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Need Help Advice for kratom cold turkey?

SotPoker1012

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 12, 2025
Messages
315
Due to an underlying condition that culminated in a stroke, I have to avoid pretty much all drugs that I regularly use due to their effects on blood pressure and the heart,

I was taking 15-20 grams red vein kratom per day. I now have to cease entirely as even a low dose of 5 grams gave me severe chest pains.

I can't smoke weed or take any drugs I usually use for the foreseeable future. This is not going to be a fun few days. I can't even vape or smoke.

I'm taking buspar, hydroxyzine and blood pressure medication. I have benzos too but I don't want to mess with them, especially as they cause me massive rebound anxiety which could cause problems later.

Supplement wise I've started NAC and magnesium.

Any advice?
 
Don’t cold turkey. You’ll be putting yourself through a lot of unnecessary pain. Taper. Keep a log, take gradually smaller amounts, space them out more, and take your time. It is tempting to just stop, but it really, really sucks.
Things that helped me were memantine, gabapentin, weed, corydalis (l-thp), and clonidine. Don’t bother with benzos. Not helpful and a waste of good drugs. Stay busy and exercise. In a month you’ll be free. Then just need to deal with PAWS…

Actually don’t take clonidine since it will tank your blood pressure. Also I’m not a doctor so check with one before using any of the above. In my unprofessional opinion, memantine, gabapentin. Corydalis are probs key alright. Weed can cause tachycardia and possibly an increase in BP.
 
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Don’t cold turkey. You’ll be putting yourself through a lot of unnecessary pain. Taper. Keep a log, take gradually smaller amounts, space them out more, and take your time. It is tempting to just stop, but it really, really sucks.
Things that helped me were memantine, gabapentin, weed, corydalis (l-thp), and clonidine. Don’t bother with benzos. Not helpful and a waste of good drugs. Stay busy and exercise. In a month you’ll be free. Then just need to deal with PAWS…

Actually don’t take clonidine since it will tank your blood pressure. Also I’m not a doctor so check with one before using any of the above. In my unprofessional opinion, memantine, gabapentin. Corydalis are probs key alright. Weed can cause tachycardia and possibly an increase in BP.
I attempted to taper, and a 5 gram dose started giving me severe chest pains. I almost went back to the hospital. I don't think I can handle any amount of kratom at this point, even though the withdrawals have been brutal.

Weed, while less severe, also raised my blood pressure to a worrisome level. To be honest, I'm of the opinion that I should probably still be in the hospital. They said I can return to work next week but just walking around the house makes my chest tight. I have an appointment with a cardiologist but the earliest I can get in anywhere is a month away.

I just took a low dose of bromazolam today, just because I was giving myself self chest pains in an anxious loop of convincing myself I'm going to die. It helped, but of course, it can mask the blood pressure and heart issues.

I don't want to get addicted to benzos again.

This sucks.

I'll look into getting some gabapentin though. Do you think penibut would work similarly? It's a bit easier to get. Looks like phenibut raises blood pressure. :(
 
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Phenibut is different in effect from gabapentin, and didn’t help with withdrawals at all. I still have a bunch, but I never use it anymore. Gabapentin is different. I find it unpleasant, but it helped with the restless muscle twitching from kratom withdrawals (ie amped up version of RLS).
Sorry you’re having problems with hypertension. Sounds pretty bad. I guess just try to push through or you’ll have to do it all over again. Hope you start to feel better soon…
 
I attempted to taper, and a 5 gram dose started giving me severe chest pains. I almost went back to the hospital. I don't think I can handle any amount of kratom at this point, even though the withdrawals have been brutal.

Weed, while less severe, also raised my blood pressure to a worrisome level. To be honest, I'm of the opinion that I should probably still be in the hospital. They said I can return to work next week but just walking around the house makes my chest tight. I have an appointment with a cardiologist but the earliest I can get in anywhere is a month away.

I just took a low dose of bromazolam today, just because I was giving myself self chest pains in an anxious loop of convincing myself I'm going to die. It helped, but of course, it can mask the blood pressure and heart issues.

I don't want to get addicted to benzos again.

This sucks.

I'll look into getting some gabapentin though. Do you think penibut would work similarly? It's a bit easier to get. Looks like phenibut raises blood pressure. :(

Dude you need to get on suboxone before you’re dead. Subs or methadone. Just something that will replace the kratom and keep you from fucking dying.

You can’t go through heart failure and hypertension in withdrawal. That’s insane. You will die.

Look for a local bupe line and see if you can get a script written tonight for a twenty four hour pharmacy or by subs off the street.

