Hey guys,
I was just emailed asking for a follow up and wanted to post my response here in hopes it will help some of you:
Unfortunately the white willow bark didn't do much, and definitely didn't give me that "fix", however, I've found that the new, less potent, VivaZen as well as another similar product called "Lucky Shot", have helped me ween off of the stuff. The new VivaZen that has the black cap instead of the white, has the same ingredients as the old version, but less Kratom and less sugar, which was another part of the mental craving, even though I didn't realize it at first. The old VivaZen had like 20+ grams of sugar in a bottle, so the sugar intake was almost equivalent to a soda. The Lucky Shot and the new VivaZen aren't too powerful, but they still quell that urge for me. After a few weeks, I went from 4-6 of the old VivaZen a day to maybe 1-2 of the new ones every day or two. I'll have 1 if I'm getting the craving and I may or may not have another one at bed time if I'm stressed from the day and getting that craving. The good thing about it is now I can actually shrug off the craving with little effort where as before it was brutal. It's almost as if the problem solved itself. The new VivaZen aren't as potent so they weren't as alluring to me at first, but after not being able to find the old stuff, the new ones did the trick to quell that craving and get me down to a safer level. I really feel now I can work on quitting cold turkey and detoxing.
Another part of my tactic was that I started working out after work. I'm already in ok shape, but I committed to a gym membership and workout with one of my friends so he can hold me accountable, and the last thing you want in your system when you're trying to run or lift weights is Kratom and the other crap in those shots. The working out hasn't really helped me detox per say, but it limited the window of opportunity for me to go take a couple in the evening.
I really don't want to give them anymore of my money and in another week or two I think I'll be able to cut it quits for good and start avoiding the places that sell it so that it'll be out of sight out of mind.
I'll keep you posted.