Kratom??

[Mariyah2]

Has anyone experience with Kratom and does it work for w/d's?
Thanking you in advance,
Mariyah

[CATUF]

I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.  From what I've seen on Google, it is at least opiate-like.  Below is a personal history I found (It took me forever to figure out that "SWIM" means "Someone Who Isn't Me"):

======================================
SWIM was heavily addicted to kratom between summer '05 and April/May '06. He managed to kick the stuff after that, but recently has been dumb enough to once again become dependent. The recent dryup of RC's has contributed to his overdoing the stuff and again becoming both physically and mentally dependent.

Anyway, here's a short case history of what the experience is like.

Bedtime: SWIM can't sleep unless he's high on kratom. Yet once he gets high on it, he has trouble falling asleep due to stimulation/anxiety. It takes a minimum of some Lunesta to put him to sleep, and sometimes he's awake half the night tossing and turning.

Morning: Withdrawals kick in toward the morning hours while SWIM is still asleep, often resulting in nightmares and poor sleep quality. SWIM wakes up in withdrawal every morning -- a state of intense inner agitation coupled with fatigue (agitation can be so bad it results in irregular, racing heartbeats and dizziness). He heads straight for the kitchen to prepare himself a cup of kratom tea and await the blessed relief when the stuff kicks in.

Day: SWIM is out of work, but kratom lowers his motivation even more than usual. Typically he sits around watching dumb TV shows, buzzing on kratom most of the day.

Evening: SWIM averages 2-3 cups of kratom daily (~20 g/dose at this point). Typically he redoses midafternoon, and then evening, then MAYBE again right before bedtime.

General: SWIM's sex drive has been dead, dead, dead. All the time while he's on kratom, and often even when he's not. Of course when not, he feels too crappy to have sex anyway, so let's just call it dead. His nuts actually physically hurt due to weeks & weeks with no release. SWIM has recently been taking an enema daily/every day for severe constipation caused by kratom. He has also lost some weight and his diet has gone to hell recently.

W/D: Mostly agitation coupled with extreme fatigue. Some sweating, chills and other opiate-like symptoms as well, but mostly those two. The main w/d's last 3-4 days, at which point they subside but then strong depression kicks in (enough to make SWIM contemplate suicide + checking himself into the hospital) and lasts til the 2-3 week point. After that SWIM is OK, *if* he manages to stay off kratom during the depression phase.

SWIM is going to kick kratom again... soon, very soon... : (
=============================================

Just to show you how truly sick I still am, as I'm reading the above (as unattractive sounding as it is) the addict inside me came up with the thought "hey, I bet you could do some Kratom and it wouldn't show up on your drug screens.  I literally had to shake my head and say "whoa!  what are you thinking?"  It already seems funny, but for a second there the thought was CLEARLY in my head that I not only COULD do some Karatom, but that it would be a good idea.  It really is amazing!  I mean, WHERE does that stuff come from?

In early Recovery I would get more than a little upset when thoughts like that popped up.  It seemed like they were "my" thoughts and it seemed like if I was serious about Recovery (and if I had really learned my lesson) that I would be incapable of such thoughts.  Thus,  I would feel REALLY bad about myself, because if I obviously a looser, who would never make it etc., etc., etc.

I am now grateful for such thoughts.  I no longer view them as "mine," but believe they are owned by my disease.  Every time one of "his" thoughts like that pops into MY head, it is a not so subtle reminder that he is always waiting, always ready, willing and able to come back and completely take over (and thereby destroy) my life if I will only open the door just a crack . . . .

That SOB will try anything to get me to open the door.

[Mariyah2]

Thanks for the information.....that is not for me, it almost sounds worse than what I am going through now.
Sending warm wishes your way,
Mariyah  

[lil_rab2005]

Please forgive me for asking this question if it sounds like I'm being rude.  I'm not, trust me.  I haven't been coming to this forum very long and don't know everyone yet.  Who is SWIM?  Sounds like that drug does the same thing to him that the percs and oxy's do to me.  Exactly down to a T.  Wish there was a pill that would cure all this by just taking one pill and that would be it.  Just one pill.  You would think that with all the knowledge that they have, that they would come up with a cure all pill in one dose.  Wouldn't that be awesome.  OMG I would be so happy.  I wouldn't care if it was $5000 I would buy it lol.  Alot less money than I've spent over the last 2 or 3 years on those little buggers.  Ugh!!!!

Have a blessed nite and I'll be praying for you two, CATUF and Mariyah.  Luvs ya, Lil.  :)

[CATUF]

"Who is SWIM?"  That's EXACTLY what I was asking when I was reading that part in between the ===='s of my post, before I cut and pasted it from another site.  

And SWIM was not just referenced in this one person's post - EVERYONE was talking about SWIM, except it was clear from the context that they weren't talking about the same person.  And, to make it worse, sometimes they would talk about "SWIY."

I was quite confused.

FINALLY, through some Google research, I figured out that SWIM = "Someone Who Isn't Me" and SWIY = "Someone Who Isn't You."

Apparently, when Person-One talks about someone else in a post it's protocol to refer to them as SWIM.  Then, when Person-2 is responding to that post (about someone who isn't Person-1), protocol requires them to refer to that unnamed person as SWIY.  It was an addiction site in the UK.  Guess that's how they do it there,