Kratom is very interesting and wonderful plant ally.
I use the strait leaf, powdered. It works Really well for me. I love it. Extremely helpful for pain. Gives energy. Mood elevator. It has mild entheogenic effects, not hallucinations, but positive effects for enhancing the mind, facilitating peace and insight. And none of the negative side effects that often accompany true opiates, like respiratory depression.
Here are some factors to consider for why your stuff didn't work.
1. Kratom affects different people differently.
2. There are many different types and qualities of Kratom out there.
3. If it is taken on a very full stomach it can be harder to notice the effects.
4. If it is mixed with other drugs/medicines that might cover up the effects, etc.
I've noticed Kratom works differently for different people. One friend of mine gets almost no effect from Kratom at all. She has to take a big dose, and then it just makes her really sick, nauseous like opiate side effect nausea.
But for me I get a strong effect from a small dose (when I have no opiate tolerance built up). And I have a long history of opiate use, so my system is familier with the opiate family. I get very strong positive mood enhancement. For me Kratom is a very effective anti-depressant. It is also super excellent for Opiate withdrawals. I used it to come off of a strong Pod addiction and it was a miracle cure. A small dose took ALL the withdrawals away and made me feel better than when I was taking the Pods. I tend to like Kratom better than true Opiates. I had a strong tolerance and wicked painful WD's from the Pods too. I'm very very thankful that Kratom is available to help with opiate withdrawals. It is miraculous. I really hope the government dosen't take this miraculous helpful plant away from us.
The stimulant effect is very nice, not like caffeine, not like amphetamines and not like Yohimbe (which it is related to). Kratom energy is unique.
Another friend of mine is affected very heavily by a relatively small dose, but for her she gets very drugged, very tired, mildly dizzy and disoriented, a lot of nausea. But no energy and very little positive effect, no mood elevation.
Kratom has a lot of active alkaloids. Some are totally unique and all in all Kratom affects numerous body/brain systems, although the primary effect is at the Mu Opiate receptors. So it is likely to be experienced differently by different people, since everyone has a different bio-chemical make-up.
Actually, many drugs are like this, some people just don't get any or very little effect from certain drugs. Some people can take a very large dose of psilicybin mushrooms and get little to no effect. Many people get really drugged and wasted from Marijuana, loss of memory and brain function (while high), which is especially true for me. I actually get very powerful psychedelic effects, on par with Salvia Divinorum from Pot, (seriously, no kidding). But I've known some people who's brain function is enhanced by Marijuana use. I knew this guy who is a computer guru genius. He smokes tons of pot all the time and it has no negative effects on his technological skill. He is also a skilled artist and glass blower.
Many people get drained and lazy on Pot. One friend of mine experiences intense energy and gets into a really positive mood from smoking Pot.
The other possibility is that Kratom potency, quality and effect profile can vary dramatically from batch to batch and from where it is harvested.
I've always purchased strait dry leaf. Never enhanced or altered in any way, which I believe is the best way, so far.
I've got stuff that is very exceptionally energetic. While most Kratom is kind of in the middle for energy. Some Kratom is very sedating. This is not due to dosage as the effect profile remains the same no matter what dose was used. (I know it's well accepted that Kratom provides more stimulation at low dose and more opiate sedation at higher dose, which has some truth to it, in my experience.)
Some Kratom has a very powerful opiate effect. One batch I got was extremely disappointing. It was a kilo from Jakarta, of "green vein" supposedly. The leaf was very dry and green and had a fresh delicious strong taste unique to Kratom. It was real Kratom and it tasted like it should be strong. But it had absolutely No opiate effect at all. Very disappointing. My friend who usually gets No effect from Kratom says she gets a really good stimulant effect from that batch. But I get nothing at all except for really sick at a high enough dose. Ironic that it would be reversed between me and her for that batch.
Concentrated extracts and especially resins are questionable in my opinion. One never knows how the processing was performed so it could affect the alkaloid content in various ways.
In my experience the duration of effect from Kratom lasts about 10 hours. The main effect is clearly 4-6 hours, but for me there is a noticeable positive effect lasting the whole day. For opiate withdrawals I had to dose 3 times per day though.
After 6 months of using every day for pain and mood therapy my tolerance brought me to a point where I had to quit and return to baseline. The WD's from Kratom were pretty bad, although not as bad as true opiates. The worst part was the depression. As wonderful as Kratom is as a mood elevator, it is equally the opposite when withdrawling for causing depression. Absolutely horrible, the worst depression I've ever had.
So use Kratom carefully. Only a few times a week at most, perhaps less, maybe just on the weekends.