You’re only going to need like the tiniest little speck of a corner for kratom otherwise you’ll upgrade your opiate addiction.

Take whatever the doctor writes you but now that they don’t know how much suboxone will work for kratom.
I’m willing yo bet it’s a very small amount.

But they’re used to getting people off fent and heroin with eight mig strips twice a day. So just accept it and be glad.

But use the minimum effective dose for your kratom problem.

And don’t do 7oh

And don’t die

Bupe line
Telehealth
Doctor
Tonight
 
Either that or just let your heart fail and get good drugs at the hospital if they can un-unalive you.
 
Dude you need to get on suboxone before you’re dead. Subs or methadone. Just something that will replace the kratom and keep you from fucking dying.

You can’t go through heart failure and hypertension in withdrawal. That’s insane. You will die.

Look for a local bupe line and see if you can get a script written tonight for a twenty four hour pharmacy or by subs off the street.

You’re only going to need like the tiniest little speck of a corner for kratom otherwise you’ll upgrade your opiate addiction.

Take whatever the doctor writes you but now that they don’t know how much suboxone will work for kratom.
I’m willing yo bet it’s a very small amount.

But they’re used to getting people off fent and heroin with eight mig strips twice a day. So just accept it and be glad.

But use the minimum effective dose for your kratom problem.

And don’t do 7oh

And don’t die

Bupe line
Telehealth
Doctor
Tonight
Sadly since I've moved, I don't know any current opioid users local to me. I'm gonna try to get into a telehealth thing asap. There are no 24 hour lines local to me, sadly.
 
So I broke down and took kratom again. I ate prior this time. No blood pressure spike, it's about 10 points higher on the SYS number. No chest pain or even tightness.

I'm thinking maybe taking the kratom on an empty stomach last time combined with severe anxiety regarding my health sent me into a panic attack.

I'm still 100% certain that kratom is hard on my heart, so I'm gonna explore alternatives, but at least I neither feel like killing myself or like I'm going to have a stroke for a bit. I have some breathing room to figure something else out.

It could also be that the blood pressure medication took several days to start working enough to keep the kratom from taking my BP up too high.
 
I attempted to taper, and a 5 gram dose started giving me severe chest pains. I almost went back to the hospital. I don't think I can handle any amount of kratom at this point, even though the withdrawals have been brutal.

Weed, while less severe, also raised my blood pressure to a worrisome level. To be honest, I'm of the opinion that I should probably still be in the hospital. They said I can return to work next week but just walking around the house makes my chest tight. I have an appointment with a cardiologist but the earliest I can get in anywhere is a month away.

I just took a low dose of bromazolam today, just because I was giving myself self chest pains in an anxious loop of convincing myself I'm going to die. It helped, but of course, it can mask the blood pressure and heart issues.

I don't want to get addicted to benzos again.

This sucks.

I'll look into getting some gabapentin though. Do you think penibut would work similarly? It's a bit easier to get. Looks like phenibut raises blood pressure. :(

Sorry for my alarmist tone but I’m legit concerned about the rebound your norepinephrine is gonna take and with your heart. Well I’m just scared that
So I broke down and took kratom again. I ate prior this time. No blood pressure spike, it's about 10 points higher on the SYS number. No chest pain or even tightness.

I'm thinking maybe taking the kratom on an empty stomach last time combined with severe anxiety regarding my health sent me into a panic attack.

I'm still 100% certain that kratom is hard on my heart, so I'm gonna explore alternatives, but at least I neither feel like killing myself or like I'm going to have a stroke for a bit. I have some breathing room to figure something else out.

It could also be that the blood pressure medication took several days to start working enough to keep the kratom from taking my BP up too high.


I’m so glad you’ve got a plan. Please google the words “bupe line”. It might be a service that’s national in the United States and you might be able to get maintenance medication and shelve the tapering / quitting until your heart situation is better. I want you to live!!!!
 
Sorry for my alarmist tone but I’m legit concerned about the rebound your norepinephrine is gonna take and with your heart. Well I’m just scared that


I’m so glad you’ve got a plan. Please google the words “bupe line”. It might be a service that’s national in the United States and you might be able to get maintenance medication and shelve the tapering / quitting until your heart situation is better. I want you to live!!!!
Nah I understand. I'm pretty concerned too, especially as I can't see a regular doctor for weeks to get the issue sorted out, barring a return to the emergency room if I think I'm dying.

I did look into bupe line. It seems to be regional. There are similar services in my area, though none have an emergency line so it'll be monday morning at the earliest before I hear back. I did leave a message with a few of them explaining the situation. Hopefully even if they don't wanna touch this clusterfuck of a situation, they can point me in the right direction.
 
