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Quiting Kratom (cold turkey)

C

cdemers111

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Jan 4, 2015
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Hi, first time poster, long time reader. I hope this is the right thread. I have little/no experience when it comes to quitting kratom. I have been using about three months and am now up to 20+ grams of powder daily. I dose throughout the day. I ran out for two days once, due to shipping problems. I had runny nose, upset stomach, anxiety, and restless legs (RLS). You can't purchase kratom in the store in my state anymore, so quitting was as easy as not reordering (actually not that easy). I have had wd's from opiates and methadone in the past. The only success I've ever had quitting was cold turkey. I don't have the will power to taper, just don't. I am currently laid off, collecting unemployment. I have three little ones at home with me full-time. I want to kick the habit before I go back to work, so this is the ideal time to do so. It has been 20 hrs since my last dose. I feel a little anxious and uneasy. Pretty sure it's in my head. By now, I would have dosed twice so, it feels like something is missing is all. I need to get back into the habit of eating. Haven't ate anything yet, as I'm used to skipping meals for my buzz. Also, I have phenibut. I heard it helps but I am holding off. I think the updates on my little adventure here will help me and hopefully help others along the way. I will keep you all posted.
 
Hey, welcome to Bluelight. :) I was addicted to kratom for 7 years and then moved to poppy tea for 3 more years. I temporarily quit many times until I finally did quit opiates for good. The good thing about kratom in terms of withdrawal is that it's pretty short. Early in my addiction it would take 4 to 5 days to feel pretty normal again. Years into it it took longer, but it still hovered around a week, with another week of feeling shaky. With opiates (and kratom, which you can consider an opiate for all intents and purposes), the more times you quit and re-enter physical dependence, the more difficult overcoming that physical dependence is. Since you've only been using it for 3 months, I suspect you will get off easy compared to how it became for me.

The difficult part of kratom dependence is, IMO, the restlessness... I got FAR more restless from it than from any other opiate I have been addicted to (which includes poppy tea (the worst), heroin and oxycodone). Any opiate gives you restless legs, but for me it got so bad that I had restless arms as well, and even restless body as a whole. It was maddening and entirely prevented sleep of any kind for the entire duration of the acute withdrawal. Usually I would get to day 5 without sleep and be so devastated from that that I'd break down and take some just to be able to sleep, and start the cycle over. This was the most difficult part for me, but it sounds like you might not be that bad off. Minus the restlessness and lack of sleep, kratom withdrawal is difficult but not as bad as others, and manageable. Loperamide (Immodium, though you should buy generic as it's far cheaper and the same thing) can help take the edge off if taken in sufficient dosages, though it is an opiate as well so care must be taken to only use it when absolutely needed and not to continue it longer than needed. Finding things to occupy your mind is also important. Watching movies or TV is a good distraction, and if you can manage to make yourself exercise that will help more than anything else as it will generate endorphins and release some of that restless energy. Plus being in shape is good for every aspect of your life including depression and anxiety which will probably manifest themselves as a result of the withdrawal.
 
Thanks for your post. Five days doesn't sound unbearable. Did you sleep after day 5? I'll have to try that immodium. From what I've heard you have to take quite a bit for it to work. Is that something you can get at a Walgreens? I know the RLS was the worst symptom by far when i was out for two days. Your description of be "maddening" is spot on. I'm curious to see what tonight brings, lol. How long would it take for your wd's to kick in??
 
Okay, I'm a little over a day and a half into no kratom, and gave up on trying to sleep. I took two mgs of phenibut yesterday afternoon and another mg in the evening. I think it helped with the cravings. I spent the day watching Harry Potter (all eight of them). I experienced what seemed to be higher levels of empathy throughout the day. No fog in the mind that comes with my kratom use. I fell asleep briefly at 6:30 pm, but woke up and decided to stay up. When I went down it was after !0:00pm. The RLS was noticed by now. I was expecting it, but not this early. I rolled around all night in a half sleep. I have a baby that's 6 weeks old at my bed side. The mom's in prison atm. So the baby doesn't help. I would find a position of comfort, and she would start crying. Fuck my life, lol. Anyways. I may take two mgs of phenibut this morning and get me some loperamide for tonight. Hope to take a break from the phenibut for a few days. I can't help but thing alcohol would help me sleep at night. I never had a problem with drinking. I will update in the morning, letting you know if I benefited from these remedies.
 
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Just worked out for thirty minutes on total gym, which is average for me. I feel pretty good. Took 2mgs of phenibut this morning. Cravings are minimal, but present. Heading to store to get loperamide. I want to add, I am an addict. I went to treatment and stayed clean as a whistle for two and a half years. They told me i couldn't use like a "normal" person ever again. I think they're right. It wasn't that i didn't believe them when I ordered kratom, I just didn't care. I justified my use, since it was natural and i was still going to work. I went from 3 grams a night to 20-30 grams a day in a months time. I can afford the habit. I have a good paying job. I feel guilty because I have three kids and a great support network that cares. My addictive personally in part, is a product of my self-diagnosed depression. I just want to feel good, all the time. That's all for now.
 
