Anxiety from Kratom

[bobcd7676]

So I have been a kratom user for 3-4 years. Recently I have been experiencing serious anxiety from kratom. Its odd because whether its red/green (i dont use white) its the same feeling. Tightness in my chest. All the symptoms of anxiety.

I have never had serious anxiety in my life. I thought maybe it was from coffee but i cut way back on the coffee and that didnt help much. There is nothing going on in life that would cause this so I have to think its the kratom. Its just odd to me that this would happen all of a sudden after 4 years. I take about 15-20 gpd and have been steady on that for the last 2 years. I notice when i wake up in the morning i am find but about an hour or so after my first dose it kicks in.

Has this ever happened to anyone else? I am sure i should try to reduce my intake but it just seems odd that i have been in the same dose for years and never had this problem before. Thank you!

[herbalhippie]

I was starting to not feel great on the dose I was on so I lowered it. Helped some. I really need to take a break for a while. Maybe you do too?

[beathappening]

I notice when i wake up in the morning i am find but about an hour or so after my first dose it kicks in.

There are many reasons for why anxiety occurs. It's not just if you have stress in your everyday life. Have you tried not dosing after waking up, then waiting an hour and see if you get the anxiety? Do you take any other medications?

I deal a lot with anxiety and take several medications for it, non-narcotic, that treat some of the physiological causes for anxiety. For example, propranolol, which is a beta blocker and reduces blood pressure, but it works well as a mild anxiety reliever.

Ultimately, you may want to consult a physician for this, none of us here are experts or doctors (afaik) and shouldn't be doling out medical advice.

[brave777]

If dosing often, this can happen. Take a tolerance break and see if it still happening. Or switch up a batch and see if that was the case. Try avoid fast whites as white usually known to cause that. I didnt even realize, i had 2-4 grams a day for 5 days already. I feel so much better then 10 grams a day. I didnt mean to drop grams, i got sick so had to fast for 3 days, and while fasting i had only 2 grams each day with one Fiji apple. It worked out pretty well. Seems i feel even better then 10 grams, less anxiety. The less you take the less tired you will feel, so that means you will sleep less. the reason people sleep extra is to recover if they consumed to much 10-20 grams.

[BallzDeep9]

Its just odd to me that this would happen all of a sudden after 4 years. I take about 15-20 gpd and have been steady on that for the last 2 years ... I am sure i should try to reduce my intake but ...

wOw that's not HUGE, but imo it's a large dose, daily, for 4 years? Why ?? You're not in Chronic Pain or anything ??

What I found, what LOTS of guys find.. is that large daily doses, you start getting side effects: Inter dose withdrawals (for me) were the worst. One description of that is - adrenal fatigue, another is - chronic fatique 'syndrome'- both of those terms are considered by some medical professional as... myths. But.. withdrawal from opioids, even partial agonists.. IS a problem!

Other sides may be? lack of sexual function, Libido / hormonal issues, constipation and digestive problems, some types of Brain Fog, even hair loss.. these have ALL been noted, by those who consume 'large doses' of kratom daily. So... what's a Large Dose?

Anything that exceeds your Lowest Threshold Dose. The smallest serving of kratom, where you FEEL something.. usually 2-3 grams. So personally, I lowered my servings, and my gpd lowered from 14 -20 down to around 5 -6. Most of nasty side effects went away! Also I'm now thinking a Monthly T-break makes sense... Kratom feels SO good, the week after a T-break!

The folks on Chronic Pain, have my sympathy and different needs.. those using Kratom to recover from opiates, likewise.

[bobcd7676]

Thank you everyone for your help! I was on suboxone prior to these but really hated it so transitioned to kratom. It definitely saved my quality of life. I do not have any cravings for opiates anymore (especially with all the dangerous fentanyl laced things out there).

Now my kratom usage is a daily routine with coffee. You make a great point regarding these effects coming up after years of daily use. That would be me. I am going to cut back on my gpd and see how that goes. When I was transitioning from suboxone i was at about 28-35 gpd. I cannot believe my dose was that high! Idk how I was ever able to poop !

[Greyfeather]

I notice when i wake up in the morning i am find but about an hour or so after my first dose it kicks in.

There are many reasons for why anxiety occurs. It's not just if you have stress in your everyday life. Have you tried not dosing after waking up, then waiting an hour and see if you get the anxiety? Do you take any other medications?

I deal a lot with anxiety and take several medications for it, non-narcotic, that treat some of the physiological causes for anxiety. For example, propranolol, which is a beta blocker and reduces blood pressure, but it works well as a mild anxiety reliever.

Ultimately, you may want to consult a physician for this, none of us here are experts or doctors (afaik) and shouldn't be doling out medical advice.

