Kratom Sobriety

NOTE: This is our last regular Wednesday interview with a kratom quitter as we are going back to once-a-week guests talking about their quitting journey on Sundays with occasional Wednesday special episodes.  An engineering professional from New Mexico, James started using kratom three years ago as a remedy for his severe IBS. Drawn in by a posh kratom dispensary experience that marketed the drug...

Libby and Jacob talk about pets and recovery. Sonya was a low-dose, high-functioning kratom user. The reasons for quitting were not as overwhelming and more subtle, but the benefits to getting off kratom were still profound. Her dog Chunk maybe the happiest about it all.   CONNECT WITH US https://www.instagram.com/kratomsobriety      https://twitter.com/kratomsobriety      https://www.tiktok.com/@...

In the opening segment, Nolan talks about how sobriety is not just the absence of a substance in your life. Kevin took kratom for the first time 7 years ago, but it made him nauseous, and he didn't return to it again until January 2024. After just a year of drinking the kava-kratom tonics, Kevin quit at the first of the year 2025. Did you know that Nolan wrote a book about quitting kratom?  Check...

Answering some questions posted on Reddit. Matthew is a school teacher who went to rehab for his kratom addiction.  New resource:   https://www.reddit.com/r/quit_7OH   CONNECT WITH US https://www.instagram.com/kratomsobriety      https://twitter.com/kratomsobriety      https://www.tiktok.com/@krat0ms0briety     https://www.youtube.com/@KratomSobriety      https://www.facebook.com/kratomsobriety  ...

PLEASE NOTE: In the first three minutes of the interview, the guest's audio is choppy. We improved the sound as much as possible, and it gets better later on. In this episode, Marilyn Lynch joins the podcast to share the life and legacy of her late husband, Matthew James Lynch, who passed away on May 25, 2024, at the age of 44. A devoted husband, father of three, and talented chef, Matt died from...

Family history and talking about addiction openly. Guus hails from Holland, and quit kratom in November 2024. He is our first guest from Europe, where kratom use is not as prevalent as here in the states.   CONNECT WITH US https://www.instagram.com/kratomsobriety      https://twitter.com/kratomsobriety      https://www.tiktok.com/@krat0ms0briety     https://www.youtube.com/@KratomSobriety      htt...

Compilation of a selection of recent other podcasts tackling the issue of kratom addiction in the last six months. Thanks to these podcasters for increasing awareness about the topic. Check out their full kratom episodes, sharing only a portion here. Please thank each of them by giving them a like or follow or a 5-star rating on Apple or Spotify.    1) Search Engine: The Mystery of the Vape Shop K...

Advocating for an inclusive kratom recovery community. Natalie is two years off kratom, the first time completely sober and off everything since being a teenager.  Natalie tells Libby how she did it, some close calls, how her life is better and gives advice for others. E15 Natalie | Kratom Addiction https://kratomsobriety.podbean.com/e/e15-natalie/   CONNECT WITH US https://www.instagram.com/krato...

Are you more attuned to your senses after kratom cessation? Scott started off on powder ten years ago and began using extracts in more recent years. After many quit attempts, and his drug use escalating to poly-substance binges, Scott hit a bottom at an ER visit after using meth. A foreign trip to an overseas city was how he was able to stop consuming kratom in the fall of 2024.   CONNECT WITH US...

Defining what sober is for yourself, based on your improved quality of life, not by what you are abstinent from. Kendall is a middle school teacher who was previous addicted to tramadol. He first developed a bad habit with extract capsules, which he quit, then relapsed taking the kava-kratom tonics. Kendall is an example that not every case of disordered kratom use is severe, and not every relapse...

Nolan and Desiree talk about the benefits of having more money to spend after quitting kratom. Author Jonathan N. Stea, PhD discusses his book "Mind the Science" and shares strategies to navigate the complexities of the alternative health sector. He shares his clinical experience treating kratom use disorder, addresses common tropes and fallacies found in certain industries like kratom, and explor...

How to cope when life keeps on "life-ing".  Jahred hails from Hawaii, where he quit a 7-year addiction to powder (his first five or so years) and then at the end, mixing in extracts. With the help of a significant other, he tapered from June 2024 from about 42 grams per day to about 8 grams per day, when he jumped off cold turkey - aided by several comfort prescriptions from his doctor.    CONNECT...

