Kratom for Elderly Pain Management

[blight12]

EDIT: Yes I am an idiot, wrong section, I have requested it moved to Other Drugs, sorry!

I chose to not post this in the Kratom thread as there may be non Kratom related risks here that I may not be aware of, so new thread for max HR.

I have also exhausted my skill level in searches here, Google and other forums, but dont feel comfortable with my conclusions. Last step is to seek direct feedback from the pros here. Hope you can help?

My grandmother, who practically raised me, is suffering daily from Scoliosis related back pain, you just need to watch her to see it. Apparently she is to old for surgery and related risks, essentially doomed to live out the rest of her days in pain, not acceptable for me. Her only remaining joys these days require moving around the house, trying to make herself useful and some gardening tasks. These may be gone soon if pain gets any worse.
(Yes, all medical options have been looked into and numerous doctors and specialists have been consulted, with the conclusion that pain management is the only option)

She has used Fentanyl patches before during extra bad times which helped but that really stressed me out due to her age and knowing how potent that stuff is, plus not knowing much about it.

I have been using Kratom on weekends rec as well as an excellent stim and alcohol substitute and have researched it thoroughly. I think it may really help her with her pain but these are my concerns:

1. Age 80yo. No idea how this may effect pretty much anything, tolerance, dosage, addiction, withdrawals, i cant find reliable data on Kratom for the elderly.
2. Raw plant materials on elderly digestive system, once opinion says the fibre is great for any system, or shall i err on the side of caution and make strained tea instead?
3. Risk of addiction in the elderly and specifically how amplified and dangerous withdrawals might be on the elderly. Why family has not insisted on prescription opiate based pain management.
4. Overall long term sustainability of this option? I have heard opinions that "opiate addiction in the elderly is not much concern especially if its managing pain that will need to be managed till the day they die. So basically you would never be stopping the medication so why worry about addiction?" I have no idea what to think about this statement?
5. Worried about the stimulant type effects from Kratom on an elderly person. I can see this potentially being great or very uncomfortable for her, not sure.
6. I am happy to get those unavoidable "see a doctor" responses, and I will certainly take your advice, I just know Kratom suggestion will never be taken seriously by the doctor and they may insist on a more concerning medication. Want to first see if Kratom is a possible solution.

So yeah, dont give me medical advice, but some guidance or specifically related experience would really help. I would really like to help her with her suffering.

Thanks.

 

[jackie jones]

TR -> OD

I do not think it is a good idea. Not because there is much chance of overdose or negative drug interactions, yet because the elderly tend to have sensitive systems and may be more likely to experience the nausea and body load that kratom sometimes causes. Also, kratom, from my experiences, is not great at reducing pain, and has a lame duration (what is it, 3-4 hours?).

 

[brutus]

^ I think he summarized my thoughts perfectly. There are a plethora of other drugs to give the elderly for pain.

 

[sekio]

Anti-inflammatories and mild to mderate time-released opioids are probably the best option. Not sure abut regular administration of kratom. It's too non-standardised for pharmacutical work, and is not a particularly great painkiller wrt side effects profile.

 

[bronson]

@ The OP, when you say that all medical options have been explored, have you considered the fact the condition could cause a pinched nerve? Perhaps, consulting with a specialist in that field (if you haven't already) could help. That would open another avenue from which the pain could be treated.

Otherwise, I hate to say, but traditional pain management style treatment would probably be more effective with less of a side effect profile than the very large dose of kratom which would eventually become needed.

All the best, and hope things work out okay.

 

[brighton]

Why cant she get opiate painkillers from a doctor? I would imagine that if your grandmother has been using fentanyl patches that her tolerance may be too high for kratom to be of any use.

 

[daytryptr]

I would worry about the other affects kratom alkaloids have other than pain relief. Specifically i find them adrenic and stimulating. Nothing major, i'd say on par with a strong cup of coffee. At higher doses the opiate affects tend to balance/overpower that out though. They are pharmacologically all over the place, and affect a bunch of different receptors, ndma, adrenic, ect. Tons of different alkaloids and many different strains make that kind of risky.

You also have to be extremely careful if she is on any kind of medication other than the fentanyl patches mentioned (obviously that is something to factor in as well). I'd err on the side of caution here, and trust a MD's advice on any kind of interaction. Unfortunately most MD's prob will know very little on kratom if at all, not that its entirely their fault, its fairly obscure and less researched than other plant medicines. They may not know how its going to interact because there is no research literature out there to answer those questions.

Perhaps see if she's open to cannabis, maybe spend an afternoon doing some baking with grandma if she feels comfortable giving that a go. I would stray away from smoking/vaporizing since it has the potential to hit to hard too fast, whereas low dose edibles worked up over a period of time won't catch her off guard. And she might be a bit more comfortable if its something she made herself and has a bit of confidence in the guesstimated potency. Definitely CBD high strains if you can get a hold of them. Perhaps even see a legit MMJ doctor thats not just into shilling scripts, and can help you two find out if MMJ is a viable option.

 

[jackie jones]

^I do not know how open-minded the OP's grandmother is, but my grandmother is the same age (well, a bit older) and reluctantly takes the medicine she is prescribed. If I suggested that she eat cannabis brownies, she would blow a fuse.