Looking For Help With Building a Schedule

[ItsTimeForAnAlt]

I used to take Kratom for anxiety and depression around a year ago. I stopped taking it eventually because I was just taking it a little too often. I quit for about 3-4 months and then started again. I took it for another 2-3 months and then stopped again because of the same reason. I haven't allowed myself to purchase anymore Kratom, the amount I had left got thrown away. Long ago I gave my friend a bag of Kratom, he's only taken it once or twice and he took too much and didn't really like it.

He gave me the bag back and I've taken it the past two days and I can't decide if I'm going to buy more. The reason I'm even contemplating it is that this bag is bunk. It's not giving me the desired effects. I typically use Red's or Green's and this is a White. I think the vendor also just turned to shit. On one hand, I don't want to because I'm currently quitting weed and laying off the alcohol. Haven't smoked in 4 days, haven't drank in 3 days. Now I have this Kratom and I'm definitely going to take it until the bad is gone (50g). I keep contemplating making a deal with myself; If I can set a schedule and stick to it without breaking it or coming up with excuses like "Oh I'm driving a long time today, I'm going to take Kratom so I'm not anxious" then, I can buy some. It does help me mentally with depression and anxiety. It makes me feel motivation in life to do things such as cleaning, shopping, and doing more creative based things such as reading. I love reading but I haven't done it in about a month, which isn't really normal for me. Last night I read though. It just makes me feel more calm and chilled out, I guess. I'm having trouble putting it into words. I get mad easily and I really lack motivation, especially when it comes to leaving the house. Let me just ask 2 questions.

1. Is it even worth starting again?

2. What's a good schedule to stick to to avoid tolerance? I was thinking 4 weeks daily, 2 weeks off. Skipping Wednesdays and Sundays. I'm entirely open to suggestions here though guys, I want to get a separate calendar or something if I were to keep taking it

I do have some concerns; does Kratom really lower T levels? I will never let myself get above 10g a day. Does Kratom cause hair loss? I'm too fucking young to be going bald LOL!

[Sanbutsushin]

You know yourself better than any of us do, so if you think that you can stick to a schedule instead of making excuses to take it, then I'd say give it a shot. Be honest with yourself about whether you think you'll end up taking it just for the sake of taking it again. If you doubt that you can keep a schedule, or accurately assess whether you need it before taking it, then I wouldn't try to get back into it again, personally.

But if you were also taking it frequently because you weren't getting much from it - you do say your current bag is bunk - then I'd recommend trying something from one of the reputable vendors reviewed around here. And grabbing more than just one batch, to boot, because if you're using the same bag multiple times a day or for multiple days in a row, it's going to screw your tolerance and would be a waste. Rotating is key.

Taking breaks is good but at the same time, I don't know if a rigid schedule like the one you propose would be all that helpful. I had a few weeks where I was getting up in the morning, mixing my kratom tea into my coffee and drinking it not because my pain levels called for it but because it was part of the routine and I was just going through the motions. When I realized I was doing that, I started keeping a closer eye on myself. Since then, when I make my coffee in the morning I ask myself whether I would actually benefit from having kratom at that moment, and if not, then I don't bother with it. That kind of thing might work for you - like if your mental health seems to be in a good place today, skip it and revisit the question tomorrow. "Use as needed" schedule as opposed to "one week on, one week off" or what have you.

The reason I suggest this is because your mental health can fluctuate just like physical pain would - you can't accurately predict ahead of time whether you're going to be feeling like crud on Wednesdays and Sundays, you know?

Regarding the hair loss, there are a lot of people saying that they've noticed their hair thinning with kratom use, but there are just as many people saying that they haven't had that problem. Until proper studies are done it's all anecdotal evidence. I do remember reading posts by a member on here who said that she noticed some hair loss - not like chunks coming out and leaving bald spots behind, but more ending up on the brush or in the shower drain than usual - and once she stopped taking kratom her hair went back to normal, so I wouldn't worry about irreversible damage. My hair was thinning before I started kratom, for as yet unknown reasons, and I can't really say whether kratom has affected it either way... but if you run some searches here you can probably turn up the threads that talk about hair issues and judge for yourself from there.

Whew, long post haha

[PistolsAtDawn]

My only advice here is to set attainable goals for yourself. Trying to change too many things at once is usually a recipe for failure, at least in my experience.

Don't be hard on yourself for being human, and forgive yourself if you slip a bit. If that happens, just brush yourself off and get back on the horse!

You got this!

[BallzDeep9]

I used to take Kratom for anxiety and depression around a year ago. I stopped taking it eventually because I was just taking it a little too often.
1. Is it even worth starting again?
2. What's a good schedule to stick to to avoid tolerance? I was thinking 4 weeks daily, 2 weeks off. Skipping Wednesdays and Sundays.

