DOSE:

1 - 2 g

oral

Kratom

(ground / crushed)

BODY WEIGHT:

195 lb

First some long-winded background info. My experiences with prescription opiates (following several hospitalizations, the most serious of which was amputation of my leg below the knee) led me down the road to kratom. I still fondly remember my intravenous fentanyl injections in the hospital to control breakthrough pain. The almost immediate euphoria and comfort is unlike anything else (particularly when I'm in a world of pain!). I was discharged from the hospital with an enormous bottle of OxyContin. These made me feel horrible. The nausea, dysphoria, and malaise were simply not worth any analgesia they provided. I threw out the bottle after maybe a week, and got by with ibuprofen and Percocet. Now Percocet, on the other hand, was a completely different animal for me. The relief it provided was far better than the NSAIDs like Aleve and Ibuprofen, with the added benefit of mild euphoria. Perhaps I had other things going on (depression would not have been out of the question) that exacerbated the euphoria, but I was definitely missing that feeling long after my prescription ran out.

The nature of my employment prevents any sort of illegal drug activity, so obtaining opiates other than from the pharmacy is absolutely out of the question for me. (Moreover, I'm not sure I would trust the purity or efficacy of black-market pharmaceuticals.)

Then I stumbled across something extoling kratom as an effective alternative to opiate analgesics. The price is not unreasonable, and I was actually able to order it on [popular site], which made me feel like it was somewhat on the up-and-up.

So, enough with the background, and on to the experience:

I ordered 2 oz of 'white borneo vein' powdered kratom. I read that starting with 1g measures is sufficient, and then simply continue with additional 1-gram 'servings' until you obtain the desired outcome. Using a digital kitchen scale, I measured 1 gram of the stuff, and mixed it with hot (green tea temperature, not boiling) water in a coffee mug. I stirred and let this steep a few minutes, basically just like making a cup of green tea. In fact, the powdered kratom itself smells just like tea, in my opinion. The brewed drink smells and tastes an awful lot like oolong tea. There is certainly nothing unpleasant about the aroma or taste. I added a little bit of honey to enhance the flavor, but it really is not bad on its own.

The effects were honestly comparable to a 'mild' prescription opiate such as Percocet. There is definitely a non-placebo wave of euphoria, but it's very controlled. There is certainly no impairment to mental faculties at small doses of several grams. At my relatively tame doses of 1 or 2 grams per 8-10 oz of water, the effects were noticeable around 20-30 minutes after consuming the tea, and they seemed to last about 2 hours. Really quite similar to the Percocet.

So, great stuff, right? Unfortunately, no. Not for me, at least. Later that evening, I developed one of the worst headaches of my life. The next morning, I still had a headache, and it even made my eyes sore. Looking too far to the left or right was painful. I took a day off, figuring it was a fluke.

After a day off, I tried again. Same results. Great feelings from the kratom tea, following by a splitting headache that made me really regret what I had done.

I figured I must be preparing the stuff incorrectly, and perhaps consuming the gritty bits of kratom from the bottom of the mug was giving me an alkaloid overdose of some sort. So, I prepared my next cup of tea using a fine wire mesh tea infuser. This filtered out all of the grit when I removed it from the mug. It made absolutely no difference. I was even drinking an especially large amount of water to ensure that my headaches were not caused by dehydration. Now, I not only had a splitting headache, but I was running to the bathroom every 20 minutes.

I threw out the remainder of my kratom, and I'm not sure I'll ever give it another shot. The unpleasant side effects are just not worth it to me.

Exp Year: 2014	ExpID: 104269
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 35
Published: May 21, 2020	Views: 826
[ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
Kratom (203) : Not Applicable (38), Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Hangover / Days After (46), General (1)