Kratom Sobriety

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...

Libby and Jacob discuss quitting mindset hacks. Eric is a 50-something dad who used kratom capsules for eight years before he realized it was not the life enhancer he had convinced himself it was.  With no previous history of addiction, Eric discusses tapering tips and other advice from his nine months off kratom.   Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It by Kamal Ravikant, Hardcover | Barnes &...

Dear Listeners, By far, the most painful thing about hosting this podcast and in the quitting kratom community writ large, is the conflict about the use of Suboxone or buprenorphine to treat kratom addiction. Please try to see both sides, now. On one hand, often victims of the opioid pill crisis of the 2000s and many moving on to heroin or street drugs, we have a bunch of listeners who came to kra...

Jacob and Libby talk about not trying to overdue your early days of quitting with too many goals and setting yourself up for failure. A nurse with no previous addiction history, Mitch became dependent on the kava-kratom tonics. He discusses how he quit and explores a range of kratom related medical topics as well as bouncing back after a relapse where he told himself he would just have "one".    R...

Decima talks with Libby and Jacob to catchup on last six months and to discuss additional resources and tools for quitting. Support for Kratom Addiction Recovery Meetings and Resources | Quitting Kratom Support https://kratomquitters.com/     CONNECT WITH US https://www.instagram.com/kratomsobriety     https://twitter.com/kratomsobriety     https://www.tiktok.com/@krat0ms0briety    https://www.you...

Libby and Jacob talk about 7ohm and mitragynine.  Melanie was opioid-naive when she walked into a vape shop and sold 7ohm pills. She was blindsided and wrecked by FULL BLOWN opioid withdrawals that many, many more people are seeking professional treatment for because of their ridiculous intensity.    CONNECT WITH US https://www.instagram.com/kratomsobriety     https://twitter.com/kratomsobriety  ...

HEADS UP: This week the interview is someone who stopped an extreme kratom-kava drink habit but is continuing to use kratom as a harm reduction strategy.  While the podcast, based on our expertise, believes 100% abstinence from kratom is necessary for most past problematic kratom users, we feel sharing Joey L.'s story turning his life around after getting up to like 17 tonic shots a day, is worth...

Happy New Year!  Just a quitting interview this week. David M. escalated into an expensive kava-kratom product habit. His family surprised him with an "intervention". After a short-term medical detox, he is now almost a month kratom free!   CONNECT WITH US https://www.instagram.com/kratomsobriety     https://twitter.com/kratomsobriety     https://www.tiktok.com/@krat0ms0briety    https://www.youtu...

Please email or DM us on social media about any ideas you have for opening topics?  An attorney, Rachel used kratom at first as it helped her productivity. While an active leader in a 12 step recovery program, she found herself addicted to kratom and realized she was not longer really "sober".   CONNECT WITH US https://www.instagram.com/kratomsobriety     https://twitter.com/kratomsobriety     htt...

Libby and Jacob talk about the positives of quitting. Christina follows a week after her wife was on the pod. She talks with Libby about their joint journey in quitting, including a plunge in great despair with a turnaround to where life is now worth living.   CONNECT WITH US https://www.instagram.com/kratomsobriety     https://twitter.com/kratomsobriety     https://www.tiktok.com/@krat0ms0briety...