For those following my "story" I'm going to post another update. My ultimate goal is to give a small write up and summarization of my OVERALL experiences with Kratom, the different types I've used, and how best to prepare and use them. This will follow in a few days - week or so to when I have the time to really sit down, reflect, and write it up. UEI is one topic I'm going to reflect on very positively, because I found the "addictive" nature of it to be far less than I originally thought, and thus I actually WOULD recommend it to hardened opiate addicts looking to get clean. More to come on that.
Anyway, I'm now 3 days off UEI, completely. Days 1 and 2 I was certainly in a state of WD, but it was FAR, FAR, FAR less severe than the initial WD from Oxy. I actually dosed 26mg of Loperamide and it abated the symptoms completely, repeated at 30mg the next day. Today I haven't taken any more loperamide and actually just got done making a strong cup of Bali tea (about 18g) and not only did it obliterate the lingering WD symptoms I had, I fucking feel fantastic, all around. Best I've felt in years, honestly. This is my first dose of ANY type of Kratom in about 85 hours. I'm definitely on the path to sobriety here, finally. All I can say is at points this process felt hopeless, but the lingering notion of how much better off I'd be (not spending a shitfuckton of money, for one, with a family and mortgage to take care of) saw me through it.
And, thank you to any and all of you who have responded positively to me, gave me encouragement, and told me to hang in there (all not just in this thread, through my other topics as well), because honestly, this site is the best therapist I've ever had and I fucking have love for all of you, seriously. We're all somehow brothers (and sisters

) in this constant battle of the brain cells.
It's interesting, quitting opiates can be such a major philosophical choice in terms of methadology. You're either going to kick cold turkey and just tough it out, or use something (usually opioid based) to reduce the symptoms but at the expense, usually of protracting WD as I've chosen. So you're basically choosing between a longer, milder WD with periods of near-normalcy and periods of feeling bad to shitty, or a short, acute WD with one period of feeling ungodly, hellishly, purely fucking awful. I just feel like (my own methadology, if you will), in this day and age we have so much more general knowledge, so much more information readily available to us, and there are just so many ways to combat WD that I guess the only people choosing to just CT it out with only maybe just the Thomas recipee are people who truly need to put a foot past the gates of hell to make themselves realize how badly they want off.
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/19/10760892-asian-leaf-kratom-making-presence-felt-in-us-emergency-rooms?lite
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
I'm not one for prophecies, but stock up on your damn Kratom while you can. The idiots, sheeple, and soccer moms (all inherently one in the same) are going to ruin one of the most effective WD aids for us because of this garbage. Can't tell you how angry this article makes me, dunno who's seen it.
Better stock up on this potential "public health risk." But leave Tylenol freely available in high doses for everyone to kill their livers with. BRILLIANT.
So embarrassing to live in the USA at times. Ignorance prevails. Although the article makes an
attempt at removing bias and exposing its benefits, it largely retains a hefty negative spin that will surely make uninformed readers agree this is some kind of legal dope. Where is the logic and reasoning? How about a ballsy and idealistic physician standing up for Kratom and saying, "before we make any rash decisions, lets evaluate its potential as a treatment to opiate dependence." Instead, all I see is an inbred swine calling to ban it before a "research paper shows him it has any positive effects" ignoring all the fucking research readily available on Kratom; perhaps point this buckfutter to the google search bar? Fucking infuriating. I understand the process. I understand the role of the DEA and what it tries to do, but the public and media tend to jump to gross exaggerations and simplifications of a complex topic and somehow, someway the DEA tends to fall in line with public. Where is the professionalism, the impartiality, or FFS, the science in that?
An acceptable compromise would be to illegalize the extracts (although so much potential for severe WD aid lies with UEI) and allow the plain leaf to remain legal or at the very least 21 to purchase, illegal to drive on. A reasonable conclusion the DEA is vastly unlikely to go with.
Apologies for the harsh tone (I curse heavily in real life, what can I say, I must have Bristol Bay crab fisherman blood in me or something. Regardless if it's offensive to anyone or belittles the point of my post a mod is welcome to edit it out. I find it liberating to be on a forum where cursing isn't inherently banned so I don't have to censor myself, I do enough of that in my daily routine. I have a very strong penchant for vitriole that probably speaks to my darker, more nihilistic nature.)
It really hurts to think of what could come of this. People jumping back to heroin/harsher opiates; an effective dependence treatment and WD aid gone, oh yeah, and me still wallowing around in my own shit because I can't kick my oxy habit. But no big deal, the federal guvmint loves sending people back to their drug habits. The lack of progressive thinking offends me.