I injured my back last year and go through bouts of fairly debilitating nerve pain. I've been given some opiates on occasion but really dont want to go down that road.

After watching the netflix documentary on kratom, I'm thinking about giving it a shot. Anyone have good results with it for pain mitigation?  What about reputable sources?

I can help, but in my experience is nowhere near as strong

I just want something that makes simple things like putting my socks on in the morning or climbing out of my truck tolerable.

I had bad very bad back pains from lifting weights.  I’m on a routine now of one week acupuncture one week massage therapy and it’s helped big time.  I’m 39 and lifting like I’m in my 20s again.  When I say bad back pain I mean I stopped working out for three years this routine saved me

It works very well for me. I've been taking it for about two years now, helps with my back and knee pain a lot.

Check out Gaia Ethnobotanicals, if you're looking for the best strain for pain relief check out an Red Veins, Red Bali, Red Maylay etc. Don't waste money buying it at smoke shops, it's WAY over priced and not good quality. Gaia offers a "first timer" sample pack that is great to let you try different strains and figure out which one is best for your needs. It takes a bit to find the perfect dose, but once you do you will definitely notice the positive effects.

The only downsides I have come across are that it is sometimes addictive (Mostly depends on the individual, it doesn't have the same effect on everyone), and keep in mind you are ingesting a lot of plant matter, you may get a little stopped up.

Feel free to shoot me an IM or email if you have any questions, I'd be happy to help. One of the best places for info is on Reddit, the kratom subreddit is r/kratom

I've tried it and would recommend you try it.  Just be sure to get from a reputable source.  Tastes like shit so get it in pill form.

It does taste horrible, once you master the toss and wash method you won't notice it though. Pill form is more expensive and you have to wait for it to dissolve.

A friend's daughter was taking it for pain relief and wound up taking her own life. Her mother blames the kratom.

I don't use it, have no clue what it is, or know if taking it affects your behavior enough to kill yourself. I'm simply passing along one person's belief about it.

I'm sure most parents would as well, no one wants to believe their child did it on their own free will.

Yeah, the documentary talked about a guy who killed himself as well. Of course that guy was on several anti-depressants, so who knows.

I'd have my wife keep a close eye on my behavior if I started trying it. Any changes at all and it would go in the trash.

Thanks, I'll look into that sample pack.

All I know is there are now more CBD and Kratom shops here in Tulsa than gas stations and they are all gearing up to sell MJ shortly.

Better stock up before the DEA decides to outlaw it.

True.

It makes me vomit. I can't even smell it without gagging.

I suggest you try it.

Just looking for something that will allow me to function when I have these pain flare-ups.

It sucks when you're fighting not to sneeze because you know you're about to get hit with some pain that will make you see stars.

Read up on it, there are several strains that can be better for energy as opposed to pain relief. I buy from and use Earth Kratom I like the white vein maeng da. Link to their site

Don't care about the taste.

Any bulk manufacturers that test for purity and who don't plaster that "not for human consumption" shit all over their product?

I get it but it does look like there are some places that manufacture capsules without that disclaimer. Just makes me wonder if they do any testing.

Eta:  To make sure I'm not getting powder laced with monkey shit or something.

My son takes it as he fucked up his back in the  Army. He does not like pain killers as we have family members that ruined their and everyones lives around them on prescription pain killers.

He says it works for him.

I posted this in a previous kratom thread.

Sorry to use the Huffington Post but they have a good article for a change:

On Tuesday, Gottlieb reiterated concerns about kratom’s “potential for abuse, addiction, and serious health consequences; including death.” As proof of the drug’s deadly harm, the FDA released reports on 36 deaths involving the use of kratom, culled from academic research, medical examiner reports and adverse event reports. Gottlieb also said the FDA plans to release the eight newly received reports.

Almost all of the FDA’s cases involve subjects who were found to be on multiple substances at the time of their death, with the vast majority including either illicit or prescription drugs that carry well-known fatal risks.

One incident describes a teenager who had hanged himself after struggling with depression and prescription drug abuse. He tested positive for a variety of drugs, including kratom, as well as alcohol and a handful of prescription drugs.

Another case involves a man who had fallen out a window, broken his arm and refused treatment before dying. He was ultimately found to have had nine different substances in his bloodstream, among them mitragynine, the primary psychoactive substance in kratom.

FDA’s list of kratom-related deaths also includes a 43-year-old man determined to have died from complications due to deep vein thrombosis. He had a long list of medical problems, including chronic back and shoulder pain and a history of alcohol and prescription drug abuse. At the time of his death, he’d recently been prescribed five different medicines. His toxicology test came back positive for opioids, benzodiazepines -- best known as Xanax -- anti-depressants and a medication apparently used to treat his Tourette’s syndrome. He also tested positive for kratom.

