I mean don't get me wrong, when I first tried it I was completely opiate-naive, I had never tried any opiate with the exception of codeine, which I never liked and never got any worthwhile effects from even at higher doses. At first it was literally just a comedown remedy, then it sort of crept up on me as a daily habit, mostly because of its ability to completely eliminate my social anxiety and its anti-depressive properties. If you had extensive experience with strong opiates, there is a good chance you won't feel much from it and won't like it, especially given its considerable cost.
However as something to take on a comedown, is really nice and effective. It goes amazingly well with psychedelics as well, especially tryptamines, I didn't mention it before but a few teaspoons while on AMT made me feel better than boshing a whole OC 80 to myself. Not joking, maybe I have some natural affinity for it, but if I were to be stranded on a desert island and had to choose between a lifetime supply of oxy or a few kratom trees I can harvest leaves from, I'd pick the kratom, no jokes.
It's a plant I have researched quite a bit, I think it's a bit sad and reductive that people only see it as an opiate-alternative, it has much more to it than that, the alkaloid structure changes quite a bit between strains, depending on where they were harvested or from what part of the tree they were taken from(higher branches, lower branches, older trees and so on). But yeah if you're taking on its own expecting to get a nod or that "in your face" rush you get from pharma opiates you'll be let down. It's lovely in its own peculiarity.