Misc Kratom Withdrawal Survey -How often do you use, how much, and how are ur withdrawals?

[pbuilder]

Okay so I've read alot on the internet about how kratom doesn't have withdrawals but I can say for sure that it does have withdrawals and it seems most of the misinformation about kratom being non-physically addictive is probably pushed by kratom vendors and people that have a financial interest in kratom.

I've also read that someone who has experienced dependence on stronger opiates, and has experienced bad withdrawal before, gets worse withdrawal from kratom then a opiate naive person that starts using kratom. I'm not certain if this is true.

I have been taking 10-14 grams of kratom a day for a few months now which I used to get off another opiate habit. I notice withdrawal symptoms like anxiety, restlnessness, fatigue, restless legs and arms, hot and cold sweats (but not extreme), some depression when I go 24 hours + without kratom. However, these symptoms are much milder then withdrawing off a full agonist like heroin, which is just frightening, but they are still very annoying and basically put me out of commision mentally and physically to really get much done. They are a bitch and because of that it's still been hard trying to quit kratom. But again, compared to like fent withdrawal or heroin withdrawal these are much weaker and I could definetely function through these if I had too, and I don't get things like nausea or diahrea symptoms, as in general kratom doesn't constipate me like a normal opiate. In fact, kratom doesn't effect my sleep, it doesn't effect my gastro systems, it doesn't give me a histamine release, in general it has none of the normal side effects of opiates so it's much easier to maintain on. It also doesn't have the compulsive urge to redose that real opiates have, maybe because it's just taken orally, I don't know, but I can actually make a supply of kratom last a month like I plan, where as put oxys or heroin in front of me and it won't last a day. I've read kratom also has some opiate antagonist alkaloids as well as opiate agonist alkaloids which is what prevents your tolerance from rising much from it (which I've noticed, tolerance seems stagnant with kratom which is great) . And it would also make sense why "less is more" with kratom usually, and redosing only an hour or two after a dose has very diminished returns making it not have that addictive pull to re-dose in my experience like I mentioned other opiates have.

So I'm interested in other peoples experience with kratom withdrawal.

This is just for plain leaf kratom btw, I haven't tried any extracts and don't plan to because kratom has been amazing for me to get off opiates with a much lesser addiction, and I don't even wanna try an extract and get addicted in a stronger way to kratom. But feel free to answer the below questions as well if you are an extract user, just specify what kind of extracts you use.

How long have you used for?
Do you use daily? How much do you use per day? In how many doses?
What is your experience with kratom withdrawals like? How long do they last for you? How long after your last dose until they start? How intense are they, etc? What symptoms of withdrawal do you get?

Thanks for anyone that answers, I'm really curious as to what the truth is on kratom withdrawal for other daily kratom users or bi-weekly users or whatever.

 

[AddictedinFlorida]

I'm a long-time lurker and basically registered here so that I could post a response to you, pbuilder...I completely and totally agree with your assertion that most vendors of kratom minimalize its withdrawal profile. I am currently addicted to plain leaf kratom, which I began taking for depression and to help me not drink as much, and kratom was certainly effective for both. I don't want to come across as *critical* of kratom in any way, because it is used to help people getting off much "harder" and more dangerous drugs, like heroin, sub and alcohol, and I believe in harm reduction above all. But...as you know, kratom is hardly without its withdrawal process, and no one should believe that it's a get-off-free drug. I've been using between 15 and 20 grams of crushed or powder leaf bali kratom for exactly a year, and four months ago I decided to cold-turkey off of it because it had helped me with a wine habit--a bottle a night. I will never go back to drinking, and I attend AA meetings at least once a week to keep myself from ever going down that road again.

Anyway, as I said, I quit kratom cold turkey and was surprised at how intense the withdrawals were, and how long they lasted. They were nothing along the lines of harder opiates, and for me the physical withdrawals were pretty much over in about ten days, but the depression and anxiety lingered for three weeks. I feel like after about three weeks, I was back to baseline with only a strange, lingering inner chill and sensitivity to cold that lasted another five or six weeks. I even started entertaining the possibility that my thyroid had gotten out of whack, because I live in Florida and just couldn't seem to shake the cold feeling. It did finally subside.

Unfortunately, because I'm an addict, I believed I could use kratom in moderation...and of course ended up back in the same boat. This time I'm weaning off the kratom because I don't feel like I can weather another cold turkey withdrawal. I'm at 10 grams a day right now, taking about 2.5 to 3 grams three times per day, with plans to drop as much as I can each day, even if it's only a half gram at a time.

I would definitely recommend anyone who is using kratom with any regularity to wean off if you can, that way you won't have to go through the withdrawal quite so hard. And trust me, there is absolutely a price to pay, even for using kratom. I just wanted to help the OP by confirming that yes, kratom is a lesser of many evils, but there is a withdrawal process for most people.

When I first found kratom, I thought it was a Godsend. The first six months were amazing, and at that time I noticed (just like with other opiates like Sub and hydro) that my feelings of motivation and energy were beginning to subside, and were being replaced with an odd dullness to life. It's almost as if opiates start out giving you these things, but after an extended period of time end up taking them away, along with everything else. Although I've been able to use kratom without wrecking my car and without hurting my family, it has ended up being what all other drugs have been for me: just another way to try and cope with life when I SHOULD BE coping sober! Anyway...I spend the next few months trying to recapture what kratom gave me in the first six months, to no avail. Then I decided to quit, and as I said, I quit cold turkey and suffered with pretty severe anxiety and depression. I need to say that I've always had anxiety and have had depression for five years, so it's not surprising that both came back with a vengeance. I got two months into my stopping kratom use altogether, and foolishly believed I could go back to it. So...here I am.

The major drawbacks for having used kratom for a year (with the exception of the two months I took off) has been a fairly consistently messed-up stomach with a lot of indigestion and heartburn, and a much thinner wallet. The digestive issues will relent after I am totally off kratom, or at least that was my experience when I CTed before.

I think it's incredibly misleading to say that kratom isn't addictive, because it is. There are people who say they get off regular kratom use with no withdrawals whatsover, but in my experience those are the exceptions rather than the rule...use with caution, and don't use every day or you run the risk of a withdrawal.