I've been using Kratom for a year now, to control my WED, and thought I'd post an update since so little is known about it as a WED treatment.
Kratom is a plant in Southeast Asia (Borneo, Thailand etc.). The leave are ground up into a powder, and you can buy it on the Internet--on Amazon and various other sites. From the Wikipedia article: "Kratom behaves as a μ-opioid receptor agonist like morphine and is used in the management of chronic pain, as well as recreationally."
It is legal in most places, and you don't need a script to get it. In fact, I have yet to find a doctor who has even heard of it.
I have used it every day for the last year. For awhile, I had a bit of constipation with it, but after switching to a different strain, and taking some extra magnesium, that problem completely cleared up. As of now, I have no side effects at all. I don't feel at all drugged from taking it. My mind is perfectly clear. My reflexes are normal. I can drive, and do everything I would normally do.
I take a half of a teaspoon of the powder, dissolved in orange juice, every three or four hours during the night--sometimes more often. (There are no timed-released leaves.) A half of a teaspoon is a little under a gram. I usually take a total of 4-5 grams during a 24 hour period--sometimes more, sometimes less. I definitely take more when I fly. I have children across the country in California, and in Hawaii, so I often am on long plane rides. I pack the powder into capsules for the trips, and take a little over a gram every two hours. That allows me to fly in perfect comfort. Again, no side-effects, except that I feel a bit mellow when we land
If the WED attack is especially severe--around one in the morning is the time for that--I sometimes need more than a half a tsp. But usually I'll start with one half a tsp. around 6. pm., take another one around 10, another one around one in the morning, and then one around 4. Except for the one a.m. call, I can usually go back to sleep quite quickly after taking the kratom, and I usually patch together about six hours of sleep a night--sometimes a bit more. Since I'm retired I usually nap for a half an hour as well, so I think I'm getting enough sleep.
I will also sometimes take a little in the afternoon too if I want to be able to curl up on the couch and read, or if I'm on a long car trip.
It's not perfect, and I am very aware that I'm taking a substance for which there is no quality control. But it is allowing me to live my life without too much interference from my WED, which had become pretty debilitating. Before I started using the kratom, plane rides were torture, and I was lucky to get 2 -3 hours of sleep a night.
I have never taken any prescription meds. for WED (the DA's really scare me) and have taken very few opioids before at all--just very occasionally for surgery, and then just for a short time. So I don't know if it would be as effective for someone who has been on other medications. I'll add that I also take 400 mgs. of L-theanine and various vitamins and supplements too every day.
At any rate, I'm happy to answer to answer any questions. So far, for me, it's close to a miracle drug.
Mary
Kratom Update
Re: Kratom Update
I just wanted to add that have been taking Kratom exclusively to control my WED now for almost 10 months.
The Kratom (Mitragyna Speciosa) plant itself is from the same plant family as the coffee plant, but from what I understand, it is the only non-opioid plant to work on opioid receptors.
There are a number of different strains of Kratom, with slightly different effects, due to their chemical make-up (different alkaloids).
I have been taking a strain called “Borneo Red Vein” which has the most pain relieving, sedative effects. The Borneo red vein strain contains more Mitragynine (an alkaloid or a chemical constituent in the plant) compared to other strains, which is known for its analgesic (pain-relieving) effects.
I take a small teaspoon (about 2 – 3 grams) mixed with water and a little juice about an hour before bed. If I wake up, I will take another small teaspoon or half a teaspoon. I also need more when I travel (plane rides and long car trips) and if for some reason I need to lie down during the day, I'll take half a teaspoon of the powder.
Like Mary, I also haven’t taken any prescription medications for WED, only painkillers in the past, but only for a short time. However, I am not sure how effective it would be for someone who was taken a number of prescription medications.
I haven’t build up any tolerance in the past 10 months and I really hope it continues! I was making a tea from poppy seeds before Kratom but I quickly built up a tolerance to that.
Also for me, it has been a miracle treatment. I understand it is not controlled nor studied, however so far, it has really changed my life and I am getting an average of 7 hours of sleep a night.
The Kratom (Mitragyna Speciosa) plant itself is from the same plant family as the coffee plant, but from what I understand, it is the only non-opioid plant to work on opioid receptors.
There are a number of different strains of Kratom, with slightly different effects, due to their chemical make-up (different alkaloids).
I have been taking a strain called “Borneo Red Vein” which has the most pain relieving, sedative effects. The Borneo red vein strain contains more Mitragynine (an alkaloid or a chemical constituent in the plant) compared to other strains, which is known for its analgesic (pain-relieving) effects.
I take a small teaspoon (about 2 – 3 grams) mixed with water and a little juice about an hour before bed. If I wake up, I will take another small teaspoon or half a teaspoon. I also need more when I travel (plane rides and long car trips) and if for some reason I need to lie down during the day, I'll take half a teaspoon of the powder.
Like Mary, I also haven’t taken any prescription medications for WED, only painkillers in the past, but only for a short time. However, I am not sure how effective it would be for someone who was taken a number of prescription medications.
I haven’t build up any tolerance in the past 10 months and I really hope it continues! I was making a tea from poppy seeds before Kratom but I quickly built up a tolerance to that.
Also for me, it has been a miracle treatment. I understand it is not controlled nor studied, however so far, it has really changed my life and I am getting an average of 7 hours of sleep a night.
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Re: Kratom Update
Hope it keeps working for both of you for a very long time.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
Re: Kratom Update
Thanks, Ann. I'll just add that I use the same strain of kratom--Red leaf Borneo--that Erika does now. And, like Erika, I don't seem to have developed any tolerance to the kratom. It's still working very well.
Best to everyone,
Mary
Best to everyone,
Mary