One case the FDA listed as a kratom-related death, which has been completely redacted in the document, appears elsewhere in an agency database as a death by homicide due to a gunshot wound to the chest.

Nine of the FDA’s 36 documented deaths were related to a string of fatal overdoses in Sweden in 2010, which involved a controversial kratom-based product that had been adulterated with a dangerous synthetic opioid. An additional eight cases that FDA previously released to HuffPost consisted largely of voluntary reports, including accounts from family members who simply suspected their loved ones had died from kratom use.

Just one of the FDA’s cases appears to involve the presence of kratom alone, though the report includes no information on the death apart from the subject’s age and ethnicity. The report shows the individual tested positive for high levels of mitragynine, but as in the rest of the cases, says nothing about how the substance was determined to have contributed to his death. The FDA denied HuffPost’s request for additional information on that case.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kratom-deaths-fda_us_5a7a3549e4b07af4e81eda8b

It works well, non addictive for me.

I need to restock, post deals if you know of any.

I've used it to cut down on drinking.  Works really well for that.

Check out Gothic Kratom, they're local to me. I usually just drive to their shop to restock as needed. Good quality and multiple veins available. Plus they offer a reward program to build up points for discounts, I forget how they calculate the points but I've gotten 2-3 250g orders for free out of it.

what strains are your favorites and what effects does the strain give and how are you dosing it?

Nailed it

How, if at all, does this show up on a drug screen? Curious to know if you have a pee test for an employer, does this stuff metabolize into something that would flag? I'd be interested in the pain relief but more so the energy boost provided I won't be out of a job for taking it.

Don't confuse your Kratom with your Krokodil. It'll make for a bad day.

From what I have read online it can be highly addictive, and your tolerance builds up fast.  I just heard about it the other day from This article.

tag

Why would someone use Kratom over say CBD.

CBD isn't/can't be addictive whereas it seems in some cases, Kratom is.

Both have pain relief affects, and there is no tolerance build up to CBD.

Interested as to the real world differences between the two

Don't let everyone scare you - if you dilute it in water it's not bad at all.  I don't mind the flavor if it's not concentrated.

I sometimes use kratom like I do coffee, for a morning perk, and haven't used it for pain, but I've heard a lot of people say it really helps with chronic pain.  A gram and a half, in my experience, is like a good cup or two of coffee.  Strangely it doesn't seem that large doses give a stronger effect.  I once took about 7 or 8 grams just to see what would happen, and it just made me feel somewhat like I had had way too much coffee.  Not pleasant.

Try www.pabotanicals.com.

The addictive property varies person to person, not sure on the tolerance issue, I've taken it for 2 years now and never had to up my dose.

I didn't know there was a Netflix documentary.  Is it any good?  Are they fair, or do they try to portray it as teh debil?

I'm going to check it out tonight

Looks like it's called A Leaf of Faith

It will be made an illegal drug soon and you will be unable to get it without a prescription, if at all.

I take it for when I work on the weekends, I sit on my ass and watch the clock it helps make the time go by faster and I dont get restless legs. It doesnt give me engery but it just relaxes me.

If you dont use it daily, maybe 2-3 days per week, you wont build a tolerance. I've used it on and off for probably 15 yrs back when Danny at physchoactiveherbs.com was the sole importer. Thought about being a distributor at one point. Never had any addiction issue with it, no long term effects. Some ppl apparently do.  I pretty much seek out only Bali crushed leaf form (what used to be called commercial crushed leaf) and grind it and make tea. Using tea allows you to moderate your dose much easier, you can just stop drinking it when the desired effect has been reached.

Some ppl dont get any effect off it, some do. Helps me with back pain or if I'm dragging ass with no next day side effects like most crap. Also you are 100% functional on it unlike most other crap.

Give a a whirl OP, it may or may not work for you, its reasonably safe as long as you aren't in the .01% of ppl that have issues with it. I would recommend tea for the reason above, however its an "Aquired" taste shall we say.  You can dilute it pretty good and it tastes like stong iced tea.  You can also have some grapefruit with it to increase duration/effect.

If you like the documentary the episode of joe Rogan with Chris bell he talked about it a lot in fact they showed clips in the movie

I am a daily user and never had issues with tolerance, however I have the addiction issue does affect me. If I stop taking it for ~12 hours or so I'll start getting withdrawal symptoms similar to opiate withdrawl; i.e. chills, yawning, watery eyes, RLS, insomnia, cold sweats etc. Though it's a small price to pay for the pain relief benefits it gives me.

So there are strains that relieve pain and strains that increase energy.

Can one use them both together?