Most people enjoy kratom to help with those reasons. Try using it like coffee. You know your own issues. Sounds like you're having issues with substance abuse, weed, alcohol, let me guess you're smoking cigs ? How about sugar. Lots of things can be mildly addictive. All the good stuff really?

I'd say either do like "Weekend Warrior" like many ppl do with alcohol ? Or enjoy kratom daily just like coffee. The key is sticking to the lowest effective dose = LED, find your LED and stay there. No reason to gulp down 10 cups of coffee, when 1 or 2 give you a buzz ? So measure your kratom carefully... Scale is best. Or get a meauring spoon.

[e_poison]

It's all about willpower. The ability to make a routine and the determination to stick to it. Can you do it? Well... only you can answer that question for yourself.

Definitely congrats on kicking the alcohol/weed, even if it's only temporary. Good to give your lungs and liver a break from that stuff for a while, especially the alcohol. Anxiety/depression definitely goes hand-in-hand with addiction so it's good to see you recognize that and are trying to break away.

For the schedule itself, try a low dose of kratom 1x per day and go from there. Adjust as needed until you find the sweet spot. Then stick to it no matter what. If it stop working, don't increase the dose. Take a tolerance break. It sounds like you have an addictive personality, so the worst thing you can do is keep adding more and more to get results.

Since you are looking to treat anxiety/depression, EXERCISE. I'm not saying run a marathon, but get out for a walk every day. Do some jumping jacks. Get a cheap set of weights. There's a reason doctors recommend exercise for depression. It really does help to get active and get the blood pumping. And find a HEALTHY HOBBY. Learn a musical instrument, study a foreign language, etc. Do this hobby at the times you previously spent drinking/smoking. Fill those empty hours with something new.

[Cuttlefish]

I am like you, I have trouble moderating. The first step is realizing you are like that, which you have done.

To add to what others have said, on top of my nightly walk, eating healthy has helped my anxiety/depression and burns.

I know this may sound silly, but the most useful part of agmatine for me is how to blocks the mood enhancement of Kratom. If I wake up and take a large agmatine dose then I know there is absolutely no point in me taking kratom, it won’t work. So that was really a key in me learning to take regular tolerance breaks. When I wake up on Saturday, I immediately take agmatine, and take the day off. Taking Saturday off, a much lower amount Sunday, and staying under 10gpd M-F has been good for me. If I’m not feeling the good effects, I start cutting my last dose after work out too, only taking it twice, when I wake up and mid-day at work.

Maybe kratom isn’t for you. The self-control thing I have been working on for years. I think I made a similar post to this one probably a year ago, this is the routine I’ve fallen on. I usually take it at like 9am 2pm 7pm. 4-3-3

Also wanted to add that a rhodiola rosea/black seed oil combo, with the agmatine, is my regimen for taking like an entire week off, but I’m overdue for that.

[Loveandpeace]

OP,

I found my schedule through constant tweaking, still am. I liked how Cuttle wrote it down. I am: 7am 1pm 7pm @ 1g 1.2g and 1.2g

Through ease of convenience (being lazy), I found 1.2g to work great. 1.2g is a half teaspoon, packed. Kratom is fucking messy and I only wanted to dirty certain things and make sure that I could use a standard measuring device without ever needing a scale. If I needed more, a half teaspoon un packed is about 1g.

Tip: if you have lost the magic, do not dose up!! Wait, try again later and dose down. Stick to your color rotation and I red bubble every morning. That is my 1g, 7am dose. I feel an urgency in the morning from red bubble, probably psychosomatic but it gets me out of the house.

Write everything down, give good burns a smiley face on the paper, demarcate when a dose is red bubble, switch color and vendor and visit doublem twice a day and 3 times on Sunday, rinse, repeat.

Good luck,

maybe look into phenylpiracetam, I may get some disapproval from people on this site but it can get your mind ready for the day.

[ItsTimeForAnAlt]

Hi everyone! Not sure how this forum works as to whether or not you will receive notifications from interacting with this post in the past but I'll reply anyway.

Just wanted to say thank you for all of your replies and information. I ultimately threw that Kratom bag away because it wasn't doing anything for me in terms of effects and I was worried about getting hooked so I threw it out.

Today I went to Michigan because I'll be moving there in a few months for a job offer I took. Kratom is legal there which was NUTS. It just feels less dirty to know that it's legal to use in places.

I of course decided to go to a head shop and get a bag for the experience. I was going to get 100g for $25 of Red Bali from Expert Botanicals. After mentioning that Kratom is illegal in my state the shop owner said "It's illegal there? You want a Kilo? I got Kilo's!" I decided to pick one up because why not and it was $125 after he discounted it.

It's not the strongest Kratom that I've had but it's good enough for the mood boost and motivation that I seek. I'm excited to start taking it again but I'm working on a schedule. So far I've got no more than 1x per day unless it's for medical reasons such as pain.

I still need to work on how many times per week, dose amount, off-days, etc. But I'm getting there, excited to be active on this forum!