Nolan and Desiree talk about their personal timelines feeling better after quitting kratom. Mark is an expat from Europe living in Thailand as a digital nomad. He was surprised by how an unassuming kratom tea product he bought created a physical dependency and he had a hard time quitting during 2024. English is not his native language, but his story gives us insight how kratom is used by non-Ameri...

Libby and Jacob talk about recognizing you have an addiction without or before bad things start to happen. Ian works for a well-known company that distributes kratom-kava drinks to some 30,000 stores in the U.S. Many people report this product to be starkly more addictive than plain leaf kratom, and Ian himself has developed a dependency he has had trouble stopping. He talks to Charlie about: * Th...

Nolan and Desiree talk about how nice it is not to have to hide your kratom use after you quit. Eren discusses how his kratom addiction progressed over five years until he was able to stop in early December 2023.  He "hugged the cactus", and quit with the help of the podcast, online kratom meetings and quitting support groups.  How would you describe your life now that you're freedom free?   "Oh,...

Today's guest Anthony is a high school student. In the open, Jacob and Libby discuss how they felt at key milestone day marks during the first year. Initially consuming kratom around age 15, Anthony first bottomed out on powder and then on kava-kratom tonics, eventually going to rehab. Relapse is part of his story, but he experienced a lot in his journey for such a young man. Listen to hear what h...

International travel and kratom. Tony has battled kratom extract dependence over the years with multiple relapses and is determined to make this his final quit. With no prior history of addiction, a pivotal moment came during a trip abroad, where unplanned withdrawals caused a strain on his relationship with his wife and the moment became an important turning point.   CONNECT WITH US https://www.i...

So listeners, tell us your experience, did you find kratom stimulating at low doses and sedating at higher doses?  We will read audience responses on a future episode.  And as an incentive, the podcast will donate $20 to the non-political charity of your choice, so think children, pets, nature, wildlife, addiction, etc. those types of nonprofits. This also serves as an experiment, meaning, DOES AN...

A powder user, Misty quit kratom twice. First five years ago cold turkey, with horrible acute withdrawals for a month and then hard protracted withdrawals for half a year. Formerly addicted to heroin, she felt the withdrawals were just as bad if not worse. This second quit in May 2023, she got the SUBLOCADE® shot (buprenorphine injection). This resulted in no withdrawals and allowed her to take ca...

Make a plan to quit. Cassidy was 16 when she first tried kratom, buying from a gas station near her home. Her use escalated to street drugs and a stint in rehab, and her recovery includes addressing mental health issues and getting ready to go to college.   CONNECT WITH US https://www.instagram.com/kratomsobriety     https://twitter.com/kratomsobriety     https://www.tiktok.com/@krat0ms0briety   ...

A study co-authored by Dr. Christopher McCurdy concludes "...the public needs to be warned about this public health problem and heed the Food and Drug Administration’s warning on kratom being a drug of concern." Link study: https://tinyurl.com/bdrewda6   The academic article provides evidence that kratom alone can cause death, though such cases are relatively rare compared to polysubstance kratom...

Imagining kratom Superbowl commercials. Focusing on the impact on his family and remembering an earlier time in his life when he abused opioids, in Nolan's first pod interview, Brandon found that a little tonic he bought at the gas station (and endorsed by some collegiate sports teams) tuned into a heavy addiction he found hard to quit.  Nolan's quitting kratom YouTube channel: https://www.youtube...

Casey Grover, MD FACEP FASAM https://www.addictionmedicinemadeeasy.com/about-5 Post-acute Withdrawal Syndrome DOI: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36731102/ The Science on Kratom: Kratom Journal Club (podcast episode) https://tinyurl.com/59bmbetc   CONNECT WITH US https://www.instagram.com/kratomsobriety     https://twitter.com/kratomsobriety     https://www.tiktok.com/@krat0ms0briety    https://w...

Tips for tapering. Alec had to go to residential treatment to overcome his kratom addiction. Bouncing back after a recent relapse, he is now off kratom and buckling in for long term journey.    1)  Kratom Tapering Tool For Quitting - Google Sheets https://tinyurl.com/mr29nrfz     2)  How to Quit Kratom [Tapering, Supplements, & Cold Turkey] - Tripsitter   https://tripsitter.com/kratom/how-to-q...

Despite working as a substance abuse counselor, Desiree shares about her experience from initial kratom use to severe dependency and the physical and mental toll it took on her, eventually leading to a determined effort to seek help and achieve freedom from the kava-kratom tonics with support from her sister.  NOTE: At the podcast, we are experimenting with posting two interviews a week, one on We...