@ podsnomo
How would you rank kratom withdrawal on a scale of 1 to 10??
And lets assume heroin and methadone are 10/10
I wish I could answer that confidently. I know I've heard of H WDs as being curled up on the floor with stuff squirting out both ends in complete misery and agony. I think these people should go to hospital. If that's a 10 then the kratom (physically) was a 2-3. Mentally/psychologically though there were a few rough hours at night mostly during the first 2 nights that ranked up there around a 9, being close to some of the worst psychological torture I've known, and believe me, I've known some.
Maybe I should describe my CT attempt with pods, my taper success with pods, and my CT quit from kratom to give you an idea of my experience.
When I tried to CT pods I was completely miserable, but not like what I said I'd heard of before. I had bad chills, soaking sweats alternating with freezing, burning/watering eyes, sneezes, runny nose, shits, stomach cramps, anxiety BAD, muscle spasms, depression, body hurt everywhere, no appetite, general psychological distress, insomnia, RLS, and that combination was a total mindfuck. I made it 5 days like this before I caved and started eating poppy pods again.
Later, When I tapered pods I had minor to moderate versions of all of the above at different times in different combinations with differing levels of severity, but nothing close to the CT quit. If my pods CT attempt was a 10 for me, my taper was 6-7 weeks of mostly a 2, sometimes jumping up briefly to a 4. I treated those symptoms during the taper with OTC things: loperamide, beneadryl, etc.
Then at the end of the taper I was done with feeling like total shit and thought kratom was a good out. I read what I wanted to read: that kratom was no big deal, sorta like caffeine, that it was soooo easy to quit, etc. Well, that wasn't true. And while I was on it I was obsessed with getting off it. But I couldn't. I'd get about 20-24 hours away from my last dose and be wracked with anxiety while feeling lethargic (fucking bizarre), sweating, chills, and couldn't face work or something else I needed to do, so I'd dose again. The way the kratom WDs started were the same as the way the the pods WDs started, so I feared the worst.
But I got fed up with it, flushed my remaining kratom and settled in for what may come. If my CT pods quit was my personal 10, then this was mostly a 5 with a couple brief jumps to to an 8. The first 2 days without were the worst of it, whereas pods WDs were still seeming to get worse on day 5. On day 3 it started to get better. The nights following the first and second full days of being off kratom had me putting down about a pint of 100 proof vodka to get knocked out. And that was on top of 1mg klonopin and 10 mg ambien. After that though, a 10mg melatonin and a 10mg ambien get me solid rest. It's day 6 kratom-free now and I have occasional mild chills, a little heightened anxiety at intervals through the day, but that's about it. I'm taking 10mg loperamide once a day (and sometimes4-6mg later in the day) and that's keeping my guts regular. I'll be taking 2mg fewer tomorrow and will wean off of those according to how my stomach reacts. I think the loperamide was a huge help, but I didn't take huge amounts as I have read others report, but I think they had much larger habits than mine, like big H or hydro or oxy habits.
So, wow, this was a long answer to short question. Short answer: having not gone through H or m-done WDs (but having read about it) and calling those a 10, I'd say kratom was a 1.2. It really is a walk in the park compared to what many opiate addicts go through, but getting down to that level was the long challenge. In the midst of my kratom WDs I might have called it an 8 though, because the psychological part really had me kind of crazy. But if one soldiers through, at least IME, one finds that kratom WDs are quite doable.
If you're wanting to get free and clean from kratom, or anyone reading this is, I recommend getting some loperamide, some benadryl, and some easy nutrition. I had no appetite for two and a half days. I made shakes to get nourishment. I'm convinced this was a life saver. I could not have gotten this quality of nutrition if I'd tried to eat regular food. My recipe: 1 banana, 2 scoops vanilla ice cream, a cup or so of soy milk, one bottle of Boost or Ensure+ (they're small), and 3 scoops of a nutritionally enhanced protein powder. This gave me calories and the Boost and protein powder are packed with vitamins, and most importantly, protein. I took a good daily vitamin too once a day. I made a shake 2 or 3 times a day to keep my strength. It worked.
Long reply I know, but I am so fucking happy to free and clean, to be able to look the world dead in the eye, to have nothing to hide. My mental faculties have improved dramatically. I am happier and more at peace with the world. I think more clearly. My emotions have stabilized. Instead of waking up craving and weighing out a dose of kratom, I wake up and look forward to a day of sobriety, free and clear. The mild anxiety and other very minor symptoms will continue to fade, but I don't mind them for now. All in all, this has been a small price to pay for my freedom. I was slave to the devil poppy plant, and then to the slightly lesser evil kratom leaf. I walk free now. And I feel I stand good foot taller.
For over 2 decades I never went longer than a few days without putting something in me, and that was never by choice. I always had the mental obsession to get back to using or drinking. My mental obsession to stay altered by some chemical or drug or drink is gone, and that, my friends, is thanks to my program in AA.
I'm ____. I'm an alcoholic and addict. I'm sober 6 days. I like it here. I'm staying.