So I would like to hear how others have dealt with coming off Kratom. I have been taking it orally, usually around 60g a day, for the last 5 months. I became such a slave to the stuff, I would start to feel bad within 5 hours if I didn't take it. Sweaty, dialated pupils, muscle aches, and I would wake up in withdrawal in the middle of each night and need to take more if I wanted to go back to sleep. So the time has come where I want to stop, totally. I don't take any other narcotics or drink, nor can I use drugs to withdrawal. I somewhat tapered the best I could and then stopped completely about 24 hours ago. I got some immodioum, some St. John's wart, and some other mood supporting supplements. I managed to sleep last night but had vivid dreams, was a little restless, and this morning I feel ok but very tired and weak. Is this going to get worse or have I expected it to be more intense than it really will be? How long till full withdrawals kick in, if at all? Any experience with doing this would be much apprciatated. Thanks!
All the literature I read around kratom is to start small. I could not imagine doing more than a teaspoon of the stuff for more than 2 or 3 times per week. Practice tapering and aim for no more than once a week to avoid dependence.
Heed the warnings, respect the plant leaf, avoid excess, and live life in balance. Can't spend your whole life dependent on a substance because it becomes a crutch.
It's the lack of knowledge of addiction, lack of self-restrain and abuse of (any) substances that leads to the scheduling we're seeing right now. I feel bad for people who cannot control themselves and ruin good things for the rest of the community. But it cannot be helped... it will always be a problem with anything that people find pleasure in.
Two words: Moderation & balance.
Practice those, and the quality of your life will improve.
As for the withdrawal symptoms, consider your own body and its desire for equilibrium. Shocking the body into withdrawal isn't a good feeling, so you need to do this gradually. This substance was popularized as a maintainence herb for opiate withdrawals. Start tapering your doses by half, and keep a healthy diet with pleanty of nutritious foods and fluids. Try to go as long as you can without drugs before re-dosing. You want to stop your dependence, so you'll have to distance yourself from the substance that put you into this state. Don't back track, if you haven't taken it for 2 days, don't go back down to 1 day, go to 3. If you haven't taken it for 12 hours, don't go to 6, bite the bullet and go to the next day. Your body will make you feel bad, but consider it as your body fighting to bring itself back to equilibrium. It'll take a while for your body to return to equilibrium, but if you shoot for a healthy lifestyle, and try to make it a reality bit by bit, step by step, you can overcome the physiological dependence within a few weeks, then work on the psychological dependence. But both go hand in hand. Keep a strong determination for fighting your urges and replace them with productive activities (exercise? conversations?) Something that'll stimulate your mind and distract you from your vice.
