Kratom: the new Adderall

Tried it. It's a dud.

Don't believe the hype.

It's not at all like Adderall, it's more like an opiate. I know people who were addicted to it in the rural South. It's a very expensive legal high.

The subreddit is very active. People apparently get pretty addicted and have a hard time stopping.

I've had cancer patients who claimed that it helped with their pain. The compounds in it, mitragynine and 7-α-hydroxymitragynine, interact with opioid receptors in the brain and, for some, produce opiate-like effects. The literature is unclear right now and it needs more study.

It's not an expensive high. You can get 100g for $10 and if you took more than half of that in a day, you'd be throwing up. Which makes it all but impossible to OD on.

I've tried it and it made me feel kind of sick and dizzy, just like opiates do. (Pain meds do not agree with me.) If it helps people get off heroin, I'm all for it. Like R5 said, it is NOT expensive.

I tried it. It didn’t do anything but make me constipated. It’s a depressant, not a stimulant.

I stand corrected about the price. Where I lived in the South, my neighbors were paying $80+ per day for it. Its price must have come down in recent years.

I’m a 5-year kratom addict. I’ve been tapering down my dose so that I take less than a teaspoon of maeng da powder, 3-4x daily (I aim for 3). It is basically an opiate. Good for getting off pills or heroin and the like.

I never had a problem with opiates, never used pills recreationally, didn’t like them when I was prescribed them two times, have never and would never do heroin. I started using kratom for the buzz.

Ask me anything.

R8, something I didn't think about was that some people get Kratom from "head shops." I've heard that's much more expensive than getting it from a distributor through the mail.

R9, same. I'm at year four, trying to taper, not very successfully. I did like the pain pills prescribed for me, but not enough to lead a life of crime. Researched it, came up with either making a sludge with poppy seeds to drink or Kratom. I liked the Kratom buzz.

R9 do you regret it?

Absolutely, R11. Just getting myself to the tapered point where I’m at right now was hell. I was severely depressed and moody/angry for a couple months.

I’m also active in the mushrooms/spores/microdosing thread, and I’ve been hoping microdosing will help me taper down from kratom even further.

Yes, I wish I had never tried this green powder. Not worth it all. Pot was fine, but it was starting to give me anxiety, so I had taken a break from it, and then I tried kratom, not realizing how addictive it is.

R9/12 here, I want to correct myself: my dose is actually less than HALF a teaspoon now. I take that dose 3-4x daily.

When you hear about ‘serious’ heavy use kratom addicts and how much they consume in a day, my new, tapered dose is impressively low.

My husband is addicted to it. He always forgets to order it on time and has to get the price-y headshop kind. Drives me nuts.

Which part drives you nuts, R14?

Does it make you constipated?

Does it come in pill form?

Yes it comes in pill form, which most users seem to prefer, but I never liked them. Too much swallowing effort. Sideways pills, inaccurate measurements for my needs, etc.

Yes it makes you constipated like any opiate. I’ve been a regular user of Miralax for at least a year.

R17, people who use everyday sometimes buy a scale and capsule maker. Pills can get expensive, and you have to take a lot of them to get any effect. I have some if I'm not going to be home to dose, since it looks weird to be shoveling powder in your mouth.

I started using it several years ago to get off opiate pain meds. It worked and I love it. It is legal and easy to get and not very expensive. The effects are subtle but effective. Yes, you do build some tolerance and experience mild withdrawal if you quit all at once, but I don’t care. I have to take something. In low doses, it helps relieve both pain and depression without making you feel high. Some strains are more soothing or more energizing.

OP, if you are interested, there are several extensive old DL threads (in case this thread doesn’t give you enough information).

Kratom is not like Adderall at all. It is basically an opioid.

Microdosing mushrooms is where it’s at. Smooth, functional, mellow, and completely lifted me out of an awful depression/anger/anxiety spiral. I tried kratom for awhile but haven’t looked back since I got onto shrooms.

How much do you take daily, R20?

You got that right about shoveling powder, R19. But I got to the point where I would do it outside on a park bench and not give a fuck what anyone thought. It’s New York, and for all anyone knows, I’m just taking a nutritional supplement.

Making my own capsules is something I could never be bothered to do.

