** Please note that a 2019 update was added near the bottom...check it out!
I started my kratom journey in January of 2015. At the time I was suffering from chronic pain stemming from a back injury I suffered while preparing for Hurricane Irene in 2011. I have 3 herniated discs with nerve impingement and permanent nerve damage. I have arthritis, degenerative disc, compressed discs and spinal stenosis. I also suffer from depression, anxiety, and ADHD (non-Hyperactivity). In late January when I was introduced to kratom from a friend, I was on a handful of medications daily, several were scheduled medications including a narcotic pain medication, a stimulant medication, and a benzodiazepine.
I always prided myself on taking my medications as prescribed and as instructed. My Pain Management Doctor is not a pill pusher, and she truly wanted to see me "get better" to whatever capacity I could. I am what is known as a "compliant patient"....I follow all directions to the letter, I do whatever I am told and I have realistic expectations regarding my treatment options. I have tried many treatment options in an effort to manage my pain including injections, physical therapy, and even an anti-inflammatory diet. My goal was never to be on pharmaceuticals long term.
I knew that there was a lot of "stigma" surrounding the use of certain scheduled medications, but this was never more evident than in early January of 2015 when I fractured my kneecap slipping on the ice. As soon as I started going over my list of medications, attitudes of the ER staff changed. Despite being in excruciating pain, I was offered nothing to take...not even a Tylenol. As I got ready to be discharged, the nurse said "You are already on quite a drug cocktail at home so you won't be going home with anything from us....Sorry!" in this rather obnoxious sing-song voice. I was completely embarrassed by her attitude because I hadn't asked for anything for the pain, hadn't even hinted that I needed something, despite spending most of my time in the ER in tears. I had a FRACTURED kneecap! This nurse's attitude was degrading to me, especially because I have never had any issues with addiction and only take my medications as prescribed. There is nothing in my medical history or even my prescription drug record, that would indicate a problem or cause her disrespectful attitude. After the ER experience, I was even more convinced than ever that I needed to get off the pharmaceuticals I was on and try to go natural.
The first time I tried kratom I took green Malay and felt amazing. I had energy and pain relief, and I was also in a pretty good mood. From that moment on my pain was managed effectively with kratom, as was my anxiety. Within a week of taking kratom I was no longer taking most of my medications as the kratom eased my symptoms of pain and anxiety effectively. I felt free! And the longer I was off pharmaceuticals, the less I was plagued with the horrible side effects that I didn't realize I had endured for so long.
There are several things that I have noticed since taking kratom. Some might be a direct result of taking kratom. Some might just be my body slowly getting rid of the toxins. Some might be the absence of side effects. Whatever the cause, I have had several positive benefits from taking kratom that I feel very blessed about.
Benefit #1: My allergies are non -existent. I have suffered seasonal allergies my entire life. Every spring and fall like clockwork. So I started kratom in winter here in the Northeast, and one thing that became very apparent was that when Spring arrived and the pollen counts were through the roof, I was not reaching for my trusty Claritan or Allegra! Not once did I even have a stuffy nose! And I no longer wake up stuffy every morning, nor do I wake up because my nose is running. I have had no allergy symptoms since starting kratom. As an asthmatic, that is amazing!
Benefit #2: My Asthma has been greatly relieved. I have only taken my rescue inhaler twice since starting kratom....a huge reduction from the almost daily use of my rescue inhaler before kratom.
Benefit #3: I sleep better. Before kratom I often experienced insomnia. I still do have nights where my creative juices are flowing and I can't get to sleep (It's 1:14 AM currently, but I'm on a roll!!), but my overall sleep pattern has changed for the better since taking kratom. When I do have insomnia, it doesn't last nearly as long, and is more easily managed than before. It is more situational now.
Benefit #4: For over 2 years I suffered from a constant, debilitating tiredness. I slept late, wanted to nap every single day, often fell asleep late afternoon and missed cooking dinner and then would be awake most of the night. Even when I slept 7-9 hours at a time, I wanted to nap only a few hours after waking. I had no energy for anything, and my friends and family noticed how lifeless I had become. Since being on kratom, I wake up feeling rested...a foreign concept. And I can move about my day and not constantly want to curl up and close my eyes. I am awake to cook dinner for my family...that is a huge difference from the crippling fatigue I suffered from for so long.
Benefit #5: My PMS is greatly reduced. It has not gone away, mind you, but these days I don't even know where in my cycle I am because my PMS induced insomnia and raging mood changes are a thing of the past. While I still have mood changes; I still feel "down in the dumps" on occasion, the extreme ebb and flow of my emotions have eased up greatly, much to the thrill of other members of my household.
Benefit #6: I am more social. I have suffered from social anxiety my entire life. People find it hard to believe because I work so hard to overcome it. It's actually exhausting how hard I work to be friendly and sociable with strangers when inside I feel anything but that. Most people have no idea I am so shy because I force myself to be engaging and make others laugh. I am polite and kind, even a little flirty...but inside I want to run away and hide. Kratom relaxes my anxiety to the point where I am less shy and more confident. I feel better able to face my life. It works so much better than any anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medication ever has.
