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Quitting kratom use - 50-60g/day....yeah

ZaphodBeeblebrox

Bluelighter
Joined
Aug 8, 2018
Messages
51
Well I fucked up again. Successfully weaned myself off of PST last year and to do that started taking kratom. As I do with every drug/habit I get into, I go overboard quickly and have now been taking anywhere from 50-70 caps a day which depending on the type I take is likely around 50-60g (that’s my guess).

It’s to the point where I wake up many mornings having a sleep orgasm (which is fucking awesome) but it’s kinda ruined by the fact that I realized it’s because I’m starting to WD. Some nights I’ll wake up in the night, nervous, anxious and agitated when forgetting my evening dose. Go me.

Anyway, I need help on figuring out a taper plan and then will likely try to post here to stay accountable. I was thinking about dropping my dose by 3-5 caps a day to start and seeing how that goes, but I’ve measured out the doses and planned to do it with no success past the first day. If found that identifying things I can look forward to when tapering then quitting is a good motivator, but don’t really know what that is as I think I’ll have to deal with months of anxiety and transient depression which follows cessation of most daily opiate use

Thanks I’m advance for the help, like many of you no one knows about this so the blue light community is my only outlet :/
 
3-5 caps a day may be a little steep of a taper, especially if you are having trouble sticking to it. You could try 1-2 caps a day, I'd imagine that would be much more pleasant and thus, easier to stick to.

Then again, the withdrawals from kratom won't be as bad as PST, so if you could handle that, then you can handle this. I don't mean to minimize your struggle, as I know it still isn't easy.

There are other ways to address and deal with your anxiety other than use of kratom, and discovering these ways will be a big part of increasing your ability to stay away from opioids and other drugs in the future. Self-talk plays a pretty big role in a self-esteem, but it often goes unnoticed. One way to start to build your awareness of your own self-talk is to start by looking in the mirror and describe what you see. Say it out loud, then write it down. Then reflect- do you describe yourself in a positive or negative way? Would you describe another person in the same way? Would you describe your best friend in this same way? This is, in essence, the beginning of cognitive behavioral therapy. From there, you can begin to examine your thinking for cognitive distortions, or distorted ways of thinking.

If you find yourself with racing thoughts, clearing your mind through meditation can be a great way to slow things down. Stretching combined with breathing, and/or exercise can also be very helpful in regulating emotions. Simple things like going a walk on a sunny day, eating nutritious food on a regular schedule, and practicing healthy sleeping habits can all make small differences that add up.
 
When I tapered off Kratom, I did it under a MD's supervision. They are trained to taper people at 10% of their dose each week (for opiates). (using example numbers) Ie. 100, 90, 80 70, etc. etc. It worked really well. It might take several weeks, but it makes it bearable.
 
I got into a 20g/day routine for a while, didn't taper so much as just stop and compared to any other opiate withdrawal i've encountered (heroin mostly), it was a walk in the park. Not pleasant per say but very manageable if you just give yourself the time and have no other commitments like a job you need to go to for a few days...As others have said, just start dropping down 10% a day and know that it's very doable compared to hard opies. I found it to be more of a mood / depression feeling than serious physical symptoms coming off from 20g/day.
 
At higher dosages it becomes quite physical. I was at 40-50g per day for years and the RLS from stopping was worse than the RLS from any other opiate... made me want to die, it was so awful.

The good news is, with kratom, the lower the dose you're on, the easier it is. So if you can taper down some every week and get down to a very low dose, you should be able to jump without more than discomfort.
 
Coming off of Kratom hasn't been a cakewalk for me, although the opiates in it are the only ones I've ever used daily and became physically addicted to. I've dabbled with oxycodone, Dilaudid, etc. before, but just in my experimental days. I fell for the myth that opiates/opioids would be easier to re-adjust to coming off of them compared to daily benzo usage; but I've learnt the hard way that after the acutes there's a lengthy post acute stage that can linger for months(in my case at least). I'm in my third month off of Kratom and am still experiencing depression and anhedonia and occasional bouts of agoraphobia. The bad comes in waves that are getting shorter and less frequent now. It took about a month after tapering off of 18gpd for the temperature deregulation, tremors and deep dark depression and extreme anxiety to dissipate somewhat. The lack of sleep, RLS and IBS type symptoms started to fade away much quicker, at about the 2 week mark.
 
I was able to go from 28 grams or so to 14 grams without too much grief. It can be done.
 
I recently quit a 5 year 12 gram a day habit with no taper. I took codeine the first few days and then nothing. I had no real acute WD thanks to the codeine just went into PAWS when it wore off. For about 45 days I had low energy and restless legs and worsened depression. After 2 months my energy started to come back and I could sleep without moving my legs again. All in all it was very mild considering I was on it 5 years and opiates before that. I only missed one day of work.

There will be some rough days just tell yourself to stick it out knowing you'll be better in a few weeks. The best part for me is not having to worry about dosing anymore no more carrying kratom in my pockets every time i go to work or other places, no more having to dose when I get up to pee in the night so I don't wake up in WD.

The worst part is the regret I have on ruining kratom. It's such a good painkiller and I only ever used it responsibly until I got on opiates then used kratom to quit but stayed on kratom to avoid PAWS. Now kratom is ruined for me.

I would recommend the codeine method to anyone wanting to quit without a long taper. A very low dose of codeine at the end would probably help even if you do taper.
 
In my experience tapering down to about 3-5 g/ day, than 3-5 g every second day, than a few low doses of tramadol - not every day - and a few days low dose pregabalin/gabapentin/phenibut or posibly benzo for sleep. Preferably not more than 2 times a week. Then acupuncture and weight lifting at least twice a week (alternate days). Put yourself in situations where you have to focus on something else than how you feel and be prepared it may take months until fully recovered (if on high doses of kratom for several years). Psychedelics or microdosing iboga bark may also be ideas worth investigating. Good psychotherapy, massage, saunas, hot baths, healthy diet are other good ideas.
 
I recently quit a 5 year 12 gram a day habit with no taper. I took codeine the first few days and then nothing. I had no real acute WD thanks to the codeine just went into PAWS when it wore off. For about 45 days I had low energy and restless legs and worsened depression. After 2 months my energy started to come back and I could sleep without moving my legs again. All in all it was very mild considering I was on it 5 years and opiates before that. I only missed one day of work.

There will be some rough days just tell yourself to stick it out knowing you'll be better in a few weeks. The best part for me is not having to worry about dosing anymore no more carrying kratom in my pockets every time i go to work or other places, no more having to dose when I get up to pee in the night so I don't wake up in WD.

The worst part is the regret I have on ruining kratom. It's such a good painkiller and I only ever used it responsibly until I got on opiates then used kratom to quit but stayed on kratom to avoid PAWS. Now kratom is ruined for me.

I would recommend the codeine method to anyone wanting to quit without a long taper. A very low dose of codeine at the end would probably help even if you do taper.
Nice work! Ya I can see how quickly kratom can become something to avoid for certain people.

I need to stop using it casually because I realize I could start using it daily too.
 
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