That’s great news, R23. I’m hoping I really will be able to get off this stuff. I’m at the end of my second week of microdosing shrooms now. Today is the best day yet in terms of mood, anxiety (I have none), mental clarity, etc.

I keep meaning to search the r/quittingkratom forum to see if anyone there has had success using microdosing as a means of quitting “the goblin”.

I should add that my daily kratom use actually caused my generalized anxiety, panic, and depression to come back at full force. I was doing well until the kratom turned me into a lazy slug who couldn’t be bothered to exercise and felt physically overwhelmed when an attempt was made to do cardio.

I’m getting better now. Jogging a bit again, breathing better, etc. Just not being so constipated all the time from the kratom, now that I’ve tapered down considerably, has been wonderful. I was always bloated, always trying to suck in my bloated gut, not breathing deeply, which led to increased anxiety and depression. Ugh.

If you don’t have a good reason to use kratom, just don’t ever do it.

Tried it, didn't notice any change at all in how I was feeling.

Tried it a few years ago and had zero effect on me at all.

What are the options for obtaining mushrooms? They’ve always intrigued me and seeing more and more about positive effects around micro dosing

"Soccer moms"? Is this 1996?

I've been using the Bali red strain for 4+ years for a pressed nerve that causes me quite a bit of agony. 3 spoonfuls a day keeps my pain level basically non-existent. Yes, if you take to much you'll get nauseous as fuck, but besides that I don't have side effects from it.

In case anyone is interested:

Red strains-pain relief

White strains- energy

Green strain- depression

Kratom shops are all over Portland, OR these days.

My long term partner started on kratom after his doctors cut off his hydrocodone, which he uses for shoulder pain/arthritis.

He takes a small amount, maybe half a teaspoon and mixes it with orange juice about three times a day.

There don’t seem to be any real side effects, it doesn’t make him high, it just relieves the pain

And it’s nonprescription so it eliminates all the hassle of getting narcotic prescriptions filled.

R24 I take 4 caps every 4 hours. Sometimes a little more if I need it. That’s about a teaspoon.

I've used it on and off for years, primarily for sleep and energy (different strains). I never had any issues from it.

All of you using kratom and measuring it with a teaspoon? Get a gram spoon or weight scale. It's much more accurate.

But what difference does it make, R35? It’s not like a tiny variation in dose is noticeable.

It's a cheap, easy, and effective way to get off of hardcore opiates like oxycodone. It's essentially a low grade opiate. For most people, it doesn't get you high, but will keep addicts out of withdrawal. I call it a miracle drug, quite frankly.

Yes, I tried it and died, OP. I’m currently in the green room of the Larry King show, waiting to be interviewed about my experience.

"Which part drives you nuts, [R14]?"

That he's an addict but not smart enough to order it on time.

It made me go crazy and bash my head against the window!

[quote]But what difference does it make, [R35]? It’s not like a tiny variation in dose is noticeable.

I take your point, [r36], but that is not true for everyone. Kratom affects everyone differently. If you are using any drug with the intent of getting off another drug, I think you should at least attempt to manage your doses correctly. Even teaspoons are not standard. Also, level teaspoon or heaping one? Self-treatment is a slippery slope to navigate. I've been doing it for decades. It's best to be completely accurate.

[quote]It's a cheap, easy, and effective way to get off of hardcore opiates like oxycodone. It's essentially a low grade opiate. For most people, it doesn't get you high, but will keep addicts out of withdrawal. I call it a miracle drug, quite frankly.

So do I, [r37], though that is not the reason I use kratom. Trae Crowder agrees with you.

R23 here. I microdose about 350mg of cubensis mushrooms a day. I do four days on, three off. It's changed my life as far as energy, depression, focus, connectedness to others, and my anxiety is nonexistent.

I got on this bandwagon about ten years ago. I was taking too much and it was making me panic and nauseous. I stopped because of that and frankly, the taste of the powder was terrible.

I tried it for depression before I got on Wellbutrin, which seems to be doing OK for me.Kratom made me mildly euphoric at times. I still have some in a kitchen cabinet but I haven't touched it in a year. I'd mix it into hot tea and yes, the taste is terrible.

It tastes like mud or sand.

Is coffee not good enough?

Do any of you have good purchase/site recommendations you'd like to pass along?

Kratom Eats with Java.