@mjbeetle Hey how did you get off hydrocodone and how often and how much of kratom do you use for your pain?
I just did. The next day. I still have a prescribing doctor (just am not using my rx right now and they know). I took as written unless I was a walking effing disaster, then I would double or even triple my dose, but I would skip doses from my schedule, mostly when I was at work, to compensate so I never ran out. My pain control has been everywhere honestly. So... I lost my insurance between jobs and decided to switch to Kratom (more costly endeavor in the end *sigh*) instead of paying OOP for hydrocodone. No real physical issues transitioning, I'm super constipated on Kratom though. I am still messing around with strains and dosing. As of now I take a mixture of 3 grams of a white and 2 of a green in the morning, 2 grams of a green in the afternoon, and 4-6 grams of a red at night. Initially I was taking a red in the day because it is "most opiate like" and it was knocking me out! So... I'm still all over the place. I seriously ate shit on my stairs last week goofing off with my kid. Slammed my head, neck, mid back, lower back, both shoulders, and both elbows... fell flat down and then I bounced that way down to the bottom instead of sliding. It was a HARD fall. I've had 8 orthopedic surgeries, with a need for L4-S1 fusion and total C spine fusion (poor outcome, won't do it). I am bruised to hell, I took my doses and added another 2 gram dose midday, rested in bed a lot, and pain was hanging around a 4. I was surprised at the efficacy. Today is a bad pain day, my back and legs hurt super bad, but I can't tolerate a higher dose of Kratom (the equivalent of taking an extra Norco or 2) so that kinda sucks. I've been doing it I think for about 6 weeks now and today is the first really bad day. I usually have these bad days a couple times a week though, so it's an improvement. That's an overall snapshot in what it has been like for me. I think it is better and I still don't even have it fine tuned.
A lot of people say switching to kratom from all kinds of narcs isn't that bad, but I would max out at maybe 50mg hydrocodone a day or it would be a pukefest even with antiemetics, so I imagine it has to be easier for me than heavy users and users of other substances. A lot of people give it praise though. I imagine it is different for everyone. Mindset will be your biggest ally. You need to find a good vendor that sources their product well, is willing to spend time talking with you to help find some good strains to start with, educate you, maybe even provide samples. I also found a group on FB that has been very helpful and there is a vendor in there that has good product, and will talk with you on PM wether you purchase from him or not (I am going with him from pressed tabs and staying with my current vendor for the rest). I guess it's been multifactorial for me, personally. Long ass answer, but I hope it helps.