I'm not trying to sound like a cold bastard about this whole thing, I can actually relate with your situation. I understand you have multiple things you're juggling right now. But if it's the kratom you're worried about, you can definitely take comfort in the fact that you're not facing Oxy, Heroin, or even Suboxone withdrawals. I fucking hate drugs man. It's like, if you had a real, magical flying carpet that you could cruise around on, and nobody else ever had one or flew on one, they wouldn't understand why it was worth the risk to you. You can fall down and get back up, but looking up at the sky would never be the same again. And you would never forget the feeling of flying through the air.
The choice is much easier if you have a family and kids, but sometimes life and old age just catch up with you and honestly, I try to remind myself how seriously lucky I am to still be alive. It's just kratom bro, just lower your dose for a week, dump all that shit down the sink, and ask yourself what's more important, the kratom, or you life. Don't replace it with something else that you have to "make work". You don't get many chances when it comes to your health. No chemical that makes life easier is worth it, trust me bro. You got this man, piece of cake.
 
The choice is much easier if you have a family and kids, but sometimes life and old age just catch up with you and honestly, I try to remind myself how seriously lucky I am to still be alive. It's just kratom bro, just lower your dose for a week, dump all that shit down the sink, and ask yourself what's more important, the kratom, or you life. Don't replace it with something else that you have to "make work". You don't get many chances when it comes to your health. No chemical that makes life easier is worth it, trust me bro. You got this man, piece of cake.
Dude come on. AWS causes an elevated and chaotic heart rate. Fuck my and your opinion

Go see the doctor asap
Fill them in
Stick to your plan
Ignore the quoted posts advice but take kindly their sentiment

You don’t want your heart to fucking pop cus you insisted on quitting dope right now

Like a gallon a day vodka drinker. It’s the wanting to quit so badly that might kill you.
 
Nah I understand. I'm pretty concerned too, especially as I can't see a regular doctor for weeks to get the issue sorted out, barring a return to the emergency room if I think I'm dying.

I did look into bupe line. It seems to be regional. There are similar services in my area, though none have an emergency line so it'll be monday morning at the earliest before I hear back. I did leave a message with a few of them explaining the situation. Hopefully even if they don't wanna touch this clusterfuck of a situation, they can point me in the right direction.
And just to follow up real quick, I think I read something about trying Suboxone in one of these posts. If you've taken it before, don't mind me. But in case you haven't, let me tell you how taking a half a strip a day affected my life, and health in general. It gives you a nice little buzz the first time you take it, maybe the second time too. But after that, mentally speaking, you wont feel it at all. I had PTSD when I was on it, and I believe it has some kind of mood stabilizer in it, which was great for me, but at $165 every month just to see a doctor, and then another $60-$100 for the script, depending on how many you wind up needing. They'll give you two strips a day because they know it's extremely hard to get off of. So be aware of that. An everyday heroin IV-er will not need more than one strip a day. So be aware of this. Suboxone is an extremely potent opiate, on par with potent heroine or pure morphine. It doesn't effect your mind, but I gained almost 100 pounds, and I was always tired to the point that I wouldn't even shower after work sometimes, I would just go right to sleep when I got home. I started cutting back to smaller and smaller pieces of the strips, down to a half of a half of a half of a strip and even less. No effect whatsoever. I couldn't lose weight and I always needed to slept all the time, like a junky. I was also very prone to my body overheating and sweating in response to trivial.. not even work, just moving around and bending over and doing easy work added up way faster than it should have. I went to a few doctors and none of them told me about any of this, or warned me. But the worst part about taking Suboxone is when you actually stop taking it. Remember the mood stabilizer I mentioned? It fucked with my head to the point that it brought back all the memories of times I lost jobs or had to stay home back when I was using HEAVILY all those years ago. I never got body aches or chills or nausea, but when I tell you I decided to quit my job and use as much time between starting a new one in order to get off that shit and save my money and try to get back to an acceptable weight, I'm telling you, if i had quit and kept going to work I would have gotten fired for freaking the fuck out on someone, or just walking out because its that kind of tiredness and fatigue that nobody can fight through. It was worse than the drugs I was hooked on, because it allows you to stay sober without the urge to use, which leads to consistency, which leads to more responsibility, to self esteem and then self respect. But I'm warning you brother, when you are finally ready to walk on your own and get off it.. it takes it all back from you. Which can lead to relapse and that's not acceptable. So please man, I'm not preaching, I'm not perfect, it's hard to stop getting high, but I always used drugs as a crutch for other stuff in life too. I tried kratom one time. I didn't like the way it made me feel so I threw the entire bag away after one use. Opiates were the hardest drug for me to learn to live without afterwards. Meth is harder to quit and stick to, for a little bit of time. But if you've ever been hooked on that super lab $20 for 2 grams of shards that one or two puffs will keep you awake for 2 or 3 days, I never met another meth head who didn't secretly want to quit just as bad as I did. Everyone has their own struggles, and I'm sorry this is such a long message, 2 of them in fact.. but I read what you said you're going through bro and I just want you to know the things that I didn't, I want you to be healthy and not worry about having a stroke or heart attack. None of us, as addicts deserve that, even though some of us are technically responsible for declining health due to addiction. But NOBODY deserves the struggle we face as addicts and human beings.

