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openmind said:
...I have LOTS to say about kratom but I'm about to walk out the door...I love the leaf as much as I love cannabis, it has now become part of my daily herbal regimen along with yerba mate and cannabis .

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Alright, so....said I have a lot to say about kratom, here goes.





I have recently fallen in love with kratom and have been using it semi-regularly for the past year or so. It is hands down my favorite psychoactive plant, right after cannabis.


Kratom melts away my social anxiety and depression, gives me a TON of physical and mental energy, keeps my mind focused and sharp, and depending on the strain/dose it can induce a lovely warm euphoria. Though I don't take the stuff solely for the purpose of getting high though, and honestly there really isn't much in that area anyways...It's my anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, caffeine replacement, pain killer, all around feel good & balanced all in one herb. It's my medicine, rather than taking several different pharmaceuticals this medicinal plant does the job of all of them. Much safer, for myself it is much more effective than ssri's or benzos, and cheaper. And the stuff makes my mind/thoughts/focus on point and very sharp, rather than making me feel doped up and slow like opiates would. Kratom is also chock full of anti-oxidants & beneficial compounds, more so than green tea.


Some of my favorite strains are Green Malay, Red Borneo (Bali), Red Thai, Maeng Da, & Sunda. I have tried a few extracts, such as the gold reserve, but I try to keep it to just plain leaf. I will sometimes add a pinch of extract to a small amount of leaf for enhancement and to stretch my supply of leaf, as it potentiates it quite well.


As far as my use/intake...Since I started using kratom about a year ago I've taken it daily for a period of 4 to 6 weeks, then I take a break for at least a week (or longer). My daily intake ranges from 4g to 8g a day. Lately I've been taking 3g before work, then 3g to 5g when I get home.


I can't quite put my finger on the tolerance when it comes to kratom. It's there, but at the same time here I am a year later and the effects are just as pronounced as they were the very first time I took it . I have several explanations for that though....#1, as I previously mentioned I don't take the stuff just to catch a buzz, I take it as a medicine, so perhaps my minds "approach" to the stuff is different than someone just wanting to get lifted. #2, I don't increase my dosage, since day one I have always taken more or less the same amount every day (same thing I've done with cannabis, been smoking for 5+ years and 0.05g of weed will still get me all sorts of stoned). #3, I do take other medicinal herbs daily such as milk thistle, ginkgo biloba, cat's claw, etc...and those no doubt have some synergy and some enzyme inhibition which potentiates kratom.


When I do take breaks, it's really not that hard to give up. Quitting coffee was much harder for me. I do experience mild withdrawal symptoms, I suppose, for about 24 to 48 hours. Such as feeling sleepy and lethargic during the day, maybe a headache, and some irritability . Nothing that some yerba mate and cannabis can't make go away .










There is quite a bit going on with kratom as far as alkaloids & the range of activity they have. What's interesting is the two most prevalent alkaloids ( 7-hydroxymitragynine and mitragynine) are structurally similar to tryptamines, but they act as opioid receptor agonists.




Here is the list of alkaloids & their activity/effects found in kratom....




Ajmalicine (Raubasine): Cerebrocirculant, antiaggregant, anti-adrenergic (at alpha-1), sedative, anticonvulsant, smooth muscle relaxer. Also found in Rauwolfia serpentina.

Akuammigine

Ciliaphylline: antitussive, analgesic. < 1% of total alkaloid content found in Kratom leaf.

Corynantheidine: μ -opioid antagonist, also found in Yohimbe. < 1% of total alkaloid content found in Kratom leaf.

Corynoxeine: Calcium channel blocker. < 1% of total alkaloid content found in Kratom leaf.

Corynoxine A and B: Dopamine mediating anti-locomotives. < 1% of total alkaloid content found in Kratom leaf.

Epicatechin: Antioxidant, antiaggregant, antibacterial, antidiabetic,
antihepatitic, anti-inflammatory, anti-leukemic, antimutagenic, antiperoxidant,
antiviral, potential cancer preventative, alpha-amylase inhibitor. Also found in dark chocolate.

9-Hydroxycorynantheidine: Partial opioid agonist

7-hydroxymitragynine: Analgesic, antitussive, antidiarrheal; primary
psychoactive in Kratom, Roughly 2% of total alkaloid content found in Kratom leaf.

