Kratom is a plant that grows wild in Southeast Asia. It’s been used for hundreds, if not thousands of years, for pain relief and boosting energy. It’s ingested in capsules full of the loose leaf or the powdered whole leaf is brewed in a tea and consumed. I’ve been helped greatly by using Kratom in both capsule and tea form to help manage my chronic pain in the last six months.
(You can watch my video on how I prepare my tea each morning)
I’ve been sick for over 30 years and have taken opioid medication pretty much non stop since I had my first surgery at the age of 12. I’ve had a bunch of abdominal surgeries due to Ulerative Colitis. My pain is gallbladder, adhesions and possibly Crohns. I’ve been told by my surgeon that I have a history belly – and this hostile belly is constantly at war with me.
This year I was cut off from getting pain meds from my primary care doctor and all I can say is, thank god I found Kratom.
Kratom not only helps to manage my pain but it also made getting off of pain pills a breeze. I’m not physically or psychological addicted to prescription opioids but my body was habituated to taking the narcotics. Normally when I’d stop taking pain pills I’d be absolutely miserable. It would be a week or two of misery. Being sick and in pain and going through withdrawal on top of that was pure torture.
(This is where I buy my Kratom from:
http://www.naturalorganix.com )
Thanks to Kratom, when I stopped talking my Tramadol I had none of the body aches, or horrible restlessness or sleepless nights. It was incredible.
I’ve been experimenting with using Kratom for over six months now. I take it two to four times a day as a tea. My current supplier is Natural Ice Organics. I picked them because of their testing. I’ve stepped up to buying it bulk to save money as well.
If you have only been taking capsules and are curious about drinking Kratom as a tea, I say go for it. But be warned the taste is extremely bitter. It took me weeks to get over the taste. Some people add sugar, honey, or lemon to make it taste better. Personally I’ve found adding peppermint flavored CBD oil (which has helped my inflammation issues) almost masks the taste 100%.
When I first started taking Kratom I took it in capsule form and I even began making my own. The downsides of taking capsules is that it costs more – a lot more than loose leaf – and it can be a mess if you choose to make your own.
To make Kratom Tea I alternate between Green or Red Thai (I find Red has better pain killing qualities for me) and I use a digital scale to weigh out anywhere from six to ten grams, depending on my pain level for that day. That’s what is great about being able to buy Kratom without someone’s “permission”, you can adjust your doseage to your current level of pain.
My pain level can fluctuate greatly in the course of day let alone a month. When I was on chronic pain medicine management it didn’t matter if one day I hurt more than another. I had the exact same number of pills to take. While on the pain management protocol (they force you to sign a contract and submit to drug testing) you’re strictly limited to how many pills you have for the month.
If your pain is bad and you take more on one day then have to cut back on another day, or go without for how ever many days are until you could refill your prescription. The whole system is insane. I’m so glad to be outside of the chronic pain management bureaucracy. It was very demeaning to be drug tested, harassed by pharmacies, and insurance companies over my pain medicine. It is an inhumane system.
Without Kratom I’d be forced back into it and it’s even worse now. If I have to go and get prescription pain meds I’ll have to go through the pain clinic system. What cost me $40 a month and the price of four doctor visits last year, would now cost me around $2500 for just the monthly doctor visits and drug testing. Chronic pain patients are treated like parolees who’ve been convicted of a crime. My only crime is that I have chronic pain and my life depends on me finding a way to manage it.
In the morning I weigh out my Kratom and pour boiling water over it. Then I let it steep for 15 minutes at least. After that I either add ice (I find it more palatable if it’s cold) or I’ll just sip on it for an hour as it cools. When it gets down to the powdered sludge at the bottom of my cup, I add more water and then drink it over the course of another 30min to an hour. I repeat the process until I’ve consumed all the powder sludge is gone.
Within minutes I’m feeling better after taking my first sip. In thirty minutes or so I start feeling some pain relief. I find Kratom helps me with mild to moderate pain. But I find it doesn’t touch the pain when it gets really bad. I wish that we lived in a free society in which people who are suffering could get the relief they needed without being treated like a criminal.
I find that the effects last four to six hours. And unlike with prescription pain killers, I don’t have the intense short spike of pain relief followed by a steep crash. Kratom delivers a much more pleasant subtle experience without the intense mood altering effects that can occur with pain pills.
Depending on my day I’ll drink two to four cups per day. Kratom tea has given me back some of a life that’s been destroyed by not having pain meds. But from that destruction I’ve found hope and freedom. The hope that I can live a life with less pain due to drinking Kratom tea each day and the freedom to treat my pain as I see fit without kowtowing to the increasingly regimented and callous medical system and without being a pawn in the politically driven opioid crisis hysteria.
If you use Kratom please share your experiences in the comments. The more we talk about it the harder it will be for the DEA to make Kratom a schedule One Drug along with LSD, Heroin and Cannabis.
The reason they want to ban it is because, like Cannabis, it is so effective at helping millions of people. It’s estimated up to five million Americans use it everyday. People have used Kratom for anxiety, pain relief, sleep, and for energy. It along with Cannabis has helped tremendously.
If you have been helped by Kratom you might want to check out The American Kratom Association. They are fighting the good fight and helped to get the DEA’s ban reversed back in 2016 and they are working hard to keep Kratom legal today.
Wishing you health and wellness,
Brad Miller
healthier2day.com 