So I want you to hear me loud and clear. Use this opportunity to make the best decision for YOURSELF, not a craving, or emotional crutch, or whatever it may be about. It's just kratom bro, show yourself what you're made of, don't take the easy way out with just another chemical that happens to be legal, because while daily black tar or China white IV'ers are better off with the lesser evil for the sake of their future, I'm kindly reminding you that you're a man, you've been through worse, and to have more courage than I did. I mean this all out of love, that's what blue light is for. Because none of my Suboxone doctors gave a single fuck about whether I stayed sober, or made it anywhere in life other than the ATM before every appointment. Anyways that was my experience, I hope it all works out man. 💪
 
Dude come on. AWS causes an elevated and chaotic heart rate. Fuck my and your opinion

Go see the doctor asap
Fill them in
Stick to your plan
Ignore the quoted posts advice but take kindly their sentiment

You don’t want your heart to fucking pop cus you insisted on quitting dope right now

Like a gallon a day vodka drinker. It’s the wanting to quit so badly that might kill you.
I genuinely respect your concern and your personal opinion, but I have to disagree with you about starting Suboxone in order to fend off withdrawals of kratom. I understand what you're trying to say, and I agree that concern is warranted and there are no easy answers, or any that come without risks in this clusterfuck this dude is having to deal with. But you really need to listen to me when I tell you, to suggest even a single dose of Suboxone, is like telling him to drink 5 gallons of vodka. If walking around the house, or taking 5 grams of kratom, or even smoking weed is making his chest hurt or tighten up, then he honestly does need to be in the hospital until this gets sorted, but if you're not a millionaire, or literally bleeding out in the waiting room of the ER, they send people home all the time. Capitalism worked for this country for a long time, but the concentration of power and corruption has finally organized, and bought it's way thru all the checks and balances that made this country what it was. Anyways, I wanted to follow up in response to your curiosity regarding the use of, and potential for physical addiction from taking gabapentin. I've been addicted to benzo's in the past and brute forced through withdrawal several times, and I think your concerns are extremely valid. However, gabapentin would definitely help to keep your mind, and also body calm in a situation like this. I'm not a doctor so you might want to call a local pharmacist to make sure you find out about potential risks, but I must warn you. If taken in high doses, every day, for longer than a week or so straight, you will suffer mental and physical withdrawal symptoms. I take them for my generalized anxiety and crippling social phobia, and I didn't know that 4 a day was as much as it is. But if you stick to like 2 capsules of the 400 or 600 mg strength, and only take them when you feel your ticker pumping the wrong way, then in my opinion, from experience, is that it's probably the best thing you can do for now until you can get in to see a professional. My mom is a physical therapist and she does home health, so she treats people at their homes. She's always told me about how common these situations are in our society, usually blood pressure/heart issues that lead to stroke hit people who never see it coming, and sometimes people wind up bed ridden or suffer paralysis because they don't choose to make whatever changes they need to. I've never had a stroke, it would obviously suck total balls and would be very scary, but if your up and walking around, you're not suffering paralysis afterwards, and have the presence of mind to reach out for advice in a perfectly normal capacity, I'd definitely say you're luckier than a lot others, right out of the gate. I probably wouldn't go back to work yet if you're chest is tightening up from walking around the house. Just do whatever it takes to see a doctor as fast as possible, and look at this whole situation as life not only giving you a second chance, but the opportunity to make some changes in your life that if made successfully, I would bet you everything I have that you wouldn't regret it for a second, once you make it through the storm.

I dated a girl who did that crazy white boy country meth everyday for a few years and wound up having to take some kind of heart medication because she wasn't able to reliably take full breaths of air, and that was years after she quit. She wound up doing it again anyway a couple years later and I had NO idea what I was fucking with at the time. There were a few times when I was home alone with nothing to do and she was at work for the next 8 hours, and I remember laying on the bed on my back, my heart was beating so hard, and so fast, I knew I was going to die, and nobody would be there to get me help until way too late.