Excellent point. I don't want to try and diagnose you either.

At the same time, there are so MANY things that can 'trigger' anxiety -mental, societal, medicinal, physiological...

When "My Guy" hit that "Mid-life crisis stage" he was plagued by horrible anxieties for two straight years. When kids hit puberty, so MANY of them can be scarred from the anxiety that they, in turn, are blamed for. Anxiety is one of the demons that creep up very slowly, so slowly that we are sometimes left paralyzed. I'll admit - I have been treated very badly by psych docs (lol) and some therapists. But then I'm a female, so we can't win for losing. Imo, they prey on people who are just trying to deal with the shit that Life blows onto ALL OF US. Anxiety is just part & parcel of the agreement we made when we decided to come to this Earth School, for better or worse. The celebrities at the Academy Awards get juicy gift bags for participating. WE get a sack full of the Genetic-Lottery Game Results, Haha! you picked THOSE parents, Surprise! Living in a first-world country means that you might be homeless for a while (forever). On an on...

Sorry - I can be cynical. Personally, I have tried nearly everything for anxiety: Meds, therapy, biofeedback, diet, exercise, religion.
Exercise absolutely helped. Really. And I know I'll find relief if I can start again (baby steps!). It's a terrific way to expel that self-defeating chatter in our heads and make us feel powerful for a while. Good luck! I am "stimulated' on two grams of kratom, so I take a bit more to ease it. Maybe try that?

[dub12Nation]

I was also going to ask about dosage.

I’ve been slowly creeping up again to a EOD dose of 9-10 grams, with two redoses of 5 & 5.

I use EOD to keep my tolerance and WD’s manageable, but once my dose creeps up I start experiencing side effects that can include symptoms of anxiety. It also increases my off day side effects to include things that can look and feel like anxiety.

I’m glad I saw this thread as I think I’m due to down shift and take some small T breaks for sure.

[creatus]

I am going to cut back on my gpd and see how that goes.

Let us know how it goes - I bet your anxiety side effect improves. Whenever I get this it is simply the red flag for a break.

As a strange yet pleasant consequence of this I found cycling becomes somewhat effortless because I enjoy coming off the kratom as much as getting back on.

[bobcd7676]

Yes that is a great point. I have already started reducing my does by 1 gram per dose. Goal range would be about 10-12 gpd going forward. Hopefully that will reduce the anxiety symptoms.

Also a good idea to wait an hour before dosing to confirm it definitely is kratom related. I do not take any other medications so kratom is the only culprit as far as external possibilities

Will keep you all posted!!

[WhiteAngelica]

Maybe take a choc bent or something along those lines...it is calming as can be.

As far as anxiety, just be sure you are drinking a lot of water and are not dehydrated. I take kratom and often forget about water! We need to drink plenty of liquids. If you try the Choc Bent (KOG has a great one),that plus adequate hydration should help a great deal.

[e_poison]

Could be the kratom, but I’d also like to point out that anxiety itself doesn’t actually need a cause or trigger. You can be happily living life with no complaints in the world and still suffer an anxiety/panic attack.

I got my first panic attack ever driving home from a Halloween party with my girlfriend. We were both happy and in a great state of mind. Then my chest tightened, breathing became difficult, and my vision went blurry. My heart was beating out of my chest and I felt like I was going to literally pass out. Out of complete nowhere.

I still get them from time to time, and it’s always random and doesn’t seem to be triggered by stress. I could be going about my day and then BAM, they just hit. Thankfully, not often as I can go years between attacks, but it does happen.

[bobcd7676]

Wow that is scary! I really never realized that could happen w/o any mental symptoms. Ive always felt that a panic attack would be terrifying. Luckily I havent had to deal with that.

After reducing my dose 1gram per dose I am already definitely feeling some relief. I also went and purchased some CBD oil and that seems to help as well.

I read somewhere else that when you keep stacking up doses eventually your body reaches a point that it cannot keep up and this is when side effects can occur. So far at least I am feeling a lot better!

[creatus]

I agree with e_poison and would also say there are plenty of people who deal with anxiety all the time and don't know it, people with addictions or coping mechanisms that don't know their unconscious behaviors or rituals are coping mechanisms etc. We live in a world driven by anxiety and where unnatural living is normal and accepted, even all-pervasive, and we are like fish in water. Plus, trauma can also be natural as commonly as birth itself. I'd say there are always triggers even though they are not always conscious and there are reasons behind everything we experience (fortunately). Whenever someone experiences a crippling anxiety or panic attacks for unknown reasons there are still ways to access the unconscious and even follow the anxiety to its roots. If the anxiety is there it's attached to something or coming from somewhere. That's the good news. There's actually far less crazy people out there then many believe themselves to be.