As more things come to me, I will add them to this list. As of right now, the benefits of my life after kratom are, in my mind, truly a blessing. I am committed to fighting to keep this plant legal because I cannot go back to what my life was before.
I hope my experience will be an inspiration to others in the hopes that more people turn to natural remedies to help ease ailments and issues, and rely less on the FDA approved medicines that do as much harm as they do good.
Update: 2019....
So, I have been consuming kratom now for a little over 4 years. I wanted to revisit this post (which has NOT been changed since it was written) to see what has changed, what has stayed the same, and what is new now.
For the most part, all of the above things I have written are still true. I would definitely say that my over-all health and well-being have been positively impacted by the introduction of kratom to my life. Only recently has my anemia returned....however, it's is important to note that before kratom I could not go a full year without IV iron treatments. It is now 4.5 years since my last IV iron treatment, and I am just now beginning to see a return of my anemia. Being able to go 4 years between treatments, as opposed to 7-9 months, seems like a dream to me. The only consistent change to my diet has been kratom.
One of the big things I can report is that I am working full time again! It has been so wonderful to feel strong enough and well enough to get back into the workforce again. I have been working for a wonderful school district as a secretary since last April. While I still have pain and anxiety, they are managed enough with kratom and other supplements that I am able to work outside of the home. That is a blessing!!
I have gotten 4 years older since I wrote this post. I have moved into middle age officially (46 as of this update), so of course there are some changes to my hormones, but I am still relatively PMS free. I am still enjoying intimacy with my husband as I was 4 years ago. Everything is going quite well on that front. I have added a couple of supplements to help support female hormones, such as maca root and damiana, but I still feel pretty much the same as I did when this was originally written.
Kratom, for me, is more of a mood-lifter than anti-depressant, so I take ashwagandha to help with my depression. The combination of kratom and ashwagandha has been a really good combo for my depression. In fact, since taking the two my mother has actually asked me if I went back on my antideprtessant because my mood and outlook was that much improved.
For anyone wondering, I am still on the same dose I was taking 4 years ago. I have tried to increase my dose by 1/2 a teaspoon and got horribly dizzy, so that didn't happen again. I just learned that sometimes I need to dose more often, so instead of 2-3 times a day, I might dose 4-5...that is NOT a typical day, however, and I am very mindful to not dose if I truly don't need to. Please read that again: I do not dose if I truly don't need to. I truly believe that is part of responsible use, and I also believe it helps to eliminate a lot of issues going forward.
Now for the question I know many people are interested in: have I ever had to stop kratom, and what happened?
First, yes I have had to stop kratom. The longest was for about 2 months, and the other times were for about a week and a few days. The most profound thing I noticed was my mood. Depression came back, and my mood just wasn't as good. I felt sad. I felt dissatisfied. I felt anxiety. I also found a sharp increase in my pain levels. BTW, these are things I have always struggled from, so their return after stopping kratom WAS NO SURPRISE TO ME. Please make note of that....returning to how I used to feel before kratom was not an unexpected development.
The most annoying thing that happened when I stopped taking kratom was the restless leg/body I had on days two and three. But, again, I suffered from restless leg/body BEFORE kratom, so how much it had to do with stopping kratom is really hard to say. In fact, I had to stop taking Tylenol PM for sleep because it causes such awful restless leg and body, so I am sensitive to it. I know when I stop drinking coffee I get raging headaches for several days, and I am a miserable, angry person to be around. Kratom wasn't even like this.
I'm smart enough to know that withdrawal does not equal addiction. I'm smart enough to know that experiencing withdrawal from anything you consume on a daily basis over long periods of time is NORMAL...and for the FDA or any other agency to tell you otherwise is incredibly reckless and misleading. Frankly, I would rather stop kratom a dozen times a year than EVER experience what I went through when I stopped Effexor and Cymbalta. THAT was HELL.
I am luckier than most kratom consumers. I take kratom with the blessing of my therapist, family doctor, and pain management doctor. In fact, each of them have seen the positive outcomes that have happened in my life since consuming kratom, that they are interested in where the science is going to lead for kratom in the years to come. My therapist is an addiction specialist, as well as a 36-year sober AA participant. We have had extensive conversations about kratom and the role it plays in addiction/recovery as I spend a lot of my free time helping those who come to the kratom community from addiction. It is not uncommon for me to help someone in withdrawal, which is becoming more and more common as chronic pain patients are are being abruptly cut off from their medications with no titration or further support. The state of healthcare today is inhumane. I should NOT be helping as stage 4 cancer patient withdraw off their pain meds because the CDC and DEA have turned medical professionals arrogant and judgmental...but I digress. So, the only thing my therapist has maintained in the last 4 years is that he firmly believes kratom would be most effective as long as people are also working on the mental health piece to deal with the addiction aspect, along with consuming kratom to get through the physical withdrawal. There is much work to do and much for us to learn to effectively help people who need it.
Anyway...thanks for reading!
