Kratom

[BeachGolfer]

Anyone using or considering using Kratom for their RLS should read the April 13th article in the New York Times titled, “A Popular Supplement Is Seen as a Serious Risk”.

[involuntarydancer]

There are inevitably risks in taking any unregulated substance - whether it be home produced edible products or illegal drugs. However, as I read it, this article suggests that of the illegal drugs that one could choose to take, kratom may be one of the safer ones.

Out of 27,000 deaths due to overdose only 7 were attributed to kratom solely - ie there is a 0.00026% chance of death due to overdose by kratom if it is taken alone - and bear in mind that death requires an overdose - not merely use of the drug.

In all of the other 91 cases where kratom was identified as a factor, there were other drugs present - with fentanyl (an extremely dangerous opioid) being present in over half of them. My maths isn't brilliant, but does that not suggest that kratom is not a particularly significant contributer to death by overdose of illegal drugs? Moreover, if you look at any of the websites on reddit about kratom use, it is immediately apparent that recreational users of kratom seem to take it in quantities that are massively higher than are required to afford relief from RLS. In consequence, I would hesitate to let this research on its own be a significant factor in deciding that kratom is unsafe to use. In fact, death from tripping over a wrinkled rug in your hallway is probably a far higher chance statistically. Death by suicide attributable to the devastating effects of RLS has been studied recently and I would be very surprised to learn that it is as low as 0.00026%.

[BeachGolfer in reply to involuntarydancer]

Good points!

[TheDoDahMan]

I've already written this response to the author's article:

Hillary Leung:

Articles like this send chills down my spine. Twice in the last few years the DEA or FDA have made noise about prohibiting kratom. So far these attempts have failed due to the high volume of letters they have received from users like myself (and those who love us), who find the plant an invaluable aid for conditions for which currently prescribed remedies seem unavailable. First of all, deaths due to use of kratom alone are pretty much unheard of. Large doses of kratom cause vomiting, thus the shutdown of respiration functions, as occurs with opioids, is not a risk. Next, the kratom plant is related to coffee, and is not even an opiate. In addition, those truly concerned about the health effects of this plant must at least visit the website of the American Kratom Association.

In my case, refractory Restless Legs Syndrome had prevented me from sleeping more than two to four hours per day for months on end. Commonly prescribed non-opioid remedies proved ineffective for me and I descended into a depression I had heretofore only heard of but never experienced. My PCP (Personal Care Physician) refused to prescribe me the “best practices” remedy contained in the Mayo Clinic published paper “The Appropriate Use of Opioids in the Treatment of Refractory Restless Legs Syndrome” because she feared losing her license in the current climate of opioid hysteria.

This is a copy of the letter I wrote to then-President Obama upon hearing of the DEA’s erstwhile attempt at outlawing this valued analgesic:

"Please do not allow the DEA to proscribe the plant Kratom. When relatively safe remedies for opiate addiction, like Kratom, are outlawed by over-zealous and under-informed authoritarians, all of society suffers. Already, the horrendous Drug War has caused more damage to the entire human population than the drugs themselves ever could have.

If you or your administration would spend an hour or two on the website of LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition), you might finally understand the vicious harm that DEA policies have cost us.

Why must we refuse to learn from our tragic experience with alcohol prohibition? Can you not admit that Portugal's drug policy is far more intelligent than ours?

I know that you are smarter than you are acting in this regard. Where is your courage, sir! How on earth can you support policies which value violence over liberty!

You shame your heart and your head with your timidity."

[Dogdoo]

This is the same 'hysteria' people have over legal cannabis.

I use both kratom and cannabis to treat several conditions, rls being one.

I have been using kratom for the past year or so. I also, at one time in my life long ago, had a raging addiction to opiate pills. Percocet mainly but any would do.

Karotm and opiates are two totally different things. Kratom does not produce the same total body/mind euphoria that opiates do. Not even close. If you ingest too much kratom you vomit. Thats it. It does not get you 'high'.

It does help my rls, in combination with other things. The only drawback for me is, its expensive.

But the cost is worth the relief i get from it. I'm able to sleep better, work 40+ hours a week and i don't suffer the anxiety my rls brings about.

I would encourage people to do their own research and do whats right for you. But don't cower to fear mongering brought about by people who have no clue what its like to walk a restless leg mile in my shoes.

[BeachGolfer in reply to Dogdoo]

Thanks for your reply! I. Appreciate hearing that you’re comparing it to the hysteria over cannabis.