their own, so use these in rotation as needed. The Phenibut seems to be the most helpful but try not to take any of these for more than 3 days in a row.
Loperamide – about 50mg is the sweet spot for me
Helps with many of the body symptoms, most importantly the diarrhea and upset stomach. Usually when I take 50+mg I’ll even get some of my appetite back. It doesn’t cross the blood-brain barrier so it won’t help with any of the mental symptoms but this one is very effective for the body related symptoms.
Inositol/Choline 500-1000mg
Seems to give me a bit of energy and helps with the mental fog. Clears up the cobwebs a little.
Noopept 10-30mg
Same as above. Gives you back a little mental clarity and some energy. Also makes it a bit easier to get some exercise in.
Multivitamin
Anything you can do to help your body, will help you.
Vitamin B Complex
Helps with energy and depression.
5-HTP – Anywhere from 1-300mg
Helps significantly with depression, but be careful with the dosage because it can cause nausea with is the last thing you want to give yourself more of.
L-Theanine
Helps with anxiety and seems to make it a little easier to relax.
L-Tyrosine and Mucuna Pruriens
Helps produce some much-needed dopamine. Will help with the feelings of boredom and depression.
Omega -3 fatty acids
Helps regain some focus and concentration.
Several of these supplements and vitamins I already take on a daily basis but it’s extra important during withdrawals.
Anyway, this helps me significantly. It usually eliminates many of the symptoms and makes it much more bearable. If done right, I’m fully functional. Not at my best, but I can still go to work and handle day-to-day life. I sincerely hope this helps you get through your withdrawals – This has been years of experimentation and I hope that my experience can help you get through yours. Always remember to keep in mind the reason you wanted to quit in the first place and that the state you are in is only temporary. It will get better day-by-day. Try not to think too far ahead as in “ugh I have another week of this shite to go through”. Take it one day at a time.
Good luck to all of you going through this. I hope this helps you achieve your goals.