Isomitraphylline: Immunostimulant, anti-leukemic. < 1% of total alkaloid content found in Kratom leaf.

Isomitrafoline: < 1% of total alkaloid content found in Kratom leaf.

Isopteropodine: Immunostimulant

Isorhynchophylline: Immunostimulant. < 1% of total alkaloid content found in Kratom leaf.

Isospeciofoline: < 1% of total alkaloid content found in Kratom leaf.

Mitraciliatine: < 1% of total alkaloid content found in Kratom leaf.

Mitragynine: Indole alkaloid. Analgesic, antitussive, antidiarrheal, adrenergic, antimalarial,
possible psychedelic (5-HT2A) antagonist. Roughly 66% of total alkaloid content found in Kratom leaf.

Mitragynine oxindole B. < 1% of total alkaloid content found in Kratom leaf.

Mitrafoline: < 1% of total alkaloid content found in Kratom leaf.

Mitraphylline: Oxindole alkaloid. Vasodilator, antihypertensive, muscle relaxer, diuretic, antiamnesic, anti-leukemic, possible immunostimulant. <1% of total alkaloid contents in Kratom leaf.

Mitraversine

Paynantheine: Indole alkaloid. Smooth muscle relaxer. 8.6% to 9% of total alkaloid contents in Kratom leaf.

Rhynchophylline: Vasodilator, antihypertensive, calcium channel blocker,
antiaggregant, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, anti-arrhythmic, antithelmintic. < 1% of total alkaloid content found in Kratom leaf.

Speciociliatine: Weak opioid agonist. 0.8% to 1% of total alkaloid content of Kratom leaf, unique to Kratom.

Speciofoline

Speciogynine: Smooth muscle relaxer. 6.6% to 7% of total alkaloid contents of Kratom leaf.

Speciophylline: Indole alkaloid. Anti-leukemic. <1% of total alkaloid contents of Kratom leaf.

Stipulatine

Tetrahydroalstonine: Hypoglycemic, anti-adrenergic (at alpha-2)





Some things that are known to or that I've found to synergize well with and/or potentiate kratom....If you are looking for more stimulation, Yerba Mate goes very well with it....Milk thistle, turmeric, ginkgo bilba, ginseng, cat's claw (actually has some of the same alkaloids as kratom), kanna, calamus, kava, Nigella Sativa (Black Seed, aka black cumin), passion flower, and cannabis of course all synergize well.






I'm sure most of you know, but kratom has been receiving a slew of bad media attention/propaganda. I have no doubt big pharma is behind most of it, particularly those that are involved with buprenorphine (suboxone). The fact that it is sold in head shops isn't helping, blatantly being sold as something to get high off of, even being sold in capsules for human consumption. Sure, it's obvious that we eat the stuff, but it being sold for human consumption isn't helping the situation at all. Think about other things that have been in head shops in the past, that got a bunch of media attention, then banned shortly after. As of lately quite a few shipments coming in from out of the US have been held or seized by customs, which is bull shit since it is still completely legal...people have been receiving letters like this instead of their kratom>>>>









Wouldn't be surprised if the stuff is illegal in the coming years. It's a shame because it is a terrific leaf, some real medicine that helps many people. From those that use it to wing off or abstain from opiate use, to those that use it as an alternative to pharmaceutical opiates that need to dull pain, to those that use it for energy/stimulation/anti-depressant/etc....and even those that just want to catch a buzz & chill out with...it's incredibly benign. Not not to mention the health benefits, anti-tumor, anti-carcinogenic, anti-oxidant, immune system boosting properties.






Anyway, I think that's all I have to say at the moment .




-OM



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openmind said:When I do take breaks, it's really not that hard to give up. Quitting coffee was much harder for me. I do experience mild withdrawal symptoms, I suppose, for about 24 to 48 hours. Such as feeling sleepy and lethargic during the day, maybe a headache, and some irritability . Nothing that some yerba mate and cannabis can't make go away

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81renaissance said:

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openmind said:When I do take breaks, it's really not that hard to give up. Quitting coffee was much harder for me. I do experience mild withdrawal symptoms, I suppose, for about 24 to 48 hours. Such as feeling sleepy and lethargic during the day, maybe a headache, and some irritability . Nothing that some yerba mate and cannabis can't make go away

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Ha. Would you look at that!