I know I'm going to need medical care in the future, there's no way I'm going to get to skate after everything I put myself through. I wish you the best man, truly 🙏
I was taking 15-20 grams red vein kratom per day. I now have to cease entirely as even a low dose of 5 grams gave me severe chest pains.

I can't smoke weed or take any drugs I usually use for the foreseeable future. This is not going to be a fun few days. I can't even vape or smoke
 
Nah I understand. I'm pretty concerned too, especially as I can't see a regular doctor for weeks to get the issue sorted out, barring a return to the emergency room if I think I'm dying.

I did look into bupe line. It seems to be regional. There are similar services in my area, though none have an emergency line so it'll be monday morning at the earliest before I hear back. I did leave a message with a few of them explaining the situation. Hopefully even if they don't wanna touch this clusterfuck of a situation, they can point me in the right direction.
I just read over the entire thread one last time before I shut up and leave y'all to it, but IF you do choose to try Suboxone, or have to call that hotline, HelpingOut is right about taking a very,very small amount. Especially for kratom, but given your situation, if you wind up with a strip in your hand, I'm telling you brother, the size of the piece you would need to take would seem absurdly trivial to someone who hasn't taken subs before. I don't know if you have before, but I would recommend taking as small of a corner piece that you're physically able to cut by hand with a pair of scissors. Like the size of a pen head. No bullshit dude. It sounds like you are used to a pretty high dose of kratom, but if you were to flip a cheap Bic disposable pen over, and take a piece the size of the round top of the pen, I would bet everything in my bank account that you would indeed wind up with a stronger opiate addiction than you think you have now. Don't underestimate it.
 
Dude come on. AWS causes an elevated and chaotic heart rate. Fuck my and your opinion

Go see the doctor asap
Fill them in
Stick to your plan
Ignore the quoted posts advice but take kindly their sentiment

You don’t want your heart to fucking pop cus you insisted on quitting dope right now

Like a gallon a day vodka drinker. It’s the wanting to quit so badly that might kill you.
I just read over the entire thread one last time before I shut up and leave y'all to it, but IF you do choose to try Suboxone, or have to call that hotline, HelpingOut is right about taking a very,very small amount. Especially for kratom, but given your situation, if you wind up with a strip in your hand, I'm telling you brother, the size of the piece you would need to take would seem absurdly trivial to someone who hasn't taken subs before. I don't know if you have before, but I would recommend taking as small of a corner piece that you're physically able to cut by hand with a pair of scissors. Like the size of a pen head. No bullshit dude. It sounds like you are used to a pretty high dose of kratom, but if you were to flip a cheap Bic disposable pen over, and take a piece the size of the round top of the pen, I would bet everything in my bank account that you would indeed wind up with a stronger opiate addiction than you think you have now. Don't underestimate it.

Agreed on every point. A speck brother. A speck. The tiniest thing you’ve ever seen. I gave my best friend, opiate naive, the tiniest corner I could muster and he threw up for twenty four hours.

Look up in advance the brand name of the sub mg dosage suboxone and advise the dr that this formulation is available. If you can’t find the name I’ll find it for you. I’m at work. Won’t be able to do it till eleven. But blue light is here for you and I’m helping out.
 
Yeah try to avoid the subs and just kick the kratom dawg. Like just get like 20 hydros(real ones, from a trusted source) and take the least amount possible. Then taper that a bit..
Don't be afraid to use a benzo when you have RLS and your stomach is all twisted and cramping..sure imodium, pepto will help but the benzo will help alot during acute phase.

But yeah why come off kratom just to get on subs? That's like me saying I want to quit a codeine habit with Oxy or H..in my opinion.
Be careful. Eventually(or hopefully) you will throw your hands in the air and say fuck all, to all this bs. Life is much better when you find your own balance and sustainable growth whether it's with a few drugs or none at all.

A good friend of mine who was concerned about my 30mg roxi usage in the beginning of it all, told me it's like DOPE it makes you feel good. You're ADDICTED and ALL YOU HAVE TO DO...IS JUST STOP...Easier said than done but truly if you were ready this is it. Taper and quit.
 
Of course as time passed..kratom became available AT LAST SALVATION! All I had back then to help aid with wd was imodium.

But didn't take long to realize the kratom use - in between paychecks- helped get thru day but a brutal all night withdrawal where I remember saying to myself I will never go through kratom wd without a few vicodin and a gang of benzos..preferably plenty of klonopin and xanax to break through.

But this was because I got to a point of shoveling 10-20g of powdered leaf, toss n wash style and never properly had a kratom taper.
 
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