DOSE:

5 - 7 g

oral

Kratom

(ground / crushed)

BODY WEIGHT:

125 lb

My experience with kratom up to this point has been a very interesting one to say the least. My feelings toward the substance are quite mixed, there's some positivity, and negativity towards this plant.

If I'm being honest, it all started with getting my wisdom teeth extracted months ago. Like most surgical procedures, I was put under anesthesia and would be given narcotic pain relievers post operation. The procedure went well, and I was in some pain, but being the curious psychonaut I am, I was intrigued by the effects of the anesthesia and by the medication I was supposed to be taking for the following week. The anesthesia was nothing special, I don't remember much other than a drunken dissociated feeling while being driven home. But after a long day's rest I was recuperated and ready to take all 3 of my medications, one of which was vicodin 5mg/300 (hydrocodone/acetaminophen).

I never really messed with opiates or opioids in the past, I had a few experiences with vicodin in the past but never enough to really consider myself an experienced user, but I had enough experience to know what a low dose would at least feel like. The experience is what I would expect, there are plenty of reports on hydrocodone out there and its not the main focus of this report so I won't delve too deep into it.

Anyways, I experimented with higher doses up to 15mg and it was never a negative experience other than the comedowns (which felt like an extreme lethargy that left me "out of it" for the rest of the day). Obviously, my prescription ran out eventually and it was not refillable. I hadn't taken enough to have any hangover or withdrawal symptoms, but still I was interested. It felt like I still didn't "explore" this substance enough. So began my dance with kratom.

About a week later after I was fully healed, I did much research on kratom online and found a reputable and high quality vendor. I bought 50 grams of the iconic "red Bali" strain and waited for my shipment. When it finally got here I immediately tried it, there was a long while where I tried figuring out how to ingest it. I attempted a tea but it was too bitter to drink without gagging no matter how much honey I put in it. I attempted to put it in size 000 capsules, but as I didn't have a capsule machine this was quite a difficult and messy process. The process of ingesting it is probably the worst part (aside from the constipation, which I'll get to later). I finally was able to ingest it in the most efficient way I could find which was the toss and wash method. It's a bit uncomfortable but I'd much rather taste the pure bitterness for a couple seconds than sip on a bitter dirt tasting tea. I took 5 grams, a pretty moderate dose, high for the quality of my kratom powder.

After about 20-30 minutes I felt the effects come on. It was a familiar body euphoria, feeling a faint "floating" feeling with pleasant muscle relaxation and pain relief effects. The mental effects of kratom are quite different from pharmaceutical opioids though, it gave me a much more clear headed almost stimulating effect. Similar to taking medicinal doses of ritalin or adderall - that clear headed buzz that feels like I can do anything. It was interesting because while simultaneously being stimulating, it was also very relaxing. It didn't have the same "edge" of other stimulants, it wasn't anxiety inducing - it was quite the opposite actually!

This "experimentation" went on for a while. I purchased more kratom over the next couple months, different strains and sizes larger than 50g. I consumed kratom powder near daily. Now, the side effects of daily use are rarely talked about, the internet is filled with misinformation. I have to say there are quite a few alarming effects.

Firstly the most obvious one would be the constipation. After using it for days it felt as if my digestive system had stopped completely. It eventually became uncomfortable and I had to learn to take frequent breaks from kratom. In a 3 day break I noticed there were some "withdrawal" effects. I put withdrawal in quotations because it's not what you'd think, the withdrawal was more comparable to an alcohol hangover. Fatigue, headache, irritability. No sweating, no shakes, no iconic "sick" feeling you'd get from long term use of other opioids. And the shocking thing was this withdrawal lasted 2 days maximum every time. No matter how much I used or how often. It was always just a lethargic feeling for a maximum of 72 hours. After 2 or 3 days it would go away completely, and on top of that my tolerance would nearly be back at baseline. I'm gonna guess that this is because kratom is a very short acting drug with a very short half-life. But otherwise the reasoning for this is beyond me. Perhaps its just a thing personal to me as I've heard of kratom withdrawal and addiction being nearly as bad as pharmaceutical opioids.

Ever since then, I learned a lot about how kratom affects me. I still even use it to this day, just not as much or as often. I use it about once a week, usually the end of my work week. And use only 4 grams. It helps a lot for physical labor and I believe that's the best use for it. It's best used for chronic pain relief and/or physical labor.

Exp Year: 2021	ExpID: 115420
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 18
Published: May 24, 2021	Views: 1,104
[ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
Kratom (203) : General (1), Hangover / Days After (46), Retrospective / Summary (11), Various (28)