When you are depressed it's hard to have patience for making small but steady changes to put your life right. I think that having an addictive personality might also be described as constantly seeking a way out of emotional pain. So where does the pain come from and how can it be healed? That is always the question under drug abuse IMO.

One motivation you might consider is this: you could be the best mother in the world but if you fail to model to your children that you are responsible for your own happiness in life, for giving yourself true acceptance and compassion as well as the faith that you can change, you are depriving them of a life lesson that will go the farthest in helping them be happy in their own lives. A counselor once told me the best thing I could give my kids was my authentic self. I think that be open about the process of change we are working on--whatever that may be--is beneficial. I don't mean telling your kids about your drug dependence but talking to them about what changes you might make to live a healthier and more emotionally fulfilling life can empower them to think about this for themselves.<3
 
Thank you for your insight. I am actually a single father with my kids full-time, but your message rings true just the same. I know i am better clean than high for my kids. I am not a functional user. Though, I would rather be high...
 
Phenibut will help immensely but be careful with it. I have found kratom withdrawal to be largely psychological. I've experienced the restless legs and arms, and I'd have to agree, that is the worst of it. Cold sweats visit occasionally and some anxiety/depression, but kratom is one of those things that just never seems to be able to have a tight enough grip. It's like weed and alcohol for me, eventually tolerance gets too high and the substance simply stops working or becomes unpleasant, and I back off for a while.

Currently I'm on a 8.5g 2x/day habit, and I took a week and a half vacation to NY. I took kratom with me, but I found myself not really needing it. I went some days without it and took unknown (unmeasured) doses here and there on some days, only one time each day, usually feeling like it was unnecessary in the first place. By the time I got back home, I felt like I could honestly take it or leave it at that point.
 
Thanks Seattle. I would have to agree with your post. Other than the mental aspect of not taking kratom, the withdrawal symptoms lie largely in RLS. I am beginning day 3, and I'm not experiencing any pain. I would say discomfort. I drank a 200 ml bottle of spiced rum before bed, which was enough to eliminate the RLS. I would say i got 5 1/2 hrs of uninterrupted sleep, before my baby woke up. I couldn't get back to sleep. A mix between discomfort, empty stomach, and diarrhea plagued me. I feel wrung out, and weak. I don't think I'm hung over from the 4 1/2 shots of rum. That seems unlikely to me. Phenibut doesn't do much for the restless legs for me, but it does help me feel sort of content with being sober throughout the day. No phenibut for me today, and hopefully tomorrow. I will do some more research on the loperamide i picked up, and probably dose accordingly.
 
I took 32 mgs of loperamide maybe an hr ago. I guess it takes a few hours to start working. Hope i took enough. My stomach is really tight right now, slight headache, and I'm irritable. I'll update on the loperamide later.
 
Day 4. In an unfortunate turn of events, I believe this to be my last day. As I said yesterday, I took 32mgs of lope. Well, I received no relief. I took another 24 mgs and still nothing. So I logged onto my vendor site and ordered 28 grams for overnight shipping. I told my vendor two days prior what i was going through and asked if she had any relief. She didn't. She text me back after i ordered saying she threw in a bunch of free samples to help me along, which isn't going to help me along. I ordered the least amount for a reason... Here is the kicker. Other than severe dry mouth, and the overall feeling of dehydration, I feel fine today. I got a full nights rest. This baby woke for feeding once, and we both went back to bed. Fuck.
 
I wanted to post a closure to my thread. She gave me 128 grams instead of the 28 i ordered. Not bragging, but complaining. My use is right back where it left off. I did 20 grams from noon-9pm. I will try again, I know. I want to be clean and serene for my anniversary date Feb 20th. I will probably make a thread again when the day comes. Cheers
 
UPDATE:

The 128 grams I ordered lasted 4-5 days. I've been sober 4 days with very little withdrawal symptoms. I've slept every night. The RLS is bearable. I took Phenibut one day. I'm a bit weak, but functional. Wondering if the 4 day break I took has something to do with this.
 
i was feeling awful after quitting kratom. For weeks on i couldn't sleep and didn't have any energy or motivation. I considered suicide. Then I tried a kind of black beans called "mucuna pruriens" (i took a bean a day, crashed to a powder in the pestle and mortar) and in four days my restlessness was gone and have energy, motivation and my life back to enjoy it.

I know for some people it doesn't work, or it's too stimulating, but, reading reviews and how it helped so many other people, I think it is worth a try, specially if you feel depressed
 
Quitting Kratom is really nothing compared to quitting one of the strongest extracts. And even that is very bearable compared to quitting synthetic opiates. Just expect to feel uncomfortable, on edge, and in a bad mood for a week or so.

There can be long-term consequences if you've become accustomed to it, though. Benzos would probably be the most helpful as long as you don't get addicted to them.
 
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